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"We start with the moves 1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 d5 4.Bb5 Nge7!?.
The Larsen Opening (1.b3) is a tricky one. White fianchettos their bishop right away to exert pressure on the a1-h8 diagonal, inviting Black to occupy the centre first. Hikaru Nakamura chose this approach in hundreds of his blitz games, and even Magnus Carlsen has played it several times in quick time control games. With 4.Bb5 White has pinned the c6 knight, threatening to capture the pawn on e5. Now the most common move is 4...Bd6, but I very much like 4...Nge7!? - Black overprotects the c6 knight, prevents destruction of their structure and offers an interesting pawn sacrifice!
In the above diagram, accepting the gift with 5.Bxe5 is the main line. Another frequent move is 5.Nf3 when I suggest 5...e4! - the most challenging approach, but it requires precise knowledge from both sides, as play becomes rather tactical! 6.Ne5 a6!? 7.Qh5 Be6!. Fortunately, this move safeguards everything. 8.Bxc6+ Nxc6 9.Nxc6 bxc6.
One of the main tabiyas in this line. The white bishop on b2 is strong. Black, in return, has the bishop pair, and normally wants to follow up with ...Bd6 (not fearing Bxg7), ...0-0 and f7-f6.
5.Bxe5 is the main move, when 5...a6! forces White to part with their important light-squared bishop. 6.Bxc6+ Nxc6.
Now White has two retreats with the bishop: A) 7.Bb2 or B) 7.Bg3.
7.Bb2 - The most frequent move. Having played 1.b3, the b2 square looks 'more natural' for the bishop than g3. However, this is an inaccuracy, because now the light squares on the kingside can be attacked more easily by Black: 7...Qg5!.
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Conclusion: There are many setups against the Larsen opening, but the pawn sacrifice 4...Nge7!? is particularly to my liking! It leads to complex and interesting play. I aimed to explore the critical lines in depth and, whenever possible, included several options, so you can choose the one that best fits your style. I hope you find many useful ideas in this article - and wish you good luck with 4...Nge7!? in your practice!"
Highlights of ChessBase Magazine #227
From the Biel 2025 Chess Festival to Felix Blohberger's opening video on the "Dubov Dragon" and Oliver Reeh's tactics article "Exchange sacrifices, Harry and more" to Dr Karsten Mueller's video series "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge".
Over 7 hours of video playing time with Felix Blohberger, Luis Engel Jan Markos, Mihail Marin, Dr. Karsten Mueller, Michael Prusikin, Oliver Reeh, Robert Ris, Dorian Rogozenco and Ivan Sokolov - Biel 2025: analyses by Aravindh, Dardha, Ma Qun, Hakobyan, Jumabayev, Navara, Theodorou and Wojtaszek - Perfect attacking play: Dorian Rogozenco shows the "modern classic" Kasparov vs. Kramnik (Novgorod 1994), in which the world champion used a new concept with 15.Qd2 and long castling in the Sveshnikov Variation - Aggressive Sicilian: Yago Santiago acts with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bc5!? on the black squares - Opening trends in the video: Sicilian Dragon Variation, Slav Defence and Sicilian Najdorf Variation - Endgame Basics Queen + Pawn vs Queen: A material constellation that requires the most precise technique, explained in detail by Karsten Müller and much more.
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