In the early 21st century, a new permutation of the evergreen Sicilian Dragon appeared: rather than place the queen's rook, obviously, on the open c-file, to put it instead on the closed b-file, supporting an advance of the b-pawn: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3...
After the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5, not every player of the white pieces agrees to take up the baton and confront the Benoni Defense or the Benko Gambit by playing 3.d5. Some may prefer to send the game toward the quieter English Opening by playing ...
The article I wrote last week, "The Shabalov-Shirov Gambit" reminded me of another, more radical g2-g4 move, also largely developed by the aggressive Latvian player Alexei Shirov. 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.g4!? The so-called "Li...
The 90s were a decade of complex openings: in particular, the King's Indian and the Semi-Slav. In 1992, a peculiar attacking idea came out of Latvia to combat the Semi-Slav, Meran Variation. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6...
The Pirc Defense is certainly one of the most provocative openings. Black fianchettos his king bishop instead of immediately challenging in the center. White therefore has a variety of fierce attacking methods. Of these, the fiercest is the Austri...
Today we will be taking a look at what is, on the surface, a grotesque combination of Bird's Opening and the Orangutang. Combining these two obscure openings might seem to create a monster worthy of Dr. Moreau -- or perhaps Dixon Bainbridge of The...
Today we will be looking at a completely different landscape on the chess board compared to last week's King's Indian structure: the light-square focus of the Dutch Stonewall. The Stonewall is not a specific series of moves so much as a set...
Dear readers: I will be continuing to cover opening variations in my column, but a slight shift will be made. Rather than looking at the historical developments of whole openings, I will be covering specific lines -- and not as much from a histori...
Last week, we looked at the origins of the exciting Evans Gambit. Today, let's find out how the opening has journeyed through history to modern day. While in keeping with his style, Wilhelm Steinitz's torturous defensive method against t...
This week we turn our attention to one of the most swashbuckling of openings: the Evans Gambit. Unlike some other openings whose first use was surrounded by mystery and uncertainty, the origins of the Evans Gambit seem fairly clear. ...
Last week, we discussed the first few options to fight against Black's Caro-Kann. Now let's take a look at some of the most important ways White can respond to this opening. The Advance Variation: The line 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 has...
In the previous two articles, I have discussed the earliest beginnings of the Caro-Kann Defense as well as later usage and developments. In this third part of the four-part series, I will discuss the various methods White has evolved to oppose the...
In part 1 of this series on the Caro-Kann, I discussed the earliest beginnings of the opening, the origin of the name, and its first adoption by top players. It is always fascinating to learn about the beginnings of these openings, which today see...
We turn our attention to a defense that has been known for its solidity from the very beginning: the Caro-Kann Defense. Surely the moves 1.e4 c6 have been played in casual games long ago -- probably soon after the modern rules of chess were inst...
How is chess meant to be played? If you are a serious tournament player -- especially in the U.S.-- when you think of a tournament you might picture sterile, brightly lit ballrooms in hotels. You might picture cramped spaces and crowding. Is th...
In Playing Against The Najdorf: The Adams Attack, we saw how an obscure small move (6.h3) was developed as an answer to another small move (5...a6 -- the Najdorf), which had, paradoxically, become the most popular opening in chess. The so-called...
In recent years, a strange little move has become surprisingly popular in combating the famous Najdorf Defense of the Sicilian: 6.h3. Personally, I have used this move since 2000, when I finally had to admit that it was more correct than the 6.R...
In part 1 of "The Scandinavian Defense: A History," we learned about the earliest beginnings of the Scandinavian Defense, and also saw some games with the slightly less usual 2...Nf6 in response to 2.exd5. Now we will see how the Scandinavi...
The time has come to look at the history of perhaps the first chess opening: the Scandinavian Defense. Also known as the Center-Counter, the Scandinavian Defense can be viewed as the most direct and forcing counter to 1.e4. The intrep...
Last week, we examined the origins of the Smith-Morra Gambit. As the Smith-Morra began to encounter strong players, a variety of different responses developed. In the early days, declining the gambit was actually quite popular. In fact, ...
For this week's edition of my column on the histories of openings, I have chosen the Smith-Morra Gambit -- a selection that might excite many readers. Most grandmasters have a low opinion of the Smith-Morra, while at the same time it is a favo...
Last week, we examined the origins of the Chigorin Defense at the end of the 19th century. In the following years, Chigorin used his defense many times and demonstrated its basic themes. Let's look at some of them. Black's play on t...
The Chigorin Defense is one opening whose history -- unlike some of others we have examined in previous weeks -- revolves around one man. And of course this is its namesake, Mikhail Chigorin. Chigorin was born in 1850 near St. Peterburg, where h...
Last week, we learned about the pre-war origins of the opening that would become the Modern Defense. Thus far, the Modern Defense did not have a real name, nor any kind of reputation. It was a curiosity which had been played a few time...
