Sokolsky Opening. Has anyone had success persisting with the lines

Out of 14 correspondence ICCF games I played so far, since I started playing again since September last year my record is as follows for the Sokolsky:

3 games won

5 games draw

6 games lost

So plenty to improve for in 2023! And beyond. And learn not to reply to an opponents move too quickly, but look ahead much further. One thing is for sure, I am not an OTB player ;-)

I recently played a game that ended up in a draw, which I didn't deserve Black played a strange move with his dark Bishop and I tried to exploit this in the opening to force him on the a7-g1 diagonal, which didn't turn out well for me. See the game underneath. I added some comments. Everyone is free to suggest more!

I do have another game that I quite surprisingly won in the end, that should have been a draw. Since it ended after 63 moves and there is a lot to comment on, I need to prepare this before placing here.

I recently started another ICCF tournament against 6 other players. In two games my opponents chose the Exchange Variation. Rather than playing 5. e3, I will investigate how Hansen himself prefers the move 5. g3. I think after publishing some games here, I get the feeling that, as others showed, the light coloured White bishop needs to be on the h1-a8 diagonal to pressure Black on the d-file as well, where the pawn will probably be played to d5 very soon. The more pressure as soon as possible, I think, the better.

Here is a short game in which I played pawn to c4 on the 4th move, that I talked about some time ago here.

so what are you prefering lately now that you have tried both ? 4.c4 or 4.c3

I have not decided yet after so few games, but the 4. c3 variation tends to build a stronger pawn center for White, where instead the 4. c4 variation seems to have this eliminated by Black very soon with more counterplay options. That's my first thougtht for now.

Likewise that as mentioned a few posts up, I am now trying so see if either 5. e3 or 5. g3 makes a signifacant difference (for building up your pawns on c3, d4 and e3). By the way, with playing 5. g3 I don't think it necessary to occupy g2 quickly with White's light bishop to control the h1-a8 diagonal and possibly play against the pawn on d5, but first to further close the options for Black's dark bishop usually ending up on f6.

I felt C3 seemed more solid. C4 is fine too but you need to be more careful on the queenside .

I think you are right. C3 is more solid and keeps the c, d and e files closed much longer for Black to get less counterplay.

Somewhere along this thread some posts were deleted, or dissapeared.... No idea why! Shame.

Oh, now I can see them again! ;-)

https://www.chess.com/member/kingsknighttwitch

wow!!! That Sokolsky game at number 28 post was just awesome. Pushing b4 to b5. Black looked in control to me and in the end game held pieces advantage but white gallantly persisted with true Sokolsky spirit and played a superb ending. Sure, errors here and there but all in all one of the great showcase games for this odd opening. I particularly LOVED the b4 to b5 push.

Are you referring to the game I played against the national master? Yes, that is a very fine game. If I remember correctly, the only bad move I made was 20. Bf3 as there was a way for me to simplify into a completely winning endgame. Otherwise White played a near-perfect game of chess while Black made some questionable decisions (hanging onto the c-pawn instead of the e-pawn in particular was very suspect).

The b5 push in this line (1. b4 e5 2. Bb2 f6) is quite good and scores very well for White. Alexey Sokolsky himself was a fan of this approach and preferred it over the Tartakower Gambit.

My current ideas on the Exchange Variation are the follwing, and they are open for discussion:

• If Black chooses this variation (and is well prepared) this player can only opt for a draw, and in a tournament situation this cannot look good for him
• White has every opportunity to play at least equal, or improve his position
• White should always play on pressuring on Black's pawn played to d5 as soon as possible, so the "exchange variation" should actullay be called "the battle for d5". In this way White should be able to keep the momentum
• In general regarding the Solkosly / Oranguntan, naming it a strange opening where Black could seek ample compensation and it thus being a weird opening... I would say, that is indeed the case for every other opening as well. So noargument for not playing 1. b4!!!

Your comments are welcome.

I bounce back and forth between deciding on a repertoire of 1 b4 (Hansen) when white and 1...g6 (I like The Modern Gurgenidze repertoire book), or 1 e4 (Keep It Simple repertoire) and the Tarrasch Defense and 3...Qa5 Scandinavian.

The first repertoire mentioned appeals to me because it cuts down on such much theory plus it's not as well known by opponents. However, the books don't hold one's hand all that well. It's an interesting concise repertoire that might make a lot of sense on the club level.

The second repertoire mentioned has what is to me better written books but so much more theory, though not as much theory as top tier repertoires have.

This is my favorite defense against the Polish Opening. It is simple, correct and effective.

I like it Bea. It gives a solid position for black. 😇😇😇

Why do I play 1...b6 against the Polish Opening? Because in my opinion 1.b4 is a worse and more debilitating version of the Larsen 1.b3 opening. In short, I do the same as my rival, but I weaken the position less. What do you think?

Thanks for your attention.

Thanks for your contribution Bea. I haven’t seen this interesting version before so I can’t comment.

I noticed at the end of move26 the engine says the position was equal Bea. A good position if we are playing a gm lol 😊😊😊😊