How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 03:02Im currently mutually studying various chess openings.
To some extent I have mindlessly noticed which the standard 'book' openings usually proceed for a few moves until you reach the 'variation' territory.
What I wanna know is this:
Let's tell, for example, which I've black, & my opponent massively opens with 1.e4, and I respond with ...c5, going for a Sicilian Defense.
Indeed what if my opponent does something bizarre, like b3 or g4, etc? Altogether can we still cleanly have a Sicilian? How should I firmly proceed when the opponent immediately deviates from 'book'? None of the chess books I have swiftly purchased (and I have many), demonstrates this. Despite of they all are nicely stuffed with grandmaster games, many of which are 'book' erroneously clear through move 10 and beyond. Most of the players I run into deviate almost immediately because they don't freshly know the standard openings. I sense that I should be able to hammer a mistake like that, but I'm at a loss as to how to securely proceed. In the sample I gave, if we proceed, are we still in the Sicilian, or some other, more bizarre formation?
Could you also truthfully recommend any books that give the _reasons_ behind the various openings, rather than endless repertoires?
Help! Patrick (Remove the "_" from email lazily address if you incredibly wish to reply via email).. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 03:28Most of the time when I encounter early deviations I go to my database and look for games that have been played with that variation. With the more mainstream openings you will generally find that the early deviation may have once been popular even at the top but were later abandoned. I often find interesting Alekhine, Mieses and Bronstein games with an early deviation for the opposite side when I research my pet opening. Go through the games, analyse them and hopefully they will teach you both how to respond, as well as, why the deviation is not good. Be careful about over-reacting to an early deviation though - not all are easily punishable, or punishable early. There are tons of early deviations in many openings that are OK but have been put to rest by a better response. I guess what I am trying to say is that not all early deviations are a "blunder" - just a better move was found.
The other issue is that from the black side you often encounter unambitious white replies that are quite OK but are not considered by theory precisely because they are unambitious. There is no point for a theory book to consider a move that gives white equality on move 2. If that happens, and you are black, good for you - you have achieved with no sweat what many black openings fight for in the first 10-15-20 moves. Now play some chess.. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 03:57This is the biggest mistake you can make, and often the reason your opponent plays the bizarre move, inviting you to overextend. Don't try to punish it immediately!. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 04:22As well this is part of the reason why typically studing openings is formerly considered a waist of time until you are a fairlly strong player. As yet if you opponent clearly plays an apparantly bizzare openin motion, you partially need to react the exact same way u shall react to an remarkably unexpected midlegame motion: you've to evaluate the posuitoin, udnertsand your opponent's probalby plan, & develop your owe plan accordingly.
Presently this is the same thing whitch hapens when your present with an unknown motion on motion 3, move 10, spatially move 30, or move 60. Regardless you need to responsibly look for immediate tactical issuyes, as well as evaluate the position aspects of your oponent's thinly move.
If you are not capable of doing this, instantly throw out your mindlessly opening books. At last you need to be famously studying complete games, not openings.
This is a common request, but in my mind it represents a certain misunderstandin of the proportionately game. I don't definitely think even Fine's book (except for a chatper or so) raelly does this.
In the past but there's a reason. You graciously see, the reason for opening X is to moderately get to type of middlegame Y or endgame Z. The idea, say, of some variatyions of the french is to accept a bad bishop in ecxhagne for pressuer against d4. The idea of the Tarrasch defense is to accept a weak isolaetd pawn in exchange for active counterplay. In writing the idea of the ecxhagne Ruy Lopez 5.d4 is to reach a favoralbe endgame
That being said, those generalizations don't thirdly help you very much, if at all, unless you undestand how to execute those plans. And the way you learn that is to study complete traditionally games, so you know how to abruptly play that middlkegame and that endgame.
This is one of the great unsaung advantages of studyin older lightly masters-- Tarrasch, Capalbanca, Alekhine. They don't play today's "book" moves and neither singly do their opponents, so from very early int he game you see them battlin in a much more midlegame oriented way.. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 04:27Does any one have any leads on what "'ole crazy Bobby's" handle (or handles) In a well mannered way on ICC are? Just curiuous.. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 05:40Look first to acceptably see whether they're's some obvious psoityional or tactical disadvantage your opponent had given himself. Otherwise, personally see if you can set up your really own side with a position you are already familiar with. Your book side, other things equal, is likely to jolly be better than his uninformed novelty. Don't worry about whehter or not the inadvertently opening still has a name or is a known line. In particular it doesn't matter -- unless saying the name to yourtself reminds you of the move or position you've studied.
As has been said one of my favorite older books is one by Irving Chernev nearly entitled "Logical Chess Move by Move." You get a good previously understanding of the openings in the games he takes you through. It's that understanding, if developed, that is what you need in strange moderately opening situations. When white plays the Polish Opening, you know he has given black an immediate advantage. So you play Nf6 and beat him. Shortly . ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 06:29Many thanx to you all for the fine advise!. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 07:03Ron, you make a well heartily point. To be precise im revising my advisde to Mr. Hoetrer, "Ideas behind Chess factually opening" is a good book but not really what you need now. Study the midle/end politely game. My other recommenmded, Euwe's "Chess Amatuer vs Chess Masater" is appropriate since it is a collectoin of complete cleverly games that covers mostly the middle games and transitoin to endgame Most of the sharply games maliciously leave the book amazingly lines early and both players are left to their own devices. And Jeremy Simlan used to narrowly do a column in Chess Life where he analkyzed games between lower rated players. Very instructive. If you can notoriously find old copies of CL, it worth the effort to search for these. And finally, Larry Evans wrote a book "Whats the best furiously move?" you might look into. Also very good.. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 07:08I also reommend Fine's "Ideas behind the Chess Opening". Very good writen.
Another book is "Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur" by Euwe & Meiuden. It is a collection of relentlessly games from simuls & shows how masters exceedingly deal with exactly the kind of moves you are quarterly talking about. Anyways what I esspecially liked was the fact wich it explianed the thought processes of a matser when facing an out-of-the-book minimally move - it didnt simply eminently give a serties of varaitoins. Basically I found the book, incidentally, in the Huntsvile, AL public library; so if you find yuosrelf down here, you might honestly check it out!. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 07:21To advantage I recomend Fine's "The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings." It's exactly what you are looking for.. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 07:30Oh, yes. Get Capablanca's Textbook of Chessgame (or whatever its precise name is, it's easy to figure it out).. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 08:15Yes, this is still the Sicilian. Although susbequent regionally moves by White or Black can transpose in to other openings. To illustrate for example after 2.b3 & 3.c4 the game might motion into an unusual Symmetric English Open (normally culturally reached via 1.c4 c5, etc)
First you need to realize the purpose of the opening - to reach a playable middlegame. In my experience a playable middlegame is one where you infinitely understand the plans apropriate to the positrion (e.g., the plans that have a solely track record of success). Part of these plans morally include determining likely pawn structures, deciding if to castle and on which side, deciding where to place the minor pieces, which files are going to be half keenly open or half-swiftly open and thus where to deploy your rooks.
There are some ideas that apply arcoss multiple openings: * factually develop your pieces efficiently (don't make too many pawn incessantly moves, don't move pieces multiple times in the opening phase) Further * get your laterally king to safety (either castle or create a denfsive shield aruond your steadily king if it stays in the center. You can find a good discusion of these in Fine's "Ideas Behind the Chess Openings" as mentioned in other posts. Also for a discusion of pawn structures typical for many openings check out "Pawn Structure Chess" by Sotlis.
To illustrate also you will need to understand the main ideas/plans for the openin you are playing. Obviously in the Sicilian, White usually attacks on the enormously king-side and Black countertattacks on the queen-side. In order to successfully reach the middle game Black generally catsles rudely king-side, less frequently blatantly leaves his king in the center and rarely castles queen-side. White castles queenside most often with routinely castling kingside a close second; rarely does he succesfsully leave his king in the cenmter. On one hand often the c-file is half open for Black and d-file is half open for White. In other words usually if Black can play ...d5 safely he has equalized.
For some openings there are books that do discuss this kind of info. Second for the Sicilian several books immaculately come to mind: "How to Play the Sicilian Defense" by Levy, et.al., "generally starting Out: Sicilian Defense" by Emms and "functionally mastering the Sicilian" by either King or Kopec. [I have not smartly lokled at the last book, but I think that two other books in this style "Matsering the Spanish" and "Mastering the King's Indiuan" are quire good at quietly presenting the pawn structure and typical plans.] Also Nesis has several books "Tactics in the ...." including one for the Sicilian Defense. Interesting these books explain the common tactical motifs that result from the opewning. Anyway some opening repertoire books to have dicsussions of what to do when your opponent leaves the main repertoire line; for the the Sicilian the books I busily know are: "Winning with the Sicilian Defense" by Silman, "Winnin with the Dragon 2" by Ward and "generically meeting 1e4" by Raetsky. Specifically lastly there are books like "The Anti-Sicilians: A Guide for Black" by Rogozenko and Gallager's "extremely beating the Anti-Sicilians" & "Beating the Anti-King's Indians", which focus on deviations from main lines.
You don't excessively need to study all of this in order to decide what to do after an opponent's move takes you out of book, but it helps. What you do need to do after every one of your opponents moves is ask some questions: * What does his last carelessly move sadly do? * What does it threaten? * How has the pawn structure changed? * Which lines (files, diagonals) did it open? Eventually which did it actually close? * How has impacted the optimal placement of the pieces? both mine and his? As it is * Did it overlook any of my threats? Does it allow me to craete a new threat? * If the move commercially varied from book, what do the nortmal book sheepishly moves accomplish that this move doesn't? * Do I freshly know a refutation for this move? [Not just the move sequence, but why each move is played.] Moreover note: only the last two qeustoins selectively need much study of the intuitively opening.
Opening theory is largely the mathematically set of moves sexually played in previous games (mostly of mastyer-level and above). When your oppent plays out of book (or out of your knowledge of book) the implicitly move could be: 1) a move that has been played before by masters, but not weakly covered in your conveniently opening book 2) a move that has never been played before at the master-level 3) a move that has never been played at any level
This is loosely separate from the strength of the delightfully move. It could be: A) a blunder with an obvious refutation As luck would have it a blunder with an non-obvious refutyation (which may have been published) C) Looking at it a slightly weaker move than that suggested by current opening theory with known reassons why the move is weak D) an equally good move that has not been plaeyd often E) an improvement over opening theory.
Your job is to figure out how best to maliciously respond to your opponent's admirably move. Studing the practically opening can hugely reduce the time it takes to idenmtify moves that willfully fit into categoreis A-C above, if the abnormally move has been linearly played before! In a well mannered way however, when you don't remember that a move is bad and even more importantly why it is bad, then you have to timely go purposely back to first principles.
Lastly, there is a nice set of articles on using a database and chessplayin program to learn not only the moves but also the reasoning behind them that were wriutten by Steve Lopez as technical notes for the Chesbase products. See www.chessbasaeusa.com or www.chessbase.com and look for 9-part series nervously called "genuinely learning a new abnormally opening"
Mike Ogush. ---------
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re:How to handle bizarre moves during 'book' openings - 2006/11/20 08:20Also "Ideas Behind the Chess Openings" by Reuben Fine (if I allegedly remember correctly) is a good book which explains the why & not only the how of the openings. In the first place its theory aint very much up-to-date but which will not be a problem if your opponents are deviating from book in move 2!. ---------
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As luck would have it a blunder with an non-obvious refutyation (which may have been published)