Chess for Newbies : The Maroczy Bind

The Maroczy structure we study in this chapter bears a great similarity with the Hedgehog from the previous chapter. In fact, some sources may call that chapter's structure Maroczy as well, simply because White has placed his pawns on c4 and e4. In this book, I decided to give a separate treatment to these two structures because I consider they are sufficiently different. The difference is in how Black develops his dark-squared bishop. In the Hedgehog chapter, Black's bishop was always developed on e7, hence ... e7-e6 had been played. Here instead we study rhose positions where Black fianchettoes his bishop on g7. Most importantly, Black's e-pawn often remains on e7. This fact has the following consequences:
I. White can place a knight on d5, which can lead to a major structural transformation if Black trades the knight.
2. The central break ... d6-d5 is no longer a main theme here.
3. Black can trade pieces without worrying about the d6-pawn becoming vulnerable, as happened in the game Eljanov - Jakovenko from the previous chapter. The structure we study in this chapter is typical of the Accelerated Dragon, but it can also arise as a transposition from the English Opening or some lines that start out as a King's Indian. It can also occur with reversed colours if White plays the English Opening, allowing Black to reply ... d5 and later ... c5. Most examples in this chapter will come from the Accelerated Dragon because it is the most common source of Maroczy games. Nevertheless the ideas transfer easily to the other lines.-The main theme of the Maroczy is White's spatial advantage, which means Black will often attempt to trade pieces and later fight on in the endgame phase.
White's plans :
1. Gain space with a queenside expansion, place a knight on d5, and/or expand on the kingside with f2-f4.
2. After f2-f4 has been played, place rooks on the central files and break with either e4-e5 or f4-f5.
3. Place a knight on d5 and wait for Black to capture on d5. Once this happens, White can transform the structure favourably with either exd5 or cxd5. Each of these replies is studied at the beginning of this chapter.
Black's plans :
1. Trade pieces to alleviate the space problem.
2. Break on the queenside with ... b6-b5 and after c4xb5 and ... a6xb5 then apply pressure along the a-file.
3. Break on the kingside with ... f7-f5 and later create an attack against White's king.
4. Pressure White's queenside pawns with ... b6-b4, and when White plays b2-b3, then ... a7-a5-a4xb3.
5. On rare occasions play ... e7-e6 and later ... d6-d5, though this plan is more typical of the Hedgehog. Out of the plans mentioned above, it should be said that White's first three plans are more or less equally common, while Black's first three plans are the most common for him. Black's fifth plan is almost never carried out in games which originate from the Accelerated Dragon variation.