Opening Bomb Diary #13: A Nuke in the 4.Bg5 Grunfeld

I've always enjoyed studying the 4.Bg5 Grunfeld for the wealth of creative ideas that are possible for black. It's one of those lines that for some reason keeps on giving. For instance, here are just a few exotic tries I've toyed around with in the past:

This post, however, will focus on a bomb that I think is far more beautiful and dangerous than existing tries for black. It seems to have serious potential to win a game outright if the opponent is caught off guard as well as introduce a whole new page to the theory in this line. I've still yet to get to the bottom of some of the variations, but hopefully this survey will be fun and useful to anyone who wants to give it a try. Let's get into it!

The Bomb:

White has two main moves here, the obvious 9.Qxb5 or the more tricky 9.Qa3. Let's first see how 9.Qa3 is demolished:

9.Qa3

And now the critical main line:

9.Qxb5

I hope you enjoyed the novelty. If white does not get swept off the board, the positions seem to get very complex but also extremely rich in dynamic possibilities for black. Overall, white is walking on eggshells everywhere, whereas black has some of the sleekest looking pawn sacrifices I've seen. I think the novelty could be a real game-changer, but we'll have to wait and see.