D94 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation
D94 holds six named lines, all under the name Grünfeld Defense. It leaves D90 (Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation) with 5.e3. White’s pieces and pawns attack five squares in Black’s half, the fewest of the 20 Grünfeld Defense codes. With six named lines it is the third-largest code of the 20 Grünfeld Defense codes. None of its six lines contains a capture.
| # | White | Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | d4 | Nf6 |
| 2 | c4 | g6 |
| 3 | Nc3 | d5 |
| 4 | Nf3 | Bg7 |
| 5 | e3 |
The move that completes D94
The reference line of D95 plays all of these moves and continues beyond them; D94 is the position reached at 5.e3.
- 5.e3 The e-pawn advances to e3, covering d4 and f4, opening a line for the queen on d1 and the bishop on f1.
Lines filed under D94
All six share the start 1.d4 and then split two ways at Black’s move 1.
| Name | After the shared start | Plies | At the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation | 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 | 9 | |
| Grünfeld Defense: Makogonov Variation | 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.b4 | 11 | Black castled |
| Grünfeld Defense: Opocensky Variation | 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd2 | 11 | Black castled |
| Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Paris Variation | 1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd3 | 11 | Black castled |
| Grünfeld Defense: Flohr Defense | 1...d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.O-O Bf5 | 14 | both castled |
| Grünfeld Defense: Smyslov Defense | 1...d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.O-O Bg4 | 14 | both castled |
The road to D94
- 1.d4 … 3...d5six earlier stops: A40, A45, A50, D80, E60, E61
- 4.Nf3D90 Three Knights Variation
- 4...Bg7D90 Three Knights Variation
- 5.e3D94
The position after 5.e3
White has brought out the knight on c3 and knight on f3; Black the knight on f6 and bishop on g7. Black could capture with dxc4. Black is to move and has 34 legal moves.
Codes that branch off from D94
The reference lines of one other code leave D94 from the position after 5.e3, each with its own moves.
| Code | Moves | Reference line |
|---|---|---|
| D95 | 5...O-O 6.Qb3 | Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Vienna Variation |
Closest boards in other codes
| Code | Line | Differs on |
|---|---|---|
| D91 | Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Petrosian System | four squares: c1, e2, e3, g5 |
| D92 | Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Attack | four squares: c1, e2, e3, f4 |
| D96 | Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation | four squares: d1, e2, b3, e3 |
| E90 | King’s Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Rare Defenses | four squares: e3, e4, d5, d6 |
| D80 | Grünfeld Defense | six squares: g1, e2, e3, f3, g7, f8 |
| D93 | Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Variation | six squares: c1, f4, e8, f8, g8, h8 |
| E62 | King’s Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Delayed Fianchetto | six squares: e2, g2, e3, g3, d5, d6 |
Where lines continue from here
Two named lines filed under other codes pass through the position after 5.e3. All of them belong to the codes listed above.