Efstratios Grivas GRIVAS OPENING LABORATORY VOLUME 1 Chess Evolution Cover designer Piotr Pielach Typesetting i-Press ‹www.i-press.pl› First edition 2019 by Chess Evolution Grivas opening laboratory. Volume 1 Copyright © 2019 Chess Evolution 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, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. ISBN 978-615-5793-19-6 All sales or enquiries should be directed to Chess Evolution 2040 Budaors, Nyar utca 16, Magyarorszag e-mail: [email protected] website: www.chess-evolution.com Printed in Hungary TABLE OF CONTENTS Key to symbols ...............................................................................................................5 Foreword .........................................................................................................................7 Preface ............................................................................................................................11 PART 1. THE GRUENFELD DEFENCE (D91) Chapter 1. Black’s 5th-move Deviat — Various Lines ........................................... 17 Chapter 2. Black’s 5th-move Deviat — 5...dxc4 ......................................................27 Chapter 3. Black’s 7th-move Deviat — 7...dxc4 ......................................................43 Chapter 4. Black’s 11th-move Deviat ........................................................................73 Chapter 5. Black’s 12th-move Deviat ........................................................................79 Chapter 6. Typical Middlegame Strategy ............................................................ 105 Chapter 7. Endgame Technique ..............................................................................121 Chapter 8. Tactical Motifs ........................................................................................137 PART 2. THE SLAV DEFENCE (D11) Chapter 1. Black’s 4th-move Deviat — Various Lines ........................................ 147 Chapter 2. Black’s 4th-move Deviat — Main Lines .............................................155 Chapter 3. Typical Middlegame Strategy ............................................................. 195 Chapter 4. Endgame Technique ..............................................................................213 Chapter 5. Tactical Motifs .......................................................................................223 PART 3. THE BLUMENFELD GAMBIT (E10) Chapter 1. Black’s 5th-move Deviat — Various Lines ......................................... 235 Chapter 2. Black’s 5th-move Deviat — Main Lines .............................................245 Chapter 3. Typical Middlegame Strategy ............................................................. 257 Chapter 4. Endgame Technique ............................................................................ 269 Chapter 5. Tactical Motifs .......................................................................................277 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................283 Curriculum Vitae ......................................................................................................285 KEY TO SYMBOLS = Equality or equal chances White has a slight advantage Black has a slight advantage White is better Black is better +- White has a decisive advantage -+ Black has a decisive advantage unclear with compensation with counterplay with initiative with an attack with the idea only move Nnovelty ! a good move !! an excellent move ?a weak move ?? a blunder !? an interesting move ?! a dubious move +check #mate FOREWORD Dear Reader, have made your homework! Other- wise there is no point for the black Th e series starting with this book is player to follow it! aimed in off ering a full white reper- toire based on 1.d4. Th e recommendations are geared to- wards posing Black unconventional Th e idea of small opening repertoire problems. Your opponents will not be books is not new, but here the pur- able to churn out lengthy memorised pose and the presentation is diff erent. variations but will need to solve prob- lems at the board, in positions that are Th e choice of the variations against somewhat diff erent in character from each black replay will be mine and it those normally reached in the open- will be based on my long experience, ings under discussion. as I am playing the game for over 40 years, while I am a professional coach I have also selected the systems with- for approximately 20! in the repertoire in such a way that they form a seamless whole and are I do hope that each book of the series also reachable by transpositions. will come out every two months and one to three openings will be off ered I have tried to describe the suggested in each of them. systems in detail, giving my assess- ments as clearly and responsibly as Maybe not all of the choices will ap- possible, and have generally aimed to peal to you but you will have to un- provide useful guidelines and many derstand that what is important is to new ideas and moves. learn them in depth and not really looking for something high — this is Many things in chess theory, as in simply an illusion. life, are relative and a matter of taste. Actually there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ What I mean is that nowadays no openings. Th ere are openings that you opening gives really much; what you know and understand, and openings can expect is something in-between that you do not know and do not un- tiny better and slightly better, if you derstand. 8 GRIVAS OPENING LABORATORY. VOLUME 1 Th us, I believe that my recommend- Such proper ‘subconscious memorisa- ed systems will off er a lot of possibili- tion’ will, at the critical moment, en- ties, new ideas and practical benefi ts, force the correct choice upon us. aspects that should not be underesti- mated in modern chess. Among oth- Many of the opening books I have er things, I have tried to make them read mainly focus on the general ‘understandable’ to you. characteristics of the opening or the variation in question and much less Th is books series main purpose is to so on move-by-move theory. ‘train’ and educate the reader in ter- ritory that is ‘unknown’ to him. We Th is can lead to unresolved questions must not forget that this is a theory in the reader’s mind, and the danger books series, where concrete reaction that he will mix things up at moments to the opponent’s moves is of primary when it is necessary to fi nd one specif- importance. ic concrete move or sequence. General principles and plans do merit Th e recommended repertoire is that a place in this project but, in my opin- of a Grandmaster, without any omis- ion, move-by-move consideration is sions or hidden secrets. On the con- most signifi cant. trary, it contains a great number of new, deeply analysed suggestions’ Of course it is not necessary to mem- plans, novelties, new ideas, moves, orise all the variations and moves etc! mentioned in the books series — this will be probably impossible. Let us not forget that the basic char- acteristics of the openings do not fre- But then, you may ask, what is the quently undergo radical changes. On reason for someone to deal with a the- the other hand, the development of ory book, one that he does not need to move-by-move theory is explosive. ‘memorise’ in full? Every chess player stands on the Th e theory of ‘subconscious educa- shoulders of the chess player who tion’ will help us answer this ques- came before him. Every generation of tion. By playing through the moves good chess players learns from and and variations in the books series, our builds upon the experience and cre- subconscious processes and stores ativity of the previous generations. similar motifs, repeated moves and plans, and also ‘learns’ to avoid traps Th e chess player of the year 2019 has and unwelcome positions. encountered more types of positions than the chess-player of 1979 and FOREWORD 9 knows the proper ways to deal with As Ernest Hemingway once wrote: these positions. ‘I guess really good soldiers are really good at very little else’. Th erefore, a chess player today would have a great advantage over a chess Th e massive development of theory in player (even one of equal or greater all openings has clarifi ed that White talent) of 40 years ago, simply because cannot hope for anything more than he could play the opening with deep- a slight advantage, but in some cas- er understanding; this understanding es even this is unattainable! My rec- is off ered to him by the multitude of ommendations are purely based on deeply analysed variations. a healthy approach. In no occasion do I underestimate I must clarify that I took the liberty of the necessity and value of learning changing the original move-order of the general characteristics and plans many games. In this way it was pos- of each opening or variation. How- sible to provide clearer coverage and ever, I do strongly believe that move- guidance. by-move theory and its (at least) sub- conscious absorption are necessary Of course, the way you reach a certain in order to survive in the labyrinth of position is important, but equally im- the chess openings. portant is to examine how you want to proceed upon reaching it. True val- One question oft en posed by my stu- ue comes from knowing what to keep dents is whether we must simultane- and what