It really is too much to ask a 1500-rated club player to solve the problems of the Ulvestad variation over the board for the first time-- particularly against me since I've studied this opening in excruciating depth. I don't blame myself for not playing my intuitive move, 14...h6! since it was not necessary to play in a sensational style given the rating difference and my strong position besides. Sometimes it's nice to win with no drama.
I normally don't like studying "theory" openings where the play is direct and sharp and suitable for very deep opening preparation. However, I feel justified if not forced to do so in the Two Knights "Fried Liver" because White is breaking opening principles by attacking with two pieces before developing.
It really is too much to ask a 1500-rated club player to solve the problems of the Ulvestad variation over the board for the first time-- particularly against me since I've studied this opening in excruciating depth. I don't blame myself for not playing my intuitive move, 14...h6! since it was not necessary to play in a sensational style given the rating difference and my strong position besides. Sometimes it's nice to win with no drama.
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Legendary American grandmaster Sammy Reshevsky was a positionally-minded Nimzo-killer. I've worked on a complete anti-Nimzo repertoire according to Reshevsky, based on 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 intending simply Nge2 and then a3 with play akin to the Queen's Gambit rather than the ultra-sophisticated Nimzo lines. This repertoire is new and a work in progress, but I've uploaded my anti-Nimzo repertoire according to Reshevsky. Or you can snag the PGN below. This approach seems to me to be classically sound and not overly difficult to play.
I'm new to all this 1.d4 stuff, so I'd love to get feedback from those with more experience/knowledge.
Since my last tournament, I've made a serious effort to put together a complete 1.d4 2.c4 repertoire. Semkov's "Kill KID" variant of the Four Pawns Attack is my weapon of choice against both the King's Indian and the Modern Benoni. Semkov's approach combines those two mighty openings and leads to very unstereotyped play for the opponent. The play is more blown-open than most King's Gambits-- a far cry from Black's dark-square pawn strategy in the KID and Benoni! I find the opening manageable to play even though I've memorized little if any of Semkov's dense analysis. The most useful bit of practical advice is to aim to trade dark-square bishops (moves like Ne4, Bg5, Nf6+) and then attack the weakened dark squares around Black's king, as in the game below. The publisher of Kill KID is giving away the full chapter on the Modern Benoni transposition here. This variation is what most strong players play, so it's probably the most relevant chapter in the whole book. |
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July 2016
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