b3+e3 / b6+e6 systems.

My game this week against Smit, who played a b3+e3 system against me, made me think. That system can be played both as white and black against all openings. So you could choose to get highly skilled in that setup since you could opt for that system in 100% of your games with both colours. Here is the Smith game again.

After analysing this game and getting the idea of playing it with both colours at an extreme high skill level, I did some source searching. I was very happy to find 4 video's of GM Igor Smirnov, who earlier taught me some nice lessons. So I watched those.

• Larsen-Nimzowitsch Attack (b3+e3)

b3 part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21ZQnlIJJKM

b3 part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONRfnAhtnpI

• Owen's System

b6 part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-ACdKjp4QQ

b6 part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpEJdebvXQY

I also downloaded, and still need to study:

• Play 1..b6! book By GM Bauer, I know the guy from his tricky Scandinavian games I studied.
• A Foxy video from IM Andrew Martin
• Chessbase Trainer files from GM Nigel Davies.
• An abstract from Ladkawala's book on the Larsen-Nimzo attack.

Well, finding a book from Bauer and video's from Smirnov made me wonder. Those guys are good in setting up tricky systems. The more I reviewed some lines from the database in Stockfish, the more I liked the system. Sure white does NOT get an evaluation edge, and as black you get 0.3 disadvantage, but that's not the aim. The aim is to get in familiar positions and get the advantage in the middle game as Ladkawala says in his book.

Since the evening of the day I studied these systems I had a rapid tourney at my club, I played all my 4 games with b3 and b6 as a test. Scoring 4 out of 4. Right after the games I quickly notated the games in my phone.

I am positive and will keep playing this system. I already tried the "getting highly skilled in 1 opening system idea" with the Modern Tiger and Hanham system with both colours, but that didn't work out. I have to say getting b6 against me always made me laugh, but as it turns out, black has many resources. You give a way the center to attack the center.

The 4th game was the most "turtle-factor" game of those 4.

The 1st game - I see risks in a black opening that needs to push the g- and f-pawn in front of the own king. Game 3 showed that sacs can happen, but well, these sacs in game 3 were really harmless and just bad, and we can not force our opponents to play calm. We can only play calm ourselves. game 1 still looked reasonable safe, but maybe the opponent wasnt feeling like playing gambit-style against you.

The 2nd game - opposite casteling is a risk - the game tends to become sharper. However, I am not a saint myself, I play:

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Nc3 Qh5 6.Be2 Nf6 7.O-O 7...O-O-O 8.h3 e5 --> I castle long and sac my bishop. That isnt turtle play, but I studied the tactics here so well, I feel positive and confident to play this as black. However, it is not Turtle play. 

For that very reason, I developed a back-up: I play the O'Kelly sicilian against much weaker players. Not really that safe, too, but at least both sides play O-O, and it isnt relying on sacrificing something.

 The goal wasn't turlte play. The goal is highly familiarity in a system you can play with both colours.

Can you refute the Owen defence? Wanna have some unrated training games? Enigine allowed and database allowed and resources (books, movies etc) allowed. Then we can do some truth finding. Say 1 move a day?

Yes, we can play. I crush the Owen with Turtle play - brand/label: "extra slow"

:-)

I can even tell you how I am gonna fight against you with your Owen & Co: I do nothing but keep my center intact. If possible, I prefer a 3 pawn center (if you let me), but I am not too eager to achieve this (if you find a good move order, you can prevent me from getting a solid 3 pawn wall). But either way, I dont intend to block, but as soon as you do a push in the center, I exchange the pawns and place my rooks on the open file. Probably, if you manage that, you can exchange all rooks along the file. 

Then, in the endgame, I'll be your pain in the neck and win due to a microscopic advantage I gained along the way somewhere. All done without deep tactics of course. And I will never burn bridges behind me (I try the art to keep it a draw). The idea is - I might just draw eventually, but if I could win 1 out of 4 games and draw the other 3 - that is totally fine to me.

That's the plan. I need time, though: 20min + 20sec at least. 

But back to the actual discussion - your point is valid: you know the black tiger and thus it makes sense to play the same with white. It safes a lot of time, which is something I did not take into account when I wrote previously about your games.

All the time we want. 24 hours a move, but most often I respond in 2 hours unless sleeping.

Something last year I never thought off: extra time has hidden centipawn value.

I have send you 5 unrated challenges. i play black. 24 hours a move or earlier. All resources allowed. 

I dont like engine use, nor opening book look up (the later is actually allowed by the rules here, but I dont like to use opening book anyway - it doesnt feel right to me).

Instead - how about online games? I saw you today, but I had a very good "customer", whom I have beaten 14-0 ! He really needed the beating, and I wanted the rating points. He finally left without a word, probably he is absolutely disappointed and or cross with me. I turtled him in most games. Some people think, just because the game was long, that they did well and had a chance, you know? well, 14-0 is telling something else. He was 350 points lower rated, dont know what he had expected... maybe 1 or 2 wins? Or at least a draw? Or he just liked the "lecture", but then - why did he just leave without a word? Manners...

Oke no help.

I started now in both cases with 1.Nf3 - what else did you expect?!

Edit: Sorry, changed my mind. I would have needed to press "submit", but I didnt - cause I forgot. So when I found out - I decided not to do twice the same move: two different games: one with turtle play, the other pushing for more.

Oke, I played b3 and messed up big time. Got a trick to win the game.

I was completely wasted in this game. I am only trying b6 this week, and made a tactical error in the opening and lost hard.