The Ragozin Defense

The Ragozin Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4) is at the forefront of chess theory. With the surge of 3.Nf3 as an answer to Nimzo-Indian set-ups and with the difficulties that the black players have suffered with the Queen’s Indian, it was natural to turn to the Ragozin as a solid and reliable way to counter white’s set-ups. The Ragozin is being played by every top grandmaster in the world - it is time you also add it to your repertoire to get interesting and dynamic positions against 1. d4! The DVD is based around a solid system of play for Black. It favors positions that are strategically complex while trying to minimize any claim that White might have at an opening advantage. The lines given are the latest word in theoretical knowledge. We analyze every single move that White can play once the Ragozin is reached, but due to several transpositional possibilities we always emphasize why we are playing our own moves and which strategic goals we keep in mind. My motivation for doing the Ragozin stemmed in my own search for an opening that would allow me to play interesting chess without an insurmountable amount of risk. Although I believe in the Benko Gambit, it is not possible to play every game down a pawn! The Nimzo-Indian set-ups are currently the most popular way of meeting 1.d4, and inside that the Ragozin is the variation that is surging as the most theoretically important.