chess opening theory
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Teorija šahovskog otvaranjaTRANSCRIPT
Chess OpeningTheory, renewed - for all levels of play(*)
- simplified (repertoire) and improved opening theory
- different black/white repertoire, based on skill levels
- be prepared against any opponent, stronger or weaker - checked-revised with various top chess programs
(*) beginners up to advanced club players
by Jeff Kahn
Revision: Nov.2012
1
Version November, 2012 © KEC
Chess Opening Theory, renewed
For all LEVELS OF PLAY
* Modern/improved opening theory, a quick study guide
* Many novelties: a major jump ahead in opening theory
* The main opening theory described in one single volume
* Simple descriptions: all you need to know about openings
* Computer-checked with Chessbase and top chess engines
* Complete overview of the most important opening lines
* What every chess player needs to know about openings
* Complete in-depth analysis for recommended lines
* An actual up-to-date, reference guide
Author: Jeff Kahn (‘KEC’, 2012 1)
All rights reserved
Copyright: KEC illustrations: B. Eirland
ISBN: ........ (later)
1 K.Engineering Consultancy, copying of this book or parts of it and/or spreading it
or publishing e.g. on internet is proh ibited by international law, cq copyrights,
(KEC is insured for such possible legal actions)
2
Table of Contents (draft/preliminary )
FOREWORD ......................................................................................................................... 6 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 8
2.1 OPENING PRINCIPLES ...............................................................................................11 2.2 PURPOSE OF A REPERTOIRE .................................................................................. 13 2.3 GUIDELINES FOR A REPERTOIRE ........................................................................ 13
3. BEGINNERS REPERTOIRE 3.1 How NOT to play .......................................................................................................... 14
3.2 WHITE LINES, introduction (1.e4!) ............................................................................. 14 3.2.1 Ruy Lopez (exchange, Berlin, etc)......................................................................... 15 3.2.2 Petroff 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 ...................................................................................... 22
3.2.3 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, other Black moves ......................................................................... 22 3.2.4 Philidor's defense, 3.d4 ......................................................................................... 23
3.2.5 Sicilian e4 c5 2. Nf3 (beginners) .......................................................................... 24 3.2.6 French 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3. exd5 ............................................................................ 26 3.2.7 Caro Kann , Advance ............................................................................................. 27
3.2.8 Pirc defense (1.. d6) ............................................................................................ 27 3.2.9 Modern defense (1.. g6) ...................................................................................... 28
3.2.10 Aljechin/Vienna 1 e4! Nf6 2.Nc3 3.2.11 Scandinavian .................................................................................................... 31 3.2.12 Nimzowitsch , 2.Nf3 ........................................................................................ 33
3.2.14 Other Black moves after 1.e4 3.2.15 CONCLUDING remarks for WHITE
3.3 BLACK AGAINST 1.e4, introduction (.. e5) ............................................................... 36
3.3.1 the Ruy Lopez defense (RL) .................................................................................. 37 3.3.2 the Giuoco Piano/Pianissimo ................................................................................ 39
3.3.4 Three- or four-knight variation .............................................................................. 44 3.3.5 Ponziani opening (3.c3) ......................................................................................... 45 3.3.6 Vienna opening (2.Nc3) ........................................................................................ 45
3.3.7 Bishops opening (2.Bc4)....................................................................................... 46 3.3.8 Kings Gambit (2.f4) ............................................................................................. 47
3.3.9 Center Opening (2.d4)........................................................................................... 47 3.4 BLACK AGAINST 1.d4 (QGD) ............................................................................... 50 3.5 BLACK AGAINST OTHERS
3.6 CONCLUDING remarks for BLACK ....................................................................... 53 4. INTERMEDIATE REPERTOIRE ....................................................................................... 54
4.1 WHITE LINES (1.e4) .................................................................................................... 54 4.1.1 Ruy Lopez 3..a6 (Morphy), 4 Ba4! ....................................................................... 54 4.1.2 R.Lopez, other 3rd Black moves............................................................................ 68
4.1.3 Petroff Defense ..................................................................................................... 73 4.1.4 Philidor/Lion's defense, 3.d4................................................................................. 76
4.1.5 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, other Black moves ......................................................................... 77 4.1.6 Sicilian e4 c5 2. Nf3 ............................................................................................ 80 4.1.7 French 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nbc3! ............................................................................ 88
4.1.8 Caro Kann, classical............................................................................................... 90 4.1.9 Pirc defense ......................................................................................................... 91
4.1.10 Modern defense ................................................................................................ 92 4.1.11 Aljechin 1 e4! Nf6 2. e5! ..................................................................................... 94 4.1.12 Scandinavian .................................................................................................... 95
4.1.13 Nimzowitsch, 2.d4 ............................................................................................. 97 4.1.14 Owen defense, 1..b6 ............................................................................................. 98
3
4.1.14 Other moves after e4 ................................................................................. 98
4.2 BLACK AGAINST 1.e4 (.. e6) .................................................................................. 100 4.2.1 French defense e4 e6........................................................................................... 100 4.2.2 French defense, sidelines ..................................................................................... 104
4.3. AGAINST 1.d4 (INDIAN) ....................................................................................... 105 4.3.1 QGD, after (2.c4) 3.Nf3 ....................................................................................... 105
4.3.2 Catalan/tp Bogo-Indian, 3.g3 ............................................................................. 106 4.3.3 Nimzo-Indian after 3.Nc3 .................................................................................... 108 4.3.4 Other 2nd moves after 1.d4 Nf6 ...........................................................................112
4.4 AGAINST OTHER OPENINGS ..................................................................................116 4.5 GENERAL OPENING SYSTEMS ..............................................................................117
5. ADVANCED REPERTOIRE ............................................................................................ 121 5.1 WHITE LINES, 1.d4 Nf6! etc .................................................................................... 121
5.1.1. Catalan 1.. Nf6 2..e6 2.g3! ................................................................................ 123
5.1.2. Gruenfeld 1.. Nf6 2..g6 etc................................................................................. 126 5.2 WHITE LINES, 1.d4 d5 etc
5.2.1 Queens-pawn (QGD, Slav, QGA) ........................................................................ 131 5.2.2.. d5 Slav, Benoni, others ....................................................................................... 144 5.3 BLACK AGAINST e4 (c5!) ........................................................................................ 148
5.3.1 Main Sicilian line (Najdorf) ............................................................................... 148 5.3.2 the closed Sicilian ............................................................................................... 154
5.3.3 Alapin variation (2.c3) ......................................................................................... 155 5.3.4 Smith Morra gambit ............................................................................................ 156 5.3.5 Morphy gambit ................................................................................................. 157
5.3.6 Other lines (eg 2..a3!?)......................................................................................... 157 5.4. AGAINST 1.d4 (QID or Bogo-Indian or Gruenfeld) ................................................. 159
5.5 BLACK AGAINST OTHERS ..................................................................................... 160 6. GAMBITS (against weaker players or in blitz..) ............................................................... 161
6.1 Gambits with White ..................................................................................................... 161
6.2 Gambits with Black ..................................................................................................... 162 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 164
About the author: .......................................................................................................... 166 APP. 1. RESEARCH-METHODS.......................................................................................... 167
A 1.1 Opening Theory ....................................................................................................... 168
A1.2 Automatic book correction ...................................................................................... 168 A 1.3 Positional evaluation .............................................................................................. 168
A 1.4 Developing a repertoire............................................................................................ 169 APP 2 Is chess a draw (with perfect play ?) .................................................................... 173
APPENDIX 3 (INDEX OF MAIN LINES)
(version August 2011, ............................................................................................................ 176 A3.1 VARIATIONS FOR WHITE (intermediate level) ................................................ 177
A.3.2 .................................................................................................................................. 199 A.3.3 .................................................................................................................................. 212 A.3.4 .................................................................................................................................. 214
App. 4.1 Index (advanced) for White ................................................................................ 217 App. 4.2 Index (advanced) for Black ................................................................................ 219
APPENDIX 5 THE RULES OF CHESS ...................................................................... 220
5
Glossary:
Gambit.............opening sacrifice of one pawn, with the intention to get a positional advantage, such as more space, open lines, tactical chances etc.
Sharp...............double-edged, risky (e.g. a sharp opening variation)
Repertoire.......opening system, making a selection of preferred opening lines
Open (games)....games resulting from openings such as 1.e4 e5 with lots of open lines, and diagonals, thus usually leading to games involving many tactics
closed (games)..the opposite - for example games resulting from openings like 1.e4 e6 (French)- where often pawn chains from White and Black are standing against each othe r
Fianchetto……putting a bishop near a corner of the board on squares like b2, g2, b7, or g7. RL …………. Ruy Lopez (opening) Engine ………..A chess (calculation) program
Elo……………name of Hungarian statistician, who invented the ‘Elo’ chess rating system
He.....................often used for he/she, the chess player (m/f)
We…………….representing the author of this book together with –sometimes- the opinions
of those who have provided chess comments and/or the editor
‘Tactical’ & rule-related chess terms:
Check …. Attacking king of the opponent who then is forced to stop the check by rule
Fork …… attacking two pieces, weak squares or vulnerabilities by a piece or a pawn
Skewer…... add later
Castle (verb)......a special move in chess, bringing the king into safety by moving both the king and the rook (see rules in appendix)..indicated with ‘0-0’ (Ke1g1 short castling and simultaneously Rh8f8 ) or 0-0-0 (long castling, Ke1c1 and Ra1d1)
En-passant……a pawn move whereby a double pawn advance is captured back cross-side by an adversary pawn; see also the chess rules at the end
Acknowledgements:
covers, illustrations, and foreword:
B. Eirland, E. Ferrante
English editing: James Keating, USA
Introduction and/Foreword : ?? (volunteers ??) (we will ask a grand master! eg vd W)
Chess Comments: Erik Kislik (IM), Budapest, FM. H. Happel , GM J vd Wiel or Fedorchuk(later?),
The Netherlands
7
Starting position after White 1.e4
Note: The above diagram is given in 3-D perspective to enable a true ‘feel’ of the real chess environment. In the rest of the book, the diagrams are given in 2-D, however, which allows a clearer picture of the positions of the Black and White pieces. The diagrams are shown with Black
at the bottom, making positions easier to recognize and to use in practical over-the-board play.
11
1. INTRODUCTION
This book deals with chess openings;
thus it assumes that you are already familiar
with the game of chess, especially its rules
and playing methods. The rules of chess as
described by the International Chess
Federation (FIDE) are found in appendix 5,
page 220, of this book. For playing methods,
we suggest a book by Edwards (2007), which
is a good general introduction to chess that is
presented in excellent full color with 3-D
diagrams. It also provides some rudimentary
introduction to opening theory.
In the game of chess historically, the
opening theory has enjoyed an important part
in playing style and game strategies. White is
generally believed to have a slight advantage
in the opening. This appears in the statistics
from hundreds of thousands of GM chess
games, where White on average wins about
55% of the time. Both 1.d4 and 1.e4 seem to
offer advantages, whereas the statistics
indicate a slightly higher advantage for 1.d4,
but e4 is catching up.
The reason that e4 has so far scored
slightly worse statistically than d4 is probably because of the Sicilian defense, 1... c5. The
‘Sicilian’ is difficult to play with Black,
especially for beginners, and often leads to
highly tactical games. Therefore the White
score against the Sicilian defense is worse
than what could be expected in the event of
perfect positional and tactical play. Thus by
paying sufficient attention to the Sicilian for
White, the player using White should be able
to fundamentally improve play when choosing
a repertoire with e4. And by doing so, this
player can expect to improve overall winning
chances.
In the following chapters I will make
clear that 1.e4 is the most promising first move for beginners. Based on this move, a
repertoire is given for White, both for
beginners and for intermediate players.
This repertoire should fundamentally be the
soundest available. Because 1.e4 usually leads
to open games, it will provide excellent
opportunities to get experience in tactical play,
thereby gradually helping the player to learn
better tactical skills.
The basic repertoire presented in chapter 2
is rather simple, preferring narrow variations
where possible instead of ones that are wide
and complicated. As a result, this repertoire is
dependable and easy to learn. For advanced
players, we will later develop it more
thoroughly15
in specific chapters to prove that
an advantage−though only a slight one−can be
obtained with 1.d4, even against well-
prepared opponents.
Besides being sharp and effective for
average chess players, this repertoire will be useful throughout a chess player’s career. The
reason for this is that it is generally considered
advisable to make a fundamental choice: Do
you want to be an e4 player or a d4 player?
And even when you don't play 1.e4, you will
often face it with Black.
Unless you are like the man below, it is
almost impossible to memorize all important
variations for both e4 and d4 systems. Thus it
is easier with a repertoire for White based
only on e4 or d4.
Fig. 2. GM Kasparov in younger years.
15 See variations in the appendixes.
12
Having made such a repertoire, you will also
be offered the opportunity to analyze your
chosen variations in greater depth then when
broadly studying a comprehensive opening
book, such as NCO (J. Nunn et al. 1999) and all its variations (e.g., 1.c4, 1.Nf3, and 1.f4).
Using a very large opening book with
more than 19 million positions, made with the
Bookbuilder®16
program, we have analyzed
1.e4, as recommended for beginners, against
almost all possible Black responses. This
includes solid defenses, such as the Petroff
and Ruy Lopez. Therefore when our repertoire
is used, 1.e4 will offer excellent winning
chances for either the best tactical player or
the best prepared one.
For the tactical player, 1.e4 is the best choice anyway because it usually leads to
open games. Average players will find helpful
a broad introduction to specifically
recommended variations and moves in
diagrams and lines in chapter 2. For other
players, this book will be helpful for
preparation, even if the advanced player may
wish to extend his repertoire gradually to
include more details than discussed in chapter
2 of this book, and possibly even switch to
using 1.d4 instead of 1.e4.
The variations given in the appendix
should provide ample opportunity for the
advanced player to undertake further study. Also, a general understanding of a certain
opening method, plan, and strategy is much
more important than simply knowing which
moves to play. This is often stressed with
average players who tend to overly memorize
entire variations. But listing complete games
is outside the intended scope of this book
because it is limited to basic theory.
16 www.superchess.com
Readers can find further background
information on this subject elsewhere, such in
[Watson 2006].17
We will explain later (see the appendix) that
fundamentally the 'best' lines are not much
different because chess is a draw with perfect
play. Nevertheless, depending on playing
level, a player can be advised on which
repertoire to use18
to achieve the best results
on both the short and long terms in the game,
while gradually improving in tactics and
overall mastery.
The beginning/average chess player, using
the repertoire given in my book, can quickly
learn most things necessary about opening theory. Readers will save countless time and
money on all kinds of opening books and/or
attempts to reinvent the wheel (i.e., a self-
developed opening repertoire), thus enabling
them to proceed rapidly to the more important
study of tactics and the middle game.
Moreover, the endgame should not, and will
not, be neglected. We sincerely wish you good
luck in applying the knowledge of this book to
your practical play of this grand game called
chess.
17 ‘Mastering the chess openings.’ 18
Based on both experience and analysis; whereby the end evaluation until approximately move 30 can be used in backsolving and thus deriving conclusions.
13
2. The OPENING PHASE
When playing chess, all players need to
well understand and accept that all phases of
the royal game are important: that is, the
opening, the middle game, and the endgame.
Although the importance of the opening phase
is often overestimated by beginners, at higher
levels a mastery of the opening in detail will
indeed often make the difference between a
win or a loss. In this book, the player is
gradually acquainted with the opening theory
as the explanations of various key principles, which for every level − beginner,
intermediate, and advanced − will be given in
progressive details.
2.1 OPENING PRINCIPLES
Whereas the importance of the opening
phase has been known in chess for centuries,
the kind of advice given for its success has
varied over the ages. Good practical and
general advice was given by various grand
masters in How to Open a Chess Game (Evans
et al. 1974). Some general advice, more for
beginners, is given in Ward (2000), wherein a complete list of various opening variations is
given, with no recommendations, however, for
preferences. The unique approach in my book
is to emphasize specific variations in a so-
called repertoire for both White and Black,
depending on the level of play.
But first we start by mentioning the most
common general guidelines for opening play.
These guidelines, also mentioned in The Ideas
Behind the Chess Openings (Fine [rev.]1989),
are certainly useful for beginners, and they
follow:
1. Start the game with 1.e4. This leads to
‘open games’, and tries to keep the
(positional) advantage for White. 2. Move knights before bishops, alternately.
3. Try to aim for the center, or to control it.
4. Don't move the same piece twice19
after
each other (some exceptional variations are
excluded).
5. Don't make two pawn moves after each
other20
(with a few exceptions, though).
6. Don't move the queen to early the center21
.
7. Castle early, with preference to king’s side22
(otherwise the king’s safety is less).
8. Try to control the center of the board.
9. Don’t sacrifice any piece without a reason,
including pawns.
Although general guidelines like these can be
useful for beginners, practical play makes it
clear that such rules first of all are
simplifications, and secondly, have many
exceptions, some of which are mentioned in
the footnotes. In addition to the above nine
rules for example, it usually is advised to
'connect' the rooks on the first lines, which
implies the queen is played to the second or
third rank, sometimes even further away. For
starters, a beginner could refer to some basic
chess openings with e4, using the repertoire
given in the following paragraphs. By using
such openings in practical play, a player will
develop intuition about general opening play.
19 For example 1.Nf3 d5 2.Ng5? as the knight now is moved a second time.. An exception is a line as 1.Nf3 e5? 2.Nxe5 (a dubious gambit for Black) 20 For example 1.e4 c5 2.e5 An exception is in the French advance variation 1.e4 e6 2.e5 21 As this often brings the valuable queen into danger of tactics, or locking it up by enemy pieces; exceptions are variations like the Scandinavian for Black ,etc. 22 The Sicilian Dragon variation is an interesting exception, but in general it is advised as better to ‘castle’ (see glossary) early rather than late, as described in E. Mednis (1982).
14
And eventually the chess player will also
become more comfortable when playing the
sidelines of such openings, for example, when
Black deviates from the main lines. In the
following, we will give principle variations with some basic descriptions, mainly for
beginners.
We will start with the Ruy Lopez instead
of the Sicilian, which according to former
Dutch world champion Dr. Max Euwe23
would
be the strongest response to 1.e4; a postcard
photo of Max Euwe is shown below.
Fig. 3. Former world champion Dutch GM
Max Euwe (1901-1981)
The reason for our choice of 1...e5 as the
first line of defense is because the Sicilian is
certainly not an easy variation system. Also, most chess players can expect to see 1...e5
more often than ...c5 in the earlier stages of
their chess careers.
23 His series on opening theory were famous in The Netherlands during the early 20th century
So the sharp Sicilian is recommended for
advanced players with Black because of its
winning chances. Beginners are usually
advised to simply choose 1...e5 with Black
instead of...c5 as they aim for open games (see
3.2).
In this book, we will not deviate from this
principle and will advise 1..c5, Sicilian, for
only the most advanced players.
By adhering to the repertoire in this
chapter, the beginning player can save
considerable time by not having to worry
further about additional opening study. Time
can be used more efficiently to study tactics,
middle game planning, endgame principles,
and other methods.
As all chess teachers know, such an approach will improve a beginning player’s
results much faster than when spending most
of the time on the study of openings. Besides
the opening variations, a reader can improve
understanding of the kinds of middle-game
positions that result from the variations after
1.e4 by studying Watson’s fine work. A
similar book was written by the same author
for 1.d4, a move that we will later advise on
for advanced players.
Our advised repertoire is different for
different playing levels because the main
principle of the opening is to reach a playable
middle game. But playable means something different for a beginner than for an advanced
player. With beginners, the positional
understanding is usually not yet as developed,
which is why we choose a tactical repertoire,
but one that is not too sharp.
On the other hand, aware that advanced
players will also be able to master very sharp
variations if necessary, a Black variation such
as the Sicilian (1.e4 c5) enters our repertoire
only when the player has achieved such a high
level of play at which it can be applied.
15
The advantage of the Sicilian as a preferred
defense for advanced players can be clearly
seen when studying the games of top GM
players, such as Gary Kasparov or Robert
Fischer.
Although it is useful to have an opening
repertoire, sooner or later the chess player
must deviate from the known opening line,
either because the opponent has chosen a side
line, or simply because the player gets out of
the book.
2.2 PURPOSE OF A REPERTOIRE
The purpose of an opening repertoire is
to reduce the amount of opening variations a
player knows, masters, and understands. The
knowledge of certain move-by-move
variations is always useful in mastering tactical opportunities, being prepared for
traps, and when facing other important
reasons. But the complete knowledge of all
variations is almost impossible. Thus by using
the concept of a repertoire and choosing
specific lines for Black and White, the player
can drastically reduce the number of
variations that must be known.
2.3 GUIDELINES FOR A REPERTOIRE
Scheme, for different levels
(For moves other than e4 and d4, see the index
at the end of this book.)
Beginners:
with White: 1.e4!
with Black : 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 etc. (R.L)
1.d4 Nf6! 2.c4 e6 (3..d5) QGD24
1.c4 e6 2.d4 Nf6 (English
tp QGD and others
24 = Queens-Gambit-Declined
Intermediate:
White: 1.e4 (or later 1.Nf3) Black: 1.d4 Nf6! c4 e6 Nc3 Bb4 (Nimzo)
1.d4 Nf6 c4 e6 Nf3 d5 (QGD) or
1.d4 Nf6! 2.c425
e6 3.Nf326
b6! QueensIndian 1.d4 Nf6 c4 e6 g3 Bb4+ (Bogo-ind.) 1.e4 e6 (French)
Advanced
White: 1.d4! (d5 27)Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3! (Catalan)
2...g6 3.Nc3 d528
4.cxd5 Nxd5 Gruenfeld.29
Black :1.e4 c5! (Sicilian)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6! 3.Nc3 d5 (Gruenfeld)
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6! (Gruenfeld) 1.c4 e5 (English, reversed Sicilian)
Although a large part of the chapters
for beginning and intermediate players consist
of specifying the best variations for White with e4, also necessary is listing the main best
variations for Black, first to provide a
complete repertoire, and second to prove that
the variations given for White indeed are best.
In finding the best defense lines, we use the
same approach as when finding the best
variations for White. So we can demonstrate
that other, suboptimal lines can easily be
equalized by Black and therefore are not as
good as the main/advised variations for White.
See also 4.5 (General Opening Systems).
25 2.Nf3?! Nf6 3.c4 g6! tp Gruenfeld 26 In case of 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7! Bogo-Indian And in case of 3.Nc3 Bb4 Nimzo-Indian 27 After 1...d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Bg5 QGD 28 Gruenfeld, in case of ..d6 we get the Kings-Indian and then the Gligoric sub-variation is advised 29 5.e4 Gruenfeld exchange with 7.Bc4
16
3. BEGINNERS REPERTOIRE
3.1 WHITE LINES, introduction (1.e4!)
As discussed elsewhere, we recommend
starting with 1.e4. This can be even a good
choice at all levels because such top players as GM Viswanathan Anand and a former world
champion, Bobby Fischer, mostly played 1.e4
in their careers. Thus the variations in this
chapter all start with 1.e4, and after this move
we will systematically investigate all possible
responses by Black in order of the most
relevant defenses. The most important
variations, especially for beginners, will be
specified with diagrams in this chapter. For
more details, the reader, though referred to the
lines/moves in the appendix, should be aware
that we have accurately analyzed all these
lines, with both a chess engine and our chess-
opening program Bookbuilder. For more discussion of the methods used, see chapter 3.
It is sufficient now to know that all these
lines have been thoroughly checked and
compared with opening theory as specified in
various encyclopedias, and, often last but not
least, with detailed openings books, which we
also specify in the text of the main chapters. A
good reference book for e4 variations, though
we frequently deviate with the detailed lines,
is 'attacking with e4' (John Emms 2001).
For beginners, without much discussion we
will give a simple description of the main
recommended variations and how we arrived
at them.30
Longer variations are given in the appendix,
more moves for more-advanced players.
Because tactics are more important for
beginners than opening theory, we advise
them not to use a repertoire deeper than a
certain number of moves.31
30 These will be presented in chapter 3
31 It certainly will not be useful for beginners to
memorize the advanced lines, as given in the
Therefore the moves given in this chapter
will be adequate for beginners.
By looking at the variations in this
chapter, the beginner should already have sufficient tools to start playing reasonable
chess, at least in the opening stage. As known
by all club players, studying tactics and
practicing in real games are the most
important methods on the road to learning
good chess play. Yet using the mentioned
variations will offer enough opportunities to
get plenty of tactical experience.
Besides trying to remember which
variations are advised, a beginner will also
find it useful to notice which variations for
White are avoided, such as choosing the Ruy
Lopez (Bb5 instead of Bc4). It is chosen not to play Italian variations for White, mainly to
narrow the repertoire, and not having to
master, for example, the sharp lines, such as
the (difficult) Two Knights (after 3... Nf6) or
the Max Lange variation).
But when playing with Black and
choosing 1...e5 as defense (recommended for
beginners), the player must understandably
have Black ready to defend against the Italian.
Outside the scope of this book is an in-
depth coverage of variations, such as the Basman/Baker (1...a6), though in such
situations an advantage should not be difficult to achieve.
This can be done for White by developing
the pawns and pieces according to general
guidelines, such as first knights/bishops,
occupying the center, not moving pieces twice
during the opening phase, and similar moves
and restrictions. For a further discussion on
this topic, see the next paragraph. Some more
concrete variations for some unconventional
defenses, such as 1..a6, are given later.
24
In the event of 3...Bc5, the Three Knights’
variation, White can use the 'fork trick', by
playing 4.Nxe5!, and after that,4..Nxe5 5.d4
achieves center dominance.
3.1.3 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, and other Black moves
Other second Black moves are much more
rarer, and generally also not so good for
Black. So in order not to avoid providinge the
beginner with too much information, we
discuss these variations in the chapter 4 for the
intermediate White repertoire.
3.1.4 Philidor's defense, 3.d4
not playing: 3. Bc4
The Philidor defense is defined by the moves
1 e4 e5 and 2. Nf3! d6. We then advise 3.
d4! exd4 (or Nf6!?), 4.Nxd4! among other possibilities. This old -fashioned Philidor is a
solid defense, so careful play, also after moves
4 and 5 for White, is required.;
After 3.d4, 3…exd4 is the most common
move, and then 4.Nxd4, the exchange
variation, which gives the following position:
After 4.Nxd4, Black usually continues
with Nf6, and after moves like 5.Nc3 Be7 6.
Bf4! 0-0 7.Be2! Rfe8 8.Qd2, White achieves
a nice position, as shown below:
White now can castle king-side, or
queen-side, that is 9.0-0-0! After, for example
8...Nbd7.
A modern move order in the Philidor is
going as 1.e4 d6 (see also the section about the Pirc defense), 2.d4 Nf6!?, after which
3.Nc3 is the most logical move. And with 3…
e5, we then again reach a Philidor position
again by transposition:
35
3.1.14 Other Black moves after 1.e4
for example 1…a6 and, …h6.., …g5
The move 1...a6 is called the St. George.
The idea is to follow -up with 2...b5, and then
fianchetto the bishop to b7. See the following
diagram, which is resulting after 1.e4 a6, 2.d4
b5, 3.Bd3! (after Nc3 follows b5b4), and then
3…Bb7 4.f3 :
In such a way it looks like a respectable
defense, although White already dominates
the center. But when analyzing more in depth
the validity for Black (i.e., the possibility of
obtaining equality), we can doubt this. Black
indeed has a flank attack, but after moves like
...e6, it will never be able to get a sufficient grip on the center; whereas the flank attack
will not be dangerous for White after castling
short.
Also for other strange moves, including ...g5 (reversed Grob), or …h6 (Carr’s defense,
general opening principles should be sufficient
to maintain an advantage for White.
Similar to the odd defense that combines …a6 and ...h6 and is called 'Creepy Crawly
defense'. It has been played with both sides, White and Black, by English international
master M. Basman.
Also, a pamphlet of about 30 pages,
presumably by Basman, was written in 1996,
in which the strategy of this system is
explained. Because it defies the (more
conventional) theory that we have seen to
work better, at least in computer chess51
, not
much further attention will be given to this
system in our book.
So in such Black flank defenses, White should just aim only for solid play/center
dominance. This would use normal opening
strategy, i.e., sufficiently developing pieces,
castling early to get the player’s own king
into safety, and only later aiming for an attack
with such unconventional defenses. In such a
way, White shouldn't have few much
difficulties in obtaining an advantage
throughout the rest of the game.
51 Namely to dominate the center of the board. Not only in computer chess, but also for almost all GM's this is a principle, being stronger than Basman (IM) in ‘Elo’ rating and thus in playing strength.
43
Now we advise to forget the 'pawn- keeping'
move Bc5, and just develop with 4...Nf6.
After 5.e5 (5.0-0 Nxe4 6.Re1 d5! and others)
Ne4, we then get a transposition to the Two –
Knights-Defense, with as a likely continuation
6.Nxd4 d5! with this position:
Now after a White move such as 7.Bb5,
Black plays ...Bd7, threatening to take the
pawn on e4. Later Black will develop the
'Black' bishop (on the black square f8), castle
king- side, and achieves an equal position.
Sometimes White may sometimes prefer the Göring
67 gambit, if the player knows this
variation well, with 4.c3 above the Scottish
gambit, because the latter is usually is 'declined' with …Nf6., at least those who
know this variation well, as we have seen.
The Göring variation can also be declined,
however, and this is in fact what we certainly
advise for beginners. So after 1.e4 e5, 2.Nf3
Nc6, 3.d4 exd4, and 4.c3!?, the Scottish
Göring gambit, playing 4...d5!, declining the
gambit, leads to this position:
67 Carl Theodor Göring, a German chess player, who lived from 1841 to 1879.; as in earlier foot note
Play can now continue with 5.exd5 Qxd5,
6.cxd4 Nf6, 7.Nc3 Bb4, and 8.Bd3, leading to
this position:
Now Black should continue with 8…Bg4,
pinning the Black knight, or first taking the
knight on c3 with 8…Bxc3, 9.bxc3, etc.,
with an equal position. So declining the
gambit is quite well possible, and does not
lead to very sharp play.
45
After the above position in the diagram,
White usually plays 4.Qa4, pinning the knight
on c6. And after 4...f6, to defend the pawn on
e5, 5.Bb5 Nge7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.0-0, we get the following position :
Now 7...e5e4 is a strong move, although
careful play is required because the Black king
has not yet castled yet.
3.2.6 Vienna opening (2.Nc3)
Played less often than 2.Nf3, the Vienna it is
a solid opening, sometimes resulting in sharp
play, especially when White tries a gambit
with a later f4, so Black must be prepared
against this variation. Because of the gambit
possibility of a later f4, we recommend the
symmetrical move 2...Nc6, rather than 2...Nf6.
The Vienna position after 2...Nc6 is as
follows (above right):
In this position, White can also try f469
. But
then the knight has not been played to f6; thus
it does not need to retreat as in the above variation, making such a gambit less attractive
for White, because Black should simply then play exf4.
A more common variation is 3.Bc4,
after which Black plays ...Bc5, and the resulting position will be Italian/Giuoco -
Piano, as already discussed.
But White more can also simply continue
with 3.Nf3, and after …Nf6 we have transposed to the Four-Knights variation, as
we already discussed above.
69 And then, for example, exf4 5. d4 Qh4 6. Ke2 d6 7.Nf3 Bg4 = (equal position).
1
4. INTERMEDIATE REPERTOIRE
4.1 WHITE LINES (1.e4), Introduction
(comments from previous version deleted!)
In this sub-chapter we will discuss more
advanced, 'intermediate-level' lines for White after 1.e4 against the Ruy Lopez (2...Nc6), the
Petrov (2...Nf6), and other moves after 2.Nf3,
our recommended second move after 1...e5.
First we make some general remarks for a better understanding of the content in this
chapter. Note that evaluation symbols as ² or
²/= , !, and !? often are used at the end of the move list. These all are explained in the list of
abbreviations at the beginning of this book .
If we refer to a chess game, then in this book we often include the rating
1, and the
year. 2 The reason to often refer to games is to
provide the reader with some background
content to improve his understanding of the
openings discussed. Preferably the reader
should try to get hold of games with
annotations, to get an impression how a whole
game with the openings discussed can
develop. It often is said that understanding of
openings, including the plans following after
the opening moves in the middle game,
usually are more important than simply
memorizing the moves of the opening theory.
And while this indeed is the case, it is beyond
the scope of this book to explain such plans, as this would imply more discussion about the
chess middle game and its corresponding
chess theories. The reason to include the
rating of the players is because we often
deviate from the opening moves as suggested
by systems as by Chessbase, which use
statistics, and thus usually recommend a move
which scores best statistically.
1 The rating system for chess has been devised by Hungarian statistician Prof. Elo, and is called Elo rating system. An Elo of about 1000 is average, the best is about 2800, or 3000 for computers.
2 For example in the game Anand(2745)-Gelfand(2720), Moscow, 2012 world championship GM Gelfand played 1...c5! in the xth game and lost.
But when there are not much games played
in a certain line, which often is the case if we
improve on current theory, and recommend a
novelty, then the statistics are meaningless.
For example, it can occur that a good move
for White has been played in one game by a
player with a much lower rating than his
opponent, and because of the higher player strength of Black, it then is not uncommon
that such a game is lost by White, despite the
good opening line.
So in the following, although we sometimes
refer to some GM games, we will not go in
much depth concerning the rationality of the
moves, possible sidelines, and so on. As a
result the reader may still have some
uncertainties about his understanding, and
might suspect to become victim of unexpected
strong moves by the opponent, or even
cunning traps. But the contrary is true for
intermediate, serious players, when playing a
slow, standard, over-the-board game and applying the theory in this chapter. By
adhering to the moves from memory, playing
not to fast but gradually getting into the game
and trying to understand the moves of his
opponent and possible sidelines, the player
can be sure that he has started the game as
good as possible, and will be immune from
traps, as otherwise they would have been
included in the repertoire as given in this
chapter, often at least in the footnotes.
And by consistently applying this repertoire
as far as the opponent goes3, we trust that the
player will gradually will start to understand
the logic of the moves, develop a feeling for
it, and after some games also will get some feeling for the necessary planning after the
opening, which will not only consist of a
kings attack but usually slowly improving his
position.
3 When using the opening moves in this chapter the
average player will –probably to his surprise- often notice that his opponent will quite soon deviate from the repertoire. But this then means the opponent has played a worse, or maybe inferior move, and by then starting to think deeply for himself, the player may straightaway gain an advantage in his game..
2
4.1.1 Ruy Lopez 3...a6 (Morphy), 4 Ba4!
In this section we will discuss only the
resulting variations after 3...a6 4.Ba4! For
moves other than 3...a6 such as 3...Nf6, the
Berlin variation , 3...d6 (Steinitz) and others
are discussed in the next paragraph, 4.1.2, this
time in more detail than in the beginner’s section.
As discussed in the beginner ’s section, after
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, the most usual
move for Black is 3...a6.
The move 4.Ba4 is played more frequently
then 4.Bxc64 and is what we advise for more-
advanced players, the intermediate level. It
can lead to variations, such as the closed
variation 4...Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 (5...Bc5 Möller)
6. Rfe1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 (or 0-0 tp5) 8.c3! 0-0
9.h3! (transpositions are possible, and then
usually indicated with the abbreviation ‘tp’). Sub-variations in this Ruy Lopez (RL) Closed
complex are discussed later.
After 4.Ba4, the following Black
moves/variations will be discussed:
A) 4...b5 Caro defense-Arkhangel(sk)
6
B) 4...Bc5 Classical deferred
C) 4...f5 Deferred Schliemann
D) 4...d6 Modern Steinitz-defense
E) 4...Nf6 RL Main lines (such as Closed)
4 It was advised for beginners because it leads to
a considerably smaller number of variations. 5 Tp or tp always stands for transposition in this book 6 Named after the Russian l name Archangelsk ( a city in North Russia) in the following we will use the English name for this opening namely Archangel
A) RL Caro defense/Arkhangel, 4...b5
Instead of 4...Nf6 as discussed hereafter, Black can play 4...b5
7 (Caro defense), which
can transpose to the Taimanov/wing defense
after 5.Bb3 Na5 8, after which 6.Nc3! is a
strong move (more common is 6.0-0). In case of 5...Bb7 (Caro Defense), as advised for
Black in the beginner’s section, White plays
6.d3 and simply continues his development.
After 5...Nf6 we get a transposition to the Archangel variation after 6.0-0 (most
common) 6...Bb79 (another, more usual move
order is 4...Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bb7. See
Panczyk and Emms (2000).
If Black plays 6...Bb7, the Archangel
variation , we also advise 7.d3!, similar as
against the Caro Defense. This then gives the
position as given below:
Black can now play moves like
7...Be7, or 7...Bc5! (probably the best), and
against both these moves we advise 8.Nc310
.
7 For 4...d6, the Steinitz-deferred, see the appendix. 8 5...Bc5 is the Graz defense, after which White plays 6.0-0 and after ...d6 7.a4! ² 9 6...Be7 is transposing to the Closed RL again 10 And then for example 8...0-0 9.a4! Na5 10.axb5
Nxb3 11.cxb3 axb5 12.Rxa8 Qxa8 13.Nxe5 ²
33
After (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3) g6 White first plays
3.d4 and after cxd4 4.c3! ² in gambit style, White achieves a slight advantage. See also
Chapter 4.5.
And after (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4) …Bg7?!
(the ‘Sniper’) 4.dxc5! Qa5 5.c3! Qxc5 6.Be3
Qc7 7.Na3!? ²
4.1.7 French 1.e4 e6 2.d4111
d5112
3.Nc3!
For example, Winawer and others
[Avoiding French advance, Tarrasch
(3.Nd2), and the exchange (3.d5)113
]
The above moves give the following position:
The reason for choosing to aim for the
Winawer, that is 3.Nc3 instead of 3.Nbd2 is
the move 3...Nf6 after Nbd2, the closed
Tarrasch variation, which requires slow
positional play with a lot of knowledge about
this variation.
111 Or 1.e4 e6 2.Nc3, but then Black can play ...c5, leading to Sicilian 112 After 2...c5?! White plays 3.d5! 113 This was advised for beginners only. .
The following moves can now be played:
A) 3...Bb4 (Winawer), B) 3...Nf6 (4.Bg5), or
C) 3...dxe4 (Rubinstein variation)
We first give a short description of these
variations, and thereafter analyze them in
more detail:
After A) 3...Bb4, we simply recommend
4.exd5, which looks somewhat like the French
exchange, but it usually achieves good play;
see Pedersen (2001) or Psakhis (2003) for
some main lines.
After B) 3...Nf6, the 'best' White move is
4.Bg5, but then Black has several options: B1) 4...dxe4 (Burn), B2) 4...Bb4 (Mc
Cutcheon)114
, and B3) 4...Be7.
After C) 3...dxe4, White plays 4.Nxe4, and now Black can play 4...Nf6 (Rubinstein) or 4...Bd7 (Fort Knox var.).
So, with 3.Nc3! a more advanced player
must be prepared against several defenses115
,
which more recently are discussed in Vitiugov
(2010). In the appendix, we give the main lines
in detail, and in the following we specify a
broad outline of these different variations:
A) 3...Bb4, the Winawer (Exchange)
Instead of 3...Nf6, Black often is choosing
the bishop move 3...Bb4, preventing the knight
to take on e4.
White then can aim for various options,
such as playing a sharp gambit like 4. Qg4?!
but for average players we suggest to go for
an exchange variation, with 4.exd5!?, a move
that is not so common, but yet quite solid.
114 Because of the complicated play against the
McCutcheon, players who are not greatly advanced can play 4.Bd3 or 4.exd5 to avoid this variation. 115 Although the playing style in these situations can sometimes be similar, such as in the Burn and/or Rubinstein variations.
38
With the plan of castling long, and a
subsequent Be3h6, to attack the Black
fianchetto position. After 5...b5 White plays
6.f3! and White has a better position, so 5...Nf6 (tp Pirc) would be better...
Note that instead of Nf3, Be3 has been
played first with the plan of the “Yugoslav”
attack .
4.1.11 Alekhine132
variation 1 e4 Nf6 2. e5
And after 2...Nd5 3.d4
Avoiding unconventional Alekhine variations,
such as with 3 c4, or Vienna with 3.Nc3
Above right is a picture of the former Russian world champion, Alekhine, known
for his bold tactical style and ability to create
complicated and sharp positions:
132 A more Western spelling is ‘Aljechin’, but to
be consistent we will use ‘Alekhine’ both for the chess player and for this variation.
Fig. 4. GM Alexander Alekhine
After 3.d4, Black plays ...d6, and after
4.Nf3, Black can play A) 4...Bg4, pinning the
knight, same as mentioned in the beginner ’s
chapter, or B) 4...g6!
A) After 4...Bg4, called the Modern (sub)
variation, White achieves a positional
advantage after 5.Be2, relieving the pin of the
knight on f3, which gives the same position as
the one given in the beginner’s section. See
diagram again.
41
White now has a clear lead in
development, but after for example 8…Nc6
9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Bd7 11.c4, Black
pieces also are developed. Even so, White
now has a good position, and thus we prefer
8.Be3 above 8.Bg5 as played for example, in
the game Molner-Brustkern (1-0), Budapest
2007. Further test games are needed to
confirm this improvement, for example, if it would be leading to favorable statistics for
this move (in any event, we wish the reader
good luck with it).
4.1.13 Nimzowitsch Defense, (1…Nc6)
Playing: (1. e4 Nc6!?) 2. d4!
avoiding tp to the Ruy Lopez opening
A good move for White now is 2.d4,
and then 2...d5137
3.Nc3, the Nimzowitsch Bogulyubow variation. Nevertheless, it has
a slight disadvantage for the White
repertoire because White must learn one
more, complicated variation. Whereas with
2.Nf3 White can simply transpose to the Ruy-
Lopez. But for intermediate players the better
move 2.d4! should be an interesting challenge.
For example, after these moves, (3.Nc3)
3...dxe4 4.d5 Nb8! 5.Nxe4 c6 6.Bc4, the
resulting position seems to give a clear space
advantage to White:
137 After 2...e5 3.dxe5! Nxe5 4.Nf3!, White is fine, as in Huebner (2620)-Hort (2615), 1984.
And after 6..cxd5 7.Qxd5! Qxd5 (queen
exchange) 8.Bxd5 e6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10. Nge2N,
the position seems slightly better for White,
thanks to our proposed novelty138
.
Fig. 5. GM A. Nimzowitsch139
(1886-1935)
138 In Gorges (2445)-Dieu (2310), corr. Wch. 1990, White played 10.Nf3 and the game ended in a draw; in Hansen Johnsen, corr. Denmark 1999 White tried 10.f3 but lost. 139 Above is a picture of the famous Latvian chess player, author, and analyst, Nimzowitsch. (His most famous chess book is My System).
55
4.3.4 Other 2nd
moves after 1.d4 Nf6
Besides the most common move . 2.c4. after
1..Nf6, some other moves are often played,
namely the following:
A) 2.Nf3
B) 2.Bg5
C) 2.Nc3
D) 2.Bf4
E) others, such as 2.g3 or 2.e3
A) 2.Nf3
After 2.Nf3172
−instead of 2.c4− we advise
2...e6, which usually will transpose to the
previous positions after 3.c4. Should 3.Bg5, the Torre attack, be encountered, we get the
following position:
We now advise 3...c5! and after 4.c3 d5 5.Nbd2, we get the following position:
172 Advised by GM Nigel Davies for players switching their repertoire from e4 to d4.
Note that the Torre attack can be tricky for
Black if knowledge of defense against it is
unknown. In the previous position, however.
after 5...cxd4 6.cxd4 Nc6 7.e3 Bd6 8.Bd3 h6,
Black has equalized. See the position below:
White will now find playing 9.Bh4 best;
there, where-after Black plays 9...Bd7. After
10.0-0, …Rac8 will thus be the first to
dominate the c file with the rook, or simply
10.0-0 castling king-side.
60
4.5 GENERAL OPENING SYSTEMS
Besides the opening variations move by
move, positional systems also exist in which
the move order is usually irrelevant. For
beginners, such a system might be easier to
memorize and comprehend. For example. in
Pafu (2000) a beginner’s system is described
in which where the bishops are fianchettoed, i.e. put in a corner (b2 and g2 for White), and
the knights are put in front of the king and
queen. The center pawns are advanced only
one space (d3 and e3 for White).
Although the concept of such a general
system is interesting, control of the center is
neglected, development of the pieces is
delayed, and such a system poses serious risks
when playing against experienced players.
Much more useful is a system in which the
player would use only the bishop fianchetto
on his king’s side, whereby the knight can
develop more aggressively to f3, and one of the center pawns can advance two squares
instead of one.
In fact, such a system is mentioned by
Seirawan (2003), referring to the so-called Barcza
186 system, often also called King’s
Indian attack, an opening for White suitable
for those who don't want to memorize long
lines. A similar system can be used for Black,
whereby its validity can be proven because of
its similarity with existing thoroughly
analyzed openings 187
.
The resulting position of the Barcza system for White and a similar system for Black,
which we call king’s fianchetto. is displayed
in the following diagram :
186 Hungarian grandmaster 1911-1986, who often used this opening, e.g. 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 and 3.Bg2. 187 For example, Pirc, Modern, Grünfeld, and others.
(and Black King’s fianchetto)
In general, whether you prefer such a
playing style is a matter of taste, it certainly
has advantages with respect to king’s safety ,
especially, specially for Black, and
recommended by Seirawan (2003).
For White it may have versatility of use
against many−if not all−Black- setups, but it
probably lacks a certain aggressiveness that
many 1.e4 players prefer.
Although it is not specified for the Barcza
system to which square the White pawns
should go, a logical way of development would be do play moves like d2d3
188 and
castle king-side, and then consider e2e4189
.
We will return later with recommendations
for Black. Indeed, such a setup for the White
pieces has developed into a fully mature White opening, namely, the King’s Indian
attack (KIA); see for example Dunnington
(1998).
188Also possible is d4, and also in combination with c4, which then could transpose to English 189 To support e2e4 and leave the option of c2c4 open, the b1 knight can then be played to the square d2
61
Instead of always using the KIA, especially
by players who don't want to learn much
theory, players can use its formation only
against specific Black variations, such as the
Sicilian, which otherwise could be
complicated for White. For example, in
Emms(2001) such a recommendation is made,
namely, to play the closed Sicilian with Nc3 in combination with a king’s fianchetto.
Although for absolute beginners, the Barcza
system may be attractive, we don't recommend
KIA for average/club players, because it is
important to keep the initiative, ironically
enough, for only advanced players when facing the Kings Indian defense.
For Black, using a king’s fianchetto
formation can result in different defense
variations, depending on whether White has
played e4 or d4. Against d4 for example,
Black can choose between the King’s Indian or the Grünfeld Defense, assuming that the
player looks further into theory than just
playing a Barcza system with colors reversed. For this we can recommend the Grünfeld for
adventurous intermediate players because
some GM's consider the Kings-Indian to be a
slightly slow positional defense.
Fig. 6 GM E. Grünfeld (1893-1962)
Note: The Grünfeld is a sharp variation
and thus difficult to equalize for Black, unless
you are an advanced player and know this
variation well. I; n the chapter for the
advanced player with 1.d4, we will
recommend the Grünfeld for Black.
Because the Grünfeld is hard to master,
Black can also use two types of general systems against both d4 and e4, namely, the Modern defense (…g6), or maybe the so-
called Lion system (based on the Philidor-
Improved Hanham variation with ...d6 and
Nbd7). But as earlier discussed, we do not
really advise this 'Lion' system because White
seems able to achieve an advantage with f4, which leaves only the Modern as a flexible
fianchetto defense system for Black. flexible
indeed because it can transpose to the accelerated Dragon when Black gets the
chance to play a later ...c5 if he wishes, or the Pirc after ...d6.
Another flexible system, but this time for
Black, is combining ...d6 (Pirc) and ...c6
(Caro-Kann defense) together, which is called Czech defense. See the diagram below.
64
192
192 Fig 7 Some trees of thought (back and forth).
1
5. ADVANCED REPERTOIRE, WHITE
To avoid the Sicilian Defense (especially the
Najdorf), the rather drawish Petrov and also for
practical reasons, advanced players may want to
broaden their repertoire by also starting to play
1.d4, sometimes dependent on the opponent.
Thus such a switch from e4 to d4 not only is because of some 'fashion', or imitating some top
GM's who switched to 1.d4 in their repertoire,
An important reason for using 1.d4 is namely
that with our comprehensive analysis, it
fundamentally also seems the best move
although the differences are small in case of best
play by both sides.
But mainly due to the Najdorf against e4 which
is a hard nut to crack, and the strong play with the Catalan for White, the choice of d4 for
White seems more pro mising. And in case Black
avoids the Catalan for example with the
Grünfeld or the Slav then with our in-depth
research we also have found ways to keep some slight advantage for White; which we will show
later in this chapter.
As this book is mainly oriented at
average/club1 players, in this edition we will not
discuss such a very broad2 theory for d4 in all
details, but instead highlight some of our
main/preferred lines3.
1 we advise 1.d4 mainly for advanced club players
2 We assume that the players keep 1.e4 in their repertoire, for use for example against weaker players or in blitz; see also the chapter on gambit lines 3 As result of some new computer analysis, so certainly aiming at the highest quality possible. Thus in some cases not only improving on current opening theory, but also aiming at a 'best' repertoire for at least the first few moves, even -and especially- at high level.
In such a way the layout is more like a
‘repertoire book’ than a complete opening-
theory book4, but in some cases some
alternatives are provided for the main line5.
After 1.d4 the main Black responses are:
1. 1...Nf6! (Catalan, Grünfeld , Slav & more)
2. 1...d5 (QGD, Orthodox, Semi-Slav & more)
3. 1...c5 (Old Benoni, or tp Benoni)
4. 1...d6, 1..c6 or 1...g6 (2.e4! tp to 1.e4 lines)
5. 1...Others
So we start in sub-chapter (5.)1. with the
recommended moves for White against 1...Nf6, where some new theory in the Catalan will be
important for the White repertoire.
Thereafter in sub-chapter 5.2 play against the –also important- system after 1…d5 is
discussed, whereby in case of possible -and
frequently occurring- transpositions to systems
with 1...Nf6 we will refer to 5.1. In all cases,
especially in this sub-chapter, it seems White
can keep a slight advantage, although
fundamentally probably not enough to force a
winning endgame in all cases (see Appendix 3).
4 The same holds true in fact for the intermediate repertoire in Chapter 3 with 1.e4, but when combining both chapters nevertheless a comprehensive overview of the main chess opening theory is given 5 Such as 2...e6 for Black instead of probably the most solid move, 2...g6 with the Grünfeld variation.
2
5.1 WHITE LINES, 1.d4 Nf6, Introduction
After 1...Nf6 White plays 2.c4, after which Black can play 2...e6, 2...g6! (Grünfeld or
Kings-Indian), 2...c6 which will transpose to
Slav variations, 2...c5 (Benoni)6 , 2...Nc6?!
(Knight's-Tango), and some other playable
moves.
Such other playable but more rare second
moves for Black are 2...d6 (Old Indian, possible tp to Kings-Indian), 2...b6 (Queens-Indian
accelerated) 2...Nc6 (Trevitz-Trajkovich) and
2...e5 (Budapest gambit). For these moves we
will not give detailed analysis but instead just give the main moves, achieving an advantage
for White. With our advised move 2.c4, the
conventional setup which in our latest analysis is
a bit better than 2.Nf3 7, we also achieve good
play against such less conventional defenses.
The move with 2.Nf3 can lead to for example
the Torre attack (with Bg5) but in this opening,
although probably easier to play than the
Catalan, we have not found any significant
fundamental advantage for White in case of best
play that is if Black plays the best responsive
moves. And other moves than 2.c4 or 2.Nf3 for
White we consider inferior because Black with
solid positional play should be able to get easy equality or even an advantage.
We start with the main move for Black, 2...e6.
Now if White would play 3.Nc3, after ..Bb4! we get the Nimzo-Indian; we already have given
these lines when discussing our repertoire for
Black against d4. And as the 'Nimzo' is a strong
defense we do not recommend this for White.
6 Or 1....c5 and then 2.d5 transposition to Benoni.
7 Advised by GM Nigel Davies, for people switching from
1.e4 to 1.d4 ; after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 is possible, but our
recommendation for 2.c4 after 1..Nf6 is based on a subtle
difference, namely to avoid strong sub-variations of the
Grünfeld defense after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6! and so on=
Also, after a possible 3.Nf3, Black can defend
strongly with 3...b6, leading to the Queens-
Indian, which -although maybe more cra mped
and more difficult to play for Black, still is an
extremely solid defense when played correctly,
as we found with e xtensive computer analysis
(see the section for Black).
These variations will be discussed in the
following sections.
5.1.1 Catalan 1...Nf6 8 2…e6 (2.g3!)
In order to avoid the Indian systems, we prefer the Catalan opening setup, after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
...e6 3.g3! In many cases this leads to better
positions for White, although against the best
defense lines it still is not easy to maintain a -
slight- positional advantage. This is the basic
position:
8 Or 1…e6 2.c4! -instead of d5 leading to French- ...Nf6 3.g3 tp
1
5.2 White lines, after (1.d4) 1...d5
After 1.d4 d5 we recommend 2.Nf31, which
after 2...Nf6 3.c4 e6 usually leads to Queens
Gambit variations. For example the conven-
tional Queens Gambit Declined, QGD (or
sometimes Accepted, QGA after ...dxc4), or Slav
systems after 3...c6. As discussed in the following paragraphs in subchapter 5.2.1.
After 2...c6 (subchapter 5.2.2) White can
transpose to the Slav or try to achieve a slight
positional advantage after for example a move
as 3.h3!?. And then e.g. after 3...Nf6 4.Bf4 and
so on. A transposition to the normal Slav after
3.c4 also is possible. Whenever we get a
transposition to an earlier discussed variation a
reference to this earlier paragraph will be made
as discussed in 5.2.2.
After 2...e6 (5.2.3) we often again get a
transposition to the variations with 2...Nf6 under
5.2.1, namely, when the move ...Nf6 is played
later, after 2...e6, often 3...Nf6. Whereby the 'Triangle system'
2 where first ...c6 is played this
theory is avoided with our move order 2.Nf3
because after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 c6 White
plays 4.g3! in Catalan style. Hereafter the
situation with 2...dxc4 will be dealt with in the
sub-chapter 5.2.4. Then we discuss the move
2...Nc6 which leads to the Chigorin variation
under 5.2.5, and finally other moves3 will be
discussed under 5.2.6 .
1 This move 2.Nf3 - instead of 2.c4 - also is advised by GM Nigel Davies to players switching from 1.e4 to 1.d4 in their repertoire. An advantage then indeed is that it avoids the Albin counter gambit (d4 d5 c4 e5). NB but we did deliberately*not* advised 2.Nf3 in chapter 5.1 because then -after 2.Nf3!?- the move 2..g6! would lead to solid Grünfeld (sub)variations for Black. 2 Described in the book (Sherbakov, 2012). 3 A move as for example 2...g6?! , Neo-Grünfeld is
almost 'refuted' by 3.c4 c6! 4.e3! and so on. Other moves instead of 3...c6 in this variation like 3...Nf6 also are weak, for example after 4.cxd5 Bg7 5.Qa4! .
5.2.1 QGD & others (1...d5) 2…Nf6
After (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3) 2...Nf6 3.c4 Black most
often plays A) 3...e6. Also possible are B) 3...c6
(Slav or Semi-Slav), C) 3...dxc4 (QGA), D)
3...c5, or E) 3...g6 (Neo-Grünfeld). F) 3..Others.
(Note that these 'other moves' under F) are
clearly worse for Black, but we will nevertheless
briefly discuss those lines which are sometimes
tried in practical play further-on anyway).
A) QGD 3...e6
Now (after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 2...Nf6 3.c4 3...e6)
White can play 4.g3, aiming to get a Catalan
variation. In this situation however, after 4...Bb4+ the Bogo-Indian variation becomes
different (than in the situation of 1.d4 Nf6 as in
5.2), and is not good for White anymore4.
So in this variation White can better play
4.Nc3. Which gives the following position:
4 Although an entire chapter is spent for this move -and 5.Bd2- in [Avrukh, 2008], it seems almost impossible to find an advantage for White in such variations with computer analysis (Houdini2c). Whereby with our recommended move 3.Nc3 an advantage still seems possible.
2
After which Black usually plays A1) 4…Bb4! (QGD Ragozin), A2) 4...c6
(Semi-Slav), A3) 4...Be7, QGD Classical, A4)
4...Nbd7 (QGD,) A5) 4…c5 (Semi-Tarrasch).
Some other moves for Black also are possible,
such as A6) 4....h6, A7) 4…dxc4 (QGA) or A8)
others like for example 4…a6?!
A1) QGD/Ragozin (4…Bb4)
After the moves 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf65 3.c4 e6
4.Nc3, the move 4...Bb4, the Ragozin variation,
looks like the Nimzo-Indian Defense and
indeed after the move 5.e3! , we would get a
transposition to this variation. But we prefer 5.Bg5! which gives the following position:
Now there are three playable moves for Black:
a) 6...Nbd7, b) 6...h6!, or c) 6 ...dxc4 .
Which will be discussed in the following
paragraphs. And where applicable, we will refer to a recent book about the Ragozin variation,
namely, (Barsky, 2011).
5 Or 2...e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 tp
A1a) QGD Ragozin/Westphalia (5...Nbd7)
After the move 5...Nbd7 White plays 6.e3
which gives a transposition to the QGD
Manhattan or Westphalia variation.
Now after 6...c5! (after 6...0-0?! 7.cxd5 exd5
8.Qc2! c5 9.Be2²) 7.cxd5 we get the following
position (above right)
Now after 7...exd5 8.Be2! Qa5 (or ...Bxc36
9.bxc3 Qa5 10.0-0 tp) 9.0-0 c4 10.Qc2! Bxc3
11.bxc3 White achieves a slightly better
position7.
A1b) QGD Ragozin (5...h6!)
After 5...h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf68 7.e3 0-0 8.Rc1! we
get a position as shown next page:
6 After 8...h6 9.Bh4 ² 7 As in Balinski-Luther, 2011 8 Similar as in the Moscow variation of the QGD Semi-Slav it seems easier, and fundamentally slightly better for White to simply take the knight on f6 with the bishop.
1
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
7.1 Specific OPENING BOOKS
[Aagaard, J. & Ntirlis, N., 2011] GM Repertoire 10, The Tarrasch Defense. Quality Chess [Acers,Laven,2003] . The Italian gambit system/a guiding repertoire for White, Trafford
[Arizmendi & M.,2004] Mastering the Najdorf, Gambit Publications [Avrukh, 2008] GM Repertoire, Volume one, 1.d4, Quality Chess
[Avrukh, 2010] GM Repertoire, Vol. two, (1.d4) Quality Chess [Avrukh, 2011] GM Repertoire, Nr 9 The Grünfeld Defense(2) Quality Chess [Basman, 1982] Play the St George, Pergamon Press.
[Bauer, C 2005] Play .. b6 (a dynamic and hyper-modern system for black) Everyman Chess [Barsky, V, 2011] The Ragozin complex. New in Chess, The Netherlands
[Bikhovsky, A., 1993] The Closed Spanish, Karpov/Zaitsev systems, Batsford London [Bologan, V, 2008] The Chebanenko Slav According to Bologan, New in Chess. [Burgess, G., 2000] the Taimanov Sicilian, detailed coverage, Gambit Publications, London
[Cox, 2004] Starting out, Alekhine's defense Everyman Chess Publishing, London [Davies,N, 2005] Play e4 e5! (complete repertoire for black in the open games), Everyman Ch.
[Dearing, 2006] Play the Nimzo-Indian. Everyman Chess [Dunnington,A.,1997] Winning with the Catalan, American Batsford [Dunnington, 1998] The ultimate King's Indian attack, Batsford, London
[Emms,J, 2001] Attacking with 1 e4, Everyman Chess [Forintos,G & Haag, 1983] Petroff's Defense, Batsford (Library of tournament openings)
[Golubev, 1999] Easy guide to the Dragon. Everyman Chess, London [Golubev, 2001] The Sicilian Sozin, Gambit Publications [Yakovich, 2002] The complete Sicilian Sveshnikov. Gambit Publications, London
[Hellsten, J, 2008] The Sicilian Kan, Everyman chess, London [Janjgava , 2001] The Petroff Defense Gambit Publications, London
[Johnsen,S., Johannessen,L,2007] The Ruy Lopez, a guide for black, Gambit Publications [Kaufman, 2012] The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White [Karpov, A., 2007] How to play the English opening, Batsford Chess, London
[Kasparov, et al, 1991] The Sicilian Scheveningen, Batsford, London [Kosten,T 1999] Easy guide to the Najdorf, Everyman chess
[Krasenkov, M, 1995] The Open Spanish, Cadogan books, London [Lane, G, 2004] The bishops opening explained, Batsford, London [Lalic, B, 2003] The Marshall attack, Everyman Chess, London
[Marin,M.,2008] Beating the Open Games, 2nd edition, Quality Chess, Sweden [Mosconi,T., 2010] Refutation of Nadanian variation of the Grünfeld; Lulu.com E-book
[Panczyk, Emms, 2000] Archangel and new Archangel Everyman Chess, London [Panczyck, Ilczuk,2005] Ruy Lopez Exchange [Palliser, 2005] the Bb5 Sicilian , detailed coverage, Gloucester Publishing, London.
[Pedersen,S, 1999] Easy guide to the Bb5 Sicilian, Gambit/Everyman Chess [Pedersen, 2001] The main line French, 3.Nc3, Gambit Publications, London
[Raetsky,Chetverik,2004] The Catalan, Everyman Chess, London [Persson, T.H. 2005] Tiger's Modern, Quality Chess, Sweden [Pinsky,J.& Aagaard, 2001] Sicilian Kalashnikov, Everyman Chess, London.
[Plaskett,J,2004] The Scandinavian defense Batsford, London [Psakhis, L., 2003] French defense 3. Nc3 Bb4, Batsford, London
[Rogozenko, 2005] The Sveshnikov reloaded, Quality Chess, Sweden [Sherbakov, 2012] The triangle system. Everyman Chess, London
2
[Speelman,2000] Modern defense Everyman chess, London. [Sterren, P.vd, 2009] Fundamental Chess Openings, Gambit Publications, London
[Storey, C, 2011] The Sniper. Everyman Chess. [Suba, 2000] The hedgehog. Batsford chess publishing.
[Tomcsányi, P. 1997] The Ponziani opening, Prime Rate Szolgaltato Beteti Tarsasag, Budapest [Vera,R.,2008] The Nimzo-Indian (Chess Explained, Gambit Publications, UK) [Vera,R.,2007] The Meran Semi-Slav, Chess Explained, Gambit Publications
[Vigorito,D, 2007] Challenging the Nimzo-Indian, (Quality Chess, Sweden) [Vigorito,D, 2008] Play the Semi-Slav, (Quality Chess, Sweden)
[Vitiugov, 2010] The French Defence, a complete black repertoire ( Chess Stars, Bulgaria) [Vigus, 2007] The Pirc in black and white. Everyman Chess (Gloucester), London [Ward, C., 2001] Winning with the Sicilian Dragon II (Batsford, London)
[Wells, P., 2007] Grandmaster Secrets, The Caro-Kann (Gambit Publications) [Yröla,J, 2000] Easy guide to the classical Sicilian (Richter-Rauzer/Sozin), Everyman Chess
[Yröla,J,Tella,2003] The Queen’s Indian, detailed explanation, Gambit publications
7.2 GENERAL CHESS (& Opening-related) BOOKS
[Adams, Weaver, 1924] White to play and win (Ishi press, 2007 revision)
[Berliner,H,1999] The system, a world champion’s approach to chess. Gambit Publications. [Donk, J.G.T., 1952] Opening Vademecum (Chess opening repertoire, in Dutch) [Edwards, 2007] Teach yourself visually chess (Wiley Publ., New Jersey).
[Evans, Gligoric et al, 1974] How to open a chess game. RHM Press, NY, 1974 [Fine,R,1989] Ideas behind the chess openings, Batsford (new algebraic edition)
[Giddins, S,2004] How to choose your chess opening repertoire, Chess Publisher [Herik, dr H.J. van den, 1983] Computerschaak, schaakwereld, kunstm.intelligentie (Dutch) [Kotov, A, 1978] Play like a Grandmaster, Batsford, London.
[Matanovic, et al,1999] Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (Small ECO, Sahovski Informator) [Nunn,J, et al, 1999] Nunn’s chess openings (NCO), Everyman Chess Publishers
[Nunn,J. 2011] Understanding Chess Middlegames. Gambit Publica tions, London [Mednis, E., 1982] How to Play Good Opening Moves, McKay Chess Library, US. [Mednis,1983] From the opening into the endgame, Pergamom Press
[Palliser, 2003 ] Play 1.d4! Batsford, London [Pafu, 2000] The beginners game (Victoria, Canada, www.beginnersgame.com)
[Schaeffer, 1997] One jump ahead, challenging human supremacy in checkers, Springer, NY [Seirawan, 2003] Winning chess openings, Everyman Chess, London [Shereshevky, Slutsky, 1992] . Mastering the endgame (Vol 2). Cadogan Chess.
[Shreschevsky,Slutsky,1991] Mastering the endgame (Vol 1). Pergamon Chess (reprint) [Tak, A.C.van der,1994] Taktiek in de opening/open spelen' NIC Interchess BV (in Dutch)
[Ward, C.2000] Improve your opening play, Everyman Chess, 2000 [Watson, J.,2006] Mastering the chess openings, vol I. Gambit Publications, UK.
APPENDIX 2 (INDEX OF MAIN LINES) (version February 2012,
Variations analyzed with Houdini 2/3 and some others (during earlier years)
Hereafter the appendices are given with the repertoire variations for the white and black
side, first at intermediate level. The further right (in-depth), the more 'inaccurate' the
suggested moves become. Therefore the more advanced chess player, who want to go
'beyond' the definition of the variations as given in the chapters 2.2 and 2.3.1 of the book is
advised to study the first five or six moves in the appendix more accurately than the later
moves; keeping in mind these also may be adapted slightly at his own judgment, i.e. after
further study or experience in real games. For the 'black variations' our analysis has been
done with in less detail than for white, as the main purpose of the book is to show the main,
winning lines with 1.e4, and consequently show the main drawing lines against d4 and other
defenses. Thus the variations given in App. A2, after the white lines with 1.e4, generally are
shorter than the lines for white. Also, we do not claim that the lines for black are the absolute
truth, i.e. are the best defenses for the rest of the future. Depending on further results, there
probably will be scope for improvements, after which the repertoire may change slightly, at
least with respect to some variations. Hopefully we will be able to incorporate such updates in
later editions.
After appendix A1/2, in appendix 3 we give the index for the main lines for beginning
players. First we give some easier alternatives to attack against e5 (open games) or c5
(Sicilian), In App. 3.b we summarize the easier repertoire with e5 as defense against e4
instead of the difficult Sicilian. Novelties have not been indicated in App.3 , yet the summary
of those lines in this appendix will be useful for a quick overview, especially for beginners of
course. For the defense against other moves than e4, as 1.d4 or others, the reader is referred to
App.A/2 again. A possible easier defense than the Queens Indian after d4 Nf6 c4 e6 Nf3 for
beginners is the Bogo-Indian, but for the time being this is outside the scope of this book.
Possibly included (later) in back_cover of the book, luxury (color) edition:
Cd-Rom with Bookbuilder programs 4.1 and 3.6, and large back-solved database for Bookbuilder (>19 million positions) as well as new and up to date user-book for program ChessPartner (www.lokasoft.com)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ruy Lopez
(RL)
e4 Nf3 Bb5 Ba48 0-0 Re1
9 Bb3 c3 h3
10 Closed, 9. h3
e5 Nc6 a6!11
Nf612
Be713
b5 d614
0-015
cont. definit ion 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 RL closed 9 h3 .. d3! Nbd2 Nf1 Bc2 Ng3 Be3 Bxc5 a5 = RL Breyer Nb8! Nbd7 Bb7
16 Nc5 Re8 Bf8 a5 dxc5 9..Nb8
.. d4
17 Nbd2 a3!
18 Bc2 b3 Bb2 a4 Bd3 Qc2 g3N ² tp Zaitsev (1)
Bb7 Rfe8 Bf8! 19
h6 Nb8 Nbd7 g6 c6 Bg7 Nh5 (new line) .. d4 Nbd2 a3! tp ² Zaitsev (2) Rfe8 Bb7
20 Bf8 tp
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 .. Bc2 d4 Nbd2 b3 Ndf1 d5 Ng3 Be3 ² RL Chigorin Na5 c5! Qc7! Rfd8
21 g6N Bf8 Bg7 Bd7 variation, (1)
.. Bc2 d4 cxd4 Nbd2 Nb3 Be3 Nbd2 Rac1 Qe2 Bb1 a3 ² RL Chigorin Na5 c5 cxd4
22 Qc7
23 Nc6
24 a5 a4 Bd7 Rac8 Nb4 Rfe8 variation, (2)
8 Better than Bxc6, the exchange variation, as after dxc6 5. d3 (or 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5! and then e.g. d3 Qf6
Nbd2 Nge7 etc =) 5.. Bd6 and then 6. 0-0 f6 7. Qe2 Bg4 (with possible tp. in case of d ifferent black move
order) it is difficult to get advantage because of the black bishop pair, even although white has a king side pawn
majority. 9 6.c3 (Bxc6 dxc6! Qe2=) Nxe4! 7.Re1 Rf6 and then e.g. Nxe5 Nxe5 = is worse than tp to RL closed And 6.d3
b5 7. Bb3 0-0 7.a4 b4 Rfe1 = also is drawish 10
Or 9.d4 (Boguljubov) Bg4! 10. Be3 (10.d5 Na5 Bc2 c6 =) 9.. exd4 11. cxd4 Na5 Bc2 c5 Nc3! = 11
3.. Nf6! g ives the Berlin variation, given in detail a few pages further 3.. d6?! is the Old Steinitz variation,
after which 4. d4 (or 4.0-0 Bd7 d4 Nf6 Nc3 exd4 Nxd4 a6 Ba4 etc ±) Bd7 5.0-0 Nf6 6.Nc3 exd4 6. Nxd4 a6
Ba4 ± 3.. Nge7 is the Cozio variation, often played in combination with .. g6 (3..g6 is the fianchetto
variation) e.g. 3..Nge7 4.0-0 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 and then e.g. a4 or d3 ². After 3… Nd4?!, the Bird var: 4.Bc4! Bc5
Nc3 Nf6 Na4! ± 12
4. .. Nge7 is the Cozio defense deferred after which white can best play 4.d3 (Ng6 5.Be3! etc. ²)
4. .. Be7?! Interesting trap to invoke 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nxe5? Qd4! Correct is 5. d4! exd4 6 0-0 etc. ² 13
5. ..Nxe4 (R.L. Open) 6.d4! b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.Nxe5! Nxe5 9.dxe5 c6 10.Nbd2 Nxd2 11.Qxd2!N Be7 (Bf5 Qf4)
Qc3! c5 Qg3 c4 Qxg7 Rf8 Qxh7 cxb3 Bh6 bxc2 Bxf8 Bxf8 Rac1 d4 Qe4! ² 5.. d6 6. Bxc6! (def. Steinitz)
bxc6 7. d4 exd4 8.Qxd4 c5 9.Qd3 etc ² Or ..b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.d3 ( 7.a4! Bc5 axb5 etc. ²) ² Arkhangelsk
variation 14
Or 7.. 0-0 8. a4! B5 9.d4 (or d3) d6 10. Nbd2 = Anti-Marshall 15
8.. Na5 ?! 9.Bc2 c5 10.d4 (or h3 tp RL closed Chigorin ²) Qc7 11.a4?! is the ‘Balla’ variation and then e.g.
b4 (h3! tp closed Chigorin ²) 12. cxb4 cxb4 13.Bg5 etc. =
[8 ..Bg4? 9. h3! Bh5 (or Bd7 Bc2 0-0 d3) 10.g4 Bg6 11.g5 Nh5 12. d4 ± 16
Or 10 .. Bb7 , 11.. Nbd7 tp 17
10. Ng5 Ref8 11. Nf3 [11d4 Bb7! 12.Nf3 (12.a4 h6 13.Nf3=] tp) Ref8 = by repetition 18
the old main line was 12. a4 (a3 h6 13.Bc2 Nb8! =) h6! 13. Bc2 (d5 Nb8! and then e.g. Qe2 =) exd4 14.cxd4
Nb4 15.Bb1 c5 16. d5 but after 16.. Nd7 17.Ndf1 {17.Ra3 . g6 18.axb5 (e.g. Gombkoetoe-Mateika, Hung corr
1991 axb5 19.Ndf1N Bg7 20.Qb3 Qf6 21.Ne3=) ; in case of 18. Nh2!? h5!N (18.. c4 in Predel-Mayer ½- ½ ,
email ch 2002) or Nb6!? =} f5 18.exf5 Nbxd5! 19.Re6N Nf6 20.Rxe8= 19
Or ..Qd7 see 9.. Qd7 tp ² (next page) 20
11... Na5 11.Bc2 Nfd7 13.b4 ² tp Chigorin (1) ; 11.. exd4 12.cxd4 Qd7 13.Ndf1 Na5 14.Bc2 c5 15.d5 g6
16.b3 ² 21
Or 12 .. g6 13.Ndf1 Rfd8N 14.b3 tp (12.. cxd4 13.cxd4 [..Bb7 14.d5 Rac8 15.Bd3 Nd7 16. Nf1 f5 17.exf5
Nc4 18.Ne3 Nxe3 19.Bxe3 Bxd520. a4² ] Nc6 {or ..g6!? 14.b4²} 14.Nb3 a5 15.Be3 a4 16.Nbd2 Bd7 ²) 22
11... exd4!? 12. cxd4 Bb7 13.Nc3! Rfe8 14.Bf4! ² 23 .. Bb7 13.d5! Rac8 14.Nbd2 Qc7 15.Bd3 Nfd7 (or .. Nh5 Ndf1 Nf4 Bxf4 exf4 Qd2 ²) 16.Ndf1 f5
17.exf5 Nc4 18.Ne3 Nxe3 19. Bxe3 Bxd5 20.a4 ²
INDEX
BLACK
A.2.4
BEGINNERS
---------
---------
---------
---------
---------
-------- ---------
---------
---------
---------
-------- ---------
--------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
e4 Nf3 Bb5 Ba4 Bb3 d3! 0-0 Nc3 ²/› Ruy Lopez
e5 Nc6137 a6! b5?! Bb7! Nf6 Bc5 d6 Caro/wing
var.
e4 Nf3 Bb5 Bxc6 0-0!138 d4 c3 cxd4 h3 Qc2 RL exchange
e5 Nc6 a6 dxc6 f6 Bg4 exd4 Qd7 Be6 0-0-0 Gligoric var.
e4 Nf3 Bc4 c3139 d4 cxd4 Bd2 Bxb4 Qb3 0-0 Bxd5 Qxd5 = Giuoco
Piano
e5 Nc6 Bc5! Nf6 exd4 Bb4! Nxe4 Nxb4 Qe7 d5 Nxd5 c6
(tp two knights)
e4 Nf3 Bc4 d3140 Nc3 Na4 Nxb6 Bb5 = G.
Pianissimo
e5 Nc6 Bc5 Nf6 d6 Bb6 axb6 Bd7 or GP 4 knights
e4 Nf3 d4 Nxd4141
Nxc6142
e5 143 Qe2 c4 Nc3 Bd2 Qe4 = Scottish
4..Nf6
e5 Nc6 exd4 Nf6 bxc6 Qe7 Nfd5 Nb6 Bb7 Qe6 0-0-0 (Schmidt/M
ieses)
e4 Nf3 144 c3 Qa4 d3 etc. = Ponziani
135 For other defenses , e.g. Scandinavian (..d5), Aljechin (..Nf6), etc. see App 1A (beginners should look just to the first few moves , and/or try to transpose to more common variations, e.g. after 1.. Nc6 (Nimzow.) with 2.Nf3! 136 in case of 2.. d6 (2.. e6 3.Nf3) 3. Bb5! (avoiding the Najdorf) Bd7 (Moscow variation) 4.Bxd7
(Nxd7 0-0 Nf6 Nc3 g6 d4 cxd4 Qxd4!) 0-0 5.Nc6 6.c3 Nf6 7.d3 e6 8.Nbd2 etc. ²/= 137 Absolute beginners can also play .. d6, the Philidor (see App 1A) to avoid lines as Giuoco-Piano,
Vienna, Kings gambit, Scottish etc. (but they should be aware that white can get an opening advantage..) 138 The move 5.d4 is less dangerous for black, e.g. 5..exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Bd6! etc = 139 After 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 (5.d4?! Bxd4! =/+) tp to Giuoco-Pianissimo 140 After 4. b4?!, the Evans gambit black can accept the gambit with 4.. Nxb4 (surprise value instead of
Bxb4) ) 5.c3 (5.Nxe5?! Qf6! -+) Nc6! 6.d4 exd4 cxd4 Bb4 Bd2 Bxd2 Qxd2 d6 etc = But advanced p layers
probably can also accept the gambit with Bxb4 and then 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.0-0 (7.Qb3?! Qe7! 0-0 Bb6 cxd4
Nxd4 Bxd4 Nc3 Nf6 Nb5 Bxa1 Nxc7 Kd8 Nxa8 Bd4 =/+) Nge7! 8.cxd4 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Ba3 Be6 = 141 3. Bc4 (Scottish gambit) Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.e5 d5 Bb5 (tp Giuoco Piano) Ne4 cxd4 Bb6 Bxc6 bxc6 Qc2 0-0
Qxc6 = 3.c3?! (Goering gambit) dxc3 [3.Bb5 (Relfsson gambit) a6! =] 4.Nxc3 Bc5! 5.Bc4 d6 0-0 Nf6 Bg5 0-
0 Nd5 Be6 =/+ 142
after 5.Nc3 Bb4! etc. = (Scottish four knights) 143 after 6.Qe2 Qe7 7.e5 (tp) Nd5 8.Nbd2 (after 8.c4 see line above) g6! 9.Ndf3 Bg7 10.c4 Nb6 = 144 2.Bc4, the Bishops opening can transpose to Giuoco Pianissimo after 2.. Nc6 3.d3 (3.Nc3 Vienna) Nf6 4. Nf3 Bc5 etc. 2.c3 the Lopez opening is no danger for black after 2..d5! =+
Appendix 5 Summary of played computer-games
As operator of two top computer chess programs on internet chess club (ICC) resp Free
internet chess server (fics) during the last fifteen years I've let these programs played
more than twenty thousand blitz gamess and more than ten thousand 'standard'(rapid &
slower) games during about fifteen years with self made opening books, (with various
interfaces such as Arena and Chess Partner) which were continuously update/improved
along the way; see summary below, my notes on ICC and FICS (March 2012)
Fics notes for Kec(C):
rating RD win loss draw total best
Blitz 2643 52.7 5935 3436 2357 11728 2740 (21-Feb-2011) Standard 2709 55.2 2779 1384 1270 5433 2779 (07-Aug-2011)
Lightning 2941 45.2 2317 811 535 3663 2941 (12-Mar-2012)
Total time online: 536 days, 18 hrs, 42 mins % of life online: 10.2 (since Wed Oct 1, 11:13 PDT 1997)
1: Deep Shredder engine
2: HP Quad 9300 2.5Ghz
3: ChessPartner 6.04 interface
4: self made Ch.p6.04 (user)book, updated until 2012
5: with strong repertoire (*)
6: found with Bookbuilder
7: a program to study opening theory
8: www.superchess.blogspot.com
9: * see E-book 'better chess opening play'(2011)
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ICC Statistics for bookbuilder(C) On for: 0 Idle: 0
rating [need] win loss draw total best Bullet 2804 1849 737 768 3354 2994 (15-Mar-2007)
Blitz 3026 5382 3179 3109 11670 3221 (30-Dec-2010) Standard 2906 3736 1127 1845 6708 3071 (23-Feb-2011)
1: CP6 interface 2: Houdini 2-Pro 3: HP Quad 9300, 2.5 Ghz
4: making new Chp.book, still testing 5: Win7, 4Gb Ram
6: thx to martyrdom(IM) for book besting 7: latest (demo)version of E-book: 'better chess opening play' (2011) 8: superchess.blogspot.com
Groups : Netherlands computer