On being asked why most GMs and super-GMs play 1…c5 and 1…e5 to 1.e4 instead of the French Defense, Peter Svidler recently commented: “I think the answer is twofold. Firstly, both the Spanish and the Sicilian offer you a much broader scope to choose from. If you play 1…e5 you’re not …”
What did he really mean? Is the French Defense not good enough to play at the elite level?
Sometimes, even a single move can change the course of a game—even so much as to turn a good opening into a GREAT one!
That’s what the move 2.Nc3 does to the regular London System. Not that the London system is a bad opening or such, it has got a few drawbacks where it does not offer sufficient attacking opportunities to Black, that it is not tactical enough or that the bishop on f4 can get too exposed for White’s own good.
The Modern Defense, starting with 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7, follows any other hypermodern openings and is highly provocative and dynamic—as much as an opening can get. Black fianchetto a bishop early on the g7-square eyeing on the long dark-squared diagonal running from h8 to a1.
The King’s Indian Defense is one of the most romantic and charming chess openings ever. It is the best weapon for those who want to play for a win with Black pieces against 1.d4. Black temporarily gives up the center to develop quickly and attack enemy central pawns later. This approach creates strategic imbalances from the very beginning and leads to complicated and fighting positions.
The possibilities in chess are countless and they grow with each move that we make. In spite of the millions of games that have been played, it is very difficult to find two that are exactly the same. We have to make a choice right from the start and this choice will usually influence the course of the game.
The King’s Indian Defense is one of the most complex openings in chess. This is so because it can lead to many different pawn structures with various underlying tactical and strategical ideas. In this article, I would like to explore how the great Bobby Fischer treated the positions in the Mar del Plata variation of the King’s Indian.
Finding the right opening can be a lot of hard work and it usually requires deep investigation before you can finally settle for the most suitable one. If you are an attacking player who likes to play the unbalanced position, it might be especially difficult to choose an opening for black. The help of a coach can be of immense help in such situations, but if you are alone on your quest, we are here to help.
In this article, I would like to explain the reasons for recommending the Scotch Game as a way to combat 1.e4 e5 instead of many other possibilities that exist out there. As a person who has played nearly exclusively 1.e4 e5 on the Black side, and a person who just published a Black course on 1.e4 e5 and is about to publish a book, I can definitely say that White does not have any opening advantage in 1.e4 e5.
The Sicilian Defense is the most popular and fun opening in chess. It leads to exciting positions, never makes you bored and its combative nature attracts millions of chess fans of any level. When top-level grandmasters need to win with Black pieces, they use the Sicilian in most of the cases. And it is the best-scoring response after White’s first move 1.e4! Perhaps everyone thought about adding this marvelous Defense (or maybe “Attack”?) to their repertoire. But which line of the Sicilian to choose?
Creating a repertoire for black is usually a challenge, as your opponent is the one who’s setting the pace and can decide what type of positions to go for. If you are still struggling with putting yours together, then this article is for you!
