The Grob, the ultimate opening
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Psylium
Dec 26, 2014
0
#1
Very poor play by black. the 4th move was very bad. the pawn also could hav been taken later . it was going nowhere.
the grob!
Dec 26, 2014
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#5
The Grob was a favorite of Claude Bloodgood, notorious murderer. The game given looks like one from his book.
*facepalm*
Dec 26, 2014
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#8
I missed my big chance recently to see a Grob in action at a tournament I was directing a couple weeks ago. Our local Grob aficionado was paired against a Life Master. I finished up my paperwork at the TD table, got up and saw the players resetting the pieces. The Grobist got popped in about five minutes. Dang.
Instead of 9.e4, White should have played 9.Qxb7! This is decisive.
[+5.49] 9.Qxb7 Qxb7 10.Bxb7 g6 11.Bxa8
9.e4 turns the advantage back over to Black.
[-0.66] 9.... Bxd5 10.exd5 Nd7 11.d3 Nf6
Dec 26, 2014
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#12
frankukai, I think you're right, but...
some times ago I put a basic Grob opening position and make an engine play with it.
he played in a positional manner and won.
I thought : "mmmmhhhhh"
and then I thought : "hey, it's no fun ! let's have cheap tactics and dirty traps instead !"
=D
Dec 26, 2014
0
#13
I beat our city champion in a simul by playing the Grob (I was playing four opponents, including one who beat me when he was playing three of the same four plus me). I've never tried it in a level game at standard time control, though.
A quote from Basman's book, that I'm fond of:
"...However, the more valuable the piece, the more exposed it is in the center, hence we get the idea "Pieces go into the center in reverse order of strength (or value)".
Thus the pawns, the weakest pieces of all, go into the center first. Then come the knights and bishops, with the heavy pieces, the Queens and rooks, holding up the rear. The King, the most valuable piece, does not usually arrive in the center until very late in the game, since his exposure rating is very high.
Having decided that the pawn is the weakest piece, we should consider, "What is weaker than a pawn?". The answer is, clearly, that NOTHING is weaker than a pawn. It follows, with inexorable logic, that you should place NOTHING in the center at the start of the game, and that, therefore, moves such as 1.e4 or 1.d4 or their equivalents as Black, are PREMATURE and will lead to the exposure of the central position.
So the new theory in no way undervalues the importance of the center -- pieces strive towards the center to enhance their power. It is just a question of when the should arrive there."
I love that. I also like this line:
When you play the Grob, each game is a marvelous adventure, a trip into uncharted territory.
Grob?