The Vienna, Rewritten: The …dxc4, e4, …b5! Counterstrike
For most of its life, the Vienna Variation asked Black to walk a tightrope. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4, the classical road ran through 5…Bb4 — the pin on c3, the threat of …Nxe4, and behind them a thick layer of forcing theory that every prepared opponent had already memorized.
GM Baadur Jobava and GM Pier Luigi Basso take a sharper turn. Grab the pawn on c4 and keep it, then answer 5.e4 with the immediate 5…b5 — defending the extra c4-pawn before White can round it up, and steering the game into wild, unbalanced positions where Black can also be the one playing for a win from move five.
Why this version of the Vienna
The point of 5…b5 is not the pawn; it is the initiative. Black provokes 6.e5, opens the long diagonal for the light-squared bishop, and races ahead in development while White is still untangling the pieces. After the critical 6.e5 Nd5 7.Nxb5 Nb6, the position is quite double-edged: Black concedes a slightly loose pawn on c4 and gets active pieces, pressure on d4, and a clear plan in return.
The early …b5 counterstrike is already trusted at the top level, and the appeal is practical — it sidesteps the heaviest main-line theory and pushes the game toward rich middlegames where understanding matters more than memory.
The authors and their thinking
Jobava, one of the most inventive attacking players of his generation, is the natural advocate for this approach, and his introduction sets the tone: forget the dusty theory, take the pawn, play b5, and unsettle the opponent before the real game begins. Basso supplies the rigor, answering every White try in turn so the fireworks rest on a sound foundation. The two voices complement each other — the idea and the theoretical repertoire behind it.
Variation map
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 — the Vienna
5.e3 — the quiet approach, heading for a calm Queen's Gambit Accepted — 5…a6
- 6.Bxc4 → Chapter 1
- 6.a4 b6!? (the ambitious fianchetto, fighting for the centre) → Chapter 2
5.Qa4+ and 5.Bg5 — the tricky sidelines → Chapter 3
5.e4 b5!? — the counterstrike
- 6.Nxb5 (grabbing the pawn; Black's pieces spring to life) → Chapter 4
- 6.e5 Nd5 7.Nxb5 Nb6 — the main tabiya:
- 8.Be3 → Chapter 5
- 8.Be2 Nc6 9.O-O Be7 10.Be3 → Chapter 6
- 8.Be2 Nc6 9.O-O Be7 10.Qd2!? (Modern Line) → Chapter 7
- 8.a3 and 8.a4 → Chapter 8
- 8.h4 and 9.h4 → Chapter 9
- 8.Bg5 and 9.Bg5 → Chapter 10
What's inside
- 10 chapters
- 20 test positions
- Memory Booster
- To Go version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, and Spanish)
The same attitude against 1.e4
If you want to meet 1.e4 with equal ambition, Jobava and Basso offer a comparably aggressive answer for Black in The Fighting Lowenthal Sicilian, where Black again plays for the initiative straight out of the opening.
Take the pawn, then take the initiative
If your idea of a good game with Black is one where you set the terms, this Vienna delivers exactly that — a repertoire designed to drag the opponent onto unfamiliar ground and keep him solving problems from the fifth move on. Grab the pawn, go for …b5, and play for the win.
INTRODUCTION BY GM BAADUR JOBAVA
SAMPLE CHAPTER
SAMPLE VIDEO