Andras Adorjan, A Fount of Inspiration (Black is Back!)

Hi! recently I purchased a copy of Andras adorjan's book, Black is Back!

I vaguely remember, many years ago, seeing a wonderful game by Adorjan....all I remember is, he had the Black pieces, and won spectacularly!

So when I saw this book, I decided to buy it, for two reasons: First of all, I am always somewhat insecure playing Black. This is due to a few different factors: My inactivity in chess for about 30 years, and also the fact that the current thought is that White has a slight advantage in almost any opening! So, between my lack of preparation and the official stats favoring White, my confidence in the Black pieces has suffered considerably. So, reason no. 1 is to regain confidence and inspiration in playing with the Black pieces.

The second reason is that I like Adorjan's style! He is extremely dynamic and fearless, so he is willing to take risks, even form the early moves of a game, to fight for the initiative and, ultimately, the advantage.

I want to showcase here three games against Zoltan Ribli, who was a World Championship Candidate in 1983 and 1985.

In the first game, Adorjan has White, and plays a standard move against Black's King in an opposite-side Sicilian.....but Adorjan has spotted a problem with Black's formation...which Ribli overlooked!

In the next game, Adorjan, playing Black, shows a superior understanding of the Panno Variation of the King's Indian Defense. Ribli makes too many concessions in the queenside, and Adorjan, at the critical moment, shows a superior tactical understanding.

The third game featured today is spectacular....Ribli, playing White, tries to confuse Adorjan with an unusual move, Qa4+. Adorjan, however, is unfazed and quickly gains the advantage! The result is one of the most beautiful moves I have ever seen!

One of the many reasons I like Adorjan's style is his  aggressiveness and courage. When he plays the Grunfeld, boy, how he plays it!

In the following game White chooses a dubious variation (6.cxd5), and by move 9 Black has equalized, at least. With 3 pieces attacking the d5-square, Adorjan plays ....c5! and pries open

the position! White has to do some nifty maneuvers to be able to castle, but Black's two bishops dominate.