Hikaru's Blitz Repertoire Part II

Before making the second edition, I thought all the lines would be completely different. However, when I realized that two repertoires can work quite well together, I was very excited, and you should be as well!
I used only public information that anybody can find on the website https://www.openingtree.com/ + Stockfish, and my knowledge.
If you enjoy his concept, try it out, and I hope somebody will call you an anomaly one day!

Concept

The major difficulty when writing this article was to find out the concept against d4. When looking for his games, I saw that Hikaru mostly plays Nf6-e6. However, I didn't find any "concept". He just knows mainline theory and plays all kinds of alternatives on each turn. In previous years, Dutch was the third most frequently played opening (After Modern and Nf6-e6). However, the opening is super dangerous for black, and there are no enough games played by Hikaru to give some recommendations against rare and tricky systems. This is likely the reason why lately, Hikaru barely plays Dutch.
This was the moment when I realized that we could combine Modern from the previous article and Dutch!

White: The classics from Hikaru Nf3-b3
If you saw at least one stream of Hikaru, you likely noticed that with white, he plays b3-related systems. Some time ago, he played b3 on the first move. However, lately, he prefers starting with Nf3 to cancel 1..e5
Black: Modern + Caro and Modern + Dutch
I intervened and combined the lines that Hikaru plays into an interesting Mix.

The logic of the concept for Black:
1. You can combine two repertoires
2. You can avoid dangerous attacking systems
3. You still get a pattern-based repertoire where memorization of forced lines is not required

The logic of the concept for White:
1. The focus is on making similar moves and getting a solid position
2. The strategy is waiting for the opponent's mistakes
3. You cannot combine with the previous version but may add this line as a solid alternative.

White 1.Nf3 - b3

Against 1...d5 followed by Bf5/Bg4 (aka reversed London), Hikaru mostly goes for double fianchetto with d3-e4 or begins hunting the bishop by playing h3-g4 - often leading to non-standard aggressive positions.

In the case of Kings Indian, Hikaru's pet line is e3-d4, where white aims to get a standard setup with d4-c4 and has many traps along the way, including the famous dxc5-c3-Ba3 trick.

If black goes after the center by playing d5-c5, Hikaru plays e3-d4 positions where the main idea is taking on d4 with a knight and aiming for the reversed Tarrash structure after Nxc6-c4.

Lastly, in the case of QGD - the approach is pretty much the same as against d5-c5

Black: Modern + Caro

This version of a Modern defense can be used to get more solid positions and is based on a combination of g6-Bg7 and c6-d5. You can use it in case of getting crushed in a match when playing sharp a6-b5 lines.

If white doesn't close the center with e5, Hikaru always takes takes takes on e4 and plays Nf6, leading to positions similar to the Korchnoi variation in Caro.

Against the closed center, Hikaru mostly goes for a stable setup Bg4-e6 and sometimes adds f6 to breakthrough. Even though the engine doesn't like the positions, they are solid with a clear plan of attacking the d4 pawn. Important detail - black is mostly happy to see white's pawn on f4.

If white combines e4 and c4, Hikaru either still goes for d7-d5 or switches to an unusual version of KID where the aim is to close the center and exchange dark-squared bishop via h6. I also added a line with 2.h4, which was mentioned by "jisu101" in the comment section under the previous article.

Black: Modern + Dutch

Against d4, Hikaru quite often played Dutch a few years ago. I believe the optimal move order for getting the Dutch will be after d4-c4-Nf3(or g3). The point is that after playing g6-Bg7 first, black can play f5 later. Also, notice how we dodged the bullet - I recommended this move order for white in the previous article.

It is essential to pay attention to the order of moves. Black always starts with g6-Bg7 and later can potentially play f5. There are two signals to do that: Knight on f3 or pawn on g3.

Against d4-c4-e4, black obviously cannot play f5. In the previous article, I mentioned 3...d6; However, there is another move order that Hikaru occasionally uses as well. Black can play 3...Nc6 is targeting the d4 pawn. The move e5 after Nc6 is my intervention (Hikaru mostly plays d6 and tries to transpose); after Nc6-e5, black can get interesting positions with many venomous ideas.

Against the d4-c4-Nc3 move order, I still suggest playing 3...c5 followed by Bc3, which was analyzed in the previous article. Notice that we cannot play Dutch now because white simply plays e4 and get the center.
https://lichess.org/@/Gordima/blog/hikarus-blitz-repertoire-2023/uxVFPiEc

I hope Hikaru will read this article and consider returning to Dutch via my suggested move order.

Bonus! What to do against Hikaru?

I would like to suggest some lines that are not necessarily first engine choice but instead ones that prevent Hikaru from getting similar positions and can put him out of his comfort zone:
P.S. There is a chance that you won't get crushed this time. However, anomaly adoption is still the most likely outcome.

Against Nf3-b3 by Hikaru, I think the optimal way to play is c5-Nf6-g6. Even though white has many decent transpositions (such as c4), the line seems to be the most effective against the e3-d4 structure. The point is to capture on d4 and later get the center. Notice that we don't play Nc6, which is super important.

For white, I've tried to find the optimal move order against Hikaru to cancel as many tricky systems as possible. And I think I found it. The idea is to play 1.Nf3. If black plays 1...g6, we go for 2.e4. If black plays 1...f5, then we play d4, followed by aggressive London with h4-h5. And lastly, against 1...d5, we play 2.d4 and the mainlines, where getting a solid position should be easier than in other tricky systems.

• I offer coaching for players of all levels. Contact me if you want to improve your game and build an exciting and reliable repertoire. https://lichess.org/coach/Gordima

GM Gordievsky Dmitry