Quality Chess Blog

The 1st round of the European Team Championship starts on Friday the 13th in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Russia will be top seeds in the Open section, as usual, but the Russians have struggled in some team events in recent years. They will be challenged by the likes of Ukraine (Ivanchuk, Eljanov…), Azerbaijan (with new arrival Naiditsch), France (MVL, Fressinet…), England, Armenia (Aronian, Sargissian…) and Hungary (non-playing captain Judit Polgar).

Who do you think will win the Open Section of the 2015 European Team Championship?

I should avoid interfering with the sanctity of an internet poll, but as a loyal Brit I like the medal hopes of an England team of Adams, Short, Jones, Howell and McShane. And good luck to Scotland and Denmark, with the Danish non-playing captain Jacob Aagaard. In fact, if you check out the team list you could make a few fine teams out of the non-playing captains.

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As the finishing line of Playing 1.e4 – Caro-Kann, 1…e5 and Minor Lines is in sight, a poll question came to mind: What is your usual defence against 1.e4?

If you happen to be a World Championship Candidate, then I guess your usual choice is the Sicilian or 1…e5, with some Caros and the occasional French thrown in, but I expect there will be a range. So what’s your line? Is it Sicilian, 1…e5, French, Caro-Kann, 1…d6, 1…g6, 1…d5, 1…Nf6 or Other?

I know this will only tell us your first move, not your favourite line. A Najdorf fanatic is a different animal from a believer in the Pin variation, and allsorts play 1…d6. But, like your first move, it’s a start.
 
Last week’s poll gave a wide spread of answers, with several posters for the lower brackets lamenting that they couldn’t play as much as they would like.