1. under your bed
    Joined
    10 Nov '10
    Moves
    22480
    22 Dec '11 12:181 edit
    Think of switching to the Modern Benoni OTB (sick of Slav positions ;() does anyone here play it at club level with reasonalbe results (even against Bb5 taimanov line) 🙂

    Thanks.
  2. Joined
    21 Sep '05
    Moves
    27507
    22 Dec '11 12:34
    At our level, it's more a question of how we play rather than what we play. If anyone at our level blames an opening on poor results, I think they need to look for other weaknesses in their play. Of course, we should have some understanding of the openings we play but otherwise other factors are more significant.
  3. Milwaukee, WI
    Joined
    11 Dec '10
    Moves
    16731
    22 Dec '11 14:21
    I play it at club level often. Very effective as most non-master d4 players are not comfortable facing it. Especially if you are not afraid to take chances as you often have a ruined pawn structure or have to sacrifice to obtain initiative. Almost always lots of fun tactically.
  4. Joined
    22 Oct '10
    Moves
    1975
    24 Dec '11 00:39
    Originally posted by plopzilla
    Think of switching to the Modern Benoni OTB (sick of Slav positions ;() does anyone here play it at club level with reasonalbe results (even against Bb5 taimanov line) 🙂

    Thanks.
    Hi,

    May I suggest the Benko instead. Not saying it is any better, just easier to learn the themes..... the Benoni is very high maintenance. Plus it may be questionable against 3. Nc3, whereas Benko starts on move 2.
  5. SubscriberRagwort
    Senecio Jacobaea
    Yorkshire
    Joined
    04 Jul '09
    Moves
    185588
    24 Dec '11 10:08
    As a club level 1. d4 player I can say that I have only faced a Modern Benoni twice in ten years OTB but face the Benko several times a season. I get the Budapest or the Old Benoni (1...c5) more often. Just lately however "everybody" seems to be playing the Dutch.

    If my experience is anything to go by you may well reap the benefits of being "off trend" if you choose the Benoni.

    As black however, playing 1. Nf6 trying for a Nimzo in the 2009/10 season I faced 2. c4 only once in ten games and became embroiled in Colle, Trompovski, London and Baltic Systems.

    I have thus been heard to say that any sort of deep opening preparation is unnecessary at club level as the length of the line studied is inversely proportional to the likelihood of it appearing on the board and that in any case all openings are rubbish because they have either already been busted or they are about to be.

    In an arena like RHP where players can look at databases and books there may be more point to research so long as it not at the cost of becoming too dependant on the books when you go back to OTB.

    I have found most club players have their crafty little systems which they play week in week out, require very little study because they are busy in real life and rarely reflect the fashions of top flight chess which none of us understand anyway.

    I quite like playing the move I faced last in the next game with that colour. I find this works quite well as what I looked up in NCO after the game is still relatively fresh in the mind and over time you build a wide variety of experience.
  6. e4
    Joined
    06 May '08
    Moves
    42492
    24 Dec '11 15:36
    Good post Raggers.

    Spot on. The avarage OTB player does not have the time (or the inclination)
    to study the opening theory that the top are changing with every tournamet.

    So it the wee off beat systems they play.
    In the times I went for the Benoni/Benko OTB it was 50% of the time I got 3.d5.
    Often it was 3.e3 or 3.Nf3. Now the cocks are going to crow that Black should
    now have an easy game but I always want something with tension in it as Black.
  7. SubscriberPaul Leggett
    Chess Librarian
    The Stacks
    Joined
    21 Aug '09
    Moves
    113497
    25 Dec '11 02:19
    Originally posted by greenpawn34
    Good post Raggers.

    Spot on. The avarage OTB player does not have the time (or the inclination)
    to study the opening theory that the top are changing with every tournamet.

    So it the wee off beat systems they play.
    In the times I went for the Benoni/Benko OTB it was 50% of the time I got 3.d5.
    Often it was 3.e3 or 3.Nf3. Now the cocks are going ...[text shortened]... hat Black should
    now have an easy game but I always want something with tension in it as Black.
    Well stated.

    I'd like to add that when someone makes the "XXXXX has an easy game" the statement is often rather vacuous, in that it depends of a player's knowledge, technique, and even style as to whether or not the position is easy.

    Tal and Petrosian probably had very different ideas of what they considered "an easy game" (World Champion-calibre technique aside), and the rest of us fall somewhere in between!
  8. Joined
    09 Aug '01
    Moves
    54019
    25 Dec '11 16:22
    Originally posted by Ragwort

    I have thus been heard to say that any sort of deep opening preparation is unnecessary at club level as the length of the line studied is inversely proportional to the likelihood of it appearing on the board and that in any case all openings are rubbish because they have either already been busted or they are about to be.

    [/b]
    Your post reminded me of the William Lombardy quote I found while googling for info on his new book. Lombardy simply said all openings are sound below master level.
  9. Joined
    18 Jan '07
    Moves
    12363
    29 Dec '11 17:04
    Originally posted by tonytiger41
    Your post reminded me of the William Lombardy quote I found while googling for info on his new book. Lombardy simply said all openings are sound below master level.
    Well... all except the Damiano.

    Richard
  10. under your bed
    Joined
    10 Nov '10
    Moves
    22480
    29 Dec '11 20:121 edit
    The avarage OTB player does not have the time (or the inclination)
    to study the opening theory that the top are changing with every tournamet.

    So it the wee off beat systems they play.
    In the times I went for the Benoni/Benko OTB it was 50% of the time I got 3.d5.
    Often it was 3.e3 or 3.Nf3. Now the cocks are going to crow that Black should
    now have an easy game but I always want something with tension in it as Black.[/b]
    What is the 'average' player these days - 1600, 1800, 2000!?

    I suppose my original point was do experiencedOTB Benoni players find their averaGE opponents getting into problems early on because they don't know the theory etc.

    Thaks for all your replies so far.
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