MEETING
1.d4 is a first rate work on the Tarrasch Defense
to the Queen’s Gambit. This opening, which
is not well covered in the chess literature, is
ideally suited to players of a wide range of strengths
from 1600 to Grandmaster. Black gains free mobility
for his pieces at the cost of an isolated Queen
pawn. The Tarrasch is a real workhorse because
it gives the user not only an answer to 1.d4,
but it can also be employed against pretty much
everything except 1.e4. For example, against the
English, Black can play 1…e6 followed by
…d5 and …c5.
Danish IM Aagaard and his countryman Lund offer
the reader a guide to all the main lines to the
Tarrasch as well as systems against the Reti and
other first moves. They employ the usual Everyman
approach of grouping the material around model
games, in this case, there are 69 of them.
When I first received the book, I was very curious
to see what the authors proposed against the currently
popular plan of 9.Bg5 followed by 13.Rfd1 (1.d4
d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2
Nf6 7.O-O Be7 8.Nc3 O-O 9.Bg5 cxd4 10.Nxd4 h6
11.Be3 Re8 12.Qa4 Bd7 13.Rfd1). This variation
was recently covered by IM Bosch in New in Chess
Yearbook where his final conclusion was that Black
was hurting. Aagaard and Lund put this variation
in a footnote to game seven, and give 13.Rfd1
an exclamation mark, but come to the correct conclusion
that Black has sufficient play after 13…Nb4
14.Qb3 a5 15.Nxd5 Nfxd5 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.Qxd5 Ba4.
This evaluation was recently confirmed in Shulman-Akobian,
Los Angeles 2002: 18.Qxd8 Raxd8 19.b3 Bd7 20.Kg2
a4 21.Rd3 Bf6 22.Rc1 Bg4 23.Rcd1 axb3 24.axb3
Bxd4 25.Rxd4 Rxd4, 1/2-1/2. It’s hard to
imagine Black generating any winning chances in
this line, but there does seem to be full compensation
for the pawn.
The authors have done a good job of dealing with
White attempts to avoid the Tarrasch Defense after
1.d4 d5. For example, their recommendation against
the London System is very much to the point: 1.d4
d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Bd6! and Black is already equal.
This book fills a serious gap in the chess literature.
RECOMMENDED.
YOU
CAN FIND THIS BOOK AT
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