Good Solid Opening and Strategy for Black - Chess Forums - Page 2

ThrillerFan

Jun 8, 2016

0

#21

pfren wrote:

ThrillerFan wrote:

You are twisting my second statement implying that I'm saying 9.d4 is refuted by 9...Bg4. I never said that. It has of course been played, but is still considered to be far inferior compared to 9.h3. Also, "Not Good For White" and "-0.50" are NOT synonomous! If White has the opportunity to get an advantage, let's say 0.3, and plays a move that has no advantage, like 0.0, then the move is not good for White. If you look in any book, not all "??", "?", or "?!" are "losing" for the offending player. If you go from +3.5 to +0.1, you've blundered, like it or not! Blunder and lost are also not synonomous!

Hilarious understanding.

Do you think that the average Joe should care abut that -0.60 or +0.30? You can also add a non-average Joe, like Jose Raul - here meeting the man who gave his name to the 9.d4 variation:

Capablanca was very lucky: Yates missed 25.Qxd1 Qxg5 26.Nf3 Qe7 27.Rh4 with an easy win for white.
Ruy Lopez/ Breyer expert, super-GM Pavel Eljanov, met 9.d4 two times the last 3 years. Guess what? He lost both games!

I get it that all of you guys have more respect for the 9.d4 line than I do.

That said, to use Capablanca as the victim to show how scary the line may be compared to games played today is like comparing a Standard Def 13-inch color TV with no remote control and the lack of color quality in 1965 to a High Def, 70 inch plasma TV with remote control and on-demand programming!

kindaspongey

Jun 9, 2016

0

#22

"... [9 h3] turns out to be a golden investment. White's position is like a sleeping giant. ... once the giant awakens, it is very difficult for Black to hold him in check ... Notwithstanding all this, the immediate 9 d4 is a perfectly legitimate alternative to 9 h3, especially for those with a dynamic and aggressive style and with little patience for the subtleties involved in 9 h3. ..." - GM Paul van der Sterren (2009)

If I remember correctly, GM Soltis once wrote that he never played 9 h3 in a serious tournament game, describing himself as having chickened out at the key moment in a game against Reshevsky.

PhilidorKing1982

Jun 9, 2016

0

#23

Master_Po wrote:

Philip1982 wrote:

Hi. Need some help here please.

So I've noticed that I've got a higher loss ratio when I play black. It's particularly hard when I play against the computer.

I know, I know. The computer has been getting a lot of slack. But I've found it extremely helpful when warming up before a good chess session. After 2 quick warm up games I'm good to go. I set the difficulty high and even when I loose, it seems like my chess is a lot better in the next few games agains non-androids (people). What's your opinion?

I also noticed that the way I think is more defensive in black and more attacking in white. Is that normal?

Is the best openings for black the same as what white would play?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Spartan, in my opinion, you are pushing too many pawns in the opening...like others have said, develop your minor pieces normally before pushing that 2nd pawn. Forget the Philidor for now.

1) Morphy said/did it well, he tried to castle super fast, so he pushed knight, then bishop then castled on the 4th move. Can't go wrong there.

2) Again, you're pushing too many pawns after the first few moves, get both knights, both B's, of course already castled, probably Q and another R move, before pushing numerous pawns. That's what getting developed means. I saw you push a pawn early on attacking the opposite side of opponent's castled King, for no good reason.

3) Take your time and look around...try to make a move that will mess opponent's plan up AND develop YOUR pieces. The moves that mess him up AND go on the attack for YOU, are the best moves. They ARE usually out there to make. IF you can't find one, then get your pieces developed...sometimes that means getting your Q out of the way so that your Rooks protect each other. (meaning 'clear out' that back row except for the Rooks.)

4) Except for an occasional early Bishop out there, try not to have a minor piece out there that is totally unprotected. (hanging) They make good targets for opponent.

5) Great quote by Bobby Fischer brought up by genius player about how to think when playing black.

6) Do research and look for all the small 'need to do' plays, e.g. move a Rook to own a file. Look for holes, where a piece, N or B can't ever be touched or attacked by a pawn. Try to get your N far down field, it increases in value the further it goes. (on the 5th, 6th or 7th row, it can be worth as much as a Rook and great for forks.) If you cannot find a good offensive move and all your pieces are developed, then make a good defensive move, like THEN move a pawn up where his N cannot then land. Many more...

Yes, all the guys said learn good solid positional moves first and forget about openings, BUT if you must, check out the Petroff for Black. Easy to learn and it often has surprise value against players like yourself.

Have fun out there in the 64 jungle!

Thanks Master Po.

Great advice. Keeping it simple.There's already some heated discussion around here ;-)

Wezzyfish

Jun 10, 2016

0

#24

Philip1982 wrote:

Wezzyfish wrote:

Crush your enemy, see him driven before you, and hear the lamentation of his woman!

What if it's a woman you're playing against?

That is simple... try not to lose.

On a serious note, there is some really good advice in this thread. It is nice to see such support offered.

woodretarded

Jun 11, 2016

0

#25

As lipnitsky said in his book "Questions about modern chess theory":

"The possibility of fighting for the initiative is the best modern criterion for determining the value of any opening system, variation or novelty"

There's a variety of choices, my favourites are the nimzo-ragozin and sicilian against e4. Much better than play the QGD with black and e4 e5, which gives white a slight edge without any big effort

Those solid options might be suitable for strong players but for me sit and wait in the spanish torture with black it's not being solid but fighting for equality, same in the QGD which doesn't offer much excitement for black. Maybe for expert players ..