Chess Openings For Dummies

Introduction 1 About This Book 2 Conventions Used in This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 How This Book Is Organized 3 Icons Used in This Book 4 Beyond the Book 5 Where to Go from Here 5 Part 1: Principles of Play 7 Chapter 1: Understanding Chess Openings 9 Identifying a Chess Opening 9 Distinguishing “the” opening from “an” opening 10 Seeing how a move turns into an opening 10 Watching an opening transform right before your eyes 11 Finding an opening that’s right for you 12 Reviewing Chess Shorthand 13 Describing the board and pieces 14 Describing the action 14 Chapter 2: Exploring the Elements of Chess 17 Getting Time on Your Side 18 When Spacing Out Is Good 19 Making the Most of Your Material 20 Structuring your pawns 22 Securing your king 24 Chapter 3: Picking the Right Type of Opening 25 Considering Naming Conventions 25 Examining Opening Types 27 Breaking open the board with open games 28 Counterattacking with semi-open games 28 Shutting down your opponent with closed games 29 Playing coy with semi-closed games 30 Playing on the sidelines with flank games 31 Part 2: Winning with Open Games 33 Chapter 4: Gambling with Gambits 35 Why Gamble with a Gambit? 35 Trotting Out the King’s Gambit 36 The King’s Gambit accepted 37 The King’s Gambit declined 42 Delving into the Danish Gambit 47 When things go White’s way 48 When things go Black’s way 49 Gambits for Black 51 Gambits All the Way 52 Chapter 5: Opening Softly with a Big Stick: The Bishop Makes Its Move 53 Preying with the Bishop’s Opening 54 When things go White’s way 54 When things go Black’s way 56 Keying Up for the Giuoco Piano 58 When things go White’s way 59 When things go Black’s way 61 Attacking with the Evans Gambit 63 When things go White’s way 63 When things go Black’s way 65 Chapter 6: Workin’ on Some Knight Moves 67 Calling in the Calvary: The Four Knights 67 When things go White’s way 68 When things go Black’s way 70 Ambitious but a Bit Ambiguous: The Two Knights Defense 72 When things go White’s way 72 When things go Black’s way 74 Chapter 7: Employing the Royal Ruy 77 Running with the Ruy López 77 Closing the Deal with the Open Variation 78 When things go White’s way 78 When things go Black’s way 81 Staying Open-Minded with the Closed Variation 84 When things go White’s way 84 When things go Black’s way 88 Marshalling Your Forces with the Marshall Attack and the Anti-Marshalls 91 When things go White’s way 92 When things go Black’s way 95 Chapter 8: The Best of the Rest of the Open Games 99 Pouring on the Scotch 99 When things go White’s way 100 When things go Black’s way 102 Waltzing with the Vienna Game 105 When things go White’s way 106 When things go Black’s way 109 Dabbling with Petroff’s Defense 112 When things go White’s way 113 When things go Black’s way 115 Part 3: Having It Both Ways with Semi-open Games 119 Chapter 9: Sharpening the Sicilian 121 The People’s Choice 121 Entering the Dragon 122 When things go White’s way 123 When things go Black’s way 126 Knocking Around the Najdorf 129 When things go White’s way 130 When things go Black’s way 132 Claws Out in the Chelyabinsk 135 When things go White’s way 136 When things go Black’s way 139 Can They Cancan in the Kan? 143 When things go White’s way 143 When things go Black’s way 148 Some Words about the Anti-Sicilians 151 Chapter 10: Parlez-vous the French? 153 Nothing Diplomatic Here 153 Charging the Advance 154 When things go White’s way 154 When things go Black’s way 157 Staying Classical 161 When things go White’s way 161 When things go Black’s way 163 Winning with the Winawer 166 When things go White’s way 166 When things go Black’s way 168 Taking Out the Tarrasch 171 When things go White’s way 172 When things go Black’s way 174 Chapter 11: Anyone Can Caro-Kann 177 Caring about the Caro-Kann 177 The Classical Variation 178 When things go White’s way 179 When things go Black’s way 181 Being Advanced 183 When things go White’s way 184 When things go Black’s way 186 Chapter 12: Rope-a-Dope with the Pirc and Modern Defenses 189 Picking the Pirc 189 The Austrian Attack 190 When things go White’s way 190 When things go Black’s way 193 Picking the Pirc Classical 195 When things go White’s way 196 When things go Black’s way 198 Thoroughly Modern Maneuvers 200 When things go White’s way 201 When things go Black’s way 203 Chapter 13: The Best of the Rest of the Semi-Open Games 205 Analyzing Alekhine’s Defense 206 When things go White’s way 206 When things go Black’s way 209 Striking Back with the Scandinavian 213 When things go White’s way 213 When things go Black’s way 216 Part 4: Conquering with Closed And Semi- Closed Games 219 Chapter 14: Offering the Queen’s Gambit 221 The Queen’s Gambit Accepted 222 When things go White’s way 223 When things go Black’s way 225 Remaining Orthodox 227 When things go White’s way 228 When things go Black’s way 229 Testing the Tartakower 231 When things go White’s way 232 When things go Black’s way 233 Trading on the Exchange 235 When things go White’s way 235 When things go Black’s way 237 Chapter 15: Declining with the Slav and Semi-Slav 239 Declining or Delaying? 239 Going Down the Main Line 240 When things go White’s way 240 When things go Black’s way 242 Meeting the Meran Variation in the Semi-Slav 244 When things go White’s way 244 When things go Black’s way 246 Betting on the Botvinnik Variation 248 When things go White’s way 248 When things go Black’s way 251 Chapter 16: Getting Hypermodern with the Nimzo-Indian 253 What Is the Nimzo-Indian? 253 Playing Differently with the Sämisch 254 When things go White’s way 255 When things go Black’s way 257 Kicking Off with the Classical Variation 259 When things go White’s way 260 When things go Black’s way 262 Running with the Rubinstein 264 When things go White’s way 264 When things go Black’s way 267 Nimzo’s Friends — Some Related Indians 269 Queen’s Indian Defense 269 Bogo-Indian Defense 270 Chapter 17: Fighting Back with the King’s Indian 271 The Center Can Wait 271 Getting Classical 272 When things go White’s way 272 When things go Black’s way 275 Playing Differently with the Sämisch 277 When things go White’s way 277 When things go Black’s way 279 Finessing with the Fianchetto System 281 When things go White’s way 281 Chapter 18: Grinding in the Grünfeld 283 Hypermodern to the Max 283 Examining the Exchange Variation 284 When things go White’s way 285 When things go Black’s way 288 Rolling Out the Russian System 291 When things go White’s way 291 When things go Black’s way 294 Chapter 19: The Best of the Rest of the Semi-Closed Games 297 Loving the London System 297 When things go White’s way 298 When things go Black’s way 300 The Trompowsky Tango 303 When things go White’s way 303 When things go Black’s way 306 Going Dutch 307 The Leningrad 307 When things go White’s way 308 When things go Black’s way 309 The Stonewall Dutch 312 When things go White’s way 312 When things go Black’s way 313 Part 5: Advancing with Flank Openings 317 Chapter 20: Speaking the King’s English 319 The British Are Coming! 319 Reversing the Sicilian 320 When things go White’s way 320 When things go Black’s way 323 Stampeding in the Four Knights 327 When things go White’s way 327 When things go Black’s way 331 Staying Symmetrical 335 When things go White’s way 335 When things go Black’s way 338 Chapter 21: Getting Réti 341 The Contemporary Réti 341 When things go White’s way 342 When things go Black’s way 344 The Radical Réti 346 When things go White’s way 347 When things go Black’s way 350 Chapter 22: The Best of the Rest of the Flank Openings 355 Larsen Attack 356 When things go White’s way 356 When things go Black’s way 358 Winging it with the Bird’s 360 When things go White’s way 361 When things go Black’s way 363 Some Other Flank Action 366 Part 6: the Part of Tens 367 Chapter 23: Ten Common Mistakes to Avoid in the Opening 369 Wasting Time 369 Leading with the Lady 371 Losing Material 372 Abandoning the Center 373 Creating Weaknesses 373 Pawn Grabbing 374 Exposing the King 374 Blocking Lines 375 Falling for Traps 375 Memorizing Moves 376 Chapter 24: Ten Best Ways to Study Chess Openings 377 Getting a Coach 378 Study Online 378 Finding a Friend 379 Reading Annotations 379 Playing in Real Time 379 Blitzing It Out 380 Basing the Data 380 Revving an Engine 381 Studying Your Games 381 Buying A(nother) Book 382 Chapter 25: Ten (or so) Great Chess Websites 383 Playing Sites 384 Lichess 384 Chess.com 384 Honorable mention 384 Training Sites 385 Chessable 385 Chessify 385 Chessmood 385 Honorable mentions 385 Informational Sites 386 The Week in Chess 386 ChessBase & ChessBase India 386 YouTube 386 Twitch 386 Facebook 387 Honorable Mentions 387 Index 389