Michael Basman, of course, always went his own way, both in real life and in chess. His Audio Chess tapes (yes, chess tuition existed before the Internet and even before CDs and DVDs) led to a brief burst of popularity for Grob’s Opening in the 1980s and he even played the opening with the black pieces (sometimes known as ‘The Borg’). 

Assuming one is not going to go the whole hog with 1.g4 and 2.f3 (or 1…g5 and 2…f6, as occasionally seen in online protest games) then the Grob player must provide some justification for the early advance of the g-pawn. 

Modern chess is full of early lunges by the g-pawn (Garry Kasparov was fond of the energy created in the middlegames of the Queen’s Gambit, for example) but pushing it on move one requires a degree of commitment few players will happily embrace. 

Of course, anyone who perseveres with an opening will learn a few traps along the way and they will be ready to spring them over the board, especially in Blitz and Rapidplay games. 

Here is a case in point. 

1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Qb3 e6?? 6.Qa4+ and 7.Qxg4… 

…picking up a piece in broad daylight, even though Black played what appeared to be five very logical moves. 

In this new book, the authors give plenty of examples showing the Grob in all its glory. The presentation is sunny side up, so a little caution and some extra work will be needed to avoid ending up on the wrong side of a messy debacle. 

However, the material will appeal to maverick chess players of all strengths who are tired of learning opening theory and want something with a lighter theoretical touch and, in keeping with that particular ethos, we present two typical Grob moments – one with each color. 

Mark Hebden – Michael Basman 

Borehamwood, 1981 

How to deal with the threat to the g-pawn? Well, Basman comes up with a novel idea, starting with 4…d6!? 

Now, after 5.fxg5 hxg5 6.Bxg5 c5 7.d5 Qb6 8.Bd2 Nd7, Black gained compensation for the pawn, in the form of a strong grip of the important e5-square and dark-square control. After many more unlikely adventures, Basman went on to win (0-1, 35). 

Michael Basman – James Howell 

Leighton (Rapid), 1989 

It seems a shade unfair that Basman could usually get away with moving his h- and g-pawns, but his opponents could not afford such luxuries. 

Here, Black has just played the sensible-looking 24…h6, to give White’s queen a question to answer. Unfortunately, Basman showed that even he sometimes resorted to central occupation with the powerful 25. Qe5!, when the threats of 26. Qxb8+ and 26. Nxf6+ followed by 27. Qxe2. This was more than Black could deal with, so he resigned. 

It seems unlikely one can become a World Champion by playing The Grob on a regular basis. Yet it can be fun to play in fast games and friendlies, so if anyone out there would like to give it a try then there is no better place to start than with a collection of Basman’s games. 

Sean Marsh   

I am sure most players feel the same when the opponent bypasses so much mainline theory by opting for what is often classed as a boring opening. 

In reality, the London System is not boring at all and is impossible to refute. After all, White’s early moves are all designed to develop their pieces to good squares, castle the king into safety, and stifle any attempts by the second player to drag the game into their own specialist territory. That all sounds like a very good way to play and there is little wonder the club player’s favorite opening has enjoyed an explosion of popularity, even at the highest of levels, especially those featuring faster time limits. 

In The London Files, Vassilios Kotronias and Mikhail Ivanov aim to arm Black with new ideas to face the dreaded Bf4 systems whether the first player opens with 1. d4 2. Nf3 3. Bf4 or the trendier 1. d4 2. Bf4. 

In fact, to cater for all styles of play, the authors provide no fewer than four anti-London methods, namely: 

(1) King’s Indian Setups 

(2) London Benoni 

(3) London Nimzo- and Queen’s Indian 

(4) London Orthodox System 

The book will obviously guide players through everything they need to know in order to combat the London System in any style they choose, but I am sure all anyone is interested in at the moment is to see a few choice moments when everything goes right for the second player and the London System falls down. 

1. King’s Indian Setups

Our first position is from the King’s Indian approach. 

Note that White has declined to play an early h2-h3 in this instance (an automatic move for London players on autopilot) and is hoping the tempo can be put to better use by the early c2-c4 instead. 

Yet Black has a very strong idea here, which has been unearthed by the authors of this book.~ 
 
7…e5!! 

8. dxe5 Ne4! 

Black is suddenly better, after only eight moves! The famous King’s Indian bishop is already breathing tactical fire down the long diagonal and White already has to tread a very fine line just to stay afloat. 

2. London Benoni 

Here is the Benoni system in action. 

After 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 3. d5 Black can really make White think by playing 3…b5!, which is, of course, a thematic Benoni move, but exactly the sort of thing London players think they are going to avoid meeting when they think they can trot out the same old moves game after game. 

 
(In passing, it is also worth mentioning that 1. d4 c5! is also an excellent way of confusing club players who don’t want to think for themselves too early in the game.) 

After 3…b5!, remarkable as it seems, the d5-pawn may end up in mortal danger, because …Bb7 will be coming soon and White needs to take appropriate action to avoid an opening disaster. 

3. London Nimzo- and Queen’s Indian 

Next, we see the Nimzo/Queen’s Indian method turning out very successfully. 

This looks to be heading straight into White’s dreams, but even here there is an interesting way to throw the first player back onto his own resources. 

4…Ba6!? 

What a difference one square makes! White may have expected the typical Queen’s Indian development with 4…Bb7, but 4…Ba6!? asks significant questions about White’s future intentions, as e2-e3 is suddenly desirable. Furthermore, 5. Nbd2 c5! continues to ask the questions and White will almost certainly be in an unfamiliar position (which is exactly where we want them to be). 

4. London Orthodox System 

Finally, Black’s last triumph to be featured in this particular blog post is the result of the second player sticking to an orthodox way of playing; the very path White players are hoping to see when they develop their bishop to f4, in the hope of a straightforward game in which they plan to keep control of the position and utilize their slight edge. 

Play could start with 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 but Black (once again) throws an early spanner in the works with 2…c5. 

White now has three main options: 3. dxc5, 3. c3 and 3. e3. 

Most players will be reluctant to give up the center with 3. dxc5 – and rightly so. 3. c3 runs into 3…Qb6! when Black is already probing the dark squares on the queenside, which have been deserted by 2. Bf4. Meanwhile, 3. e3 (the most popular option) allows Black to head for a transposition to the Exchange Variation of the Caro Kann Defense with 3…cxd4 4. exd4 Nc6, which is easy enough for Black to play with just a little preparation and a basic understanding of the position. 

Put yourself in White’s shoes. All you want to do is play the first 10 or so moves quickly, without having to think. Yet using the lines recommended in this book, Black will be able to change the course of the game as early as the second move and drag White into quite different territory. Well-prepared players with the black pieces will suddenly be very pleased indeed to see the first player reaching for the c1-bishop! 

Sean Marsh 

What is new to this edition? 

According to the blurb: 

‘In this updated version of Moskalenko’s 2013 book of the same name, 33 of the 42 games are new, the structure has been updated in places, and there are fresh ideas on every page.’ 

In truth, the Pirc and Modern defenses have never matched the reputations of semi-open games such as the Sicilian, Caro-Kann, or French Defense and they are rarely seen at the higher levels of chess. When they do appear, they have a habit of making their reputation worse. 

Readers will no doubt remember game 32 of the great Anatoly Karpov – Viktor Korchnoi 1978 World Championship match, plus game nine of the 1983 Candidates match between Garry Kasparov and Alexander Beliavsky, and Vasily Ivanchuk – Vladimir Kramnik in the dramatic final round of the 2013 Candidates tournament. 

Karpov – Korchnoi 1978

Kasparov – Beliavsky 1983

Ivanchuk – Kramnik 2013

In each of those three games, the course of chess history would have been changed if Black had triumphed, and yet each ended in defeat for the second player. Therefore, Karpov kept his title, just when he seemed to be on the point of defeat, Kasparov sailed through the rest of his Candidate’s matches and into his extraordinary series of matches with Karpov (which saw the Soviet Golden Boy ultimately dethroned), and it was Magnus Carlsen, not Kramnik, who qualified to play Vishy Anand in the 2013 World Championship match and start his 10-year tenure on the throne, before his surprising abdication earlier this year. 
 
10 years… now there is a coincidence. Perhaps the Pirc Defense itself was not to blame for the three pivotal Black defeats mentioned earlier and the time is now right for a revival? 
 
As always, Moskalenko writes with an easy and accessible style, clearly on the optimistic side of the fence when it comes to covering his second-favorite defense to 1. e4. 

At first glance, of course, this new edition and the original look extremely similar, but a closer inspection reveals some interesting new ideas for Black – and, for that matter, for White too. 

Here is a striking example, in a popular variation. 
 
After 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 we reach one of the main lines of the Austrian Attack against the Pirc Defense.  

What do we make of 7. Qd4 in this position? 

 
 
Moskalenko calls it: ‘A recent, paradoxical, but strategically interesting attempt to fight for an opening advantage. In this line, White combines two basic ideas: establishing a favourable pawn structure and exchanging the queens.’ 

One point is that after the routine capture with 7…dxc5, 8. Qc4! ‘allows White to put his strategy to good use’ with 8. Qc4! ‘which changes the value of the line 7…dxc5.’ One of the points of this mysterious queen move is to trade the strongest pieces after (for example) 8…0-0 9. e5 Be6 10. Qa4! Qxa4 11. Nxa4 with ‘the desired endgame for White.’ 

Furthermore, ‘7…Nc6?!, attacking the white queen, is unfortunately refuted by 8. Bb5!’, with the attempt at a tactical rebuttal with 8…Qxb5… 
 

…failing to 9. Qxf6! 

Black is therefore advised to avoid trying to be too clever and to play 7…0-0 instead, when 8. cxd6 exd6! appears to give Black good play for the sacrificed material, especially as the White Queen will now be a target. 

Moskalenko provides examples of Black’s potential in his notes, including this drastic collapse. 
 
9.Bd2 Nc6! 10. Qxd6?? Rd8 11. Qa3 Qxa3 12. Bxa3 Nxe4 

Suddenly, Black is winning and has a position any self-respecting Pirc player would be delighted to see appear on the board. 
 
Make no mistake: playing the Pirc or Modern requires specific knowledge of key variations, a great sense of timing and a bag full of tricks. 
 
Careful study of this book, combined with active practice in over-the-board chess, should lead to some very rewarding victories indeed. 
 
Sean Marsh 

The art of the exchange sacrifice is a difficult one to master. Chess players are happy enough to sacrifice pawns left, right, and center in the opening and think nothing of blasting open a castled king’s position with a knight or bishop sacrifice.

Yet the timing of an exchange sacrifice (rook for knight or bishop) is much more difficult, especially when the compensation is not immediately obvious and, indeed, could take many more moves to manifest itself.

The Exchange Sacrifice Unleashed by George Mohr provides excellent coverage of the genre. This new book offers plenty of guidance and examples on this tricky subject, with the exchange sacrifices coming at all stages of the game and in a variety of circumstances, such as attack and defense. There is even a section on World Champions sacrificing the exchange.

Here are some interesting examples from the book.

The Exchange Sacrifice Unleashed: Example 1

Dreev – Peng

Beijing 2000

Black’s bishop appears to be a nuisance but after 25. Rxg3! hxg3 the unexpected follow-up 26. Rb3! brought White success down the g-file (1-0, 29).

The Exchange Sacrifice Unleashed: Example 2

Hort – Petrosian

Kapfenberg 1970

Petrosian is still the undisputed king of the exchange sacrifice and here is a typical example of his style. It looks like White has built up considerable pressure against the black king, but Petrosian was ready with one of his logic-defying specialties.

21…g6! 22. Nf6+ Rxf6 23. exf6 Nf7 when Hort’s attack had been stopped in its tracks and Petrosian went on to prove his superior endgame skills, despite always being the exchange down (0-1, 48).

The Exchange Sacrifice Unleashed: Example 3

Here is a very rare example of a double rook sacrifice on the same square.

Shirov—Short

Yerevan, 1996

15. Rxf6!?

Typical Shirov!

15…gxf6 

16. Nd1 a remarkably cool follow up, sending the knight on a journey to g4, from where it will apply significant pressure to both f6 and h6. After the more obvious 16. Rxf6, Black appears to be fine after 16…Ng6, despite his compromised pawn structure.

Fast forward a few moves and we can see exactly what Shirov was up to.

20. Rxf6!

Now 20…Nxf6 21. Qxh6+ and 22. Nxf6+ would be intolerable for Black, so he had to give up his queen with 20…Qxf6. The position became extremely unusual, but Shirov eventually triumphed (1-0, 60).

Playing through the examples given in this entertaining and instructive book will remind the reader that there is far more to chess than merely ‘banking’ a material advantage. Sometimes, a little investment can lead to impressive dividends further down the line.

Sean Marsh

Such a romantic description, yet the name of the player, who was at the height of his powers during one of the Golden Ages of Chess, eludes most people when they eulogize the games of Jose Raul Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine and a whole range of other titans from the 1920s and 1930s.

Yet this player was, in a way, a Candidate for the World Chess Championship, as he played in the famous New York tournament of 1927, which was won (very comfortably) by an imperious Capablanca, who went on to lose his title – the surprise of many – the Alexander Alekhine later in the year.

Alekhine finished second in New York and readers will find the names of Aron Nimzowitsch and Frank James Marshall spring immediately to mind when trying to recall the four other competitors.

The two most likely to be forgotten are Milan Vidmar and…Rudolf Spielmann.

The latter is the player whose name we asked about at the start of this post.

In reality, of course, nobody other than Capablanca and Alekhine were really likely to take either of the first two places in New York, especially given the quadruple round-robin format, which made surprise results rather difficult.

Nevertheless, even though Spielmann’s play was too frustratingly inconsistent to enable him to make a substantial impact at the very top level, his creativity and originality brought him many stylish wins against some of the best players in the world and they can be found in the excellent new book, A Chess Biography of Rudolf Spielmann (Elk and Ruby) by Grigory Bogdanovich.

The author has clearly worked hard to assemble a large amount of very interesting material and games, just as he did with his earlier books on Bogoljubov.

Spielmann’s life story was certainly not without its tragic elements, as readers will discover as they delve into the book.

However, to keep this blog post on the positive side of life, we shall return to the old, romantic, and possibly suspect King’s Gambit.

Spielmann’s own article, ‘From the Sickbed of the King’s Gambit’ is an historical lament in recognition that 1. e4 e5 2. f4 was, perhaps, nearing the end of its life at the higher levels of chess. However, as it was written 100 years ago, hindsight shows us the death knell was sounded prematurely (see, for example, the magnificent King’s Gambit games played by Boris Spassky, who numbered various other chess kings amongst his victims, including Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, and David Bronstein).

Here is a snippet showing Spielmann in his finest King’s Gambit form.

Spielmann – Grunfeld

Teplice Sanov, 1922

Grunfeld tried to repel the invaders with 19…f5 but was rocked back by 20. Rxf5! (and 1-0, 31).

Despite the lasting memory of Spielmann’s strong association with the King’s Gambit, the book makes it clear that he was far from a ‘one trick pony.’ Indeed, his positional play was of a very high standard too (it would not have been possible to become one of the world’s top five player by f-file sacrifices alone) and one thing I didn’t realize until I read this book was just how many matches Spielmann played. It was over 55 and his opponents were of a generally very high standard, including Reti, Tartakower and Bogoljubov.

I can easily recommend this new book to anyone interested in chess history and sparkling games, which left no opponent feeling safe.

In Spielmann’s own words: ‘I’m coming after you!’

Sean Marsh

Indeed, as Semkov rightly says, it was ideas such as the following, played by Tony Miles against Oscar Panno (Buenos Aires, 1979), which brought greater attention to the English Defense at the end of the 1970s. 
 
1. c4 b6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 Bb7 4. d4 Bb4 5. f3 f5 6. exf5 Nh6 7. fxe6  

7…Nf5! 
 
Panno is quite a forgotten player these days, but he was a very strong Grandmaster. Once Miles was able to ruffle a few classical feathers, he was often able to outplay his peers in the ensuing sharp and generally uncharted positions. 
 
Even Lev Polugaevsky didn’t know what had hit him in game six of his 1977 Candidates Match against Viktor Korchnoi, when the latter, influenced by his English team of helpers, assaulted the White center with a very early …f5. 

Korchnoi did his usual trick of taking his advantage to the endgame and finished off Polugaevsky after 65 moves. 
 
The English Defense has yet to regain the level of interest it acquired all of those years ago and is now more often treated with suspicion, on the grounds that a strong player with a good grasp of theory from the White side of the board will be able to gain the advantage or, at the very least, spoil Black’s dreams of having maverick fun by steering the game back to mainline Queen’s Indian theory. 

The new release, Playing for a win with …b6 by Semko Semkov, aims to show that Black can avoid the two scenarios outlined above and stamp their individual English Defense authority on proceedings after all. 

 
One example is meeting 1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. a3 Bb7 4. Nc3 (trying to transpose back to a Queen’s Indian Defense after 4…Nf6 5. Nf3, with Kasparov’s early favorite, 4. a3) not with the compliant 4…Nf6, but with the Dutch-style 4…f5. 

In former times, it was reckoned that White could now play for a positional advantage with 5. d5 (blotting out Black’s queen’s bishop) but Semkov’s analysis and annotated, illustrative games show matters are not so simple. One point is that Black’s knight can emerge via a6 and head to c5, to exploit the weakness created by d4-d5. 

Of course, in the move order 1. d4 e6, Black will need to know how to play the French Defense (because White can transpose with 1. d4 e6 2. e4 and Black has nothing better than 2…d5) but as the French is an excellent defense, that should not be an off-putting factor when to comes to thinking about taking up Semkov’s interesting and intriguing repertoire. There is also a considerable amount of material here to enable Black to meet White’s other early deviations, such as 2. Nf3, heading for a Queen’s Pawn System instead of a mainline trying to hog the center.  

The book is for advanced players and there is a lot to learn, but anyone prepared to put in some serious time and effort with this book will have their eyes opened to the possibilities offered by this almost-forgotten defense. 

Sean Marsh 

Have any thoughts or questions? Let us know in the comments below!

The games may be fun, but the openings have a limited shelf-life and sooner or later it will become necessary to change them altogether. 
 
This applies to both the White and Black players. In the long run, it is undoubtedly better to learn a set of openings which have not only stood the test of time but will continue to do so. 
 
For example, the London System is currently enjoying an unprecedented run of popularity, but it is no secret that 1. d4 2. c4 remains more challenging for the second player than 1. d4 2. Nf3 3. Bf4 (or the even trendier 1. d4 2. Bf4). 
 
Furthermore, after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6, there is no point beating about the bush with moves other than 3. Nc3. The fact that some players prefer to play 3. Nf3 or 3. g3 just shows how unprepared they are to allow 3…Bb4 – the famous Nimzo-Indian Defense. 

The big battle for the vital e4 square will then continue for the rest of the opening and even some way into the middlegame. 
 
How should White continue? Perhaps it is time to dig in deep and to put some serious effort into combatting one of the best defenses to 1. d4 2. c4. 
 
Help is at hand, with the recent release of The Nimzo-Indian Bible for White: Volume 1 and Volume 2, by Milos Pavlovic. 

The author is quick to reveal his credentials: 

‘I have worked with the best, or perhaps it’s better to say that I have learned from the best; that’s how I can best describe this book, because I spent some time with Svetozar Gligoric in the early 2000s and the Nimzo-Indian was also present.’  
 
Indeed, Gligoric wrote the classic book Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence (Pergamon Press, 1985), which is still a very useful tome to this day. 

The first volume in this new, two-part series covers the highly respected Classical Variation (4. Qc2) and the much rarer 4. Bd2. 

Both lines are designed to prevent Black from compromising White’s pawn structure with a timely …Bxc3+, after which Black will usually gain serious play against the doubled pawns. 

4. Bd2 is an oddity, ‘for which basically I could not find an established name’, says the author, who goes on to christen it ‘the Tartakower-Duchamp line because Saviellly Tartakower played it often, while to my surprise Marcel Duchamp (who was also a famous French artist) played it too in the 1930s and indeed in a very good positional fashion against strong players.’ 

White is trying to obtain the bishop pair without allowing his pawn structure to be smashed up. 
 
The second volume focuses on 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3, the famous Rubinstein Variation. 

There are now so many ways for both sides to play that an expert guide is required – and hopefully that is what the reader will find in this book. 
 
Consider this as a rallying cry: forget about anything other than 2. c4 after 1. d4 and put aside the alternatives to 3. Nc3 after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6. Put in some serious study, play the best third move with an air of confidence and don’t be afraid take on the Nimzo-Indian Defense! 

Sean Marsh 

In this month’s blog post, we would like to draw your attention to six of the best – three from each volume. 

Position 1

Mark Tseitlin – Ivkov 

Davos, 2006 

Black to play

Tseitlin has just played 57. Rf8, hoping to exploit the pin on the night. Unfortunately for him, Ivkov now has a forced win. 

57…Rxg2+ 

58. Qxg2 Qxg2+ 

59. Kxg2 Nxf8 The knight is no longer pinned! 0-1 

Position 2

Ivkov – Josip Rukavina 

Novi Sad, 1975 

White to play 

25. 0-0-0+! 1-0 

Sometimes castling late has distinct advantages. 

Position 3

Ivkov – Arkadij Naiditsch 

Wijk aan Zee Open, 1999 

White to play 

Black is angling for further exchanges, but after the clever 27. Rd1! White forces the win of material, thanks to the unusual pin action. (1-0, 33). 

Position 4

Stefano Tatai – Ivkov 

Praia da Rocha, 1978 

Black to play 

It looks like Black is in serious trouble, yet Ivkov finishes off in style. 

39…Nf2+! 

40. Rxf2 (40. Kh2 runs into 40…Rxh4 checkmate) Rxh4+!! 

0-1 If 41. Kxh4, then 41…exf2 and Black’s pawn promotes by force. The best White can hope for is a battle between a queen and two bishops, but Tatai evidently didn’t want to test Ivkov’s technique. 

Position 5

Goran Cabrilio – Ivkov 

Yugoslav Championship, 1976 

White to play 

Obviously not an endgame, but it shows how little pawns can sometimes become big heroes. 

16. Rfc1?? Nb3!! 

It must have come as a shock to White to see this move played on the board. It is a knight fork, but 17. axb3 axb3 shows Black’s other big idea, with the humble a-pawn trapping the rook. (0-1, 30). 

Position 6

Not all of the games and positions are from Ivkov’s own games. Here is a sparkling example from elsewhere. 

James Plaskett – Dragoljub Velimirovic 

Banjaluka, 1985 

White to play 

Plaskett played 40. g4?? but after 40…fxg3 he resigned. 

Ivkov points out a brilliant alternative finish, with 40. Qxh4+!! Kxh4 41. Rh7+ Kg5 42. h4 checkmate. 

A fine position with which to finish this month’s column. 

Sean Marsh 

The Polish Defense by Jerzy Konikowski and Marek Soszynski examines ‘Systems for Black Based on …b5’. In each case, the …b5 moves come remarkably early in the game; usually on the very first move, in fact. A lot of the resulting play is out of this world, as acknowledged by the book’s blurb:

“There can be no Plan B because there is no Planet B,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. We disagree when it comes to chess. In this book you will see analyzed not only 1. d4 b5 (the Polish Defense) but also the St. George Defense (1. e4 e6 2. d4 a6 intending 3…b5), 1. Nf3 b5, also 1. f4 b5 and, most shocking of all, 1. e4 a6 2. d4 b5. Grandmasters have lost to these systems; other Grandmasters even try them out themselves when they have the black pieces. No, an early …b7-b5 is not Plan A. However, if you want to humiliate the opposition by being literally eccentric (off-center) and disrespectful … Welcome to Planet B!’’

Basman’s interest in the opening predates his main love of the Grob (1.g4 and 1…g5) but he was instrumental in making lines with an early …b5 more respectable. As part of their historical retrospective of the defenses covered in their book, the authors explain:

‘Fast forward to the 1980s and English IM Michael Basman, openings experimenter extraordinaire, issues his Play the St. George book in which he analyzes various …b7-b5 systems, including his preferred 1. e4 e6 2. d4 a6 (then 3…b5), which he himself had been playing since the late 1970s. But why did he name it for the patron saint of England? Partly because in the European Team Championships of 1980, the English GM Tony Miles famously employed 1. e4 a6 2. d4 b5 to beat the Soviet Union’s top board, Anatoly Karpov, and thus help England earn an unlikely draw against the tourney favorites – which brought to mind the legend of St. George and the Dragon, in which the hero… and you can guess the rest.’

As an example of the book’s thoroughness, the number of options analyzed after the standard opening moves 1. d4 b5 2. e4 Bb7 is very impressive, given that this opening rarely receives any coverage whatsoever.

Here, the following White tries are all examined: 3. Bd3, 3. f3, 3. Nd2, 3. Bxb5, 3. d5 Nf6, 3. e5 e6 4. Nf3 a6 and 3. Qf3?!

Playing unusual openings can be a double-edged sword. There is a reason such openings are not often played by very strong players and to rely on 1 …b5 all of the time would probably lead to diminishing returns. As is often the case, such oddball openings are best used as occasional surprise weapons, especially in Blitz or Rapidplay games.

Players of a certain age will almost certainly remember the fuss caused by the most famous of all games featuring the St. George Defense. For the younger readers, here is what happened.

Anatoly Karpov – Tony Miles

Skara,1980

At this time, Karpov was an absolutely dominant World Champion. He very rarely lost any games at all, and he was virtually invincible with the white pieces.

Tony Miles was a fighter on the chess board but usually struggled against Karpov (as did everyone else). Perhaps out of desperation (his usual openings, such as the Sicilian Dragon, were ineffective against Karpov) he met the champion’s then-habitual 1. e4 with 1…a6. At the time, this move was considered an insult, but nobody would have suspected a major shock was in store.

This is the critical position of the game. Black has just castled, giving Karpov the opportunity to play the Greek Gift sacrifice with 19. Bxh7!? In the game, he thought for half an hour and played 19. Ng5, but his subsequent play was not up to his normal standard. Miles won a pawn and then converted his advantage in the endgame. Debate still rages over Karpov’s decision. The sacrifice is not as clear as most Greek Gift sacrifices and Karpov was never one to indulge in anything speculative. Konikowski and Soszynski provide plenty of interesting analysis which readers should find to be of interest.

The book concludes with 111 unannotated games, for further, independent study. This is where the reader will find the Forward Chess facilities particularly helpful. One can play through the moves via the on-screen board and use an engine to follow the ebb and flow of each game.

There are some big names defending the honour of 1…b5 too, such as David Howell and Jorden Van Foreest and, of course, Mike Basman himself, who was still playing the St. George to the end.

Indeed, we shall conclude with a snippet in his honor, in which the b-pawn, having gallantly advanced on the first move, didn’t move again until the time was right – which happened to be on move 47, when it strolled forward for a winning promotion.

Why not give 1…b5 a try in your own games, using this book as your guide?

Sean Marsh

How many times have we heard that piece of advice? Far more often than we have followed it, that is for sure.

Now that the New Year is here, perhaps it is time to change old habits and to embrace the advice instead of ignoring it yet again. One endgame book I am enjoying very much is The Pawn Study Composer’s Manual by Mikhail Zinar (new edition updated and edited by Sergei Tkachenko in 2022).

The book already has a substantial history, even before Elk and Ruby gave it their typical full treatment:

‘Have you ever thought about trying your hand at composing endgame studies? Probably not, it always seemed far too difficult. But now, your chance to learn the tools is finally here! Mikhail Zinar’s composition manual, first published in Ukraine in 1990 with a 100,000 print run that has long sold out, and now updated and revised by Sergei Tkachenko, reveals the secrets that will give you a head-start in composing chess poetry!’

The author is the perfect guide to the subject:

‘Mikhail Zinar (1950-2021) was considered the world’s leading pawn studies composer in his life-time, inheriting the mantle from Nikolai Grigoriev. He composed several hundred studies in his career, winning multiple prizes.’

Of course, not everybody would like to branch out into the world of composing chess studies. If they do, then this is a perfect place to start, of course – yet it is much more versatile than a single mission would have it. Anyone who is even remotely interested in improving their understanding of pawn endings will love studying this book. The examples start off on a very accessible level and then become increasingly difficult and there are just under 400 positions to ponder.

Pawn endings often require perfect calculation; one slip can prove fatal, because there is so little material left with which to fight back after a mistake. Therefore, immersing oneself in pawns endings will automatically improve calculation skills – and lots more besides. The author shows themes which start off relatively simply but then build up dramatically.

Study 1

Presumably, this classic by Richard Reti will look familiar to most readers:

Richard Reti

Ostrauer Morgenzeitung und Handelsblatt, 1921

White to play and draw

I don’t want to spoil the experience of anyone who is seeing this for the first time, but I agree with the author when he says: ‘This study amazes everyone who sees it for the first time.’

As he explains: ‘When you look at the position, it’s impossible to believe that the goal is achievable at all. The white pawn cannot promote – it’s easily stopped by the black king. The white king cannot make it in time to help his pawn – his black counterparty will take the white pawn three moves earlier. The attempt to capture the black pawn looks even more naïve – the white king will need three moves in a row to do that!’

Over to you, dear reader.

Study 2

Then, using the Reti idea as a starting point, more studies have been composed, using the same meagre amount of material.

H. Adamson

The Chess Amateur, 1922 (version, 1990)

White to play and draw

Study 3

Here is another one to test your powers:

E. Pogosyants

Prapor Yunosti, 1956

White to play and draw

The author explains plenty of other themes, of course, including checkmate, stalemate, the breakthrough, zugzwang and underpromotion.

Study 4

Here is one more example from the book and this time I will present only the very end of the study, complete with the last few moves, as it is so difficult:

N. Grigoriev

Shakhmaty v SSSR, 1945

White to play and win

This one combines the motifs of stalemate and underpromotion.

This book is crammed full of such extraordinary examples. It is well known that one learns more easily if one is enjoying the experience and that is certainly the case with The Pawn Study Composer’s Manual. Let’s make 2023 the year in which we all study endgames – and enjoy them, too!

Sean Marsh

Have any questions or thoughts? Leave us a comment down below!