Mastering Pattern Recognition in the Opening
Pattern recognition is an important tool in modern chess, as it helps you to understand better the characteristics of a position. Particularly when you have been confronted with a surprise opening system played by your opponent, it helps when you can just
The Anti-Sicilian line 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 dxe5 5.Nxe5 is trickier than most people would think. In this weeks show we have a look at White's ideas to fight for an advantage.
Black has various ways of meeting this setup, but one critical line goes 5...a6 6.g3 Qc7 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Nxc6 Qxc6 and now rather than moving the rook to g1, White ignores the threat and continues his development with 10.Bg5!
Dutch IM Henk Vedder has frequently played this line and since then many people, including strong GMs, have employed the same idea with great successes. As Black's king is stuck in the centre, his position is quite tricky, but will he manage to withstand the white threats?
While preparing the show I came across many wonderful resources for both sides, including a very important novelty which may hold the line for Black. This could be your new surprise weapon when facing the Sicilian!
Here's a warm-up: How does White punish 12...Qxh1?
You can move the pieces on the live diagram!
The Scotch Gambit is a brazen yet utterly sound system for White who immediately opens up the position, by sacrificing a central pawn, in an attempt to assassinate the enemy king as quickly as possible.
Special attention will be paid to Intermediate Moves, Quiet Moves, Sacrifices on Empty Squares, Mating Patterns, Ignoring Opponents Threat, Calculation in Defence and Method of Comparison. Plus 50 interactive examples to test your knowledge.
Many more Fast and Furious episodes are available in ChessBase Videos
