Gruenfeld Defense analysis

Somehow i think that the Gruenfeld defense is not a solid defense for black. This is not a versus game. i was trying by myself over the analysis board, from black perspective. It ended up in a bad position after all. Please feel free to comment / suggest or provide a study or analysis of the game.

I am not a Grünfeld player buf if it is ok for super-GMs then...

Please check the auto-analysis - if I say something it would be really harsh.

Well, I think the problem with this analysis is that most of the moves are utter nonsense. ...Nc6? ...a6? ...h6? Are just some of the obviously bad moves.

You played this really badly: 4...h6?, 6...a6?, 7...e6?, 8...Be7?, 9...o-o?, and so on and so forth, almost all errors, move after move. So the solidity of the Grünfeld Defence is not at stake, but rather your understanding of it and your understanding of chess in general.
The Grünfeld Defence has been tested at the highest level including World Championships. There are some critical lines, but Bg5 is not one of these. Grünfeld is solid, but difficult to play correctly. Maybe it is better that you switch to a more natural defence like 1...d5.

Thank you for your comments / suggestions @Sarg0n @Corridor and especially to @tpr for the critical analysis. Yes i lack understanding of the defense since i am not a professional chess player and i play chess essentially for fun and if i am not wrong then developing an understanding of chess takes years of study and practice, just like music or any other art form. It does not happen overnight, does it?

It does not happen overnight. We are not professional players either and all play chess for fun not for money. In the Grünfeld you play 2...g6. The purpose of that is to follow up with 4...Bg7. Your bishop has nothing to do on e7, b4, a5, b6. In other openings the bishop goes to e7 or to b4, but then 2...g6 makes no sense.

In the opening you must develop pieces and play in the centre. Your moves ...h6, ...a6, ...e6 do nothing to develop pieces or to control the centre.

Hi @gablusky!

You played several inaccurate moves in the opening while playing "Grunfeld Defense". Therefore, you were unable to get the desired position..

I am planning to make a study of "Grunfeld Defense" here:-


Hope this gives you some ideas on what to keep in mind while playing Grunfeld Defense. I will add more chapters soon.

Here is an example of how to play this variation. Note that black wins the endgame with his pawn majority on the queen's wing, a recurring theme in the whole Grünfeld Defence.

Thank you @saksham for the study, i will check this out now.
Thanks for posting the game @tpr

Here is another good way to play it with black. Again black wins the endgame with his pawn majority on the queen's wing.