@Fiveofswords I would like to try this line and am looking for more resources . I just gave an example - against Nf6 - Bc4's the move...
Against 2...Nf6 3.Bc4 is *a* move, and it can get quite tricky if you don't know what you're doing after 3...Nxe4
Other 3rd moves for White are:
So it's a good flexible system that will let you test and figure out which 3rd move you prefer.
I would stay away from the Vienna. If the Scotch isn't doing it for you, then it's not the opening choice that's holding you back.
Hello,
I was reading Gufeld'sOpening Repertoire for the Attacking Player .
In it he recommends playing the Vienna as white - 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 ..
The thing is his book doesn't address the ideas of the opening - just gives a bunch of variations after which white should be better or winning - in most variations (other than the main line) he doesn't even say what each side should be playing for. I'd like to try out the opening - without memorsing variations . Anyone knows of any books / videos explaining ideas in the Vienna ?
I currently play the Scotch gambit as white - can I switch to the Vienna - as because in the main line Gufeld gives , the opening looks a bit dangerous for white -
Is it fine to play the Vienna without memorising - the opening looks like a tactial minefield...
Thanks.
Exactly , my question - will it have to be memorised or can the tactics be figured out OTB by me (a 1400 player)?
I don't think you should memorize stuff beforehand. Play over sample master games, but memorize lines, no. And then just play it, and if you make mistakes, use an opening database and/or engine afterward to figure stuff out, and *that's* the way you will remember things moving forward.
Just a short while ago I played the following variation against the Berlin Defense for the very first time: http://www.chess.com/opening/eco/C67_Ruy_Lopez_Open_Berlin_Defense_lHermet_Variation I had only looked at it with an engine a little bit sometime during the past week or two, but I decided to play it nevertheless and despite not having memorized anything.
Below is the game, and you will see in the notes I added it seems like I found the right response to Black's ninth move OTB and he was the one making mistakes after that. I only lost because I was playing too fast and fell for a trap on move 17, otherwise I was winning. Some of this may be beside the point, except that now with one game under my belt, I'm going to study it a little more, keep on playing it, and get better and better with it.
You might go about taking up the Vienna in the same manner. Good luck
http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=1309564813
Perhaps it would be helpful to look at the relatively recent book, The Modern Vienna Game by Sergei Soloviov and Roman Ovetchkin.
"... a good opening book can open up new vistas that you would probably not discover for yourself. ... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
That coach is nowhere when it counts: OTB games.
Unless your name is Boris Ivanov ;)
The Vienna is a great opening! There are several books available (and instructional dvd by Andrew Martin). 
The Vienna is a great opening! There are several books available (and instructional dvd by Andrew Martin).
I've owned at least a couple of those books
The magazine shown in above pic is Sept 1982 issue of Chess Life, which had an excellent article on the Vienna (still very useful variations, today).
There is a great game in that issue which features the sharp 5) d3 line. This is if black plays 2..Nf6. (2.. Nc6 with f4 leads to the Stenitz gambit instead).
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1056093
The magazine shown in above pic is Sept 1982 issue of Chess Life, which had an excellent article on the Vienna (still very useful variations, today).
There is a great game in that issue which features the sharp 5) d3 line. This is if black plays 2..Nf6. (2.. Nc6 with f4 leads to the Stenitz gambit instead).
One time at an OTB tournament in Portland I had a game with the 5.d3 variation going at the same time as somebody else. The TD prohibited us from watching each other's games until they diverged.
The Vienna should never be taken lightly, even Carlsen can be beaten with it :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGfG_nntW5U
The Gary Lane book is good, you can get it on Amazon for about $13 + shipping.
That coach is nowhere when it counts: OTB games.
Fritz, like all other coaches, is with me in spirit while I play, and my style is becoming more and more like my coach's every day.
That's a shame. I've noticed that a lot of younger players are starting to play like a computer--awkward, often incomprehensible moves that lead them down paths they can't find their way back from.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626174056/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen120.pdf