Table Of ContentBack to Basics:
Openings
by
Carsten Hansen
2010
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
Milford, CT USA
1
Back to Basics: Openings
Back to Basics: Openings
by
Carsten Hansen
ISBN: 978-1-888690-44-6
© Copyright 2010
Carsten Hansen
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, elec-
tronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the express written permission from the publisher except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Published by:
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
P.O. Box 3131
Milford, CT 06460 USA
http://www.russell-enterprises.com
[email protected]
Cover design by Janel Lowrance and Zygmunt Nasiolkowski
Printed in the United States of America
2
Table of Contents
Author’s Dedication; Bibliography 4
Introduction 5
1 My Own Experiences with Openings 8
2 Opening Principles 13
3 How do I Decide which opening to choose? 30
4 An Introduction to Opening Theory 34
5 The Open Games 39
6 The Semi-Open Games 84
7 The Closed Games 141
8 The Semi-Closed Games 167
9 Flank Openings 207
10 Where do I go from here? 231
Index of Names and Variations 236
3
Back to Basics: Openings
Author’s Dedication
To my mother, who taught me to play chess,
and my father, who motivated me to improve.
Bibliography
Collins, Sam, Understanding the Chess Openings (Gambit Publications,
London, 2005)
Donaldson, John and Hansen, Carsten, A Strategic Opening Repertoire
(2nd edition, Russell Enterprises, Milford, 2008)
Emms, John, Play the Open Games as Black (Gambit Publications, London.
2000)
Giddins, Steve, How to Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire (Gambit
Publications, London, 2003)
Hansen, Carsten, Improve Your Positional Chess (Gambit Publications,
London, 2004)
Larsen, Bent, Åbningsspillet i skak (Samleren, Copenhagen, 1965)
Matanovic, Aleksandar, ed., Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, Vols. A-
E, (Sahovski Informator, Belgrade)
Nielsen, Peter Heine and Hansen, Carsten, The Sicilian Accelerated
Dragon (Batsford, London, 1998)
Nimzowitsch, Aron, Mit System (Hernovs Forlag 1977)
Seirawan, Yasser, Winning Chess Openings (Everyman Chess, London,
2003)
Watson, John, Mastering the Chess Openings, Vol. 1 (Gambit Publications,
London, 2006)
4
Introduction
Introduction
Thanks for getting this book. You give you some direction about how
have probably started playing chess to obtain better results from your
quite recently and you are looking openings and how to approach a
for a quick climb up the ladder to variety of situations relevant to our
chess excellence. So, openings may topic of openings.
be the place to start because
openings come first in the game, and The book is divided into the following
therefore should be your first topic chapters:
of study, right?!
Chapter 1
Well, perhaps not. In fact I would My Own Experiences with
recommend you first take a look at Openings
some of the other books in this series
on tactics and endings, as these will This first chapter will give you a
help you better realize the more general introduction to the
advantages from the positions this opening, including how I have
book will hopefully help you obtain. approached the study of openings,
Having noted that, this book will which types of books I have worked
certainly assist you gain a solid with and most importantly, the
understanding of chess openings. mistakes I have made over the
years, and how you can best make
Openings in chess are quite the use of my experience, including, of
temptress, and many players spend course, how to avoid repeating my
year after year studying, yet never mistakes.
mastering them. In fact, when it
comes to chess, there are on average Chapter 2
1-3 new opening books, CDs or Opening Principles
DVDs released in any given week,
52 weeks a year. Therefore keeping In this chapter, we will examine the
up with the development of all basic principles pertaining to
openings is extremely difficult. development, which squares are
important, and how to get yourself
However, this book is not out to teach ready for the next phase of the game
everything there is to know about after the opening – the middlegame .
openings, but it will help you
understand and play openings much Chapter 3
better. It will also help instill a sense How do I decide which opening
of balance in your study of openings, to choose?
5
Back to Basics: Openings
This chapter will cover topics such Chapter 6
as why some openings are played The Semi-Open Games
more frequently, why some are
played less frequently, which
This chapter will cover openings
openings are good and which are
starting with 1 e4, but where Black
not, what you should consider when
replies with something other than
putting your opening repertoire
1...e5.
together, how to work with
w________w
repertoire books, and much more.
árhb1kgn4]
The answers are not always as
simple as we would like. à0p0p0p0p]
ßwdwdwdwd]
Chapter 4: Þdwdwdwdw]
An Introduction to Opening
ÝwdwdPdwd]
Theory
Üdwdwdwdw]
ÛP)P)w)P)]
Chapter 4 will give you a good
Ú$NGQIBHR]
handle on how to deal with the
succeeding chapters, which all wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw
concern themselves with opening
theory. It covers terms such “slight
Chapter 7
advantage,” “with compensation,”
The Closed Games
and many other similar terms of art,
which you encounter time and again
when studying opening theory, but Games that start with 1 d4 d5 are
which you may find difficult to get a covered in Chapter 7.
feel for when working on your own. w________w
árhb1kgn4]
Chapter 5
à0p0w0p0p]
The Open Games
ßwdwdwdwd]
Þdwdpdwdw]
This will cover all openings that start
Ýwdw)wdwd]
with 1 e4 e5.
w________w Üdwdwdwdw]
árhb1kgn4] ÛP)PdP)P)]
à0p0pdp0p] Ú$NGQIBHR]
ßwdwdwdwd] wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw
Þdwdw0wdw]
ÝwdwdPdwd] Chapter 8
Üdwdwdwdw] The Semi-Closed Games
ÛP)P)w)P)]
Ú$NGQIBHR] Like its counterpart, Chapter 6, this
wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw chapter will cover openings starting
6
Introduction
with 1 d4, but where Black replies Chapter 10
with something other than 1...d5. Where do I go from here?
w________w
árhb1kgn4] In this chapter, I will give you
à0p0p0p0p] pointers about how to continue your
ßwdwdwdwd] studies and how to apply your new-
Þdwdwdwdw] found knowledge.
Ýwdw)wdwd]
Remember, chess is supposed to be
Üdwdwdwdw]
fun, and while studying openings at
ÛP)PdP)P)]
length will pay some rewards – a
Ú$NGQIBHR]
few quick wins and some good
wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw
positions – studying chess openings
Chapter 9
constantly may become boring
Flank Openings
unless you are already one of the
world’s best players. Therefore,
A wonderful mixture of what
take a measured approach, spread
remains, such as more mundane
out your studies over a period of time,
openings like 1 c4 , 1 Nf3, 1 f4, and
and follow the advice offered in this
1 b3 as well as more bizarre choices
book. You will certainly be on your
like 1 b4, 1 g4, 1 Nc3 and several
way to better results for a long time
others.
to come.
In many openings where the lines are finely balanced, the
player with the better understanding has an excellent chance
for winning the game.
7
Back to Basics: Openings
Chapter 1
My Own Experiences with Openings
Early Lessons spring of 1982, I participated in another
scholastic tournament in my home town
My first experiences with chess of Søndersø on the Danish island of
openings came back in 1978. I was six Funen. My results were unremarkable;
years old and participating in one of my I think I scored something like 3 points
first scholastic tournaments. I knew of a possible 7, so I didn’t win a prize in
little more than how the pieces were my age group. However, my younger
moving. My opponent, whose name I brother, Bent, did. What an unmitigated
can’t recall, must have sensed my disaster!
insecurities. The game went like this: 1
e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nc6 3 Qh5 Nf6 4 Qxf7+ mate. Being a young man of action, I decided
w________w that this would be the last time he would
árdb1kgw4] win a prize a tournament when I didn’t.
In an earlier tournament, I had won a
à0p0pdQ0p]
book on the 1978 World Championship
ßwdndwhwd]
match between Karpov and Kortschnoi.
Þdwdw0wdw]
The story line had grabbed my
ÝwdBdPdwd] attention, and moreover my sympathies
Üdwdwdwdw] lay with the defeated challenger,
ÛP)P)w)P)] Kortschnoi. Now, having to study
chess for the first time in my life, I had
Ú$NGwIwHR]
to decide on what to study, and having
wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw
noticed that Kortschnoi favored the
English Opening, 1 c4, it became a
My dad, who was an experienced player natural choice for me.
rated just under 1900, and who had
taken me and some other children to the That summer, I went through all my
tournament, saw this. Acknowledging father’s copies of the Danish chess
my terrible defeat, he suggested to my magazine, Skakbladet, to locate games
opponent that we play another game with 1 c4, and whenever I came across
for practice before the next round. My one, I played through it. In the beginning
opponent reluctantly obliged, and I couldn’t understand a great deal, but as
mated me in a similar fashion in the the weeks passed, I began to pick up more
second game as well! This is the first than just the basic moves. The games
tournament experience I remember. were played by many of the greatest
players of that era: Botvinnik, Smyslov,
The next incident regarding chess Petrosian, Kortschnoi, Uhlmann, Geller,
openings came several years later. I Polugaevsky, Ivkov, and of course my
remember playing a lot of games in the compatriot Larsen, just to mention some
interim, often with decent results, but of the more prominent names guiding the
not showing much actual talent. In the white pieces.
8
My Own Experiences with Openings
Towards the end of the summer, I played overwhelm the reader. After studying
my first tournament after gaining all this Larsen’s book, I decided to try a few
new knowledge. The result was an other openings, e.g., the Caro-Kann (1
unqualified success. I won the e4 c6)
scholastic group, which had a number w________w
of children several years older than I árhb1kgn4]
with the score of 7 out of 7. That à0pdp0p0p]
certainly inspired me to do more. While
ßwdpdwdwd]
studying, for some reason one
Þdwdwdwdw]
particular setup attracted me more than
ÝwdwdPdwd]
any other: 1 c4, 2 Nc3, 3 g3, 4 Bg2, 5 e3,
6 Nge2, 7 0-0 and then 8 d4. I even won Üdwdwdwdw]
a miniature with it: 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 ÛP)P)w)P)]
g3 Nc6 4 Bg2 Bc5 5 e3 d6 6 Nge2 Be6 7 Ú$NGQIBHR]
d4:
wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw
w________w
árdw1kdw4]
against 1 e4; the Nimzo-Indian (1 d4 Nf6
à0p0wdp0p]
2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4);
ßwdn0bhwd] w________w
Þdwgw0wdw] árhb1kdw4]
ÝwdP)wdwd] à0p0pdp0p]
ÜdwHw)w)w] ßwdwdphwd]
ÛP)wdN)B)] Þdwdwdwdw]
Ú$wGQIwdR] ÝwgP)wdwd]
wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw ÜdwHwdwdw]
ÛP)wdP)P)]
Black resigned, because after 7...exd4 8 Ú$wGQIBHR]
exd4 Bb4, White wins a piece with the
wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw
pawn fork 9 d5.
and the Queen’s Indian (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4
My next project was a book by Bent
e6 3 Nf3 b6)
Larsen, Åbningsspillet i skak, which
w________w
means “The Opening Play in Chess.”
árhb1kgw4]
In some ways, the book resembles the
volume you are reading right now, while à0w0pdp0p]
in other ways it is very different. For ßw0wdphwd]
example, we will spend a lot of time Þdwdwdwdw]
examining the different opening
ÝwdP)wdwd]
variations; in Larsen’s book, written in
ÜdwdwdNdw]
1965, the section covering all the
ÛP)wdP)P)]
openings was reduced to a single
chapter. The philosophy was that some Ú$NGQIBdR]
knowledge is good, but don’t wÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈw
9
