|
|
|
From the Archives Hosted by
|
From the Archives... Since it came online many years ago, ChessCafe.com has presented literally thousands of articles, reviews, columns and the like for the enjoyment of its worldwide readership. The good news is that almost all of this high quality material remains available in the Archives. The bad news is that this great collection of chess literature is now so large and extensive – and growing each week – that it is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate it effectively. We decided that the occasional selection from the archives posted publicly online might be a welcomed addition to the regular fare. Watch for an item to be posted online periodically throughout each month. We will update the ChessCafe.com home page whenever there has been a “new” item posted here. We hope you enjoy From the Archives... Credible and Comprehensive A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire, by Chris Baker, Everyman Chess 2003, Figurine Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 240pp., $18.95 (ChessCafe Price: $15.95) As the title implies, A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire by English international master Chris Baker advocates an all-inclusive system of play. In this instance, he suggests that the player of the white pieces open the game with 1 e4 and force the opponent out of normal lines and into those that may "pose Black immediate and unusual problems Black cannot just 'go through the motions' of straightforward development and achieve a sensible position." The book consists of thirteen chapters, a brief Introduction and an Index of Variations. Each of the chapters deals with a potential defensive system that Black can play against 1 e4 and Baker's recommended approach against it. Thus, Chapter One covers the Max Lange Attack; Chapter Two is the Petroff Defense; the Philidor is Chapter Three, followed by the Latvian Gambit; the Sicilian Defense (the largest chapter at nearly seventy pages, or about thirty percent of the book); the French Defense; Caro-Kann; Pirc; Modern Defense; Alekhine Defense; Scandinavian; Nimzovich, and "Odds and Ends." The latter covers such openings as the Elephant Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d5), the St. George (1 e4 a6 2 d4 b5), and Owen's Defense (1 e4 b6), etc. Ideally, repertoire books should represent an optimum method for learning openings since they focus only on a limited number of variations that coincide with the author's overall recommended approach to opening play. Such books include only one or, perhaps, two methods of meeting virtually every possible approach the opponent might select. At their best, repertoire books are current, concise, insightful and, of course, accurate. The worst examples, on the other hand, are poorly researched, contain outdated and often inaccurate recommendations and omit replies to key lines in favor of a glimpse of the author's soon-to-be-published-elsewhere "new" analysis. Unfortunately, this latter type of shoddy work is all too common. Where does A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire fall? Given its importance as an opening and its prominence in this book, Baker's response to the Sicilian Defense deserves scrutiny. He advocates 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6, and now 3 Bb5.
At this point, Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO) Volume B, 1997, covers all Black options under variation B30 except 3...d6 and 3...g6. 3...d6 is B50, while 3...g6 is B31. Baker gives nine choices for Black's third move, with 3...g6 perhaps the most promising reply for Black. Stopping for a moment to take a quick glance at something other than 3...g6, Baker calls 3...a6 "more popular than you might, especially at club level" (p. 64). A footnote in ECO contains 3...a6 4 Bc6 dc6 5 h3 e5 6 d3 Bd6 7 a4 a5 8 Nbd2 Ne7 9 Nc4 f6 10 Nh4 0-0 11 g4 Bc7 12 Be3 b6 13 Qe2 Be6 14 b3 Qd7 15 Rg1 Kh8 16 0-0-0 Qe8 as in Vasiukov-Zeljandinov, 1967 La Habana. ECO now suggests 17 Nf5 with a small advantage for White. The move 6 d3 or the plan with White 0-0-0 is not considered by Baker who, instead, gives 6 0-0 and two options for Black: 6...f6 and 6...Bd6. White is assessed as having the better chances in both lines. Baker considers the position after 3...g6 4 0-0 Bg7 5 Re1 to be "Probably the most common position arising from 3 Bb5" (p. 90). He now provides coverage of a whopping eight potential Black responses. Three can be found in ECO: 5...e5 and 5...Nf6 are stem variations; 5...e6 appears in a footnote. After 5...e5, Baker suggests 6 Bxc6 and if 6...dxc6, then 7 d3, with another eight potential Black alternatives, virtually all of which are assessed as slightly better for White with the exception of 7...Qe7.
In reply to 7...Qe7, he gives 8 a4 with Black's best try as 8...Nf6 9 Nbd2 0-0 10 Nc4 Ne8 11 Be3 Nc7 12 b3 f6 13 h3 "with a balanced position" (p. 95). ECO, however, follows-up 7...Qe7 with 8 Nbd2 Nh6 9 a3 f6 10 b4 cb4 11 ab4 0-0 12 Bb2 Rd8 13 Bc3 Nf7 with equality (Jansa-L.A. Schneider, 1980 Skara). In a footnote, it addresses Baker's 8 a4 through the game Lein-Ermenkov, 1974 Slncev-Brjag, which produced equality after 8...Nh6 9 Bd2 f6 10 Na3 Nf7 11 Rb1 Be6 12 b4 cb4 13 Bb4 c5 14 Bc3. Baker also examines 8...Nh6, covering it by the 1977 correspondence game Miliutin-Mikhailov, which saw White eventually gain the advantage after 9 a5 f6 10 Nc3. The assessment of 7...Qe7 looks to be critical in determining the viability of 5...e5 6 Bxc6 dxc6, since both sources appear to be in agreement that 6...bxc6 may yield White slightly better prospects overall. (Although ECO does offer a variation that is equal for Black.) Given that neither source considers the others reply, we turned to our million game CD database for some tournament praxis. Plugging in the move order through 7...Qe7 produced dozens of games. White's most popular responses have been 8 Nbd2 and 8 a4. In fact, five games were found that reached positions similar to that recommended by Baker in his 8 a4 Nf6 sub-variation. After 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 g6 4 0-0 Bg7 5 Re1 e5 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 d3 Qe7, those games went as follows: 8 a4 Nf6 9 Nbd2 0-0 10 Nc4 Ne8 11 Be3 Nc7,White continued with 12 a5 Rd8 13 Qc1 and won in the 1992 game Shtyrenkov-Kiselev; after 11 a5 Nc7 12 Bd2 Bg4 13 h3, Black won in Rosten-Koshy (1993); Boudre-Spasov (1990) saw 8 Be3 Nf6 9 a4 0-0 10 Na3 Ne8 11 Nc4 Nc7 12 Qc1 f6 13 a5 and 0-1 eventually; 8 Be3 Nf6 9 Nbd2 Ng4 10 Qe2 h5 11 a4 Be6 12 b3 Nxe3 13 Qxe3 Bh6 resulted in a Black win in Oren-Manor (1990), and N.J. Nielsen-Alkarsig (1991) was won by White after 8 a4 Nf6 9 Na3 0-0 10 Nc4 Ne8 11 Be3 b6 12 h3 Nd6 13 b3. Although Black garnered the full point in three of the five games, it is difficult to determine if there is any correlation between the opening and the results without performing a detailed analytical study. So, what does all of this mean regarding Baker's 8 a4 Nf6? Despite the lack of subsequent rigorous analysis, this line certainly looks viable. We will, however, conveniently leave the discussion of where specifically it falls within the good vs. bad range to others. Baker could have and should have included a few examples of games with this variation, especially given the fact that there is hardly a shortage. Switching gears and turning to the Caro-Kann, Baker advocates the standard line 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3, rather than the anticipated Panov-Botvinnik Attack (1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3), generally viewed as one of White's more aggressive approaches against this opening and perhaps more in keeping with the theme of this book. There are four main ways for Black to deal with 3 Nc3: 3...g6; 3...dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5; 3...dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6; and 3...dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7. ECO covers all four under variations B15 through B19. Looking at the Classical Variation, 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6 and now Baker recommends 6 N1e2 rather than the more common 6 h4, writing "Many good works have been published in the past on the Classical main lines showing how White can with careful play maintain a small advantage all the way into the late middlegame or endings that ensue. For the purpose of 'startling' our opponents I am going to recommend a slightly less usual approach" (p. 166). Baker's claim that "main lines" can lead to a small advantage for White is borne out by ECO variation B19 which does, in fact, give a minimal "plus" to White in most subsequent lines of play.
In any event, after Baker's 6 N1e2, the "best and most versatile reply" according to him is 6...Nf6. Baker and ECO B18 follow the game Slobodjan-Dautov, 1995 Altenseig, which went 7 Nf4 e5 8 Nxg6 hxg6 9 Be3 Nbd7 10 Qd2 exd4 11 Bxd4 Bc5 12 0-0-0 0-0 13 h4 Bxd4 14 Qxd4 Qa5 15 h5. Here, ECO goes with 15...Qg5 16 Qd2 Qd2 17 Rd2 g5 and assesses the position as equal. Baker continues to follow Slobodjan-Dautov after 15...gxh5, which led to a twenty-seven-move draw. Reviewing Baker's analysis, it appears that Black made no glaring mistakes in the game and even missed an opportunity to obtain the better position on move seventeen. While it may be honorable of Baker to remain faithful to the book's theme, it is unclear why a player of the white pieces would want to play 6 N1e2 and obtain no more than an equal position, when 6 h4 can be tried with an eye possibly to gain an advantage. Against Alekhine's Defense, 1 e4 Nf6, Baker suggests 2 Nc3 d5 3 e5 d4 4 exf6 dxc3 5 fxg7 cxd2+ 6 Qxd2 Qxd2+ Bxd2 Bxg7 8 0-0-0.
With Black's best choice from among five alternatives being 8...Nc6, leading to "a small but durable edge" for White after 9 Bb5 Bd7 10 Nf3 0-0-0 11 Rhe1 Rde8 12 Ng5 h6 13 Ne4 (p. 202). A similar line can be found in ECO B02, also assessed as a small White "plus." However, things are seldom so simple when dealing with today's opening theory. After 8 0-0-0, ECO's main line is not 8...Nc6, but rather 8...Bg4 9 Be2 Be2 10 Ne2 Nc6, with a quick draw agreed in Spassov-Kirov, 1976 Pernik. Baker, on the other hand, dismisses 8...Bg4 with a "?" and the comment "After the simple 9 f3 Be6 White has gained a useful tempo over Line C [8...Be6] in that he wants to develop his knight via e2 to f4 anyway and so playing 9 f3 has in no way disrupted his development or weakened his structure" (p. 201). In this instance, we are inclined to give the nod to Baker's analysis over ECO's ten move "grandmaster draw." Perhaps the book's recommendation that comes closest to being described as "startling" is the suggested line against the Petroff Defense, Chapter Two, 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 and now 4 Nxf7, known as the Cochrane Gambit (although Baker does not identify it as such.) After 4...Kxf7 5 d4, Black has a knight for two pawns.
There are now a mind-boggling eleven (!) possibilities, with each of three sources going its own way. Best, according to Baker, appears to be 5...g6, since it "is the most flexible move as it opens up a natural developing square for Black's dark-squared bishop or else a bolt-hole for his king" (p. 39). Following 6 Nc3, Black can choose from among 6...c6, Be6, Be7, Kg7 and Bg7. Reviewing Baker's analysis, Black may do best with either 6...Be6 7 Bd3 Bg7 8 0-0 Rf8 9 Bg5 Qe8 10 f4 Kg8 11 f5 gxf5 12 exf5 Bf7 13 Qd2 Qc6 14 Bh6 Bxh6 15 Qxh6 Nbd7 16 Rf4 Qb6 17 b3 Rae8 18 Raf1, when "White still has a lot of play for the piece with two pawns, active pieces and a kingside initiative", or 6...c6 7 Bd3 Bg7 8 0-0 Rf8 9 Bg5 h6 10 Bc4+ Ke8 11 Bh4 Qb6 12 Bb3 Nh5 13 e5 dxe5 14 dxe5 Rf4 15 Bf6 Rd4 16 Qc1 and "The position remains unclear but with good practical chances for White " (p. 40). ECO C42 gives the main line of the Cochrane Gambit as 5...Be7 6 Nc3 c6 7 Bc4 d5 8 ed5 cd5 9 Nd5 Be6 [9...Nd5 10 Qf3+] 10 Ne3 Bc4 11 Nc4 Nc6 12 c3 Re8 13 0-0 Kg8 14 Bf4 with equality, according to Yusupov. Baker, in fact, includes the above analysis through 13 0-0 "with approximate equality," although he labels 7...d5 as dubious, preferring 7...Kf8 8 Qf3 Nbd7 9 Bb3 Nb6 10 e5 Bg4 11 Qe4 and "White is better" (p. 35). Keeping the matter about as clear as mud, ECO, on the other hand, does not particularly like 5...g6, because of 6 Nc3 Kg7 7 Be2 Qe8 8 f3 c5 9 Be3 Nc6 10 d5 Ne5 11 0-0 a6 12 a4, with compensation for the material (Yusupov). Finally, Suetin, in his 1988 monograph Russisch bis Konigsgambit, gives 5...g6 6 Nc3 Qe8 7 Bd3 Bg7 8 0-0 Rf8 9 e5 Ng4 10 h3 Nh6 11 ed Kg8 12 dc7 Nc6 13 d5 Ne5 14 Be4 Nhf7 15 d6 Qd7 16 Be3 Nd6 17 Bd5+ Kh8 18 Bc5 Rf6 19 Qe2 Qc7 20 Bd4 Rf5, when White has a bishop for two pawns and pressure on the Black position. When all is said done, at least two things can be said about the Cochrane: (a) 4 Nxf7 is a playable move, and (b) despite the complexities and often unclear resultant positions, it's a good choice for inclusion in this book. In summary, we would like to have seen A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire incorporate more praxis for certain lines, given the readily available access provided by today's databases. One can also quibble over the selection of certain variations that do not seem appropriate to the book's theme. For instance, it is difficult to consider some of the lines to be either "very aggressive" or "startling" to an opponent, as claimed in the Introduction. But, nevertheless, Baker has done a credible job. The theory is about as current as found in ECO and the quality of the analysis is comparable. Coverage is as comprehensive as one could hope from a book that includes multiple openings. While we are usually no more anxious to recommend an opening repertoire book than to go for a swim in shark-infested water, this book, at least, gives pause for thought. Although A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire is hardly perfect, it does merit a second look by the player of average-to-expert ability, who is contemplating adding 1 e4 to his repertoire of white openings.
Order
A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire This article first appeared at ChessCafe.com in January, 1999. |
Purchases from our shop help keep ChessCafe.com freely accessible:
|
|
|
|
[ChessCafe
Home Page] [Book Review]
[Columnists] © 2010 BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
