The Queen’s Indian Defence

We are working on our 2018 catalogue at the moment and have decided to reveal it slowly, one book at a time. With some of the books, we may even request your help…

But let us start with this one: Michael Roiz follows up to his best-selling Grandmaster Repertoire book on the Nimzo-Indian with a companion volume dealing with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6, simply called The Queen’s Indian Defence. After playing several tournaments, Michael is currently finishing off the final chapters of the book, which we anticipate will be released in the early summer.

154 thoughts on “The Queen’s Indian Defence”

  1. Jacob
    has either Jan or Peter been tapped for a possible QC book as yet? Their candidates show are the best chess entertainment bar none at the moment (sorry QC!).
    Informative, humourous, interesting anecdotes and they pitch it at a level where club players and GMs can all get something out of their analysis.
    Just a thought..
    While I’m sure they’d be great at opening books a more Learn from the Legends style approach might be better …

  2. Will there be consideration of different move orders leading up to the QID. I am thinking of how a QID player should approach English, Reti and Queens Pawn Games?

  3. @Mark
    I think you might find that these were covered in Beating d4 Sidelines by Avrukh and Beating Minor Openings by Mikhalevski. Of course, the Avrukh book is a few years old now, and I would love to see what Roiz recommended against the openings you mentioned.

    James

  4. @PinPon
    I could write a book named “Mishandling the Sicilian”, but maybe NIC would sue me for the similarity.

  5. Pinpon :
    @TonyRo
    I have a pending patent on ” How to bore your opponents to death ” even if i have my doubts on it becoming a bestseller

    I might have to take you to court over that one! 😉

  6. I wonder what is the recommendation for Catalan. I feel that it is more critical now than both 3. Cc3 and 3. Cf3.

  7. Great news – looking very much forward to this one 🙂 . Roiz’ book on the Nimzo-Indian is fantastic in my opinion!

  8. Good authors = good books 🙂
    Looking forward, even though I am not planning to add this to my rep. in general, I have a “thing” for well-written (and well-explained) books.

    Once again – another pearl from QC coming up!

  9. Mark :
    Will there be consideration of different move orders leading up to the QID. I am thinking of how a QID player should approach English, Reti and Queens Pawn Games?

    yes, chapter on QID set-up ( without black pawn on d5) against London system & colle -Zuke would be nice !

  10. @Pinpon
    Intentionally missing the joke, I think it is important not to violate other people’s imagination by stealing their titles. We have had some of ours copied over time and it feels bad. Chess Lessons was the same as a Yusupov book that everyone had forgotten.

  11. Nobody (or almost nobody) played the Sicilian in the Candidates either, and it’s hardly been refuted. One tournament with eight players is a very small statistical sample.

  12. A lot has been written about the (slightly unfair?) enginematch but just as an example, Stockfish could have chosen something different at move 21 in the d5 pawn sacrifice-lines, and the game containing g3 Ba6, Stockfish chose a new move while 15.Qb8 seems fine.

  13. @Leon Trotsky
    Considering Quality Chess has already dealt with the Catalan in two recent books, perhaps they might be going for a Fianchetto Benoni? One thing I noticed that started to become a bit popular was after Avrukh’s recommendation of 10.Bf4 that 10…Bf5 which wasn’t mentioned seems to be doing just fine and after 11.Nh4 …Bc8 and …Bg4!? both seem to be doing okay.

  14. I think the Benoni is an interesting opening, but i.m.o. it doesn’t fit so well with a Queen’s Indian repertoire. The philosophy of these two openings is quite different.

  15. When you have eight players who play with each other all the time, there is a tendency that they end up analysing the same openings. And when you spend 50 hours trying to find something for White, you eventually want to play the opening with Black. Therefore these guys get very similar repertoires.

  16. Based on Roiz’ own games I’m guessing that he will propose the ultra-fashionable …d5 4 Bg2 Bb4+ line against the Catalan. His game with black against Postny is annotated by himself in the MegaDB (at least it is in my DB) and is an excellent example on how to handle those positions. Ok, there’s also been R.Pert’s 5 Bd2 Bd6 covered in his Ragozin book and Danny King also proposed the given line in his DVD vs 1 d4. Let’s see…
    Maybe a fitting title could be “The reliable Queen’s Indian” ?!

  17. @ Jacob
    Hi Jacob. I would want to ask you: Are you still planning to write the serie “Chess from Scratch”? If so, when could it be possible released?
    Al

  18. Jacob Aagaard

    @Al
    The first of the workbooks will be out in the spring. Basically, a lot of things have been put on hold recently because of two things. Playing 1.e4, which eventually became two books. And also I caught a nasty infection and have been quite ill for some months. I am OK now, but I lost a lot of time. The first book out will be a Workbook, then the books will come, first slowly (many duties), then faster, over the next 12-18 months.

  19. Hi Jacob.
    Thanks for answering my question, and I am glad to hear that you are ok and I wish all the best in your coming projects.
    Jacob, I have a new query, how do you want to structure your coming series? For instance, like Yusupov series or like your Grandmaster Preparation series or something different.

  20. Siddhartha Gautama

    @QID book
    I would love to see an QID setup against the Torre or London.
    Because of Avrukh book, we are well prepared and I don`t think that GM Roiz needs to push further into the sidelines.
    But against these two openings I would be very happy, if GM Roiz can give as another setup

  21. @Sam
    But the book description says that it deals with the Catalan after 3. g3. From what I knew, the Catalan is 3. g3 d5 only, but 3. g3 itself without specifying Black response has no official name. Or maybe I am wrong of course..

    Even so, does 3. g3 c5 fit in with a solid Nimzo/Queen’s repertoire? I think that Black is fine in the Fianchetto Benoni, but it is much sharper than the Queen’s Indian itself. And White can try 4. Cf3 if s/he wants.

    If it is 3. g3 d5, I assume it will be something solid. Any insights, editors ? 😀

  22. @Al
    This will be really basic stuff. We are starting with how the pieces move. It is not too dissimilar to the Step Method, although I have quite a lot of different ideas how to do things. Ideally, it will provide kids with more options. My own have used both Step books and the draft for my books.

    I will also being two other series of books, at advanced level. One new series of exercise books; new exercises, some new angles, based on what I do with my GM students, but not surprising in any way. And a series of books which are more like the Gelfand books, although without Boris of course :-).

  23. @Leon Trotsky
    We do not debate lines at any depth before we send things to the printer. Too much time spent on this in the past and it often ends up with us having to justify ourselves, which is not the goal.

  24. Regarding the new Taimanov book

    I hope Black has found a good way to combat 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cd 4.Nd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qf3

    This seems to be a thorn in the side of Taimanov players these days. I noticed MVL just beat Anand in it. Hopefully the author will help is find a good line against this?

  25. @The Doctor
    Negi Kotronias and now the new Dismantling the Sicilian have all gone down the Qf3 route as well. Wonder if the new e4 book goes there too. Whatever John chooses the new Taimanov book will have a lot of white ideas to deal with…

  26. @Johnnyboy
    Negi recommends the English Attack, this seems easy for Black to deal with according to current theory.

    Wonder when QC will give us more news on the Taimanov book?

  27. Sorry my mistake Negi and the old Dismantling the Sicilian went for Qd2 instead of Qf3 so the Taimanov book has 2 important lines to counter

  28. @The Doctor
    I think the author delivered all the files. We have not looked at them in detail, as it would be cheating as long as we are working on Playing 1.e4. What I am saying is, that nothing is delayed because of this, just that we will get to it as the next thing, but the next thing will be in 1-2 weeks.

  29. @Jacob Aagaard That is a surprising answer. Given that we know chess is a draw, achieving a position with chances for both sides seems like a reasonable outcome for either a White or Black opening repertoire. I would think with two books coming out with some overlap within a short time frame you would want to cross check both manuscripts to make sure there is not any obvious contradiction. If there is, harmonizing on a chances for both sides variation seems reasonable. At the same time, I do understand the requirement to finish projects since I am also in a service orientated project business.

  30. a)Taimanov: 6.g3 is and was my main concern, 7.Qf3, there was a nice game by Caruana recently.

    b)Game collection: I don’t know, if game collections are a sell hit, but a new book about the best games with deep comments like Stohl’s Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces could be a nice christmas present.

    c) Caruana: my best games/his best games with strong emphasis on his opening repertoire, strengstes and weaknesses

  31. gewgaw :
    c) Caruana: my best games/his best games with strong emphasis on his opening repertoire, strengstes and weaknesses

    Magnus, is that you?

  32. In the Taimanov 6g3, I thought Delchev’s “Safest sicilian” from 2009 or so dealt with it quite well, and there are other solutions too.

  33. Rereading Andrew’s QI book from 10 years ago. Andrew said he’d chosen lines that allowed unbalanced positions and the chance to play for a win (though he did dodge the 5.Qc2 pawn sac line after g3 Ba6) . Some QC books are a bit too ‘perfect play from both sides, draw agreed’ rather than slightly less perfect play but chances to win. Having not bought Roiz Nimzo book yet is he more likely to go down the safety first route with the new QI book or unbalanced play? QI always struck me as too solid and though I bought Andrew’s book I didn’t really play it much. Any opinions? Thanks

  34. @ Johnnyboy

    I.m.o. Roiz’ repertoire is absolutely ambitious for black, with lots of dynamic variations. E.g. his recommendation against 4.f4 is very sharp, and also against 4.Qc2 he gives dynamic lines with plenty of chances for black to play for a win. Against 4.e3 he chooses the Karpov variation. Maybe this is a bit more difficult to win for black if white knows what he is doing (IQP positions), but the Rubinstein is simply very solid for white. In general, if you want unbalanced play, why play the QID and not e.g. the Modern Benoni or KID?

  35. PS: regarding you comment on ‘perfect play from both sides, draw agreed’: I play the black repertoire from Ntirlis’ Playing 1.d4 d5 book, and it is my experience so fat that hardly anyone follows the critical theoretical line past move 10 or so. So this is i.m.o. more a hypothetical point, in reality behind the board anything can and does happen.

  36. Thanks Ray. Relying on slav/semi slav at the moment but in reality trying to persuade myself that I need to buy another 2 QC books

  37. Ray :
    PS: regarding you comment on ‘perfect play from both sides, draw agreed’: I play the black repertoire from Ntirlis’ Playing 1.d4 d5 book, and it is my experience so fat that hardly anyone follows the critical theoretical line past move 10 or so. So this is i.m.o. more a hypothetical point, in reality behind the board anything can and does happen.

    What level are your opponents?

  38. @ Alex Relyea
    Between 2100 and 2200 ELO rating.

    @ Douwe
    I like it a lot, because of it combines solidity and simplicity while still giving chances to play for a win. For example, last week I played a quite exciting game in the Exchange variation. Thanks to Nikos’ clear strategic guidelines I knew exactly how to defuse white’s minority attack (play for …b5 and …Nc4), and after some inaccuracies by white I won.

  39. @John Simmons
    re g4 Taimanov: in fact Delchev omits a mainline where White can play Nd5 and Black has to give her white-squared Bishop, which is rather annoying. He also reckons, surely from personal experience, that in classical system with a4-a5, White players are not risking much and tend to know well these lines. Finally the drastic remedy with …h5 looks a bit shaky and may not be everybody’s taste. However this g3 poison is rather specialized (mainly against Taimanov and …e6 4 Knights). Not sure it will be addressed in a book for White, as Qf3 lines are a trendy and entertaining way to play with 0-0-0 against the Taimanov.

  40. @Ray
    @Ray & guys: Regarding classical QGD, it’s fair to say that Black’s aim in this opening is to reach an equal rook ending. Sometimes you play an absolutely correct game against much stronger plyer, only to be ground in said ending. Not the best way to trap heffalumps 🙂

  41. @ Cowe

    Maybe it’s more efficient then to spend one’s time on studying (rook) endings than on booking up in the latest wrinkles of the 6.Bg5 Najdorf :-). I.m.o. to become consistently stronger (vs having a one-off success against a higher rated opponent because you trapped him in the opening) you have to become stronger in all aspects of the game. If your endgame level is e.g. 2000, I don’t think it’s realistic to expect to consistently draw against 2200 opponents.

  42. Agreed as well. Improving one’s endgame play is a great way to climb the chess ladder. Very point-efficient and teaches tactical resilience (i.e. not collapsing in worse or equal positions), which is imo a pivotal achievement. But then playing the QGD doesn’t grant Black an equal ending, it’s just the goal.

  43. @Jacob Aagaard
    Hopefully published in early (Northern hemisphere) summer 😀

    Since the Ragozin and QGD books all included different lines against the Catalan, at least it is guaranteed that Roiz will recommend something different than those (without telling us which one it will be)?

  44. @ Cowe
    I agree that the QGD does not grant black an (equal) ending, but you yourself mentioned being ‘ground in said ending’ -that’s the statement I reacted to. Reaching the ending in the first place is of course an entirely different topic, although in the Kramnik variation (…Nbd7) it happens soon enough 🙂

  45. I am in doubt about buy this book , i don´t play this line of 4.ba6 because of the sacrificial line of 5.Qc2 , and then after c5 just d5, that follows a very boring line in with usually black just suffers and draw with best play., Roiz recommend something in that line , or he avoid this line ( with c5 on move 5 )at all?

  46. When does the link for this QID book open up for purchase ? It has no drop-down menu for purchase like the other coming soon books.

  47. @Jacob Aagaard Please, give me a clue! It would be great if you tried the main line 1- d4 Nf6 2- c4- e6 3-Nf3 b6 4-g3 with 4 … Ba6! and a repertoire similar to Karjakin’s. I think it’s a pending issue of Queen’s Indian Defense books

  48. Any news on the publication date of this book? I am looking forward to it, since I really enjoyed Roiz’ book on the Nimzo.

  49. Stefan :
    Any news on the publication date of this book? I am looking forward to it, since I really enjoyed Roiz’ book on the Nimzo.

    No precise predictions just yet. A lot of work has already been done, but the author is still working on a couple of key lines. So also too early for specifics of lines.

    If we had given early details on the lines in Michael Roiz’s Nimzo-Indian book, much of it would have turned out to be wrong. If Michael spots a theory problem in a line he has been working on, then he is perfectly willing to change lines and start again, even if that means discarding lots of work.

  50. @middlewave

    No excerpt yet. If we are lucky, there might be an excerpt in a month, but that’s an unwise guess, not a promise. I know the author is working hard to get all his analysis just as he wants it, but when that will be complete is unclear.

  51. GM Rep 1.e4 “minor openings”
    GM Rep 1.d4 Volume 5
    Technical Decision making in Chess
    Geller’s book (title to be revealed)
    The science of chess (?)
    Elephant Gambit
    Maybe a new book by Jacob?

  52. Thomas :
    Any updates on any other book?

    We do have another project which is about 75% edited. We haven’t published a book of this type before, and we want to wait for the front cover to be finalized before making an official announcement. We are excited about this project, and will reveal full details of the title, author and contents of the book in a future blog post in the next week or two.

  53. Could also be a novel with a chess related story :-).

    Or something about…

    …basic Endgame knowledge.
    …the history of chess.

  54. Maybe a modern version of “Fischer’s Vermächtnis” original by Konikowski?

    Or “The Best of the Best” outstanding games of the best players in the history of chess with high quality analyses?

    A high quality Opening Book for beginners?

    An updated version of Averbakhs “Comprehensiv Chess Endings” series?

    Bobby Fischer’s “My 61 meorable Games” incorporated Hübner’s “Materialien zu Fischers Partien” ?

    Bobby Fischer’s Simultanous Games from the 1970ies that have been lost?

    William Steinitz secret Match with Paul Morphy from the 1870ies?

    Judit Polgars secret private Match with Bobby Fischer from 1993?

    A secret manuscript by David Bronstein: “The 23rd Game!”

  55. Another endgame book especially rook endgames (which was hardly covered by Lund) would be good. Apparently Carlsen win against Naka was identical to previous high level games eg mvl but the motifs to draw and win aren’t well known. Qc could fill a gap for those situations. Probably not a great seller even if I would buy it

  56. @Ray
    His book had limited material eg Rook and 2 pawns vs rook and 1. Hardly anything on more material endgames like the Carlsen game. Though it may reduce to these simpler endgames eventually.

  57. Another gap in the market but a probable worst-seller would be to deal with complicated citadels and almost-citadels and explain the differences .
    Great fun for insomniacs !

  58. I was looking to take-up the Nimzo and Queen’s Indians against 1 d4…..but almost two years between the two books is just too long….have taken-up the Ragozin using the line 1 d4 d5, 2 c4 e6, 3 Nc3 Bb4 which can transpose into Roiz’s Nimzo book depending on white’s reply…. seems to be working well so questionable whether I now need the book on the QID.

  59. I was hoping for a book to cover Catalán with some 4…Ab4+ line where Black goes …c6 and …b6 setup. Seems super solid would be nice to cover in QID book. It would be a nice present to buy this book.

  60. QID on website says “Autumn 2018” and Taimanow “later in 2018”. Not sure with which other book is released QID.

  61. Andrew Greet :
    We are excited about this project, and will reveal full details of the title, author and contents of the book in a future blog post in the next week or two.

    So what’s this book about?

  62. Nobody writes repertoire books on the Classical Sicilian. I dont know why. Some very strong players use it with good results like Ivanchuk and Grischuk.

    How is black doing in the benko gambit? Is 12.a4 in the king-walk variation still the problem if black sticks with the classical way of handling the benko and not the modern Perunovic way?

  63. When playing the KID my biggest concern at the moment is the Makagonov variation which I think is hard to face. after 6.-e5 7.d5 I played 7.-a5 which is recommended by Kotronias but lost pretty badly against a 2500+ player. How is black doing after 7.-Nh5? Previously 8.Nh2 was played but now 8.g3 seems to be fashionable.

    Another variation of concern is the sämisch. I lost to a GM in the Panno. 9.Rc1 seems like a strong move here. Kotronias recommend the sämisch gambit 6.-c5 which seems to hold. The Panno is more interesting I think. Need something against 9.h4, h5 10.Nc1 as well. Vigoritos analysis are not too convincing against this.

  64. Bebbe :
    When playing the KID my biggest concern at the moment is the Makagonov variation which I think is hard to face. after 6.-e5 7.d5 I played 7.-a5 which is recommended by Kotronias but lost pretty badly against a 2500+ player.

    Just because you lost against a strong opponent it doesn’t mean the whole opening is bad. Have you analysed Kotronias’s recommendation since losing that game?

  65. @Andrew Greet

    Yes I have and what concerns me is not the loss to a 2500+-player.
    What concerns me is that I have a hard time to understand Kotronias analysis.
    It is more of a subjective felling that the postions after 7.-a5 do not suit me.

    In the Mar Del Plata I like his choices and I have the feeling of understanding the overall strategy. It is harder to understand the strategy in the Makagonov with 7.-a5.

  66. I also likes Kotronias choices against:

    Exchange variation 9.-c6 which is the most combative
    Fianchetto 9.-Qb6. Sharp and critical.
    Averbach 6.-c5
    Four pawn attack 9.-Nbd7
    Petrosian 7.-a5
    Suba 6.-c5

    Against the Gligoric I am not so sure about 7.-c6. I like 7.-Ng4 more.

  67. My guess is that QID would be planned as the last book with Chess Beauty for a release right before Christmas. Just my guess, but is what my “chess” intuition tells me.

  68. @ Bebbe:

    I suggest you have a look at Georgiev’s recent book ok the English. He gives some very strong variations in the KID fianchetto against 9…Qb6 and argues that Kotronias seriously got carried away here…

  69. @Bebbe

    No problem then – it sounds like you are taking the right approach, picking the bits of Kotronias’s repertoire that suit your style and choosing alternative lines where appropriate. The King’s Indian is one of those openings where you are always ‘living on the edge’ so it’s no surprise that guys like Avrukh (in GM 2A), and Georgiev (though I haven’t read his book yet) will keep coming up with new ideas to threaten it.

  70. Bebbe :When playing the KID my biggest concern at the moment is the Makagonov variation which I think is hard to face. after 6.-e5 7.d5 I played 7.-a5 which is recommended by Kotronias but lost pretty badly against a 2500+ player. How is black doing after 7.-Nh5? Previously 8.Nh2 was played but now 8.g3 seems to be fashionable.
    Another variation of concern is the sämisch. I lost to a GM in the Panno. 9.Rc1 seems like a strong move here. Kotronias recommend the sämisch gambit 6.-c5 which seems to hold. The Panno is more interesting I think. Need something against 9.h4, h5 10.Nc1 as well. Vigoritos analysis are not too convincing against this.

    I have to admit that I pretty much put the King’s Indian on the shelf myself and went back to 1…d5 not because of either of those lines, but it feels like, after looking at 50 bajillion King’s Indian Books and everybody trying to use a different answer (i.e. 13…Ng6 vs 13…a6 vs something else), and yet not liking the results of any of them, I see the 13.Rc1 line as a major problem for Black. It scores high in databases for White, like 365chess.com, and the 14.c5 sacrifice after 13…Ng6 seems like a MAJOR problem!

    On a completely separate note, I see that on this forum dealing with the Queen’s Indian that Andrew Greet has been active on here. Does Andrew feel a little torn about this book coming out?…

  71. (Continued) … I mean, Andrew did write an excellent book on the Queen’s Indian from, well, let’s just say that “Other” publishing company! 🙂

    Recency will likely cause this book to supercede his!

  72. @Patrick
    It’s no big deal. My book recommended different choices against the big systems, so people will still buy it for coverage of those lines – not that it matters much anyway, as the book still hasn’t earned any royalty payments. (The ‘other company’ had a less generous royalty structure than that enjoyed by QC authors, so only two of the four books I wrote for them have earned me anything beyond the initial advance.)

  73. @Patrick

    I have also trying to quit the KID. But it is very addictive. How did you manage to quit and switch to 1.-d5? I have both the KID and the Leningrad Dutch in my repertoire against 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3.

  74. We haven’t heard much about Avrukh’s final 2B book. Any chance before Christmas? Father Christmas will be coming and I need to write my list for him…….

    James

  75. @Bebbe

    Let me try this again since the first didn’t go through. When you have played over 2700 tournament games, you usually have an idea which openings you understand like the back of your hand and which ones you can’t make heads or tails out of. Basically, as Black, I can pretty much play any of the following:

    Against 1.e4 – French, 1…e5, Caro-Kann
    Against 1.d4 – QGD, Slav, Semi-Slav, Nimzo-/Queen’s Indian, King’s Indian, Dutch (Classical and Stonewall)

    Where as the following to me makes zero sense, and so I simply don’t play it:

    Against 1.e4 – Alekhine, Pirc, many Sicilians (i.e. Dragon, Sveshnikov, Four Knights, Pin Variation, etc)
    Against 1.d4 – Grunfeld, Benoni (basically all of them, Modern, Old, Czech, Closed, Benko, Blumenfeld), Leningrad Dutch

    So switching to something else you already know isn’t that difficult, and you’ll never see me play another Grunfeld, Benoni, or Leningrad barring someone legitimately finding that it outright refutes 1.d4, which won’t happen.

  76. @Patrick

    It seems that your preference are quite different from mine. I agree with your statement that you know what openings you can consider to play when you have significant

    My list of openings I am happy to play is:

    Against E4 Sicilian (Najdorf, classical, dragon, Sveshnikov, scheweningen, kan ,tajmanov)modern, french, caro-kann
    Against d4 Leningrad dutch, KID, dutch Stonewall, Benoni, Benko, Grunfeld,Semi slav, Nimzo

    But I cut this down to What I like best to have a practical repertoire: classical sicilian, Leningrad dutch,KID

    I dont understand the following openings: e5, aljechin, scandinavian, owens, st George, Czech Benoni, bogoindian, Catalan, quens indian, classical dutch, queens gambit Accepted, Orthodox queens gambit

    As you say it has very little to do with the objectively evaluation. Subjective feeling, understanding and self confidence is the most important here I think.

  77. @Bebbe

    It’s a combination of the two. Objective evaluation does matter. For example, you might be comfortable with 1.h4, but you won’t win many games, but of any “normal” opening, yes, feeling and understanding matters more than theory when comparing say, the Nimzo-Indian to the Slav.

    I also narrow mine down, trying to keep it at 2 and 2 for Black, and against e4, it’s easy. My primary defense is the French, my secondary is 1…e5 (Petroff against 2.Nf3), and pretty much leave the Caro-Kann for blitz only.

    Against 1.d4 it’s a little more in the gray area. Like last night I played a Semi-Slav. Couple of weeks ago I had an Exchange QGD. Haven’t played the Nimzo much, but have played the Dutch via 1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 earlier this month.

    White it’s pretty much 1.d4 or 1.Nf3:

    1.d4 – Usually followed with 2.Nf3 (avoiding Albin/Budapest garbage) or 2.Bg5, will head into Trompowski, Torre, QG, Slav, Semi-Slav, Catalan, Benoni lines w/o c4 (i.e. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 and 4.Nc3), etc.

    1.Nf3 – QG, Slav, King’s Indian (via 2.c4, 3.Nc3, 4.e4 – No Grunfeld), Anti-Grunfeld, English, Accel Dragon – Maroczy Bind, Catalan, etc.

    In case you can’t tell, I’m specifically out to avoid the Grunfeld and Benoni lines with c4 played.

  78. Last Sunday, I introduced a very deep novelty 🙂
    1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.c4 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 b6 7.cd5 ed5 8.Nc3 Bb7 9.Bf4 Na6 10.Rc1 c5 11.Ne5 Ne4 12.h4N
    More thoughts and questions on chesspub.com – QI-forum

  79. @bebbe @patrick

    if you refuse to play half of possibles openings with black . How to you manage to play them (correctly) as white?

  80. @RYV

    Reasons can be 2-fold.

    1) You find a line to be better for one side than its evaluation. Take the King’s Gambit. Many argue it’s “equal”. I can tell you that I find many lines to be very strong for Black, and have had EXCELLENT results from that Black side that I refuse to play it as White. Those include 1.e4 e5 2.f4? exf4 3.Nf3 d5, 1.e4 e5 2.f4? exf4 3.Bc4? d5!, and 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 if you are not in a “must win” situation. I view the position as “White has Nothing”, but I also find the 2…Bc5 line harder to win with.

    2) Other lines are simply avoided. My long term goal is to find a line to play against the Grunfeld. The Grunfeld can be avoided completely:

    A) 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 (3…Bg7 4.e4!) 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 (I have no issue with the lines where Black plays 5…Nb6) 6.dxc3! Qxd1+ 7.Qxd1

    B) 1.d4 (for when I play this instead of 1.Nf3) Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 (Obviously 2…e6 or 2…d5 or 2…c5, Grunfeld Avoided) 3.Bg5. Of course, 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4, etc. Have no issues with QGD, Slav, Semi-Slav, QGA, etc.

    The other I said I avoided is Benoni Lines with c4. Easy! 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 is an English. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 and I will follow up with 4.Nc3! I have no issue beating the Schmid Benoni or Closed Benoni. Avoiding the Modern Benoni and Czech Benoni.

    Others, like the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, I understand, but simply choose not to play as Black. Just because you don’t play every…

  81. (Cont.) Others, like the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, I understand, but simply choose not to play as Black. Just because you don’t play every opening as Black doesn’t mean you don’t understand it.

    In the few rare cases that I play 1.e4, I avoid the Dragon via 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3 (intending 6.c4). You can get a direct transposition to the Accelerated Dragon, but not a Regular dragon.

    Those are the only 3 I avoid completely: Grunfeld, Modern/Czech Benonis, Dragon.

  82. Ray :
    @ Bebbe:
    I suggest you have a look at Georgiev’s recent book ok the English. He gives some very strong variations in the KID fianchetto against 9…Qb6 and argues that Kotronias seriously got carried away here…

    What book is that?

  83. You are not “unmanly” because you avoid certain positions! You don’t need to play every opening from both sides to be a good chess player. Why play everything? Rather play fewer openings and be really good at them!

    Openings I’ll play from both sides: QGD, Semi-Slav, …e6-Dutch Lines, French (via 1.d4 e6 2.e4 as White)

    Openings I look to avoid from both sides: Grunfeld, Benoni w/ c4, Dragon

    Many others I will only play from one side and refuse to play the other side:

    White Only: Leningrad Dutch, Pirc, Modern, etc.

    Black Only: London System, King’s Gambit, etc.

    It’s not that hard to avoid certain lines, and you are no less of a chess player (or man) by avoiding positions that lead to severe discomfort. I’m there to win, not rewrite ECO!

  84. @James2

    Well, when every time you face the Dragon, you lose and have no clue why, and every time you try to play the Dragon, you lose and have no clue why.

    Everyone’s brain is wired differently. Give me a French with 3.Nc3 or 3.e5 and I’ll gladly play either side of it (3.exd5, 3.Nd2, 2.Nf3, 2.d3, and Junk lines like 2.f4 I will only play Black). Give me a QGD and I’ll gladly play either side. Give me the Botvinnik Semi-Slav and I’ll gladly play either color there as well.

    But the Dragon I want nothing to do with. The middle game ideas simply make little to no sense to me! Just because you may like the Dragon and understand it like the back of your hand doesn’t mean everybody does. I know many others that can’t make sense out of the French Defense, yet I find the French easy to play! To each their own. For me, the Dragon is NOT the answer!

  85. @James2

    I dont agree at all. To become a strong player one need to avoid bad lines.
    Do you have 1.h4 , herrstrom gambit and the latvian in your repertoire?

    I really think you are joking. Have a nice weekend.

  86. @Patrick

    I completely agree that it is better to play a few openings and know them really well at least up to 2500. If you are above 2500 you need more variety to not become to predictable.

  87. @Bebbe
    Who mentioned bad lines? Surely what you say is so obvious to anybody who wants to improve it goes without saying? Ergo, I didn’t say it. I would have expected better from you.

    Also, I don’t really care what you think or who you agree with.

  88. Yes I should have understood that you didnt mean bad lines.
    I apologize if you felt offended. I will not reply to your comments if you are not interested in my opinion. Then this will be the last time.

  89. @Patrick
    i dont understand the position & i dont like the position are 2 different reasons ..but i think in both case you should try to play them better and progress rather than Simply avoid them and keep weakness in your play.

    So i think you should play ( or accept to play) every opening at least with one color.
    One day or another, it will be a benefit.

  90. James2 :
    @TonyRo
    If you read the excerpt the index says it does cover it.

    Thanks, I just assumed it was another book, because why the heck would the KID be in the 1.c4 e5 book!? But there you have it. 🙂

  91. @TonyRo
    Georgiev does cover this partiular line of the Fianchetto KID in his book (the …Nbd7, …e5 system that Kotronias endorses). He reaches it via a 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 d6 move order, advocating a quick d2-d4 and transposing. He does mention Kotronias’ book and proposes some corrections; perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he evaluates the resulting type of positions much more pessimistically (for Black) than Kotronias.
    There’s not much deep analysis in there, but all the pointers are there to prompt further examination.

  92. @RYV

    Oh, trust me. I am well aware of don’t like and don’t understand. I don’t like facing the modern defense, but I understand it and while I played it for maybe 3 months, it is mostly White you see me playing when the Modern is on my board.

    I have been on each side of the Grunfeld at least a couple of dozen times with each color. I also can’t play the Alekhine as Black and will only play 4.Nf3 as White.

    I have worked for ages on the mobile center. That is my biggest issue. The other 4 types of center (Closed, Open, Static, Dynamic) are a complete non-issue. It is the mobile center that kills me. With it or against it. I have it and it is shredded. I face it and it rolls me over. Low and behold, which 2 openings see the mobile center the most often? Alekhine and Grunfeld!

    The Benoni w/c4 and Dragon are a separate issue.

  93. @Patrick

    can you give example of each types of center you are talking as i dont really see what makes the mobile centre different than dynamic, or closed & static , open & no center at all

  94. @RYV

    Due to character limit, I’ll list games for you to reference.

    Closed Center:
    Seiaiwan – Anand, Monte Carlo 1994 (0-1)
    Kasparov – Ivanchuk, Horgan 1995 (0-1)
    Jussupov – Kasparov, Yerevan 1996 (1/2-1/2)

    Mobile Center:
    All of these see White with the “Mobile” center – Both sides must be on constant lookout for d4-d5, e4-e5, c4-c5, etc.:
    Adams – Emms, London 1991 (1-0)
    Lautier – Kamsky, Linares 1994 (0-1)
    Wells – Kinderman, Germany 1989 (0-1)
    DeFiriman – Alburt, USA 1983 (1-0)

    Open Center:
    Romanishin – Beliavsky, Belgrade 1993 (0-1)
    Karpov – Topalov, Hermanas 1994 (1-0)
    Ribli – Smyslov, Tilburg 1984 (1-0)

    Static Center
    Different from a closed center in that there is either a single open file or semi-open files in the center (i.e. Carlsbad structure):
    Short – Torre, Biel 1985 (1-0)
    Shirov – Karpov, Monte Carlo 1995 (0-1)
    Karpov – Jussupow, Rotterdam 1995 (1-0)

    Dynamic Center
    a.k.a. An unclear setup of central pawns, unlike the defined c-d or d-e tandem
    Marin – Korneev, Sitges 1996 (See position after 10 moves) (1-0)
    Landenbergue – Adams, Garmisch Partenkirchen, 1994 (See position after White move 15) (1/2-1/2)
    Popovic – Lau, Vienna 1996 (1-0)
    Torre – Karpov, Bad Lauterberg, 1977 (0-1)

    Hopefully this explains the differences.

  95. @RYV

    You will see from those examples, many central pawn structure types can often by tied to certain openings:

    Closed – Classical King’s Indian Mar-Del-Plata, French lines w/ e5, Czech Benoni, etc.
    Mobile – Semi-Tarrasch, Grunfeld, Alekhine (I also avoid the Semi-Tarrasch – I don’t play the exchange variation of the QGD as White, I recapture with the Pawn, leading to the Carlsbad Pawn Structure, not the Knight, as Black)
    Open – Can come via many openings – There is even a French in the examples above
    Static – Many openings, particularly those that can lead to the Carlsbad (QG, Nimzo, etc)
    Dynamic – Many flank and hypermodern openings (i.e. King’s Indian, Reti, etc.), but can also arrive from many Sicilians and other openings as well.

  96. Leon Trostky, I prefer the book of roiz all my life, is a player who was in the elite and is a great theoretician like almost all gm of Israel.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top