Svidler Peter. Grunfeld Defense Theory Taught by Super GM Peter Svidler! Part 2 (11-20)

CHESS24, 2014.The Grunfeld Defense is now one of the most popular replies to 1.d4 thanks to its flexibility and many ways to play for the win. The opening has been played by Bobby Fischer (famously in his Game of the Century win), Garry Kasparov (in his championship matches against Karpov), Anand (against Gelfand) and Carlsen (against Anand!)In this video, Peter Svidler teaches the Grunfeld Defense theory using his own early games with the opening. The great thing about this approach is we get to see how the Grunfeld Defense theory develops and find out the answers to many "what if" questions.Peter starts by looking at the Exchange variation (4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4) as played in his 1994 game against GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (with 5.Bd2 Bg7 6.e4 Nb6). Using logical moves (like 8...Nc6), Black is able to disrupt White's center, forcing the push d4-d5. This gives Black the e5 square for his Knight and an attempt to exchange off dark-squared Bishops with 10.Bd4 is met by a neat temporary pawn sacrifice, 10...c5!The pawn is won back with another temporary sacrifice, this time of a Knight! Black wins back the material with great activity after the double-attack...Qc7. With the Bishop pair in an open position, Black has a significant advantage and GM Svidler went on to convert the position to a win.The Grunfeld Defense theory in this line is demonstrated with an outline of all the different tactical possibilities and the strengths for both sides.If you've been looking for a new weapon against 1.d4 or want to understand this opening at a much deeper level then you'll benefit from watching The Grunfeld According to Svidler, a superb 12 hour masterclass covering all the main lines, key sidelines and model games. Check out the full course here.