I read a book by Max Euwe. He states that black should avoid the Ruy Lopez (too many variations) by playing Nf6 after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3.
Elsewhere I read that Petrov's defense is boring and not at all a problem to white: even if Black plays very well, a draw is the best Black can achieve.
I somehow prefer the agressive Nf6 to the passive move Nc6 (I don't like Nf6 at all when I play White..........).
Should Black go for Petrov's defense? Can it be a succesful defense? If not, what is the best thing to do after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3?
Thank you.
Originally posted by WallieWhat do you prefer? Play that.
I read a book by Max Euwe. He states that black should avoid the Ruy Lopez (too many variations) by playing Nf6 after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3.
Elsewhere I read that Petrov's defense is boring and not at all a problem to white: even if Black plays very well, a draw is the best Black can achieve.
I somehow prefer the agressive Nf6 to the passive move Nc6 (I don't like ...[text shortened]... a succesful defense? If not, what is the best thing to do after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3?
Thank you.
I don't think black can get much out of the petrov if you are playing a decent player and especailly in CC since you have access to resources and won't mess up in the opening.
Ruy Lopez slowly crushes black like a snake wrapping you up and squeezing.
Play what you want, it won't make much of a different until 1900-2000+. You lose or win by other factors not the opening mostly.
To RahimK:
Thank you for your response.
English is not my native language: what does CC mean?
I'm far from 1900+ rating. Should I nevertheless try to avoid the Ruy Lopez? If so, how? Chess is difficult enough as it is, so why not avoid the more complex openings in the first place, especially those that will slowly crush black like a snake? I do not like to be crushed!
Thanks again.
Originally posted by WallieCC is correspondence chess. Rhp is a CC site. What that means is that you can play super slow chess.
To RahimK:
Thank you for your response.
English is not my native language: what does CC mean?
I'm far from 1900+ rating. Should I nevertheless try to avoid the Ruy Lopez? If so, how? Chess is difficult enough as it is, so why not avoid the more complex openings in the first place, especially those that will slowly crush black like a snake? I do not like to be crushed!
Thanks again.
CC - played online or by mail (olden days and rare now). Get 1 or more days to think of your move and games last several months.
OTB- over the board chess. You play against an actual opponent in person with a real board.
What I'm saying is that you will lose you games due to blunders and mistakes. Not because of your opening so if you like 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 play that. If you like the other one play that.
It won't make a difference right now.
Fischer said that White had no advantage with the Ruy Lopez. I have been told that the Petrov is drawish. Seems to me that drawish means that White cannot have a true advantage. Seems to me that my last Petrov Defense in here was a sad experience to me and I do not think I have played it again. I do not care to match 1. e4 ... with 1. ... e5.
the Petrov cuts down on the number of imbalances in the opening which in turn steers towards a more drawish position.
there's nothing wrong with it if as long as you avoid the traps white can set.
but Rahim is right, games between 1300-1400 players aren't dictated by openings, but more often by blunders and "whoever makes the second to last mistake"
Originally posted by YUG0slavYa, I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with that one.
the Petrov cuts down on the number of imbalances in the opening which in turn steers towards a more drawish position.
there's nothing wrong with it if as long as you avoid the traps white can set.
but Rahim is right, games between 1300-1400 players aren't dictated by openings, but more often by blunders and "whoever makes the second to last mistake"
I'm going to push the envelope to 1800 and under, openings don't matter much.
Originally posted by RahimKi would say that at 1600+ openings do matter in cc, though not as much in otb.
Ya, I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with that one.
I'm going to push the envelope to 1800 and under, openings don't matter much.
what I was saying earlier though was more that games at the 1300-1400 level are decided by blunders as opposed to excellent play.
Originally posted by YUG0slavSure I'll go with that. I'm amazed still at the number of people on here who don't use databases in their games or don't use them properly.
i would say that at 1600+ openings do matter in cc, though not as much in otb.
what I was saying earlier though was more that games at the 1300-1400 level are decided by blunders as opposed to excellent play.
Originally posted by ChessJesterOpenings that tend to create different half-open files are more likely to lead to a decisive result. For example, after 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 ed ed, the game will tend toward a draw if all of the heavy pieces are traded on the open e-file. On the other hand, after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cd 4 Nd4, a decisive game is more likely because it is difficult to engineeer a lot of exchanges because each side has it's own half-open files.
Why is everyone afraid of a drawish position? isn't it drawish to begin with? I think 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 is a good way to throw off an unsuspecting lopez lover and bring them into somewhat unfamiliar territory.
Originally posted by WulebgrAt our level (under, say 2200) the Petrov/Russian is anything but drawish. In fact, I've had some extremely aggressive and enjoyable games playing it and also against it with the Cochrane Gambit. I've never that I can recall had a draw playing the Petrov.
I've won my share of correspondence games playing the Russian Defense as black. Equality means equal chances, not necessarily a draw. The resulting pawn structure is rarely symmetrical, so an imbalance exists.
This is one for players who like open games. What I like about it is the twin-barreled shotgun of two bishops aimed at the white King's position. Often, I'll make a sacrifice to bust him open. Often I'll push the f pawn to create space for the black rook. You don't see this too often when the big boys play. One notable exception is this quite superb game by two super GMs although black loses in the end. http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1267366
Edit: http://www.geocities.com/thegotmman/gotm_oct-03.html (for annotation)