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St. george

St. george

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c
the challanger

nebraka

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does anyone like to use st. george opening bisides me?

h

e2

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Originally posted by cpkid6107
does anyone like to use st. george opening bisides me?
Yeah, I do. I thought I was the only one that masochistic . . .

w

Wales

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I used to use it, nice to take people by surprise sometimes, but i think the main openings offer better winning chances.

c
the challanger

nebraka

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i like the st. george because at least for the first 2 moves the guy on the other side of the chess board thinks your just pushing pieces and have no idea of stratigy

w

Wales

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Yes that happens a lot, its a i doubt a lot of people have ever heard of the opening, i only came across it by chance in a chess book that looked older than time itself 🙂

P

Mumbai,India

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Hi, I dont have a clue about this opening, Whats the ECO code. Is it as weird as f3, h4

h

e2

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Originally posted by Prashant
Hi, I dont have a clue about this opening, Whats the ECO code. Is it as weird as f3, h4
I imagine ECO lumps it with some other odd defenses, so the code won't likely help much. The basic form of the St. George Defense is:

1. e4 a6
2. d4 b5

or

1. d4 b5
2. e4 a6

Then usually something like:

3. Nf3 Bb7
4. Bd3 e6
5. O-O c5
6. c3 Nf6
etc. etc.

If White just develops sensibly like this, he's got a clear and heavy advantage. An early a2-a4 by White is certainly good, but by no means necessary.

Disclaimer: I'm a patzer, and anything I say about openings or chess in general might be hogwash.

c
the challanger

nebraka

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this line is true but someone who doesnt know better would play 1. e4 a7 3. Bc4?? this is where you would get the advantage and play ...b5 pushing him back and he then sets up in somthing he doesnt like and procede with e6 but st. george really takes shape after you push c5 pawn and you challange the center main thing to watch for is the a2-a4 pawn, most the time i push past him and you have 2 defenders on that square alredy and now force his kinght either to move away or not come out by c3 but by d2.....in most cases i use it to throw off the opponent

MC

oakland, ca

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Originally posted by huntingbear
[b]I imagine ECO lumps it with some other odd defenses, so the code won't likely help much. The basic form of the St. George Defense is:

1. e4 a6
2. d4 b5

or

1. d4 b5
2. e4 a6
Do you ever play a St. George like opening with the white pieces? if so, how do you play it?

c
the challanger

nebraka

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to answer the last question you can but i have searched high and low and i cant find any, in chess master 9000 i tryied to set it up like it and it used a different name but every time i tried it in a real game people crushed me, not to say it couldnt work i realy havent studied it...... i played this game on dec. 1 2003 (today) and my oppent was ranked 1724 and i am 1425 (this is on pogo) as you can see i am not that good but my defence literally thows him off and i was up i think 1 bishop and one point but i ended up resigning after losing my rook ...if you want to take a look at the game and see how players react here it is (im black) Move History:
Adrienne95 cpkid6107
1 Pe2-e4 Pa7-a6
2 Pd2-d4 Pb7-b5
3 Pc2-c4 Pc7-c6
4 Pd4-d5 Pc6xd5
5 Pc4xd5 Pe7-e6
6 Qd1-f3 Bc8-b7
7 Bf1-e2 Bf8-b4+
8 Nb1-c3 Ng8-e7
9 Pa2-a3 Bb4xc3+
10 Pb2xc3 Pe6xd5
11 Be2-d3 Ko-o
12 Ng1-e2 Pd7-d6
13 Ko-o Nb8-d7
14 Qf3-h3 Pg7-g6
15 Pf2-f4 Nd7-c5
16 Pf4-f5 Nc5xd3
17 Qh3xd3 Pd5xe4
18 Qd3-d4 Ne7xf5
19 Qd4-f2 Pd6-d5
20 Bc1-b2 Ra8-c8
21 Ne2-d4 Qd8-b6
22 Kg1-h1 Rc8-c7
23 Nd4xf5 Qb6xf2
24 Rf1xf2 Pg6xf5
25 Rf2xf5 Rc7-c4
26 Ra1-f1 Bb7-c8
27 Rf5-f6 Pe4-e3
28 Rf1-e1 Rc4-e4
29 Rf6-f3 Rf8-e8
30 Bb2-c1 Pa6-a5
31 Bc1xe3 Pb5-b4
32 Rf3-g3+ Kg8-f8
33 Be3-c5+ Re8-e7
34 Bc5xe7+ Kf8xe7
35 Re1xe4+ Ke7-d6
36 Re4-e2 Pb4xa3
37 Re2-a2
hope it helps

h

e2

Joined
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First, 1.e4 a6 2.Bc4 and then 2...b5 is a colossal mistake for Black:

1.e4 a6
2.Bc4?! b5??
3.Bxf7+ Kxf7
4.Qh5+
and Black is either mated or loses his a8 Rook.

I consider 2.Bc4 dubious since Black can eventually play ...b5 with tempo, but the immediate 2...b5 is a serious mistake.

Second, it is very possible to play the St. George in reverse as White. I play 1.b4 and go from there. Example:

1.b4 e5
2.a3 d5
3.Bb2 Bd6
etc. etc.

1.a3 is no good, IMO, after 1...g6
I used to play 1.Nf3 followed by b2-b4, but I've abandoned this, also on account of 1...g6

Almost all of my games as White start with 1.b4 and enter a Saint George Reversed. But I'm just a patzer, so check out http://www.puppetland.com/chess/ for a better player's thoughts on the St. George Defense and the St. George Reversed.

c
the challanger

nebraka

Joined
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02 Dec 03
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wow! i never even saw that and im glad he didnt either lol ill watch for that next time, thanks

h

e2

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Originally posted by cpkid6107
wow! i never even saw that and im glad he didnt either lol ill watch for that next time, thanks
I got away with 2...b5 a few times myself before seeing that. Actually, the first time I noticed it was my first ever correspondence game, here on RHP. Simmons was White and played 2.Bc4. I almost played ...b5 immediately but then 2.Bc4 seemed so odd I decided to look a little closer. That's when I found it and played something else.
Another trap to watch out for is:
1.e4 a6
2.d4 b5
3.c4 bxc4
4.Bxc4 Bb7??
5.Qb3 attacks the B and threatens mate on f7. I lost a B that way in a 20 min. game on the internet 🙁

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