So why don't we play Kramer's Gambit in our group vote chess games?
If you want to understand the Reti Opening then click [HERE] to read Richard Reti's explanation. Warning! It is very lengthy and many of you will be discouraged from reading it as soon as you see it. I highly recommend that you do read it, but I don't expect you to. So allow me to summarize: IN THE RETI OPENING WHITE INTENDS TO CONTROL THE CENTER FROM THE FLANKS WITH PIECES AND HOLD BACK THE CENTER PAWNS. That means a double fianchetto. And it also means holding back the center pawns. Yes, we really mean it. We are not going to advance our d and e pawns to the fourth rank. Not until later. Maybe not at all! This is the heart and soul of the Reti Opening. Kramer's Gambit takes advantage of the Reti move order 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 dxc4 and throws in 3.e4. I refer to the statement above. Does this fit the description of holding back the center pawns?
Kramer's Gambit was first played in 1948. It is the subject of chapter 9 by Tony Kosten in "Dangerous Weapons: Flank Openings" and is also mentioned in Davies book "The Dynamic Reti" chapter 5, where Davies goes so far as to recommend it. But Davies doesn't even acknowledge Kramer. Maybe he didn't know? In doing so he completely disregards the standard lines following 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 dxc4. That doesn't help the Reti beginner very much now, does it? But Grandmasters can do stuff like that because they are Grandmasters. I have accumulated a database of every Kramer's Gambit game I could find in online databases and it consists of 50 games; 21 wins, 13 draws and 16 losses. 50 games in 64 years. What does that tell you? Kramer's Gambit is fairly popular at club level and you might try it and you might do well with it and you might not. That will depend a lot on your opponent. But is that the Reti Opening? I think not. This group exists to provide a place where people can come and learn about the Reti Opening. In addition to the mainlines and game lists in the forum, we play group vote chess. The vote chess games provide a sort of classroom or guided tour through the opening and it's many variations. At most, we will play 12 VC games per year. That's one new game per month, but we probably won't play at that rate until we get going and have assembled a good team of players. 12 games per year is not very many, so I believe we should make the most of each opportunity to learn about the Reti. Openings don't win games. The opening allows us to reach a playable middlegame where we are on more familiar ground than our opponent. That's where chess games are won and lost.
So why don't we play Kramer's Gambit in our group vote chess games?
If you want to understand the Reti Opening then click [HERE] to read Richard Reti's explanation. Warning! It is very lengthy and many of you will be discouraged from reading it as soon as you see it. I highly recommend that you do read it, but I don't expect you to.
So allow me to summarize:
IN THE RETI OPENING WHITE INTENDS TO CONTROL THE CENTER FROM THE FLANKS WITH PIECES AND HOLD BACK THE CENTER PAWNS.
That means a double fianchetto.
And it also means holding back the center pawns.
Yes, we really mean it. We are not going to advance our d and e pawns to the fourth rank. Not until later. Maybe not at all!
This is the heart and soul of the Reti Opening.
Kramer's Gambit takes advantage of the Reti move order 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 dxc4 and throws in 3.e4. I refer to the statement above. Does this fit the description of holding back the center pawns?
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Kramer's Gambit was first played in 1948. It is the subject of chapter 9 by Tony Kosten in "Dangerous Weapons: Flank Openings" and is also mentioned in Davies book "The Dynamic Reti" chapter 5, where Davies goes so far as to recommend it. But Davies doesn't even acknowledge Kramer. Maybe he didn't know? In doing so he completely disregards the standard lines following 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 dxc4. That doesn't help the Reti beginner very much now, does it? But Grandmasters can do stuff like that because they are Grandmasters.
I have accumulated a database of every Kramer's Gambit game I could find in online databases and it consists of 50 games; 21 wins, 13 draws and 16 losses.
50 games in 64 years. What does that tell you?
Kramer's Gambit is fairly popular at club level and you might try it and you might do well with it and you might not. That will depend a lot on your opponent. But is that the Reti Opening? I think not.
This group exists to provide a place where people can come and learn about the Reti Opening. In addition to the mainlines and game lists in the forum, we play group vote chess. The vote chess games provide a sort of classroom or guided tour through the opening and it's many variations. At most, we will play 12 VC games per year. That's one new game per month, but we probably won't play at that rate until we get going and have assembled a good team of players. 12 games per year is not very many, so I believe we should make the most of each opportunity to learn about the Reti.
Openings don't win games. The opening allows us to reach a playable middlegame where we are on more familiar ground than our opponent. That's where chess games are won and lost.