Lifetime Repertoires Queen’s Gambit Janowski Variation, GM Max Warmerdam

If you’ve never heard of the Janowski variation of the Queen’s Gambit, you can’t imagine how much you were missing out on.

You see, at club level, 3…a6 may only be the 10th most popular move in this position, but that doesn’t mean it’s a weak move.

The fact is, it’s perfectly sound against best play from White. And, if White doesn’t know what they’re doing, it can be lethal.

Was the Janowski Magnus’ secret weapon against 1.d4?

The Janowski variation caught the eye of Grandmaster Max Warmerdam when he noticed Magnus Carlsen played it a few times shortly after his 2018 World Championship match against Fabiano Caruana.

Max wondered, was this something Carlsen was planning to play against Caruana?

We’ll never know as Fabi opened all his games 1.e4.

But Max – an openings expert who helped GM Jorden van Foreest shock the chess world by winning the prestigious Tata Steel 2021 tournament – was curious. He wanted to discover what Magnus saw in this obscure variation.

So Max turned to Stockfish and Leela Zero. And what he found delighted him.

Not only was the Janowski variation sound. But, because it had never gotten the attention it deserves, Max was finding novelties as early as move 5!

And, in this course, he’s going to show you everything he discovered about the Janowski variation.

So what’s the point behind 3…a6?

As you probably know, the Queen’s Gambit isn’t really a gambit. That’s because, if Black takes on c4 – and then tries to hold on to the extra pawn – he’s going to get in a lot of trouble.

But here, after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 a6, Black is threatening to take the pawn and keep it. And, if White isn’t thinking, and plays 4.Nc3 – which is the most common move by amateurs in this position – Black plays 4…dxc4 and is threatening …b5

Now, with a sequence of accurate moves, White can get his pawn back. But, if anyone is better here, it’s Black.

What if White avoids this mistake?

The Janowski variation isn’t just a one-move trap. In fact, there are three advantages to 3…a6.

First – as you just saw – there’s the threat to play 4…dxc4.

Second, 3…a6 is a useful waiting move. We’re waiting for White to decide how he’s going to deal with the dxc4 threat, THEN we’ll decide where to put our pieces.

In effect, we’re forcing White to show us his hand, then we use that information against him.

Third, against the Queen’s Gambit, Black often wants to play the move …c5. But, in many lines, he first plays …c6. So it takes two moves for the pawn to reach c5.

In the Janowski variation, instead of …c6, we play …a6. Then, a few moves later, we’ll usually play …c5 in one move.

That way, we’re saving a tempo.

And 3…a6 isn’t a wasted move as the pawn can support our queenside expansion.