An Anti-Gruenfeld Line Ready For Burial
This past weekend there was a very odd little game played in the Bundesliga between Peter-Heine Nielsen and Tomi Nyback. It was interesting and hard fought, but what made it odd was the choice of opening. Nielsen chose an anti-Gruenfeld line that led Cmilyte to a winning position against Lahno (though not a win - the game was drawn) in Wijk aan Zee earlier this year, but (a) the game was featured in Chess Today and other high-profile sites, eliminating any surprise value the line might have, and (b) was immediately "cured": a later Cmilyte - Lahno game saw Lahno improve and achieve an effortless draw.
As it's easy to ascertain that there are no improvements or even interesting tries after Lahno's improvement, one must think that Nielsen was either bluffing or felt so good about his team's prospects that he could waste the white pieces and a rating advantage by giving his opponent an immediate draw. If so, the strategy nearly backfired. Nyback came up with a second improvement on the original Cmilyte - Lahno game, and when White missed the best option on move 30 Black could have won the game. Fortunately for Nielsen, Nyback missed his chance, and though Black retained some edge the game was soon drawn. But seriously, folks, it's time for White to bury this variation - at least for a few years until everyone forgets about it...
You can replay the game, with my notes, here.