Fantasy Variation 3.
f3
Fantasy Variation 3.f3
[GM Swapnil Dhopade]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 This is a
strange move to play in the opening.
White keeps the pawn structure in
the centre intact but this weakens his
kingside a bit.
This variation is also known as the
fantasy variation and leads to
dynamic positions in many variations.
3...g6!? This is an interesting way for
black to play against 3.f3
[ 3...e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 is the main way
to play here for black. ]
4.Nc3
[ 4.e5 is not principled as White will
have to play f4 at some point,
meaning that he just lost a tempo
with 3.f3. c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Be3
Here, I would suggest a direct
approach to attacking white center,
especially considering the lost
tempo. cxd4!?N 7.cxd4 f6!? 8.f4
( In case of 8.exf6 exf6 Black gets
an easy development and has no
problems whatsoever. Black would
like to play his knight to f5. ) 8...Nh6
9.Nf3 Bg4 This is a typical
maneuver in such structures. The
bishop is happily exchanged for f3-
knight, so that the knights on c6
and f5 can attack d4-pawn more
easily. At the same time, black
light-squared bishop was not such
GM Swapnil Dhopade
a great piece, so exchanging it
makes a lot of sense. Black gets
good play. ]
[ 4.c3 is an interesting way to
support both central pawns;
however, white knights lose their
most natural development squares,
f3 and c3, which is a concession,
after all. Bg7
A) In case of 5.Bg5 dxe4!?N
Once again I prefer to play in
the spirit of Alekhine defence.
6.fxe4 Nf6 We saw in the
previous variation how Black
does not mind White pushing
the e-pawn forward because we
can later attack it with f6 or
undermine with c5. In this case,
White plays more conservatively
with 7.Nd2 ( or 7.Bd3 0-0
8.Nf3 c5 ) 7...h6 I think that this
is the precise way. ( 7...0-0
8.Ngf3 c5 is also playable,
resembling Gruenfeld defense a
bit, although this is of course an
original position. ) 8.Bh4 0-0
9.Ngf3 c5 10.d5
Before undermining the d-pawn,
Black has to play g5 11.Bg3 e6
12.d6 Nh5 13.Bf2 b6!
with a dynamic position.;
B) In case of 5.Be3?! dxe4
6.fxe4 Nf6 somehow the bishop
does not feel comfortable on e3,
as we can see from the following
4
 Fantasy Variation 3.f3
variation: 7.Nd2 Ng4 8.Qe2 e5
9.Ngf3 Nxe3 10.Qxe3 Nd7!?
Black keeps the tension in the
center. His bishop pair should
give him better chances in the
long run.;
C) 5.Na3 This is computer's first
choice. 5...dxe4!?N This is a new
approach. We try to play in the
spirit of Alekhine defence,
tempting white pawns to move
forward: 6.fxe4 Nf6
C1) A similar policy can be
used in case of: 7.Bd3 0-0
8.Nf3 c5!? 9.d5 e6 10.d6
Ng4 11.Bc2 Nc6 It is not
immediately clear whether the
pawn on d6 is weak or strong,
but practice has shown that in
such cases often the former is
true. I would take Black in a
practical game. ( 11...a6
is also possible. );
C2) 7.e5 Nd5 8.Nf3 0-0
and Black is ready to
undermine the central pawn
chain with ...f6 or ...c5, using
his lead in development. An
interesting middlegame is
ahead. ]
4...Bg7 5.Be3
[ 5.Nge2 This has been played in a
few games, but it seems illogical to
lock your own bishop on f1. Black
can obtain excellent play in the
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center with a thematic sequence:
dxe4! 6.fxe4 e5! and Black is likely
to have a better pawn structure. ]
[ 5.e5 f6 6.f4 Normally, it would
be White to play in this position if
it would arise from 1.e4-c6 2.d4-d5
3.Nc3-g6 4.e5 move order. Nh6!
7.Nf3 Bg4 as we have seen in 4.e5
variation, our idea is simple:
exchange the light-squared bishop
for f3-knight. In this case, the
pressure on d4 is not as strong as
in 4.e5 variation, so Black will have
to develop more patiently. We will
go for short castle and ...e6, ...Nf5,
slowly preparing attack on d4-
pawn. We should also keep in
mind that White's dark-squared
bishop is bounded by its own
pawn structure. ]
5...Qb6 6.Qd2 The 'poisoned pawn'
gambit is the critical variation.
[ 6.exd5? is an inferior version of
giving the b2-pawn because after
Qxb2 White has to defend the c3-
knight with 7.Nge2 which makes
his kingside development quite
awkward. Nf6 8.dxc6 Nxc6!N
This new and sensible move gives
Black excellent chances. One of the
points can be seen in the following
forced variation: 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.d5
Nb4! 11.Qd2 Nbxd5! - a very nice
tactical shot! 12.Rb3 Qd6 13.Nxd5
Nxd5 14.Rd3 Be6 15.c4 Nxe3!
5
 Fantasy Variation 3.f3
The key move. 16.Rxd6 Nxc4
17.Qb4 Nxd6 As a result of this
nice combination, Black has
obtained two pawns, bishop and
rook against for the queen. But
more importantly, with white king
still stuck in the center and weak
dark squares around it, Black has
better chances in this position
with imbalanced mterial. ]
[ 6.a3 is a typical way to defend the
b-pawn indirectly (Qxb2? Na4!).
However, Black can show another
point of Qb6 with the following
move: e5! d4-pawn is pinned,
which means that Black gets
excellent counterplay in the center
after this move. 7.Nge2 Ne7
8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Ra2 Qb6 10.dxe5
Qd8 11.f4 0-0 12.g3 Nd7
After all, Black completes his
development and I believe that he
can only be better following Nd7-
b6-c4 maneuver. ]
[ 6.Na4 Qa5+ 7.c3 is another
reasonable option for White. Here,
I like the direct e5!? ( while a more
positional 7...Nd7 is also possible.
8.b4 Qc7 9.e5 with a maneuvering
battle ahead. ) 8.dxe5N This is an
improvement over the game move.
( 8.exd5?! has been played
previously, when we can improve
Black's play with Ne7!N aiming to
speed up development at the cost
GM Swapnil Dhopade
of a pawn. This is a very logical
idea considering White's awkward
piece coordination. 9.dxe5 Bxe5
10.d6 Nf5 11.Bf2 Nxd6
Black has a very nice position. )
8...Ne7! 9.Nc5!? and here Black has
his options to play ...Nd7 or ...Be5
in both ways Black has no
problems. But let's capture the
pawn on e5 right away to make it
simple. Bxe5 10.Nh3 Nd7 11.Nd3
Bg7 Black is OK. ]
[ 6.Rb1 is just too passive. Black
can strike in the center, once again:
dxe4! 7.fxe4 e5 8.Nf3 Nd7 9.Bc4
exd4 10.Nxd4 Qb4 and Black's
active piece play, coupled with a
structural weakness on e4 promise
him good chances. ]
6...Qxb2 7.Rb1 Qa3 8.exd5
It makes the most sense to take the
pawn.
[ 8.h4?! tried by Morozevich in
2009 against Leko, looks
interesting, but objectively it's
dubious. h5! This is the most
practical response, eliminating any
play along the h-file. 9.exd5 ( After
9.Nh3 Nd7! was a very strong
response by Krasenkow. The knight
is headed toward the ideal b6-
square, taking under control c4, d5
and blocking the rook on b1.
10.exd5 Nb6 11.dxc6 bxc6
12.Ng5 Nh6 in the game Jones-
6
 Fantasy Variation 3.f3
Krasenkow, 2007, 0-1 ) 9...Nf6
Compared to the main line,
inclusion of h4-h5 can only favor
Black! 10.Bc4 0-0!N 11.Nge2 Rd8
12.dxc6 Nxc6!? and Black should
be preferred here. ]
[ In the event of 8.Bd3 Black has a
pleasant choice between
A) and 8...Nd7!? which is very
similar to the main line after
A1) 9.Nge2? is a bit
inaccurate since after dxe4!
10.Nxe4 ( 10.fxe4 e5! )
10...Ngf6 11.0-0 0-0!N
White has very little to show
for the pawn.;
A2) In case of 9.e5
I can propose the following
novelty: Nb6!?N 10.Nge2 f6
11.Nb5!? cxb5 12.Rb3 Qxa2
13.Nc3 Qa1+ 14.Rb1 Qa5
15.Rxb5 Qa3 16.Rb3 Qa5
17.Rb5 Qa6 18.Rb4 Nc4
19.Nxd5 Nxd2 20.Bxa6 bxa6
21.Nc7+ Kd8 22.Nxa8 a5
23.Rb5 Nc4 It was kind of
forced until here and the
computer prefers Black in the
final position.;
A3) 9.exd5 Ngf6 10.dxc6
bxc6 11.Nge2 0-0 12.0-0
Ba6=;
B) 8...dxe4 9.fxe4 e5 10.Nf3
exd4
B1) than 11.Nxd4?! Qe7!N
GM Swapnil Dhopade
12.Nb3 Nd7 13.0-0 Be5!!
It is essential to block the e-
pawn ( as 13...Ngf6??
would run into big problems
after 14.e5!!+- );
B2) 11.Bxd4!N This is better
11...Bxd4 12.Nxd4 Nd7
13.0-0 White has some
compensation for the pawn
due to his lead in
development, but Black
should be okay with precise
play: Ne5 14.Nf3 Qc5+
15.Kh1 Ne7= 16.Nxe5
( Move repetition is possible
here: 16.Qg5 Nd7 17.Qd2
Ne5= ) 16...Qxe5 17.Bc4 0-0
18.Bxf7+ Kg7! and Black is
fine. ( 18...Rxf7 19.Qd8+ Kg7
20.Rxf7+ Kxf7 21.Rf1+ Nf5
22.exf5 gxf5 is rather
unclear. )]
8...Nf6 9.dxc6
[ 9.Rb3? doesn't make sense as it
only helps Black recentralize his
queen. Qd6!N 10.Bf4 Qd8
11.dxc6 Nxc6 12.Bb5 Be6 ]
[ is also far from ideal for White in
the view of: 9.Bc4?! 0-0 10.Nge2
Rd8!?N 11.Rb3 Qa5 12.Bh6
Once again, it is important to
quickly bring the knight into the
game: Nbd7! ( It would not be
that good to play 12...cxd5
since after 13.Bd3 the center
7
 Fantasy Variation 3.f3

would be blocked, so Black would 14.Nb3 0-0-+ ]

have difficulties achieving 10...0-0 11.Nge2
counterplay against White's [ 11.Rb3 Qa5 12.Nge2 Nbd7
thematic kingside attack with h4- 13.0-0 Ba6!?= ]
h5, etc. ) 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.h4 h6 11...Nbd7 12.0-0 Ba6= 13.Rb3
15.dxc6 bxc6 with an active Qa5 This position has been seen
position and better pawn structure many times in practice. Overall, Black
for Black. ] should be slightly better thanks to his
9...bxc6 better coordinated pieces and better
[ 9...Nxc6 is also possible but is structure. 14.Bxa6 Qxa6 15.Re1
more complicated than the text. ] Rfd8= with a plan to attack White's
10.Bd3 light squared weaknesses with moves
[ 10.Bc4 This is a more active like Nb6, etc.
development of the bishop, but it
will run into Nd7-b6 tempo later.
0-0 11.Nge2
A) 11...Ba6 is also completely
fine for Black. 12.Qd3 ( 12.Rb3
Qa5 13.Bxa6 Qxa6 14.0-0
Nbd7 transposes to 10.Bd3 )
12...Bxc4 13.Qxc4 Rc8!?N
14.0-0 Nbd7 and I prefer Black
here due to the better pawn
structure.;
B) 11...Nbd7 12.0-0 Nb6
13.Bd3 Ba6 14.Rb3 Qa5
Once again, Black should be
slightly better after the
exchange of bishops. ]
[ 10.Nge2?! makes little sense.
Nbd7 ]
[ 10.Rb3?! Qa5 11.Bc4 Nbd7 ]
[ 10.Bf4?! Nbd7 11.Bc7 Nb6!
12.Nge2? Be6!N 13.Nc1 Nfd7!?
not to allow White to play Be5.

GM Swapnil Dhopade 8