Exchange Variation

a b c d e f g h

Minor Lines
Variation Index
1 .d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5
3 ... cxd5
A) 4.if4 � c6 5.e3 �f6 6.id3 ig4 24
Al) 7.� e2 24
A2) 7.�b3 25
A3) 7.f3 26
B) 4.� c3 �f6 27
Bl) 5.ig5 � e4 27
B l l) 6.if4 27
B12) 6.�xe4 28
B2) 5.�f3 � c6 29
B2 1) 6.�e5 29
B22) 6.if4 30

A3) after l l .g4 B 1 1 ) after 6.�f4 B 2 1 ) afrer 1 4.i'k l

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

1 1 .. .lll d?N 6 . . . eS!?N 1 4 . . JlbSN

24 Exchange Variation

1.d4 dS 2.c4 c6 3.cxdS 6 ig4

••.

For many years the Exchange variation of
the Slav was considered to be quite annoying
to face, but essentially harmless. However,
in the last two or three years the situation
has changed dramatically and now it is very
popular and a fashionable choice at GM level.
This is quite understandable as in most of the
lines White can try to create pressure on the
queenside, while facing no major risks.
3 cxdS
..•
6 ... a6 is Black's most popular response to
White's tricky move order, but after 7.lll c3 it's
just another tabiya, and one which I prefer to
avoid.
Now there are three lines to consider: Al)
7.tlie2, A2) 7.'1Mlb3 and A3) 7.f.3.
7.lll f3 would be a novelty, bur a particularly
illogical one, as it places Black under no
pressure at all.

Al) 7.tlie2 e6 8.tlibc3

a b c d e f g h

a b d e f g
I shall consider two options now: A) 4.if4
and B) 4.tlic3. It is worth emphasizing that c h
transpositions are common in the Exchange 8 ...id6!
Variation. I feel this move 1s more challenging than
8 ... .ie7.
A) 4.if4
Now the key line is:
This move order rarely has any independent
significance. If White develops either knight 9.f.3 ihS 10.g4
to "bishop three" in the next couple of moves, 1 0.'1Mlb3 is comfortably met by 1 0 ... E!:b8.
then we will transpose to a normal line.
However there is one rare move order that cuts 10 ig6 l 1 .h4 0-0!
.••

across my intention to develop the bishop on Strangely enough, White fails to create
fS: anything concrete on the kingside.

4 ... tlic6 S.e3 tlif6 6.id3 12.hS ixd3 13.'Wxd3

After 6.lll c3 �JS we reach a normal main
line position.
 Chapter 4 - Minor Lines 25

Followed by . . . !'!:c7 and ... !'!:fc8 when Black

has nothing to complain about.

A2) 7.'1Wb3

14.exf4
In the event of 14. llixf4 the simplest solution
for Black is 1 4 ... llie8 1 5.0-0-0 ttJd6 1 6.i;:t>b l
l''k 8 with double-edged play. 7 tlJa5! 8.'1Wa4t
.•.

Black has no problems whatsoever after

14...�cS 15.h6 g6 16.@£2 tlJeS! 17.�acl 8.'®c2 !'!:c8 9.ttJc3 e6 1 0.ttJge2 �h5 1 1 .0-0
li)d6 1 8.h3 �e7.
This position was reached in Kosanovic -
Kallio, Budapest 2000, and now the natural 8 ...id7 9.'1Wc2 tDc6
continuation is: Now White has to spend a move stopping
the threat of . . . llib4.

10.a3
26 Exchange Variation

10 ...\WaSt It's important to retreat to this square, as

Black could also have played 1 0 . . . tll h 5N instead 7 ... id7 is unappealing after 8.tll c 3.
with the following point: l l .ig3 tll xg3 For example, 8 ... tll h 5 9.ig5! or 8 ... e6 9.g4 are
l 2.hxg3 e5 and Black has a good game. both promising for White.

1 1.\Wd2 \Wxd2t 12.tlJxd2 tlJh5 s.tlJc3 e6 9.tlJge2

With this important resource, Black captures Ir is very important to meet 9.'1Wb3 accurately:
the dark-squared bishop.

13.ieS f6 14.ig3 e5 15.tlJe2 id6 16.l�cl

� f7

a b c d e f g h
9 ...�d7!N (Instead both games to reach this
position continued 9...'\Wb6 which seems
dubious, as after 10.'\Wxb6 axb6 l 1 .tll ge2± In
Avila Jimenez - Alcaraz Ortega, Albacete 2008,
White had a pleasant advantage because of
Black's seriously weakened queenside structure.)
10.tll ge2 ig6 l l .ib5 Elc8 Black is simply fine.

9 ...ie7 10.�fl
White wants to keep the option of a kingside
A3) 7.f3
pawn advance, but this can hardly work.

10...ig6 l l .g4
 Chapter 4 - Minor Lines 27

Now in N. Pert - Dearing, Widey 1 999, 5 . . liJe4

.

Black could have chosen the natural: This is a simple solution.

1 1. .. tiJd?N
By caking control of the h4-square, Black
obtains a comfortable game. For example:

12..ig3 .ixd3 13.'11Nxd3 h5

Avoiding all White's attacking ideas on the
kingside.

B) 4.liJc3 tiJf6

Since childhood I have known that 4 ... liJc6

gives White an important extra option in
5.e4!?.

Bl l) 6..if4

Now Black has various good options, but it's

hard to resist when you have the chance to
play:

6 ... e5!?N

Now the three most common moves are Bl)

5 ..ig5, B2) 5.tiJf'3 and 5.�f4. We shall study
the first rwo moves in chis chapter, and then
consider 5 .�f4 in the following rwo chapters.
I will repeat chat transpositions are common
in the Exchange Variation, and for example
5.ctJf3 and 5 .�f4 frequently lead to the same
position.

Bl) 5 ..ig5

Surprisingly, chis is played rather often, bur it

is not at all dangerous. At least not for Black!
From a choice of several decent options, I
prefer the following challenging move:
28 Exchange Variation

7. .WfaS 8.Wfb3
. This line is White's most popular reply to
Worse for White is 8.gcl lt:Jc6 9.e3 as Black
now has 9 ... lt:Jxc3 1 0.bxc3 lLixe5 l l .dxe5
ia3 1 2.gc2 !d7! followed by ...!a4 with an
initiative.
8 ... !b4 9.:Bcl lll c6 10.lll f3 0-0
5 ... lt:Je4.
7.a3
A commonly-played alternative is 7.\Wd2,
but it is an unwise choice. The simplest way
for Black is 7 ...'®d5 8.a3 lt:Jc6 9.gd l and now
in Minhazuddin - Abdulla, Dhaka 2007, the
natural 9 ... lLia5! would have enabled Black to
launch a strong initiative.
About twenty games have reached the
position after 7.a3, but nobody has tried the
following logical move:

7 ...h6N

8
7
6
5
1 1.e3
4
l l .!f4 !g4 1 2.e3 mes 1 3 .id3 lLixc3 1 4.bxc3 3
White is unable to keep the bishop alive:

!xc3t! And Black is clearly better.

2
1 1...lll xeS 12.lll xeS i.e6 13.lll d3 ixc3t 1
14.bxc3 :Bfcs 15.lll b4 WfdS!iii
Followed by doubling rooks on the c-file;
8.i.h4
Black has excellent compensation for the pawn.
The other option for the bishop is: 8.!f4
lt:J c6 9.d5 (the main tactical point is 9.e3?
B12) 6.lll xe4 dxe4
e5 1 0.dxe5 '®a5t l l .'®d2 !b4-+) 9 ... e5

8
1 O.!e3 lLie7 (maybe 1 0 ... lt:Ja5!? is even more

7
challenging) l l .'®a4t '®d7 1 2.'®xe4 iMfxd5

6
l 3.'®xd5 lLixd5 White must fight for equality.

5
8 ...Wfb6 9.Wfc2
If 9.'®d2 then Black can play the obvious

4
9 . . . e5 1 O.dxe5 lt:Jc6 l l .e3 !e6 followed by

3
... g5, ... gd8, ... !g7 and so on, with a powerful

2
initiative.

1
9 ... lll c6 10.e3 eS 1 1.:Bdl WfaSt 1 2.:Bd2 i.e6
Black has a pleasant position.
 Chapter 4 - Minor Lines 29

B2) 5.lDB lDc6 White's bishop pan 1s not relevant here;

� -j_�-� �--
meanwhile Black's play on the queenside is

8
very simple.

7 mtm, , , %.
%., .%� 1�, ,,%-, , , %�,
,�-,
1 2.f4
This position was reached in Hahn -
6 � � ,,,,,,,;
·
Unzicker, Berlin 1 953, and now after the

�
natural:

���
:3���, ,%� ��
1 2 ... a6 1 3 ..id2 tll b6 1 4.'\Wd l lll e7+
Black would have had the better game.

2 f;il,10
� J l
%"
! P % � , 0 ll,l il,10 "'il,10 " 7 ...bxc6 8.g3
���fll�!J
1 �� �°if��B M
This is White's most popular idea after
6.lll e 5, but of course it can hardly impress. The

a b d e f g h
most logical response is as follows:
c

Now I will cover B21) 6.lDe5 and B22) 8 cS 9.ig2 ie7 10.0-0 0-0 1 1.dxcS ixcS
.•.

6.if4. The latter move usually leads to the This position has occurred quite often.
main lines, which I shall examine in the next
rwo chapters, but in this chapter I shall only
look at an early deviation from the main line.

B21) 6.lDeS e6

.....lDxc6
The other popular move is:
-.�a4 .id7 8.lDxd7 tll xd7
There is nothing wrong with 8 ...'\Wxd7, as
has been tried in a few games.
9.e3 .id6 1 0 ..ie2 0-0 1 1 .0-0 :B:c8
a b c d e f g h
12.lDa4
White's main hopes are connected with this
move.
It is important to note that the following
move, which seems natural and has been
played three times, is in fact a serious error:
1 2.e4? .ia6 1 3 .:B:el '\Wb6 Suddenly White
is in trouble. A good example is: 1 4 ..ie3 d4
l 5.lll a4 dxe3 l 6.lll xb6 exf2t 1 7.c;!;>h 1 fxe l ='IWt
1 8.'\Wxel axb6 Black was winning in Van de
Mortel - Loifenfeld, Germany 200 1 .
1 2 id6 13.ie3 V!fe7 14.:acI
•..
30 Exchange Variation

the outcome. In fact, as we shall see, many

interesting lines may result from 6 . . .if5 .
Sure, some lines are dull, especially i n the next
chapter, but the Exchange Variation is strong
enough to be worthy of respect. Certainly, we
want to play for a win with Black, but let's start
by equalizing.
A common alternative is 6 ... a6.

7.�cl
This is the sideline I will cover now. The main
moves are examined in the next two chapters.

7.e3 e6 transposes to variation C of Chapter 5 .

Now in all three games to reach this position,
Black opted for 1 4 ...id7, which I think is
inaccurate. I prefer:
14.. J�bSN
The following line is not forced but it does
show typical play:
15.b3 �d8 16.icS ia6 17.ixd6 Wfxd6
18.lll cS ib5
Black is very comfortable.
7.Wfb3 lll a 5 8.Wf a4t id7 9.Wfc2 e6 1 0.e3
transposes to 5 .if4 lll c6 6.e3 if5 7.Wfb3 lll a 5
8.Wfa4t id7 9.Wfc2 e6 1 0 .lll f3 - see page 52,
variation B2 of Chapter 6.
7 ... e6 8.Wfb3
For 8.e3 see line C2 of Chapter 5 on page 38.
Now I believe in the following sacrificial idea
for Black:

822) 6.if4 if5 8 ...id6!? 9.Wfxb7 0-0

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
This natural move is my preferred choice Both games to reach this position continued:
against the Exchange Variation. It is obviously
an active developing move, but a common 10.Wfxc6
opinion about it is that dull equality is often And indeed this looks like White's only
 Chapter 4 - Minor Lines 31

decent continuation. 12.a3

1 0.e3 The alternative is unappealing:
This runs into: 1 2.ib5
1 0 ... tll b 4! Now in the game Barcenilla - Dao Thien

E� � ��·�
Hai, Tagaytay City 20 1 3, Black's play was

. . .Y.J�i
�r��
not very convincing, bur instead very strong
1
s
�Vi�
.J��- ·"� �·
�t �-·�--- -�
was:
--
6
··

1 2 ... aG!N

5 � %"/
The main point is:
/,•W.ffli
• •w� -*-•-�
/�;
r� M �
1 3.ixaG
4

--- "ft��
If 1 3.ie2 Wb8 1 4.tll d l ib4t 1 5.iifl :ga7
3 �
····· ·w� 'w�
%'0Z
�
wd- B
-
"--�--
Bl�ck has fine compensation due to White's
2 t3J - � }�O?.'O
�w - ���
misplaced king.
- -� - 1 3 ... :gbg
a b c d e f g h Black has ample compensation; one
illustrative line runs:
White is in trouble, for example: 14.b3 :gbG 1 5.Wa4 We7
1 1 .Wxa8 Threatening 1 6 ... :ga8.
Or 1 1 .ixdG WxdG 1 2 .tll e 5 :gab8 1 3.Wxa7
tll c2! 1 4-'tt> d l :gxb2 1 5.id3 tll a3 1 6.ixf5
1 6.ib5 :gfbg 1 7.0-0 Wd8!
Again ... :ga8 is a threat.
exf5+ and Black is much better. 1 8.b4 tll e4 1 9.ie2 tll xc3 20.:gxc3 :gxb4
1 1 . ..Wxa8 1 2.ixdG Wb7 1 3.ixf8 iixf8 2 1 .Wdl :gb1 22.:gcl Wa5
White has to play: Black will regain the pawn and retain slightly
14.b3 better chances, thanks to his bishop pair.
But now Black develops his initiative with:
14 ...Wc7! 1 5.tll e 5 1 2...:Sb8
After l 5.ie2 lll c2t 1 6.\t>d2 Wa5 Black has
an overwhelming initiative.
I 5 ...Wa5 16.'tt>d l ll'ixa2 17.tll xa2 Wxa2
1 8.:gc8t 'tt> e7+
Black is clearly better.

10 ....ixf4 1 1 .e3 .id6

13.b4?
A serious mistake.

White should instead have played 1 3 .tll d l

32 Exchange Variation

when after 13 ... lt:le4 14.Wa4 ig4 1 5.ie2 f5� Conclusion

Black has a lot of play for the sacrificed pawn.
13 ... aS!
White is in trouble.
14.llJe2
This was played in Voiska - Ortega,
Campobasso 2006. Now Black could have
decided the game on the spot with the natural:
This chapter is a gentle introduction to the
Exchange Variation. The lines examined
here are generally unthreatening, but they
are played surprisingly often. If he replies
accurately, Black will have promising play in
positions that are not at all dull.

14.. axb4-+
.