Originally posted by BedlamI hate the scandinavian, I know someone I'm going to play and he always plays 1...d5 against e4, so I'm going to do something I don't do very often, play the calatan on him heheheheπ
Scandinavian Qd6 :
A good opening for black for when you dont want wild complications. This is another opening very easy to learn.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 a6
6. Be3 b5 7. Qd2 e6 8. Be2 Bb7 9. Bf4 Qb6 10. O-O Bd6 11. Rfe1 O-O 12. Rad1
Pros : Super solid, easy to draw with, easy to learn, little theory
Cons : Not easy to play for a win with so total no-no against lower rated players.
Originally posted by BedlamI've thought of that too, since I heard of a Blackmar type of gambit vs the french and caro-kann, ( i hate those too) but I don't like that black has not commited to a pawn move like e6 or c6, so he has more options, I really do need to learn how to play against d5, I can't run from it forever. But because there is so much riding on this game and it's only 30 min for each, I need to get him out of his comfort zone. hopefully the catalan will do just that! π
I hate playing the scandinavian as white too, super grrrr π Iv even been tempted to just play 1.e4 d5 2.d4 and go into the blackmar, not the most sound of openings but at least its attacking and aggressive.
Well, I love to play the scandinavian as white.
1. e4, d5;
# 2. e:d5, Q:d5; 3. Nc3, Qa5; 4. d4, e5 (Anderssen Attack)
3. ... Qa5 maybe is black strongest move, but 4. ... e5; 5. d:e5, Q:e5 or 5. Nf3 (a little more tactical) white has excellent development;
# 2. e:d5, Q:d5; 3. Nc3, Qa5; 4. d4, Nf6 (classical variation) 4. Nf6 is solid. A good idea for black is ... Bf5 or ... Bg4 (after Nf3), then e6 and both bishops are active. White can prepare a kingside attack pushing his pawns after Nf3-e5 (after h3 and g4 if ... Bg4)
# 2. e:d5, Q:d5; 3. Nc3, Qd6 (Pytel-Wade variation) is not better than ... Qa5 because the queen blocks the bishop and requires c6 or a6 to avoid Nb5;
# 2. e:d5, Q:d5; 3. Nc3, Qd8?! (retreat variation)
is a waste of one tempo: white has not troubles continuing development;
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044011
# 2. e:d5, Nf6; (modern variation)
* 3. d4, N:d5 (Marshall) 4. c4 and white gain a good control of the chessboard.
http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_instruction/opening_theory.html has some good ideas!
Originally posted by viryeahOne line in the Qa5 Scandi that may be particularly difficult for black is
Well, I love to play the scandinavian as white.
1. e4, d5;
# 2. e:d5, Q:d5; 3. Nc3, Qa5; 4. d4, e5 (Anderssen Attack)
3. ... Qa5 maybe is black strongest move, but 4. ... e5; 5. d:e5, Q:e5 or 5. Nf3 (a little more tactical) white has excellent development;
# 2. e:d5, Q:d5; 3. Nc3, Qa5; 4. d4, Nf6 (classical variation) 4. Nf6 is solid. A good idea fo ...[text shortened]... board.
http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_instruction/opening_theory.html has some good ideas!
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.Bc4! Nf6 5.d3 c6 6.Bd2 Qc7!
Hi, looks like a fun thread that focuses on chess, so I am joining in.
I am currently experimenting with some new stuff, which I always wanted to play, but never had the guts in the past in OTB games. With RHP, it doesn't really count for much (to me anyway) so woo hoo to experimentation!
For those of you who are looking for perhaps an aggressive substitute for the sicilian, you can try the Caro-Kann with Nf6 and gxf6 line.
This position arises after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6 gxf6
The plan for black is to exploit the g-file to his advantage, and usually castling opposite sides is the norm, followed by pawn/piece storms (a la sicilian najdorf / dragon attacks). The position of the queen's bishop depends on white's plans, but usually Bf5 (then Bg6, sometimes Be4 if your opponent gives you the chance) or Bg4 if Nf3 is early.
White's plans (the modern main lines that I have seen, which I must confess I don't know too much about) is g3, Bg2, Nf3, c3 to stop the g file threats and to put the bishop pointing at the queen side. The shattered king side pawns can also be a liability if black's not careful.
On the plus side for black, you usually get some decent spots for your pieces, Qb6/Qc7, Be7/Bd6, Nd7, 0-0-0 (even 0-0 sometimes if Bg7 is around) and decent piece play. Also, there's not too much theory involved, and from what (little) I have seen, the move order is not too crucial, and you can make up your plans as you go along, depending on what white does.
Its not an opening for the faint hearted, and its not particularly solid for either side, so please practice first before having a go at serious games.
One final word of warning - if you choose to play the Caro-Kann, you might find that you have to learn some lines in the advance variation (1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5) which can be a bit annoying, especially if you get a kamikaze white player hell bent on pawn storming your Bf5 and kingside to oblivion, or some equally sinister panov-botvinnik (1. e4 c6 2. c4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. c5) where white can easily get a big positional advantage (king side piece-led attack or queen side majority pawn storm) if black plays casually. So make sure you have some weapons up your sleeve if you choose this line. Good luck! π
Originally posted by anthiasOk, well I've considered a couple of offbeat ideas that may interest you - some surprising, some not. π
I'll start with the sharp tactical idea for players to consider that may like these positions.
1.Albin Counter Gambit - Sharp, tactical, fun, and risky. π
Line: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5!? 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.g3 Bg4 6.Bg2 Qd7 7.O-O O-O-O with sharp tactical positions sure to arise.
2. I'm not sure of the name, but it's another interesting gambit...
Line: 1.d4 e5!? 2.dxe5 Nx6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Qd5 f6 5.exf6 Nxf6 6.Qb3 d5 7.Bg5
1 scores .56 for F9 and 2 scores .57 for F9, which is fine for black, but I wouldn't put too much trust into an engines eval. of an opening line - although I think both are quite playable at amateur level.
OK now for the potentially slower more solid lines:
1.d4 a6!? - Sort of like a St. George, and it probably transposes most of the time, it's basically a waiting move than gains space on the queenside. It seems pretty positional, but I think there can be some tactics arising if black so choose, the ideas seem straightforward ( e6, d6, b5, Bb7) and it seems quite solid, definitely playable although white gets the center.
Line:
1. d4 a6 2. e4 b5 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. Bd3 e6 5. Nbd2 Nf6 6. c3 d6 7. O-O c5
8. Qe2 Qc7 9. a4 c4 10. Bc2 Be7 11. Re1 O-O
I'd definitely consider this idea, I may even use it from time to time if I feel like avoiding theory.
Or the Tango, which is sound...
1. d4 Nc6 2. Nf3 (2. e4 e5 3. Nf3) (2. d5 Ne5 3. e4
e6 4. f4 Ng6 5. dxe6 dxe6 6. Bd3 Bc5 7. Nf3 Bd7 8. Qe2 Nf6) 2... d5 (2... Nf6
3. c4) 3. c4 Bg4 4. cxd5 Bxf3 5. gxf3 Qxd5
There are also many transpositional opportunities here.
Originally posted by anthiasI think Albin and all these other less popular/mainstream lines are a bit risky to be part of one's permanent repertoire. Might be good for one or two surprises but you can come unstuck if you are playing against a prepared opponent. You need something more solid, like queen's gambit decline or dutch, which has simple and solid ideas, and where the move order is (usually) not overly crucial, and you need to learn just where to place your pieces/pawns and what the themes of the openings are.
What about an answer to 1.d4 that doesn't require a lot of therotical knowledge, like the Center-Counter?