80/20 Tactics – The Grunfeld

GM Sam Shankland

If you want to know an opening, you should be familiar with its typical positional ideas and
remember the most important theoretical lines. But this is not enough.

Every opening has its own stock of tactical motives. Therefore, you also have to know the typical
tactical patterns which frequently recur in your opening.

GM Sam Shankland’s course on the essential tactics in the Grunfeld gives you a complete
understanding of typical tactical patterns for both sides.

The Grunfeld is a strategically and dynamically complex opening full of tactical possibilities. White
gets a large pawn center and Black sets about attacking it, hypermodern style.

This opening gets its name from a famous game in 1922 when Ernst Grünfeld beat Alexander
Alekhine with the opening. Since then, the Grunfeld has been a favorite weapon of World
Champions Smyslov, Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov and Vishy Anand.

The aim of this course is to improve your understanding of the typical tactical themes of the
Grunfeld, as well as to practice them in the included quizzes featuring carefully selected test
positions.

Summary:

Introduction: About this course

Part 1: Tactics Explained

Part 2: Lessons in the Grunfeld

1. The blocked center

2. Weakness of c3
3. Outside passed pawns
4. What can go wrong
5. White keeps pawn on b2
6. The f5 break
7. The e5 thrust
8. White’s isolated d-pawn
9. Playing around the d-pawn

1
 Chapter 1: Tactics Explained
General Concepts

1. The Grunfeld is a chess opening for Black against 1.d4 and occurs after the moves
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5. You can see this position in the diagram below.

2. It is key to understand that the Grunfeld is a hypermodern opening. This means that
Black does not try to control the center early on with his pawns but spends some time
on fianchettoing his dark-squared bishop and only then attacks the center with his
pieces. To put it into a simple formula: Black first leaves the center to White and then
tries to conquer it later with using his superior development.

3. Many positions in the Grunfeld promise Black more active play than in most other
openings. Black is able to enter unbalanced positions which allow him to aim for more
than just equality. This is why the Grunfeld has become one of Black’s most popular
choices against 1.d4.

4. However, it is important to note that the Grunfeld is a sharp opening and many lines
lead to very concrete play. For this reason, Black can not only enjoy all the rich
possibilities, but also needs to be familiar with several critical ideas, tactical themes
and strategic plans for both sides.

2
Key Tactical Ideas

1. Analyzing the Grunfeld can be a good starting point to learn tactics, because it is an
inherently tactical opening.

2. Remember that tactics occur when the pieces are in the right places, on active squares.
When you have the right structure, with pieces working well together, you will find the
tactical shots that decide games.

3. Generally speaking, you need to be aware that every tactic begins with the idea of
having as many of your pieces involved in the game as possible. Development is key.

4. The concept of active piece play is of paramount importance in the Grunfeld: Bring your
pieces together so they all support each other and work as a unit. This means you need
to prepare your tactics. Get your pieces working together. Put the pieces on their most
active squares - tactics don't appear out of thin air, so play actively in order to create
opportunities. This is the secret to successful tactics in the Grunfeld - keeping the
pressure up.

5. If you have the better piece mobility with active pieces, then being down on material
doesn't matter as much - if the opponent's pieces are not working to their full potential
then they may as well not be on the board anyway!

Example:
Here, Black has temporarily sacrificed two pawns. However he has much the better
development. Tactics flow naturally from such positions and White has to be extremely
careful not to lose within the next few moves. In the course, GM Sam Shankland shows
how Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, playing Black, quickly managed to obtain a fantastic
position against Ian Nepomniachtchi (2700+).

3
6. When considering a tactic, calculate the end result and ask yourself if the resulting
position offers any opportunities for you, and for your opponent. Remember to think
about what your opponent can play after any tactical sequence.

7. It is important to know that tactics can arise early in the Grunfeld Defense.

8. Be aware of small details – in the Bf4 line, for example, whether or not White has already
played e3 (preventing the bishop from coming back to d2 or c1) is an important detail.

9. Calculate variations early in the game and accurately. Don’t base your moves on
assumptions.

10. Knowing as many recurring tactical motifs as possible in an opening helps you to cope
with the many sidelines which often occur against weaker opponents. GM Sam Shankland
explains that it does not make sense to memorize tons of theory to refute rare and
harmless sidelines. It will cost you too much time and energy memorizing these variations.
When memorizing theory, you should focus on the important main lines which strong
players go for. In these lines you need to know your stuff inside out.

11. Always attack White’s pawn center quickly.

12. In the Grunfeld, White has the better prospects in the long run because he has more
space in the center. But in the short run, he has to worry about being behind in
development and activity. If White plays carelessly, that proud center can evaporate
quickly.

Example:
Here – like in many other Grunfeld positions – White’s center looks impressive. However,
appearances are deceptive. GM Peter Svidler, one of world’s leading experts in the
Grunfeld, had the Black pieces in this position and destroyed White’s center with …Bxd4!

4
13. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice material for activity in the Grunfeld. In fact, many tactics only
work because White is behind in development. Black often has a huge lead in
development and White is not able to deal with it.

14. What’s more, whenever you sacrifice material, you should keep track of how much you
sacrificed.

15. If you have a strategic idea (like playing c5 in the Grunfeld, breaking open the center) and
it seems like it is not working, the first thing you should ask yourself is: “What happens if I
play it anyway?” If you have an idea you want to accomplish, you should always ask
yourself if you can do it immediately. It’s this consideration that allows us to put maximum
pressure on our opponents and opens up a new world of creative possibilities at the
board.

16. In the Grunfeld Defense, tactics do not just occur when there are many pieces on the
board, but also later in the game. There are many hidden endgame tactics which
frequently occur. Sometimes, you have to become creative to find these invisible,
counterintuitive moves. – 21b – Invisible, counterintuitive moves can occur like …e5!
(threatening Bh6).

Example:
In this position, Black can go for the strong move 1.…e5! The idea is that White has to be
careful not to get mated immediately after 2.d5 Bh6! With the idea to play …Bf4 and
…Rh2#.

5
Part 2: Lessons in the Grunfeld
Strategy and Positional Play

1. The Grunfeld is a tactical opening by nature. However, understanding the key strategic
concepts and different pawn structures which frequently arise will help you to navigate
through the waters of the Grunfeld and spot the right candidate moves. More often than
not, tactical and positional play go hand in hand. Many lines which allow you to achieve
positional goals are justified tactically. If you don’t spot these subtle tactics, you won’t be
able to improve your position.

2. One of the most important variations to understand in the Grunfeld is the Exchange
Variation. It arises after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3
6.bxc3 (see the diagram below). Above all, the Exchange variation with Bc4 and Ne2 is a
strong setup for White, defending the pawn on d4 and keeping a huge center.

3. Generally speaking, Black has two strategies in the Exchange variation:

- Exchanging pieces (Black has less space) – If all pieces would be taken from the
board, this would favor Black, because he has good potential for an outside passed
pawn.
- Destroying White’s center - Even in the games of very strong players, White often has
huge problems with consolidating his center.

4. Due to the pawn structure being defined early in the game, Black has a potential passed
pawn on the queenside. Black’s a-pawn can become a dangerous passed pawn in the
endgame and difficult to stop.

6
5. There is a huge difference in the positions where White either has a pawn on c3 or on b2.
In the former case, Black has the majority on the queenside. The more pieces get
exchanged, the more this favors Black. With a pawn on b2, this is not the case.

6. The move cxd4 is an undesirable move which Black does not want to play in the Grunfeld
for strategic reasons – White would get rid of his potential weakness on c3 and the c-file
would open for White. Black should keep the tension in the center. It is only advisable to
take on d4 if there are some concrete reasons like winning the pawn immediately.

7. Once White has to play d4-d5, because the pressure is too high, Black can fix the weak
pawn on c3 with …c4. The bishop on g7 puts a lot of pressure on it. This diagram
illustrates this typical scenario.

8. A locked center is one pawn structure which often arises from the Grunfeld. This structure
tends to be good for Black when White’s pawn is already on c3, and not on b2. In the
latter case, White can always try to break open the queenside with b4 and occupy the c-
file. With the pawn on c3, the queenside is completely locked.

Although Black’s knight usually belongs on d6, blocking the passed pawn, it does a good
job on a5, preventing a4-a5. On top of that, Black wants to prevent White from playing c4
in this structure because, with c4 in, the knight can be kicked away from a5 with Be1.
That’s why Black wants to play c4 himself at an appropriate moment.

Afterwards, Black can launch an attack on the kingside - similar to a kingside attack in the
KID. However, White has no counterplay on the queenside which he usually has in the
KID. Black simply continues with …f5, …f4, …h6, …g5 and White is strategically lost. You
can see this scenario in the diagram below.

7
9. The 4.Bd2 line offers White a solid center and there are more pieces on the board than in
the Exchange Variation. This usually favors the side with the big center. What’s more, the
b-pawn remains on b2 meaning Black has no potential for an outside passed pawn.

10. However in this line White moves his bishop on d2 twice and plays h3, so he is likely to
fall behind in development. Moves like …e5 and …f5 can be considered in order to open
the position up. This gives Black the opportunity to make use of his lead in development.

11. If you can’t destroy the center, a typical “Plan B” in the Grunfeld is to exchange pieces.
White has more space, so he has to try to keep more pieces on the board. Trading pieces
will take away White’s space advantage.

12. With White’s pawn on d4, typical pawn breaks to destroy the center are …e5, …c5 and
sometimes even …f5. If White has no pawn breaks against the d4 pawn, the move …f5
can be considered. White usually has to react with e4-e5 in order to keep the center
intact. This, however, fixes the pawn structure in a really nice way for Black as the d5
square becomes weak and the d4 pawn becomes backward. In these cases, Black’s
pawn majority on the queenside often decides the game in the long run.

13. If White’s pawn is already on d5, …c6 and …c6 are common breaks for Black.

14. The maneuver …Qd8-a5-a6 is often a good idea to trade queens.

15. Pawn grabbing is something you should avoid in the Grunfeld. There are many lines in
which Black can quickly win a pawn in the opening. In return, however, he often loses the

8
 momentum to challenge White’s center. Generally, the center matters more than a single
pawn.

16. It is essential to be familiar with the pawn structure in which White has an isolated but
passed d-pawn on d5. This structure can arise from the …Na6 line in the Russian system,
for example.

17. A White pawn on d5 or d6 can be very annoying for Black, but the good news is that Black
can play around this pawn, keep it blockaded and then use the own pawn majority on the
kingside or on the queenside – depending if Black is exchanging his e-pawn or c-pawn.

18. One of the best systems against the Grunfeld Is the g3-system.

19. Here, Black must not play on autopilot! Sometimes he has to attack the center early on
and should think twice before playing a natural move like castling. After, for example, 1.d4
Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nb6 7.Ne2 (see the diagram below), it
would be a mistake to castle. Black needs to play …c5 first!

20. If Black is left with an unopposed dark-squared bishop in openings like the Grunfeld, the
King’s Indian or the Sicilian Dragon, it almost always means that something has gone
wrong for White!