Any Tromp players out there? I have been thinking about adding it to my rep in order to cut out all the benko, benoni and budapest heavy learners in my club. Any advice to a new Tromp player?
Odds are your benko, benoni, and budapest players are well prepared for the Tromp since it is going to be the most common deviation. Ignoring for a moment that 2. Nf3 pretty much kills all those systems you might consider something a little more offbeat like the Veresov type stuff with 1. d4 nf6 2. Nc3.
Originally posted by 14th Street Break Any Tromp players out there? I have been thinking about adding it to my rep in order to cut out all the benko, benoni and budapest heavy learners in my club. Any advice to a new Tromp player?
Originally posted by nimzo5 Odds are your benko, benoni, and budapest players are well prepared for the Tromp since it is going to be the most common deviation. Ignoring for a moment that 2. Nf3 pretty much kills all those systems you might consider something a little more offbeat like the Veresov type stuff with 1. d4 nf6 2. Nc3.
Nimzo: You make a very good point. I'm not expecting my fellow clubbers to be taken aback by my early Bg5 play but I do expect to be less surprised by their moves by playing the Tromp. I was very interested by that Nf3 idea though, I might have to try it out. Was that your way of not recommending I play it?
I'd personally recommend taking the time to prepare for the very openings you're trying to avoid! 'Unusual' (bordering on obsolete at the 2700+ level) openings are nothing to be scared of!
At the same time, there is a lot of theory to learn in these 'offbeat' mainlines. If you have limited time/motivation for preparation, the Tromp is a great choice. You won't find yourself surprising your opponent, but quite often you'll find yourself far more familiar with the resulting positions.
Depending on your level, a book or two, and/or a chessbase DVD on the Tromp could be more than enough to promise good results with relatively minimal effort.
Oh and before I post this I should digress slightly. The Benoni is occasionally seen in long games at the superGM level. The other two (Benko, Budapest) seldom show up in even rapid games.
14th - I don't believe in "avoiding" other people's prep unless they have proven repeatedly they can achieve good positions against you. The flaw in the philosophy of playing an "anti" system like the Tromp, the Alapin etc. is that so many people do that the typical player is better prepared for the "anti" opening than their actual opening.
Example - In a two year period I faced 4 c3 Alapin games for every one actual mainline Sicilian. The result is I devoted most of my study time to positions arising out of the Alapin. I now score better in the Alapin than I do with my mainlines.
Originally posted by nimzo5 14th - I don't believe in "avoiding" other people's prep unless they have proven repeatedly they can achieve good positions against you. The flaw in the philosophy of playing an "anti" system like the Tromp, the Alapin etc. is that so many people do that the typical player is better prepared for the "anti" opening than their actual opening.
Example - In a ...[text shortened]... arising out of the Alapin. I now score better in the Alapin than I do with my mainlines.
Thanks Guys! I went to my club yesterday and I played Nf3 and it worked out just fine. I think I'll slowly learn the Tromp over the internet and play all my OTB games with 2. nf3. I was trying to learn the Trompowsky not to cut out their theory but the amount of theory I had to learn to keep up with them. Maybe I'd just bite the bullet and learn all this theory if there was a "Raptor Variation" and a "Laser Shark Variation" in the Tromp ZOMG SUPER L33T !!!@!@!@!@!@2121
Originally posted by 14th Street Break Any Tromp players out there? I have been thinking about adding it to my rep in order to cut out all the benko, benoni and budapest heavy learners in my club. Any advice to a new Tromp player?
The Tromp is a good line, I used to play it when I was an active OTB player. The problem with it was my opponents would almost never play into that line, they would normally transpose into one of the more well known lines of play and all my study would be a waste.
Trompowsky
10 Aug '11 00:49
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