French Defense: The Super-Solid Rubinstein Variation

by Hannes Langrock

Overview

A Complete Black Repertoire against 1.e4 Built around the Super-solid Rubinstein! The solid Rubinstein Variation of the French Defense – despite its having been played by world champions and elite grandmasters, it has never been subjected to detailed study. The author, German International Master Hannes Langrock, has produced a book with complete coverage of this line, along with solid recommendations for Black should White deviate on the second or third move. The first edition was widely acclaimed, and the second edition has been revised and expanded. “I never realized that Black could take such active measures in the Rubinstein Variation without significant drawbacks. This book is an eye-opener, and even top grandmasters might find that they have underestimated Black’s resources in important positions…The average tournament and online player will appreciate Langrock’s straightforward, no-nonsense style. He keeps the complexity of the analysis within bounds, and highlights relevant details without drifting into obscure page-long analytical byways. General themes are clearly presented within the context of illustrative games…The result is a book that covers a broad swath of material in a modest number of pages. I’m sure that you will be well-rewarded for its study, and come out with a useful new weapon in your chess arsenal.” – International Master John Watson in his Foreword to the first edition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941270936
Publisher:	Russell Enterprises, Incorporated
Publication date:	07/26/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

German International Master Hannes Langrock is known for his thorough analysis and creative approach. His highly acclaimed book on the Morra Gambit is in its second edition.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 2

Kasparov's 7.c3

Now things are getting more serious; in this chapter we will take a look at one of the most critical tests of the Rubinstein Variation!

7.c3 [Diagram]

This move became popular after Garry Kasparov beat Ruslan Ponomariov with it in 2002 and nowadays it is played by strong grandmasters regularly. At first sight, 7.c3 looks like a shy little move which only stabilizes White's center by bolstering d4. But in reality, White has much more aggressive ideas in mind! The move c2-c3 opens the way to a4 for the queen, and if Black plays...c7-c5, White can try to pose some concrete problems with moves like Ne5, Bb5, Qa4 as well as 0-0-0.

Given White's aggressive ambitions, it is no surprise that the cautious move 7...Be7 has been tried in many games, and by strong grandmasters. The idea is to first castle short and play...b6,...Bb7, while carrying out...c7-c5 only later, when the king is safe and all pieces are developed. I thought that this concept was fine and played 7...Be7 myself in two games against stronger opponents. I lost both games, but that did not have much to do with the opening; it was a result of my own inferior play after the opening. Anyway, when I analyzed this variation deeply while working on this book, I came to the conclusion that the slow 7...Be7 is not sufficient for equality. I do not want to go into detail here and will only mention one difficult line: 8.Bd3 0-0 9.Qe2 b6 10.Bf4! Bb7 11.0-0-0. Black's problems are more difficult than the computer first thinks...

If Black wants to fully equalize, he has to go for the thematic main move 7...c5!. After 8.Ne5 Black should prevent the check on b5 and play 8...a6, when the main line goes 9.Be3 Qc7 10.Qa4+ Nd7.

[Diagram]

Now the most obvious continuation is 11.0-0-0, but after 11...cxd4 12.Nxd7 Bxd7 13.Qxd4 Bc6!, Black does not have many problems equalizing. Black's bishop is actively placed on c6 and he is ready to follow up with...Rd8. 11.0-0-0 is analyzed in the game Navara-Meier (game 6).

More critical is 11.Bb5 cxd4 12.Bxd7+ Bxd7 13.Qxd4.

[Diagram]

Now the idea to attack d7 one more time with 0-0-0 is a little awkward, so Black has to do something about this. With 13...Bb5 14.a4 Bd6 Black accepts quite a compromised pawn structure after 15.Nxf7 Kxf7 16.axb5 axb5. Meier has played this position six times and has more or less worked it out to a draw after 17.Ke2 Qc6!; see the game Socko-Meier (game 7). The second option is to keep the pawn structure intact...

Editorial Reviews

"I never realized that Black could take such active measures in the Rubinstein Variation without significant drawbacks"–-International Master John Watson in the Foreword to the first edition

From the Publisher