Inga Suzuki: Level 26 Chess Rival (1762 ELO)

Bishop tier · Indian Specialist · plays the Slav Defense

How Inga plays

Inga spent most of her playing life in the Nimzo-Indian and Queen's Indian, and it shows. She came to the Slav later, looking for something sturdier for the weekend congresses she still plays around England, but she brought her old habits with her: control squares with pieces rather than pawns, and never be afraid to hand over a bishop for a knight if it leaves White with doubled pawns.

At the board she is unhurried and slightly old-fashioned. Inga likes positions where the centre is fixed and she can plant a knight on e4 or d5 and manoeuvre around it for twenty moves. Her bishop on f5 is her favourite piece, and she treats it with care. What she dislikes is a position that opens suddenly in front of two enemy bishops, because her Indian instincts lean toward knights and structure, not toward open diagonals.

At 1762 ELO, Inga rarely gives material away for nothing. She is held to that rating by the engine, so you will see the occasional inaccuracy in quiet positions, but tactics are usually spotted. Games are won by building a better position over many moves and converting it carefully.

Slav Defense: the line Inga plays

Inga plays the Slav Defense: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6. In the main book line they take on c4, develop the bishop to f5 and then put the other bishop on b4 after you win the pawn back. The structure is rock solid and the light-squared bishop is never trapped behind its pawns.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4

Learn it move by move: Slav Defense walkthrough

How to beat Inga

  1. Chase her favourite piece. After ...Bf5, a knight jump to h4 offers to take it and win the bishop pair; if she retreats to g6, capture there anyway, because the two bishops matter more than her half-open h-file.
  2. When she plays ...Bxc3 after ...Bb4, recapture with the b-pawn and keep both bishops. Then open lines with e4 and c3-c4 rather than defending the doubled pawns passively.
  3. Watch the e4 square. Her knights love to land there, so keep a pawn on f3 or a minor piece covering e4 before you start operations on the queenside.
  4. The Exchange Slav (3.cxd5 cxd5) gives a symmetrical structure where small advantages count, which suits you if you are the better endgame player. In the main lines, win back c4 with e3 and Bxc4, castle, and aim for e4 to claim the centre.
  5. The book only answers 1.d4. Open 1.e4 and she is out of book at once.

What beating Inga teaches you

Inga teaches the value of the bishop pair and how to open the position so that two bishops outperform knights. You also learn to take away a defender's best outpost before starting your own plan.

Neighbours on the ladder