Opening articles

A13 Stohl: Reti Opening

1.Nf3 e6 2.c4 d5 3.b3 Be7

Black counters the frequently played white setup by putting the black-squared bishops on the same diagonal and thus depriving his opponent of one of his biggest trumps. The only ambitious lines then are those with the exchange of bishops.

Marin: Keres Defence A40

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+ 3.Bd2 a5 4.Nf3 d6 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 e5

By holding back with the development of the king’s knight Black is pursuing two aims. On one hand, the extra tempo plays its part in the struggle for the centre, and on the other it is very possible to develop the knight to h6.

Marin: Caro-Kann B15

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h3 Nh6

In the first part of a series on a hybrid of the Caro-Kann and Pirc Defences, Mihail Marin examines variations in which White does without e4-e5 or e4xd5. Black then often develops with …f6, …Nf7 and aims for the advance e7-e5.

Grivas: Sicilian B33

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6

The lines in which White does without the natural 5.Nb3 are brought together by Efstratios Grivas under the name of the Medusa Variation. 5.Nb5 is of some importance, but after 5…Nf6 or 5…a6 Black has few problems and frequently seizes the initiative.

Postny: Sicilian B46

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.f4 Bb4 8.Bd3

By holding back with …Qc7 Black prevents the popular setup with Qd2 and 0-0-0 (the Nf6 would be more useful in that case than the queen on c7). White then has another aggressive setup, the relatively rarely seen 7.f4.

Moskalenko: French C02

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Qg4

Every French player has perhaps already come up against this aggressive queen move, above all in blitz- or rapid chess. In these cases it is not easy to find the correct reply over the board. Viktor Moskalenko presents a variation which can be described as a refutation.

Kuzmin: Four Knights Game C49

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Ne7

How can Black play for a win against the Four Knights Game? Alexey Kuzmin presents a setup which, of course, does not promise any opening advantage; but the resulting positions get away from the symmetrical character of things.

Kritz: Ruy Lopez C92

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a3

After Igor Stohl in CBM 138 (with 12.a4) Leonid Kritz now tries to prove an advantage after the move 12.a3. White has several ideas: preventing …Nb4, the bishop can establish control over the diagonal if required by Ba2 and of course b2-b4 possibly followed by Nd2-b3-a5.

Schandorff: Semi-Slav D43

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 Nd7 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 g6 10.0-0 Bg7

In the chess Olympiad Wang Hao managed to defeat Alex Fier with the move 11.Re1. Lars Schandorff explains the idea behind the rook move – after 11…0-0 12.e4 e5 13.d5 Nb6 14.Bb3 Bg4 White can avoid the doubled pawns on the f-file with 15.Re3.

Krasenkow: Gruenfeld Defence D97

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 a6

On move 7 Black has an unbelievable choice between six respectable moves, but 7…a6 has been played the most and has the best statistics. Michal Krasenkow presents you with a repertoire from Black’s point of view.

Schipkov: King's Indian E81

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bxc5 Nc6 10.Nge2

After Boris Schipkov showed in the previous issue how White can decline the pawn sacrifice 6…c5, he now examines the best way to accept it. In the variation with 10.Nge2 Black must play very accurately in order to keep things in balance.