Petroff Defense [C42]By Abby MarshallTo my surprise I have never covered the Petroff Defense in any of my columns. The reputation of the Petroff as a boring, drawish opening is starting to change. In the positions I want to look at in this column, early on Black trades a knight for a bishop to create an interesting imbalance. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 White may be mentally rehearsing the Ruy Lopez or the Italian Game, but instead of 2...Nc6 comes... 2...Nf6 [FEN "rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 3"]Don't let the initial symmetry fool you. Regardless of how White plays, the position soon becomes unbalanced with different goals for each side. In the variation I am looking at … [Read more...]
Sicilian Taimanov [B48]
Sicilian Taimanov [B48] By Abby Marshall 1.e4 For the springtime I am covering a main line in the Open Sicilian. I usually try to avoid covering heavy theoretical stuff because to know these lines you have to cover more than the basics, but this is a relevant line that is still unexplored enough so that knowing the ideas is more valuable than covering all the finer points. 1...c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Black can still go in various directions from here, such as the 5...d6 Scheveningen or 5...Nf6. Here we are looking at the Taimanov variation. 5...a6 In the line we're looking at Black can also play 5...Qc7 first. 6.Be3 White prepares queenside … [Read more...]
Ruy Lopez Berlin Defense [C65]
Ruy Lopez Berlin Defense [C65] By Abby Marshall I am covering a line that has been played a few times against me when I play the Classical Defense as Black in the Ruy Lopez. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 The Ruy Lopez or Spanish Game. 3...Nf6 This is a major alternative to the main move, 3...a6. I always played it with the intention of following up with 4...Bc5, the Classical Defense. Black gets active pieces though has to watch for White targeting these pieces with c3 and d4. 4.Qe2 White avoids theory. After the main move 4.0-0, White has to be ready for both the Classical which begins with 4...Bc5 5.c3, or the Berlin Defense, Open variation 4...Nxe4 5.d4. White appears … [Read more...]
Bishop’s Opening [C25]
Bishop's Opening [C25] The topic for this February is a back to basics Bishop's Opening in a variation where slightly inaccurate play by Black lets White get an early and powerful Qg4. 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 This move targets the f7-square, which is always the weakest square for Black at the start of the game since only the king defends it. 2...Bc5 This is sort of unusual because it is committal: Black knows that the knights belong on c6 and f6, but the bishop may be useful on several possible squares. For example, Black does give up the possibility of playing ...Bb4 versus the Vienna Game and has to be prepared for the game to transpose to the King's Gambit Declined if White pursues … [Read more...]
The Nimzovich Defense [B00]
The Nimzovich Defense [B00] by Abby Marshall The Nimzovich Defense, 1.e4 Nc6, is the subject of this month's column. It bears a strong resemblance to the themes of the Chigorin Defense 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 even though the former is a king-pawn opening. Besides the obvious early ...Nc6, the two openings also have cramped space, pawn pushes like ...e5 in the center, and concede the bishop-pair to take advantage of a lead in development in common. 1.e4 Nc6 In April 2013 I covered a similar offbeat system, 1...b6, from White's perspective. 2.d4 This is the most natural, but actually gives Black a couple of interesting choices. To cut down on Black's options, it might be better to … [Read more...]
The King’s Gambit [C30]
The King’s Gambit [C30] by Abby Marshall Recently I have become interested again in a particular way of declining the King's Gambit, my favorite. 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d6 This is hardly Black's most challenging response, so I never studied it deeply. It is solid and Black can equalize if White is not aggressive. For the sake of providing an overview of other common sense moves Black can also try moving the knights. 2...Nf6 This is a decent option with some preparation, but White can get an edge. 3.Nf3 (3.fxe5 This is what I used to play. I eventually decided there is not enough juice in the position for White to win. 3...Nxe4 4.Nf3 Ng5 The knight will be a target in the center. 5.d4 … [Read more...]
The Scotch Game [C45]
The Scotch Game [C45] by Abby Marshall The topic for this month is White's alternative to 5.Be3 in the Scotch Game after Black plays 4...Bc5. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 The Scotch Game. 4...Bc5 I always played ...Nf6 against most anything 1.e4 e5: The Italian, the Ruy Lopez, and the Four Knights. This move engages the pieces in the center right away. I preferred to maintain this tension. 5.Nxc6 This is the main focus for this month. 5.Be3 This is the main line, which we will be eschewing in favor of looking at the less popular alternatives. 5...Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Bc4 0-0 Black will relocate the c6-knight to e5-g6. Maybe we will look at this in a future … [Read more...]
The Benko Gambit [A59]
The Benko Gambit [A59] by Abby Marshall This month's column also comes from a reader request: what to do as white against the Volga-Benko Gambit. Dante Zuniga from Canada wrote, “I always look forward to your monthly column. My problem is in regard to the Benko Gambit. It seems that the lines are easier to play for black than white. I hope you can give me a system that I can use for white.” 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 Pal Benko popularized this opening in the 1960s. It had been used by several high-level players a couple decades before this and in Russia it is called the Volga Gambit. 3...e6 is the most common move outside the gambit. 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 is the Modern … [Read more...]