a chess openi_ng repertoire by Aaron Summerscale EVERYMAN CHESS Everyman Chess, formerly Cadogan Chess, is published by Everyman Publishers, London First published in 1998 by Everyman Publishers plc, formerly Cadogan Books plc, Gloucester Mansions, 140A Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8HD in association with Gambit Publications Ltd, 69 Masbro Road, London W14 OLS. Copyright © 1998 Aaron Summerscale The right of Aaron Summerscale to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 1 85744 519 8 Distributed in North America by The Globe Pequot Press, 6 Business Park Road, P.O. Box 833, Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475-0833. Telephone 1-800 243 0495 (toll free) All other sales enquiries should be directed to Everyman Chess, Gloucester Mansions, 140A Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8HD tel: 0171539 7600 fax: 0171 379 4060 For Claire EVERYMAN CHESS SERIES (formerly Cadogan Chess) Chief Advisor: Garry Kasparov Series Editor: Murray Chandler Edited by Graham Burgess and Chris Baker and typeset by Petra Nunn for Gambit Publications Ltd. Printed in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wilts. I Contents Symbols 4 Introduction 5 1 The Barry Attack 7 2 The 150 Attack 36 3 The Colle-Zukertort System 52 4 1 d4 d5 2l2Jf3: Beating the Anti-Colle Systems 70 5 The Classical Queen's Indian 90 6 Anti-Benoni 103 7 The Anti-Dutch 2 i.g5 128 8 Odds and Ends 13 8 Index of Variations 142 Symbols + check ++ double check # checkmate !! brilliant move good move !? interesting move ?! dubious move ? bad move ?? blunder +- White is winning ± White is much better ;t White is slightly better = equal position + Black is slightly better + Black is much better -+ Black is winning Ch championship Cht team championship Wch world championship Ech European championship Wcht World Team Championship ECC European Clubs Cup Ct candidates event IZ interzonal event z zonal event OL olympiad jr junior event worn women's event mem memorial event rpd rapidplay game corr correspondence game 1-0 the game ends in a win for White lfz-lh the game ends in a draw 0-1 the game ends in a win for Black (n) nth match game (D) see next diagram Introduction This book is aimed primarily at cl.ub-level players with a playing strength of up to about 2200 Elo (or 200 BCF). When I was a young player at school I was al­ ways looking out for new repertoire books. I wanted something which would give me all I needed to know about the opening, without being too time­ consuming, as I had plenty of other things'to do with my time. I guess you could say I was not a very serious chess student and in fact I delighted in getting my op­ ponents on unfamiliar ground, when my natural ability would get a chance to shine through. The problem I found with the repertoire books of the time was they attempted to cover too much material. Main-line variations would be covered in just a few pages, so justice was never done to the lines recommended. In the end I would have to consult a more specialized work on one of the suggested variations to find out the true story behind it and waste valuable time in the process. Mean­ while, I would suffer a few painful reverses, as my lack of understanding was ex­ posed on the board. The aim of this book is to provide a complete repertoire for the boy I used to be. The variations chosen are a little offbeat, but they fit together very nicely. The three main systems, the Barry Attack, the 150 Attack and the Colle-Zukertort, can be used against virtually any defence Black plays against to 1 d4. These con­ tain the meat and bones of the book and once mastered will provide a complete repertoire for White against most defences. I have used all three successfully my­ self. I have chosen systems that I believe will have the greatest psychological im­ pact. There is a school of thought that says "you should play the man, not the board". If you accept this, then you can learn a lot about an opponent from their choice of opening variation. For example, King's Indian players tend to be well booked-up. They often accept structural weaknesses in return for attacking chances. The Barry Attack is likely to annoy King's Indian players, who will be thrown on to their own resources from an early stage in unfamiliar positions where the usual plans just don't work. With reference to the material itself, wherever possible, I have tried to place the emphasis on understanding what is occurring through explanation, rather than by weighty variations. This is because, for the most part, the variations I 6 A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire recommend are flexible and the move-orders are often quite interchangeable. In such situations, understanding what you are trying to achieve is of far greater im­ portance than remembering specific moves. I have included a number of non-grandmaster games in the material. This is because I feel it will be useful for the reader to have a number of examples where Black defended less than perfectly, just as might happen in your average week­ end tournament or local club match. These variations, although not objectively critical, should help to build your confidence in the recommended openings and aid you in understanding the various tactical motifs. Having confidence in your opening repertoire is in many ways as important as memorizing theory, because if you hit a snag, believing in your pet line will give you the self-assurance to solve any problems your opponent might set for you. The astute reader will notice that Black has possibilities of achieving greater flexibility and therefore perhaps better chances of equality by utilizing a clever move-order, for instance, after 1 d4 l2Jf6 2l2Jf3 c5 or 1 d4 d5 2 l2Jf3 l2Jf6 3 e3 and then 3 ... i.g4 or 3 ... c5. While it is possible to play a Colle-Zukertort system against these moves, Black has better chances than normal. Therefore, to make the repertoire more effective, I have included chapters on the Anti-Benoni, Clas­ sical Queen's Indian and Black's alternatives after 1 d4 d5 2l2Jf3. These varia­ tions give White the best chance of an opening advantage and can be added to the repertoire, as and when the reader feels ready, thus giving maximum flexibility. To save the reader time, I have tried to give only one recommendation per move for White, unless I felt it was prudent to give other examples of play to help you understand the main ideas. When I have given two possible continuations, they are usually of equal merit and it is up to you to decide which suits your personal style. Above all, I have offered variations that are likely to lead to the most fun for White as, after all, apart from for hard-nosed professionals, that is what playing chess is all about! Aaron Summerscale London, November 1998 1 The Barry Attack Introduction plenty of books telling Black exactly how to proceed, either to deliver mate Why does the average club player as or create enough chaos to make the is­ White need something offbeat against sue completely unclear. Perhaps the the King's Indian? Aren't the main worst thing is that Black seems to have lines good enough? To answer this, let all the fun. If you haven't got hours, us look at a main-line variation of the days or maybe even weeks to study this King's Indian. one line then you could be in trouble. Why should White have to subject 1 d4lLJf6 2 lLJf3 g6 3 c4 i..g7 4 lLJc3 himself to this sort of onslaught in the 0-0 5 e4 d6 6 i..e2 e5 7 0-0 lLJc6 8 d5 search for an opening advantage? Isn't lLJe7 9 lLJe1lLJd7 10 i..e3 f5 11 f3 f4 it time to put the ball back in Black's 12 i..f2 g5 (D) court? The Barry Attack avoids not only the King's Indian, but the Grtin­ feld as well. It is a 'plug in and play' opening which can be learnt in a few hours. The basic idea is simple, if a lit­ tle crude. No more mister nice guy; it's time for blood! For those who need a little reminder of just how much fun it can be to take White in the above diagram, I include the rest of the short and (for White) very painful game Perruchoud-Tischer, Biel1990: 13lLJb5 b6 14 b4 a6 15lLJc3 lLJg6 This is one of the critical main lines 16 a41:.b8 17lLJd3lLJf6 18 a5 bxa5 19 of the Classical King's Indian after 12 1:.xa5 h5 20 c5 g4 21 b5 g3 22 hxg3 moves. For many players, White's po­ fxg3 23 i..xg3 h4 24 i..f2 lLJh5 25 sition will represent a chess night­ bxa6 ~g5 26 i.e1 lLJgf4 27 lLJxf4 mare. Black has an automatic and very lLJxf4 281:.f21:.b2 29 a7 ~g3 30 a8'iV powerful long-term kingside attack.