Following on from my posts on the Budapest’ and Caro-Kann, I realized that these were in alphabetical order but that I had missed out A. To put this right here’s another dodgy line for Black, the Albin Counter Gambit with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5. As with the Budapest I have some sympathy with Black’s attempt … Continue reading "Attack ’em with the Albin" The post Attack...

“A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement” Bo Bennett (businessman) In the spirit of Valentine’s Day I felt the urge to do my readers a solid. This coincided conveniently with me looking at different variations of the French Defence. I am not sure how this happened, but I have never … Continue reading "Need Sure Points? French Defence, Burn...

More than half a century ago I prepared this for a tournament, won a nice game with it – and never played it again. It’s never been very popular, but I was reminded of it when I saw a recent game in a magazine. Does the Schliemann’s even more disreputable brother deserve a place in … Continue reading "Ruy Lopez Schliemann Deferred" The post Ruy Lopez Schliemann Deferred...

We’ve looked at the first two important opening principles, controlling the center of the board (d4, d5, e4 and e5) with a pawn and developing our minor pieces (Knights and Bishops) to centralized squares. Before we move on to the last of the three most important opening principles, castling, we’re going to put the first … Continue reading "A Foundation for Beginners Six" The...

After my ‘Bash ’em with the Budapest’ was quite well received I thought this might make a suitable post; the Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6) is often thought to be an opening sedate positional players but it does have a more lively and original side. Two of my favourite players, David Bronstein and Bent Larsen, have both … Continue reading "Cosh ’em with the Caro" The post Cosh...

“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.” Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart Two weeks ago one of my students surprised me with a very nice game he played. After we dissected it properly, I saved it with a … Continue reading "Students Analysis (4)" The post Students Analysis (4) appeared first on The...

A long time ago I scored excellent results with the Schliemann Defence to the Ruy Lopez (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5). I’m not quite sure why I gave it up. Wikipedia doesn’t think much of it: “This line is considered to be a good practical weapon, but is positionally risky and … Continue reading "Ruy Lopez Schliemann" The post Ruy Lopez Schliemann appeared first on The...

Last week, we looked at the role of the Knight in the opening. This week, we’ll examine the Bishop and it’s role in opening play. To briefly recap, the minor pieces consist of the Knights and Bishops. While both share a relative value of three, there’s a big difference between the two pieces. The Knight … Continue reading "A Foundation For Beginners Five" The post A...

 Online Σεμινάριο για το Γκαμπί της Βασίλισσας. Ένας ολοκληρωμένος οδηγός για τα μαύρα εναντίον του 1.δ4   Σε αυτή τη σειρά online σεμιναρίων θα παρουσιαστεί ένα ρεπερτόριο ενάντια στο 1.δ4. Η επιλογή μας...

Having learned that my old friend Andrew Martin is writing a book on the Budapest Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5) I suggested ‘Bash ’em With the Budapest’ as a title. It’s an opening I’ve never played as Black and only recall a couple of occasions on which I met it with White. On the first … Continue reading "Bash ’em With the Budapest" The post Bash ’em...