Defense is perhaps one of the most important chess skills you can have. World Championships and major tournaments are always won with a help of outstanding defense. Ability to play well in inferior positions and don’t collapse under pressure is the trait shared by all World Champions and greatest chess players.
If you want to strengthen your game, it is one of the skills you should definitely look to develop. Today we will study the 7 greatest defensive combinations by the world’s best.
Scotch Game is a very interesting opening, especially for those club players’ strength [meaning under 2200]. It is a pretty rare opening which may either be used a surprise or a weapon of choice. White challenges the black center right away and ends up with an aggressive looking position. Black has his own pluses, including the exposed white’s queen in the center of the board and possibility of a rapid development.
The games are typically theoretically tense, and those with better opening preparation tend to succeed. Let’s take a look at some of the best classical games played on Scotch.
Garry Kasparov is the legend among the legends. His playing style is a hybrid between Alekhine’s, Tal’s and Fischer’s. He is a very dynamic player with extensive opening knowledge and aggressive play. Kasparov is perhaps the most titled and awarded player that ever lived. He played a total of ~2500 rated games winning 55% of the times and losing just 7.7% throughout his career! For comparison, Magnus Carlsen’s winning percentage is “just” 43% and losing 16.6%. Kasparov has played hundreds if not thousands of beautiful games, but today we show you 5 of his amazing wins. Any chess player from 100-2800 can learn from those games.
The London System has always been a sideline, far from the latest hype when it comes to opening trends. However, this is not the case anymore, for in the past 2-3 years, maybe more, thanks to the efforts put by Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and needless to say Gata Kamsky, the London has become just as dangerous and respectable as any other opening choice among the main lines of 1.d4 or 1.e4. Perhaps due to the so many analyzed lines, the world has found in the London the perfect opening to force your opponents to play by themselves, without the possibility of engine analysis or too relevant theoretical support.
The King’s Indian Defense is one of the most popular openings employed by Black against 1.d4. To a move with which white usually invites to a quiet and positional play, black responds with a set-up that most of the times lead to attacks against the white king. It is no secret that the King’s Indian Defense is normally employed by players who like to attack and are not afraid of complications. There are numerous ways and plans for White to respond to this opening and most of them require a lot of study and memorization.
