Efstratios Grivas GRIVAS OPENING LABORATORY VOLUME 7 Chess Evolution Cover designer Piotr Pielach Typesetting i-Press ‹www.i-press.pl› First edition 2021 by Chess Evolution Grivas Opening Laboratory. Volume 7 Copyright © 2021 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 978-615-5793-30-1 All sales or enquiries should be directed to Chess Evolution 2040 Budaors, Templom ter 19, Magyarorszag e-mail: [email protected] website: www.chess-evolution.com Printed in Hungary TABLE OF CONTENTS Key to symbols ...............................................................................................................5 Foreword .........................................................................................................................7 Description ....................................................................................................................11 PART 1. THE MODERN DEFENCE (A21-A42) Chapter 1. Th e Modern Defence (A21) ................................................................... 17 Chapter 2. Th e Modern Defence (A42) ...................................................................27 Chapter 3. Typical Middlegame Strategy ...............................................................47 Chapter 4. Endgame Technique ...............................................................................63 Chapter 5. Tactical Motifs ......................................................................................... 71 PART 2. THE POLISH DEFENCE (A40) Chapter 1. Th e Polish Defence (A40) ......................................................................83 Chapter 2. Typical Middlegame Strategy .............................................................. 91 Chapter 3. Endgame Technique ...............................................................................97 Chapter 4. Tactical Motifs ........................................................................................ 99 PART 3. VARIOUS DEFENCES (A40-E10) Chapter 1. Th e Dzindzi-Indian Defence (E10) .................................................... 105 Chapter 2. Th e Tango Defence (E10) ...................................................................... 111 Chapter 3. Th e Bozo-Indian Defence (A40) .........................................................117 Chapter 4. Th e Englund Gambit (A40) .................................................................123 Chapter 5. Th e Owen Defence (A40) ....................................................................129 Chapter 6. Typical Middlegame Strategy .............................................................133 Chapter 7. Endgame Technique ............................................................................. 145 Chapter 8. Tactical Motifs ........................................................................................153 PART 4. THE BENONI DEFENCE (A43-72) Chapter 1. Th e Old Benoni (A43-A44).................................................................. 163 Chapter 2. Th e Czech Benoni (A56) .......................................................................171 Chapter 3. Th e Schmid Benoni (A56/E74) .............................................................183 Chapter 4. Th e Snake Benoni (A43-A60) ............................................................. 185 Chapter 5. Th e Classical Modern Benoni (A70-A72) ........................................201 Chapter 6. Typical Middlegame Strategy ............................................................225 Chapter 7. Endgame Technique .............................................................................243 Chapter 8. Tactical Motifs ....................................................................................... 255 PART 5. THE OLD INDIAN DEFENCE (A55) Chapter 1. Th e Old Indian Defence (A55) ............................................................265 Chapter 2. Typical Middlegame Strategy ............................................................ 273 Chapter 3. Endgame Technique ............................................................................. 281 Chapter 4. Tactical Motifs .......................................................................................289 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................297 Curriculum Vitae ......................................................................................................299 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, you have done your homework! Oth- erwise there is no point in the Black Th e series continuing with this book player following it! is aimed at off ering a full repertoire for White 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 purpose able to churn out lengthy, memorised and the presentation are diff erent. variations but will need to solve prob- lems at the board, in positions that are Th e choice of variations against each somewhat diff erent in character from reply from Black will be mine and will those normally reached in the open- be based on my long experience, hav- ings under discussion. ing played the game for over 40 years, and also served as a professional I have also selected the systems with- coach for approximately 20 of those! in the repertoire in such a way that they form a seamless whole and are I hope that each book in the series will also reachable by transpositions. come out every two months and one to three openings will be off ered in I have tried to describe the suggest- each of them. ed systems in detail, giving my as- sessments as clearly and responsibly Maybe not all of the choices will ap- as possible, and have generally aimed peal to you, but you should under- to provide useful guidelines as well as stand that what is important is to many new ideas and moves. learn them in depth, rather than look- ing for something astounding — this Many things in chess theory, as in is simply an illusion. life, are relative and a matter of taste. Actually, there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ What I mean by this is that nowadays openings. Th ere are openings that you no opening off ers all that much; what know and understand, and openings you can expect is something between that you do not know and do not un- a tiny bit better and slightly better, if derstand. 8 GRIVAS OPENING LABORATORY. VOLUME 7 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 book 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 book 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 omissions ion, move-by-move consideration is or hidden secrets. On the contrary, it most signifi cant. contains a great number of new and deeply analysed suggestions, plans, Of course, it is not necessary to mem- novelties, new ideas, moves, etc! orise all the variations and moves mentioned in the books — this would Let us not forget that the basic char- probably be impossible. acteristics of the openings do not fre- quently undergo radical changes. On But then, you may ask, what is the the other hand, the development of reason for someone to deal with a the- move-by-move theory is explosive. ory book, one that he does not need to ‘memorise’ in full? Every chess player stands on the shoulders of those who came before Th e theory of ‘subconscious educa- him. Every generation of good chess tion’ will help us to answer this ques- players learns from and builds upon tion. By playing through the moves the experience and creativity of the and variations in the books, our sub- previous generations. conscious processes and stores simi- lar motifs, repeated moves and plans, Th e chess player of the year 2021 has and also ‘learns’ to avoid traps and encountered more types of positions unwelcome positions. than the chess-player of 1980 and 9 knows the proper ways to deal with mum benefi t. Only if this choice even- these positions. tually proves undesirable