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I eventually gave up 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 since I didn't like playing the Black side of the Queen's Indian. It wasn't that I thought the QID was a bad opening, it just didn't quite fit into my stylistic needs (I enjoy positional situations with dynamic undertones. The QID struck me as being a bit dry.). It's extremely important to play sound openings that fit your temperament and stir your imagination (there is nothing worse than getting bored with your own systems!).

M Rohde-Silman
Los Angeles 1989
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 Nc6 6.Nc3 d5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bg2 0-0 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Bg5 Bc3 11.bxc3 h6 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 (White's Bishop gives him a slight pull, but I didn't think this position would be to Rohde's liking since he tends to play in a very dynamic manner.) 14...Rad8 15.Qd3 Qe6 16.Rab1 Na5 (Intending to prevent any central opening by ...f7-f5 and ...c7-c6.) 17.e4?! (True to his nature, White complicates the battle. Of course, this is the kind of thing I was hoping to see.) 17...dxe4 18.Bxe4 b6 (Not falling for 18...Qxh3?? 19.Rb5 b6 20.Bf5 when Black loses his Queen.) 19.Rbe1 Qxa2! (Forcing White to prove his compensation. Worse was 19...Qxh3 20.Bf5 Qh5 21.Re5 g6 22.Bd7 f5 23.Re7 when Black is in trouble.) 20.Qf3 Rd6! (With a pawn to the good, all I have to do is defend my weak points and prevent his pieces from becoming too active. If I succeed in doing those things, the win will take care of itself. This move anticipates the fact that I will have to play ...g7-g6. In that case it stops a possible Bishop sacrifice on g6, and it also prevents future attacks against c7 via Qe5.) 21.Qf5 g6 22.Qf4 Nc4! (I'll only defend h6 when it's really being threatened. At the moment the threat of ...Nd2 forces White to take some defensive measures of his own.) 23.Bd3 (On 23.Qxh6? Black replies with the very strong 23...Qd2! [and not 23...Nd2?? 24.Re2] 24.Qh4 Qxc3.) 23...Qb3 (Now the threat against c3 gets my opponent's attention.) 24.Be2 (Stopping 24...Qxc3?? due to 25.Rc1.) 24...b5 (Defending c4 and renewing my threat against c3.) 25.Rc1 (A major concession, virtually admitting that White's sacrifice hasn't worked out very well.) 25...Kg7 (Finally putting my house in order on the kingside. Black will now simply push his a-pawn for a touchdown, so White makes a final desperate bid for counterplay.) 26.d5 Rxd5 27.Qxc7 a5 28.Qb7 Re5 29.Bd1 Qa3 30.Rc2 Qe7 (All my pieces and pawns are guarded, so it's time to centralize my big guns.) 31.Qc6 Qc5 32.Qd7 Rd5 33.Qb7 Rfd8 34.Bg4 Rd2 35.Rxd2 Rxd2 36.Qe4 (I wasn't worried about 36.Be6 due to 36...Nd6, defending f7 and attack his Queen.) 36...Nd6 37.Qf4 Qxc3 (I had to guard my Rook, so why not eat a meal at the same time?) 38.h4 a4 39.Re1 Qd4 40.Qf3 Rd3, 0-1. White is forced to trade Queens since 41.Qe2 runs into 41...Rxg3+. A smooth defensive effort against a strong grandmaster.

In my search for the "ideal" opening against 1.d4, I spent a bit of time experimenting with the BLACK KNIGHTS' TANGO (usually with really good results since the positions felt fresh and were not known by most of my opponents).

Dao Thien Hai-Silman
Budapest 1994
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7 5.e4 Ng6 6.Be3 Bb4 7.f3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 d6 9.Bd3 0-0 10.Ne2 (I would have answered 10.c5 with 10...Nd7 11.cxd6 cxd6 when the open c-file will allow me to create easy pressure against White's c-pawn.) 10...Nd7 11.Qd2 b6 12.Bg5 f6 13.Be3 Nc5 14.Bxc5 bxc5 15.h4 f5 16.h5 (White didn't like the look of 16.exf5 Nxh4.) 16...Nf4! (This puts the initiate firmly in Black's hands.) 17.Nxf4 exf4 18.Qc2 (18.Qxf4? fxe4 19.Qxe4 Re8 loses on the spot while 18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Bxf5 Rxf5 favors Black due to the weakness of White's c-, g- and h-pawns.) 18...Qg5 19.0-0-0 fxe4 20.Bxe4 Bf5 21.Rde1 (The position is far from pleasant for White. For example, 21.Bxf5 Rxf5 22.Rde1 Re5 leaves Black with all the chances.) 21...Bxe4 22.Rxe4 Rae8 23.Rhe1!? (White decides to sacrifice a pawn in the hope of getting a bit of counterplay. The position after 23.Re2 Re3 couldn't have been to his taste.) 23...Rxe4 24.Qxe4 Qxh5 (It's important that my Queen be in a position to rush back for defense. One way to implode would be 24...Qxg2? 25.Qe6+ Kh8?? [25...Rf7] 26.Qf7! Rg8 27.Re8 when Black must resign.) 25.a4 a5 26.Qe7 Qf7 (It's a technical win, but a high degree of technique is required to reel in the full point. I would not have been capable of converting earlier in my career, but at this point in my life I found such endgames to be "relaxing puzzles" that I enjoyed solving.) 27.Re4 h6 28.Qxf7+ Rxf7 29.Re8+ Kh7 30.Kd2

A difficult endgame.

(Black's h-pawn turns out to be far stronger than White's a-pawn after 30.Ra8 Re7 31.Kd2 [worse is 31.Rxa5 Re2] 31...Re5 32.Rxa5 Rg5.) 30...Rf5! (This Rook-lift to g5 makes the win possible.) 31.Kd3 Rg5 32.Re2 (32.Re7 Rxg2 33.Rxc7 h5! wins by force. One example: 34.Rf7 Rf2 35.Rxf4 g5! 36.Rf6 g4.) 32...Kg6 33.Rb2 Kf5 34.Rb7 Rxg2 35.Rxc7 Rg6 36.Rf7+ Ke5 37.Re7+ Kf6 38.Ra7 h5 39.Rxa5 h4 40.Rb5 Rg2 41.Rb8 Rf2 42.a5 (Better resistance can be had by 42.Ke4, though Black would still ultimately prevail after 42...Kg5 43.a5 Re2+ 44.Kd3 Ra2. It's still very complicated, and thus well worth analyzing for the reader interested in improving his endgame skills.) 42...Rxf3+ 43.Kc2 (It's also easy after 43.Ke4 Rxc3 44.Kxf4 Rxc4+.) 43...Rf1 44.Kb2 Re1 45.Rd8 Kg5 46.a6 Re7 47.Rxd6 f3 48.Re6 Rf7 49.Re1 f2 50.Rf1 Kg4 51.a7 Rxa7 52.Rxf2 h3 53.Rd2 g5 54.d6 Rd7 55.Kc2 Kg3 56.Rd5 (No better is 56.Rd3+ Kh4 followed by ...g5-g4.) 56...g4, 0-1.

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