Wednesday, April 9, 2008

The Cambridge Springs Defense

This is a trappy variant of the Queen's Gambit Delcined, characterized by Black's omitting ...Be7 and playing ...Qa5, ...Bb4, and often ...Ne4, putting pressure on White's Knight on c3 before he's had time to get castled. I long have avoided this by exchanges, but it is time to learn how to stand up to Black's challenge.

1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Nbd7

By playing this instead of 4...Be7, Black announces his intentions to steer towards a Cambridge Springs game.

5 e3 c6

If 6...Bb4 7 cd ed 8 Bd3 c5 8 Ne2 c4 9 Bc2 0-0 10 0-0 Qa5 11 a3 BxN 12 NxN with a clear edge for White.

6 Nf3 Qa5 7 Nd2 Bb4 8 Qc2 0-0 9 Be2 e5 10 0-0 ed 11 Nb3 Qc7 12 Nxd4 dc 13 Bxc4 BxN 14 bc Ne5 15 Be2 with a slight edge to White.

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