Starting Out The Trompowsky VS A Super GM

Last year I published a course on my favorite opening, the Trompowsky, featuring a ton of my original analysis. Since then I've been playing it as my main weapon here on Chess.com, with good results. I recently realized that I was scoring well with it against a GM opponent that I've faced frequently here, so I thought I'd examine how well the course works in practice against top-level opposition.

Who's The Opponent?

I'm going to keep him anonymous, but my opponent has been over 2700 FIDE and among the top 15 players in the world. These days he's passed his peak, but still has a rating around 2600 FIDE and has a peak blitz rating online of over 3000. Details aside, he's a much stronger player than I am.

What Happens When I Have Black?

I've played 14 blitz games as Black against this opponent and It hasn't gone well. My non-Tromp score is 2/14. The main problem is that I've lost every game on the Black side of the Spanish, so I might have some work to do there. In these games, he has a 3042 performance and I'm down at 2543. It's not pretty. I just want to demonstrate that he's still an incredibly strong player.

What Happens In The Trompowsky?

Now for the good stuff! I have 19 blitz games against this opponent in the Trompowsky and my score is a solid 12/19. Keep in mind that he's been the higher-rated player going into every one of these games, often by around 200 points. As a result, my performance as White is a hefty 2950. If I could keep that up in every game, I'd be among the top 150 players in the world, around the level of GM Peter Svidler and other stars.

Let's take a look at how well Starting Out: The Trompowsky works against strong opposition.

Just Like The Model Games

Sometimes following the plans from the model games in the course works perfectly. In this recent battle, I actually deviated from the course first because my memory is mediocre. That said, the plans and attacking ideas were very similar to what's covered on Chessable and except for one tactical hiccup, it was a smooth victory.

Early Surprises Usually Don't Change White's Plans

In this game, I was surprised by my opponent's early Nc6, but it didn't stop the standard Bd3xe4 plan, where White has easy play with the better pawn structure.

The One Time I Got Burned

In most games, I was able to follow standard plans to meet an opening surprise. This was the one counterexample. This sharp line with Qxb4 works well after Black's bishop is on g7, but when Black has already played Nbd7, it just walks right into an attack. This may have been his best game in our matchups.

Aggression Pays Off

Once again, following the course leads to a small edge and fighting for the initiative pays off.

The Latest

Here's our most recent game from a couple of weeks ago. As usual, White is a bit better out of the opening and Black has trouble solving unusual problems in a fast time control.

Have you had a chance to try out the Trompowsky? How has it been working for you?