“If you want to play for a draw, don’t leave anything to chance. Just force either a completely drawn ending or a perpetual.”
Magnus Carlsen
The Grünfeld Defence is an aggressive choice for Black to attack and destroy White’s center. Instead of seeing a long positional battle, the game becomes an open battle field. Over the years many top players have been using it, and one should always be ready to face it with the White pieces. One way to counter it is to delay opening the center, concentrating first on protecting the castle and the center.
The following line was played for the first time back in 1963. Move 8… Qc8 was a novelty at the time. I found the following queen sacrifice leading to perpetual quite inventive. It is from a game played in 1967. Remember there were no chess engines at the time. One can find in databases 2 identical games from the 70s, as well as another one from 2002. It is remarkable the line was not forgotten.
If you like this line and want to play it, also be aware of the following game. It is the one played back in 1963. Of course please avoid the continuation played by Black. The suggested alternate line should be good enough to keep the play interesting. I would like to feature any games you might play using it. Please keep it in mind, and don’t be shy.
Eugen Demian
