[%c_effect d5;square;d5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]
1. d2d4  1... g8f6  2. c2c4  2... e7e6  3. g1f3  3... b7b6 In my analysis of the Gukesh-Ding game, played in the first round, I mentioned that the Queen's Indian was no longer as popular among the elite simply because of \"opening fashion.\" Is this a good time to humbly acknowledge that I was wrong $2 Or is it still too early to condemn this once popular defense $2 4. g2g3  4... c8a6  5. d1c2 Historically one of the most dangerous lines for Black. To fight for equality, he has to face a variation in which White sacrifices a pawn but gets good compensation. 5... a6b7  6. f1g2  6... c7c5 This is the natural move and the only way to fight for equality. More than that, it's a matter of logic: if you're not going to play like this, it's better not to play the move 4...Ba6. To be honest, when I was a kid, I had great difficulty understanding the logic of putting the bishop on such a strange square: why not put it directly on the most natural diagonal with 4...Bb7 $2 One of the ideas is precisely this: moving the white queen to c2, so that in this position, the 6...c5 move is stronger since now the pawn is without queen protection after 7.d5. But white players discovered that it was possible to sacrifice this pawn, and a new chapter in opening theory began. 7. d4d5 [%c_effect d5;square;d5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] 7... e6d5  8. c4d5  8... f6d5  9. e1g1  9... f8e7  10. f1d1  10... b8c6 I have defended this position with Black three times, once in a correspondence game, a variant in which I became a grandmaster, to my complete surprise, before abandoning it completely. 11. c2f5  11... d5f6  12. e2e4  12... d7d6 Not a popular move. This reminded me of a game by the legendary Judit Polgar in which she had lost after this move. Carlsen himself played this position as White in a 2008 game—it seems like a century ago, but he already had a rating of 2775 back then. The theory here has not developed since 2010. 13. e4e5  13... d8d7 [%c_effect d7;square;d7;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] The only justification for Black's previous move. Now White has the option of exchanging queens and recovering the pawn or avoiding this exchange and continuing to fight for compensation in a sharp position. 14. f5d7  14... f6d7  15. e5d6  15... e7f6  16. d1e1  16... e8f8  17. b1c3  17... c6b4  18. f3e5  18... d7e5  19. g2b7  19... a8d8  20. e1d1  20... e5c4  21. d6d7 All this is still a theory, but I'm not sure if the players knew about it. The next move is a novelty. 21... b4c2  22. a1b1  22... c2d4 [%c_effect d4;square;d4;type;Mistake;persistent;true] This is a mistake since it allows White to open the game. 23. b2b4 [%c_effect b4;square;b4;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] An exceptional move. Now Black's position is unstable and difficult to defend. 23... d8d7 [%c_effect d7;square;d7;type;Mistake;persistent;true] A mistake never comes alone, a poet once wrote. Now Black is lost.