A busy person’s opening system

His recommendation of adopting a structure with ...d7-d6, ...c7-c6 and later ...e7-e5 as Black and d2-d3, c2-c3 and e2-e4 as White will enable you to sidestep book lines and reach a middle game position in which native ability is more important. This approach has many advantages, not least of which is that players who have come to rely on memory can play very badly when are no longer able to use it. The strategies presented here can also help develop positional understanding and provide important insights into similar openings such as the King’s Indian Defence. Video running time: 4 hours.

Nigel Davies has been an International Grandmaster since 1993 and is a former British Open Quickplay and U21 Champion. He has pioneered this opening system in his own games and taught it successfully to several of his students.