The Chess Mind

Smaller hint: Imaginary backstory: it was an odds game. (Click on for a bigger hint.)

Hint for the intro (the stage leading up to the BIG IDEA): go east, young man, go east!

Stefan Djuric, Dimitri Komarov, and Claudio Pantaleoni, Chess Opening Essentials, Volume 1 – The Complete 1.e4. New in Chess, 2007. Paper, 358 pages. $29.95/€32.95. Reviewed by Dennis Monokroussos.

In a market overcrowded with detailed monographs dedicated to opening sub-variations, it’s sometimes nice to step to back from the trees of variations and have a look at the forest. There have been a few English-language chess books that have, in their own way, attempted to do this: Reuben Fine’s Ideas Behind the Chess Openings (1941) and Andy Soltis’s Pawn Structure Chess (1995) are two older examples that spring to mind, and then there’s John Watson’s new two-volume series Mastering Chess Openings. Those works don’t aim at encyclopedic coverage, but what they do cover they cover deeply, at the level of displaying key themes in action.

What makes this book an original effort is that it makes the opposite sacrifice: rather than give up width for depth, Chess Opening Essentials (henceforth COE) is all about breadth, attempting to say a little about everything. The book consists of brief overviews of all the major variations the authors could think of in the 1.e4 openings, with 385 illustrative, mostly unannotated games interspersed throughout.

The problem is that “everything” is too much, so even with 358 pages dedicated to “only” 1.e4 openings, it’s impossible for COE to say something worthwhile about each and every significant opening variation. The problem is even worse: because so little can be said, the question emerges of what ought to be said and for whom. The ad copy on the back cover suggests that this is a book for players of all levels, but that can’t be done in a book of this size. Here are some examples literally taken at random.

The Breyer Variation of the Ruy Lopez

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8)

“The renowned Breyer Variation, which was advocated almost a hundred years ago by the strong Hungarian player of the same name.

[There’s a diagram here, with arrows pointing from the Bc8 to the b7 square, from the Nb8 to d7, and the c7-pawn to c5.]

“With this paradoxical move Black intends to regroup his pieces more harmoniously. The knight is heading for d7 to give support to the e5-pawn and if the bishop is developed to b7, it will be immediately active. Furthermore, the way is cleared for the c-pawn.

“Breyer’s move is not as popular now as it was in the 1970s, when it was played at the highest level by the likes of Spassky and Karpov. However, it still has its supporters: Kramnik, Beliavsky and Mamedyarov, just to name some notable advocates.”

10. d2-d4 Nb8-d7
11. Nb1-d2

Black’s best response to 11.c4 is 11…c6!

11… Bc8-b7
12. Bb3-c2

Defending e4 in order to play 13.Nf1.

12… Rf8-e8
13. Nd2-f1

It is worth noting that 13.b3!? is becoming increasingly popular, with the idea of playing d4-d5 and c3-c4.

13… Be7-f8
14 .Nf1-g3 g7-g6
15 .a2-a4 c7-c5
16 .d4-d5 c5-c4
17 .Bc1-g5 h7-h6
18 .Bg5-e3 Nd7-c5
19. Qd1-d2

[Diagram here, with no arrows.]

“White has some possibilities for taking the initiative on the kingside, and also at times on the queenside with Ra3 and Rea1. That said, Black’s position is both solid and flexible and tournament results have been satisfactory for the second player.” (pp. 110-111)

Comments: Who exactly will this help? Not many casual club players essay the Breyer, and those who do, and reach the position at the end of the line, will want to know what the heck they’re supposed to do. Great, their position is solid and flexible, but what’s the plan? Djuric et al mention some of White’s ideas, but there’s no guidance for the poor Black player. And what should Black do in the 13.b3 line? The information given is too sophisticated for lower-rated players and insufficiently detailed for their higher-rated counterparts. (A minor carp about the Breyer “Hall of Fame”: Kramnik played it a grand total of three times, all in the same unrated, recreational, rapid & blindfold event in Monaco, in 2002.)

Example 2: The Italian Game, Möller Attack

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3)

“This is more attractive looking, but probably less correct than 7.Bd2. It has a fascinating history: suggested by Greco as early as 1619(!) it was revived by Steinitz in his match against Lasker in 1896.

7… Nf6xe4
8. O-O!

Here it was already understood how dangerous the double capture on c3 is: 8…Nxc3?! 9.bxc3 Bxc3? (but 9…d5! still gives Black a playable position) 10.Ba3!! with a winning attack. Therefore, it was routine to play

8… Bb4xc3!

with the idea, after 9.bxc3, to play 9…d5!, with a good game for Black. In the Lasker match mentioned before, Steinitz tried – with little success – to breathe new life into the Greco Variation by playing the dubious 10.Ba3. Fortunately, the renewed interest for this line led to Möller’s extraordinary discovery of

9. d4-d5!?

as an alternative to recapturing on c3. After years of intense theoretical study, the following came to be considered the main line

9… Bc3-f6
10. Rf1-e1 Nc6-e7
11. Re1xe4 d7-d6
12. Bc1-g5 Bf6xg5
13. Nf3xg5 h7-h6
14. Qd1-e2 h6xg5
15. Ra1-e1

[Diagram]

and now Black closes the e-file by means of 15…Be6 16.dxe6 f6!, with a position that was for years thought to be advantageous for Black. However, in the in [sic] 1980s there was yet another development: the discovery of 17.Re3!, with the idea of Rh3 and a queen check on h5. The resulting position is not so clear. However, White’s position continues to be viewed with some scepticism. (Page 60)

Comments: This line is far more likely to be of use to the average player, as the Möller Attack is a staple of club play. The comments on moves eight and nine were valuable too. But why stop right when it’s getting interesting? A Black player staring at 17.Re3 for the first time against a prepared opponent can be described in one word: victim. Here it would be useful to add another paragraph detailing Black’s standard defensive scheme involving …g6 and …Rxh3 (in reply to White’s Rh3) followed by …Kf8-g7, sometimes in conjunction with …c6 and …Qa5.

Example 3: The Current Main Line of the Petroff:

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.O-O Nc6 8.c4 Nb4)

“[After] 8…Nb4, you reach typical Petroff Defence positions, in which White’s nice centre is compensated for by Black’s active piece play.” (Page 38)

Comment: You’re kidding.

Example 4: The Vienna Game

Djuric & co. say a little about the Frankenstein-Dracula Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 etc.) and the 3…Nc6 line, but how about the lines with 3.f4 (the main line) or 3.g3? Here it is:

“[2…Nf6], by counterbalancing the pressure on the centre squares, makes it possible to respond to the thematic 3.f4 with 3…d5! 4.fxe5 Nxe4 with a complex but balanced position. Black should not have many problems if White plays the solid 3.g3.”

Comment: I feel prepared!

Example 5: The French Defense

All of a sudden, we’re in a different world! There are 48 pages on this opening, and the authors provide lots of verbal explanations together with variations going more than 15 moves. Here’s the longest example, with the comments abridged:

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3! cxd4 6.Bc4 Qd6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nd4 a6 11.Re1 Qc7 12.Bb3 Bd6 (More solid is 12…Bd7) 13.Nf5!? Bxh2+ 14.Kh1 O-O 15.Nxg7! (This position still has not been fully evaluated, notwithstanding the many games that have been played with it. The following is a representative line that will give you an idea of the possible complications that can ensue:) 15…Rd8 16.Qf3 Kxg7 17.Bh6+! Kg6! 18.c3! (Threatening with [sic] a devastating check on c2.) 18…Nh5! (To play …f5.) 19.Bc1! (Threatening 20.Qg4+. Now, probably Black’s safest option is to return the piece with) 19…Bf4! 20.g4 Ng3+! 21.fxg3 Bxc1 22.Raxc1 b6 (with equality). [Pages 181-182]

Comment: What a swing! From one sentence each on the current main line of the Petroff (note: he does address other lines of that opening, but even so the coverage is quite brief) and the main moves in the Vienna, we’re treated to a nice, long presentation of a line that was fairly hot a few years ago. Here we’re treated to the book’s equivalent of a gourmet meal. But who is the feast for? The line seems to have been pretty much worked out, and [no] longer shows up in master play. Amateur play, at least in the U.S., centers on the more dynamic 3…Nf6 (which is also covered in the book, of course, receiving four pages), and anyone who is liable to play 3…c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 probably knows about this line already.

Example 6: The Byrne Variation in the Sicilian Defense

Will COE will put Kasparov out of business? Let’s see:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 (it’s only the English Attack when Black plays 6…e6): prepared to be overwhelmed by the book’s coverage. Ready?

“A response in pure Najdorf style. Now White can retreat the knight to a solid position on f3, with the plan to castle kingside and limit Black’s queenside counterplay with a2-a4-a5, or White may choose the more aggressive and more frequently played 7.Nb3 [Diagram here, with arrows pointing from f2 to f3 and e1 to c1] which leaves the passage open for the f-pawn, and he can prepare to castle queenside, which is followed by opposite-side pawn storms. The main line is 7…Be6 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.f3 Be7 10.g4 h6 11.O-O-O b5 12.h4 Nb6 with a complicated position and chances for both sides.” (Page 333.)

That’s right, you’ve just seen the sum total of COE’s verbal coverage of one the most popular lines in all of chess for the past ten years. Look out, world!

Synthetic comments

Going through these examples, it’s really difficult to understand what the book is supposed to do. Some lines of interest to amateurs are covered in enough depth to teach the newcomer something (the Möller Attack), others (the Vienna) aren’t. Okay, maybe the emphasis is on variations likely to show up in professional play, as in the French with 4…Qxd5? Probably not – look at the (non-) coverage of the Byrne Attack and the main line of the Petroff. Sometimes lines are covered with some depth and the accompanying explanations offer useful direction on how to continue (e.g. the Breyer line, for White), sometimes there’s depth but the player following the line won’t have any idea what to do with it (e.g. the Breyer line, for Black). It’s not clear to me that the book is really suited for players of any particular rating, either, and not because it’s suitable for players of all ratings. The detail is insufficient for stronger players and the explanation (and generally, again, the detail) is insufficient for weaker players.

Nevertheless, I think there are a couple of groups who could possibly benefit from such a book. First, there are kids rated under 1600. In my experience, they tend to focus on a few openings to the exclusion of the rest, and that limits their growth. The more positions they’re familiar with, the better, and seeing some of the lines may also get them experimenting – again, a good idea. Likewise, amateurs whose repertoires are and have been stuck in a rut might benefit from this as well. Its value as a research tool is limited, but as a way of displaying the landscape to those who haven’t seen the scenery in a long time, it could be useful.