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Another thing is that, despite 30 years of heavy practice, main lines are still not as clearly defined or heavily investigated as many other openings. It pains me to say “30 years” of practice because it came to the fore when I was still a young player. Yeah, 30 years of practice and people still play the Tromp as a change up opening. There is so much to like about this opening, even the name carries an air of mystery. I have seen the name with a ‘v’ instead of ‘w’ as well as ‘i’ in place of the ‘y’. Think about it, that is four spellings for one name and we haven’t even looked at alternate names. Yup, I like this opening. So, I was extremely excited to see Richard Palliser’s “Starting Out: the Trompowsky”. I wasn’t put off by the idea that this might be a book for players new to the Tromp. The opening is just so fresh that every book I have seen which covered it was aimed at people new to the ideas. Consequently, when I opened the book I was looking for just a couple of points. I wanted to know how Palliser would treat the less “critical” lines like 2…d5, 2…e6 and 2…g6. A more specific matter comes from lines in which White subsequently retreats the bishop back to c1. This seemed critical because the pawn structures mirror lines from more standard openings such as the Benoni or Kings Indian. Finally, I was looking for new ideas that have come to light in the past 24 months or so. Each of the lesser defenses receives well thought out chapters that provide White with good schemes for obtaining active chances. There isn’t any attempt to “simplify” White’s play by suggesting to just capture on f6 and play from there. An illustration is chapter 1 on 2…d5. White capturing on f6 has been the goal for White players in the sequence 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 as well as 1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 Nf6. Palliser takes an even view on Black’s recapture, indicating that 3…exf6 is solid 3…gxf6 is more dynamic. Capturing on f6 has been a standard, yet Palliser offers some ideas if White aims for a “delayed” Stonewall and doesn’t exchange immediately. This is great as it clarifies that White isn’t committed to exchanging on f6 in order to play for an advantage. Another place where this comes across is the material on 2…Ne4. This has become the “main line” in the Tromp which is evidenced by the book having 115 pages out of 257 on 2…Ne4. Palliser takes a chapter of material to discuss the White alternatives 3.h4 and 3.Bh4 which have received a cold response in theory for the past decade. Even so, Palliser suggests that White has some ways to work with these ideas. To the question of new material I found a few things that I hadn’t seen before. Material on 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 c5 3.Nc3 has started to find its way up in chess circles, which was confirmed by Palliser’s look at it. Lines such as 2…Ne4 3.Bf4 e6 or 3…d6 could become more prolific are included in notes. A small complaint here is that in the index 3… d6 is included, but not 3…e6 or 3…Nc6 which a devoted Tromp player would be looking for. With all of this there is still room for independent thought in the Tromp? Proof? The line 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 Be7 is another sideline that has received endorsements from theoreticians and room in this book. Palliser follows with 4.Bd3 c5 suggesting 5.dxc5. Well, I have found that 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bd2 is quite good for White and my article in the November 2010 Northwest Chess supports this. So, I had three things I was looking for. As I indicated, the material on the less common lines is very good. This is important as players new to the Tromp are likely to run into these forms of defense more often which makes it more critical for them. Lines where White eventually retreats the bishop back to c1 and ends up with a Benoni type pawn structure are given fine coverage. Such lines are critical because White can’t simply count tempi to claim an advantage, instead the matter is defined by each sides flexibility to execute plans. This is a very subtle point because it is easy to land in a position that looks ok and yet the player struggles from that position. My final prerequisite was for new material. I found enough to keep me reading the book and that is all I asked for. This is another well written book by Richard Palliser. He is quickly becoming one of the standard bearers among opening books authors. I have to add that I liked Palliser’s order of material as it lends ease to reading the book. I recommend this book to players of any strength, just as long as you have the energy to play the opening!
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