Sabino Brunello’s first book, Attacking the Spanish, is getting ever nearer to ready. This started me thinking about the Schliemann variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5), one of three lines the book covers, with the Marshall and the Gajewski. For decades most GM’s believed that the Schliemann was unsound, but in the last few years Radjabov has single-handedly convinced the chess world that 3…f5 is a respectable move.
Has any other variation enjoyed such a sudden improvement in its reputation? The best alternative I can think of is the a6-Slav, but that was a gradual process, I think. Whereas overnight the Schliemann switched from ?! to !?
John Shaw
Hi!
maybe another similar causes would be Kings Indian which was less popular for some time (even Kasparov stop using it) after Kramnik’s success with so-called Bayonet attack. Or maybe classic stonewall which still have not very favorable reputation on high level …
thanks,
Slavo.
Slavo,
I agree: the King’s Indian does seem to have greater swings in popularity than most mainline openings. And as with the Schliemann, Radjabov’s results have been rather impressive.
I think the Stonewall (Dutch?) needs one of the top players to take it up and boost its image. Maybe Magnus Carlsen? I had a good view of Rowson-Carlsen, Dresden Olympiad 2008, which was a Stonewall via a Semi-Slav move order, and Carlsen won in great style.
What about the Sveshnikov Sicilian? That underwent a huge boom in popularity. I was just starting chess at around the same time, so I do not know for sure what it’s reputation was before the explosion…
QUALITY CHESS TEAM, CAN YOU PIT THE DEVIL?
Dear editors,
I’m wondering if you can publish GM repertoire for Black against 1.d4 based on KING’S INDIAN, in following way:
* a massive 400++ pages book
* top notch main lines – bulletproof
* sections on history, heroes, strategy, tactics
* introduction/interview with Kasparov and Radjabov
So let us see now what we have on the market:
1. Bologan: The King’s Indian, 2009
2. Golubev: Understanding the King’s Indian, 2006
3. Gallagher: Play the King’s Indian, 2004
4. Keene & Jacobs: The Complete King’s Indian, 2003
As a leading chess publishing house, in my opinion, could you stand up against mentioned books and produce a masterpiece?
I and other KID die-harts are waiting with bloodthirsty axes and hardcore power!!!!
We have a major KID project coming, but it will be some time before it is finished. The author is top-notch, which is what is the real challenge.
Seth,
The Sveshnikov is a good example: my impression was that in the 1970s Evgeny Sveshnikov single-handedly took the obcure Lasker-Pelikan variation and made it a good main line. Wikipedia suggests Gennadi Timoshchenko also deseves some of the credit, which I didn’t know.
I am not sure that was the boom you meant, as the Sveshnikov has had a few more swings since then.
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@John Shaw
Well from around the years 2002 to 2005 or so (I began to follow chess in 2001), it seemed like every other Sicilian was a Sveshnikov thanks to the efforts of Kramnik and Leko. I had wondered if that was the only boom the Sveshnikov had.
Didn’t the Albin Counter Gambit have a similar history, before & and Morozevich? So, maybe this ?! to !? is something that happens more frequently in gambits.
Thomas,
Morozevich’s influence on the Albin is another good example, but perhaps it has gone from ?! to !? back to ?! again.
I am not an expert on the Albin, but I think a big part of the boost in popularity was the idea that Black could get the gambit pawn back with …Ng8-e7-g6xe5. It seems that “real” gambits (where the material deficit is long term) are still much less popular than regular level-material openings.