Accelerated Dragon, Maroczy Bind & Theater
Niranjan Navalgund asked:
May I know the best line for 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4? Please recommend a line where Black has good chances to win.
Dear Mr. Navalgund:
Ah, a question about one of my favorite openings! Let's take a look (don't forget to click on MOVE LIST to see all the text and moves):
Owen O'Neill asked:
First of all I know nothing about Chess. I am a writer and have a line in a play that I would like to get right.
What I want to know is, does the Sicilian Defense let the Queen venture out more, or would the Chigorin Defense do that better?
My line in the play takes place in a prison where two prisoners are playing chess. After the game one character says to the other, “So you opened with the Siclian Defense, you let your Queen venture out, that woman did a lot of damage, that seems to be a weakness of yours ... letting your women do what they want.”
I would just like to know if that would sound correct.
Dear Mr. O'Neill:
From a purely chess point of view (if you only gave me those two choices), I’d go with the Chigorin Defense. A line like 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 3.cxd5 Qxd5 4.e3 e5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3 shows Black bringing his Queen out early. However, we can’t forget about the subliminal import of the word you use, and "Sicilian" would thus be preferable since it brings images of fiery Sicilian women to mind ("Chigorin" makes one think of a crusty old man ... not very appealing!).
Best, both from a chess and subliminal standpoint, would be the Scandinavian Defense: 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 where the Black Queen rushes out and tries to conquer the board, and though she gets pushed around by 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 the opening turns out to be quite playable. And “Scandinavian” gives us images of lovely blonde Scandinavian women roaming dimly lit, highly romantic, diagonals and files. Yes, that works for me! Throw out both Sicilian and Chigorin and go with Scandinavian!
