We live in a time where technology is part of our everyday life and information is easily accessible to everybody, things that are clearly reflected in the development of the chess theory. With the help of computers, many lines have been refuted, while some openings have been demonstrated to be a forced draw. The help we get from the engines is immense, but this is not necessarily a good thing and this is mostly reflected at the club level.
The Maroczy Bind is one of the structures every chess player must study and know how to play with both colors. It is a very popular system that is used against the Sicilian, but it can arise from various move orders, whether you start by 1.e4, 1.c4, 1.Nf3 or even 1.d4.
It can be easily recognized from the presence of two white pawns on c4 and e4 and the trade of black’s c for white’s d-pawn. With this, white is basically trying to control black’s most typical active pawn break, d6-d5.
The Slav is a very popular reply for the black player against 1.d4. There are many lines and set-ups possible for both players, but in this article, we are going to focus on the Semi-Slav and one very common structure that appears in this variation – the a7-b6-c5-d5 pawn formation. First of all, the Semi-Slav is characterized by black’s decision of keeping the light-squared bishop on c8 and playing …e6.
The King’s Indian Defense is one of the most popular replies for black against white’s 1.d4. It is the perfect weapon for the active player who likes to be aggressive and is not afraid of complications. The opening is well-known for the dangerous attacks that black can start on the kingside, which has produced many brilliant games.
The main plan for black is the advance e7-e5, after which white has a choice. If the center is closed with d4-d5, then black usually starts preparing the pawn storm on the kingside.
The Benoni Defense (arises after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 ed 5.cd5 d6 6.e4 g6) is one of the most attractive options to play as black for those players looking for a sharp game.
Historically, world champions have employed this defense with great success; most notorious were Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal. Other notable Grandmasters that played this mystic defense quite often were Bronstein, Savon, Suba, Mecking, Psakhis, Marin, Topalov and let us never forget Vugar Gashimov who brought it back into modern high level with reasonable results.
The Tarrasch Defence is a neglected one. It had its glory days in the late 1960s when Boris Spassky used it first in his Candidates match against Geller in 1965 and then as a very efficient weapon in his title-winning match against Petrosian in 1969 when he scored 1 win and 4 draws with it.
The second champion of the Tarrasch Defence was another World Champion, Garry Kasparov, who scored phenomenal results with it in the early 1980s.
If Black wants to play for a win he has two general directions to choose from: he can try to equalize first and then outplay his opponent, or he can try to wrestle the initiative from White from the get-go.
I would like to discuss the second option as it is often the preferred one in all-or-nothing situations (though this does not mean that it will give more chances!).
This course is dedicated to one of the most popular openings played on all levels – The Ruy Lopez or as many people know it the Spanish game.
Here is how this opening starts: 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
In previous articles, we have written about the importance of being practical in your opening choice. Following the sharp lines in the mainstream theory is not for everyone, but fortunately, chess is rich enough and can be played in many different ways. In this article, we would like to draw your attention to the exchange variation of the French as played by the French Grandmaster Etienne Bacrot. Bacrot is an extremely strong player with a wonderful chess career. Although for most of his career, he has been a 1.d4 player, Bacrot switches to 1.e4 every now and then.
One of the most troubling decisions is to design your opening repertoire. The idea of having a perfect set of weapons against each of the opponent’s possible choices gives us peace of mind. However, there is a huge gap between how we picture this in our head and how it actually works in practice.
We see openings (our repertoire) as something fixed where ideally we would obtain a comfortable position each time and sometimes if we are lucky, we can get even an advantage. I would say that nowadays this rather sounds like wishful thinking and not very practical.