Queen's Gambit Declined: Alatortsev variation, is there a high quality resource covering this line?

Question

I am working on my opening repertoire, and I need ways to dodge the Exchange variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined with Nge2. Many masters use the Alatortsev variation to do this.

After the following moves:

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7

We get the tabya of the above mentioned line.

There are many books about QGD that cover this line, but none does that in full detail.

Furthermore, browsing through Internet I found that there were some important theoretical novelties at the top level which were not mentioned in modern books about QGD. Unfortunately I can not provide the links now since it was more than 3 months since I last saw them.

So my question is following :

Is there a book or an online resource that covers this line in great depth with high-quality analysis?

Thank you.

Best regards.

Answer 1

Be7 avoids the QGD Exchange Variation and usually moves towards either an exchange with Bf4 or a regular QGD. If it's a regular QGD, there obviously won't be any books dedicated specifically to this variation as it will transpose to another well-known line.

The only pressing line then is the one with cxd5 and Bf4. I can't recall any books that focus specifically on this line in depth, but there have been many games played at the international level that use this variation. I would recommend exploring game databases like MegaBase and finding annotated games.

Answer 2

There are a couple of opening books that dedicate a chapter to the Alatortsev variation: The Queen's Gambit & Catalan for Black (2001) by GM Janjgava and The Queen's Gambit Declined (2007) by IM Rizzitano. The former is a repertoire book based on the move order 3.Nc3 Be7, while the latter is not.

Besides the Alatortsev variation, there are also different ways to avoid 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5. Two of them are shown in some very recent repertoire books, both published in 2018:

• 4....Nxd5 is analyzed in Play 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6! by GM Kornev
• The Nimzo-Indian move order is chosen in The Modernized Nimzo-Queen's Gambit Declined Systems by GM Pavlovic

Answer 3

There is no need for a special book on this, which is why you cannot find one that covers it much. The reason is that it simply transposes to most normal lines, but just avoids the Botvinnik Nge2 line that you are trying to avoid. There is one line that white can try that breaks from standard theory.

After 3...Be7, white really has only two main choices:

1. 4. cd ed 5. Bf4, and therefore you avoid the main line with Bg5. It can continue with 5...c6 6. e3 {still trying to play Bd3 and Nge2} Bf5, and you have avoided it.
2. 4. Nf3, and you have avoided the line you wanted to, and it transposes to mainline stuff right away.

Considering option two goes right back into mainline, the only one that anyone would consider wanting to write about is option one, and there is just not enough material that remains independent from the mainline to warrant it.

Soltis covers 3...Be7 in his book "Transpo Tricks in Chess" on page 130. He notes: "On the minus side, this order denies Black non-... .i.e7 variations, such as the Cambridge Springs, Vienna and Botvinnik."

Answer 4

Chessable.com has a video and e-book that cover this line for Black. The author (a GM) recommends a very quiet positional approach for Black which I really like. But other players with Black may want a sharper repertoire.