TWO QUESTIONS: 
ONE ON THE CARO and ONE ON THE COLLE   

2.f4 vs. the CARO-KANN?

Steve from Missouri asks:

At a club tourney last weekend, I got smoked in a game that I thought was going to be a routine Caro-Kann, against a player who’s a very solid USCF 1800 (I’m an “X factor”, with only a few rated games, currently about 1700). But after 1.e4 c6, my opponent went 2.f4 and I answered 2…d5; from there it went 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4. The rest of the moves probably won’t add much. Suffice to say that I got into a space bind very quickly on the kingside (I ended up castling queenside) and got crushed. I was hoping you might help me orient with what Black’s general plan should be when confronted with the unusual 2.f4 after 1.e4 c6. It seems to me that the big problem Black has is that White quickly takes command of the e5-square, and despite playing this out against a couple of different computer engines, I’m having trouble finding effective counterplay for Black. I’m eager to see what you think!

Silman replies:

The line 1.e4 c6 2.f4 has been played quite a bit by lower rated players (more through ignorance than plan). Very few strong players have tried it, though, since pushing the pawn to f4 so early in the game potentially creates serious structural problems (the e4- and f5-squares become vulnerable, while the a7-g1 diagonal is weakened), and blocking the c1-Bishop can’t be wise either.

After 2…d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 we get a position that’s of some interest.

The main line is 4…Nf6. Black hopes that after 5.Nxf6+ exf6 (5…gxf6!? also looks quite playable) he’ll get a common …exf6-Caro (usually arrived at by 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6) where the advance of the f-pawn does more to hurt White’s position than to help it.

Thus, White almost always answers 4…Nf6 with 5.Nf2. Quite a few games have reached this position. Let’s look at three different modes of development for Black:

1) 5…g6 6.Nf3 Bg7 7.g3 0-0 8.Bg2 Qb6 9.d4 c5 10.dxc5 Qxc5 11.Qe2 Nc6 12.Be3 Qa5+ 13.c3 Nd5 14.Bd2 Qb6 15.Nd3 Bg4 16.h3 Bf5 17.0-0-0 Qa6 18.Nfe1 Qxa2 19.g4 Nd4 20.cxd4 Rac8+, 0-1, Beulen-Boersma, Groningen 1989.

2) 5…c5 (This move, taking hold of the important d4-square, seems to guarantee Black a free and easy game.) 6.Nf3 e6 7.b3 Be7 8.Bb2 0-0 9.g3 b6 10.Bg2 Bb7 11.0-0 Nc6 12.Ne5 (in the game Reefschlaeger-Heribert, Bundesliga 1992, White tried to improve with 12.Qe2, but Black can play 12…Nd4! when it’s White who has to begin thinking of ways to equalize: 13.Nxd4 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 cxd4 15.Qd3 Qd5+ 16.Kg1 Rfd8) 12…Qc7 13.Nfd3 Nd4 14.Bxb7 Qxb7 15.Bxd4 cxd4 16.Qf3 Qxf3 17.Rxf3 Rac8 18.Ne1 Nd5 19.Kg2 Rfd8 20.a3, 1/2-1/2, Reefschlaeger-Meduna, Bargteheide 1989.

3) 5…Qc7 6.g3 g6 (Worth serious consideration is 6…Be6!? 7.Nf3 Bd5 7.Nf3 Bd5 8.c4 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e6 10.b3 Bc5 11.Bb2 Qd8 12.Rd1 Na6 13.d4 Qa5+ 14.Bc3 Bb4 15.Bxb4 Qxb4+ 16.Rd2 0-0-0 17.Nd3 Qa5 18.Qe3 Qc3, 0-1, Gavin-Speelman, England 2001) 7.Nf3 (7.b3 Bg7 8.Bb2 0-0 9.Bg2 b6 10.Nf3 Bb7 11.0-0 c5 12.Qe2 Nc6, =, Plasman-Guliev, Hoogeveen 2001) 7…Bg7 8.Bg2 0-0 9.0-0 Ng4!? (The simple 9…c5 followed by …Nc6 gives easy equality) 10.h3 Nxf2 11.Rxf2 c5 12.d3 Nc6 13.c3 (Note how the d3-pawn will now be a permanent weakness) 13…b6 14.Be3 Bb7 15.h4 e6 16.h5 Ne7 17.hxg6 hxg6 18.Rd2 Rad8 and Black had the superior position in Candelario-Illescas Cordoba, Seville 2004.

As you can see, in most of the lines Black places his dark-squared Bishop on e7 or g7, and sticks his light-squared Bishop on b7. This, combined with kingside castling and …c5 followed by …Nc6, allows Black easy equality – his King is safe, he has his share of central space, and all his pieces are actively posted.

QUEEN'S INDIAN vs. the COLLE

Jörgen (from Sweden) asks:

I have an opening question. Against 1.d4 I play the Nimzo-Indian or the Queens Indian. One opening I don’t have a useful weapon against is the Colle. Whenever I play against the Colle I seem to get into trouble and white gets his desired attack. How can I get the edge off this opening in a way that fits into my repertoire?

Silman replies:

This is an important question since the Colle is very popular in non-master chess, and even in the master ranks you’ll find certain players who use it with some regularity.

A good system (from a Nimzo/QID move order) is 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6

Let’s be honest here. One simple way to deal with the Colle is to enter its main lines (3…d5). There is still much to be discovered there, and Black isn’t in any real danger if he knows what he’s doing.

The good thing about 3…b6 (aside from it being eminently logical) is that it takes White away from the positions (i.e., main lines) he was looking forward to.

4.Bd3 Bb7 5.Nbd2 c5 6.0-0 cxd4 7.exd4 Be7 8.Re1 0-0

And now White has:

1) 9.b3 d6 (9…Nc6 is also popular, when one possible line is 10.a3 Rc8 11.Bb2 Rc7!? 12.Ng5 h6 13.Nge4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 f5 15.Nd2 Bf6 16.Nf3 Ne7 with active play for Black) 10.Bb2 Nbd7 11.c4 Re8 12.b4 Bf8 and Black will set up a very firm position on the kingside with …g6 and …Bg7.

2) 9.c3 d6 A sharp game is reached where Black can strike in the middle with a timely …e6-e5 break, or on the queenside with an eventual …b6-b5-b4 minority attack. On the other hand, White can build on the kingside by Nd2-f1-g3, or by a quick Ng5.

Overall, the line is thought to offer chances for both sides. A testament to its soundness is the fact that Grandmaster Nick deFirmian often plays this way as Black.