Download PGN of February ’26 Daring Defences games
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Budapest Gambit Mainline 3...Ng4 4 Nf3 Bc5 5 e3 Nc6 6 Nc3 0-0 [A52]
In Venkatesh, N - Ma, W we examine one of the mainlines of the Budapest Gambit, where Black goes for a rook lift with 11...Ra6:
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As shown by the notes Black seems to be holding up here, although they have to play accurately. If White attacks the bishop on c5 with an early Ne4, it is better to retreat to a7. Some Black players might be afraid that White can "bury" the bishop on a7 with c5, but f8 is too passive and allows White to take over the initiative with f4.
Budapest Gambit 3...Ng4 4 e3 Nxe5 5 f4 [A52]
In this next game Alina Kashlinskaya takes a positional approach against the Budapest Gambit with 4.e3!? which pretty much obliges Black to take the pawn on e5 immediately:
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White then drives back the knight with f2-f4. This seems like a decent approach, as later White gets decent chances of an attack on the kingside, as Black almost always castles kingside in these variations. See Kashlinskaya, A - Krupa, M.
Benko Gambit 4 cxb5 a6 5 bxa6 e6 [A58]
In this next game, Suleymenov, A - Borgaonkar, A, we see the Benko Gambit after an early 5...e6 by Black, White goes for 6.dxe6 fxe6:
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This is not bad as you often get positions which either directly transpose or are very similar to the Blumenfeld Gambit, after Black's natural capture ... fxe6. Still in my view it is better for White to go for the line with 6.Nc3 intending to take back on d5 if Black exchanges pawns. White seems better here too- there is the possibility of going for a solid structure with the pawn on e3, and later the bishop is played from d2 to c3. All very solid and nice for White!
Benko Gambit 4 cxb5 a6 5 bxa6 e6 [A58]
In Kashlinskaya, A - Sliwicka, A we examine the line in the Benko gambit where Black delays playing ... d6, and allows White to push on with 8.e5, forcing the knight back to e8:
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As we shall see in this game the normal attacking plan with harry the h-pawn involving h2-h4-h5 is quite dangerous, especially since Black is not putting any pressure on the center. Nonetheless in chess there are often many defensive resources and as we shall see from the notes, Black is not without chances as well.
Dutch Defence 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bg5 d5 4 Bxf6 exf6+ 5 e3 Be6 6 h4 [A80]
In Korneev, O - Mester, P we look at an anti-Dutch with 2.Nc3, where White also goes for an early 3.Bg5 and ends up taking on f6:
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This seems like a playable line for Black, who isn't as threatened theoretically as they are in other lines. In fact the game often ends up as a bit of a manoeuvring battle, and White sometimes does well to delay castling. In the game tournament winning expert Oleg Korneev got away with castling kingside, but perhaps shouldn't have done as Black had the attacking resource 12.. g5 available.
Exchange Grünfeld 8 h3 [D85]
In the next game White plays the line with 8.h3 against the Grunfeld. Despite it's modest appearance this move is quite ambitious, as White wants to rule out the move ... Bg4 altogether, which means they are trying to maintain their center without risk. ...Bg4 is one of Black's main resources to fight against White's center and this light-squared bishop is often a problem for Black- what to do with it if not ... Bg4?
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As shown in the notes, there is always the way with ... b6 and then ... Bb7, if Black wants to avoid sharp theory. The way that Black played in Korchynskyi, M - Plat, V with a quick ...Nc6, is also eminently playable.
Exchange Grünfeld 5 Bd2 Nb6 [D85]
5.Bd2 against the Grunfeld may look rather innocuous but contains some poison. White's strategic plan is quite simple. They want to take back with the bishop and in many cases will hope to exchange the bishop on g7 and hope that leads to attacking chances on the kingside, if an important defender has gone missing. Therefore in Matviishen, V - Vivekananthan, A, we mainly focus on what happens if Black avoids this outcome with the move 5...Nb6!? which seems very interesting, keeping all the tension in the positio:
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Black can then try to carry out ... c5 later, either with a pawn sacrifice, or by playing ... Nbd7 first. There is also the ... e5 break as well, which is often why White plays f4, restraining this thrust.
Till next time, Danny
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