Last time, we concluded that in the following position, Black shouldn’t exchange their knight on e5 for White’s light squared bishop. I asked you to come up with candidate moves for Black that make more sense.
A bit of context: This position comes from a Modern Benoni. This is a 1.d4 opening where White responds to the …c5 break with d4-d5. Black plays …e6 and …exd5, and White recaptures cxd5. This results in the unbalanced pawn structure in the diagram. White often plays for an eventual e4-e5 central breakthrough, while …b5 is a major source of counterplay for Black. Of course, there are many other plans available to both sides: For example, White often strives to bring a knight to the c4 square, while Black can sometimes generate a sacrificial attack on the kingside.
13…g5 might be the most interesting candidate offered by the engine. …g4 is coming next, and White needs to be careful not to come under a serious attack! After 14.Bf1 g4
It’s too dangerous for White to take on g4 and invite …Nfxg4. He is advised to bail out with 15.f4, when 15…gxf3 16.Nxf3 Nfd7 turns e5 into an outpost.
Returning to the initial position:
13…Rb8 is a very playable choice, hoping to organize the …b5 pawn break in the future.
Or, if you have more aggressive intentions, 13…Nh5 immediately threatens to sacrifice on h3!
If Black got to move again, he would take on h3 and then bring the queen into the attack, with the cavalry menacingly poised. White is advised to take prophylactic measures with 14.Bf1, when a full game lies ahead.
I hope you found this detour into the Modern Benoni middlegame interesting! Check back next week for another decision related to exchanging – or not exchanging – the pieces.