Some Reflections From My Experiences This is Chronicle no. 56. I initially thought this marked the five-year anniversary of the column, but that is not the case. Anyway, I had already made up my mind what to write for this occasion, so you get it a bit early. During these (almost) five years I have tried many openings in more than 350 games and achieved plenty of experience. Therefore, I have assembled my top pieces of advice for you from this period: 1) Chess engines can be divided into two groups: fast and slower. In the first group we have Houdini, Fritz, and others. In the slower group we have Hiarcs, Rybka, and others. Engines in these groups function differently. Fast engines … [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...]