Alternative defense against 1. d4?
wikipedia: The Polish is closely related to the St. George Defence 1.e4 a6, usually followed by 2.d4 b5 into which it often transposes. The Polish has been used against the Réti Opening or King's Indian Attack and has been successfully played by former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, Boris Spassky played 1.d4 b5 against Tigran Petrosian in the decisive 22nd game of their world championship match in 1966.
Reminds me of Anderssen's 1. a3 against Morphy as a resource for getting out of book. It gets your opponent out of book almost immediately.
Recently requested a thematic for the Polish Defense, e.g., 1. d4 b5 hoping to find someone else interested in the idea and was overwhelmed by the vast number of players who signed up for the tournament. I've played the Polish Opening and Defense for some time, and am shocked at how many opponents just resign a few moves into the game. There are tactical threats, but most of them just quit because it is so bazaar. I'm sure in blitz games their first thought is that this guy is just learning the moves, then presto they find themselves in a bind and have no idea what to do.
Spassky, Hodgson and a few other grandmasters have played it successfully.
Have you ever played 1. d4 b5?
I have dabbled with 1. ... b5 and 1. e4 a6. They are playable. The GM's usually play it like this 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b5. This variation avoids all lines with e4. I have the Polish Defense by Kapitaniak and The New St. George by Basman. They are book good books. I think Spassky played b5 against Petrosian in a World Championship match. 1. d4 b5 2. e4 Bb7 3. f3 is how the games went, I believe. No doubt, you have seem Miles's defeat of Karpov with 1. ... a6. Look at it here with his annotations, they're quite funny. http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068157
The problems I have had is in the positional line 1. e4 a6 2. d4 b5 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. Bd3 e6 5. 0-0 c5 6. c3 Nf6 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. a3. This may not be the exact line, but it's close. It is very hard to outplay a stronger player with this variation. You may get equality but winning is really hard, at least for me. I would have played in the tournament too, but I didn't want to be paired with a certain player again. 🙁 I withdrew when he entered.
Originally posted by gaychessplayerI can't discuss the games, because they are in progress, but it is very interesting to see formations against the Polish Defense as white that were popular with Anderssen, Morphy, Steinitz, and many of these early masters.
If I remember correctly (and I hate to misremember things), GM Nigel Davies in his Dynamic Reti recommends a London System setup against the Polish Defense: 1 Nf3 b5 2 d4 a6 3 Bf4.
This is what I wanted to see -- some exciting games that get out of book very quickly.
* Good trivia: Steinitz was actually older than Morphy.
I wonder if 1. d4 b5 2. Bg5 has been played. I didn't look in my book, but 1.b4 d5 2. Bb2 Bg4 is alright for black. I guess 2. Bg5 may not be good because it is more of an equalizing move than a white advantage move. The London/ New York Sysem is the same thing. It is more of an equalizer with some winning chances, than going out for a white advantage. I've had tons of good games with the black side of 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bf5. With white though, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 is by no means worse for white, but it is really hard to prove an advantage. Maybe 1. d4 b5 2. Nf3 Bb7 3. Bf4 ( I think 3. e3 with a Colias game is in the Big Book Of Busts) e6 (maybe even d6 blunting the bishop and a kingside fianchetto) 4. e3 a6 (followed by f5) is playable. 1. d4 b5 2. Nf3 Nf6 !? 3. Bf4 g6 and maybe no Bb7 at all may be ok too.