DDG 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.f3 c5

5...c5 leads to the most famous and perhaps the most critical line of the DDG. I believe that in addition to this move, only 5...Bb4 can cause serious problems for White.

6.Be3 is an oddity. I always thought that the simple rule is: if c5, then d5 because c4 supports it. Brause, an oddity itself, prefers Be3, though -- for a curiosity, it plays d5 in several other occasions, like after b6. 6...cxd4 7.Qxd4 Qxd4 8.Bxd4 Nc6 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nxe4 is a typical line, but exchanging pieces, especially queens, looks like a strange plan. Obviously, White should try to avoid endgame. Jim Arden has played 7.Bxd4 Nc6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.fxe4, but I do not like the resulting position. Instead of trying to regain the pawn, White should try to win time, get more space, take the initiative.

6.d5 exf3 7.Nxf3

• 7...h6 8.Bf4 Bd6 9.Ne5 Bxe5 10.Bxe5 a6 11.Be2 (11.Bd3!) O-O 12.O-O Ne8 13.Bd3 f6 14.dxe6 Nc6 15.Bh7+! Kxh7 16.Qxd8 Nxd8 17.e7 Ne6 18.exf8Q Nxf8 19.Rae1 Kg8 20.Nd5 Ng6 21.Bg3 Kf7 22.Rxe8 1-0, Heikkinen - Korhonen, 1991.
• 7...Bd6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Ne4 Qe7 11.Nxd6+ Qxd6 12.Bd3 e5 13.Qe2 Nd7 14.Bf5 O-O 15.O-O Re8 16.Rae1 g6 17.Bxd7 Bxd7 18.Qe3 g5 19.Nxe5!! f6 20.Qe4 fxe5 21.Rf7! 1-0, Brause - itz, FICS 1996 .
• 7...Qa5?! 8.Bg5 Be7 9.d6 Bd8 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 12.Qe2 O-O 13.fxe4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Bxg5 15.Qxb7 Rfe8+ 16.Ne2 Rxe2+!? 17.Kxe2 Re8+ 18.Kf2 Be3+ 19.Kf3 Qd8 20.Ne4, 1-0 in 34, Brause - MeWithMyself, ICS 1997. Black's attack looked promising. Interesting alternatives are 8.Bd3 and 8.Bf4 Ne4 9.Bd3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Qxc3+ 11.Kf2.
• 7...a6 8.Bd3 exd5 9.cxd5 Nbd7 10.O-O Nb6 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Re1+ Kf8 14.Qe2 Bg4 15.Rad1 h5 16.h3 Bd4+ 17.Kh1 Rh6, draw in 31, Heikkinen - de Vathaire, corr. 1997.

6...Be7?! 7.fxe4 exd5 8.exd5 O-O 9.Bd3 Re8 10.Nge2 Ng4 11.O-O Bd6 12.Nf4 Ne3 13.Bxh7+ Kxh7 14.Qh5+ Kg8 15.Bxe3 Rxe3 16.Ne6 Qe7?? (16...fxe6 17.Qf7+ =) 17.Ng5 Bxh2+ 18.Kh1 Qxg5 19.Qxg5 Bc7 20.Qxe3 1-0, Heikkinen - demosthnes, Zone 1996.

6...exd5 7.cxd5 is the main line.

• 7...exf3
• 7...Bd6
• 7...Bf5?

7...exf3

B

• 8...Na6 9.Bf4 Bd6? 10.Qe2+ (10.Bb5+ Kf8) Qe7? 11.Bxd6 1-0, Heikkinen - Kuru, 1988.
• 8...a6 9.Be2 b5 10.O-O b4 11.Re1 Be7 12.Bc4 O-O 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Rxe4 Bb7 15.Qe1 Bf6 16.Be3 Nd7 17.Qf2 Rc8 18.Rd1 Qa5 19.Bg5 Bxg5 20.Nxg5 Nb6 21.Nxh7 Nxc4 22.Nf6+ 1-0, Heikkinen - Aapola, 1990. This was the very first non-blitz DDG game of mine. I had played several blitz DDG games against Aapola before, so there was no extra shock of meeting the DDG for the first time -- except maybe in a non-blitz game. Thanks to this game, I started to believe that there may be something in the DDG for non-blitz games, too.
• 8...b6
  • 9.Bg5 Be7 10.Bb5+ Bd7 (10...Kf8) 11.d6 (11.O-O) Bxb5 12.Nxb5 Bf8?? (12...O-O) 13.Nc7+ Kd7 14.Ne5+ Kc8 15.Nxf7 1-0, Maier - Branewski, 1974. This is the only DDG game in Bill Wall's 500 French Miniatures: Volume 2 (1995).
  • 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.O-O Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Qxd5 12.Re1+ Be7 13.Bb5+ Nd7 14.Qe2! O-O-O 15.Qxe7 Rhe8 16.Qxe8 Rxe8 17.Rxe8+ Kc7 18.Bf4+ 1-0, Heikkinen - Kokkila, 1991. With his 2625 rating, IM Kokkila was a top 30 correspondence player in 1996.
• 8...Bg4 9.Be3 (9.Bb5+ is better) Qe7 (9...a6 10.Bd3 b5 11.O-O Bd6 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 O-O 14.Bg5 Nbd7 15.Ne4 Be7 16.d6 Bxd6 17.Nxd6 c4 18.Bc2? h6 19.Bxh6 gxh6 20.Qf4 Kg7 21.Nf5+ 1-0, Heikkinen - Puusa, 1995) 10.Bb5+ Nbd7 11.Qe2 a6 12.d6 (12.Bc4) Qxd6 (12...Qe6 13.Bc4 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Qe5 =/+) 13.Bc4 Be7 14.Rd1 Qc6 15.Bf4 Bxf3 (15...O-O) 16.gxf3 b5? 17.Bd5 Nxd5 18.Nxd5 Qe6 19.Nc7+ 1-0, Heikkinen - Puusa, 1995.
• 8...Bf5 9.Bg5 transposes to this game: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.e4 dxe4 6.d5 Nf6 7.Bg5 Bf5 8.f3 exf3 9.Nxf3 Nbd7 10.Bd3 Qe7+ 11.Kf1 Bxd3+ 12.Qxd3 O-O-O 13.Nb5 Ne5 14.Qf5+ Qd7 15.Nxa7+ Kb8 16.Qxd7 Rxd7? 17.Nxe5, 1-0 in 28, Galvin - Konkol, IECC 1996. I love these transpositions.
• 8...Qd6? 9.Nb5 Qb6 10.Qe2+ Kd8 11.Ng5 Nxd5 12.Nxf7+ Kd7 13.Ne5+ Kd8 14.Bg5+ Be7 15.Bxe7+ Kxe7 16.Ng6+ Kf6 17.Nxh8 1-0, Heikkinen - Puusa, 1996.
• 8...Be7 9.Bd3 Bd7 10.O-O Qb6 11.Kh1 Na6 12.Qe2 Ng4 13.Bf4 Nb4 14.d6 Nxd3?? 15.Qxe7# 1-0, Heikkinen - phydeaux, Zone 1996.
• 8...g6? 9.Bg5 (9.Bf4! Bd6 10.Bb5+) Bg7 10.Ne4 Bf5 11.Bb5+ Nbd7 12.Bxd7+ Bxd7 13.Nd6+ Kf8 14.Ne5 Qa5+ 15.Kf2 Qb6 16.Ndc4 Qa6 17.Qf3 Bf5 18.Rhe1, 1-0 later, Heikkinen - Kohvakka, 2002.

But seriously, Black should forget the dubious moves above, and play the one that is the real test for the DDG: 8...Bd6 and Black has clear advantage [Keres]. Period. This assessment is copied to all the few books that even mention the DDG, but not a single move is ever given after that. My conclusion is that masters can probably defend against White's threats quite easily, and eventually win with the extra pawn. But most of us (95 % of the rated players are non-masters) surely do not believe that the game is now over.

At first, I thought that the following lines looked promising for White. I asked IM John Watson what is wrong with them, and he suggested simple improvements for Black. His bust for 9.Bb5+, which I had not tried by then, is still to be seen...

A) 9.Bd3

• 9...O-O! [Watson] 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 a6 13.Bc2 (13.Ne4) Qc7 14.Qd3 b5 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Qxe4 g6 17.Rae1, 0-1 in 30, Heikkinen - Kalle2000, Zone 1996.
• 9...Qe7+ 10.Be2 O-O 11.O-O Bg4 12.Bg5 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 Qe5 14.Bxf6 Qxh2+ 15.Kf2 Nd7 16.Ne4 Nxf6 17.Nxf6+ gxf6 18.Rh1 Qg3+ 19.Kf1 Rfe8 20.Qd3 Qg6, 0-1 in 33, Heikkinen - morten, Zone 1996. Even more dubious are 10.Ne2?! Nxd5 11.Bb5+ Bd7 12.Bxd7+ Qxd7 -/+ and 10.Kd2?! O-O 11.Kc2 h6 12.h3 a6 13.g4 b5 14.g5 hxg5 15.Bxg5 c4 16.Be4 b4, 0-1 in 29, Heikkinen - Segerberg, corr. 1996.

B) 9.Bc4 O-O 10.O-O Bg4 11.Bg5

• 11...a6 12.Ne4 b5 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Bd3, 1-0 in 67, Smith - Robert, 1996.
• 11...h6 12.Bh4 Re8 intending 13...Nbd7 gives White nothing for a pawn [Watson].
• 11...Nbd7 12.Ne4 Be5 may be playable, too.

C) 9.Bb5+

9...Bd7 10.O-O (Brause has repeatedly played 10.Qe2+ Qe7 11.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 12.Qxe7+ Kxe7 13.O-O with good success.) 10...O-O

• 11.Bd3 Bg4
  • 12.Bg5 Nbd7 13.Ne4 Qb6?! 14.Nxf6+ Nxf6 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Kh1 Qxb2 17.Rb1 Qxa2 18.Rxb7 Rab8 19.Bb1 Qc4 20.Rxa7 Qf4 (20...Rb2! 21.h3 Bc8 22.Ra4 Qc3 23.Qc1 Qxc1 24.Rxc1 =+) 21.Qc2 f5? (21... Rxb1! 22.Rxb1 Bf5 23.Qd1 Bxb1 24.Qxb1 Rb8 =+ or 22.Qxb1 Bxf3 -+) 22.Ra3 Rb4 23.g3 Qe4 draw, Motta - Sutton, 1991.
  • 12.Qc2 h6 13.Be3 Bxf3 (13...a6 14.Qd2 Nbd7 15.Bxh6! gxh6 16.Qxh6 Re8 17.Ng5 +-) 14.Rxf3 (14.gxf3!?) Ng4 15.Bf4 c4 16.Bf5 (16.Bxc4 Nxh2 17.Bxh2 Bxh2+ 18.Kxh2 Qh4+ -/+) Nf6 17.Raf1 Bxf4 18.Rxf4 Nxd5 19.Nxd5 Qxd5 20.Rxc4, 1-0 in 44, Evans - Heikkinen, corr. 1997.
• 11.Bg5 Bxb5?! 12.Nxb5
  • 12...a6 13.Nxd6 Qxd6 14.Nh4 Nbd7 15.Nf5 Qb6 16.Qf3 Kh8 17.Rf2 Rae8 18.Nxg7! Re5 19.Nf5 Rxd5 20.Bh6 Re8 21.Bg7+ Kg8 22.Bxf6 1-0, de Vathaire - Heikkinen, corr. 1997.
  • 12...Qb6 13.Bxf6 Qxb5 14.Ng5!! 1-0, Heikkinen - Bongiovanni, corr. 1999.

9...Nbd7

• 10.O-O O-O 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4
  • 12...a6 13.Bxd7 Bxd7 14.Ne4 Bf4 favors Black, according to Schiller's analysis in Unorthodox Chess Openings (1998), but one move changes the assessment altogether: 15.Nfd2! +-.
  • 12...Re8 13.Nd2!? g5 14.Nc4 Bf8 15.Qf3 gxh4 16.Bxd7 Nxd7 17.Qxf7+, 1-0 in 38, Heikkinen - Rebel Decade, 1996 !. A piece down, White managed to keep the initiative and utilize the open lines. This is definitely one of my greatest DDGs.
• 10.Qe2+ Qe7 11.Qxe7+ Bxe7 12.Bf4 Nh5 13.Bc7 O-O 14.O-O-O a6 15.Bd3 b5 16.Rhe1 Bf6 17.Bd6 Rd8 18.Ne4 c4 19.Be2 g6 20.g4 Ng7 21.g5 Nf5 22.Bc7 Re8 23.Nxf6+ Nxf6 24.gxf6 Ne3 25.Rd2 Bf5 26.Be5 Rad8 27.d6 1-0, Brause - RankandFile, FICS 1996.

D) 9.Bg5

• 9...Nbd7 10.Bb5 a6 (10...O-O! -/+ [Watson]) 11.Bxd7+ Bxd7 12.Ne4 Bg4 13.Qa4+ Kf8 14.Nxf6 gxf6 15.Bh6+ 1-0, Comley - Pätzold, IECG 1995. There is also Chessmaster 3000 analysis on the game. Since the mid-80's, Comley has been playing the DDG, or the Comley Gambit, as it became known in South Wales. He even had some good players stop playing the French Defence against him because of it.
• 9...h6 10.Qe2+ Kf8 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Ne4 Qe7 13.Nxd6 Qxd6 14.Qe5?! Qxe5+ 15.Nxe5 Nd7 16.Nf3 Ke7, 0-1 in 65, Brause - scriabin, FICS 1996.

E) 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O h6 11.Nb5 Nxd5 12.Qb3 Bf4 13.Rfd1 Bxc1 14.Raxc1 Be6 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.Qxc3 Qb6 17.Qxc5 Qxb2 18.Rd2 Qb6 19.Qxb6 axb6 20.Rc7 Rxa2 21.Rxa2 Bxa2 22.Rxb7 Bd5 23.Rxb6 Nd7 24.Rb5 Nf6 25.Rc5 draw, Maciulewicz - Visser, DDGA 1996.

F) 9.Qe2+!? Qe7 10.Nb5

• 10...Kd7 11.Nxd6 Qxe2+ 12.Bxe2 Kxd6 13.Bf4+ Ke7 14.O-O-O (14.d6+!?) Re8 15.Rhe1 Kf8 16.Bd6+ Kg8 17.Bxc5 Bf5 18.Bb4 Nbd7 19.Nh4 Be4 20.Bb5 Rec8+ 21.Bc3 Nc5 22.d6 a6 23.d7 Rd8 24.Bxf6 gxf6 25.Bc4 f5 26.g4 Nxd7 27.gxf5 Nf6 28.Re3 b5 draw, Tanti - Heikkinen, DDGA 1997.
• 10...O-O?? 11.Qxe7 Bxe7 12.Nc7 Bf5 13.Nxa8 Nxd5 14.Bc4 Nb4 15.O-O Nc2 16.Ne5 1-0, Brause - JamesD, ICS 1997.

7...Bd6

• 9.Bg5 Re8
  • 10.Qc2 h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Nf3 a6 13.Be2 Nd7 14.O-O-O b5 15.Rhe1 Ne5, Zinn - Golz, 1958 !.
  • 10.Qf3 Be5 11.Bb5 Bg4?? 12.Bxf6 Bxf3 13.Bxd8 Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Rxe4+ 15.Kf2 1-0, Heikkinen - Paukku, 2003.
• 9.Nf3 Re8 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Qd3 Nd7 13.O-O-O Ne5 14.Qe2? Bg4, 0-1 in 61, Heikkinen - Kalle2000, Zone 1996.

7...Bf5?

7...Bf5? can be handled too easily.

A) 8.fxe4 Bg4 +/=, or Black could even fall into one of these traps:

• 8...Qe7? 9.d6 Qe6 10.Qa4+ Nc6 11.Bc4 +-.
• 8...Bxe4?? 9.Nxe4! Qe7 10.Bd3! +-.Worse is 9.Qa4+ Nbd7 10.Nxe4 Qe7 11.Bd3 b5! 12.d6 Qe6 13.Bxb5 Qxe4+ 14.Qxe4+ Nxe4 15.Bc6 O-O-O +/=.
• 8...Nxe4?? 9.Nxe4 +- (9.Qa4+? Nd7 10.Nxe4 Qh4+ -+) Bxe4 (9...Qe7 10.Bd3! +/-) 10.Qa4+ Nc6 11.Qxe4+ Ne7?? (11...Qe7) 12.Bb5+ 1-0, Heikkinen - Puusa, 1996.

B) 8.g4!?

• 8...Bg6 9.g5 Nh5 10.fxe4 Bd6 11.Bb5+ Nd7 12.Nf3 O-O 13.Bd2 Re8 14.Qc2 a6 15.Bd3 b5 16.O-O-O Ne5 17.Nxe5 Bxe5 18.Rde1 Qd6 19.Ne2 c4 20.Ng3 cxd3 21.Qxd3 Rac8+ 22.Kb1 Rc4 23.Qf3 Nxg3 24.hxg3 Rxe4 25.Rxe4 Bxg3 26.Re1 Bxe1 0-1, Jakob - SKesha, ICS 1997.
• 8...Nxg4!? 9.fxg4 Qh4+ 10.Kd2 Qf2+ 11.Qe2 e3+ 12.Kd1 Bxg4 13.Qxg4 Qxf1+ 14.Kc2 unclear.
• 8...Nxd5? 9.Qxd5 Qh4+ 10.Ke2 exf3+ 11.Nxf3 Qxg4 12.Qxb7 Bd6 13.Rg1 Qb4 14.Qxb4, 1-0 in 24, Heikkinen - Mayers, 1996.