CCD - First Branch
The First Key Point of the Opening: "White's move 2".
At this point it is white to move. In the last article I showed the starting position of the Clarendon Court. The starting position happens after white plays 2.d5.
However, no one is forcing white to play 2.d5.
White doesn't have to play that move. White has plenty of moves in this position.
The most played move is the move 2.d5 by white.
However, If your opponent does not play 2.d5 than you will need to know how to play the resulting position.
Which means you might need another line. It is perfectly normal to have more than one line in chess. In fact, most chess players have multiple lines. I will talk about this position in detail.
| The main moves played are: |
| 2.e3 |
| 2.c3 |
| 2.e4 |
| 2.dxc5 |
| 2.Nf3 |
| 2.d5 |
If your opponent plays the following:
Move 2.e3 - This move defends the d4 pawn.
or
Move 2.c3 - This move defends the d4 pawn.
My advice is to play the Move 2...cxd4 against both moves.
It is simple and easy to play.
After they retake your pawn with their pawn.
(Which they should do, otherwise you will be able to win material by taking another pawn.)
I would continue Classically with 3...d5.
Black is in no mortal danger here. Black has excellent drawing chances and even winning chances here.
I believe many players who play this position as white are afraid. Which is why they may seek this type of position.
Black in this position has exchanged off a side "C" pawn for a center pawn.
Black has a 2 pawn center. It is very important.
I believe if you get this position. You have something to be proud of.
The one thing that makes him laugh about this position is:
Some people hate playing exchange variations. They really hate it!
However, Not me in this position!
You have to remember the Clarendon Court is unsound. If white lets us get into it. They are techincially winning because it is unsound. White wants you to get into the Clarendon Court. lol
Its like your throwing yourself off a cliff why on earth would they stop you?
They wouldn't because they want to win.
However, We like the Clarendon Court so even though we know we are losing in it we are doing it for fun.
However, If they do not let us get into it than we are playing soundly. Which means we are the ones doing good lol.
Do you see how it is a win - win situation for us?
We are happy when we are in the Clarendon Court.
and
We are happy when we are not in the Clarendon Court.
In the above positions. I would develop your pieces normally, castle, and put a rook on the Open C file etc.
| The main moves played are: |
| 2̶.̶e̶3̶ |
| 2̶.̶c̶3̶ |
| 2.e4 |
| 2.dxc5 |
| 2.Nf3 |
| 2.d5 |
Lets move on to the next move which can be played in this position.
Move 2.e4 - This move does not defend d4. It can be used as a Gambit. It can turn the position into a Sicilian Defense.
If your opponent ignores your pawn just take on d4.
My advice is to play Move 2...cxd4 against the above move.
The positions can often turn into some type of Sicilian.
I will not cover the Sicilian defense positions because it is completely different opening and you can pick your own type of Sicilian line to play etc.
Which I will let you make your decision on what sicilian you wish to play.
| The main moves played are: |
| 2̶.̶e̶3̶ |
| 2̶.̶c̶3̶ |
| 2̶.̶e̶4̶ |
| 2.dxc5 |
| 2.Nf3 |
| 2.d5 |
Lets move on to the next move which can be played in this position.
Move 2.dxc5 - This move temporally wins the c5 pawn. If white trys to hold on to this pawn. It can be very bad for them lol.
If your opponent takes your pawn just try to recapture with your bishop on c5.
My advice is to play Move 2...e6 against the above move.
I would try and regain the lost pawn.
The move 2...e6 allows your dark square bishop to attack the c5 pawn. I would regain the pawn than continue normally.
If your opponent trys stuff like b4 holding onto the pawn. I would than proceed with a5. Threatening to take on b4 so you can than take on c5 etc.
I will show a few traps they can fall for. If they try to be greedy and hold on to the pawn for to long.
Hopefully the above suggestions will give you some idea's on what to do and how you can proceed. As you can see it is not a huge problem.
I will even show you a few games I played. Believe it or not I did have opponents who fell for those traps because they tried to be greedy lol.
The next game I will show will be another game I played against the same person. This time he tryed holding on to the pawn a different way lol.
In the below game my opponent played a strange move. I never seen that move played in this position before. I have no idea why he played that move. I guess he loves to fianchetto.
I believe you can get a reasonable game from this line with the black pieces.
| The main moves played are: |
| 2̶.̶e̶3̶ |
| 2̶.̶c̶3̶ |
| 2̶.̶e̶4̶ |
| 2̶.̶d̶x̶c̶5̶ |
| 2.Nf3 |
| 2.d5 |
Lets move on to the next move which can be played in this position.
Move 2.Nf3 - This move defends the d4 pawn.
After white plays the move 2.Nf3 black has a few options.
My advice is to play the Move 2...cxd4
I did show a few other options black has in the above diagram. However, I will not cover all of them. I want to keep this simple for beginners.
If you are a beginner. I would recommend taking the d4 pawn.
White will normally recapture the lost pawn with either the queen or the knight.
If they take with the queen. I would play the move Nc6 gaining a tempo hitting the queen.
If they take with the knight. I would play the move d5 gaining some center space.
Black will have a very reasonable position.
I do not believe you have alot to fear in this sort of position.
| The main moves played are: |
| 2̶.̶e̶3̶ |
| 2̶.̶c̶3̶ |
| 2̶.̶e̶4̶ |
| 2̶.̶d̶x̶c̶5̶ |
| 2̶.̶N̶f̶3̶ |
| 2.d5 |
Lets move on to the next move which can be played in this position.
The main move white will play is the move 2.d5. It gets played 3-5 times more than any other move in the above chart.
Move 2.d5 - White's idea with this move is to gain space by pushing their pawn forward. In chess having space is considered an advantage. Which is why you will more than likely see this move.
This pawn push uncovers a cheeky threat, so to speak. White's move 2.d5 has moved the D pawn out of danger which means he now has the idea of 3.e4 in his mind.
Which would renew the idea of having both center pawns in the middle of the board.
I believe the above move possesses the most difficulty for black and is the best move in the position.
At least we have come to the staring position of the Clarendon Court.
Mwwwwhahahahahahahah!
Move 2...f5 - Black's idea with this move is to prevent white from playing the pawn move e4. Which would again place 2 pawns in the center of the board for white.
This is the logic of the (CCD). Even in this unsound line a center battle is raging lol!
As always, Thank you very much for reading. I will end this article here. In my next blog, I will cover white's third move 3.Nf3.
Hope you enjoyed yourself.
Have a Happy Day
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