The club player is always on the lookout for ambush opening systems which will catch an unsuspecting opponent squarely on the nose. Do you think 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4!? fits the bill?
We'll talk a little bit about this idea at the start of the show and en passant I will mention the website 'ImproveYourChess.com', which is being very successfully managed by my old friend GM Tony Kosten.
Then two GM games flesh out proceedings. In the first White tires of the main lines of the Slav and (unsuccessfully) essays 4.Qb3!?
Landa,K (2608) - Tkachiev,V (2652) [D23]
TCh-RUS Sochi RUS (6), 07.05.2007
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Qb3
The second game begins quietly:
Tihonov,J (2537) - Yevseev,D (2525) [E61]
TCh-RUS HL Sochi RUS (6), 08.05.2007
1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.e3 0-0 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.0-0 d6 8.d4
Bd7 9.b3 Ne8 10.Bb2 Nc7 11.Qd2 Qc8 12.Rad1
White wins in devastating fashion in the end. Black cannot afford to underestimate this sensible, solid type of opening system that White employs here.
There are four new releases from Quality Chess Books which I will be reviewing and the competition gives you the chance to test your combinative skills.
For better or worse the game begins 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 6.c3 Ba7 7.d4 Nxe4?! 7...b5 8.Bb3 Qe7 is more circumspect. 8.Qd3!? [8.Re1] 8...f5 9.d5 Ne7. 9...Nc5 is answered by 10.Qxf5 d6 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qh6 when White has a very dangerous attack. 10.Nxe5 0-0
What's the best continuation for White and why?
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He is not some unknown in the world of chess. Andrew Martin was the star commentator in the 2000 London match between Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik, and he gained recent international fame and popularity with his live audio commentary on Playchess.com during the FIDE world championship in San Luis.
Andrew is also a prolific chess trainer, not just live in British scholastic circles, but also in a series of training DVDs he has produced for ChessBase, taking full advantage of our Chess Media System. His lively, entertaining style, combined with a good dash of humour, makes any lesson with him a delight to follow.
Andrew Martin is 47 years old and lives in Sandhurst, England, with his wife and four children. His book King‘s Indian Battle Plans for Thinkers Press was an international best-seller.
Each week Martin will cast his eye over the contemporary chess scene, presenting a veritable pot-pourri of interesting topics. We look forward to the pleasure of your company.
