Openings / French Advance
Stunning Your Opponent in the French Advance: The Unexplored 9. Nbd2 Gambit
By FM ALISA MELEKHINA This article is a sequel to my Alapin primer
in the October 2014 Chess Life. It is a contin- uation of exploring a system-based approach to openings. The 9. Nbd2 gambit in the French Advance offers white rapid and aggressive development with relatively little theory to memorize. It is also a continuation from the chess perspective—the line could arise from a
c3-Sicilian move order: 1. e4 c5 2. c3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. e5 and we find
ourselves in a transposition. The themes of the Alapin, including a powerful light-square bishop and cramping Black on the kingside with the e5-pawn, hold true in the French Advance. The two go hand-in-hand. Together, they generate a consistent opening repertoire for White. Within the French Advance, I am recommending
a highly dynamic yet unex plored gambit. It doesn’t even have a formal name (I refer to it as the 9. Nbd2 gambit line). The French is a provocative opening. Black beckons White into overextending and then dominates the weaknesses in White’s position. The 9. Nbd2 gambit sacrifices a pawn for the sake of halting Black’s development before he has a chance to untangle himself, whilst creat ing dangerous threats along the c-file and b1-h7 diagonal. Since the theory is still developing, it is a
perfect surprise weapon. On top of that, the first several moves are more or less standard. This will save you time on the clock, adding to the psychological edge of playing a gambit. Of course, a gambit is a tougher sell than a
tried-and-true opening like the Alapin, which one will find played on even the elite levels. My goal is to present the 9. Nbd2 gambit as sound practically. It is based on general principles, which provide for straightforward play when followed. There are three main lines that could arise depending on whether Black exchanges the knight on f3 and how soon he develops the dark-squared bishop. The gambit is as reliable as it is effective. I’ve played it several times,
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Nbd2!?
even in tourna ment situations where my opponents had time to prepare for it. The final game below against IM Anna Zatonskih from the 2014 U.S. Women’s Championship presents one of Black’s best tries against the
40 October 2015 | Chess Life
opening, which I chose to go into headfirst. I consider the opening a success, even if I faltered in the game. This line was actually enjoyable to learn.
Even more gratifying is that it happens to arise in tournament games frequently: Black doesn’t have too many options to deviate. Follow the principles below, as exemplified in my sample tournament games, and you should be prepared to try it for yourself.
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bd3
6. a3 or 6. Be2 are the main lines of the
French Advance. 6. ... cxd4 6. ... Bd7 allows White to take advantage of
the move order if he wants to preserve the pawn 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. 0-0 a5 9. a4 f6 10. Qe2 fxe5 11. Nxe5 Nf6 12. Nxd7 Kxd7 13. Na3 Bxa3 14. Rxa3 Qc7 15. Rb3 Rab8 16. Be3 Ne5 17. Bf4 Nf3+ 18. Qxf3 e5 19. Bb5+ 1–0 Parligras, M (2564)-Goutioudi, K/Kavala, GRE, 2004/The Week in Chess 509.
7. cxd4 Bd7
Of course Black avoids 7. ... Nxd4 8. Nxd4 Qxd4?? 9. Bb5+. 8. 0-0!? Essentially forced after Bd3. There’s no
satisfactory way to protect d4—not that we’re too concerned with losing it.
8. ... Nxd4 9. Nbd2!?
(see diagram, center of this page) A line first developed about 20 years ago by
Czech IM Jiri Nun. The more standard treatment of this gambit with 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Nc3 is the traditional
Milner-Barry Gambit. However, Black has found ways to keep the extra pawn and surface unscathed. The knight is a bit misplaced on c3, leading to the innovation of 9. Nbd2: 10. ... a6 (10. ... Qxe5 11. Re1 Qd6 [11. ... Qb8 12. Nxd5] 12. Nb5 Qb6 13. Be3 Qa5 14. Bd2 Qb6 15. Be3 and the game is even) 11. Qe2 Qh4 12. f4 Nh6 13. Be3 Rc8 14. Rf3 Bc5 15. Bxc5 Rxc5 16. Raf1 Qe7.
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