The Centre Game Re-examined

By Marek Soszynski

The Centre Game Re-examined: 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4. A re-examination of this aggressive old chess opening including analysis of all the queen retreats after 3...Nc6. Lots of new theory plus 26 annotated games right up to the present day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marek Soszynski
• Release date: Apr 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393536963

Book preview

The Centre Game Re‑examined

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4

Marek Soszynski

MarekMedia

The Centre Game Re‑examined: 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4

Copyright © Marek Soszynski 2020

MarekMedia

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or redistributed in any format, print or electronic, without the permission of the copyright holder(s).

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One ― 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6

Chapter Two ― 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Nc3

Chapter Three ― 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Bd2!?

Chapter Four ― 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.e5?!

Chapter Five ― 4.Qa4 ― Malmo Variation

Chapter Six ― 4.Qc4 ― Hall Variation

Chapter Seven ― 4.Qd3

Chapter Eight ― 4.Qd2 ― Bronstein Variation

Chapter Nine ― Annotated Games

Game 1: Noa vs von Scheve, 1892

Game 2: Chajes vs Kline, 1913

Game 3: Kirdetzoff vs Kahn, 1918

Game 4: Tartakower vs Reshevsky, 1937

Game 5: Michel vs Brinckmann, 1939

Game 6: Soloviev vs Levenfish, 1950

Game 7: Smolensky vs Vzdorov, 1964

Game 8: Sandrin vs Rogan, 1970

Game 9: Mujica vs Tosti, 1991

Game 10: Romo vs Marthinsen, 1993

Game 11: Rodriguez Forner vs Ordobas Martinez, 1993

Game 12: Bangiev vs Gieseke, 1995

Game 13: Lanfer vs Schermuly, 1998

Game 14: Dominguez vs Echeverria, 1998

Game 15: Juranic vs Paljusaj, 2000

Game 16: Suleimanova vs Petrenko, 2005

Game 17: Nepomniachtchi vs Vallejo Pons, 2007

Game 18: Soszynski vs Ziegler, 2009

Game 19: Rozic vs Suta, 2011

Game 20: Nepomniachtchi vs Carlsen, 2017

Game 21: Munoz Pantoja vs Aizpurua, 2019

Game 22: Dubov vs So, 2020

Game 23: Dardha vs Guimaraes, 2020

Game 24: NN vs Sagiv, 2020

Game 25: Vegh vs Forgacs, 2020

Game 26: Davydov vs Hoghmrtsyan, 2020

Ending Thoughts on Openings

Symbols

Sources & Acknowledgements

About the Author

Introduction

The Centre Game with the queen recapture, 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 and so on, has never been terribly popular. Certainly, a few big names have tried it sporadically down the years; however, if we fast‑forward to the twenty‑first century we find that only one top Grandmaster, the Russian, Ian Nepomniachtchi (b. 1990), has used it several times ― and that includes rapidplay and blitz games. Players find that the drawback of the Centre Game is that its simplistic development leads to open play which does not favour White whose queen is exposed. Having said that, Black will need to play very actively and accurately; if he fails to do either, then we have an asymmetrical game of White's choosing.

English Grandmaster, Glenn Flear (p. 230) characterised it as one of those openings that is hard to believe but shouldn't be underestimated. [Note how page numbers refer to the source material, i.e. in this case to the page in Flear's book as listed in the Books & Articles section.]

3.Qxd4

In this book I will be dealing with all the queen retreats after 3...Nc6. There is already wide coverage elsewhere of 4.Qe3, and to a lesser extent of 4.Qa4, but even with these I believe the best lines for both sides are under‑explored both in practice and by theory.

Nevertheless, we should get two things clear at the outset. First, 2.Nf3 is a better move objectively than 2.d4. Second, after 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4, with good play by Black the most White can typically hope for is the default assessment of something between = and =/+ or in other words an uncomfortable equality for him. That is just the way things are with this opening. What do you expect if the queen is exposed so soon?

Let me be more explicit. After 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6, I believe there is only one continuation that gives White definite parity, 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Bd2, whereas the main line down the years, 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 O‑O 7.O‑O‑O Re8, is irreparably better for Black. Of White's fourth move alternatives, I find that the rare 4.Qc4 and 4.Qd3 are as playable as the overrated 4.Qa4. Of course no amount of anyone's research and analysis can turn a second‑rate opening into a first‑rate one.

So why play the Centre Game at all? Well, White forces the game down a certain channel from the start, sidestepping all the considerable theory that comes with 2.Nf3. Not only will White avoid most of his opponent's opening preparation, he will also avoid having to prepare much of his own. While ultimately the Centre Game is merely near‑equal, published analysis before now (including recently) has been deficient. This book aims to address that.

In practice White should get a better‑than‑reasonable game by straightforward development and relatively primitive play. Moreover, since opposite‑side castling is frequent in the Centre Game, fewer draws can