|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chessville
Advertise to Single insert:
|
If you’re a club or tournament player who’s looking for something different to play with the black pieces – maybe your defenses are worn out, maybe they’ve been whacked around a bit, maybe you’re just plain bored with them – you might want to consider Gary Lane’s new offering, Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings: Black. About the title: although at first glance the book would appear to be a descendent of Fine’s Ideas Behind the Chess Openings, it is not – it is actually an opening repertoire book for Black. At least its title is less misleading than its companion, Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings, which is an opening repertoire book for White. I doubt that the choice of the title was Lane’s doing; more likely it was the publisher’s. I guess you go to press with the title that you have, not the one you wish you had… Lane recommends playing the Chigorin Defense to the Queen’s Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6!?) when facing 1.d4, and the 3…Qd6 variation of the Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5 2.ed Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6!?) when facing 1.e4. Against other opening setups he gives lines with …Nc6 when possible; and he has a chapter on how to deal with Flank Openings and Unorthodox Openings as well. Readers familiar with the author’s approach to opening study (say, from his recent The Bishop’s Opening Explained) will know that he likes to present openings through the use of example games – in this case, 68 – placing explanations, alternatives and improvements in the annotations. Each chapter has a summary.
As the back cover allows, Lane gives:
-Possible tricks and traps for both sides
Contents Much of the play with the Chigorin requires Black to go against some basic chess opening instruction. He must be willing at times to forego propping up his d-pawn with …c7-c6 or …e7-e6. He must be ready to exchange Bishops for Knights. He must be comfortable allowing White a larger pawn center at times, while he plans to undermine it. In exchange, he will find good piece play and many tactical opportunities in an opening his opponent has likely underestimated, dismissed or ignored. Here’s a quick test: what do you think of Black’s chances in the following positions?
If you’re thinking, “Black is Ok,” probably the QGD Chigorin is for you. (On a personal note, I’ve used the defense for years, and I've discovered that it’s not only “playable,” it’s often a whole lot of fun!) Lane provides plenty of detail to get your game up and running quickly. After all, you not only need to know how to get to different positions in an opening, you need to know what to do (and what not to do) next. With updates and improvements in different lines, Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings: Black will take you a long way down the Queen pawn road in this regard. Of course, if you have lots and lots of time to study and prepare, or if the possibility of drowning in opening detail does not frighten you, the most complete resource here is Bronznik’s 2005 The Chigorin Defence – the updated, English language edition. It’s kind of like drinking a whole urn of expresso, though, when maybe you’d prefer to start out with a cup or two instead. Playing the Scandinavian Defense gives Black a one-size-fits-all approach to meeting the possibilities of 1.e4, and it is for this reason (although there are others) that club players (and some higher ups) have trotted out 1…d5 for decades. By supporting the relatively new and lightly studied Queen retreat to d6, instead of sending her to the time-tested post at a5, Lane gives defenders a new set of positions and strategies to rely on – and a new set of puzzles for White to try to solve. Although it is almost 30 years since Krzystof Pytel wrote his article about the opening in The Chess Player, and five years since Michael Melts came out with Scandinavian Defense The Dynamic 3…Qd6, Lane’s notes to the games he presents have comments about White struggling, being confused, and not really knowing what to do. (If the masters can be so unsure, how much more will our opponents be…?) Again, Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings: Black, gives an updated look at all the lines, giving an improvement, for example on Kasparov – Rogers, 2001 (1-0, 48), and including games in Grandmaster Kurajica’s variation, 1.e4 d5 2.ed Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6!? 4.d4 g6!? If the Scandinavian Defense ever seemed odd to you before, you might wonder now about things like: isn’t the Queen even a bigger target in the center of the board? Lane has reassurances and lines to help you get past that – either Black will play …a6 to prevent the white knight from coming to b5 to harass the queen; or Black will try to show that such a move by his opponent is actually wasted time. Again, here are a few representative positions:
Lane’s coverage of lines other than 1.d4 & 2.c4 and 1.e4 seems adequate for the club player’s use in a repertoire, although an early Nf3 in the English seems to fall between some of the coverage cracks. (The heaviest parts of the book are in the lines the readers are most likely to encounter.) It is significant to note that in the earlier Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings, Lane recommended playing the London System for White (1.d4, 2.Nf3, 3.Bf4) and had anti-Chigorin material; here in IBMCO: Black he admits that “there is no refutation for Black to seize upon, but I would aim for equality with 3…Bg4.” The most humorous oversight the author makes is to ignore the fact that White could answer 1.e4 d5 with 2.d4!?, transposing into the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, a common visitor to amateur tournaments. Given that Lane has written a book on the BDG, this seems an odd slip, indeed.
Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings: Black will interest readers in
the openings presented, and it will give the practitioner enough opening
fuel to traverse many games. Like the family car, any repertoire will
require tending to and occasional repairs by the owner. To this end, it is
unfortunate that Lane did not include a bibliography – a kind of car parts
outlet for when modifications are needed. Still, the author has offered his
readers a steady and sometimes exciting ride, one which many can be expected
to drive out of the show room, although one must always caution,
individual mileage may vary...
|
The
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
