You may recall from my last post on World Open Game 1 4. g3. You may also recall how I was going to try and split up my analysis posts so they are not massive. I also want to post analysis type stuff on an every other day sort of schedule.
So, in this post I am going to introduce my analysis of 4. b3. To do this, we are going to look at a nice old game.
Geza Maroczy is an Hungarian player who perhaps is a much better player than his renown would indicate. He actually was set to play Emmanuel Lasker in a World Championship match in 1906, but this fell apart because of various un chess related turmoil. His legacy to chess is the Maroczy Bind, an interesting opening where White plays e4 and c4 and attempts to prevent Black from playing the freeing pawn move d5. Play revolving around this idea is still very much alive today, and the moderately popular Hedgehog Opening retains many of the same ideas as the Maroczy Bind.
Vladimir Vukovic is best known for his book The Art of Attack in Chess. Personally, I dont like this book all that much and think it is overrated. It is possible, though, that the book has been emulated and the ideas in it have been transcribed in a better form. So the book is actually really good for the time. But updates of the material are now available and now the book pales a bit in comparison.
Anyway, the book just goes through a bunch of ideas about attacking. The best idea in the book is that you should attack various squares. Haha, that is little sarcastic, but that kind of is a large portion of the philosophy of the book. Aside from the philosophy, though, it does have a wide variety of very nice examples of attacking chess. The problem is, though, you can get a wide variety of excellent examples of attacking chess for free on the internet.
To a certain degree, it is a classic chess book, so if you are the collector type it may be worthwhile for you to own this book.
Moving along to the game, lets look at the position a bit after 4. b3.
White aims to fianchetto his dark squared Bishop. When he does this, he will neutralize Black's dark squared Bishop's pressure on his Queen side. He also may have the opportunity to trade off dark squared Bishop's which will greatly weaken Black's King side.
I am only going to point out a few brief things until move 13. On move 6, White plays Qc1 which protects his dark squared Bishop on b2. This move looks a bit clunky, but it does seem to work pretty well. I would definitely look for ways Black to exploit this move, though, as it just looks really clunky.
On move 10, Black effectively decides to fianchetto his light squared Bishop when he plays 10...b6. This doesnt look like a bad plan at all, but it is fairly committal and Black likely will have alternative places to put his light squared Bishop. Thus, it is worth noting that this may be an area where Black can try something a lot different.
Now move 13, where White plays Bxf6.
Here, we can see that Black's King side will be somewhat weak, especially his dark squares. White's Queen side will also be weak, but notably, White's King isnt there. This probably isnt the biggest deal for Black, though, because there are not a whole lot of pieces on the board that can attack Black's King.
Black has to take the Bishop with his Queen, so 13...Qxf6 and then 14. Qc3!?. I am not sure if I should just give this move an exclamation point. I gave it the "interesting move" notation because it is an interesting move. White is going to simplify into an endgame where he has doubled pawns on the Queen side. Normally, this is somewhat foolish, but here, White will get a lot of pressure on Black's d6 pawn.
Before I go on any longer, lets look at the position after 17. Rad1.
Black doesnt really have a great way to defend the d6 pawn. Also note that it is backward. A backward pawn means that the pawn cannot be supported by another pawn. For instance, in the above position, White's c4 pawn is not backwards because it can be and is supported by the b3 pawn.
I am not too sure about the terminology, but usually a backward pawn also connotes that the pawn is on an open file. This means that the pawn can be attacked by the rooks and queen of the other player. This can be a pretty serious weakness, and can often lead to the loss of the pawn and loss of the game.
Looking again at the position, note how White's c3 pawn is also unable to be protected by a pawn. However, White's c4 pawn and Black's c5 pawn block the file, so Black's Rooks will have a hard time attacking it. Generally, I wouldnt call White's c3 pawn backwards.
Regardless of what you call it, Black's d6 pawn is a weakness. Both players maneuver around a bit, and finally we get to the position after 23...e5.
Black's d6 pawn looks firmly backward at this point. However, this may be slightly deceiving. I believe what Black was going for here was a series of King side pawn pushes that would eventually break up White's bind on the d5 square, or at least provide some compensation to Black.
For instance, notice that if Black were able to play exf4 and White played gxf4, White's e4 pawn would actually be backward. Black's light squared Bishop is already providing a little bit of pressure on this pawn, so this is a pretty good idea.
I could be missing something here.
After a bit of maneuvering, this is sort of what happens. After 28. Ng4.
Black is able to initiate his exf4 idea, but White has developed some other interesting counterplay. A fairly series of exchanges
It is not at all clear to me why White doesnt take the exchange on move 30. Instead he plays Nxh7+. I dont think there are any tactics that he has to worry about. Rather, I think he just feels confident in the endgame he gets to after move 38. The endgame after 30. Nxg8 gets White up an exchange, but he is down a pawn on the King side and his doubled pawns on the Queen side may make winning this endgame difficult.
Here is the position after the possible 30. Nxg8 fxg3+ 31. Kxg3 Kxg8
I dont know, this looks pretty good for White to me. Maybe for a master level player, the rook game that actually occurs is an even easier win. Maybe I should work on my Rook endgames!
The endgame he actually gets to, after move 38.
Well, this actually does look pretty good for White as well. He is a pawn up, though it is doubled, and I guess you could say he has the initiative. After some maneuverings, the position after 49. Rd5 is this.
After move 54...Ke6 the position in this.
And here White decides to push a pawn.
White has undoubled his pawns, which makes his position look much better. Black cant do much in this position, but he has been able to move his rook from a somewhat passive position to a more active position.
After this, White aims to trade off both Black's Queen side pawns. He is willing to lose his g pawn to do this.
With two passed pawns, it is difficult or impossible for Black to stop the pawns.
Both sides push their pawns a bit, and get their Kings into position. With the move 77. Kc7, White finds the nice idea of trading off his a pawn to get Black's g pawn and good King position. With his King on c7, White will have a fairly easy time promoting his c pawn. Thus, Black must decline to take the a pawn.
This doesnt help though. The final position.
Black's Rook is actually no longer protecting his g pawn, because if his Rook moves off the a file, White will Queen that pawn. Even worse, if Black takes the a pawn after White's 82. Rxg3, he loses his Rook to White's Rg7+. Finally, if Black plays something like Ra2 just to get out of the way, Rg8 will guarantee Black either loses his Rook or White gets a Queen.
There is nothing Black can do, so he resigns.
So, that game wasnt exactly won in the opening. However, White came up with an interesting way to keep up a little bit of pressure throughout, and was able to simplify into a winning Rook endgame.
This doesnt really allow us to say anything conclusive about 4. b3, but it looks pretty promising at this point.
Showing posts with label Chess Openings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chess Openings. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
World Open 2010 Game 1 Analysis, Part 2, 4. g3
Saturday is the greatest word in the English language.
At the end of my last post, I came up with 5 things I wanted to do to analyze Game 1 of my World Open tournament.
Those 5 things were:
1) Look at games that have 4. g3
2) Look at games that have 6. Nxc6
3) Look at games that have 6. e3
4) Look at games that have 6. Be3
5) Look at games that have 7. Bd2
To look for these games, I need to use a chess database. You can learn about how to find and use chess databases in my post A Beginner's Guide, Chess Databases [Coming soon!].
For the purpose of the this post, I used New In Chess Base Online. The NICBase has 66 total games after 3...g6. White has played 6 different moves on move 4. These are 4. a3 (1 game), 4. b3 (14 games), 4. d3 (1 game), 4. d4 (44 games), 4. g3 (2 games), 4. Rb1 (1 game).
So as it turns out, one move is by far the most popular 4th move for White, and I played this move. NICBase is not complete by any means, and popularity does not always mean a move is the best. However, this sends a strong signal to me that 4. d4 in my game may not be the best place to look for alternatives or improvements.
Also noteworthy is the fact that the second most popular move, 4. b3, is a move I did not consider. Thus, despite not having it on my to do list above, I should look at some of these games.
First, though, lets start with the original idea for an alternative, 4. g3. There are only two games, so lets look at both of them. Of these two games, White won one game and Black won the other. Lets be pessimistic for the moment and look at the game that Black won.
Well, before we even get to the game something is screaming at me right now! Can you see what it is? White is rated about 400 points lower than Black is. At any level that is a lot, but at top level chess that is huge. For the highest levels, even 100 or so points can signify a large difference in playing ability. This is largely because unlike games in the 1000 to 2000 range, games at the highest level have less variance with regard to outcome. A 1400 level player can beat an 1800 level player pretty easily if the 1800 level player blunders away a piece or completely bungles an ending. At the higher levels, these types of random occurrences are less frequent, such that the winner of the chess game has to out play there opponent. Of course, if when the 1800 player blunders his piece he is getting out played just like when the 2200 player misjudges his piece activity in an ending. So it is not like the things are totally different, but there is some difference.
Anyway, that the above all means that we shouldnt take this game too seriously. Sure, Black won, but Black could easily have had a worse or much worse position out of the opening. White may have simply bungled the end game or what have you.
Lets get to the game. Black responds to 4. g3 with 4...Nd4. Black then exchanges this Knight for the f3 Knight. After some normal looking developing moves, we get to the following position after 7...Nh6.
Here, White plays 8. b3. This is a fairly committal move for White. I am not so sure about it, either. On the one hand, it neutralizes Black's g7 Bishop, but on the other hand, it takes a lot of the dynamic potential out of White's pawn structure. In these c4/c5 English type positions, a plan of a3 and b4 (or a6 and b5 for Black) undermining the c pawn can be one of the main ways to open up the position and get some piece activity for one of the sides. By playing b3, White doesnt necessarily eliminate this plan, but it does make it much slower.
Further, Black has not committed himself much at all with his pawns. Thus, Black will be in a good position to respond to any pawn structure changes White makes. Lastly, White has quite a few good waiting moves. A waiting move is a move that doesnt necessarily do much of anything, but is helpful and generally good. These moves solidify a players position and allow him to wait and see what his opponent's plans are. Whichever player plays the waiting move will then have an informational advantage in making his next moves.
The most obvious waiting move in this position for White is Bg2. The Light Squared Bishop is very rarely well placed on f3. There, it blocks the f pawn, does not protect the vulnerable h3 square, and is much more susceptible to harassment then it would be on g2.
There are other waiting moves that White could play. 0-0 and Re1 or Rd1 might be worthwhile.
On the other hand, it is always easy to be critical of the losing players moves in early stages when that player's play was fine. So for now, lets just say I am skeptical of White's 8th move, but it is hardly a bad move.
I think it is best to skip to White's 13th move 0-0-0. The moves from 8 to 12 all seem fairly natural. Here is the position after 13. 0-0-0.
I basically just dont like this move at all. Given the f2-g3-h4/f7-g6-h5 pawn structure on the King side, and the fact that White's Light Squared Bishop is on the f3 square, it just seems like the King side attack will be opened much more slowly than the Queen side. Further, White's Queen side pawn structure a2-b3-c4 is one of the easier pawn structures to break open. Black can play a5-a4-axb3 and now he has an open a file leading right at White's King. In the end, this is actually what Black does, though he is careful to prepare it properly.
White also didnt really need to do this, as far as I can tell. This may be one area where the rating difference starts to mess up any objective analysis, though. If White were to castle King side, he would have a decent but not very big advantage over Black's position primarily because of his ability to use the d5 square. Maybe White was worried that in a long positional grinder, Black would be able to out last him. Maybe White needed or wanted a win at this point in the tournament and was willing to take a 1 out of 3 chance at the win, rather than try and play for a draw.
For the purposes of this post, however, I think we can pretty much end our analysis here. White has some interesting ideas up to this point, and the following position
looks pretty good to me. A plan here like d3, a3, b4, then move the Rooks and other pieces around to break something open looks promising.
Ok, now lets look at the other 4. g3 game, the one where White wins.
Here, we do not actually have the ratings for both players so we cant make any pre judgments about the quality the moves. That is not a big deal.
In this game, Black responds to 4. g3 with 4...b6. There are a bunch of normal looking moves, so lets skip to the position after 10...Nce7.
The first thing I think about this position is Benoni. White is going to have the e4-d5 pawn structure, and Black will have counterplay down the Queen side. It is pretty rare, as far as I know, for White to fianchetto his light squared Bishop in the Benoni. Black's light squared Bishop is also not exactly well placed on the b7 square.
I would be very happy with this position as White.
White, on his 13th move plays a4.
This is a nice move that does a lot of things. First, it slows down Black's counterplay on the Queen side by controlling the b5 square. Second, it allows White to move his Knight to c4 without fear of harassment. The Knight is very well placed on c4. It controls the e5 square, and it also gets out of the way of White's dark squared Bishop.
On move 20, White finds the good move 20. g4.
I am not doing this analysis with my computer (it is good to attempt this stuff with just your brain!), so I am not exactly sure what the tactics are that make this move possible.
My guess, though, is that if Black played 20...fxg4 White would respond 21. f5, possibly with some helpful intermediary move. If Black doesnt play 21...gxf5, White can play 22. fxg6 and Black's King position looks pretty loose. If Black does play 21...gxf5 then White can respond 22. exf5 and is threatening Qg5+ with bad things happening to Black.
Notice that Black's Light Squared Bishop, Queen side Rook, Queen, and even Knight and King side Rook are all to a certain degree poorly placed to deal with an attack against Black's King.
For White, it looks to me like only his light squared Bishop or Knight will have difficulty getting into the attack. I say or because one of them will be able to use the e4 square and get into the attack very quickly.
I am not going to spend as much time as I probably should on trying to figure out the tactics in this position. So, I will just conclude by saying that White has a nice attack at this point.
I will just briefly mention that White starts a nice combination with 26. Bxf6+.
White is able to pin the f6 Knight to Black's King, and this pin eventually allows him to invade Black's position with his Queen. He wins the d6 pawn, and everything after that is pretty much clean up.
Well, this seems like a good place to stop for now. I think in the end, my conclusion on 4. g3 can be fairly positive but not exactly enticing. In these positions, it is seems very important to be careful with your pawn moves. If you commit your pawns too early, the other side can take advantage of this.
In the first game, we saw Black close up the center and attack down the Queen side. This might not have been as big a deal if White had castled King side.
In the second game, we saw White transpose to something similar to the Benoni. Black's pieces were not set up all that well for this pawn structure, especially Black's light squared Bishop. The Bishop was left without a job while White prepared an attack against Black's King. Black was able to thwart White's attack against his King, but this cost him in the end game.
Finally, I have added something to my to do list, and that is look over 4. b3 games.
At the end of my last post, I came up with 5 things I wanted to do to analyze Game 1 of my World Open tournament.
Those 5 things were:
1) Look at games that have 4. g3
2) Look at games that have 6. Nxc6
3) Look at games that have 6. e3
4) Look at games that have 6. Be3
5) Look at games that have 7. Bd2
To look for these games, I need to use a chess database. You can learn about how to find and use chess databases in my post A Beginner's Guide, Chess Databases [Coming soon!].
For the purpose of the this post, I used New In Chess Base Online. The NICBase has 66 total games after 3...g6. White has played 6 different moves on move 4. These are 4. a3 (1 game), 4. b3 (14 games), 4. d3 (1 game), 4. d4 (44 games), 4. g3 (2 games), 4. Rb1 (1 game).
So as it turns out, one move is by far the most popular 4th move for White, and I played this move. NICBase is not complete by any means, and popularity does not always mean a move is the best. However, this sends a strong signal to me that 4. d4 in my game may not be the best place to look for alternatives or improvements.
Also noteworthy is the fact that the second most popular move, 4. b3, is a move I did not consider. Thus, despite not having it on my to do list above, I should look at some of these games.
First, though, lets start with the original idea for an alternative, 4. g3. There are only two games, so lets look at both of them. Of these two games, White won one game and Black won the other. Lets be pessimistic for the moment and look at the game that Black won.
Well, before we even get to the game something is screaming at me right now! Can you see what it is? White is rated about 400 points lower than Black is. At any level that is a lot, but at top level chess that is huge. For the highest levels, even 100 or so points can signify a large difference in playing ability. This is largely because unlike games in the 1000 to 2000 range, games at the highest level have less variance with regard to outcome. A 1400 level player can beat an 1800 level player pretty easily if the 1800 level player blunders away a piece or completely bungles an ending. At the higher levels, these types of random occurrences are less frequent, such that the winner of the chess game has to out play there opponent. Of course, if when the 1800 player blunders his piece he is getting out played just like when the 2200 player misjudges his piece activity in an ending. So it is not like the things are totally different, but there is some difference.
Anyway, that the above all means that we shouldnt take this game too seriously. Sure, Black won, but Black could easily have had a worse or much worse position out of the opening. White may have simply bungled the end game or what have you.
Lets get to the game. Black responds to 4. g3 with 4...Nd4. Black then exchanges this Knight for the f3 Knight. After some normal looking developing moves, we get to the following position after 7...Nh6.
Here, White plays 8. b3. This is a fairly committal move for White. I am not so sure about it, either. On the one hand, it neutralizes Black's g7 Bishop, but on the other hand, it takes a lot of the dynamic potential out of White's pawn structure. In these c4/c5 English type positions, a plan of a3 and b4 (or a6 and b5 for Black) undermining the c pawn can be one of the main ways to open up the position and get some piece activity for one of the sides. By playing b3, White doesnt necessarily eliminate this plan, but it does make it much slower.
Further, Black has not committed himself much at all with his pawns. Thus, Black will be in a good position to respond to any pawn structure changes White makes. Lastly, White has quite a few good waiting moves. A waiting move is a move that doesnt necessarily do much of anything, but is helpful and generally good. These moves solidify a players position and allow him to wait and see what his opponent's plans are. Whichever player plays the waiting move will then have an informational advantage in making his next moves.
The most obvious waiting move in this position for White is Bg2. The Light Squared Bishop is very rarely well placed on f3. There, it blocks the f pawn, does not protect the vulnerable h3 square, and is much more susceptible to harassment then it would be on g2.
There are other waiting moves that White could play. 0-0 and Re1 or Rd1 might be worthwhile.
On the other hand, it is always easy to be critical of the losing players moves in early stages when that player's play was fine. So for now, lets just say I am skeptical of White's 8th move, but it is hardly a bad move.
I think it is best to skip to White's 13th move 0-0-0. The moves from 8 to 12 all seem fairly natural. Here is the position after 13. 0-0-0.
I basically just dont like this move at all. Given the f2-g3-h4/f7-g6-h5 pawn structure on the King side, and the fact that White's Light Squared Bishop is on the f3 square, it just seems like the King side attack will be opened much more slowly than the Queen side. Further, White's Queen side pawn structure a2-b3-c4 is one of the easier pawn structures to break open. Black can play a5-a4-axb3 and now he has an open a file leading right at White's King. In the end, this is actually what Black does, though he is careful to prepare it properly.
White also didnt really need to do this, as far as I can tell. This may be one area where the rating difference starts to mess up any objective analysis, though. If White were to castle King side, he would have a decent but not very big advantage over Black's position primarily because of his ability to use the d5 square. Maybe White was worried that in a long positional grinder, Black would be able to out last him. Maybe White needed or wanted a win at this point in the tournament and was willing to take a 1 out of 3 chance at the win, rather than try and play for a draw.
For the purposes of this post, however, I think we can pretty much end our analysis here. White has some interesting ideas up to this point, and the following position
looks pretty good to me. A plan here like d3, a3, b4, then move the Rooks and other pieces around to break something open looks promising.
Ok, now lets look at the other 4. g3 game, the one where White wins.
Here, we do not actually have the ratings for both players so we cant make any pre judgments about the quality the moves. That is not a big deal.
In this game, Black responds to 4. g3 with 4...b6. There are a bunch of normal looking moves, so lets skip to the position after 10...Nce7.
The first thing I think about this position is Benoni. White is going to have the e4-d5 pawn structure, and Black will have counterplay down the Queen side. It is pretty rare, as far as I know, for White to fianchetto his light squared Bishop in the Benoni. Black's light squared Bishop is also not exactly well placed on the b7 square.
I would be very happy with this position as White.
White, on his 13th move plays a4.
This is a nice move that does a lot of things. First, it slows down Black's counterplay on the Queen side by controlling the b5 square. Second, it allows White to move his Knight to c4 without fear of harassment. The Knight is very well placed on c4. It controls the e5 square, and it also gets out of the way of White's dark squared Bishop.
On move 20, White finds the good move 20. g4.
I am not doing this analysis with my computer (it is good to attempt this stuff with just your brain!), so I am not exactly sure what the tactics are that make this move possible.
My guess, though, is that if Black played 20...fxg4 White would respond 21. f5, possibly with some helpful intermediary move. If Black doesnt play 21...gxf5, White can play 22. fxg6 and Black's King position looks pretty loose. If Black does play 21...gxf5 then White can respond 22. exf5 and is threatening Qg5+ with bad things happening to Black.
Notice that Black's Light Squared Bishop, Queen side Rook, Queen, and even Knight and King side Rook are all to a certain degree poorly placed to deal with an attack against Black's King.
For White, it looks to me like only his light squared Bishop or Knight will have difficulty getting into the attack. I say or because one of them will be able to use the e4 square and get into the attack very quickly.
I am not going to spend as much time as I probably should on trying to figure out the tactics in this position. So, I will just conclude by saying that White has a nice attack at this point.
I will just briefly mention that White starts a nice combination with 26. Bxf6+.
White is able to pin the f6 Knight to Black's King, and this pin eventually allows him to invade Black's position with his Queen. He wins the d6 pawn, and everything after that is pretty much clean up.
Well, this seems like a good place to stop for now. I think in the end, my conclusion on 4. g3 can be fairly positive but not exactly enticing. In these positions, it is seems very important to be careful with your pawn moves. If you commit your pawns too early, the other side can take advantage of this.
In the first game, we saw Black close up the center and attack down the Queen side. This might not have been as big a deal if White had castled King side.
In the second game, we saw White transpose to something similar to the Benoni. Black's pieces were not set up all that well for this pawn structure, especially Black's light squared Bishop. The Bishop was left without a job while White prepared an attack against Black's King. Black was able to thwart White's attack against his King, but this cost him in the end game.
Finally, I have added something to my to do list, and that is look over 4. b3 games.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
World Open 2010 Game 1 Analysis, Part 1
For this post I am going to focus on the first 8 or so moves.
Here is the position after move 8:
This is a critical moment in the game. Both White and Black have committed themselves to certain types of positions. This is an excellent spot to look at and think, well, maybe I should have avoided this entirely.
Personally, I dont think that was the case in this game for me though. I am White, by the way.
The most obvious points in this position are White's doubled and isolated pawns on the c file and Black's lack of a dark squared Bishop. Both of these things present problems to White and Black, and both White and Black should strive as best as possible to attack these weaknesses.
Thus, White needs to somehow attack Black's weakened dark squares. Black needs to attack White's weak c pawns.
That is more or less the end result of the opening.
So, lets go back and look at what moves might be preferred before we get to this critical point. I am going to largely do analysis from White's perspective, because I had White and this is my opening! However, it is absolutely critical to look for Black's best moves and objectively analyze the positions that may come from those moves.
Starting from the beginning then,
1. Nf3 (not going to change this...yet!)
1...c5.
2. c4
Here, I actually do have a fairly compelling alternative. I am not and really have never been a 1. e4 player, but when I do play 1. e4 I always like to play against the Sicilian. That is somewhat strange, because the Sicilian is one of Black's best openings out of all of chess!
For a Class A player, though, I think the White side of the Sicilian is a little bit easier to play then the Black side. White trades off somewhat ethereal positional considerations and gets free and aggressive development. These types of positions are probably where I feel most comfortable. I can do the grinder thing, especially with White, but recently I have become more enamored with attacking.
My Bloodlust knows no limits!
The problem with playing 1. e4, though, is that it leads to a wide variety of very complicated positions. Further, these positions are not at all similar to many of the positions I get into. The difference between and English, Hedgehog and King's Indian isnt all that much. A lot of times, things will transpose anyway. Plus, when my opponent goes off the beaten path, I have a good deal of built up intuition. I can make moves based on this intuition.
If I switch to 2. e4 and go into the Sicilian, I will not be nearly as comfortable, especially in off beat paths. As a quick example, if my opponent played 2...b6 I wouldnt have any idea what to do. How should I defend my e4 pawn? Where are my points of attack?
These sorts of big changes in playing style are very fun, and are a great if not critical thing to do at some point.
I have a feeling I am not at that point though.
Moving along.
2...Nc6
3. Nc3
I dont really see any good alternatives to this move. It just makes too much sense. Maybe 3. d4, but why not play 3. Nc3 first? What variations will White not play Nc3?
3...g6
4. d4
Here, I think I have a decent amount of alternatives. One problem, though, is that if I dont play d4 here, likely will not get to play it later. 4. g3 is a very possible alternative. I tend not to like the double fianchettoed positions because they can be fairly drawish. The symmetry is something I kind of dont like, but looking into a few games using this move would be a good idea for me.
I dont see any other good alternatives that interest me.
4...cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Nc2
This is the main place to look for alternatives. 6. Nxc6 is the main alternative I can see. This allows White to play Qc2 and avoid the double isolated c pawns. The problem, and the reason I avoided this, was that Black plays 6...bxc6 and strengthens his center. Also, the b file is opened. It gives Black a lot of play.
Another alternative is 6. e3. This blocks in the dark squared Bishop, but maybe something like b3 and Bb2 will possible later on in the game. That seems like a good plan to look into.
Finally, 6. Be3 with the idea of g2, and Bg2 might be a good plan as well. The problem I had with this sort of plan though is that it is fairly slow. The e3 Bishop is also very susceptible to harassment by a Knight on g4 or d5. Maybe this is just being afraid of ghosts though.
6...d6
7. e4
Here, I think the main alternative is 7. Bd2. Nothing else really prevents the double isolated c pawns, and if White is going to get double isolated c pawns he should probably get a good lead in development, space and some sort of attacking possibilities.
To me, 7. Bd2 looks kind of clunky and slow. At the same time, though, we havent been talking much about Black.
Black isnt exactly developing his pieces at lightning speed. So my constant issues about slow moves might be unmerited. Because of this, a lot of these slower ideas might be better than what I played.
After 7. e4 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 the position is more or less set.
There is a great deal of imbalance in the position, which is always cool.
So, as a matter of recap, I should do the following things.
1) Look at games that have 4. g3
2) Look at games that have 6. Nxc6
3) Look at games that have 6. e3
4) Look at games that have 6. Be3
5) Look at games that have 7. Bd2
For my next post, I will try and find and post one game for each of the above.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The Chigorin Defense
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6
White has attacked Black's center with the move c4. Black, instead of defending his center with moves like e6 or c6 attacks White's center with Nc6. The attack is not aimed at winning the pawn, as that is unlikely to happen. Instead, complex positions arise where Black has some dynamic plus in exchange for some other weakness, usually pawn structure, space, or the bishop pair.
To my mind, the opening needs to be played with general ideas in mind, as opposed to memorization of opening variations. The Chigorin is somewhat respectable at top levels, with Morozevich being the most well known player to use it. However, it is not entirely respectable, and is thus used infrequently. It is often used as a surprise opening, something that is good enough to use so long as your opponent is not too well prepared.
For the Club level player (Class C USCF to Expert), these sporadic games are helpful as learning tools, but should not be relied on so heavily. It is very possible that the most popular lines are busted, but the ways to bust them are not yet known.
That said, some knowledge of the opening is helpful, and similarly to the Sicilian Dragon, three positions are especially important to learn.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3
This is the best move in my opinion. White attacks Black's center again, and Black really has no adequate way of defending it. cxd4 is recommended, and Black must relinquish his center. But that is not the end of the story. Black should have fairly easy development for his pieces now, and White often over presses with his own center, losing it in less favorable circumstances. It should be noted that a common variation arising from this position continues 3...cxd4 4. d5 Na5 which leads to very sharp and interesting play revolving generally around sacrificing the Black Knight on a5 for a handful of pawns. This line looks a bit busted at the moment, though at the Club level this doesnt matter all that much. Even so, for me, 4...Ne5 leads to interesting play anyway, and Black is not forced so much into sharp lines.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3
This is probably my favorite to play against. 3...Bg4 4. cxd5 Bxf3 5. dxc6 Bxc6 and Black has a fairly comfortable position. His Light Squared Bishop may be mis-placed, but that can be remedied fairly easily.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. cxd5
I am not positive, but I believe this was or is considered the main line of the Chigorin. Black's placing his Queen in the center, and giving up the Dark squared bishop certainly are Operadunus Modem of the Chigorin. Over the years, many nuances for both sides have been discovered, and study of these can help even outside the Chigorin.
Well, that is a wrap for today. That is also a wrap for my overview of my main Openings for Black. I havent yet decided whether or not I will do a general overview like this for White next (or at all) or if I will just jump into the 6 parts of the 2 openings, maybe even try and come up with some fancy names for them.
I am pleasantly surprised at how easy I was able to get the pictures into these blog posts, and may try and do more stuff that is helpful, like adding more links within the post (in case you dont know what I am talking about).
Also, a few posts on pawn structure and the Bishop Pair v Knights and other general stuff like that might be on the way.
Finally, here is a Free E-Book written by Dr. Manuel Gerardo Monasterio. It is a good book, and really much more valuable than its price. [Edit: Unfortunately, I checked the link recently and it is no longer available. That is a shame, because it was a very good book. Hopefully it turns up somewhere.]
Have a good day.
White has attacked Black's center with the move c4. Black, instead of defending his center with moves like e6 or c6 attacks White's center with Nc6. The attack is not aimed at winning the pawn, as that is unlikely to happen. Instead, complex positions arise where Black has some dynamic plus in exchange for some other weakness, usually pawn structure, space, or the bishop pair.
To my mind, the opening needs to be played with general ideas in mind, as opposed to memorization of opening variations. The Chigorin is somewhat respectable at top levels, with Morozevich being the most well known player to use it. However, it is not entirely respectable, and is thus used infrequently. It is often used as a surprise opening, something that is good enough to use so long as your opponent is not too well prepared.
For the Club level player (Class C USCF to Expert), these sporadic games are helpful as learning tools, but should not be relied on so heavily. It is very possible that the most popular lines are busted, but the ways to bust them are not yet known.
That said, some knowledge of the opening is helpful, and similarly to the Sicilian Dragon, three positions are especially important to learn.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3
This is the best move in my opinion. White attacks Black's center again, and Black really has no adequate way of defending it. cxd4 is recommended, and Black must relinquish his center. But that is not the end of the story. Black should have fairly easy development for his pieces now, and White often over presses with his own center, losing it in less favorable circumstances. It should be noted that a common variation arising from this position continues 3...cxd4 4. d5 Na5 which leads to very sharp and interesting play revolving generally around sacrificing the Black Knight on a5 for a handful of pawns. This line looks a bit busted at the moment, though at the Club level this doesnt matter all that much. Even so, for me, 4...Ne5 leads to interesting play anyway, and Black is not forced so much into sharp lines.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3
This is probably my favorite to play against. 3...Bg4 4. cxd5 Bxf3 5. dxc6 Bxc6 and Black has a fairly comfortable position. His Light Squared Bishop may be mis-placed, but that can be remedied fairly easily.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. cxd5
I am not positive, but I believe this was or is considered the main line of the Chigorin. Black's placing his Queen in the center, and giving up the Dark squared bishop certainly are Operadunus Modem of the Chigorin. Over the years, many nuances for both sides have been discovered, and study of these can help even outside the Chigorin.
Well, that is a wrap for today. That is also a wrap for my overview of my main Openings for Black. I havent yet decided whether or not I will do a general overview like this for White next (or at all) or if I will just jump into the 6 parts of the 2 openings, maybe even try and come up with some fancy names for them.
I am pleasantly surprised at how easy I was able to get the pictures into these blog posts, and may try and do more stuff that is helpful, like adding more links within the post (in case you dont know what I am talking about).
Also, a few posts on pawn structure and the Bishop Pair v Knights and other general stuff like that might be on the way.
Finally, here is a Free E-Book written by Dr. Manuel Gerardo Monasterio. It is a good book, and really much more valuable than its price. [Edit: Unfortunately, I checked the link recently and it is no longer available. That is a shame, because it was a very good book. Hopefully it turns up somewhere.]
Have a good day.
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Sicilian Dragon
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6
This is the starting position for the Sicilian Dragon. Black will move his Dark Squared Bishop to g7 to attack the e5-d4-c3-b2-a1 squares. To accomplish this, however, Black had to weaken his dark squares h6 and f6 by moving his pawn to g6. Black's King must castle king side, and must be wary of these weaknesses.
White will attack these weaknesses, most commonly by pushing his h-pawn, h4, h5, and hxg6. This opens up the h-file, which allows White's h1 Rook to join the attack without even moving. White's pieces will have a rather easy time developing as well, which further increases the pressure on Black's position. White often castles Queen side to facilitate his King side attack.
This is where Black gets his counter play, by attacking White on the Queen side. Black will aim to get a Rook on c8, and break through somehow with this rook. Other plans are possible, including moving the Queen to the a5 square, or moving the a- and b-pawns aggressively against White's position.
In short, White and Black race to attack each other and come away with a win. It makes for exciting, but nerve wracking, chess.
That is the main story-line of the Dragon, but there are many other important things to know about this opening. End game play can be very important, as the racing attack may not lead to checkmate, but rather to a advantageous end game. Both sides should look for the other to over press, and try and simplify off enough material to get to these end games.
Positional play, and the quiet development of pieces can be very important. The best attacks usually require the best piece placement, and this cannot be done with sheer aggression.
Aside from these general ideas, to my mind, three positions should be looked at in the Dragon. Many other possibilities exist, but these three positions seem the most important.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. 0-0
The first position is what is known as the Classical Dragon. A lot of variations exist based around similar ideas. 6. Be2 is possible, and moves like f3, f4, Be3, Bg5 can be played before White castles King side. Black has a great deal of possible moves and plans from this position. Truth be told, I dont have any preferred plans in this position, and usually just wing it. In future blog posts, we can explore this position in more detail.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Nc6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. 0-0-0
9. 0-0-0, I am not sure if this variation has any memorable name. It is a very good variation for White though, in my opinion. White leaves his light squared bishop undeveloped, and instead makes moves that he more or less knows he wants to make. Not a bad strategy, but it allows Black the move 9...d5, which leads to a very interesting pawn and Queen sacrifice. It is not entirely clear for even the top level players whether Black or White is better 9...d5 variation. I believe there is an excellent game by Ivanchuk, where he makes a strong case for White, but with the Dragon things change quickly and drastically. Black also has options like 9...Nxd4 or 9...Bd7. The variations that arise from this position are very complex.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Nc6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. 0-0-0 Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5
This is known as the Yugoslav Variation. I believe it used to be the main variation of the Dragon, and it has been analyzed very deeply. White has a relatively straight forward plan of attack, to paraphrase Bobby Fischer, open up the h file, sac, sac, sac, and mate. Black has a lot of ways to mix it up, though. For what it is worth, my strategy in this position is to lose material as quickly as possible. I find that whoever sacrifices first in this position usually is the one who wins.
Well, thats a wrap for the Sicilian Dragon overview. Future blog posts will go through variations coming from these positions, as well as other positions. My next post will probably be a similar overview of the Chigorin.
I also want to lead anyone who stumbles onto my site to some of the better chess resources on the internet. First off, chessgames.com is probably the best general site on the internet. There are several chess tactical sites, but my favorite is chesstempo.com. It has a nice interface, and the problems are pretty decent.
Ok everybody, have a good one.
This is the starting position for the Sicilian Dragon. Black will move his Dark Squared Bishop to g7 to attack the e5-d4-c3-b2-a1 squares. To accomplish this, however, Black had to weaken his dark squares h6 and f6 by moving his pawn to g6. Black's King must castle king side, and must be wary of these weaknesses.
White will attack these weaknesses, most commonly by pushing his h-pawn, h4, h5, and hxg6. This opens up the h-file, which allows White's h1 Rook to join the attack without even moving. White's pieces will have a rather easy time developing as well, which further increases the pressure on Black's position. White often castles Queen side to facilitate his King side attack.
This is where Black gets his counter play, by attacking White on the Queen side. Black will aim to get a Rook on c8, and break through somehow with this rook. Other plans are possible, including moving the Queen to the a5 square, or moving the a- and b-pawns aggressively against White's position.
In short, White and Black race to attack each other and come away with a win. It makes for exciting, but nerve wracking, chess.
That is the main story-line of the Dragon, but there are many other important things to know about this opening. End game play can be very important, as the racing attack may not lead to checkmate, but rather to a advantageous end game. Both sides should look for the other to over press, and try and simplify off enough material to get to these end games.
Positional play, and the quiet development of pieces can be very important. The best attacks usually require the best piece placement, and this cannot be done with sheer aggression.
Aside from these general ideas, to my mind, three positions should be looked at in the Dragon. Many other possibilities exist, but these three positions seem the most important.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. 0-0
The first position is what is known as the Classical Dragon. A lot of variations exist based around similar ideas. 6. Be2 is possible, and moves like f3, f4, Be3, Bg5 can be played before White castles King side. Black has a great deal of possible moves and plans from this position. Truth be told, I dont have any preferred plans in this position, and usually just wing it. In future blog posts, we can explore this position in more detail.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Nc6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. 0-0-0
9. 0-0-0, I am not sure if this variation has any memorable name. It is a very good variation for White though, in my opinion. White leaves his light squared bishop undeveloped, and instead makes moves that he more or less knows he wants to make. Not a bad strategy, but it allows Black the move 9...d5, which leads to a very interesting pawn and Queen sacrifice. It is not entirely clear for even the top level players whether Black or White is better 9...d5 variation. I believe there is an excellent game by Ivanchuk, where he makes a strong case for White, but with the Dragon things change quickly and drastically. Black also has options like 9...Nxd4 or 9...Bd7. The variations that arise from this position are very complex.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Nc6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. 0-0-0 Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5
This is known as the Yugoslav Variation. I believe it used to be the main variation of the Dragon, and it has been analyzed very deeply. White has a relatively straight forward plan of attack, to paraphrase Bobby Fischer, open up the h file, sac, sac, sac, and mate. Black has a lot of ways to mix it up, though. For what it is worth, my strategy in this position is to lose material as quickly as possible. I find that whoever sacrifices first in this position usually is the one who wins.
Well, thats a wrap for the Sicilian Dragon overview. Future blog posts will go through variations coming from these positions, as well as other positions. My next post will probably be a similar overview of the Chigorin.
I also want to lead anyone who stumbles onto my site to some of the better chess resources on the internet. First off, chessgames.com is probably the best general site on the internet. There are several chess tactical sites, but my favorite is chesstempo.com. It has a nice interface, and the problems are pretty decent.
Ok everybody, have a good one.
Introduction, Exploring My Openings
Hello everybody!
This blog's goal is to provide in depth chess analysis of exceptional games as well as broader overviews of tournaments, players and eras of chess. That is pretty lofty, so we will have to just see how it all ends up.
My favorite players are Tal, Kramnik, Kasparov, Smyslov, Lasker, Chigorin, Morphy, as well as many many more. My preferred openings are 1. Nf3 for White, and the Sicilian Dragon and the Chigorin as Black. This blog will have somewhat of a personal feel to it, mostly because I seriously that many people are going to read it. However, if anyone is ever reading it and has some suggestions, questions, requests etc. about some chess analysis, just leave a comment.
Also, I am fairly sure it will take a while for me to get good with lay outs and such, if i ever do. As it is chess pictures of boards etc. would be very helpful, wouldnt they? so I will have to figure out how to do that stuff. Maybe even a fancy java board or something could be in the works.
Just to get things started, with some very basics, the primary openings are 1. e4 and 1. d4. If you have a chess board, feel free to play these moves and look at the board. The central pawn moves forward two squares, and with 1. e4 White now has the ability to develop four pieces (two knights, Light squared Bishop and the Queen). With 1. d4 White has the ability to develop 4 pieces as well, (two Knights, dark squared bishop and Queen), but the Queen generally cant develop to a worthwhile square. [1. d4 ... 2. Qd3 seems like it could be fun though!]
I, as notes above dont play either of these moves with White. Lets look at some of Black's possible responses to e4 and d4. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 leads to the Petroff. Boy oh Boy is the Petroff boring. Actually, for , oh by the way, I am Class A USCF which is very good but not really what you would call high level. Maybe something like a highly skilled hobbyist would be a good way to think about it, not even close to the Pros, but knows what is going on. Back to what I was saying earlier, the Petroff is not all that boring at the lower levels. But the idea of Nf6 is somewhat instructive, as Black is given the ability to quickly attack White's center.
Moving along, 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 is the Ruy Lopez. White's center is not under so much pressure at the moment, but it also costs him a good deal of time with his bishop. Development of his other pieces will probably get a little clunky. (or give up the bishop pair).
1. e4 c5 The Sicilian. This is actually what I prefer to play against when I play 1. e4. The center is not so much under attack, as Black is taking his own center square and preparing for an attack on the Queen side. Though I like playing against this the most, it is also very sharp and losses are easy to come by.
1. e4 c6 Caro Kann. Not down with this one all that much, as black pretty much just sits back. His position is very solid.
1. e4 e6 French. Black will get a very nice attack against White's center.
1. d4, and there are basically two families as I like to see it.
The first is the Indian Defenses, in which black plays something like Nf6, e6, g6, b6 Bg7, Bb7, Bb4, and so on until he decides to counter with d5, c5 or e5 depending on the situation.
The second is the ?? well the d5 Defenses. White plays d4 and c4 and Black plays any of e6, c6, Nf6, Be7, Nbd7, so on and so forth.
The d5 defenses are tough to crack, but there is really no way to avoid them, except by playing e4. The Indian defense can be pretty annoying. I hate playing against the Queen's indian, and I hate playing against the Nimzo Indian. Black has way too much play and I get all frustrated and end up over extending my position etc.
That is why I play 1. Nf3, it is easy to avoid these Indian defenses.
The Sicilian Dragon and The Chigorin are pretty much self explanatory as they as awesome.
This seems like a pretty good, though rambling, start.
This is more or less how I hope the blog turns out, with a little more analysis, and a little less fluff, but still focusing a decent amount on strategy, or putting into writing tactical ideas (ie forks, etc. etc.). For some people this may be a waste of time, but I think it helps learn the chess stuff better if you put it into words. For some people, that might be a great way to learn it.
Well, thanks for stopping by, I hope to post regularly, but honestly, I probably wont :(
It was pretty fun writing all this up though, and chess is pretty fun too, so I should be back pretty soon ;)
This blog's goal is to provide in depth chess analysis of exceptional games as well as broader overviews of tournaments, players and eras of chess. That is pretty lofty, so we will have to just see how it all ends up.
My favorite players are Tal, Kramnik, Kasparov, Smyslov, Lasker, Chigorin, Morphy, as well as many many more. My preferred openings are 1. Nf3 for White, and the Sicilian Dragon and the Chigorin as Black. This blog will have somewhat of a personal feel to it, mostly because I seriously that many people are going to read it. However, if anyone is ever reading it and has some suggestions, questions, requests etc. about some chess analysis, just leave a comment.
Also, I am fairly sure it will take a while for me to get good with lay outs and such, if i ever do. As it is chess pictures of boards etc. would be very helpful, wouldnt they? so I will have to figure out how to do that stuff. Maybe even a fancy java board or something could be in the works.
Just to get things started, with some very basics, the primary openings are 1. e4 and 1. d4. If you have a chess board, feel free to play these moves and look at the board. The central pawn moves forward two squares, and with 1. e4 White now has the ability to develop four pieces (two knights, Light squared Bishop and the Queen). With 1. d4 White has the ability to develop 4 pieces as well, (two Knights, dark squared bishop and Queen), but the Queen generally cant develop to a worthwhile square. [1. d4 ... 2. Qd3 seems like it could be fun though!]
I, as notes above dont play either of these moves with White. Lets look at some of Black's possible responses to e4 and d4. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 leads to the Petroff. Boy oh Boy is the Petroff boring. Actually, for , oh by the way, I am Class A USCF which is very good but not really what you would call high level. Maybe something like a highly skilled hobbyist would be a good way to think about it, not even close to the Pros, but knows what is going on. Back to what I was saying earlier, the Petroff is not all that boring at the lower levels. But the idea of Nf6 is somewhat instructive, as Black is given the ability to quickly attack White's center.
Moving along, 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 is the Ruy Lopez. White's center is not under so much pressure at the moment, but it also costs him a good deal of time with his bishop. Development of his other pieces will probably get a little clunky. (or give up the bishop pair).
1. e4 c5 The Sicilian. This is actually what I prefer to play against when I play 1. e4. The center is not so much under attack, as Black is taking his own center square and preparing for an attack on the Queen side. Though I like playing against this the most, it is also very sharp and losses are easy to come by.
1. e4 c6 Caro Kann. Not down with this one all that much, as black pretty much just sits back. His position is very solid.
1. e4 e6 French. Black will get a very nice attack against White's center.
1. d4, and there are basically two families as I like to see it.
The first is the Indian Defenses, in which black plays something like Nf6, e6, g6, b6 Bg7, Bb7, Bb4, and so on until he decides to counter with d5, c5 or e5 depending on the situation.
The second is the ?? well the d5 Defenses. White plays d4 and c4 and Black plays any of e6, c6, Nf6, Be7, Nbd7, so on and so forth.
The d5 defenses are tough to crack, but there is really no way to avoid them, except by playing e4. The Indian defense can be pretty annoying. I hate playing against the Queen's indian, and I hate playing against the Nimzo Indian. Black has way too much play and I get all frustrated and end up over extending my position etc.
That is why I play 1. Nf3, it is easy to avoid these Indian defenses.
The Sicilian Dragon and The Chigorin are pretty much self explanatory as they as awesome.
This seems like a pretty good, though rambling, start.
This is more or less how I hope the blog turns out, with a little more analysis, and a little less fluff, but still focusing a decent amount on strategy, or putting into writing tactical ideas (ie forks, etc. etc.). For some people this may be a waste of time, but I think it helps learn the chess stuff better if you put it into words. For some people, that might be a great way to learn it.
Well, thanks for stopping by, I hope to post regularly, but honestly, I probably wont :(
It was pretty fun writing all this up though, and chess is pretty fun too, so I should be back pretty soon ;)
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