Accidental but Genius? (Part 2.) Playing as White

Hey howdy, chess nerds! It’s your community blogger, Admiral_ChessBeard, reporting live from ChessComTakeover!

Blog Overview:

• Introduction
• Where We Left Off From Last Time
• The Advantages the Nimzowitsch Defence: Kennedy, Linksspringer Variation Gives White
• Viewing Games as White with the Nimzowitsch Linksspringer
• Rating the Nimzowitsch Linksspringer on an Openings Leaderboard
• Conclusion and Further Mentions

Introduction

Hello, chess fans! This blog is the second part of a two-part blog series, today we will be viewing games and listing the advantages that the Nimzowitsch Defence: Kennedy, Linksspringer Variation Gives white!

List of required items for this blog:

• One Accidental but Genius? (Part 1.) Blog

Now, let's get to it!

Where We Left Off From Last Time

In my last blog, I explained the Nimzowitsch Defence: Kennedy, Linksspringer Variation and viewed it as black. And of course, how I discovered it all by accident!

We went through the advantages that the Nimzowitsch Linksspringer gave black, and viewed games where black used the opening to gain an advantage.

This blog is the follow-up, where we will be viewing as white with this rare and thrilling opening!

The Advantages the Nimzowitsch Defence: Kennedy, Linksspringer Variation Gives White

Let's start with that. What are the advantages for white with the Nimzowitsch Linksspringer? Even though this opening is rare, it still has some pretty cool ideas for white:

• It can surprise your opponent and take them out of their preparation
• It gives white a central advantage over black and creates attacking chances for white
• It gives white the option to play c4 with his pawn followed by Qa4
• It can avoid some annoying counterattacking ideas by black like playing c6
• It can switch into other openings if black plays accordingly
• It creates weaknesses in black’s d6 and e5 squares that white can use to his advantage
• It allows white to play creatively and flexibly, depending on black’s response. White can choose between different setups, such as Bd3, Be2, f4, Nf3 (all of which I recommend you try out)

From my experience, it is definitely a very fun opening to play as white. Let's see how white can use this opening to gain an advantage!

Over here, stockfishy!!!!

Viewing Games as White with the Nimzowitsch Linksspringer

As it went very well with my last blog, we will be viewing games with me vs. the computer to see how white can gain an advantage.

Let's see another game with me vs. the computer, this time with a slightly different variation of the Nimzowitsch Linksspringer.

Time for another variation, this one is insane, I felt very pressured because somehow I was keeping up:

Let's see one last game!

And I could keep playing and playing and playing(and playing)! But we should stop here.

If you want to practice vs. the computer with this opening, then click here!

So, the opening is very fun to play, it has a lot of advantages, and it's awesome if you are looking for a new opening to try!

But now... it's time for something new...

Rating the Nimzowitsch Linksspringer on an Openings Leaderboard

It's a new thing I decided to start. Every time I post a blog or blog series related to an opening, I will be reviewing it and adding it to a leaderboard!

I will be listing the Advantages, Disadvantages, Practicality, Simplicity, and the best part, How does the opening feel.

Keep in mind that this is basically just for my opinions on openings. Your thoughts may vary from mine.

After each category, I will rate the opening out of 10 based on my opinions, and of course, add it to my leaderboard!

Alright now, let's start with the Advantages.

Advantages of playing the Nimzowitsch Linksspringer:

It is indeed a rare and tricky opening. The advantages I see are better than the disadvantages. Without repeating too much, it can take your opponent out of their preparation. And even though it restricts black a bit, it can allow for active piece play for both sides. It can change to other openings if white or black play correctly, giving more flexibility and chance.

You can even use it to dodge some annoying pinning ideas that white may have with different openings.

Disadvantages

(note that I will be listing mostly the disadvantages for black, as it's usually black who decides to play this opening):

Even though the opening feels strong and has good advantages, it can lead to problems for black if white plays accurately and aggressively. It gives white a strong pawn center and more space, which can be hard for black to break down or undermine. It neglects the development of black's kingside pieces, and can even expose the king to danger!

Advantages and Disadvantages gets a 6.5/10 (less then 5.0 means that there are more disadvantages then advantages)

Practicality

Now, the opening may not be for everyone. It's not even all that practical. It's more of an awesome opening to try out if you are looking for a new response to e4. And it may be harder for lower-elo players to keep up with it.

Practicality gets a 4.6/10

Simplicity

The first moves are very simple to follow with. But after that, the opening can get quite complex. Unless you have a considerable amount of elo above 1000, this opening is not at all simple.

It gets a 4.9/10

How does it feel (very important in my opinion)

I have probably said it too much, "it can surprise white and take your opponent out of their preparation". And that is always the best part. It always feels good to start a game with a few moves, and your opponent stalls and has no clue how to react and must stop and think.

Of course, there must be a downside. My only complaint is moving your knight back to e7, it just does not feel satisfying retreating your knight after your opponent attacks it.

I will give it a 7.9/10.

All together, that gives us an average opening score (note that I rounded a decimal up a bit) of 6.0/10.

Just for clarification, this is not my rating for the Nimzowitsch Defence. It is for the specific variation, Kennedy, Linksspringer.

OPENINGS LEADERBOARD

#1. Nimzowitsch Defence: Kennedy, Linksspringer Variation ---- 6.0/10

Hey, I think that the ratings that I gave are pretty accurate considering that this is my first ever shot at rating an opening. What do you think? Was I good? I plan on doing more ratings like this for openings in future blogs.

Conclusion and Further Mentions

The Nimzowitsch Defence: Kennedy, Linksspringer Variation is indeed, without repeating too much, a rare and awesome opening that you should try out. If you played any cool games with this opening, be sure to share it down below! (Refer to this guide if you need help)

Just in case you have not already, (or maybe you did not read the blog and just skipped to the end), then be sure to see part #1 of this series, that you can find here:

If you have any suggestions/requests/comments/questions about this blog or future blogs, be sure to leave a comment down below! It is much appreciated!

Tell me what you think of my openings leaderboard. Was I at all accurate in your opinion? Tell me as honestly as you can.

If you have spotted an error in this post, or you find something that could be improved further, then please send a private message to @Admiral_ChessBeard!

Looking forward to seeing you on my next blog! Keep playing chess and having fun!

Your community nerd,

Admiral_ChessBeard