Note 2: If you are interested in the basics of the French defence, you might want to check the following post, aptly titled „What every chess player should know about the French Defence?“

INTRODUCTION

Even though the French defence has never enjoyed the same reputation as the open games with 1… e5 or the Sicilian with 1… c5, it has always been regarded as a worthy reply to 1 e4.

Throughout the history, it has been championed by several World Champions like Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Botvinnik or Tigran Petrosian, but there were also some non-World Champion experts like Wolfgang Uhlmann or the best player never to become World Champion, Viktor Korchnoi. It is also frequently seen on the club level where several Black players play it almost exclusively.

However, due to the rugged and manoeuvring nature of play, it is a very challenging and difficult opening to play. Players with both colours often have problems understanding it completely and handling it in the most precise manner. ¹

Fortunately, due to its popularity and the fact many prominent players employ it on a regular basis, there is an abundance of literature devoted to this opening. Black players are especially spoilt for choice because in recent years several renowned grandmasters (Vitiugov, Aagard) wrote a number of top-notch books recommending plans and ideas for Black.

However, White players also shouldn’t complain too much as I have been able to dig several books recommending different variations to deal with this opening that causes us all a lot of headache.

Therefore, without further ado, let’s check the list of best books about the French defence. I will cover books from the White perspective first and then switch to books from the Black perspective.

FRENCH DEFENCE FROM THE WHITE PERSPECTIVE

Keep it Simple: 1. e4: A Solid and Straightforward Chess Opening Repertoire for White by Christof Sielecki

Recommended line(s)

Exchange Variation with 3. exd5, followed by c4

Recommended level

Beginner, Intermediate

Brief overview

I will begin this list with a book that wasn’t intended to become a book.

You see, Keep It Simple: 1 e4 by IM Christof Sielecki a.k.a. Chessexplained first came to be as a repertoire on the website Chessable. ² However, due to its popularity after release, it got noticed by the editors of New In Chess and became the very first Chessable course that got converted to a physical book.

As the title of the course suggests, the idea is to provide White players with simple replies to all Black’s replies after 1 e4. Consequently, the choice of the Exchange variation against the French defence is not surprising.

Sielecki does try to spice things up with the “asymmetrical” pawn advance c4. In the resulting positions, he doesn’t seek to knock Black out, but simply to get a risk-free position where only White can be slightly better.

Even though this approach contains some venom, I’d imagine (most) players rated >2000 ELO would like to fight for more than a minimal edge in the opening. I, therefore, think beginners and intermediate players are the target audience of this book (although it doesn’t mean some Advanced and Expert players can’t benefit from it).

P.S. The book is also available on Forward Chess

The French Advance by Sam Collins

 Recommended line(s)

Advance variation with 3. e5

Recommended level

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Brief overview

Advancing the e5 and seizing space is a natural reaction to the advance of the black d-pawn. And indeed, the Advance variation is very common among beginners and club level players. Even some top players (Sveshnikov, Grischuk) play it regularly, with good results.

The French Advance by IM Sam Collins focuses on this variation. Over the course of 9 chapters, it not only provides us with two possibilities against the mainline (6. a3 and 6. Be2), but also covers other setups by Black like 4…Qb6 and 5… Bd7. In other words, this book provides us with an overall repertoire against the French, based on 3. e5.

The thing I liked a lot is the introductory chapter in which the author clearly and coherently explains the basic strategical concepts revolving around the French

How to Beat the French Defence: The Essential Guide to Tarrasch by Andreas Tzermiadanos

Recommended line(s)

Tarrasch with 3. Nd2

Recommended level

Intermediate, Advanced, Expert

Brief overview

The Tarrasch variation with 3 Nd2 is considered to be a very flexible and “safe” way of dealing with the French Defence. In his book (with somewhat presumptuous title) How to Beat the French Defence: The Essential Guide to Tarrasch, Greek International Master Andreas Tzermiadanos devotes 320 pages to the in-depth analysis of this approach.

Now, I am first to advise caution when a book contains the phrase “How to Beat” in the title. Nevertheless, it would appear that this tome is the only comprehensive overview of the state of the Tarrasch Defence. ³ Tzermiadanos mainly focuses on the main-lines and “tested” lines, but he also includes some of his own opinions about handling specific variation (his recommended c4 move, for example, is very rare).

The reviews of the book are mainly positive. Even Jeremy Silman commended it in his blog. There are some people who claim they find the organization of the material somewhat confusing and some people who complained that the author overlooked best replies for Black in certain lines. But, as I argued in my introductory post, that is, unfortunately, unavoidable when it comes to opening books.

All in all, I think How to Beat the French Defence: The Essential Guide to Tarrasch can serve as a good reference when preparing this variation for your own games.

The Complete French Advance: The Most Uncompromising Way To Attack The French Defence by Evgeny Sveshnikov and Vladimir Sveshnikov

Recommended line(s)

Advance variation with 3. e5

Recommended level

Intermediate, Advanced, Expert

Brief overview

When one says “French Advance”, the name that should immediately cross the mind of any self-respectable chess player is the name of famous grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov, who has played it for the majority of his life and who has been its greatest proponent. In the book The Complete French Advance: The Most Uncompromising Way To Attack The French Defence, co-authored with his son Vladimir, he takes a comprehensive look and presents us with his “life work”.

Through 6 chapters, Sveshnikov provides a complete overview of the French Advance – from its historical appearances to plans and ideas available to both sides and theoretical state of the variation (at the time the book was written). In contrast to The French Advance by Sam Collins which was more suitable to lower-rated players, Sveshnikov’s book dives much deeper and is more suitable to players who are already somewhat familiar with our game.

P.S. For a more comprehensive review, you might want to check this article by Davide Nastasio on Georgia Chess News

P.P.S. The book is also available on Forward Chess

Grandmaster Repertoire: 1 e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor by Parimarjan Negi

Recommended line(s)

Main lines with 3. Nc3

Recommended level

Advanced, Expert

Brief overview

Parimarjan Negi is a former chess prodigy who became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 4 months and 20 days, making him the second-youngest grandmaster at a time (sixth youngest at the moment of writing because other prodigies surpassed his feat since).

Even though he later didn’t pursue the career of a chess professional afterwards, he did stay connected to the game. ⁴ In 2014, he released the first book of the multi-series devoted to the opening repertoire for White based on the move 1 e4. The book Grandmaster Repertoire: 1 e4 vs The French, Caro-Kann and Philidor offers weapons against the three openings from the title.

Against the French Defense, Negi provides us with a comprehensive repertoire based on the move 3 Nc3. Not only does he cover all three big main moves by Black (3… dxe4, 3… Nf6 and 3…. Bb4), but he also covers some rare alternatives (such as 3…a6 or 3… h6).

Negi’s lines are principled, sharp and concrete and backed up by computer analysis and top-level games. He never shies away from the fight and basically provides us with a GM-level repertoire.

Of course, that means that the book is huge, the analysis is often long and difficult and definitely not suitable for beginner or intermediate players. Also, it is questionable whether all the lines have stood the test of time.

Nevertheless, I think that every club level player will vastly benefit from familiarizing himself with some of the lines offered in this book. ⁵

P.S. The book is also available on Forward Chess

French Toast: How Harikrishna Fries 1… e6 by Pentala Harikrishna

Recommended line(s)

Main lines with 3. Nc3

Recommended level

Advanced, Expert

Brief overview

Previously on this list, we have seen a physical book that wasn’t intended to be written but merely published on Chessable. Those of you who already considered this controversial might want to stop reading at this point, because I have decided to take things even further and recommend a Chessable repertoire that didn’t become a physical book (yet) – Pentala Harikrishna’s Chessable repertoire titled French Toast: How Harikrishna Fries 1… e6. ⁶

Harikrishna is currently the 2^nd highest rated Indian player (after Anand). Just like Negi, he is a former prodigy and was the youngest Indian grandmaster at a time when he became one (in 2000).

The similarity between the two doesn’t stop there because Harikrishna – just like Negi – chooses 3 Nc3 as the main weapon against the French defence in his repertoire. However, in contrast to Negi who recommends main-lines, Harikrishna follows his own approach and provides the student with some less prominent lines.

For example, his main recommendation against the Winawer (3…Bb4) is taking on d5 (4 exd5, instead of the sharp 4 e5). Against the Steinitz (3… Nf6), he recommends the line involving the early knight retreat to e2 (4 e5 Nfd7 5 Nce2!?), formerly used by Anand with great success.

I went through the entire repertoire once and I have to say – I was impressed by the depth and the quality of the analysis. This is a true 2700 level of analysis… which unfortunately means some lines are incredibly sharp and complicated. The book is definitely not suitable for beginners, ⁷ but I think the rest of us mortals will definitely learn a thing or two by going through it and checking the lines.

FRENCH DEFENCE FROM THE BLACK PERSPECTIVE

First Steps: The French Defence by Cyrus Lakdawala

Recommended line(s)

The French Defence ⁸

Recommended level

Beginner, Intermediate

Brief overview

Cyrus Lakdawala is an International Master from the United States who has gained prominence as a highly prolific author, who has written more than 40 – mostly opening – books. First Steps: The French Defence is a beginner’s guide – Cyrus starts from the very first opening moves and explains the idea and philosophy behind the French Defence. Only then does he proceed to analyze different opening variations and provide the reader with a complete opening repertoire.

Now, whenever someone is a productive author as Lakdawala, some caution is required, simply because quantity and quality are usually negatively correlated. According to prominent chess historian Edward Winter, Lev Polugayevsky once wrote that:

‘Ninety per cent of all chess books you can open at page one and then immediately close again forever. Sometimes you see books that have been written in one month. I don’t like that. You should take at least two years for a book, or not do it at all.’ ⁹

Winter has also criticized Lakdawala himself on several occasions on his website chess history:

“ […] the vastly over-published Cyrus Lakdawala even quoted Wikipedia on matters of opinion […] “¹⁰

“ […] All too often, it seems, authors of the ‘move by move’ books (Everyman Chess) have been recruited for their availability rather than suitability – most notably, the unshakeably available Cyrus Lakdawala […]” ¹¹

Even so, I think First Steps: The French Defence is a choice worth considering (especially if you are a total beginner), due to the following:

– as I skimmed through the available sample of, I liked the way the material was presented and the writing style.

– Other reviews of the book are also very positive ¹² (most notably this one on the official website of the US Chess Federation by Vanessa West)

– I have been unable to find a better book dedicated to an absolute beginner. The only alternative I stumbled upon was Starting Out: The French, but I really disliked it on the basis of the available sample and the reviews were much more negative.

Winning With The French by Wolfgang Uhlmann

Recommended line(s)

The French Defence ¹³

Recommended level

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Brief overview

Wolfgang Uhlmann is a famous German grandmaster who belonged to the world’s strongest players in the middle of the 1960s. He is a well-known expert on the French defence who employed it almost exclusively as a reply to 1 e4 throughout his entire career.

His book titled Winning With The French ¹⁴ is not a classical reference opening book, but a game collection of Uhlmann’s French Defence games, annotated by the great master himself. I think there is a great value in having such a player explain the ideas and concepts behind Black moves, except maybe for higher rated players who are in need of concrete lines rather than general guidelines.

But everybody else will probably learn a thing or two about the French by going through this book.

The Even More Flexible French by Viktor Moskalenko

Recommended line(s)

The French Defence ¹⁵

Recommended level

Intermediate, Advanced, Expert

Brief overview

In 2008, Ukrainian GM ¹⁶ Viktor Moskalenko published the book Flexible French, which was universally praised. ¹⁷ After writing yet another book on the French Defence in the meantime (The Wonderful Winawer in 2010), in 2015 Moskalenko decided to update his first book and The Even More Flexible French was born.

The book is curious in a sense that Moskalenko doesn’t just recommend singular lines, but offers several alternatives against White’s main tries. For example, the book has both Winawer (3… Bb4) and Steinitz (3… Nf6) chapters after White plays 3 Nc3 – something you would expect from an opening for White. And indeed – despite being an opening book for BLACK, Moskalenko analyzes several interesting options for White in the last part of the book.

The reasoning is that such an approach makes you flexible and less dependant on a concrete line, but rather on the understanding of the position. That is not to say that the book is not theoretical. Just that – in contrast to Berg’s trilogy which may be regarded as encyclopaedic – it is less of a reference book and more of a “let’s arm you for practical play” type of book.

P.S. You might also want to read John Donaldson’s review on Jeremy Silman’s website and Dennis Monokroussos’s review on his website thechessmind

P.P.S. The book is also available on Forward Chess

Grandmaster Repertoire: The French Defence by Emanuel Berg

Recommended line(s)

The French Defence ¹⁸

Recommended level

Advanced, Expert

Brief overview

As I have mentioned previously, Negi’s book on 1 e4 repertoire was challenging, demanding and thick. It would appear it is no coincidence for a book from the Grandmaster Repertoire series, as the book by Swedish Grandmaster Emanuel Berg Grandmaster Repertoire: The French Defence follow suit.

The book offers a comprehensive, in-depth French Defence repertoire for the Black player. It is divided in three volumes, each devotes to a particular variation/set of variations, as follows:

• Volume I – Winawer (3 Nc3 Bb4) – everything apart from the most critical mainline with 7 Qg4
• Volume II – Winawer (3 Nc3 Bb4) – the most critical mainline with 7 Qg4
• Volume III – everything else, with the main focus on the Tarrasch (3 Nd2 ) against which Berg recommends 3 …. Nf6

Berg’s trilogy is certainly the most theoretical and encyclopedic series about the French Defence that will provide you with everything you need to fight against the French Defence.

However, the question is whether an average club player needs a book of this size (especially since three volumes means it costs more). Such a thick volume is more likely to suffer from problems mentioned in the introductory article of opening book series – namely, analysis of variations that are extremely unlikely to be met over the board.

Even though I am a huge theory nerd, in recent years I have noticed I have started preferring more practical opening books. Nevertheless, some people prefer to have a huge reference book which they can use both to learn critical lines by heart and to consult it when they encounter a less familiar variation (something that is not guaranteed by The Flexible French).

As usual life, it is a matter of preference. If money and time are not huge obstacles, you probably won’t go wrong with Berg’s book. If they are, you might do better to choose something else.

P.S. The books are also available on Forward Chess:

• Volume I: Winawer (3 Nc3 Bb4)
• Volume II: Winawer (3 Nc3 Bb4)
• Volume III: Other

Playing the French (Grandmaster Guide) by Jacob Aagard and Nikolaos Ntirlis

Recommended line(s)

The French Defence ¹⁹

Recommended level

Advanced, Expert

Brief overview

It would appear that Black players wishing to employ the French Defence are spoilt for choice nowadays. Even though I have already included two thick and demanding books, about the French Defence on this list, I simply couldn’t bring myself not to mention yet another tome, written by famous chess trainer Jacob Aagard, in collaboration with chess expert Nikolaos Ntirlis.

Over 288 pages, the authors provide a comprehensive French Defence repertoire for the Black player. Their recommendations are the Steinitz (3… Nf6) against 3 Nc3 and the principled 3… c5 against the Tarrasch (3 Nd2). The authors also analyze the Advance Variation, the annoying exchange variation, the King’s Indian Attack and even the rare Wing Gambit.

It seems to me that this book lies somewhere between Berg’s book and Moskalenko’s book – it is not as thick and theroetical as Grandmaster Repertoire: The French Defence, but it is a tad more systematic and straightforward than The Flexible French. I’d say that a serious French Defence player won’t go wrong by getting any of them (or even all of them) ²⁰

Ultimately, it is a matter of taste.

P.S. You might also want to check the review on Jeremy Silman’s website

P.P.S. The book is also available on Forward Chess

The post Best French Defence Books appeared first on Chessentials.

Introduction

In March 2019 I listened to the 120th episode of the Perpetual Chess Podcast featuring John Hartmann, a book reviewer for Chess Life Magazine and editor of Chess Life Online.

In the episode, Hartmann talked about his career as a chess book reviewer and offered advice to all aspiring chess writers. Among other things, he said it is worth to „try and knock on other people’s doors“.

I decided to heed his advice and sent a bunch of emails. One of them landed at the email adress of the Chessable staff. The first thing we discussed was writing some blog posts, which ultimately resulted in the afore-mentioned Chessable review, as well as Keep It Simple: 1 d4 review.

However, more importantly – in the initial email I pitched them several ideas for potential Chessable courses. A repertoire for my favourite opening for the Black pieces – the Modern Defence – was among them. They liked it the most, I also had nothing against doing it ¹ and as they say – the rest is history. After some iterations, working on the repertoire in the summer of 2019 and 6 months later, on 10.02.2020, my first Chessable course titled The Modern Defence Against Everything was published!

In this post, we will take a closer look at my first Chessable repertoire.

First, I will talk briefly about the Modern Defence – the philosophy behind the opening and how I started playing it. Then, I will talk about the course itself – the organization, the structure, covered variations, etc. Finally, now that it is all finished, I would like to look back and offer my current perspective of the repertoire – with which aspects I am very content, but also, what is something I think I could have done better.

Hope you will enjoy it!

About the Modern Defence

The Modern Defence – Introduction

The Modern Defence is opening characterized by Black playing the move 1…g6 irrespective of what White does. However, it is most often played as a reply to the move of the king’s pawn 1 e4 (although The Modern Defence Against Everything also covers the lines arising after 1 d4 g6):

The Modern Defence belongs to the group of Hypermodern openings. Black is content with developing on his own side of the board and violates the classical rules about fighting for the center. He allows White to grab space and advance his pawns unhindered. Black delays the clash of the forces and claims that White’s strong center might become vulnerable and provide him with serious counter-attacking chances.

The Modern Defence is also known as Robatsch – named after Austrian grandmaster and botanist Karl Robatsch who popularized it in the 1950s and 60s.

The philosophy behind the Modern Defence. The resulting positions, nature of play?

As mentioned above, the Modern Defence is a counter-attacking opening. Black allows White to occupy the center and then aims to undermine it and destroy it with energetic play.

As a consequence,  the Modern is all about sharp, tactical, fighting chess. It is messy. It’s full of wild combinations and sacrifices. It is ideal for a player who excels when there is a chaos on the board, for a fervent follower of Mikhail Tal’s maxim that you need to „You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one“.

The following game between Croatian GM Zoran Jovanović and Hungarian GM Richard Rapport is a perfect example:

Of course, playing in such a manner does entail a certain risk. Allowing your opponent a lot of space leaves the possibility of getting suffocated open. In double-edged positions, the value of each move is very high – one step in the wrong direction might lead to an opening disaster.

Fortunately, this is also true for White. When the play is so concrete and sharp, the moves he has to find are often very demanding. In order to punish Black’s provocative strategy, White has to play energetically and vigorously.

As you will see, most critical lines are extremely sharp and often include various sacrifices. Unless he is very well prepared, 8/10 times, an average club player will avoid the most critical lines in favour of normal moves.

The problem is that routine play, characteristic of lower-rated players, often allows Black to seize the initiative.

Even if he doesn’t take over, he has chances of outplaying the opponent from an equal position, since he should be more familiar with the resulting positions and structures.

How did I start playing the Modern Defence?

The Modern Defence has been my main opening with the Black pieces for the last couple of years. Since it is an odd opening choice to build your repertoire around, perhaps I should explain how I picked it up.

I started playing tournament chess relatively late in my life ( when I was 19 ). Even though I did play a lot on the Internet beforehand and read a number of books, I had really poor opening knowledge and didn’t really know how to study this phase of the game or build a repertoire. Once I started playing, I didn’t want to play one of the main lines. My ( twisted ) reasoning was as follows:

It is more difficult to pick up a line with a lot of theory as an adult and learn it from scratch compared to playing it from your early years and gradually expanding it.

Other players at my level are more likely to have a better knowledge of the main lines. For the first year or so, I played the Alekhine defense exclusively. But since tactical play is my strong suit, I wasn’t satisfied with passive and dry positions I often got out of the opening.

I started searching for something sharper, while still being reluctant to pick up something like the Sicilian. That is when I stumbled upon the book by a Swedish Grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson titled: Tiger’s Modern, devoted to – yes, you guessed it – the Modern Defence. Persson has been the leading Modern specialist for several years and later he wrote a revised edition called the Modern Tiger ( which, surely enough, I also got). Tiger’s treatment of the opening was based on the little pawn move a6, leading to the quick queenside expansion with b5-Bb7-Nd7-c5.

I was immediately attracted to the opening. Material sacrifices, imbalances and wild tactics – all an integral part of this opening – appealed to me very much. I went through the book, picked up some variations, and started playing it – with decent results.

5 years later and approximately 200 ratings higher, it is still my main defense.

Is the Modern Defence only suitable for club level players?

The Modern Defence is particularly effective at the club level. But it is not played at the club level exclusively.

Apart from Tiger Hillarp Persson, several grandmasters, like Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Stuart Conquest, Colin McNab, and Chatabalshev Boris have employed it regularly. The hero of the book Smart Chip from St. Petersburg and one of the strongest blitz players in the history of the game, Genrikh Chepukaitis, has also employed it regularly.

It even appears at the top level: Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Peter Svidler, Rauf Mamedov, Vugar Gashimov, Richard Rapport and Ivan Šarić have all won at least one classical game with the Modern defence at least once in their careers, while Yasser Seirawan and Jonathan Speelman ( who also wrote a book on the opening ) were its proponents back in the 80s.

The drawbacks of the Modern Defence?

Of course, the sentence in the previous paragraph exposes an important truth about The Modern Defence – it is perfectly suitable to serve as a surprise weapon.

But if I were completely honest, I wouldn’t recommend going down the same path I went and decided to play it exclusively. There are two problems in particular:

• I have noticed that, once I approached 2200 ELO, it became an obvious target for the opponent’s preparation. Even Peter Svidler, in one of his Q&A videos for chess24. com recommended having something else as the main weapon and picking up the Modern Defence as a side/surprise weapon.
• Even though my aim was to avoid a lot of opening theory, it turned out the Modern has quite extensive theory itself, due to a variety of possible White set-ups. Sure, it is an idea-based opening where the knowledge of ideas and general concepts helps tremendously and makes it somewhat universal. But even so, there are certain lines where you simply need to remember what you are doing, or you might not even make it out of the opening.

With that being said, I still highly recommend you to try it out.

I guarantee you will get exciting and fighting positions. Even if you sometimes pay the price, the Modern Defence is bound to make your games much more fun.

As they say – you live by the sword, you die by the sword!

Course Overview

Course in numbers

After getting acquainted with the Modern Defence, it is time to talk about the actual course.

The Modern Defence Against Everything consists of 636 trainable variations, 41 alternative variations and 59 informational variations, ² which are accompanied by more than 150 000 words of annotations and more than 20 hours of (optional) video instruction. The average length of the variation is 13.87 moves.

The price

The price is 29.99$ for the course without video and 189.98$ for the course with video. From 10th February to 20th February, the repertoire is on an introductory sale, with a 33% discount on the course without the video (19.99$) and 47% (99.98$) on the course with video. ³

Organization and structure:

The variations are divided into 16 thematic chapters (whose picturesque names were „borrowed“ from Tiger Hillarp Persson’s books), as follows:

Chapter 1 – Introduction – initial remarks and comments

Chapter 2 – Quickstarter Guide – a typical feature of all Chessable repertoires, presenting a set of variations most often encountered in practice, which are sufficient for the student to try the opening. The Modern Defence Against Everything’s Quickstarter Guide consists of 35 variations

Chapter 3 -The Austrian Attack: Main Line after 7 e5– a dangerous setup where White plays f4 and follows it up with e5

Chapter 4 – The Austrian Attack: Other Lines – setups where White plays f4 but delays the advance of the e-pawn

Chapter 5 – Flexible Dragon Unleashed: Nc3-Be3-Qd2 setups – setups featuring an early development of the dark-squared bishop (fighting against c5 break) where White goes for the quick queenside castling and tries to overrun Black on the kingside

Chapter 6 – Flexible Dragon Restrained: Nc3-Be3-Nf3 setups – setups featuring an early development of the dark-squared bishop where White plays in a more restrained, positional manner

Chapter 7 – Into Midar: Nc3-Bg5 setups – setups featuring an early development of the dark-squared bishop to a more aggressive post Bg5

Chapter 8 – The Fianchetto Variation: g3-Bg2 setups – the quiet, but no less venomous setups involving an early fianchetto of the light-squared bishop

Chapter 9 – The Classical Variation: Nc3-Nf3 setups – a setup where White adheres to the classical principle of developing the knights before the bishops. Also leads to more positional and strategic play.

Chapter 10 – The Hippopotamus – the well-known setup with bishops on g7 and b7 and knights on e7 and d7. I recommend using it only against the „classical“ move order (Nf3-Nc3) with a4 included.

Chapter 11 – Mad Dog: Nf3-Bc4 setups – setups where White tries to probe our f7 point and often goes for the Qe2-e5 ideas

Chapter 12 – The Lazy Variation: Nf3-Nd3-c3 setups – the most solid approach against the Modern defence, where White tries to keep his solid center intact and prevent Black from developing active counterplay.

Chapter 13 – Early Deviations by White – all possible alternatives available to White on moves 2 and 3, with particular emphasis on Closed Sicilian and Grand Prix setups.

Chapter 14 – The Averbakh Variation: setups with c4 – a chapter devoted to „queen’s pawn“ setups where c4 has been included, or where White omits the e4 advance in favour of d4 altogether.

Chapter 15 – Sample Games On Master Level (Grandmaster Games) – a collection of annotated games where strong players have played the Modern defence.

Chapter 16 – Sample Games On Patzer Level (Author’s Games) – a collection of annotated games where the author of these lines has played the Modern defence.

Challenges I encountered while working on The Modern Defence Against Everything repertoire

The creation of this Chessable repertoire has probably been the most difficult project of my entire life.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, I had no prior experience in writing a coherent chess repertoire. It was a big challenge to lay it out, organize the material and structure it, let alone start producing it.

Secondly, up to that point, I was only familiar with Chessable from the user perspective. I didn’t know how exactly the process of publishing a course works. I had to learn everything from scratch – from importing .pgns to writing annotations, doing graphical arrows and including links to other chapters and variations. There was a lot of going back and forth that cost me a lot of time and nerves and it definitely prolonged the release of this repertoire.

Last, but not least, the Modern Defence is not the easiest opening for an author to tackle.

As is apparent from the number of chapters and variations, The Modern Defence Against Everything is a big repertoire.

This is a direct consequence of the Modern Defence’s nature – since Black doesn’t contest White’s center, the opening play is not forced. Basically any developing setup by White is viable and transpositions between various setups are very common. It was quite challenging to take everything into account – even Tiger Hillarp Persson didn’t mention all the possibilities in his books (for example, the line 1 e4 g6 2 h4!?). I had to be vigilant not to exclude anything (although I still don’t rule out the possibility I did).

As a consequence, it took me much longer to do this repertoire than I expected (6 months of on-and-off work). Numerous hours were spent analyzing, importing, commenting, fixing mistakes, fixing the fixes of mistakes, replying to beta tester comments, improving the initial version, etc.

The pros of the course / What I am content with?

Despite the challenges, I am glad it managed to see the light of the day. I can say that I am quite happy and proud of the final result. Even though it is not very modest to praise my own horse, I am very content with several aspects of The Modern Defence Against Everything. Some of the pros of the course are, as follows:

• Thorough and deep annotations. I did my best to explain the ideas, plans and concepts – especially in the early opening stage of the game.
• A lot of links in the annotations, pointing out move orders and transpositions and making it easier for the student to compare similar, yet slightly different variations
• Number of alternative lines and alternatives offered to the students when facing critical lines
• A lot of independent analysis
• A couple of surprising and sacrificial novelties
• A solid number of annotated games, with relatively thorough annotations.
• A separate chapter with my own games, in accordance to Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Skin In The Game principle.
• Honesty. I firmly believe in being authentic in life. I didn’t try to present the Modern Defence as the next best thing, but as a primarily practical weapon. Already in the introduction to the repertoire, I mentioned it is probably not advisable to follow my steps and turn it into your sole defense against 1 e4 and I tried to remain as objective as possible throughout the repertoire.

The cons of the course / What is something I am not content with?

However, I can’t pretend everything is perfect. Even though only three days have passed since the course was published ⁴, there are some aspects of the course I am not content with. In hindsight, I wish I did some things differently. Some of the cons of the course are, as follows:

• Uneven length of the lines. It is always a question when the author should stop analyzing a certain variation. I haven’t managed to cope with that task in the best possible way. Some of the lines are too long, some of them are perhaps a tad too short.
• Occasional overreliance on the engine. In some complicated lines, I fell victim to clicking through the engine analysis and switching off my brain. As I was going through the course myself, I noticed I didn’t consider some human options. Some of it was corrected in beta, but definitely not all of it.
• Overoptimism in certain lines. I did my best to remain objective and honest, but I feel there are some lines I may have evaluated too optimistically. Not too many, fortunately.
• Lack of smoothness when it comes to the official videos. I was never fully content with my presentation/brodcasting skills and 100% natural in front of the camera. I did get better over the years, and videos I filmed later for this repertoire are much better than the first few, but I still feel there is much left to be desired, especially compared to some more renowned authors such as Chessexplained or John Bartholomew.

Short & Sweet – The Modern Defence

Chessable also has a series of free repertoires – the so-called Short & Sweet series – which serve as introductory courses for a certain opening.

The Modern Defence also got its version, where I try to present the Modern Defence through 22 main, tactical, sacrificial and fun variations.

Think of it as a slightly more cheeky, shorter and attractive version of the Quickstarter Guide chapter.

Conclusion

There you have it! I hope this overview has provided you with a better idea about the Modern Defence and what you can expect from The Modern Defence Against Everything repertoire on Chessable.

Even though there are things that might have been improved ⁵, I think the repertoire is of a very decent quality. A huge number of hours have been spent to create this repertoire and I hope the student will be able to sense this effort as he goes through the variations!

To conclude, if this post enticed your curiosity or if you simply want to support the author of these lines, feel free to check The Modern Defence Against Everything out, or to tell your chess friends about it.

I would be incredibly grateful for it :).

An introductory video for The Modern Defence Against Everything repertoire

The post My First Chessable Course: The Modern Defence Against Everything – Overview appeared first on Chessentials.

Some time ago, I stumbled on an entertaining question on Quora titled What are the coolest chess opening names.

I wrote a short, but a rather superficial answer. But I immediately realized it would be an interesting topic for an extended, more thorough and researched article.

It took me a while to actually sit down, do the research and write it. But I finally managed. Today, I am able to present you with the result of my work. An article devoted to weird chess openings – openings that have funny, cool, entertaining or just plain weird names.

The article is structured as a list. The name of the variation is followed up with the actual moves and some of my comments. I have tried to find the origin of the name whenever possible. Unfortunately for the reader, I was able to do so for only a small sample of openings considered. As for the rest, you will have to put up with my dubious writing style and pitiful humour attempts.

Hope you will enjoy the show.

LIST OF WEIRD CHESS OPENINGS

• The Fried Liver (Fegatello) Attack

A variation of the Two Knights Defence including a Knight sacrifice on f7 first appeared in a game between two Italian Masters in 1610. Since the sacrifice leads to a position where the Black king has to endure an attack in the center, the variation later became known as The Fegatello or Fried Liver Attack.

The exact etymology is not known. In The Oxford Companion To Chess, David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld speculated that the name implies that the sacrifice of White’s knight is like a slice of liver used as bait in a trap ¹ (in the Italian language, the word Fegatello is an idiom meaning “dead as a piece of liver”).

The opening moves of The Fried Liver Attack are:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.24"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Fried Liver Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "C57"]  [PlyCount "13"]   1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Qf3+ *   

• Fried Fox / Pork Chop (Hammerschlag Opening)

In the 19^th century, an English player Thomas Wilson Barnes used a provocative opening – 1 e4 f6!? to beat none other but the greatest player of the era – Paul Charles Morphy. His name has been connected to the advance of the f-pawn with both colors (including 1 f3).

Ever since, the opening theory has advanced and introduced the so-called Fried Fox / Pork Chop / Hammerschlag. I couldn’t find any origin for its name, but I have been able to find its moves:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.24"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Fried Fox"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A00"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "3"]   1. f3 {Barnes Opening. Don't try this at home, unless you want to enrage your  online opponent} e5 {Black can play any other move} 2. Kf2 {Only Kf2 leads to  Fried Fox / Pork Chop / Hammerschlag Variation} *   

• The Toilet Variation

According to the urban legend, The Toilet Variation was invented by a Sicilian Grand Prix player during a visit to the “special place”.

Even without acknowledging the theory that our brain discovers brilliant ideas while we are relaxed, this story would be plausible.

Because the opening is – essentially – crap.

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.24"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Toilet Variation"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "B21"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "5"]   1. e4 c5 2. f4 d5 3. Nc3 {On the other hand, White players have scored 51.9%  from this position, according to my database. So what do I know.} *   

• The Monkey’s Bum

In the 1970s, there was a certain wave of popularity for the Modern Defence. Grandmasters such as Raymond Keene and Jonathan Speelman (and later Yasser Seirawan) used to play it on a regular basis. ²

In the search for refutation, British International Master Nigel Povah started investigating a rapid assault on the f7 square. He devised a weird variation involving a sacrifice of the d4 pawn in return for the rapid development.

When he showed the variation to his friend Ken Coates, the latter declared: “If that works then I’m a monkey’s bum!” The name stuck ever since.

The opening moves of the Monkey’s Bum variation are:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.25"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Monkey's Bum"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "B06"]  [PlyCount "11"]   1. e4 g6 2. Bc4 Bg7 3. Qf3 e6 4. d4 Bxd4 5. Ne2 Bg7 6. Nbc3 *   

If any reader contemplates about employing it against me, I would definitely urge him to do so. I think this is a highly critical test of the Black system. I am scared of it.

So scared.

Really, really scared.

• Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl

While we are at the Modern Defence – only chess players are capable of using the words “Hyperaccelerated” and “Pterodactyl” in a single sentence. The Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl Variation refers to the set-up where Black plays 1… g6, 2….Bg7 and 3…c5:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.25"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "B27"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "6"]   1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 (3. Nf3 c5) 3... c5 {I am not sure what is so  attractive about this move-order. White can play 4 Nf3 and transpose into the  Accelerated Dragon. But he also has additional options such as taking on c5.  On great book that taught me how to deal with this type of shenanigans is  Andrew Greet's Beating Unusual Chess Defences} *   

It has to be noted that English Fide Master and trainer Charles Storey christened this set-up ‘The Sniper’ and devoted a whole book to it.

You have to admit – Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl just sounds much cooler.

• Beefeater Variation

We are still not done with the Modern defence. Even if White avoids playing the move e4, Black can stick to his set-up. A certain sub-variation of the Pterodactyl involves the counterintuitive exchange of the g7-bishop for a knight on c3, followed up by the advance of f5:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Beefeater Variation"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A40"]  [PlyCount "10"]   1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 f5 *   

Although it is ugly looking, the variation is decent for Black. I have ventured it myself in some blitz games and I remember watching a video of Nakamura having trouble against it with the White pieces. ³

• Lion’s Jaw

The Pirc, as The Modern Defence’s closest cousin, also has something to add to the discussion. A variation with the early f3 advance is called Lion’s Jaw:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Lion's Jaw"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "B07"]  [PlyCount "5"]   1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. f3 *   

I couldn’t find anything about the origin of the name. I assume the resemblance is purely visual – White players opens the Jaw and prepares to swallow everything Black has to offer.

Including the king.

• Halloween Gambit

In the 19^th century, German players in the Leipzig chess club used to play this variation of the 4 Knights Game. Due to its unsoundness, it was called “Müller and Schulze” in German, which is the equivalent for “Tom, Dick and Harry” and is a derogatory and mocking substitute for the word“everybody”.

Almost 100 years later, a German chessplayer Steffen Jakob did a heavy analysis of the line and introduced an alternative name. According to him:

“Many players are shocked, the way they would be frightened by a Halloween mask when they are mentally prepared for a boring Four Knight’s, and then they are faced with Nxe5.”

As you might have guessed, the Halloween Attack is characterized by an early sacrifice of the knight on e5:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.28"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Halloween Gambit"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "C47"]  [PlyCount "7"]   1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nxe5 *   

The main source is this great article by Tim Krabbe: A Breeze In The Sleepy 4-Knight’s Game

You can also check Steffen Jakob’s page about Halloween Attack on his website

• The Sodium Attack

In chemistry, the symbol for Sodium is Na.

In chess, the notation for the knight going to the a-file is Na.

In the opening, there is only one square white knight can reach on the a-file:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.24"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Sodium Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A00"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "1"]   1. Na3 {With that being said, sodium is probably better for your health than  this opening, but you can't have it all} *   

• Drunken Knight Opening

If 1 Na3 is The Sodium Attack, it would be reasonable to expect that the mirror move – 1 Nh3 – is, correspondingly, The Ammonium Attack.

Alas, nothing in chess is expected. For some reason, someone connected the movement of the knight to the h-file on the first move with a different chemical element.

The element whose formula is CH3-CH2-OH.

Ethanol. More commonly known as drinking alcohol.

Because 1 Nh3 is the so-called Drunken Knight Opening:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.25"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Drunken Knight Opening"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A00"]  [PlyCount "1"]   1. Nh3 *   

• The Hillbilly Attack

According to the 1900 New York Journal, a hillbilly is:

A free and untrammeled white citizen of Tennessee, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him ⁴

If an opening were to bear this honorable name, it has to be unsophisticated, dumb and slightly offensive. All three aims are achieved by an early Bishop foray to c4 on the second move of the Caro-Kann:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.24"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Hillbilly Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "B10"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "3"]   1. e4 c6 2. Bc4 {This move does nothing to prevent d5, but hey! - at least you  have developed a piece.} *   

In contrast to some other variations mentioned in this post, The Hillbilly Attack is relatively playable. World Champion himself – Magnus Carlsen – used it to beat Evgeny Tomashevsky in a blitz game in World Blitz Championship 2015.

⁵

For more information on the Hillbilly Attack, I highly recommend the following article by Ginger GM Simon Williams (who also made a whole video series devoted to this opening)

• The Frankenstein-Dracula Variation

In his 1976 book on the Vienna Game, chess author Tim Harding analyzed a particularly sharp line. At one point, he remarked that the bloodthirstiness of the character of play was such that:

“[…] a game between Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster” would not seem out of place.”

Naturally, the variation later became known as The Frankenstein-Dracula Variation. It is characterized by the following moves:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.25"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Frankenstein - Dracula "]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "C27"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "6"]   1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 {We can already see this is going to end badly  for someone} *   

• The Orangutan (Polish / Sokolsky) Opening

One of the more famous openings on this list, often faced by an average club player:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.25"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Organutan / Sokolsky Opening"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A00"]  [PlyCount "1"]   1. b4 *   

The opening was initially named after the Soviet Master Alexey Sokolsky, who was the first to analyze the opening seriously and wrote a book in Russian about it (Debyut 1b2-b4, 1963).

The story regarding two other names is more amusing, though.

In the 4^th round of the New York 1924 chess tournament, Savielly Tartakower was paired against Geza Maroczy.

A day before the game the players visited the nearby zoo. Tartakower allegedly asked an Orangutan called Suzanna which first move to play. Suzanna supposedly urged him to go 1 b4.

Hence the name. The opening is also called Polish in Tartakower’s honour (since he was a Pole).

• The Flick-Knife Attack

Probably the most serious opening on this list. The Flick-Knife Attack is a very sharp and strong response to the Modern Benoni:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.25"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Flick Knife Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A66"]  [PlyCount "13"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 *   

The variation was initially analyzed by Mark Taimanov, who concluded that 8 Bb5+ check is especially dangerous for Black. In the 1980s, Garry Kasparov picked up the baton and brought the Modern Benoni to the brink of extinction.

The term “Flick-Knife” was coined by David Norwood in his 1994 book on The Modern Benoni. The set-up visually reminded the author of the cold-weapon. And the name stuck to this day.

• Nescafe Frappe Attack

The story behind the name of the opening is fascinating.

First of all, we need to know what a coffee house player is. According to Wikipedia:

An adjective used to describe a move, player, or style of play characterized by risky, positionally dubious play that sets traps for the opponent. The name comes from the notion that one would expect to see such play in skittles, games played in a coffeehouse or similar setting, particularly in games played for stakes or blitz chess.

Now, what does it have to do with anything? Well, back in 1987, there was a certain game between Collins and Tebb, won by Black after a speculative sacrifice. Informally, the winner was nicknamed as the ‘King of Coffee House’.

Later next year, a Cambridge student and a future FIDE Master, Graham Burgess, faced Tebb with the White pieces and ‘decaffeinated’ the King of Coffee House with the help of the afore-mentioned Gambit.

This win inspired him so much, that he went on to write a whole book about the system.

In the book, he also has to say something about the name of the opening:

This line as yet has no official name (except ‘Zaitsev line with 8 Bc4’); it is generally referred to as simply ‘The Hack Line’, or for reasons which are rather obscure, the The Nescafé Frappé Attack or NFA for short.

The Nescafe Frappe Attack is characterized by the following moves:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.25"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Nescafe Frappe Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A57"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "15"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. Nc3 axb5 6. e4 b4 7. Nb5 d6 8. Bc4 {  Surprisingly, this variation seems plausible and playable} *   

• The Crab Opening

Dragon and Pterodactyl are not the only animals chess players have introduced in the nomenclature. There are many others. For example, the advance of the a and h pawns on the first two moves is commonly knowns as The Crab Opening:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Crab"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A00"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "3"]   1. a4 e5 {Obviously, any reply by Black will do} 2. h4 *   

If White’s set-up doesn’t remind you of Crab, I don’t know what to say. Perhaps I would advise you not to play Associations game

• Double Duck Formation

While we are at openings that include the advance of the pair of pawns you would normally never consider to advance – I present you a line of the Bird’s opening: Double Duck Formation.

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Double Duck"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A80"]  [PlyCount "4"]   1. f4 f5 2. d4 d5 *   

• Aged Gibbon Gambit

Last but not least when it comes to “animal” openings The Aged Gibbon is a variation of the Old Indian Defense including an early advance of the g-pawn:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Aged Gibbon"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A53"]  [PlyCount "5"]   1. d4 d6 2. c4 Nf6 3. g4 *   

How it got its name is beyond me. If I had to guess ⁶, I would probably assume only Gibbons are capable of advancing the g-pawn so early. And this particular one forgot to do so on move 2 due to his age, so decided to do it on move 3 instead.

You heard it here first.

• Creepy Crawly Formation

This opening is a close cousin of the Crab Opening, as it also includes the advance of the a and h pawns.

However, this line is more sophisticated. White tries to “lure” his opponent into overextending himself:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Creepy Crawly Formation"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A00"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "4"]   1. a3 e5 2. h3 d5 {Silly Black, occupying the Center like a patzer and falling  into our trap.} *   

It probably got its name because White tries to crawl creepily. Although, I would say it is – on the whole – much more Creepy than Crawly.

• The Bongcloud

This “joke” opening involving an early king move has captured the hearts of chess aficionados, especially once the Internet appeared. It also got a lot of recognition after self-renowned Bongcloud Master (BM) Andrew Fabbro published a free-ebook Winning With The Bongcloud ⁷

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The BongCloud"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "C42"]  [PlyCount "3"]   1. e4 e5 2. Ke2 *   

There is something romantic in the early king foray. The Bongcloud is a must for any player striving to become a pretentious asshole – there is no better way of disrespecting your opponent.

• The Apocalypse Attack

If the apocalypse is a scenario where one man fights for survival against his own, a chess equivalent would be a single piece trying to take down the entire opposing army.

In a certain variation of the Caro-Kann Exchange Variation, it is precisely what White tries to achieve:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Apocalypse Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "B10"]  [PlyCount "7"]   1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Ne5 *   

Even though moving the knight for the second time violates the basic opening principle, this opening is actually quite playable. ⁸

• Vulture Defence

White is not the only one who can make aggressive knight leaps early in the opening. In a variation of the Modern Benoni, Black can violate the same opening principles and jump to e4 as early as on move 3:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Vulture Defence"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A56"]  [PlyCount "6"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 Ne4 *   

Although I like the Apocalypse reference more, comparing the knight to a vulture who prepares to scavenge the remains is also a viable approach.

• Reagan’s Attack

The opening move 1 h4 was named after a French player Marcel Desprez and is known as Desprez Opening. However, like many other rare openings, it has some alternate names, such as Kadas Opening, Anti-Borg Opening or Samurai Opening.

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Reagan's Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A00"]  [PlyCount "1"]   1. h4 *   

However, the name I like the most is Reagan’s Attack. According to Eric Schillers’ Unorthodox Chess Openings, it is a joke on Reagan’s Behalf, since 1 h4 is “thoroughly unmotivated and creates weaknesses with only vague promises of future potential”.

• Wulumulu Opening

A subvariation of the Desprez Opening, including the moves 1… e5 and 2 d4:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Wulumulu Opening"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A00"]  [PlyCount "3"]   1. h4 e5 2. d4 *   

I couldn’t find how the name of the variation came to be. My guess would be that silly openings require silly names.

• Napoleon Attack

I bet you have all heard about certain Frenchman called Napoleon Bonaparte. ⁹ Apart from being a general, in his free time he was also a very passionate (albeit a mediocre) chess player. ¹⁰

According to some sources, he used the variation with an early queen development against chess automaton the Turk. An alternative explanation might refer to his wife Josephine’s infidelities. Mean tongues would say he was unable to keep his Queen at home.

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Napoleon Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "C20"]  [PlyCount "3"]   1. e4 e5 2. Qf3 *   

• Prickly Pawn Pass System

Prickly Pawn Pass System is a variation of the Botvinnik System in the English opening in which Black advances his pawn to a6:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Prickly Pawn Pass System"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "A24"]  [PlyCount "16"]   1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. e4 O-O 7. Nge2 c6 8. O-O a6  *   

The etymology of the name is not clear. But in contrast to other variations considered in this article, this one is quite ordinary and healthy (the plan of advancing b5 pawn is logical).

• Campomanes Attack

Last but not least – an opening named after the 5^th president of FIDE Florencio Campomanes, most famous for his involvement in the controversial 1978 Karpov – Korchnoi match and his termination of the 1984 Karpov – Kasparov match.

The name refers to a variation including an atypical 3^rd knight move in the main line of Caro Kann:

   [Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2019.03.27"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Campomanes Attack"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "*"]  [ECO "B15"]  [Annotator "MyPrecious"]  [PlyCount "6"]   1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 {Now dxe4 is almost universally played} Nf6 *   

I am not 100% sure why this variation bears his name. I found a game which he played against none other than Mikhail Tal in 1960 Olympiad where he employed it. But I find it hard to believe he was its first (or most fervent) supporter.

I assume it is easier to have a variation named after you if you are a FIDE president.

In any case, one question remains open.

If my opponent employs it and we play a long game, should I play it until the end? Or offer him to end the game without a winner and play a new, shorter one, instead?

Boy, the opening theory is indeed sometimes confusing.

SOURCES, REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Quora: What Are The Coolest Chess Opening Names

Chesscom: The Weirdest Chess Openings

Chess.Stackexchange: Frankenstein-Dracula Variation and Other Variations With Funny Names

Chesscom: Funniest Or Weirdest Opening Name

Chesscom: Coolest Most Awesome Chess Opening Names

Chesscom: The Weirdest Chess Openings

Kingscrusher: The Top 40 Funniest Named Chess Openings

Webcitation: List Of Chess Openings And Their Names

Angelfire: Sokolsky

Chesscom: Sokolsky/Polish Opening

Tim Krabbe: A Breeze in the Sleepy 4-Knight’s Game

Kenilworth Chess Club: The Apocalypse Attack

Chessmastery: Bongcloud (free pdf)

Cleanchess: Desprez Opening

The post Weird Chess Openings appeared first on Chessentials.

We human tend to get obsessed with the superlatives in any field of human activity.

We are constantly trying to determine who is the biggest, the strongest, the most intelligent, the greatest ever, etc..

Heck, our obsession went so far that a separate body was created that publishes an annual book which documents all the unnecessary achievements of the humanity.

Chess players are not an exception. For instance, when we are playing the game, we are searching for the best move; we are willingly entering lengthy discussions about the comparative greatness of Fischer and Kasparov, etc.

However, I would like to focus on answering one particular question that often fascinates the minds of beginners and novice players.

That question regards the least amounts of moves required to checkmate the adversary King right out of the opening.

Therefore, fast checkmates are the main theme of this article. And we are going to start with the fastest of them all – The two move checkmate or the Fool’s mate.

The two move checkmate – The Fool’s mate

Only the player playing the White pieces can become a  victim of the two move checkmate.

Considering that such a checkmate arises only after a terrible play on White’s part, this checkmate is also known as the Fool’s mate.

An example game featuring the Fool’s mate is shown below.

[Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2017.05.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Fool's mate"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A00"]  [PlyCount "4"]  [SourceDate "2017.05.26"]   1. g4 e5 2. f3 Qh4# {[pgndiagram]} 0-1

We can observe that there are several conditions that need to be for the Fool’s mate to happen:

• White’s g pawn has to be on g4, in order not to be able to block the check of the Black Queen.
• White’s f pawn has to be on f3 or f4, in order for the e1-h4 diagonal to be clear.
• White’s king has to be hemmed in by his own pieces. For instance, if there was no queen or d1 or pawn d2, there would be no checkmate as the king would be able to flee via one of those squares.

Naturally, White’s moves with the f and the g pawn are both terrible.

Therefore, it is fully justified to start singing to your opponent in the style of Amy Lee if you ever deliver the Fool’s mate over the board.

The three move checkmate – The Fool’s mate reversed

Compared to the two move checkmate, that is unique, there are multiple ways of checkmating the enemy king in three moves.

In this part of the article, we will focus on the basic instance, which is basically the Fool’s mate reversed.

(Other types of various three move checkmates are covered in a later part of this article)

An example game featuring the three move checkmate is shown below.

[Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2017.05.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Fool's mate reversed"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "B00"]  [PlyCount "5"]  [SourceDate "2017.05.26"]   1. e4 f6 $2 2. Nc3 g5 $4 3. Qh5# {[pgndiagram]} 1-0

Similarities between the two move checkmate and the three move checkmate are quite obvious.

The only main difference is that White has to lose a tempo and wait for Black to weaken himself along the e8-h5 diagonal.

But if you allow yourself to be checkmated in this fashion, you still deserve to be called a Fool!

We have already pointed out that only complete beginners will move their f and g pawns early in the opening.

Considering that there is a very low probability of encountering the Fool’s mate over the board, one might wonder if there is any point of getting familiar with it, whatsoever.

Well, if there is one thing one should remember from the example games above, that is the danger of weakening the h4-e1 (h5-e8) diagonal too early in the game.

Whenever you are contemplating about pushing your g and f pawns, you should make sure that your king isn’t going to suffer as a consequence.

Because even if punishment doesn’t come as quickly as in the Fool’s mate, you still might fall into a tactical trap and lose the game relatively quickly.

The following game should illustrate my point.

[Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2017.05.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Three move checkmate example"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A45"]  [PlyCount "12"]  [SourceDate "2017.05.26"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. Nd2 $2 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 $6 4. h3 $4 {Overlooking Black's idea} Ne3 {  The queen is trapped} 5. fxe3 Qh4+ 6. g3 Qxg3# {[pgndiagram]} 0-1

The four move checkmate – The Scholar’s mate

Another fast checkmate that is encountered rather often in the practice is the four move checkmate.

The f7(f2) is generally recognised as the weakest point in the pawn structure in the opening because the King is the only piece defending it.

Four move checkmate occurs when the White Queen, supported by the light squared bishop, checkmates the Black king precisely on the f7 square.

Due to its educational value (this pattern is often used to teach the beginners the basic combination elements) the four move checkmate is also widely known as the Scholar’s mate. 

An example game featuring the Scholar’s mate is given below.

[Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2017.05.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "The Scholar's mate"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "C20"]  [PlyCount "7"]   1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 $5 {[pgndiagram] This opening is known as the Parham attack.  It is usually not very wise to bring the queen so early in the opening, but  here White gains time because the e5 pawn is attacked} Nc6 3. Bc4 {Creating a  double attack on the f-pawn.} Nf6 $4 {Black simply ignores the threat} 4. Qxf7#  {[pgndiagram] The classic position of the Scholar's mate} 1-0

Compared to the Fool’s mate, the Scholar’s mate is more often encountered in practice. Many beginners are attracted to the idea of a quick win and they try to catch their opponent of the guard with the Parham opening.

And not only beginners. The 2 Qh5!? was tried against arguably the greatest player ever, Garry Kasparov.

Apart from that, a top 10 player Hikaru Nakamura also played the White side of that opening.

These two games, however, demonstrate the drawbacks of the early queen sortie.

Once Black has defended against the immediate threats, he can gain time by harassing the White lady and end up in a superior position.

For this reason, a word of caution is required. Although you might win some games with the help of the Scholar’s mate, you are relying on a mistake by your opponent, which is hard an advisable strategy in chess.

Therefore, don’t become fixated on the Scholar’s mate. Any experienced player will be glad to take advantage of your suboptimal opening play.

A personal note

I would like to conclude this article with two anecdotes connected with fast checkmates.

I have been a victim of a couple of three move checkmates myself. However, as will soon become apparent, it was never my fault (I am pretty good in excuses, aren’t I?).

The first instance it happened was a friendly game against a family member, who tried the above-mentioned Parham attack against me:

[Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2017.05.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "King with magnets"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "C20"]  [PlyCount "5"]   1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 {[pgndiagram] At this particular moment, my opponent asked me  whether I knew that my king has magnets (we were playing on a wooden board).  Naturally, I grabbed the king in order to check that claim. Naturally, there  weren't any magnets whatsoever, but my opponent's exclaimed that I have to  move the king in the spirit of the touch rule.} Ke7 $4 {Naturally, I had no  choice.} 3. Qxe5# {[pgndiagram] Another remarkable way of checkmating your  the opponent in 3 moves.} 1-0

After this debacle, one would expect that I have learnt the lesson and that I would never fall for something similar.

However, many years after the game above, I was playing in the Split open 2013 tournament. 

There I have spent quite some time playing blitz against IM Leon Livaić (who was “only” a 2050 Candidate Master at a time).

However, already then I got crushed in blitz quite badly. Out of desperation, I started playing some nonsense openings and simply hope for the miracle.

Then the following game happened:

[Event "?"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2017.05.26"]  [Round "?"]  [White "From Gambit's theory"]  [Black "?"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A02"]  [PlyCount "10"]   1. f4 e5 2. fxe5 d6 {[pgndiagram] We spent quite some time discussing the From  Gambit of the Bird's opening, so I thought I might play a thematic game with  it.} 3. exd6 Bxd6 4. Nf3 g5 {[pgndiagram] I don't remember why I entered this  position, but I remember that already here I didn't have a clue what to do  next. Leon suggested that the theoretical continuation here is h3, defending  against the g4 threat.} 5. h3 $4 {It goes without saying that I believed him  and played this principled move.} Bg3# {Leon's evil laughter still wakes me up  in the middle of the night sometimes.} 0-1

” Don’t trust International Masters even when they are suggesting the theory.”

The post Fast checkmates appeared first on Chessentials.

Every chess tournament I have participated in has had THAT moment.

THAT moment when after refreshing the pairings in the solitude of your apartment and lamenting about how you got the Black pieces again, you rush to open your Chessbase to quick scan your opponent’s repertoire, only to realize that once again you have to deal with someone who is very stubbornly refusing to cross the 4th rank of the board with his „d4-c3-e3“ offbeat openings rubbish.

And typically, after an unpleasant realisation that your opponent plays chess the way Mourinho’s teams play football, you immediatelly close the Chessbase as quickly as possible („ What the hell, i can equalise as i please “)  and as a mental preparation you go rewatch the 2009 Barcelona – Chelsea Championship League match, to remind yourself that there is indeed some higher justice (thank you mr. Tom Henning Øvrebø).

Naturally, some 20 hours later, with the white knight sitting comfortably on e5, your light squared bishop sitting desperately on b7 or c8, being as relevant to the course of the game as Shaquille O’Neal on the free throw line, and your king facing impeding mating threats, you bitterly start regretting that decision as you experience the inevitable oncoming wave of depression typical when faced with a losing position. Of course, you still resign the game with dignity and thank the opponent for the learning experience, because everyone knows that chessplayers are famous for handling bad results very well, right?

If you don’t believe me, ask mr. Sokolov:

Okay… on the bright side you HAVE watched the Barcelona – Chelsea Championship League match last night, so people in neighbouring rooms won’t be surprised when they hear a sudden „It’s a fucking disgrace“ roars coming from your apartment in the evening after the round.

If you bear even slight resemblance to anything written above (and I admit that I might have SLIGHTLY… VERY SLIGHTLY exaggerated things), then it might be time to do something about it and start learning a few useful lines. And if you don’t even have the slightest idea where to start from, then you might consider John Cox’s book Dealing with the d4 deviations as a starting point for studying such offbeat openings.

BASIC AUTHOR INFORMATION

John Cox (if you laughed while reading his surname, then there might be something wrong with you. If you had to pronounce it loudly again to understand that joke, then there is definitely something wrong with you) is an International Master from England, but more importantly also an acknowledged chess author and publicist, who has not only written a handful of chess books, but has also regulary contributed to the New in Chess yearbooks. Going through his bibliography, you can notice that he is sort of an opening specialist, and that most of his books are trying to be as much beginner – friendly as possible.

GENERAL IMPRESSION

When I receive a new chess book in hands, there are several criteria that are important. But first of all, I like to evaluate is whether the book is readable without using the board or computer.

There are several reasons for this. The most obvious one is time and energy saving, since it is much easier to lay oneself into bed and open the book without setting the board or turnin on the computer.

And the possibility of reading without board has the extra benefit that you can read in any place you want like bus, train… or toilette

Yes my friends who are reading this, that book I lent you you has probably been there as well.

And from chess viewpoint I think this is a very healthy exercise, since going through all the variations in your head improves your visualization and calculating ability.. at least in theory.

I think that this is the department in which Cox’s book excels. The number of diagrams per pages is more than enough. A mere almost – 2200 patzer like me is able to follow most of the variations without much problems. The number and length of the variations, which is not too deep (see next section below where this is elaborated in greater detail) allows the reader to follow the material easily.

Another very strong point of this book is that feeling when I open the chess book at random page and dive deeply into the content of that very page without having to scroll backwards to understand what is the author exactly writing about. Therefore for me there is absolutely no doubt that generally I was very impressed with this. In that department it deserves maximum of five stars.

GENERAL IMPRESSION MARK ★★★★★

CHESS CONTENT

The book Dealing with the d4 deviations is divided into ten chapters, and is more or less covering or mentioning almost any kind of SHENENIGAN White player might try to throw at you. The chapters cover the broad spectre of subjects :

• The Trompovsky attack – 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5
• The Pseudo Trompovsky – 1 d4 d5 2 Bg5
• The Torre Attack – 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Bg5 and 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Bg5
• The Hebden Torre – 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 c3
• The London System – 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Bf4 and 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3Bf4
• The Colle System – 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 e3 and 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 e6 3 e3
• The Veresov – 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Bg5
• The Blackmar – Diemer Gambit 1 d4 d5 2 e4 and 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e4
• Anti – Benoni Lines – 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5
• Rare Lines – 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Bg5, 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 g3 and other

What I specifically like about this book is the fact that the author pays equal amount of attention to Black’s two main replies to d4, namely 1… d5 and 1… Nf6. Also the fact that there is an single chapter devoted exclusively to Benoni players ensures that the book is suited for players with different repertoire preferences.

The downside is the fact that the move g6 by Black was not mentioned at any point of the book, so Grünfeld and King’s Indian players ( and also the fanatics like me who like to play the Modern defence) have to learn some of the lines mentioned in the book or consider a repertoire outside of the scope of this book. Of course, this statement doesn’t mean that the book is completely useless since White Trompovsky players don’t give a damn about  Black’s second move.

The fact that everything is so strictly divided also has the aditional benefit that it is not neccessary to read every single chapter to be absolutely prepared for every possible White reaction (as is often case with other, more specific opening repertoire books).

For instance, if you are exlusively a Queen’s gambit player, then there is virtually no need for you to read the Trompovsky attack chapter, because there is practically no chance that any single line from the given chapter will ever appear in one of your over-the-board games.

Naturally, when considering such a variety of offbeat openings and possible White move orders which are often characterized with a number of similar moves, transpositions are inevitable.

I think that it is precisely in this department where Cox excels. He often takes a moment to consider a multitude of possible White replies very early in the game, eliminating the eternal „But what if White plays this on move 2 or 3?“ question that has often accompanied me while reading some other opening books.

Cox also makes it very clear which chapter you should consult when a transposition occurs and also how to avoid play being transfered to variations not considered in the scope of the book, by different subtleties and move orders by White.

Every single chapter contains a number of recommended and analyzed variations chosen by the author to combat a specific opening. The number of the variations is limited. At most points of the book there is only a single line recommended.

This minimalistic approach might not appeal to everybody. I think that some players rated much above my rating (and even those not that high above) might find this aspect of the book somewhat lacking.

Because it doesn’t ensure enough flexibility in the opening required for playing in 2300+ rating group (where one often wants to have the possibility of „serving from the other side“ in order to keep the opponent guessing and avoid his preparation).

This minimalistic approach is also apparent while considering the length and the depth of analysis. Most of the time Cox doesn’t bother to consider every possible White continuation at every possible move at the later stages of the game (around move ten), but sticks to the most sensible and most common choices, and tries to explain the basic plans and ideas in the position.

I think that such an approach is great in the computer era, because vast majority of chess books, especially ones about the opening, merely reproduce the engine analysis and evaluations, leaving the reader guessing about why a certain move was played in the certain position, or what is the idea behind a specific move order, or so on…

In other words, Cox doesn’t try to refute every possible faulty plan that White might choose, but rather tries to arm the reader with knowledge and understanding of the position, so that he is capable of refuting the plan himself over the board.

I would like to emphasize here that learning ideas along with the variations is very important in the development of a chess player. Very often lower rated players who rely too much on the computer (me included) have the tendency to learn the first ten moves of the fashionable opening line untill they reach the position where their pet Rybka shows the eternal +0.00 evaluation.

The problem is that usually after reproducing the engine moves they find themselves in the position they are unfamiliar with and tend to stray and succumb in the seemingly innocuous position (especially if they are playing against a stronger opponent).

I think that reading books (or working with a very good chess trainer, which is unfortunately more expensive approach) can help a player overcome the moment in the game where they have equalised comfortably, but when they start asking themsleves the question „Okay, but what should I do now?“

Of course, the things written above don’t mean that the book is totally ignoring the analitical side of the game. When neccessary, Cox doesn’t hesitate to enter somewhat lenghty theoretical discussions, and at various points of the introduces some novelties and rare continuations.

Those novelties can become dangerous weapons in the reader’s opening repertoire. However, such lengthy lines are considered strictly when neccessary. I think that Cox did a wonderful job with balancing the very thin line between lengthy and boring and short and scarce analysis.

Naturally, as almost in every chess book I have read so far, analytical errors are existent. One shouldn’t blindly follow everything that is written in the book.

If you intend to employ a certain line in one of your own games, you should definitely do your homework with double checking the lines with the modern computer (bear in mind that the book dates way back to 2005). Aditionally, certain evaluations of the positions can be considered overly optimistic, which is again customary for repertoire books written exclusively for White or Black side, when author is somewhat stubbornly trying to defend his recommendations and work he has done on a specific line.

To get the better idea about how large those errors are, consider the following oversight by Cox in the currently fashionable line of the London System. I will also copy Cox’s original annotations so you can get the idea about the approach he used in the book in general.

  [Event "London System - 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Lf4"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.26"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result "*"] [ECO "A46"] [PlyCount "33"] [SourceDate "2016.10.26"] 1. d4 Nf6 {Since i don't play the Nimzo and stuff, this move order is viable only for the players who are expected to play the London} 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 { And here we have the London system. It would be silly not to be honest - it is not the sharpest opening chess has to offer. White's system is immensely solid and I'm afraid Black just doesn't have a sound aggressive option. These openings do exist: the only reaction really is to hunker down, recall the Russian mantra that it is easier to win from an equal position than a bad one, and resolve to make like Capablanca if necessary. There are many ways for Black to play, but the main danger is not failing to equalize, but trying too hard} (3. c3 {One should take note here, that after 3 c3 Black should either go b6, transposing into lines without d5, or go d5 and risk getting caught in Torre} d5 4. Bg5 {Is the Torre - Attack}) 3... d5 {[pgndiagram]This is much more healthy chess then trying to be tricky with c5, but i would still say that if black knows White will play london system, then d5 without e6 is a way to go} 4. e3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 {A natural, solid line: the invariable choice of a certain type of positional player. Black is going to oppose the bishop with ... Bd6. White has a few moves here} 6. Nbd2 {[pgndiagram]Commonest move} (6. Bd3 {White's other moves are less accurate, and Nbd2 takes the main ideas into detail} Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O { White has simply deprived himself of the Bb5 option} 8. Nbd2 Qe7) 6... Bd6 { Continuing with the plan} 7. Bg3 {Most popular move, although White has tried a host of alternatives} (7. Ne5 {Is really the crucial move, on the sense that it is the only one which might cross Black's plans, but Black has the firepower to win control of e5.} Qc7 8. Ndf3 Nd7 9. Nxd7 Bxd7 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Bb5 O-O 12. O-O f6 13. c4 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Rfd8 {Was all a bit equal, P. Matovic - A. Kovacevic, Vrnjacka Banja 1999}) 7... Qe7 {White's system demands more respect than initially appears, and in my opinion this is the most accurate move.} (7... Bxg3 {Is commoner} 8. hxg3 Qd6 {But i 'm not keen on} 9. Bb5 Bd7 10. Qc2) (7... O-O {Is also played more often then Qe7. It seems to me that sacrifice on h7 has the reason for 0-0 becoming the mainline} 8. Bb5 (8. Bd3) 8... Qe7 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. Qa4) 8. Ne5 O-O 9. Bd3 (9. Bb5 {Is now pointless} Bd7 ) 9... Nd7 (9... Bxe5 {Black can aso opt for the immediatey capture} 10. dxe5 Nd7 {With a quite different style of game, but the knight move is thematic})10. Nxd7 $3 { [pgndiagram]Is one of those lines that Cox's overlooks.} (10. f4 {Is much more common} f6 11. Qh5 {Is something John Cox doesn't believe in} g6 12. Nxg6 hxg6 {And Black will survive}) (10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qa4 {Black can choose between the obscure and perhaps quite reasonable gambit and normaln play} e5 $5 12. Qxc6 Rb8 13. Rb1 cxd4 14. cxd4 Rb6 15. Qa4 Bb4 {With great compensation}) 10... Bxd7 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. dxc5 {And now Black has to enter inferior position because regainin the pawn is met forcefully with} Qxc5 $4 (12... Qe7 {Is better} 13. b4) 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Qh5+ Kg8 15. Ne4 g6 {[pgndiagram] and White has a won position} 16. Nxc5 gxh5 17. Nxd7 1-0  

The other very big problem of the book would definitely have to be lack of some very sharp lines, sufficient to play for the win. Most of the time Cox is content with Black merely equalising and reaching rather dull and quiet positions where he has no problems. This is fine when you are playing someone much higher rated then you, but winning from Black position against lower rated oposition represents a rather tedious task, especially for players who don’t fare well in very technical positions (I will ignore the fact that complete chess player should play all positions well since i think that becomes more relevant as player progresses toward IM and GM level).

Naturally, such course of the play is something that White very much wants to dictate with his offbeat openings, and Black’s hands are tied to a certain extent, but I think one or two variations where Black risks a little more and plays for a win would give the book that final touch.

To conclude this section, I think that although subjectively I would like to give this book a greater mark since this book DID help me alot, objectively because of somewhat „old“ analysis and some analytical holes I can’t give it more then 3 marks.

CHESS CONTENT MARK ★★★

CONCLUSION

Although there are some people (typically of older generation) who will be quick to point out that, in contrast to the past when most prominent chess book authors were almost exclusevily top GMs of the world, nowadays even an „ordinary IM“ dares to write a book.

I think that with Dealing with the d4 deviations Cox continues to battle that prejucide succesfully. His easy-to-read writing style, logical thought flow and great balancing between too little and too much makes Dealing with the d4 deviations a very enjoyable and profitable read, especially if you are regularly experiencing trouble against any of the lines mentioned in the book.

You have to bear in mind that Cox intends that everyone can understand and follow everything he writes, so if you are a higher rated player with preference for more theoretical and lenghty analytical lines, you should probably prefer something else.

However, merely the fact that a strong IM was convinced that there is a niche for such repertoire opening book against offbeat openings, proves that even in a higher rating groups there are titled players who experience the similar emotions and problems as us untitled pariahs.

And it seems to me that the fact that current top players employ the London System on a more or less regular basis proves that it is possible to set some problems on the highest level. There is alot of references in the modern chess games from which one can learn without consulting this book.

Nevertheless, not everyone has the time or will to continually follow top level games. Therefore, I think this book is a great starting point for many players.

FINAL MARK ★★★★

Now if you will excuse me, there is a certain Andres Iniesta shot  I would like to rewatch.

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