Grünfeld Defense, Exchange Variation

In the Grünfeld Defense, Exchange Variation, Black develops the knight that starts next to the king, advances the g-pawn, and then advances the d-pawn to d5 against White's center. White captures that pawn with the c-pawn and Black's knight recaptures on d5. White often drives that knight away with the e-pawn, after which knights can be exchanged on c3, leaving White with several connected central pawns, meaning pawns on neighboring files that can protect one another.

The position can look favorable to White because those pawns control a great deal of space. The center, however, also becomes a target. Black fianchettoes the bishop on the king's side, meaning Black moves the g-pawn and develops that bishop to g7. Black then commonly attacks the d4-pawn with a c-pawn advance to c5, active pieces, and pressure along the long diagonal. The central Grünfeld question is whether White can use and advance the pawn center before Black undermines it.

The Exchange Grünfeld creates a center to attack

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Startcxd5Nxd5e4Nxc3bxc3Bg7Nf3c5

cxd5 defines the variation: White exchanges Black's pawn to prepare broader central occupation.

White chooses the central exchange

The capture removes Black's advanced pawn and leads to a highly unbalanced structure.

1. cxd5 defines the variation: White exchanges Black's pawn to prepare broader central occupation.

Exchange Variation does not mean a quiet or symmetrical position here. Its essence is the imbalance between White's broad pawn center and Black's highly active pressure against it. Compared with the King's Indian Classical Variation, the Grünfeld challenges the center much earlier by advancing the d-pawn to d5 instead of first allowing it to close.