Openings are important.
Although it is common to hear well-experienced Grandmasters telling you that you should start by studying the endgame (as stated by Capablanca), this does not mean that you should put the opening aside.
In modern chess, when even the low rated players have great access to information and top analysis by coaches and strong players, it is mandatory to have a decent opening knowledge in order to compete.
One of the main weapons against 1.e4 is the French Defense (1…e6) and a very popular variation of this defense is the so-called Winawer Variation which arises after the moves: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5
The positions arising from this variation usually yield a thick central pawn structure with white pawns on c2-c3-d4-e5 and black pawns on e6-d5-c5 or c4.
Here in Part III we will take a look at Black’s options against 1 e4.
As we noted in Part I of our analysis, White generally manages to steer the game towards his preferred lines after most of Black’s defenses against 1 e4. Our task here is to see which of those are the most acceptable for Black from the aspect of practicality.
In Part I, we saw what White has at his disposal on move 1. Here we will take a look at what Black can do when faced with each of White’s main moves (except for 1.e4, which will be dealt with in Part III).
White’s 1.b3 was deemed impractical in our analysis in Part I and rightly so. Black has a wide array of choices here and can pick up any line that is to his liking.
The Grunfeld defense is one of the most popular defenses against 1.d4 nowadays and it has been quite a pain for white since the last decade. Without a real path to an advantage, the legion of 1.d4 players has been constantly switching from one line to another, playing the surprise factor card. Through the history of modern chess, the greatest players have contributed massively to the development of this resourceful variation.
I already touched upon this subject in my previous article How To Train, where I addressed the technical aspects of how to choose an opening, how to study it afterwards, how to use the database and the engine. If you haven’t done so already, I strongly recommend you read it first.
In this article, I will analyse various openings from the aspect of their practicality. By practicality I mean easiness to memorise and play. Does an opening require a lot of preparation before you can play it?
The opening is nowadays probably one of the most studied of the three phases of the game. We have always said that there should be a balance between the time given to each of them in your training schedule and that it’s more important to get a good understanding of the game by studying a lot of classic games, as well as middlegame and endgame concepts and key positions. However, you shouldn’t misunderstand this.
In order to get to show your knowledge, you must first achieve a good position from the opening. What we mean is that, if you are a club player, it probably makes no sense to memorize a large number of complicated variations only to quickly collapse once the theory is over.
The Dutch Defense is a popular choice against 1.d4 among club players, although not that often seen at the top level. Nevertheless, it has been used by many strong players, such as ex-World Champions Alexandr Alekhine and Mikhail Botvinnik, Bent Larsen, Miguel Najdorf, Artur Yussupov, Nigel Short.
It has also been employed from time to time by players like Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen. There are many possible set-ups for black, but in this article, we are going to focus on the Stonewall System, a line where black gambles on an attack on the kingside and can be quite annoying for white if he’s not prepared to deal with it.
It is difficult nowadays to get a good game without having a fair amount of theory knowledge. There is no such thing as an easy game anymore, as almost everybody, as amateur as they are, knows openings. It is probably the most studied phase of the game and it’s important that you pass it successfully. In other words, you have to know as much as to get into at least a playable (if not slightly better) middlegame.
From our very first steps into chess studying we are taught about the importance of the initiative in the game – a concept somewhat difficult to understand at first glance and one that demands a certain degree of comprehension of the game. Let us start with the official definition of initiative; what is it exactly?
The initiative in chess belongs to the player who can make threats that cannot be ignored. This way, he puts the opponent to defend against these threats, not being able to make moves that accomplish a certain plan of his own.
