Jobava London exploration
the Jobava London , a quick post about this opening favored by @DanielNaroditsky
Full Disclosure, I didn't purchase Danya and Bortnyk PGN file but I do look at their games and analyzed within Chessbase and with Stockfish16 as we shall see
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4
a6 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 c5 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. Nf3
why do I select this variation ? Well Black has chosen ..a7-a6 to avoid any Bb5 or Nb5 for White.
Then, Black is playing c7-c5, which is logical since White didn't play 2c4 and Nc3 (Queen's Gambit) , but opted for a direct 2 Nc3.
Now what are danya's ideas ?
..Nc6 8. O-O O-O 9. e4
This is a key position for the whole system. Danya has studied it. How many times did he reach this position on chess.com ? Easy with the Player/Opening Explorer feature.
@danielnaroditsky has played this position 119 times (!) with the White pieces, including against yours truly.
Amazing stats as well here from the White side
Black has to decide where to take on e4 or pushing the pawn d by playing d5-d4 ( which are the 2 most popular moves Danya has encountered)
in the first instance, Black can exchange pieces and reach an endgame. However, only White can push for a win. I know because I faced this in Bullet Brawl against @DanielNaroditsky himself and lost
ok but let's explore the other option for Black
9...d4 10. e5!? KEY POSITION
This position is not winning by force. However, Danya keeps "asking questions" to Black.
Should you take on c3 ? should you move your knight on f6 ? can you take on e5 ?
Does white has Bh7+ and Ng5+ tactics, i.e typical greek style sacrifice with quick attack ?
First lets see a line which loses for Black
and then let's see the correct path for Black, which involves taking the e5 pawn right away !
Now you know which variation I will pick next time I face Danya ! or maybe I have prepared 9..h6 a move which Danya has scored the lowest against from the initial tabyia after 9.e4.
Joke apart, I think it's instructive how this opening can lead to active play using Bd3 and e3-e4 for White, setting concrete questions to answer on the Black side.
https://www.chess.com/explorer?moveList=d4+Nf6+Nc3+d5+Bf4+a6+e3+e6+Bd3+c5+dxc5+Bxc5+Nf3+Nc6+O-O+O-O+e4&ply=16&gameSource=other&gameType=all&color=white&username=danielnaroditsky
