A Complete Repertoire for Black Against 1.e4 and 1.d4

A Complete Repertoire
"A musi for every
chess ptayer,"
-Anatoly Karpov,

"Chess Openings, Expiained is rich in ideas, practical and
to the point. A must for every chess player."
-Anatoly Karpov
1ZthWortd Champion

Chess
Openings
for Black,
A Comalete Reaertoire

by Lev Aiburt, Roman Dzindzichashvili,
and Eugene Perelshteyn

with AI Lawrence

Publishred b ~ :
Chess Inforrnatian and Research Center
PO. Box 534, Cracie Station, New York, New York 10028
Telephone: 212.794.8706

!or otdt?rtIIgI~f~rfinairiDin, see page 552.
please

gliseiribution m otte Ibook traae by:
W.W. Norton, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York

Saaft
Editing & Design OutExcel! Corporation
Al Lawrence, President
Email: OutExcel@aol.com
Creutive Director Jami L. Anson, Jadesign
Email: jadandesign@aol.com
Editorial Consultants Gary Colvin
Peter Kurzdorfer
Daphne Lawrence
Technical Assisiant Igor Yagolnitser
Cover Design Jarni L. Anson, Jadesign
Illustrations Kathleen Merz, Jadesign
Photo Credits Jami L. Anson
Nigel Eddis
Brian Killigrew
U.S. Chess Federation

Q Copyright 2005 by Lev Alburt, Roman Dzindzichashviii,
and Eugene Perelshteyn. AI1 rights reserved.
1
1-883323-2-8
Library01 Gongress Catalog Gard Nuniber: 2005902460

Printed in the United States of America.

Note to the Reader
Y ou should be able to read a chess book without squinting, without
forever flipping pages back and forth to find the relevant diagram,
and without trying to keep a 12-move variation in your head.
With the publication of Just the Facts! in 2000, we began an award-win-
ning book design that makes it fun for you to get the most out of the
unique chess instniction we feel we offer. Chess Openings for Bdack,
Eqlained continues to employ our well-received approach. First of all,
there are a wealth of diagrams, the video-playbacks of chess. hdeed,
there are more than 1,400 of them, to allow you to keep track of the posi-
tions, even without a board and set. Second, we use color to emphasize
important points and to give your eyes some varie@ Third, whenever
possible, we make sure that the diagrams on a page-spread relate to the
moves on that spread, elirninating the need for back-and-forìh page-
-ing.
Additionally, we employ proven instnictional techniques--sueh as fore-
casting important ideas in a chapter and ending each chapter wjth brief
"puzzles" to mark those ideas in your rnemory. In fact, in producing
Chess Openingsfor Black, Explained, we used many techniques to make
following along and leaming easier and more fun.
Look for blue diagrams and blue boxes that call your attention to the
most important positions and most interesting ideas. This highlighted
information will be especially worth revisiting and, sometimes, even
committing to memory.
The most important, or "main"lines are clearly set off in bold type.
Diagrams related to main lines are larger than analysis and side-line dia-
grams, which are clearly Iabeled "AMLYS~S."
Chess Openingsfor Black, Explained uses the now universal algebraic
system of chess notation. For more on notation, see page 6.
Our thanh to the US.Chess Fedemtion
for the use of thephotos throughout this book.
The U.S. Chess Federation is the membership organizationfor chess
players of al1 levels,@m beginner to grandmastet:
For information on USCF membership, please go to m..uschess.org.

Thanks also to the World Chess Hall of Fame.
For information OPIHall membership, glease go to wwnr worldchesshalIoffame.org.

4 Chess Openingc for Black, Explained

Table of Contents
Chess Openings for Black, Explained
A Complete Repertoire
Part I: In troductioiz
Chapter l . The Authors and thc Book
Chapter 2. How to Use This Book
~ 1 ,Chapter 3: How to Study Openings

Part II: Defending against I. e4 21
t: Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole fIistory of 1. e4 22
The Accelemted (aitd Hyper-Accelerated) Dragon 56
Chapter 5 : Introduction and Main Line 56
Chapter 6: Seventh-move Sidelines 86
, Chapter 7: Sixth-move Sidelines 96
Chapter 8. Defendirig Against 4. Qxd4 110
' Chapter 9:
. Third-move Sidelines 124
The Maroczy Bind
Chapter 10: Introduction and 7. Be3
Chapter 11: 7. Be2 with Be3 and Qd2
Chapter 12: 7. Be2 with Bg5 and Qd2
Chapter 13: 7. Be2 with 0-0 and Qd3 (or Qe3)
- Chapter 14: 7. B
Chapter 15: 7. Nc2

The Anti-Sìcilians J 92
Chapter 16: The Closed Sicilian 192
Chapter 17: Grand Pris Attack 204
*- Chapter i 8: The AIapin Variation and Smith-Morra Gambit 218
Chapter 19: Wing Gambit and 2. b3 230

1: agairzst I . d4
Part 1 1 Defe~zding 239
'. Chapter 20: The Developnient of rhc Closed Opcnings 240
Nhtzo-irt dìan Defense
C'haptcr 7 I - Introduction and 1 a3
.
Chapter 32 4. Qc2

Table of Contents 5

Chapter 23: 4. e3 and 5. Bd3 282
4+ Chapter 24: 4. e3 and 5. Ne2 298
+ Chapter 25: 4. f3 306
Chapter 26: 4. g3 3 12
9 Chapter 27: 4. Bg5, the Leningrad System 320
+ Chapter 28: 4. Qb3 330
O Chapter 29: 4. Bd2 334
Bogo-Indìarz 338
9 Chapter 30: Introduction and 4. Bd2 with 6. Bg2 338
9 Chapter 3 1: with 4. Bd2 and 6. Nc3 354
Q Chapter 32: with 4. Nbdi 364
I . d4 n)itlzoutan early c4 3 70
4,Chapter 33: Torre Attack, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 370
9 Chapter 34: London System, 1. d4 Nf6 2. N B e6 3. Bf4 380
9 Chapter 35: Fianchetto, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 386
Chapter 36: Colle System, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 394
9 Chapter 37: Veresov Opening, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 402
O Chapter 38: The Trompowsky, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 410
O Chapter 39: Blackmar-Dieiner Gambit, 1. d4 Nf6
2.Nc3 d5 3. e4 422

Part I E Defending against I. c4
and other first moves 429
O Chapter 40: English, Part I-Introduction and
Symmetrical English 430
+ Chapter 41: English, Part 11-White Plays e3 and d4 438
+ Chapter 42: English, Part 111-White Refrains from d4 448
9 Chapter 43: Bird's Opening, 1. f4 466
O Chapter 44: Sokolsky, 1. b4 474
+ Chapter 45: The Rest-Knights-First and the Fianchettoes 480

Part E Illustrative Games 489
9 Chapter 46: Illustrative Garnes-Ideas into Action 490
Conclusion 538
Table of Maiiz Liizes 539

6 Chess Openings for Biack, Explained

hess players around the world use "notation," a universal sys-

C tem for reading and writing chess. Tt's easy to l e m , and once
you know it, you'll be able to decipher quickly any book or
newspaper article on chess.
The vertical columns of squares that run up and down the
board are called fifes and are lettered. The horizontaf. rows of
squares that run sideways are called ranks and are numbered. The
intersection of a file and rank gives a square its n m e . Let's look
at a board that gives the "address" of every square:

To make writing and reading fast, each piece is assigned a sin-
gle letter. In English, we use these:
King = K Knight = N
Queen = Q Rook- R
Bishop = B Pawn = the file it's on
So, the move "Qe5" rneans that the queen moves to the e5-
square. Captures are marked with an "x," as in "axb5," which
means that a pawn on a4 captures a pawn or a piece on b5.
Another special convention: Although the word "exchange'"
means to trade, "Exchange" (with a capita1 " E ) means the trade
of knight or bishop for a rook. A player who rnanages this &ade
"wins the Exchange."


Chapter I
The Authors & the Book

T
his book provides you with
a complete repertoire for
Black, no matter what rea-
sonable first move White makes.
Two of your t k e e authors are
inteinational grandmasters and
repeat winners of the U.S.
Championship. The third and
youngest of the three of us,
Eugene Perelshteyn, is already an
IM and, as I mite, is playing in
the 2005 MonRoi International
in Montreal. This volume con-
tains every secret the authors Eugeoe Perelshteyn
have compiled over decades of
research in the recornmended you should first understand what
openings. No theoretical novelty the book is designed to do. Part I
(TN) will be withheld from you. of our five-part volume makes
Such information is normally this point clear.
revealed only to world champi- It helps if you understand
onship contenders, who hire top who the authors are and what
theoreticians, like Roman Dzin- they bring to you that's unique.
dzichashvili, for that purpose. I'm a three-time U.S. Champion
But shared TNs are only one of turned chess instructor. My
this book's unusual offerings. books, including the Compre-
To derive the most benefit, hensive Chess Course: frorn

Chapter 1 : The Authors 8 t h e Book Y

games to go in a match played in
Anand's home turf, India, for the
right to play the world champion.
Rornan is extremeIy gener-
ous in sharing his ideas. Perhaps
that's because he knows he can
always create new, equally
important ones! In the 1984 U.S.
Championship, Roman gave me
a t001 to handle the "Anti-Benko"
move order: l . d4 Nf6 2. Nf3. He
suggested 2. ... e6 3. c4 a6!?.
This paradoxicaI rnove (later
christened the "Dzindzi-Indian")
remains unrefuted, and can be
very useful in the hands of devot-
beginner to master, which I co- ed Benkomenoni players. It took
authored and published, are me less than an hour to grasp the
among the best received chess ideas behind this amazing sys-
instruction in the U.S. tem-and 90% of the credit goes
CM Roman Dzindzi- to Roman's innate abiIity to sin-
chashvili ("Dzindzi" to his many gle out and emphasize essentials,
fans) has been one of the prime and to convey his knowledge of
movers and creators of modern rnoves and ideas in a logical,
opening theory for the past 40 easy-to-Iearn, easy-to-remember
years. His advice and help has and practical way.
been sought, with rewarding
Every chess player should
results, by such greats as Boris
know how good it feels to go into
Spassky, Vktor Korchnoi,
a game conlpletely confident in
Anatoly Karpov and Gata
his opening repertoire, and it's
Kamsky.
even better when you have an
In fact, Roman's revolution- important novelty or ONO up your
ary reassessment of the rnain line sleeve. Not surprisingly, X played
of the Scandinavian Opening very weil in this tournament. And
allowed American Gata Kmsky with 3. ... a6 (first looked upon
to win a game (with Black) and as compietely ridiculous), I
then the match against world scored Z1/2 out of 3 versus Jim
charnpionship contender Vishy Tarjan, Lany Christiansen and
Anand. At that ttme, Cata was Yasser Seirawan-a11 top GMs.
losing by two points with two Such a result (with Black!)

for Black, Explained

couldn't help but catapult me into GM opponents.
clear first place-my first U.S.
Championship crown. Puttlrig It ali togmther
Just the Facts!, the seventh
Importantly, the Dzindzi-
and final book in the Comprehen-
Indian wasn't a surprise novelty sive Chess Course, is one of the
for one game (or one tournament) fastest-selling endgame books of
only. A year later, in another U.S. ali time. It was selected by the
Championship, Christiansen tried Chess Journalists of America as
to smash my position with a the best book of 2000-2001.
homemade, aggressive line. But
Dzindzi's and my analyses held. I Comprehensive Chess Course
got an equal position (but one Executive Editor Al Lawrence
that was very sharp, and very built special features into that
familiar to me), eventually win- series-and now into this book.
ning. Many opponents soon gave These features make these books
up trying to dea1 with Dzindzi's especially easy to learn from. Al
imovation and switched to other is a former teacher with advanced
openings! degrees in curriculum and
instruction. Additionally, Al is a
Roman's teaching talents former Executive Director of the
aren't limited to GM chess-as U.S. Chess Federation and cur-
the enonnous popularity of his rently the volunteer Executive
"Roman's Fonuns" and "Labs" Director of the World Chess Hall
videos attests. Dzindzi's TNs, of Fame in Miami. (In his "real"
ideas and, crucialfy, the convinc- job, he's in charge of devetoping
ing way he presents them, should
help readers of this book feel as
confident as I did during the
1984 U.S. Championship. As a
result, you'll win many important
games-whether you're playing a
friend at home or competing in
the U.S.Masters!
You'll find in this book many
games played by Roman's student
and our co-author, Eugene
Perelshteyn. He helped Romm
with opening research, checked
their co-discoveries with comput-
er programs and tested some of
them, with success, against top

Chapter 1 : The Autl?ors & the Book Il

new products for Excalibur ers self-reliant;
Electronics, Inc.). To reveal al1 the theoretical
Al is the author of 12 books secrets, oRen five to 10 years
and scores of articles of his own before they get Into the opening
on a variety of subjects. He reference books;
writes on chess with great style To do al1 this with respect
and unique perspective. h fact, for the other demands on &e
he was voted 2000-2001 Chess reader's time.
Journalist of the Yem.
HOW we seiected
ii
The new serles: mese oaieniings
ADbrrrt"sChess The criteria we used to select
Omenllngis an opening for the repertoire are:
ARer Nikolay Krogius and I
cornpleted the endgame book It7scompletely sowd, even
Just the Facts!, only one part of up to the super-GM level;
the gme, the operhg, remained It rewards ideas rather than
to be explained. (It wasn't w i t h rote memorkation-thus its the-
the scope of the Course to tackle ory can be reduced to a relatively
opening theory i detail.)
n smali and completely understand-
Many of you are already able portion;
familiar with Pirc Alert!: A We gave preference to
Complete Defense against 1. e4, openings rich in our TNs!
which I co-authored with the
Pircys nnumber one practitioner, Who shouid read
GM Alex Chernin. In Chess tnis book3?i
Openings for Bkack, Expfained Players of al1 strengths, from
and its White companion volume, beginners to super-GMs, will
Roman, Eugene and T provide profit from this book. Here are
you with a soli4 effective and some who will benefit most:
interconnected repertoire for both * Anyone who already plays
White and Black-plus reviews some of the recomended open-
of al1 other openings from both ings-for you this book will be
sides' points of view. like having the persona1 openìng
Following in the tradition of notebook you a1ways wmted;
Pirc Alert!, our goal was: Anyone who has to play
To convey the overall against these lines;
understanding of openings in Anyone who wants to devel-
such a way that it makes its read- op a cornprehensive, coherent

12 Chess Openings far Black, Expiained

cussing various replies to it, and
then concentrating on our chosen
line, the Hyper-Accelerated
Dragon. Rornan and Eugene have
contributed greatly to the theory

J
of this opening. Much of their
C analysis has never been pub-
lished previously, nor even
played. We also provide you with
reliable, yet in some cases little-
known, systems to counter more
and more frequent Anti-Sicilians.
1 Part 111 provides readers with
Lev Alburt a "five-star" defense against l.
d4. We offer tbe venerable
and completely rnodern, compet- Nimzo-Bogo compfex, the most
itive reperioire for BIack, with- popular choice among the
out gaps in his understanding; world's elite for more than half a
Anyone who wants to century. 8ut even there you'lI
acquire back-up openings to find numerous new and bold
understand on a very high level; ideas!
Any player who wants to Part 1V deals with I. c4 and
know what it means to master the rest of mite's first rnoves.
openings Iike top professionals Again, we review al1 of Black's
do. main options. Our recomrnenda-
tion: I . ... c5, foilowed by the
Structure and king's bishop fianchetto. This
eontent line shows how inter-connection
In Chess Upenings for Black, works-positions we seek are the
Explained,we provide you with a same Maroczy-Binds we've stud-
complete repertoire for Black. ied in depth in Part 11.
The companion volume does the Part V consists of carefully
same thing for White-based on chosen and instructively annotat-
1. e4. ed sample games.
Part 11 of this book deals Your repertoire will indeed
with defending against 1.124, dis- be coherent-and complete!

Chapter l : The Authors & the Book 13

Some Chess Symbols
n chess literature, the assessment of an entire position is frequent-

I ly expressed with one of a number of symbols. &re are the most
common:
+- White has a decisive advantage.
+: White has a clear advantage.
& White has a slight advantage.
= The chances are equal.
3 Black has a siight advantage.
T Black has a clear advantage.
-+ Black has a decisive advantage.

Individua1 moves of a game can also be assessed with spbols:
!! A very good move
! Agoodmove
? A weak move
?? A blunder
!? An interesting or provocative move,
often involving some risk
?! A dubious move

For DVDs on playirtg better chess, go i chessondvd.com.
o

74 Chess Openings for Black, Expiained

Making the most of your time

Y
ou can count on this book as you are preparing for a touma-
your prirnary souce of chess rnent or a specid game.) Or if
opening knowledge for a you7re researching Erom White's
very long time. It will guide you point of view, you may want to go
through the moves, ideas and sur- to a chapter on a specific varia-
prises of a recommended network tion. Taking the materia1 out of
of related openings-defenses order shouldn't make any differ-
that have never been refbted and ente in the benefits you derive, as
that offer you a rich source of cre- long as you ultimate& read the
ative resources. whole book, and as long as you
Besides making the book rich do read each chapter itself in
in chess knowledge, including sequence. The reasons will
previously secret theoretical nov- becorne clear as you take a look
elties, we wanted to make it easy at the special features we7vebuilt
to learn Erom-and to help you in to help you learn and remem-
remember and apply what you ber.
learned.
Saecllal features
You'll learn and understand arrd how to use them
the typical positions, the key On the left-hand page
ideas, and the relative value of before each chapter, you'll find
the pieces in each line. "Some Important Points to Look
You can read and study this For." The page contains a very
book sequentially, as it is laid out. short preview of the chapter to
Or you can take the chapters out put the upcorning information in
of order, studying first a variation context. Then you'll see a series
that you have reason to be inter- of briefly explained diagrams,
ested in immediately. (Perhaps touchstones for the most impor-

Chapter 2: How to Uso This Book 15

tant ideas you're about to study. often making it possible to study
Previewing the most important without a board.
ideas will prepare you to better Main lines are given in bold
understand thern when you meet
and clearly separated fiom andysis.
them in the context of the chap-
ter-and will increase your abili- It's easy to identiQ main-
V to remember them. line positions. Main-line dia-
Additionally, there wilI be an grams are large throughout. Afl
index of the chapter's main lines. other positions, whether pure
* Throughout the book, the analysis or side-gmes, are srnall-
most important positions are er and labeled c c ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

highiighted in blue. This forrnat Every chapter offers a brief
not ody caHs your special atten- s m a r y of its main ideas.
tion to them, but makes the Carefully reading the summary
process of reviaving what you've aRer studying a chapter will help
learned much quicker and more you remember the key points.
effettive.
Every chapter is followed
* The most important ideas
by "Memory Markers," centrally
and guiding prhciples are set in important positions that chal-
Sarge type within boxes, what art
lenge you to lock in the concepts
dkectors refer to as "call-outs,"
you've learned and encourage
also highlighted in blrie, with the
same efEect. you to use these ideas in new
positions, as you'll want to do in
hportantly, moves and the your own games.
diagram they relate to are nearly
always placed on the same page- We want this book to be your
spread! Although a painstaking complete reference for your
process for the page designer, this entire playing career. We intend
layout p ~ c i p l e
keeps you h m to update the book whenever nec-
having to flip back and forth fkom essary.
mwes tu diagrams. We want to help to make your
There are many diagrams opening studies as simple and as
and they are in the right places, well organized as possible!

1
6 Chess Openings for Btack, Explained

opening are really a bit of a

Y
ou7ve decided to choose a
serious opening repertoire. romance. Even a tyro in such a
Your idea is first to find a relationship can rise on occasion
promising game-starting scheme, to the role of super-hero to rescue
to l e m it, and to stick with it. So his rnaiden in distress.
you hit the reference books. We al1 know club players
who will take on a11 opponents
PemosianSs and al1 debaters on the topic of
cornplalnt their favorite starting rnoves,
After hours or even days,
HOW these lucky-in-love piay-
do
what's your finding? See if this
ers find their beloved begin-
sounds familiar: "When X study
nings? Most often, it takes ptace
White, it's always equal. When l[
as it did with Al. He happeaed to
study Black, it's always worse!" see an old game with the Center
Just so you understand that we al1
Counter Defense. For no com-
hit this wail, regardless of rating,
pletely Iogicaf reason, the moon-
the complaint is in this instance
light struck the board. Al was
voiced by none other than world smitten. The fact that the first
champion Tigran Petrosian. dates--early victories-were fun
clinehed the relationship.
Oaianlng romance Even on a very top leve1 of
Il's a lucky player who fulds play, these same "romtic" fac-
an opening system he loves to tors can play a part. I became
rely on, loves to protect &om known for my reliance on Ale-
those who would inflict harm on khine's Defense. Despite the pre-
it with their new, villaìnous ideas. vailulg opinion that after 1. e4,
A player and his favorite the move 1. ... Nf6 is not quite

Chapter 3: How to Study Openings 17

correct, I played "my" Alekhine although demanding a significant
consistently at the highest levels, advantage is usuaily iinrealistic.
with rewardhg results. C. With Black, we want an
It's worth noting that both Al equal position, or if it is slightly
and I elected to take lesser ana- worse for us, we at least want a
lyzed openings that offered a position we know how to hold.
shortcut-sidestepping much of For example, a player who emu-
the normal preparation. lates attacking genius M i a i l Tal
may be happy with a materia1
deficit in exchange for an
Switehing sundtome attack-even if, theoretically, it
Many amateurs spend too doesn't fùlly compensate him.
much time trying to memotize
various opening moves. (That
sai4 none of us wants to reach Opeslngs afe
rnove 12 with such a steeply up- schEromhmnlc
hill battle that al1 the strategy and Don't waste your time with
tactics in our head won't get us to the fantasy of the "tailor-made"
the top.) Getting caught up in the repertoire vi- sometimes hear
switching syndrome-jumping about that will bring out your
from opening to openhg, memo- b e r , winning you with just the
rizing and getting discouraged, right openings. Certainly, an
and never making much use of al1 experienced chess teacher can
help you to improve much faster
the time you've invested-is as
and absorb important principles
impractical as it gets.
more thoroughly than you could
Let's take a look at the basic on your m However, in any
.
points to consider when choosing major opening, you can't play in a
an opening repertoire. way that will guide you only to
tactical terrain while preventing
Set reasonaàle goais positional games, or vice versa.
Baning blunders from ow Try staying in a "solid" Caro-
opponents, what should we ex- Kann against someone who
pect from a satisfactory opening? wants to pry the g m e open for an
attack. Even Mkhail Botvinnik
A. Regardless of its theoreti-
couldn't do it in 1960 against Tal.
cal assessment, we want a posi-
Or try playing the Sicilia for a
tion we know how to play. sharp, aitacking game against an
I. With White, we want a
3 expert in White's c3 system, and
position that is at least equal; we you'll likely find yourself in a
prefer to retain some advantage, positional shuggle. Some varia-

78 Chess Openings for Black, Explained

tions of the French are passive, Petrosian: "Why did you
while some are dowmight coun- play such terrible moves? Even
terattacks. Some foms of the you should understand these are
Ruy Lopez are positional; some bad."
are wild and hoary. Some Giuoco Gregorian: ""Iad to win to
Pianos are hardly pianissirno. quali@.''
Your opponent can play the
Queen's Gambit like the draw- Pemsian: 'Wake a note. It's
prone Carl Schlechter or like the much easier to play for a win
checkmate-obsessed Fra& Mar- from an equd position than frorn
shall. a bad position!"

Openings are schizophrenic.
Whatever opening you play, you Spend only 25% of
risk getting a position that doesn't your chess tlme
match your own attitudes about studylng the
aggression or passivity. Still, in openings
some extreme cases, consider the Opening study just doesn't
plusses and minuses of your play, deserve to be so all-consuming,
indeed of your style. If you are a especially for nonprofessionals,
pawn-toving Korchnoi fan, don't for two basic reasons:
Play the ~ e n k Gambit!
o 1. There are lots of other
areas to study in chess that will
make a more drarnatic differente
PeuosPan's Rule in your resuits-just one com-
Sometimes winning is the pelling example is the study of
only acceptable outcome. In such tactics.
a situation, should you adopt a
x d d opening, swinging for the 2. There have been rnany
bleachers fiom the first move? grandmasters who became
prominent, even world-class
m e great Petrosian ofien players, using an opening system
counseled the young and talented rouniUy condernned as at least
Russian-Amenian master Karen slightly inferior.
Gregorian. Once Gregorian
retumed from an important qual- As a nrle of thumb, you
i w g tournament and showed should spend about 25% of your
Petrosian a last-round garne in chess study time on the openings.
which the young man had played
some dubious opening moves as Shouild you learn a
Black and lost. Petrosian cross- second openlna?
examined him: You don't really have to leam

Chapter 3:How to Study Openings 19

a second opening to surprise your that an opening is evaluated by
opponents. There are enough the results of a few key games,
choices within most openings to and these games were won by the
ailow opportunities to catch your stronger player.
opponent off guard. Nowadays, Long ago as a young expert, I
even most top players unabashed- took up a certain system in the
ly specialize in a f m openings- Sicilian. I stuck with the variation
normally just enough to cover the as I rose through the ranks. As a
opponent's possibilities. A fa^, master, I contributed to the sys-
like Kasparov, seem eneyclopedic tem's theory, drawulg and even
in their opening choices, but aRer defeating fmous grmdmasters.
all, they have tearns of re- So I kept playing it. Later, my
searchers and theoreticians. own analysis unearthed one h e
Actually, the best thing about that I worried about-a series of
knowing a second opening is not moves that feft Plhite with an
that you can use it as a surprise edge fiom the opening. But no
weapon, but that you team the one played it against me, or
ideas and themes of diEerent agahst anyone else.
types of positions. But once Then in 1971, in the semifi-
again, frorn the point of view of nals for the Soviet championship,
rea1 people with jobs to do arid I played Black against a 20-year-
lawns to cut, a second opening old grandmaster named Anatoly
coverhg the same ground may Karpov, then already coached by
steal t h e from other important renowned opening-theoretician
areas of your chess development. Semyon Furman. Grpov opened
with 1. e4, and I was soon in the
H iiP me world
mt n
t f d i a r territory of rny trusty
chama gets an edae Sicilian. And then suddenly I was
agalnst wour in the line I had hoped I wodd
favorite 1 n
3e never see in a tournament game!
Vilè can hold our favorite Karpov had played the best
openings to too high a standard, moves for White and gotten a
or even blme them for defeats small edge. I defended well, but
that take place long afier the the game was adjourned with
opening phase. Ridiculous as it Karpov retaining this edge.
sounds, we often wind up reject- Another six-hour session saw the
ing a possibility because it ends game adjourned a second time, in
in a loss against a top GM or even a lost position for me. I was dis-
a world champion. This is a gusted, feeling that everyone
coroflary to the cynical outlook would now play the same line

20 Chess Openings for Biack, EXpfained

against me! So I gave it up. Sometimes what you find
I know now that my aban- may be a tactical trick. Perhaps
doning the system altogether was with best play your find peters
a very premature reaction. After out to equality (or for Black, a
all, Karpov went on to dominate slightly worse position) faster
than the main line. But an oppo-
top-leve1 chess unti1 Kasparov
nent seeing it for the fkst time
arrived on the scene. The line
w i U likely sfip into a bruta1 trap,
Karpov played to get a small edge
or he rnay panic in the face of the
would not be to everyone's taste,
unknown.
nor within most GMs' abilities to
maintain and convert to a win. The chances are extremely
True, I went on to a new, fnutfkl high that this book w i U give you
"relationship" with Alekhine's the best opening foundation
Defense, but perhaps for the you've ever had. You'll under-
wrong reasons. stand the ideas we present so well
that you're likely to be surprised
The next time you are tempt- at the innovations you come up
ed to switch your opening with on your own. And in the
because the latest Informant process of trying to find better
game shows how the world and more interesting moves, you
champ beat a tournmmt tail- will of course constantly increase
gater in 40 moves-think it over. your understanding of your open-
There isn't a line that wouldn't ings and of chess.
look bad insuch a match-up. And
when you lose in the city champi- Let m e book
onship to a smartly played mating do tne rest
attack by the ultimate winner, Under different circum-
don't msh to blame the opening. stances, I'd have much more to
The reason for your loss may Iie say about how to study openings,
elsewhere. how to look for TNs and for
shortcuts, those effettive side-
Horne anamis lines. I would explain the tech-
Whatever your playing niques for cutting your job down
strength, nothing will in-iprove to size, how to gather and assess
your opening results more than material, how to organize and
home preparation-your own what to memorize. But the fact is
work in your own home over your that Complete Openings for
own board. (For the serious who Btack, Explained does al1 of this
have the opportunity, persona1 for you.
chess trainers can be a tremen- And I'm sure you're eager to
dous advantage, of course.) get started!


In this chapter we review Black's choices against
White's most popular first move, 1. e4.

Symmetry, but White 1s + Scandinavian: cutting
on the move and attacking. the Gordian knot.
See Diagram 2. See Diagram 32.

a% French: preparing ... d5. %- Caro-Kann: preparing
See Diagram 43. ... d5. See Diagram 44.

-$- The assymetncal
V Pirc: development first.
challenge in the center.
center later. See Diagram 54.
See Diagram 60.

Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 23

Chapter 4
Connecting to the Whole History of
Pushing the King's Pawn
B'tack's Choices Against 1. e4
aking connections makes more encompassing motive for a
us srnarter. In this chap- chess piayer to know a lot in gen-
ter, you're about to con- eral, The now gratingiy unimagi-
nect with severa1 centuries of native phrase (it's become a cog-
chess opening development. It 's nitive oxymoron) "thinking out
what we used to call "back- of the box" means to convey that
ground infomation," It's tenibly
creative solutions are found by
underrated by too many people-
seeking breakthroughs not on the
those in a rush to learn only what
they "need" to know. That's an slide under our immediate,
irony, because what some may microscopic concentration. A
see as unrelated knowledge is Renaissance man of both mathe-
crucial to any creative process. matics and the libera1 arts wrote:
The box below gives you five The creative mind is
specific reasons for knowing a mind that Zoob for
something about everything in unexpected Zikeness.
the openings. Noreover, there's a -Jacob Brono~*ski

Fiue Reasons lo Know Sornething Rbout EverYthingin the Ghess 09eflings
1. You need fo huve some infonnation in arder to make meaningful choices.
2. Tmnspositions (shiftingfim one opening to another) tuke place frequently.
3. Ideas from one opening can be applied fo orher operrìngs.
4. Sornetimes you mach a position in un opening ~4th "colors twersed"-for
example. when Whiteplays the Engìish (i. c4) and Black responds with
i. ... e5, both players can find thernselves in a "Reversed Sicilian"
5. You can impmve your ovemllplay by pmcticing in diferent kinds
of iniddlegamepositions resultingjn>mvarious openings.

24 Chess Openings for Black, Ekpiaimd

To be creative, we need to be A human being should be
capabf e of making surprising able ?o change a diapec
comections through a whole uni- plan an invusio~, Butcher
verse of ideas. But we've lived a hog, con a sta@, design a
for some time in an age of the buiiding, wrìte a sonnet,
expert. In o m jobs and even in bafance accounts, bzliid a
our hobbies, we specialize. As wali, set a bone, comfort
chess players, we are "e4-play- the dyi~sg, take orders,
en" or L'd4-players-'yOr pexhaps give ordrrrs, cooperate, act
you're a Colle expert. Specializa- alone, solve equations,
tion makes sense, of course. anabze a new pmblem,
Done correctly, it can &e the pitch rnanure, pmgram a
most of ow tirne, and it can computer, cook a basiy
instili us with cdxdence. meal, $&t effìcientIy, die
galiantly, Specialization is
Is ssecialization iust for insects.
-fiober$A. Neinlein,
for fnseetsl @m The Notebooks
So having a wide general
of Lazanis Long
knowledge makes you a better
player, but specializing in chess Daunting expectations from
is a s h v d skiI1. Our maves on Heinlein, who learned to play
the chessboard permit us to chess at four, even before he
direct the stnrggle. The yin and could read! But we agree wlth his
the ymg of needing to know a lot general idea. A good chess play-
while l e e n g to restrict the er should be able to conduct my
range of possibilities is not really phase of the game competently,
a contradiction. P&ps an engi- wherever it takes him.
neer-turned-sci-fi-icon said it We're not going to argue
best : against specialinng i certain
n

I . They are the most immediate& dangerous.
2. fiu 'lIface them mosf often.
3. You 'll get practice making combinationr and
defending against combinotzons, wwhich
abound in the open games.


ckess openings. In fact, this book What time does uour
is alt about recommending cer- o~ening
elosel
tain lines that make it possible This book teaches you how to
even for amateurs to become true dea1 with any White opening
opening experts. It offers brand- scheme. But we put l. e4 first for
new ideas that will put your a reason. UsualIy, l. e4 leads to
opponents at a disadvantage. "open" games. Many chess train-
But you should occasionally ers continue to recomend learn-
play over games fiom openings ing the "open" games before
you yowself don't use. And you studying "closed positions-
should certainly know at least the and for most of us, it makes
basics of al1 of the major open- sense. ARer all, 1. e4 is the most
ings! popular opening move among
arnateurs, and one of the most
Il trnne-efficient review popular moves among masters
We are conscious of yow time and grandmasters.
constraints. You have other things
Some openings lead more
to do and are reading this
ofien to open positions. Other
because you expect some time-
openings usually bring on closed
eAFicient return. You want to play
middlegames. It's helpful to
chess better, understand it bet-
define the basics as we go along,
ter-and win more games as
so let's àraw the distinction
Black. So we've given this chap-
ter very serious thought, present- between open and closed in
h g you with the most potent chess: Open positions offer
comections to the basic ideas of unblocked lines of contact
the I. e4 openings, fkom Black's between the opposing armies;
perspective. closed don't.
Take a look at the two columns
below,
Open Closed
Open files Blocked Wes
Open diagonals Blocked diagonals
Fluid or absent center p- Blockd center
Tactical Positiod
Attacks Strakegy
Gambits Bind
Combinations Regrouping
Fast Stow
1. e4 1. d4, 1. c ,1.NB
4

26 Chess Openings far Bfack, Explained
----p-

Iri the colum~i the left we list
on A S ~ M M ~ ~iZlc.eti,.rg t l ~ e
W: hest
words that generally apply to irs shrrlhw
tc,itil
open garnes; the column on the 1. e4 e5
right describes closed gaines.
Prior to the eiid of tlie 19th
century, thc advent of Steiriitz'
theory and positional play, open-
ing a chess game with 1, e3 was
cie ~.lgeln-.But evcn now, nearly
al1 top grandmasters at Ieast
occasionally play 1. e4. This
mo-e still dominates the lower
runps of the touniament circuit. a
popularity which isn't surprising
since 1. e4 best corresponds to Diagwnr I
thc threc rules of thurnb about .!/iei- l. ... 6.
5
the openins phase. (See the box
I . . . . e5 is Black's rnost natura1
at the bottom of this page.)
reply (see "Three Rttfes of tlie
Now lct's start our re.iew in Operii~ig,"below). Still, being a
earnest to gctin soci3e perspectivc tempo ahead in these opcn begiil-
cin the challenge of playing riitigs is an advantage. In open
against 1 . e l . positions, an extra ]nove can be
ii~~portant.

Three Rules of the O~ening
-1'
1. Contr-nl rhe cenfer-(jrlrc$i~~~zh(t. orcl4pving it with pari~nsj;
3. Del~elop-biing ??OLO-piece,r ,fi-cmt tlieii. siarling positiorz onto
sqirumsfifi.on? rtshich rhey excfrcise ir7flrrence »n thc" action
(stai-r tz*itii the kingsidc piecr.~hcc'nu.~e thr next r.ziig);
of
3 Casrle (r,sztal-+shol-t. si~zre crttt be accomnp/islzed tnost
ir
quick(~. sufkb).
ntid

Chapter 4; Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 27

White can try for an edge with second moves, such as the King's
2. Nf3. Garnbit, 2. Nc3 (Vienna), 2. Bc4,
2. d4, or 2. c3.
After 2. NB, theoretically best
for Black is to develop with the
pawn-protecting

For over 100 years, this rnove
has been viewed as the only seri-
ous try for an advantage. It not
only develops and prepares
Diograrn 4
castling, but it also attacks the After 2. ... Nc6
e5-pawn. Championed by Paul
Morphy, 2. NB eventually tri- Why not 2. ,.. Bd6, protecting
umphed over the romantic 2. f4 a pawn while developing a king-
(the King's Gambit). side piece, a move many begin-
ners make?

been viewed as
-3
Diagram 3 @' $3
King S Garnbit i

Don't worry about side lines the
i-. only serious
Q; .:$
now. From Black's point of view,
if you find you're comfortable
with 2 . ND,you can always go
back to learn the right ways to
equality against less challenging


Diagram 5 Diagram 6
Bad defense: Black blocks Petrofs Definse
his development!
teern of theory from a "short cut"
Because Black's pawn is stuck to nearly the equa1 of 2. ... Nc6.
on d7, it doesn't infiuence the In fact, because of its new-found
center, at least not for the near popularity, you'll need to study
future. The move also bfocks the more! The more masters play an
most natura1 diagonal (c8-h3) for opening, the more ingenious
the c8-bishop. (Fianchettoing tncks, traps and strategies they
this bishop isn't usually a good find. In other words, the more an
idea in the 1. e4 e5 openings, opening is played, especially at
because the bishop will be the top, the more "theory" piles
blocked by the well-protected e4- UP.
pawn. Besides, getting the piece
Dubious, or as their proponents
to b7 would take an extra move.)
would say, "risky" and "enter-
In the last fifteen years, as a prising" are the gambits 2. ... d5
result of the attention of world and 2. ... f5. We show how to
champions Anatoly Karpov and handle them, as well as other sec-
Vladimir Kramnik, and many ond moves for Black, in this vol-
followers, Petroff's Defense, 2. ume's counterpart, Chess
... Nf6 has moved up in the es- Openings for mite, Expfained.
"Aimost correct" is 2. ... d6,
used by Philidor (and called the
Petroff's Defense Philidor Defense).
has moved up in
.. . If you'd like to study very little
tha;e'g$:gem - of
.?. .?:L% ?,
theory-or to have an offbeat
theo.G .,,C. system in reserve for a show-
down with an old foe who thinks
th'c:-$qnaI
: .G;$.
.. $3
he knows your repertoire, consid-
er 2. ... Qe7.


The top 10 reasons for hauing an offbeat
surprise opening alternative
to defend against 1. e 4
1. You can surprise a familiar foe who thinks he
h o w s al1 about your repertoire.
2. Even though he has the White pieces and is
supposed to have the initiative, you can immedi-
ately put your opponent in a defensive frame of
mind.
3. Many of your opponents will make mistakes
under pressure to find the "right" theoretical
moves.
4. Your opponent may even decide it's his job to
"refute" an opening that's perfectly playable-
leading to his making big mistakes in the first few
moves!
5. He will likely bum up valuable clock-time cal-
culating unfamiliar variations-imagine using
your surprise in the last round of a fast-time-con-
trol tournament, with a big prize at stake!
6. If news breaks during the middle of a tourna-
ment that one of your favorite lines has been punc-
tured by a new move from a Bulgarian grandmas-
ter, you c m fa11 back on your spare-tire opening.
7. You won7t have to use it long anyway; such
opening "refutations" generally last unti1 the
"refiter" plays someone rated even higher!
8. You get to act blasé if someone plays your own
surprise against you, rattling off the best response
and stifling a yawn-he's yours for life!
9. You c m te11 everyone it's the latest break-
through idea from Kasparov and that the champion
computer program Thresher confirms that it wins
for Black against 1. e4.
10. Then you'll get to find a good surprise
against 1. d4.


This systern was used occa- Diugrani 8
sionally by Russian grandrnaster ~ f f e2. ... :(i
r !: :t
Victor Kuprcichik, a great attack- Now thc unpretentious
ing player. Black intends to "knights-first" 3. Nc3
fianchetto his dark-square bish-
OP.
There is no way to refute this
opening. Of course, with normal,
good play, White should get a
small edge, but remember hiio
thiogs: this leve1 of advantage is
not sigriificant except among
international competitors, and,
secondly, White will be in unfa-
miliar territory. And if he presses isn't without poison. but only if
for inore, he may end up invest- Black ptriys the natura1 3. .. .
ing a lot of clock time, and being Bc5, altowing the archetypal (in
very disappointed by the result! such positions) 4. Nxe5, with an
Let's return to 2. ... il'c6, edge. (AAer 4. ... Nxe5, White
has thc pawn fork 5. d4. Biack
could play 4. ... Bxf2+. but after
5. Kxf2 Nxc5 6. d4 Ng6 7. Bc4,
M i t e has a strong center and
will so011castle by hand.)


the book 23.e
Ideas Behind
the Chess
Openings by the
American champion Reuben Fine held sway and
determined the way we played openings. (Reuben Fine
was a world-championship contender and a winner
of the 1938 AVRO super-tournament.)
Here are his three tips on finding good moves
in the opening.
Whenever possible, make a good developing move that
threatens something.
d Two questions must be answered prior to making a
move:
1. How it affects the center,
2. How it fits with the development of your
other men.
Deviate fiom "book" lines only for a reason.

32 Chess Openings for

We're still only at move 3, and
for a while, White can contro1 the
options. Let's look at 3. d4.

Diagram I I
4Jrer 3. Bc4
The move 3. Bc4 was Mor-
Diug~urnI O phy's favorite and brought him
Smtch Opening many exciting victories, as it then
This move was felt to be ana- did nwnerous a~cionados the of
iyzed and played to death (mean- attack.
ing to a draw) by the early twen- On the Olympus of super-
tieth century. Theoreticians grandmaster play, 3. Bc4 contin-
thought that White played his ues to be regarded, as it has been
important centra1 thrust too early, for most of the twentieth century,
dissipating his fatent energy. But as being "exhausted" and draw-
in the 1 9 9 0 ~ ~
Kasparov's victo- ish. But not arnong the mortals,
ries with the Scotch put it back where it continues to be popular.
into play. (See Fine's advice on Still, you can more or less rely on
the previous page.) theory to provide you with the
Other than the Scotch, two antidote to 3. Bc4. It c m be 3. ...
most promising moves for White Bc5,
in the main line ( 1 . e4 e5 2. Nf3
Nc6-see Diagram 8) are 3. Bc4
and 3. Bb5. The first choice
attacks the f7 square, Black's
most vulnerable point before he
has castled.

Diagrum l 2
Giuoco Piano

questionably caIled Giuoco
Piano (ftalian for the "Quiet
GameN-sornetirnes the opening
is called the Italian Game),


unless White attacks with the
Evans Gmbit, 3. b4.

Bagran? 13 Diagram l 5
Evans Gambit Riq?Lopez
Or Black can play 3. . .. Nf6, White's third move attacks the
appropriately called the Two knight, which defends the e5-
Knights' Defense. pawn.
The rea1 problem is that there
is a terabyte of theory in this
time-honored opening. Espec-
ially over the long-term, when
you are rising higher and higher
in the ranks of chess players,
you7d need to remernber a lot to
play against the Ruy. Even an
Diagvam l 4
Two Kntghts ' Refinse
historical review takes a bit of
time. So settle back. It's weH-
The most popular choice for *
,h your knowing.
White is the positional 3. Bb5,
initiating the famous Ruy Lopez
ARer 3. ... a6,
opening.

Diagam 16
Ruy Lopez, Morphy S Definse


the "main line" for almost a hun-
drcd years, you should be ready
for Bobby Fischer's favorite, 4.
Bxc6. (No, it doesn't win a pawn:
after 4. .., dxca!, 5. Nxe5 can't
be recomrnended because of 5.
... Qd4.)

Diugrum I8
Afrer 4. Ba4
Other third moves for Black
are viewed as somewhat inferior,
but provide you a choice of short-
Diagram 17
After 5. ... Qd4 cuts. Where are you, for exarn-
ple, on the "greed" continuum?
You need also to be ready for (See the graph below.)
the more c o m o n 4. Ba4.

RESPECT FOR MATERIAL, A CONTINUUM

Bispuier .Uburt Bronne

Karpov Petrosian
iSerhnietdino
Korchnoi

1
Shirari
Healthy disresprcl Heaft. respeet
C far materia1 for materia1

Take a look at the chart drop-dead combinations. Tal
above. Since "conservatives" ground out some ingenious
are most often talked about as endgarnes. The table offers
being "on the right," we'll fol- oniy generalizations, and
low that tradition. Please keep infomed opinions rnay differ.
in mind that most great play- Where do you think you
ers can do al1 things well. would fall? You'll undoubtedly
Petrosian detonated some profit from playing over the

Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History o Pushing the King's Pawn
f 35

games of the great players Xncidentally, only 9. Nxe5 is
near your spot on the spec- correct here. An attempt to both
trum. Pay attention t o the grab a pawn and exchange
openings and sub-variations queens backfires: 9. Qxe5? Bg4!,
they choose. See how you like and now every super-K wwil pre-
thern. fer Black! After the exchange of
If you fa11 sornewhere in the queens, Black enjoys better
vicinity of Tal and Morphy, development and threatens to
then consider playing the ruin White's kingside pawn struc-
Schliernann, 3. ... f5. ture.
Back to Black's third rnove. If,
like Savielly Tartakover, you pre-
fer to sacnfice your opponent's
pawns, you stili have short-cuts
to cboose fiom:
3. ... Nge7 (planning to
fianchetto); the immediate
fianchetto 3. ... g6; and the clas-
Diagrum 19
sic (and somewhat passive) 3. ...
Ruy Lopez, Schliema~znVarìation d6, which c o m i t s Black to giv-
Even if Kasparov, Karpov and ing up the center after 4. d4 exd4
Korchnoi, fiom their places on 5. Nxd4.
our "Respect for Materia1
Continuum," think othenvise,
clearly the initiative will matter
for you more than the loss of a
pawn in a position similar to the
one after 4. Nc3 &e4 5. Nxe4
Nf6 6. Nxf6+ Qxf6 '7. Qe2 Be7 8.
Bxc6 dxc6.

Siegbert Tarrasch showed that
White has some slight but per-
sistent edge here, but he was,
after ail, Tarrasch!
Black can even get away with
Diagran 20 moving the same piece twice
Afer 8. ... d c
x6 with 3. ... Nd4, Bird's Defense.


If you've decided to pfay "the
best" 3. ... a6 (see Diagram 16)
then, as we've mentioned,
besides studying 4. Bxc6, you
should prepare a system against
the classic 4. Ba4. There are
some attrattive short-cuts to the
main lines of theory (but cven the
Diagrarn 22 short-cuts on a significant jour-
Ruy Lopa, Bird S Defewe ney can be long!), such as the
Perhaps you'll put new life in "Open Variation"(Fine called it
the old system, as h d did the "Counter Attack Defense").
with the Berlin Variation, proving After n o m d moves, 4. Ba4 Nf6
i11 his 2000 World Champion- 5.0-0,
ship match versus Kasparov that
the endgame after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
Ne6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5.
d4

Lliagram 25
Afier 5. 0-0
Diagram 23 Black captures a pawn.
AJier 5. d4
5. ... Nd6 6. 3xc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ a d 8 is okay for
Black.

Lliagram 26
Ruy Lopez, Opcn Yariatìon
Diagram 24
Rzcy Lopez, BerEin Defitse Or aft-er alteady l e d n g so


much, maybe you want to study Afier the "classical" 7. ... d6,
the "Charnpions' Defense?" the the play continues:
Chigorin Variation, tvhich grand- 8. e3 0-0 9. h3 Na5
masters had in mind when they
said, in the last part of the twenti- We're skipping some twists,
eth century, that nobody can S U C ~aS f3re~er's ~aradoxicall~

becorne a great player without good 9+ + - 7

playing great Ruys. (And most 10. Bc2 e5 11. d4 Qc7
world champions and chaIlengers
did play them, ofien from both
sides.) Let7s follow from
Diagram 25:

This is the blueprint beginning
of many great Ruys! (Chess glay-
ers sometimes cal2 these classic
theoretical starting places "tabi-
as.")
Diagram 27
After 7 Bb3
. Weke already connected to a
7. ... d6 lot of important history. Now
let's rnove to the non-symmetri-
Or 7. ... 0-0, if you want to lure cal answers to 1. e4.
your opponent into the Marshall
Gambit after 8. c3 d5.

Diugrarn 28
R1y Lopez, Marshall 's Gambit

38 Chess Openiffgs for Black, Explajned

Summarizing 1.- e5 I3 The light-suuarestrategy:
Inzmediately challenging White's
Beginners may choose 1. ... center
e5 because it's natura1 and 1. e4 d5
easy to understand (therefore
making it easy to fuld reason-
able follow-up moves). The
classica1 main line after 1. e4
e5 is the Ruy Lopez, and the
stronger player you are, the
more fiequently you'll face
the Ruy. Still, some howl-
edge against sharp systems,
such as 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bc4, is required, in order to Diagram 32
avoid panicking after 3. ... The Center Counter (Scutzdinavian)
Nf6 4. Ng5. A basic tenet of fighting l. e4
is that if Black can play ... d5
without a drawback, he has
equalized. So why not play 1. ...
d5 right away?
This attempt to cut through the
Gordian knot of main lines was
traditionally viewed by theory as
weak. But the move was always
underrated. Moreover, recently
Diagram 30
After 4. Ng5
it's been given new life. AAer the
best response, 2. exd5, Black
And to avoid a waste of time somewhat surprisingly has two
like 3. ... h6?. good rnoves: to recapture with
the queen 2. ...
QxdS,

Diagmm 31
After 3. ... hb?

Chapter 4: Gonnecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 39

But just how hportant is the
loss of a tempo here?

Diagram 33
Ajier 2. ... Qxd5
or to play 2. ...Nf6.
Diagram 35
Afrer 5. iLj7

And n o w Black brings out his
light-square bishop before mov-
ing his e-pawn. He can choose
from 5. . .. Bg4, 5. ... Bf5, or
even a preliminary 5. ... c6 (a
useful move, sec~iringa retreat
line for the queen). Far example:
5. ... c6 6. Bc4 Bg4.

The legendary weakness of
2. ... Qxd5, according to tradi-
tional theory, was mite's win of
a tempo with 3. Nc3. The verdict
was that Black exposed his queen
to early harassment, allowing
m i t e to develop while BlackS
most powerful piece dodged bul-
lets.
Diagram 36
After 6. ... Bg4
In all these lines, White's only
hope for an edge lies in driving
Black's bishop back:

40 Chess Openings for

Eés, oli the GM leve1 this
choice winds up, again, plus-
Hcse theory conttnues xvith owr-equa1 because Ilihite has the
lines that in ~ h e end are razor- bishop pair. But among ania-
sharp journcys through a tactical tcurs, knights arc oAen as good,
tvoliderland. 'cfost non-special- if not better, than bishops.
ists wouldn't dare enter, uneasy Black's positioa is solid. Hc has
about the ''i cakenirig" g 7 - 9 . no weaknesses and no bad
A i ~ dwhere. with proper play, pieces-and no long lines to
do eixn thrse best tnes end? rcniernber!
"Plus-over-cqual"-.lhe smallest Let's Iook at Rlack's other
adsantage LVl~ite can havc. an choice in the Center Counter
edge truly in~portant only on the aRer 3. esd5.
highest Ievels of chess, ivhere
technique is near-perfect. But
even there, cuch an edge is not
definitive.
hnd if your opponcnts do piay
both h3 and g4. and keep getting
an edge. corisider rhe siniple 7.
. .. Bxl3.

39
Dit[gr,.lrrii~
',ifiel-2....
Jrrstification for 2. . .. Nf6 lies
in the line 3. c4 cf; 4. dxc6 (bct-

Chaptef 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 41

ter is modest 4. d4, transferring
into the Panov-Botvhik line of
the Caro-Kann) 4. ... Nxc6.

Diagrarn 41
Afier 5. ci4
Or White can play the norma1
Diagrarn 40 3. d4.
After 4. ...Nrc6
And Bhck stands better de-
spite a missing pawn.
Still, in Diagram 39's position,
White can fight for an edge with
3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Be2! Nxd5 5. d4.

Diagram 42
A r 3. d4.
&
C The lighit-square strategy:Preparing ... d7-d.5
As we saw on previous pages, capturing on d5 with a piece gives
White some advantage in the center, and the sornewhat better game. Two
rnajor openings, the Caro-Kann and the French, solve this problem by
preparing ... d7-d5 with a neighboring pawn move, in order to be able
to recapture on d5 with a pawn.

Diagram 43
French

42 Chess Openiffgs for Black, Expianeci

Let's look what will happen afier the natura1 2. d4 d5 in each case.

Diagmm 45 Diagmm 46
French Caro-Kann
Black's ... e7-e6 opens a diagonal for his dark-square bishop and thus
also facilibtes early castling. The negative: the light-square bishop is
restricted by the e6-pawn and often winds up a bad "French" bishop,
hemmed in by its own pawns. In the Caro-Km, the light-square bishop
is free and will soon rnove to f5 or (after White's Nf3) to g4. On the other
hand, ... c7-c6 doesn't forward Black's deveiopment (except for open-
ing the diagonal for his queen, which is less important than developing
the minor pieces), doesn't prepare for castiing short, and in some
cases-where ... c6-c5 will be called for-loses a tempo. Still, as prac-
tice shows, the Caro-Kam is at least as good as the French. Already
we've seen its singte but strong plus, keeping the light-square bishop
"good." This benefit offsets the minuses.
When playing the French, you must be ready to defend against White's
two main continuations, 3. Ne3 and 3. Nd2.

Black's position is solid. He has no '
weaknesses and no bad piece


Diagram 48
French, White uvoids rhe p i ~ t

A "busyrnan's" solution to leaming two lines above can bc found in
Pirc Alert!-o complete defttse against 1. e4, co-authorcd by Lev
Alburt and by the Pirc's nurnber one practitioncr, CM Alex Chemin:
...
3. dxe4 (the Rubinstein French) 4. Nxe4 Bd7.

Diugram 49 Diagranz 50
Affrr 4. ... BJ7 Afipr 8. Ng3
The game usuafly continues 5. 8. ...
BxB!, achieving a position
Nf3 Bc6 6 . Bd3 Nd7 7.0-0 Ngf6 quite similar to Diagrarn 38
8. Ng3 (fiom the 2. .. . Qxd5 line of the
Scandinavian).
For a player with more time to
study and more arnbition, lines of
thc Frcnch gcneraliy offer sharp,
unbalanced positions, an explo-
sive mixture of stratcgics and tac-
tics.

The Caro-Kann main line goes: Black's planned 5. ... Ngf6??,
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Ne3 &e4 allowing 6. Nd6, "smothered"
4. Nxe4. checkmate!

D Cmming m the ceniers:
m
The Pirc, IModer~tand Alekhiae
1. e4 d6

Dzagram 51
After 4. Nxe4

This is a very solid, mostly
positional opening, pexfectly fit-
ted to those sharing Petrosian's Diagmrn 53
Pirc Defnse
philosophy: with Black, seek
safety first. Usually the game continues
...
Both 4. BfS and 4. ...Nd7 2. d4 Nf6 (inviting the white
(preparing 5. ... Ngf6) serve this knight to occupy a square ul fiont
goal. But be aware of neglecting of his pawn, as 3. Nd2, while
tactics even h such seemhgly possible, has the drawback of
safe positions-for instanee, by blocking the bishop).
playing (afker 4. ... Nd7 5. Qe2)

Diagrorn 54
After 3. ...g6

Chapter 4: Conneding to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 45

Black is ready to fimchetto his 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5.
bishop and th& to castle. He'H
fight for the center later, a mod-
ernist &ade OR. For more on
choosing the Pirc, see P r Alert!.
ic
The Modern Defense, 1. e4 g6,

Black will, bowever, recoup
some of these tempos soon by
attacking White's extended
(sometimes wen over-extended)
pawn center. Despite a life-long
eRort by Lev Alburt, the theory
Diagram 55 still (correctly) favors %%te, but
%e Modern Defense
only i the modern line:
n
is a flexible, less forma1 cousin
2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 66 4. ND.
(in some cases even a twin) of the
Pirc.
Aiekhine's Defense, 1. e4 Nf6,

Diagmm 58
Afler 4. NfJ

Diagmm 56 Al1 three major replies, Lev's
After I. ... N6
f 4. ... Bg4 and 4. ... g6, and GM
Bagirov's 4. ... c6, seem io pro-
is a true trimph of hyper-mod-
ernism-Black provokes White mise White a small edge.
to push (with tempo!) his centra1 The good news is that White
pawns-as in the line 2. e5 Nd5 needs to know al1 &ree systems,

46 Chess Openings for Bfack, Explained

and Black only one. And '"or- faux-pas openers result in a plus-
mal," or simply "good" moves over-minus (a clear advantage for
often aren't enough in sharp, White). Black's opening goal is
unbalanced Alekhine positions to equality.
take White to safety, let alone to The minor openings: 1. ... a6,
an advantage. 1. .., b6, 1. ,.. g5 are minor
because they aren't good, and
thus can't be recommended
except in an occasiona1 blitz
game far surprise effect. (But we
must admit that Tony Miles
piayed 1. ... a6 in a toumament
garne against then world champi-
on h t o l y Karpov-and won!)

Now we come to the defense
we recommend against 1. e4, the
This Nirnzovich Defense is a
poor cousin of the Alekhine
...
Sicilian Defense, 1. e5.
Defense. Afkr 2. Nf3, Black's
best move is definitely 2. ... e5.
So, if you don't mind transposing
kto the classic 1. e4 e5 lines, or
if you on occasion want to con-
fuse an opponent who is a King's
Gambit aficionado, 1. ... Nc6 is
a good choice. But you'll have to
study the fine 2. d4 e5 or 2. d4
d5, where White should play first
accmtely, then inventively, to
assure just a very small edge in
some unclear, "atypical" posi-
tions. The Siciiian is currently
Black's most popular defense
The graphic on page 48 plots, against 1. e4. In fact, it's played
on the unsound-to-sofid continu- more often on al1 Ievels, fiom the
m, Black's first-move responses club players to super-granhas-
to 1. e4. You c m see that Black's ters, than al1 other replies to I. e4

Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whote History of Pushing the Kirig's Pawn 47

combined! Not surprisingly, its
popularity corresponds with very
good results for Black. A search
of more than 100,000 garnes
reveals that the Sicilian yields
Black the following statistics
versus the classic 1 , ... e5 and 1.
... e6:

Black won: 28.8% 25.4% 30.3%
Black drew: 31.7% 35.9O/0 34.9%
Black lost: 39.6% 38.6% 34.9%

So the Sicilian won the most
garnes and lost the least! How This induces White's nexxt
can l. ... c5 compete with 1. ... move, as other moves allow
e6 and l. ... e5, the logical, clas- Black to equalize easily-for
sical choices? Afier all, I. ... c5 example, 5. Bd3 Nc6. Moves like
doesn't put a pawn in the center; 4. ... e6 will allow 5. c4, the
doesn't develop or help to devel- Maroczy Bind, not to be overly
op a piece (except for the queen, feared, as we will show, but a dif-
which normally isn't supposed to
ferent game than Black idealizes.
be brought out eariy in the open-
ing); and doesn't make castling 5. Ne3
easier.
The explanation is that to tfy
for an advantage, White has to
piay d2-d4. Otherwise Black will
maintain at least an equa1 footing
in the center.

Diagrarn 62
ABer 5. Ne3

White is better developed and
has more space. Black, however,
has exchanged his bishop's pawn

48 Chess Openings for Bla- Expiained


for the m i t e queen's pawn, and
center pawns are usually worth
more. Besides, Black has poten-
tially good play along the semi-
open C-file.
Therefore White's rnost prorn-
ising plan in the Sicilian is a11
attack, while "Sicilian end-
garnes" are known to favor
Black.
Diagran8 64
Black has numerous choices in
Sicilian Scheveningen
the Sicilian after 5. Nc3. One
popular choice is 5. ...
a6, the Yet another choice for BLack
Najdorf. after 5, Nc3 is 5. ...
Nc6.

Di~~wunr
65
Diugram 63
Sicilian Najdof A f i e ~ ... jVc6
3.

The idea of this move is to take But these three popular lines
contro1 of b5-useful if Black require a defender to absorb a lot
decides to piay . ..e7-e5. of detailed information, and to
rnaster a great nurnber of tactical
Another move that Black often
chooses is 5. ...
e6, the
and strategie ideas.
Scheveningen ... Sirnpler to leam is the Sicilian


Four Knights: slightly better for White. Those
who Iike it would most likely
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4
lack Karpov's nearIy unerring
4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Ne6
touch.
Back to Black's fourth move.
After 1. e4 c5 2. NE3 e 3. d4
6
cxd4 4. Nxd4,

Dtagram 66
@er 5 . Ncd
This cail lead to a srnall advan-
tage for White (i%) 6. Ndb5
after
Diagrclnr 68
Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 Afier 4. Nxd4
9. exd5 exd5 10. Bd3 d4 11. Ne2
0-0 12. 0-0 Qd5 13. Nf4! Black can delay 4. ... Nf6 and
pIay 4. ... a6, the flexible Kan, or
<
...
4. Nc6, the Taimanov.
In the Sveshnikov, Black first
develops his queen's knight: 1. e4
c5 2. NE3 Ne6 3. d4 cxd4 4.
Nxd4.

Co-author Alburt once hied to
defend Black's side versus then
20-year-old Anatoly Karpov.
Failing, Lev abandoned the
Sicifian. That was a mistake.
Very few players like to play
emerging endgames, this time
4. ... Nf6 (although Grand-

Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History o Pushing the King's Pawn
f 51

master Sveshnikov himself
nowadays prefers the immediate
4. ... e5) 5. Nc3 e5!?

Diagram 71,
Afier 5- ... g6
The variation is called the
Diagram 70 Dragon because Black's pawn
Sicilian Sveshnikov fonnation reminded some of the
mysterious beast.
Viewed as anti-positional at its
creation 35 years ago, today it's Now White can choose some-
very much the rage. what subdued lines, in which
he'll castle short. We'll have a
And of course, some players look at those in Chapter 7.
love the supersharp Dragon:
More dangerous for Black are
1 e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4
. lines in which m i t e castles long
4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Ne3 g6 and then launches an attack with
h2-h4-h5, sacrificing that pawn
for an open path to the enemy
klng .
One such opening tabia arises
afier 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 0-0 8. Qd2
Nc6.

52 Chess Openings for Black, ENained

doubt that Black's castled posi-
tion is coming under fire first.
But imagine that, in the posi-
tion in Diagram 72, Black's d-
pawn is still on d7-and it is
Black's turn to move (since he
saved that tempo). In that case,
Black would have an excellent
game after 8. ... d5. This-an
option to play ... d5 in one
Diagmm 72 move-is the very reason for
Afler 8. ...Ne6 choosing the Accelerated Dra-
And now White follows up gon3 ourrecOmmendatiOn.
with either 9.0-0-0 (where one of
the main replies is 9. ... d5, now
judged 1 or 9. Bc4. Black has
)
counter play, but there is no

Summary:
Blackk 1. ... e5 is the most logica1 response to 1. e#, and the
easiest to grasp. The move 2. ... d5 can provide a time-saving
"short-cut." Other assymetrical openings usually lead to com-
plex, challengingplay.Among those, our choice is BlackL most
successful reply: I . ... c5, the Sicilian.


Some PraeticalAdvice

If one of your lines has been refuted, or
you're simply not too happy with it, don't
despair. Search for a substitute.
h d if you're quite happy with your
"old" opening-say, the Pirc or Alekhine-
don't abandon it. Go straight to Part 111, and
study the Nimo.
Don't worry too much about matters
such as a "complete, inter-connected reper-
toire." Yes, skipping parts of this book may
create some problems later, but you will be
well equipped to dea1 with those problems.
For instance, playing the Symmetrical
English requires in this book knowledge of
the Maroczy Bind, described in severa1 Part
I1 chapters. If you don't like the Bind, look
for another line within the Symrnetrical
English. Or choose another first move,
another systern-say, 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6
and if 3. Nf3, then 3. ... Bb4, Nirnzo-style.
There are plenty of choices, and oppor-
tmities, in the opening. We hope this book
will help you make choices right for you.


fionnectingto the Whole HIstorY of
Pushing the Ring's Pawn


Connectingto the Whole History of
Pushingthe King's Pawn

No. 1 3. ..d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 (not 3. ... Nxe4? 4. Qe2). See Diagram 6 .
.
No. 2 4. ...Nxe4, and Black is at least equal. See note after Diagram 9.

No. 3 The right answer here and in similar positions is to take away
...
from the center: 5. dxc6! 6. Ne5 Qd4!, and Black is better.
See Diagrarn 19.

Aro. 4 ...
Black achieves a better game with 2. c5. Also good is 2. ...Bf5,
taking the bishop out before playing ... e6, but 2. ... c5, planning to
pin the white knight with ...Bg4 (after NB), is even stronger.
See page 38 and compare with the French.

No. 5 7. h3. Why not 7. Bxfii-? Because after 7. ...Kxf7
8. Ne5+ Qxe5+, BIack has a piece for a pawn. See Diagrarn 36.

No. 6 ...
7. Ng4! Thus it is better for White to secure the e3-bishop
with 7. i .See page 52.
3


Chapter 5: The iiccelerated Dragon-lntro and Main Line

The Sicilian is Black's most successful defense.
Our recommended move order makes White's
most aggressive line against it risky after ... d5t.

8. ... o5!-one key ro BlackS Black no. pl-s 13. ... Nd7.
successful p l q in this chapter. He isn't afraid to cxchangc dark-
See Diagram 87. square bisliops. Scc Diagrani 104.

: 9. ... d5-a typical brcuk- After 15. ... Bh6. Black prescrvcs
tlirough. Sce Diagrarn 110. the bisliop pair. See Diagram 154.

Outline o Variations
f
1 e4 e5 2 Hf3 06 3.64 cxd4ft Nid4 Hc6 5. Ne3 897 6. Be3 Hf6 7. Bc4 0-08 Bb3 a5 (56)IB351
. . .

Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon-lntro and Main Line 57

Chapter 5
The Accelerated Dragon
Xntroduction and Main Line

Every chess player must have has a number of adequate
a confident answer to White's answers, but the Sicilian Defense
most popular and pressing open- is the fighting choice that yields
er, 1. e4. White's aggressive first Black the most victories.
move stakes out the center and A search of more than
opens diagonals for both his 100,000 games from internation-
king's bishop and queen. As al play shows that the Sicilian
we've seen in Chapter 4, Black yields Black a 30.3% chance of

THESICILLAN BLACK
GIVES IMPRESSIVE RESULTS-
EVEN AGAINST HIGH-LEVEL COMPETITORS VVHO KNOVV
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR INITLATIVE!

A Complete Repertoire for Black Against 1.e4 and 1.d4

A Complete Repertoire for Black Against 1.e4 and 1.d4

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