Well you could consider the Kings Indian or Dutch for something sharp. Personally I prefer to stand toe to toe with these stodgy d4 players. There's no greater satisfaction than beating stodgy d4 players, grinding out a win against them. John Cox has a book "Dealing With d4 Deviations" you may wish to consider to supplement you Nimzo/Bogo repertoire.The introduction includes a useful perspective on facing these awkward white players.
Recommend me a good long-term black d4 repertoire book
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Ziggy_Zugzwang wrote:
... John Cox has a book "Dealing With d4 Deviations" you may wish to consider to supplement you Nimzo/Bogo repertoire.The introduction includes a useful perspective on facing these awkward white players.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627032909/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen89.pdf
A more recent (2012) similar sort of book is Grandmaster Repertoire 11: Beating 1 d4 Sidelines by Boris Avrukh.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627001415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen164.pdf
That Avrukh book looks like it should do that trick. The chapter on playing against 3.e3 should really improve my score - I'm just winging it right now and I get into some really bad and dodgy setups really quickly as a result.
hhnngg1 wrote:
... playing against 3.e3 ... I'm just winging it right now and I get into some really bad and dodgy setups really quickly as a result.
I am reminded of a passage from the 2005 Cox book: "I think it's worth examining why I used to do so badly against [the London, the Colle, the Torre, the Trompowsky, the Veresov, etc.] ... I didn't actually have a repertoire at all against, say, the Colle. You just play chess, right? Develop the pieces and equalize. I remember Grandmaster Vlatko Kovacevic playing the Colle against me ... Time has mercifully obscured the details, but I know I went ... d5 and ... c5. Pretty soon a knight appeared on e5 and I didn't seem to be able to shift it. Shortly after that, either the h- or the g-pawn arrived on the premises. Then came Re3, Qh5, and the next thing I knew I was looking like something out of 1001 Winning Chess Combinations. That wasn't the only such debacle, either; every time my opponent played one of these vile things I was behind on the clock as I worked on my conception of the wheel, and just as you'd expect some of my wheels came out square. ... I didn't consider [these openings] dangerous. ... I could list easily a hundred 2550+ players who have succumbed to the openings ... These openings produce as red-blooded a struggle as any, and if you're not ready for it, you're starting at a big disadvantage."
I'm was learning the Nimzo and Bogo indian system but I'm finding that everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) at my level instantly avoids these systems with an e3...
I've noticed that too although I find many d4 players also head off towards the Colle/London/Tromp complex.
I love the Nimzo but find it's like the Black Ruy -- a great defense which White class players often won't let you play. So I have been switching to the Dutch.
I've browsed the John Cox book and it looks awfully good. The introduction is very funny:
Aug 27, 2015
0
#7
This one may be a bit sharp for you, I'm not sure what its called but...
The purpose of Na5 is to enhance the usually passive Nc6 knight's "potential" while maximizing the b7 bishop's activity. The black knight remains on a5 to put pressure on c4 and enhance the potential of it getting to the c4 square.
I know that Chess Openings for Black, Explained covers Bogo and Nimzo. Do you know if it addresses the e3 issue?
CM: COBE addresses all the Colle/London/Tromp stuff, even the BDG, in short chapters.
hhnng1: Yes, if you are looking for a repertoire book which covers the Black side of 1.d4, Chess Openings for Black Explained by Alburt et al. is pretty decent.
The d4 repertoire is based on the Nimzo dark-square variations, where Black often exchanges his dark bishop on c3 and attacks the center with d6/e5 and/or fianchettos his Q-bishop.
Straight Outta Zurich, 1953!
Which is to say the repertoire is coherent, but dated. I am sure it would be fine at the class level except the class guys tend to play the e3 stuff.
I just bought the John Cox 'Dealing with D4 book.'
It's great - it's EXACTLY what I was looking for. This book will definitely significantly improve me play - I face all the lines he deals with day in day out, and I finally have decent replies!
I'd also add that I bought the book in pgn / Chessbase format as a download on Everyman chess, and it's been a revelation. I'm never buying paper books ever again. The moves/comments are all preentered, saving me hours of time - I can learn whole systems in the time it takes to usually just enter one line. I really hope they don't run into piracy/stealing issues with this plan, as it's so helpful for database users (most of the other chess publishers only do paper books or videos without pgn.)
You might want to check out some of openings books listed in link embedded here:
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/good-chess-openings-books-for-beginners-and-beyond
Also if you have a penchant for gambit play you might like the Benko (aka Volga) Gambit. Here is a complete repertoire for Black based primarily on the Benko Gambit and related systems. It's an agressive, attacking Black defense. No boring Nimzo Indian stuff here. And if you think world class players wouldn't play the Benko Gambit - think again. Its considered to be solid and it's in Magnus Carlsen's repertoire!
"Attack With Black" by Valery Aveskulov. The book gets good reviews.
One more possibility for you to consider. A lesser known, but no less solid system for Black that has been played at the highest levels.
"The Ragozin Complex" by Vladimir Barsky.
This is a hybrid system of the Queen's Gambit Declined and the Nimzo Indian Defense. It has been played at the highest levels.
Aug 29, 2015
0
#15
I prefer a totally unconventional solution: "A Universal Weapon 1.d4 d6" by Vladimir Barsky "Chess Stars" Editions Sofia 2010.
MANTHOS_I wrote:
I prefer a totally unconventional solution: "A Universal Weapon 1.d4 d6" by Vladimir Barsky "Chess Stars" Editions Sofia 2010.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626233841/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen149.pdf
RussBell wrote:
Also if you have a penchant for gambit play you might like the Benko (aka Volga) Gambit. Here is a complete repertoire for Black based primarily on the Benko Gambit and related systems. It's an agressive, attacking Black defense. No boring Nimzo Indian stuff here. And if you think world class players wouldn't play the Benko Gambit - think again. Its considered to be solid and it's in Magnus Carlsen's repertoire!
"Attack With Black" by Valery Aveskulov. The book gets good reviews.
http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Black-Valery-Aveskulov/dp/1906454396/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440841456&sr=1-1&keywords=attack+with+black
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627001415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen164.pdf
RussBell wrote:
One more possibility for you to consider. A lesser known, but no less solid system for Black that has been played at the highest levels.
"The Ragozin Complex" by Vladimir Barsky.
This is a hybrid system of the Queen's Gambit Declined and the Nimzo Indian Defense. It has been played at the highest levels.
http://www.amazon.com/Ragozin-Complex-Vladimir-Barsky/dp/9056913700/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440842918&sr=1-1&keywords=ragozin+complex
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626165831/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen155.pdf
ipcress12 wrote:
hhnng1: Yes, if you are looking for a repertoire book which covers the Black side of 1.d4, Chess Openings for Black Explained by Alburt et al. is pretty decent. ...
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627060405/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen75.pdf
I need some good suggestions for a way to play as black against d4 and am looking for a book or video resource that has good solid recommendations for a black repertoire.
I'm was learning the Nimzo and Bogo indian system but I'm finding that everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) at my level instantly avoids these systems with an e3 and we're back either in QG or Q Indian systems, and none of my resources seem to address this way to sidestep these system, so I'm looking for something else. I don't really know any system well as black against d4 (I've been just playing on the fly, and my results are starting to really show it!), so I'm up for anything.
I really like the Kings Gambit book by GM Shaw from the white side - it's dense, complicated, but solid and comprehensive, and it's serving me well (even though it'll take me like a year to get through it!) Would love something similarly excellent.