The Bluebaum Variation
by Yago Santiago
Last year I was once again looking for ideas against the Semi Slav, and that´s when I came across the move 5.Qc2!?. Following the research, I saw that there was a name that predominated in the games (online and OTB): Matthias Bluebaum! The German grandmaster played the variation so often and with such success that I thought it appropriate to name it after him. As we will see in the article, this idea quickly raises problems that are difficult for Black to solve, and that is why it has yielded such impressive results. Let's get concrete: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Qc2!?
White wants to play 6.e4 even if it costs a pawn. Black now has some options. I will analyse A) 5...dxc4 , B) 5...Nbd7 and C) 5...Be7.
A) 5...dxc4
In my opinion accepting the pawn sacrifice is the most critical answer. After the natural moves 6.e4 b5 7.Be2 Bb7 8.0-0
Black needs to make another decision: A1) 8...Be7 or A2) 8...Nbd7.
A1) 8...Be7. Now White has an important idea for this position: 9.Rb1!.
The results prove that this is the best move here. The main idea is to play b3 and recapture with the rook. 9... 0-0 10.b3 cxb3 (10...b4? 11.bxc4! shows another point of the rook on b1 - with the bishop hanging on b7 Black cannot capture on c3, White is simply much better here) 11.Rxb3!. Now the rook can be horizontally incorporated into the attack and also press on the b-file. 11...Nbd7 12.e5! Nd5 (12...Ne8? 13.Ne4! and White would be completely dominating the position) 13.Nxd5 cxd5 (13...exd5? 14.Bd3! h6 15.Bf5 - the positional control and the many possibilities of attacking the black king give White a decisive advantage) 14.Bxb5 Rc8 15.Qe2.
White recovered the pawn and has a very pleasant position as in the game Bluebaum,M - Nguyen,N 1-0.
A2) 8...Nbd7
9.b3!. A very important point to remember. Here 9.Rb1?! is dubious because of 9...a6! 10.b3 cxb3 11.Rxb3 c5! - Black frees his position on the queenside, and it becomes difficult to get compensation for White. 9...b4 (9...cxb3 is another possibility: 10.axb3 b4 11.Na4 Be7 12.Bf4 0-0 13.Nc5 Nxc5 14.dxc5 and White has a solid advantage like in the game Bluebaum,M - Aloma Vidal,R 1-0) 10.e5! Nd5 (10...bxc3 11.exf6 gxf6? 12.bxc4 Qa5 13.Rb1! Ba6 was played in Bluebaum,M - Tejedor Fuente,E 1-0 and now White can just play 14.Rb3!, recovering the pawn and gaining a decisive positional advantage.) 11.Bg5! Qc7 (after 11...f6? there is the strong novelty 12.Nxd5!N cxd5 13.Bf4! c3 14.Ng5! fxg5 15.Bh5+ Ke7 16.Bxg5+ Nf6 17.Rfe1!? Kd7 18.exf6 gxf6 19.Bh4 when the precarious situation of the black king gives White a decisive advantage, see Bluebaum,M - Dubov,D 1-0)
12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.bxc4 dxc4 14.Bxc4 h6.
This position occurred in Di Berardino,D - Quintiliano,R 1-0. But now White can improve with 15.Be3! and in case of 15...Bd5? 16.Bxd5!!
is decisive: 16...Qxc2 17.Bxa8 Qc8 18.Be4 Be7 19.Rac1! Qd8 20.d5! exd5 21.Bxd5 0-0 22.Bb3 Nb6 23.e6! fxe6 24.Nd4 and White is just winning..
B) 5...Nbd7
A more solid approach by Black. 6.e4 is my suggestion here: 6...dxe4 7.Nxe4 Nxe4 8.Qxe4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 0-0. 10...Nf6?! (hasty) 11.Qe3 0-0 12.Be2! (it is important to control the black knight´s jump to g4) 12...Qb6!? was played in Santiago,Y - Filgueiras,N 1-0
but now after the strong novelty 13.0-0!N Qxb2 14.Rfb1 Qc2 15.a4! Qg6 16.a5! White gets more than just compensation for the pawn, thanks to their advantage in development. 11.0-0-0 c5 12.Nf3 cxd4 13.Qxd4 Qe7 14.Bd3 Nc5 15.Bc2 b6 16.b4! Nb7 (16...Nd7?? 17.Qe4!+-)
and now 17.Qh4!? Qxh4 18.Nxh4 gives White a pleasant ending, like in the game Navara,D - Akopian,V 1-0.
C) 5...Be7
This move is a bit passive, and as we will see it will not cause any problems for White. Again my suggestion is 6.e4, when after 6...dxe4 7.Nxe4 Black has two main options.
C1) 7...Nxe4
8.Qxe4 Nd7 9.Bd3 Nf6 10.Qe2 Bb4+ 11.Bd2 Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2 0-0 13.0-0
and the space advantage gives White pleasant play after the opening, as in the game Bluebaum,M - Fiorito,J 1-0.
C2) 7...Nbd7
8.Bd3 Nxe4 9.Bxe4 Nf6 10.Bd3 0-0 11.Bd2! c5 12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.0-0-0! h6 14.Bc3
and White has a huge initiative, as we can see in the game Sethuraman,S - De Boer,E 1-0.
Conclusion: The line presented in this article has everything we look for in an opening idea: a breath of fresh air and enormous practical power - White´s results with the variation speak for themselves, my game selection features a crushing 9-0! I really believe that with careful study of the article, your results against the Semi-Slav will improve a lot. Good luck in your games!