I gave up playing the Dragon decades ago because of the weakness of the d5 square.
I switched to the Najdorf and never looked back!
Which Sicilian Defense (for Black) should I study and make part of my repertoire?
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the dragon/najdorf for black is scary because white throws everything at you and you can easy lose and get checkmated in blitz/bullet. but in longer times the najdorf is better because you arent forced to follow single lines like you usually have to do in the dragon, which leads to more dynamic and interesting positions
in faster time the paulsen/kan is the easiest one to play because you just follow a setup agianst (almost) whatever white throws at you and your plans are simple
Nov 15, 2023
0
#85
MangoMankey wrote:
I’d recommend looking up each line, reading the Wikipedia article on it and seeing some games in each line, then see what you like/find interesting and go with it
All the lines are sound and vary in tactical and positional elements (And some are very different from each other...)
There is no one-size-fits-all solution: it depends on your strengths, weaknesses, time you want to spend on memorizing theory, etc.
Wikipedia is a very good way to learn about chess openings and IT'S LITERALLY WIKIPEDIA
study whatever you want... i'm coming after you with smith morra. paulsen is the main line if that helps
if black knows what hes doing in the paulsen setup agianst the morra then white really does not get much
every paulsen line is either equal or better for black and whites development advantage eventually begins to mean nothing and black is just up a pawn
Optimissed wrote:
But the Smith Morras's VERY nearly lost for white. Maybe it is lost.
No, it isn't. Actually Black doesn't have a practical advantage, but since Black has many lines which assure easy equality, it's not a very good idea to play it, unless you play against weak opposition.
Optimissed wrote:
But the Smith Morras's VERY nearly lost for white. Maybe it is lost.
White's position after 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 is stronger than Black's position after 1.e4 c5.
The Morra really is a completely legitimate gambit. Black has at least half a dozen setups against it that give him an equal position, but he will still need to defend all game. That is why a huge number of even very strong players in slow chess will avoid the Morra with 3...Nf6
It's annoying. You have to play very very carefully to defend and not lose. In blitz it's just a terrible to accept it. Going into the alapin is the best bet IMO.
Taking is the top move but you will try "educating" me about how this 3600+ engine doesn't understand the position as a 1600 so I am not really interested in that jazz.
the Nd5 sacirfices are seen alot in the morra, i think if black knows them well enough he will still survive with equality if he returns his piece
Optimissed wrote:
Oh, while you wrote that, and I've just come back, I looked at taking more carefully. It's pretty horrible for black but he's just about hanging on. I've been looking at various continuations and it's complex, where the better practical chances lie with white. But engine assessments can't be taken too seriously in this kind of position because they tend to overcompensate white because they somewhat overvalue space and development. That can be shown by taking various positions where black is cramped but can achieve an equal game outside the engine's horizon, whereas the assessments might be showing + 0.6.
However, it seems irrelevant, since the modern line is not 6. ...a6. There's no need to play that so early and so it's a wasted move. Black proceeds with development instead. Are you saying you're really a 1600?
Not that rating matters to you considering you just looked at GYG's rating, saw 2500, and dismissed it. Old and bitter are you?
Optimissed wrote:
Anyway, rating doesn't come into the equation because his assertion about the SMG was incorrect and a strong player wouldn't have made it. You got it the wrong way round.
All your arguments essentially boil down to SMG bad - Oh this 2700 GM played it badly, if he followed the engine lines which I totally think can't grasp the nuance of the position - rinse and repeat.
I agree with your online rating thing, it barely matters.
I don't like a6 right away myself, I would go for d6 in that position and to lock e5 square by the correct push (or Nge7 but that requires more finesse), but its not a move that loses advantage by any means.
I am unfollowing this topic, because clearly you like your own voice too much lol, we could put you in front of Esserman, he would beat you 10 games out of 10 in the Morra, and you would essentially boil it down to "he is stronger than me it wasn't Morra". You are just that type of guy you know?
Nov 16, 2023
0
#97
At our level of play, I don't know if a theoretical edge of a few percentage points is even particularly relevant... not compared to factors like reaching an early-middle-game position in which you feel comfortable and whose themes and plans feel familiar.
Optimissed wrote:
It's a speed chess rating online. Classical move rates are what counts. There are plenty of people with bullet ratings of 2500 who would get wiped out in a slowplay game against an 1800.
Not trying to be mean, but I've noticed that most people with this attitude that online ratings are completely random and have no relationship with OTB ratings are so old that they haven't gained a single rating point this century.
Optimissed wrote:
Actually, claiming "White's position after 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 is stronger than Black's position after 1.e4 c5" is sheer nonsense.
It is not sheer nonsense but rather a 100% certain fact.
People on these forums are obsessed with calling good openings unsound, but believe me, there is absolutely, absolutely zero black advantage. For reference see Esserman's book.
personally i consider an opening sound if you as white come out of the opening with an advantage of some kind (space, piece, development) and haven't hung any pieces. and for black you should have have not given away center for no reason, or be hanging any pieces to be honest
Optimissed wrote:
whether the SMG is viable isn't going to be determined by blitz, bullet or rapid but by classical time control games based on careful analysis.
Ok, fair enough, I totally agree. And thousands of hours of this "careful analyis" was done by Esserman 15 years ago when he released his book with the assessment that the Morra is fully sound. And his analysis has stood the test of time in the sense that nobody has ever found an edge for black in the Morra.
Optimissed wrote:
Yes but I don't think you're aware of the logicality (or lack of it) in what you're claiming. Also if you're just parrotting what Esserman wrote, perhaps you don't have an opinion that you can call your own.
It was not written by Esserman, it is my own claim:
1.e4 c5, and white has the slight advantage of the first move. Black will need to work to equalize.
Whereas - 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 and the position is completely equal.
Hence, white's position after 3.c3 is stronger than black's position after 1...c5, quite straightforward no?
The Dragon will be refuted soon.