Need something good to play against 1.e4

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Ok, since you're wondering (and criticizing) the opening let's just look at moves 1-10:

[Event "Open invite"]
[Site "http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com"]
[Date "2007.11.21"]
[EndDate "2007.11.22"]
[Round "?"]
[White "YouGotPawned"]
[Black "Dutch Defense"]
[WhiteRating "1581"]
[BlackRating "1491"]
[Result "0-1"]
[GameId "4290601"]

1. e4 g6 2 ...[text shortened]... confused though.)

Sorry if I sound like a pretentious dick...

Actually it seems that Dutch Defense played acceptable opening theory. Where he really went wrong was trading his dark colored bishop as that is most important part about playing the Pirc/modern is having a powerful dark square bishop and not just giving or trading it away.

I do not like the many queen moves...although fritz thought it was okay. I would play something were I moved my queen less but that is personal preference of playing an opening where your queen moves a few times or not at all.

Originally posted by eagleeye222001
Actually it seems that Dutch Defense played acceptable opening theory. Where he really went wrong was trading his dark colored bishop as that is most important part about playing the Pirc/modern is having a powerful dark square bishop and not just giving or trading it away.

I do not like the many queen moves...although fritz thought it was okay. ...[text shortened]... t is personal preference of playing an opening where your queen moves a few times or not at all.

Too bad I know openings better than Fritz.

Fritz doesn't understand the concept of development too well, he's sorta stupid in that way. I think Dutch could have played the opening much more efficiently, especially trading off his bishop which defeats the purpose of playing the Modern, really.

His queen moves were also bad, Like I said, 4...Nf6 and white can't reply 5.e5 because of 5...Ng4 when I think black has a very nice and interesting position.

Originally posted by exigentsky
The Sicilian is usually VERY slippery and liable to get you killed quickly. This isn't just at our level- it happens at the GM level too. If you don't want to die, I strongly recommend e5!

It also has the benefit of being all the rage at the Super-GM level. I think it has surpassed the Sicilian in popularity. This means that you can use the latest games for instruction and ideas.

Two things. First off, based on what you're saying here I have to wonder how familiar you are with the Sicilian. You are aware that there are several variations black can choose from on his second and subsequent moves and that they lead to very different games aren't you? A Dragon tends to lead to a very different game then a Sveshnikov, which is very different again from a 4 Ns, etc. The most important thing with the Sicilian is choosing one variation from the many, many different lines, that suits your playing style and temperment.

As to 1... e5, who cares what Super GMs are playing? Seriously. What a 2600 level player is opening with has absolutely no bearing on anything outside of Super GM level chess.

I still don't understand the fascination with openings for some people. People attribute their lost games to the most ridiculous things. How can you even talk about openings when you're blundering away pieces or serious positional flaws? We're not talking about controlling key squares as subtle as in a Sicilian here (d5); no, we're talking about not realizing there was a fork and losing a piece (as in one of Dutch's games).

I make mistakes too obviously, but at least I know why I do.

Originally posted by scandium
Two things. First off, based on what you're saying here I have to wonder how familiar you are with the Sicilian. You are aware that there are several variations black can choose from on his second and subsequent moves and that they lead to very different games aren't you? A Dragon tends to lead to a very different game then a Sveshnikov, which is very diffe ...[text shortened]... player is opening with has absolutely no bearing on anything outside of Super GM level chess.

I'm very familiar with Sicilians as I've tried almost all of them and play the Sicilian as my main defense. Still, it is not generally a safe opening. White has various ways to launch attacks that with just a little imprecision could be decisive. Even in the quieter Acceleratd Dragon, Taimanov and Kan this is true. For all of its virtues, c5 is not really a developing move and White has more time to launch an attack.

As for what the SGMs play, yes, it does matter. It can provide very instructive examples of how to play the opening of your choice and what ideas to try for.

Originally posted by Chesswick
I still don't understand the fascination with openings for some people. People attribute their lost games to the most ridiculous things. How can you even talk about openings when you're blundering away pieces or serious positional flaws? We're not talking about controlling key squares as subtle as in a Sicilian here (d5); no, we're talking about not rea ...[text shortened]... s in one of Dutch's games).

I make mistakes too obviously, but at least I know why I do.

Nice...Nice...

Solid point. I put my fist up to you like black people do when showing pride.

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Nice...Nice...

Solid point. I put my fist up to you like black people do when showing pride.

they don't do that anymore.
Now, they just give each other hugs, regardless of genders involved, and say: "yeah, ni&&ah!" and they embrace it and I feel sad that I can't do it.

Originally posted by exigentsky
I'm very familiar with Sicilians as I've tried almost all of them and play the Sicilian as my main defense. Still, it is not generally a safe opening. White has various ways to launch attacks that with just a little imprecision could be decisive. Even in the quieter Acceleratd Dragon, Taimanov and Kan this is true. For all of its virtues, c5 is not really ...[text shortened]... very instructive examples of how to play the opening of your choice and what ideas to try for.

1... c5 immediately lays a claim on the central d4 square, and opens a line for the Q to develop to c7, b6, or a5. That is about as much as you could hope to accomplish with any first move.

Yeah the black K often comes under attack in the Sicilian, and occasionally he even gets mated. I guess the moral of the story is that if you're afraid of being attacked, don't play the Sicilian. However unlike certain other openings, its not in the nature of this one for the black player to have to just bunker in and wait for it to pass.

At the extreme end you have the Yugoslav variation in the dragon, where its a race to see who will crash through and the better attacker should win. At the other you have the Sveshnikov where black's Kside usually looks like a bomb went off there yet he has so much pressure in the center that its very difficult to get anything going with white.

Again I think it really comes down to taste and temperment alone. I say if it fits play it, if not go with something else. At the end of the day all that really matters is that you get the kind of positions from your opening that you enjoy playing.

Originally posted by Dutch Defense

I know your dilemna all too well. About three months ago or so, I was still dabbing in each of the major defences to 1.e4. I tried just about everything: The French, The Sicilian, The Scandinavian, The Caro-Cann, Owen's Defence, Alekhine's Defence... and on and on until I finally bit the bullet and chose the opening that was the best for me (The Sicilian, but I still have yet to figure out which variation I can employ with the most success...)

As I suggested by the italics there, you simply have to ask yourself what you truly enjoy the best in a chess game. Which do you like more: a solid position or a flexible position? A closed position or an open position? How much are you willing to sacrifice to achieve a positional advantage? If you really consider your preferences, you should be able to find an opening that really does suit you for what kind of chess you like to play.

On the other hand, as I have noticed in your games, you don't simply have to limit yourself to one particular opening (obviously, and you probably shouldn't). If you suddenly feel an urge to fight for tactics, play your Latvian or a Sicilian. If you feel like waiting patiently for an attack later in the game and want to play it solidly at the beginning, then go for your Pirc/Modern.

It's all about what fits your style.

Originally posted by scandium
1... c5 immediately lays a claim on the central d4 square, and opens a line for the Q to develop to c7, b6, or a5. That is about as much as you could hope to accomplish with any first move.

Yeah the black K often comes under attack in the Sicilian, and occasionally he even gets mated. I guess the moral of the story is that if you're afraid of being atta ...[text shortened]... eally matters is that you get the kind of positions from your opening that you enjoy playing.

You mention that it claims the d4 square. I wasn't arguing this. c5 is a positional move in many ways (giving Black more pawns in the center and the c-file), but I mentioned that it is not really a developing move. Developing the queen is not of prime importance so early in the opening. Certainly developing the kingside and staking a central claim is more in line with general development principles. This really isn't even a point of discussion, it's just a fact. I am not saying that c5 is a bad move; I wouldn't play it if I thought it was. However, Black is behind in development more than in say the Ruy Lopez and he needs to be very careful.

Originally posted by scandium
1... c5 immediately lays a claim on the central d4 square, and opens a line for the Q to develop to c7, b6, or a5. That is about as much as you could hope to accomplish with any first move.

1...c5 is a great first move.
For white!

Game 4069109
Game 3886585
Game 2950352

I go with the French. Not enough hours in the day to keep up with sicilian and anti-sicilian theory.

Scandinavian defense, d5.

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
1...c5 is a great first move.
For white!

Game 4069109
Game 3886585
Game 2950352

I must lean the Smith-Morra.....

Originally posted by Leaadas
I must lean the Smith-Morra.....

All you need:
http://tinyurl.com/28e57y


It works just fine OTB, too:

[Event "Club Championship"]
[Site "Crawley Chess Club"]
[Date "15.11.2007"]
[White "S. Collyer"]
[Black "T. Smith"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B21"]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Bc4 e6 7.e5 Nc6
8.Qe2 Nge7 9.O-O b6 10.Rd1 Qc7 11.Nb5 Qb8 12.Nd6+ Kf8 13.Bf4 h6
14.Rac1 Bb7 15.Rc3 Na5 16.Bb5 Bc6 17.b4 a6 18.Bxc6 Naxc6 19.a3 Nd5
20.Rb3 Nxf4 21.Qe4 Nd5 22.Rxd5 exd5 23.Qxd5 Nd8 24.Nh4 Ne6
25.Nxf7 Kxf7 26.Qxd7+ Kg8 27.Qxe6+ Kh7 28.Qxg6+ Kg8 29.Rf3 Qc7
30.g3 Qxe5 31.Qf7+ Kh7 32.Ng6 Rhf8 33.Nxe5 Rxf7 34.Nxf7 Rf8
35.Kg2 Kg8 36.Nd6 Rd8 37.Nf5 Kh7 38.Re3 Kg6 39.Nxg7 Kxg7
40.Re7+ Kg6 41.Re6+
Black resigns
1-0