take a defense against e4 that is solid and easy to learn to pair with the najdorf which is the exact opposite. Pfrens suggestion with the Qd8 scandi is very good , the french fort knox is also very very easy to learn.
opening choice for 1900 Fide
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Optimissed wrote:
BonTheCat wrote:
blackpopa wrote:
@Optimissed : I started to look some games with the CaroKahn and it looks very passive to my eyes.
Black's game in the Advance Variation is based on the coiled spring effect - it looks scary, but is generally perfectly OK for Black. If I were you I'd look up the theory in a book rather than just a video. GM Lars Schandorff (who, as opposed to Maxim Dlugy, is actually an active, and not a semi-retired, grandmaster) has written a good one recently for Quality Chess. Schandorff has made the point that when White is throwing the kitchen sink in the Advance, Black tends to be perfectly fine. The most critical variation is actually the slower Short set-up with Nf3 and Be2. Also, you should look at the games of the biggest Caro-Kann players, starting with Botvinnik, Smyslov, Bent Larsen (he played the Caro-Kann in a very enterprising manner in the 1970s and 80s), Vladimir Bagirov (one of those Soviet talents who were too old once the Berlin Wall fell - he used to play the Alekhine and the Caro-Kann against 1.e4 - his games in the Advance variation especially, but also the other variations are well worth studying) and Karpov and more recently, Leko, Dreev, Bareev, Shankland (who seems to use it or the French as an alternative to the Sicilian) and David Navara. These days, even players like Ivanchuk and Mamedyarov play the Caro-Kann!>
I play the CaroKann occasionally. I just played a ten minute blitz one by transposition from the Sicilian, as a matter of fact. I like playing against the Advance Variation, which I consider to be no good, because back gets to develop the c8 bishop. Of course, in the one I just played I was a tempo up on normal. But the Advance is not the way to go for white. It's played by people who don't really know the main variations.
Hehe, I wouldn't go as far as that! Very strong players like Short and Shirov have played the Advance Variation, and more specifically the Short set-up with Nf3 and Be2, to great effect. In my view, that's one of White's best options in the Advance, because White concentrates on developing quickly (rather than trying to knock Black out inside 15 moves), not really giving Black anything concrete to push back against, and then hit Black with c4 at the right moment. Very often c4 in the Advance is nothing to fear, but in the Short set-up it's very powerful - I still have painful memories of getting crushed by WGM Harriet Hunt in this variation!
Maybe instead of learning a new opening you could expand your sicilian by learning the scheveningen. The positions are different enough to keep your interest yet not that different as learning a completely different opening.
testaaaaa wrote:
take a defense against e4 that is solid and easy to learn to pair with the najdorf which is the exact opposite. Pfrens suggestion with the Qd8 scandi is very good , the french fort knox is also very very easy to learn.
There's nothing wrong with the Fort Knox per se, but two things strike me about it: a) Is it asking enough questions of White? b) If blackpopa is looking for another mainline opening to widen and deepen his understanding, isn't the Fort Knox a little too one-dimensional compared to the rest of the French complex?
SmyslovFan wrote:
Greg Shahade just posted something on Facebook that I agree with: there's a lot of uncertainty out there, and there are many "correct" ways to improve. There's no one correct way, and people who claim that some specific advice is *always* good or *always* bad, is "either pompous, a charlatan, or an idiot".
Personally, as a life-long educator, I believe that the connections we educators make with our students are just as important as the material we cover.
Totally agree. Horses for courses, etc.
BonTheCat wrote:
testaaaaa wrote:
take a defense against e4 that is solid and easy to learn to pair with the najdorf which is the exact opposite. Pfrens suggestion with the Qd8 scandi is very good , the french fort knox is also very very easy to learn.
There's nothing wrong with the Fort Knox per se, but two things strike me about it: a) is it asking enough questions of White? and b) if blackpopa is looking for another mainline opening to widen and deepen his understanding, isn't the Fort Knox a little too one-dimensional compared to the rest of the French complex?
did not say he has to play the fort knox for the rest of his life maybe he hates the advance variation so bad that he skips french forever what do i know lol
start out with sth easy before you dive into too much complications
testaaaaa wrote:
BonTheCat wrote:
testaaaaa wrote:
take a defense against e4 that is solid and easy to learn to pair with the najdorf which is the exact opposite. Pfrens suggestion with the Qd8 scandi is very good , the french fort knox is also very very easy to learn.
There's nothing wrong with the Fort Knox per se, but two things strike me about it: a) is it asking enough questions of White? and b) if blackpopa is looking for another mainline opening to widen and deepen his understanding, isn't the Fort Knox a little too one-dimensional compared to the rest of the French complex?
did not say he has to play the fort knox for the rest of his life maybe he hates the advance variation so bad that he skips french forever what do i know lol
start out with sth easy before you dive into too much complications
Hehe! There's always a case for arguing that, of course (although blackpopa doesn't seem to be worried about putting in the hard work). However, I was just wondering whether Fort Knox has sufficient bite, even if used only as a backup option. It may very well be fine against a stronger opponent, but against weaker opposition, you would probably want to push a bit harder - without always having to resort to the Najdorf Sicilian.
semi-accepted benko is a nice and easy way to play for white
Interested thoughts thanks 
@pfren : why do you think learning a new opening won't improve my chess? It's an actual interesting question, because it's known that amateurs like me can focus too much on openings.
Also, I am wondering if the GM are good because they play all the time the same kinds of positions or if they just could play "any" position? Are there GM who know nothing about QGD for example?
Optimissed wrote:
InDetention wrote:
I wouldn't advise the Benko. It was a good opening, served me well, but my (often lower-rated) opponents just liquidized into a drawn endgame. Finding little nuances in the late-middlegame/endgame is difficult, and a large majority of my games were just from my (lower-rated) opponents blundering. Against a higher-rated opponent, I would say that the Benko is a good weapon.
The other problem with the Benko is that there are a bunch of other openings that sidestep it, such as the Colle, the London, or basically anything that doesn't go 3. d5 or 2.c4. However, white must still be careful. One of my favorite lines when people avoid the Benko is the Vaganian or Kasparov gambit:
This is just a symmetrical English and black can't get the initiative from a symmetrical English unless white blunders.
Erm, what? Did you see the diagram, where I show multiple ways that Black can get the advantage?
Optimissed wrote:
OK I'm referring to the 2nd edition of John Watson's "Symmetrical English 1...c5" This has been called the best chess book ever written. Watson suggests 9. Nd2 and 10. a3 as white's best try, not 9. Be2. However, the indications are that the game is exactly level. But I used to play the English and I do know that white should resist retreating the Nb5. Watson only gives 7. Qc2 as a short note but obviously black cannot play 7. ... Qxd5 since the Q is not protecting the B c5 due to the knight fork, so 7. ...Na6 is usually played. White seems to have a small edge here, unless further games have invalidated this approach since 1988.
I will post ...a3 lines after lunch
Sep 1, 2018
0
#54
Yermolinsky has some good anti-Benko analysis in his book, "The Road to Chess Improvement". The entire book is full of good practical advice and is well worth the effort to find and peruse.
Sep 1, 2018
0
#55
SmyslovFan wrote:
Yermolinsky has some good anti-Benko analysis in his book, "The Road to Chess Improvement". The entire book is full of good practical advice and is well worth the effort to find and peruse.
I wonder what line he gives.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.e3 is a simple way that may not even require the player to learn anything new.
I love grunfeld 
Preggo_Basashi wrote:
SmyslovFan wrote:
Yermolinsky has some good anti-Benko analysis in his book, "The Road to Chess Improvement". The entire book is full of good practical advice and is well worth the effort to find and peruse.
I wonder what line he gives.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.e3 is a simple way that may not even require the player to learn anything new.
I have the book. He gives mainly 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. Qc2. Benko players who simply follow the 'Benko' ideas will get crushed.
Sep 1, 2018
0
#58
Thanks.
Qc2 on move 5 I didn't know about this move.
Qc2 on move 4 is a pretty popular way, but in my mind it's the same sort of structure as when white declines with b6 i.e. black has an open b file, white has an open c file. The usual (or at least a common enough) break there is f5 after putting knights on squares like c7, d7, b6... at least from what I've taught myself by looking at games. I'm honestly not sure because I haven't studied it that much.
But if you really mean 4.cxb with 5.Qc2 I don't know that one.
Preggo_Basashi wrote:
Thanks.
Qc2 on move 5 I didn't know about this move.
Qc2 on move 4 is a pretty popular way, but in my mind it's the same sort of structure as when white declines with b6 i.e. black has an open b file, white has an open c file. The usual (or at least a common enough) break there is f5 after putting knights on squares like c7, d7, b6... at least from what I've taught myself by looking at games. I'm honestly not sure because I haven't studied it that much.
But if you really mean 4.cxb with 5.Qc2 I don't know that one.
Yeah that's what he recommends. The point is that a lot of Benko players won't know it, and those players will just follow the plans. That will get them crushed.
Optimissed wrote:
InDetention wrote:
Optimissed wrote:
InDetention wrote:
I wouldn't advise the Benko. It was a good opening, served me well, but my (often lower-rated) opponents just liquidized into a drawn endgame. Finding little nuances in the late-middlegame/endgame is difficult, and a large majority of my games were just from my (lower-rated) opponents blundering. Against a higher-rated opponent, I would say that the Benko is a good weapon.
The other problem with the Benko is that there are a bunch of other openings that sidestep it, such as the Colle, the London, or basically anything that doesn't go 3. d5 or 2.c4. However, white must still be careful. One of my favorite lines when people avoid the Benko is the Vaganian or Kasparov gambit:
This is just a symmetrical English and black can't get the initiative from a symmetrical English unless white blunders.
Erm, what? Did you see the diagram, where I show multiple ways that Black can get the advantage?>
Not by force. Only by white playing bad moves. This is a mainline opening that's about level.
That's true. But 'about level' is good for black.
I wouldn't advise the Benko. It was a good opening, served me well, but my (often lower-rated) opponents just liquidized into a drawn endgame. Finding little nuances in the late-middlegame/endgame is difficult, and a large majority of my games were just from my (lower-rated) opponents blundering. Against a higher-rated opponent, I would say that the Benko is a good weapon.
The other problem with the Benko is that there are a bunch of other openings that sidestep it, such as the Colle, the London, or basically anything that doesn't go 3. d5 or 2.c4. However, white must still be careful. One of my favorite lines when people avoid the Benko is the Vaganian or Kasparov gambit: