This month I am covering the Bishop's Opening at the request of Aaron Carter from South Africa. I will be examining it for White and Black, since it pays to know the alternatives for both sides. 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 This signifies the Bishop's Opening, but it does not constitute its own system since transposition to the Italian Game or Vienna is common. As we will see, this move order can be a way to avoid the Petroff Defense. 2...Nf6 Other moves would not get to the set-up I want to look at. 2...Bc5 The main line of the Vienna has the bishop go to the b4-square, so Black has to be prepared for a transposition to the Vienna when the bishop is on c5. Otherwise we could just transpose … [Read more...]
The Unbelievable Truth
A Modern Benoni with a twist. Gilles Garrigues from France e-mailed with a problem concerning the first two moves of the game: "I find Black's 1.d4 e6 2.c4 c5!? slightly annoying. Note that I am mostly a positional player rated around 2100. What can you recommend?" This move-order is an invitation to take on the Modern Benoni. The difference is that Black wants to avoid playing a king's knight to f6 and have the option of developing it to e7, allowing a different type of set-up. The problem is that when you look it up in your standard reference books, it does not seem to exist. The reason is that the game usually goes 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6. In this case, after 1 d4 e6, Black runs the … [Read more...]
Filters and Masks
Quote of the Month: I'm only interested in what's important. We all have filters attached to our senses to restrict the type of input we want to process. For example, when driving a car, you do not try to take in all the scenery. Instead, you focus on items that might affect the safety (or direction) of your car. If something in your peripheral vision, like a ball rolling onto the street, becomes a safety issue, then it becomes important; otherwise most "side" issues are easily missed. The idea that the brain "tunes out" less important input is necessary for our sanity, and we can think of this as a filter – the brain allows through to our consciousness only the most high priority items, so … [Read more...]
Paths of Glory
The Colorado Gambit 2...f5 is the new trend. Jonathan Adams from Australia e-mailed to ask, "What is the best line to play against the Colorado Gambit? 1 e4 Nc6 2 Nf3 f5. Has it been refuted?" The short answer is no, and the long answer is not yet. It looks like such a weird opening that one assumes that White is instantly better after a couple of moves, but many masters have given it a go. Even the name is open to dispute, as I have seen Colorado Defence, Colorado Gambit, and Nimzowitsch ...f5. If anyone can enlighten me to the origin of the name, I would appreciate it. Admittedly, a big bonus for Black is the surprise value, which is enough to confuse an inexperienced player because … [Read more...]