Winawer Countergambit

Key ideas

• After 4.dxe5 d4, Black drives the c3-knight before recovering the e5-pawn with 6...Qxe5.
• The exchange 9...dxe3 10.Bxe3 leaves Black facing White’s active bishop and faster piece development.
• Black’s 14...Re8 increases pressure along the e-file and supports active piece play against White’s center.
• Castling on 13...O-O secures Black’s king before the rook enters play with 14...Re8.

Plans for Black

• Use 5...Qa5+ to gain a useful tempo against White’s king-side development and enable 6...Qxe5.
• Develop with 10...Nc6, 11...Be7, and 12...Nf6 to bring every minor piece toward central pressure.
• After 13...O-O, place the rook on e8 with 14...Re8 and coordinate against e3.
• Keep the queen on c7 after 8...Qc7, where it supports central and kingside piece activity.

Plans for White

• White uses 5.Ne4 and 7.Ng3 to preserve the knight after Black’s advanced d4-pawn gains space.
• The sequence 8.Nf3 and 9.e3 develops with tempo against Black’s queen and challenges the d4-pawn.
• After 10.Bxe3, White develops the bishop actively and completes castling with 12.O-O.
• White’s 13.Qc2 and 14.a3 improve coordination while preparing to use the extra development safely.

Mistakes to avoid

• Recovering the e5-pawn without using 5...Qa5+ allows White’s development to proceed without the checking tempo.
• Leaving the king uncastled after White completes 12.O-O makes Black’s active pieces harder to coordinate.
• Moving the queen repeatedly after 8...Qc7 wastes the time Black needs for 10...Nc6 and 11...Be7.
• Starting rook play before completing 13...O-O can leave Black’s king exposed while White’s pieces are already active.

Target ratings

• 1600–1800 blitz: +6.2 points above the other moves, over 73,412 games
• 0–1400 blitz: +0.0 points above the other moves, over 22,719 games

Explored with: Lichess games at 1600–1800 blitz; practical search (aggressive risk); engine depth 16; 12 moves explored; from 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6; as Black.

The main line

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e5 4.dxe5 d4 5.Ne4 Qa5+ 6.Bd2 Qxe5 7.Ng3 c5 8.Nf3 Qc7 9.e3 dxe3 10.Bxe3 Nc6 11.Be2 Be7 12.O-O Nf6 13.Qc2 O-O 14.a3 Re8

Study and practice it

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