„Easy to learn and easy to play.“ These are the twin pillars on which the Modern Scandinavian has been built and which club players have trusted and profited from over the past few decades. Here we focus on the sharp 3...Qd6.
On this 60 minutes video, we will cover a surprise weapon known as the 'Glek' Four Knights with 4.g3, named after inventor, Grandmaster Igor Glek. This is an excellent anti-Petroff device, perfectly sound and can come as a shock to the unprepared.
We refer to the line that begins 1 e4 c6 2 Nf3 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 Ne5!? There are various ideas associated with this move; tricks on c6 and f7, the reinforcement of the knight with f2-f4 leading to White kingside pressure, the annexation of the two bishops.
The Closed Sicilian offers White a set of easy-to-understand plans, the chance of a kingside attack and little danger of being outgunned by tactics in the opening.
White gains space on the queenside, forces the opponent to use their own resources right from the start of the game and creates a complicated position.
The Stonewall Attack (d4 followed by e3 and possibly f4) is an old-fashioned opening, almost forgotten, not thought to give White any advantage at all. Yet it still packs a punch and is not so easy to defend against. It is especially good for club players
What is the Hippopotamus system of defence? The idea is that, at the beginning of the game, Black develops within his own first three ranks. He constructs a solid, flexible and hopefully stable position, awaiting events. At the right moment, he will strik
IM Andrew Martin gets you ready to play the Barry in your own games. Players under 2200 will benefit the most. It turns out that after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 Nc3!? d5 4 Bf4 Bg7, White has no less than four dangerous moves, 5 e3, 5 Qd2, 5 Nb5 and 5 h3.
Naturally, a universal approach using ...Nf6, ...g7-g6 and ...d7-d5 as the base would be very useful for players of all classes, saving time and energy and promising a fluid, dynamic position.
