The Nadanian Variation (sometimes called the Nadanian Attack) of the

Grünfeld Defence The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 g6 :3. Nc3 d5 Black offers White the possibility of 4.cxd5, which may be followed by 4...Nxd5 and 5.e4, giving White an imposing central pawn duo. If Whi ...

is a

chess opening A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...

characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 g6 :3. Nc3 d5 :4. cxd5 Nxd5 :5. Na4 The Nadanian Variation is classified in the ''

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Chess Informant). It is current ...

'' with the code D85.

History

The variation is named after the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

Ashot Nadanian Ashot Nadanian (sometimes transliterated as Nadanyan; hy, Աշոտ Նադանյան; born 19 September 1972) is an Armenian chess International Master (1997), chess theoretician and chess coach. His highest achievements have been in openin ...

, who first employed it in 1996. His analysis was published in the 67th volume of

Chess Informant Chess Informant (Šahovski Informator) is a publishing company from Belgrade (Serbia, former Yugoslavia) that periodically (since 2012, four volumes per year) produces a book entitled ''Chess Informant'', as well as the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess O ...

. The birth of the variation has caused major ripples in the chess world. One of the world's most authoritative

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

editions '' New in Chess Yearbook'' printed on the front cover of the 45th volume the following: "A Revolution in the Gruenfeld: 5.Na4!?!". Grandmaster

Jonathan Rowson Jonathan Rowson (born 18 April 1977) is a Scottish chess player and philosopher. He is a three-time Scottish chess champion and was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1999. As Director of the Social Brain Centre at the United Kingdom' ...

wrote in his book ''Understanding the Grünfeld'' that Nadanian "should be congratulated for seeing what everyone has seen, and thinking what nobody had thought". The famous chess theoretician Grandmaster Igor Zaitsev wrote in the Russian chess magazine '' 64'':

The continuation 5.Na4 of Armenian chess player Nadanian shakes by the extraordinariness. Yes, extraordinariness, because it is unusual among the unusual. A voluntary removal of the knight from the centre, yet that has gone on advantage? Therefore, the value of such centrifugal maneuver is beyond a simple theoretical novelty, in a certain measure it is a challenge to chess foundations, an attempt to grope new properties in two-dimensional chess space.64 (chess magazine) 10/1998

Theory

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is the oldest gentleman's club in London. It moved to its current premises on St James's Street in 1778. Status White's is the oldes ...

fifth move is overprotecting the key c5-square in the

, thus aspires to prevent an attack on the

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

by c7–c5. The extravagancy of White's idea is that they break at once two

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

principles: avoid moving the same

piece Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES * P ...

twice, and avoid placing a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

on the edge of the board. However, according to Nadanian, the position after the fifth move is an exception to the rules. By placing the knight on а4, White takes under control the critical square c5, and by next move 6.e4 will return a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

back, as

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

too will play an already developed piece (knight on d5). White should aspire to the following arrangement: e4, Be3, Be2, Nf3, 0-0, Rc1, Nc5. Black in turn should not allow this scheme for what it is necessary for them to put pressure on the d4 pawn. The main line continues 5...Bg7 6.e4 Nb6 ( Avrukh's 6...Nb4 is also interesting) 7.Be3 0-0 8.Nf3 Bg4 (instead 8...Nxa4 9.Qxa4 c5 10.Rd1 Qb6 11.Rd2 was good for White in Korchnoi– Sutovsky, Dresden 1998) 9.Be2 Nc6 10.d5 Ne5 11.Nxe5 Bxe2 12.Qxe2 Nxa4 with approximately equal chances. Another possible line is 5...e5 6.dxe5 Nc6 (suggested by Igor Zaitsev and first played by Mikhalchishin), which is according to

Lubomir Kavalek Lubomir (Lubosh) Kavalek ( cz, Lubomír Kaválek, August 9, 1943 – January 18, 2021) was a Czech-American chess player. He was awarded both the International Master and International Grandmaster titles by FIDE in 1965.Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 19 ...

"perhaps the only way to punish the white knight's venture to the edge of the board". After 7.a3 (Nadanian's idea) 7...Bf5 8.Nf3 Qd7 9.e3 0-0-0 10.Be2 ( Eingorn gives 10.Bb5 Qe6) 10...Qe7 11.Qb3 Bg7 according to

Yelena Dembo Yelena Dembo (born December 8, 1983) is a Greek chess player, who holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She is also a chess teacher and author. Family background Dembo was born on December 8, 1983, in Penza, Russia. Sh ...

Black has a powerful initiative (Kantsler–Avrukh, Israel 1999).

Use

The variation's most devoted practitioner has been its eponym,

. Various famous players such as

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He ...

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French chess grandmaster who is the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2819, Vachier-Lagrave is the seventh-highest r ...

Bu Xiangzhi Bu Xiangzhi (; born December 10, 1985) is a Chinese chess player. In 1999, he became the 10th grandmaster from China at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua bec ...

, Alexander Riazantsev,

Igor Lysyj Igor Ilyich Lysyj (; born 1 January 1987) is a Russian chess player and writer. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2007. Lysyj was Russian champion in 2014. Together with 43 other Russian chess players, Lysyj signed an open l ...

Walter Browne Walter Shawn Browne (10 January 1949 – 24 June 2015) was an Australian-born American chess and poker player. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1970, he won the U.S. Chess Championship six times. Early years Browne was born to an Am ...

Smbat Lputian Smbat Gariginovich Lputian (sometimes transliterated as Lputyan; hy, Սմբատ Լպուտյան; born 14 February 1958, in Yerevan) is an Armenian chess Grandmaster. He was first at tournament in Berlin 1982, shared first at Athens 1983 and ...

Timur Gareyev Timur Gareyev (sometimes spelled ''Gareev''; born March 3, 1988) is an Uzbeki-American chess grandmaster. He was born in Tashkent to Tatar parents. Gareyev was a part of the University of Texas at Brownsville's chess team from August 2005 to Aug ...

Andrei Kharlov Andrei Vasilyevich Kharlov (russian: Андрей Васильевич Ха́рлов; November 20, 1968 – June 15, 2014) was a Russian chess grandmaster. Tournament results In 1992, he received the title of Grandmaster after tying for first p ...

Bogdan Lalić Bogdan Lalic (born 8 March 1964) is a Croatian chess grandmaster. He has the record of an unbeaten streak of 155 games. He was born in Yugoslavia – Zagreb in 1964. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1985, and the Grandmast ...

have employed it at some time or another, though few have made it their main line against the Grünfeld Defence.

Example games

(2375) –

Yannick Pelletier Yannick Pelletier (born September 22, 1976, in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland) is a Swiss chess Grandmaster and a six-time Swiss Champion currently living in Luxembourg. Career He completed his final Grandmaster norm at the 2000 Chess Olympiad in Ist ...

(2470),

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

op 18th 1997; D90
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Na4 Bg7 6.Nf3 0-0 7.e4 Nb6 8.Be2 Nxa4 9.Qxa4 b6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Qc2 Nd7 12.Rd1 e6 13.0-0 h6 14.Bb5 c6 15.Bxc6 Rc8 16.d5 Nb8 17.Qc1 exd5 18.exd5 Nxc6 19.dxc6 Qf6 20.Bxh6 Bxc6 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Qg5 Bxf3 23.Qxf6+ Kxf6 24.gxf3 Rc2 ½–½ *

(2625) –

Emil Sutovsky Emil Sutovsky (born 19 September 1977) is an Israeli chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster by FIDE in 1996. Sutovsky is the FIDE CEO since 2022. Previously he served as FIDE Director-General (2018-22). He was the ...

(2595),

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

zt 1.2 1998; D85
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Na4 Bg7 6.e4 Nb6 7.Be3 0-0 8.Nf3 Nxa4 9.Qxa4 c5 10.Rd1 Qb6 11.Rd2 Bd7 12.Qa3 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Qc7 14.Be2 e5 15.Rc2 Qd8 16.Nb5 Nc6 17.Nd6 Qb8 18.Bc4 Nd4 19.Bxd4 exd4 20.0-0 Be6 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Rfc1 Be5 23.Rc7 Bxd6 24.Qxd6 Rf7 25.Qxe6 1–0 *

(2598) –

Alexei Shirov Alexei Shirov (, lv, Aleksejs Širovs; born 4 July 1972) is a Latvian and Spanish chess player. Shirov was ranked number two in the world in 1994. He won a match against Vladimir Kramnik in 1998 to qualify to play as challenger for the classic ...

(2746),

Montecatini Terme Montecatini Terme is an Italian municipality (''comune'') of c. 20,000 inhabitants in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is the most important center in Valdinievole. The town is located at the eastern end of Piana di Lucca ...

2000; D85
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Na4 e5 6.dxe5 Nc6 7.Nf3 Ndb4 8.Bg5 Qxd1+ 9.Kxd1 Be6 10.Nc3 Bg7 11.a3 Nd5 12.e4 Nxc3+ 13.bxc3 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.Kc2 h6 16.Be3 0-0-0 17.f4 Bg7 18.Be2 Rhe8 19.Rhe1 Bd7 20.Bf3 Ba4+ 21.Kb2 Bc6 22.e5 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Kd7 24.h4 Ke6 25.h5 Kf5 26.Kc2 g5 27.Rg1 gxf4 28.Bxf4 Bxe5 29.Bxh6 Bf6 30.Rad1 Rxd1 31.Rxd1 Rh8 32.Be3 Rxh5 33.Rd7 Be5 34.Rxf7+ Ke6 35.Rf8 Bd6 36.Ra8 a5 37.a4 b6 38.Re8+ Kd5 39.Re4 Rh3 40.Bf4 Rxf3 41.Rd4+ Kc5 42.Bxd6+ cxd6 43.Kb3 d5 44.Rh4 ½–½ *

(2607) –

Krishnan Sasikiran Krishnan Sasikiran (Tamil: கிருஷ்ணன் சசிகிரண்; born 7 January 1981) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He was one of Viswanathan Anand's seconds in the World Chess Championship 2013. Chess career Born in Madra ...

(2657),

Dos Hermanas Dos Hermanas () is a Spanish city south of Seville in Andalusia, with a population of 131,317 as of 2015. History The city's name, which means "two sisters", dates from its founding in 1248 by King Ferdinand III of Castile and honours Elvira ...

Internet Chess Club The Internet Chess Club (ICC) is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC had over 30,000 subscribing members in 2005.John Black, Martin Cochran, Martin Ryan Gardner"Lessons Learned ...

2005; D85
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Na4 e5 6.dxe5 Nc6 7.a3 Nxe5 8.e4 Nb6 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.Bg5+ Be7 11.0-0-0+ Ke8 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.Nxb6 axb6 14.Kc2 Bd7 15.Bxe5 Bxe5 16.Nf3 Bf6 17.Bc4 Ba4+ 18.Bb3 Bc6 19.Bd5 Ke7 20.e5 Bg7 21.Bxc6 bxc6 22.Nd4 c5 23.Nc6+ Ke6 24.f4 Ra4 25.g3 b5 26.Rhe1 Rha8 27.Nd8+ Ke7 28.e6 f5 29.Rd7+ 1–0 *

(2590) –

Alexander Morozevich Alexander Sergeyevich Morozevich (russian: Александр Серге́евич Морозе́вич, translit=Aleksandr Sergéevich Morozévich; born July 18, 1977) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE ...

(2762), TCh–

RUS Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

2007; D85
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Na4 Bg7 6.e4 Nb6 7.Be3 0-0 8.Nf3 Bg4 9.Be2 Nxa4 10.Qxa4 c5 11.dxc5 Bxb2 12.Rb1 Bc3+ 13.Nd2 Bxd2+ 14.Bxd2 Bxe2 15.Kxe2 Nc6 16.Be3 Qc7 17.g3 Rad8 18.Rhd1 Qc8 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Rd1 Rxd1 21.Qxd1 Qg4+ 22.f3 Qh3 23.Bf2 Qxh2 24.Qd7 Kg7 25.Qxb7 Nd4+ 26.Ke3 e5 27.Qe7 Qh5 28.g4 Qh2 29.Kd3 Ne6 30.Be3 Qxa2 31.g5 Qb3+ 32.Kd2 Qb2+ 33.Kd3 a5 34.c6 Qb5+ 35.Kd2 a4 36.f4 Qb2+ 37.Kd1 exf4 38.Bc1 Qd4+ 39.Ke1 Qxe4+ 40.Kd1 Qf3+ 41.Ke1 Qc3+ 42.Kd1 f3 43.Bd2 Qa1+ 44.Kc2 f2 0–1

Modified versions

There are also modified versions of Nadanian's idea. * 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Na4 – Improved Nadanian or Deferred Nadanian * 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.0-0 Nc6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Na5 – Reversed Nadanian * 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.f3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Na4 – Neo-Nadanian

References

External links

Article about Nadanian Variation written by GM Igor Zaitsev
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunfeld Defence, Nadanian Variation Chess openings Chess in Armenia 1996 in chess