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Help: How to plug opening repertoire holes?

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ozzie_c_cobblepot

The Problem: I have an opening repertoire. It has holes. One example I know about: I play into the Nimzo-Indian as white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But change the move order, and I find myself in the Queen's Indian, which I don't know a whole lot about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I play 2.Nf3 because I don't play c4 against the Dutch.)

Other examples are more simple: I don't know much about the ...Ne4 variation in the Budapest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't yet faced these OTB, but these holes are like mines - when it happens you explode and potentially lose a game right in the opening.

Here's one last one, which is a "well-known" opening trap I fell into recently.

What are some possible solutions I can think of? Well, there is a lot of data in my games to work with. Let's say for example that this last position occurred in one of my blitz games (here, or really anywhere). Even if my opponent didn't know about, or didn't see, ...e5, in principle some software should exist to point out to me that I made an opening blunder. This brings up the possibility of two distinct types of holes. The first is where you have an incompletely-filled opening tree. (Such as not knowing much about 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4). The second is where you play an actual opening blunder. The first could be detected by how early you go out of book in your games, and the second could be detected by engine analysis.

The good news is that you only have to analyze the first 10 moves, maximum. At my level I don't need an opening tree as deep as Kramnik. The bad news is that there are a TON of games. Obviously turn-based games are not applicable here, since I use a DB for the most part. Also, since this is a knowledge question, not an analysis question, it is very likely that blitz games are the best source data, due to the high number of them.

Does anybody know any ways I can do this? Is there any software which does this? Does ChessBase do it?

ozzie_c_cobblepot

I don't own GM Repertoire 2.

What is ChessDB tree?

Analyzing blitz games by hand for thousands of blitz games is something I'd like to avoid.

kwaloffer

ChessDB is a derivative of Scid (http://scid.sf.net). They both have a Tree window that is very similar to chess.com's Opening Explorer.

In Training mode, you see the percentages, but you don't see the moves. You can play a move for your side, and the computer will reply with some move from the tree. Then you can continue down the line until you play a move that wasn't played before in the database you're looking at.

trysts

Ooooooh! I love giving advice to National Masters!

Duct tapeWink

Dutchday

Not sure what you are asking. If I notice a line I need I just open my opening reportoire and add the line. Just do this consistently and you will minimize the gaps. If you think you can do it on the fly, don't save it.

The Budapest is easy to avoid if you play 1.d4 2.Nf3 and then 3.c4? That or you just learn it. If there's some KID ish line Im not sure about I go d5. That way black cannot prey on d4 and it probably is solid enough anyway.

The queens indian is just part of the game I guess, if you insist on Nf3. It's solid and not very tactical, and the ideas are clear.

 

Hope that helps.

VLaurenT

The move-order 1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 is a bit puzzling : why would anybody use it as black ? Undecided

kwaloffer

A French fan can safely play it, and white might be move ordered into playing something other than what he'd play against 1...Nf6 2...e6?

Quasimorphy
hicetnunc wrote:

The move-order 1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 is a bit puzzling : why would anybody use it as black ?


1. d4 e6 gives the Dutch player the opportunity to get into it without having to face some anti-Dutch replies from White.  2.Nf3 Nf6 may be the Dutch player bailing out because he doesn't want to play the Dutch without c4 from White.

VLaurenT

OK, let me explain my thoughts : imagine you're the white player, and you usually go 1.d4 and 2.Nf3 (a legitimate move-order to avoid various ...e5-based defences for black).

Obviously, you should be prepared for both 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 and 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5. You could also meet the 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 move-order, which makes sense for black if he has the QID or Bogo in his repertoire. But then again, you probably have something against it : 3.c4, 3.Bf4, 3.Bg5...

But why would black play 1.d4 e6 to reach this exact same position ? Ok, he avoids the Trompovsky, but he allows a French defence... Looks like a strange trade-off. Unless of course you love so much the French defence, you want to increase your chances to play it ?! Smile

VLaurenT
Quasimorphy wrote:
hicetnunc wrote:

The move-order 1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 is a bit puzzling : why would anybody use it as black ?


1. d4 e6 gives the Dutch player the opportunity to get into it without having to face some anti-Dutch replies from White.  2.Nf3 Nf6 may be the Dutch player bailing out because he doesn't want to play the Dutch without c4 from White.


Looks like a big price to pay for the Dutch player (he needs a whole set of defences against various white's 3rd moves), but I'm no expert in the Dutch, so maybe these systems without c4 are really frightening Wink

VLaurenT
ajedrecito wrote:

Yeah, I can see that even someone from France thinks 1...e6 against 1.d4 is a concession ;) I would happily play 2.e4 there. In fact, I like playing AGAINST the French so much that I actually do play the 1.e4 move-order to reach that position!


Don't get me wrong : 1.d4 e6 makes perfect sense for a Dutch player who wants to avoid all the 2nd move deviations after 1.d4 f5 : it's 1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 which I don't quite buy Smile (why not 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 ?)

I'm looking in the database to see if some strong player use this move-order as Black.

edit : ok, it happens. Anti-tromp play I guess...

GlennLadrido

wow.. so good to learn from the experts about the move orders and transpositions.. continue discussing guys, this really helps us..Smile

VLaurenT

@ozzie : I don't know if that's exactly what you're looking for, but Chess Position Trainer has a function which automatically detects new moves in a .pgn file compared to a given repertoire (if the name of the player is always spelled the same way...) : you enter the basic repertoire, maybe 7-10 moves long to start with, and then you run a process which locates the 'novelty' in every game.

VLaurenT
kwaloffer wrote:

A French fan can safely play it, and white might be move ordered into playing something other than what he'd play against 1...Nf6 2...e6?


I'm not sure : if white is a 1.d4 and 2.c4 player, it makes no difference (except in the example Ozzie gave us - he doesn't play c4 against the Dutch). And if he is a system player (Colle, London, Torre...), then his 2nd move is probably 2.Nf3 anyway, and you give him the extra option to play a French defence.

I can only see Tromp players tromped by this move-order Wink