Old Main Line revisited
The buried old main line
When I started to play the DDG in the mid-80s, my favorite was the
DDG Main Line 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4 dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.f3 Bb4 6.a3
Bxc3+ 7.bxc3. The a3 move provoked Black to exchange the pieces,
after which White got the valuable bishop pair.
In the early 90s, I started to doubt the line and renamed it as the
Old Main Line because Black could easily break the center with
7...c5! (see the diagram).
The line is very similar to the critical WRG line 1.e4 e6 2.d4
d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 dxe4 6.f3 c5, except that in the
DDG,
- White has moved c4. The empty c2 square is therefore free for the
bishop or the queen. The drawbacks are that castling queenside is very
risky, and the c4-pawn prevents Bb5.
- Black has moved Nf6. White can therefore play fxe4 immediately,
which would not work in the WRG because of Qh4+.
To be reborn?
I had abandoned the Main Line because I had been driven into
terrible positions with both moves 8.Be2 and 8.fxe4. Brause had once
played 8.Bg5, which looked quite good.
In Chess Mail 5/1999, Thomas Winckelmann, father of the WRG,
suggested five (!) new moves for White in the critical WRG line. It is
worth looking at them in a move later in the DDG, too:
All these moves can be met with 8...Qa5.
The rook move is the latest fashion in the WRG and preferred by both
Stefan Bücker and Winckelmann himself. It looks like Qa5 could then be
met with fxe4.
However, the purpose of Rb1 is a bit different in the DDG, where
fxe4 can be played immediately.
8.Rb1 Qa5
- 9.Qd2 cxd4 10.Qxd4 Nc6 11.Qe3 exf3 12.Nxf3 O-O 13.Rb5 (or 13.Bd3)
Qd8 14.Rg5.
- 9.Bd2 e3 10.Bxe3 Qxc3+ 11.Kf2 or 10...cxd4 11.Bxd4.
8...O-O 9.Bg5 Qa5 10.Ne2 Nbd7 (10...exf3 11.gxf3 would be what White
is looking for: a half-open file towards Black's king) 11.Qc1 and
Black stands clearly better.
The main idea with the queen move in the WRG is to prepare fxe4, after
which Nxe4 can be met with Qe3. Also White can plan Bb2, followed by
castling queenside.
8.Bf4 looks very promising. 8...Qa5 9.Qd2 cxd4 (9...Nbd7 may be
better, though) 10.cxd4 Qxd2+ 11.Bxd2 Nc6 12.Ne2 -/+.
After the natural moves 8.Bd2 cxd4 9.cxd4 Qxd4, and now White has to
prevent 10...e3, which would allow Black to exchange the queens:
- 10.Qc1 exf3 11.Nxf3 Qg4 12.Be2! O-O 13.O-O and White has developed
almost every piece, but is there any concrete compensation for the two
pawns?
- 10.Ne2 Qd8 (10...Qxc4?? 11.Rc1 +-) 11.Qb3.
In any case, White seems to have gained very little: Black will lose
only a tempo or two when he has to retreat the queen.
This must a deep move as the bishop looks far ahead. After 8...Qa5
9.Qd2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Qxd2+ 11.Kxd2, Black would hope for the end-game,
but White has two strong bishops. In fact, Black might do better with
9...e3!? 10.Qxe3 cxd4 11.Qxd4, keeping the queen's bishop locked away.
Conclusions
Should the Old Main Line be considered reborn -- and perhaps be
renamed? Any ideas for more appropriate a name?
DDG Magazine 1/2000,
Jyrki Heikkinen (ed.)