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The Belgian master Edgar Colle is best known for the eponymous Colle System, a placid-looking opening he turned into a dangerous attacking system. As is often the case with the openings named for players, most of us probably know a lot more about the opening than we do about the man who developed it into something poisonous.
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Edgar Colle (1897–1932) was a Belgian chess master who scored excellent results in major international tournaments, including first at Amsterdam 1926, ahead of Savielly Tartakower and future world champion Max Euwe; first at Meran 1926, ahead of Esteban Canal; and first at Scarborough 1930, ahead of Maroczy and Rubinstein). His playing career was hampered by ill health. He survived three difficult operations for a gastric ulcer and died after a fourth at the age of 34. Colle is remembered today primarily for his introduction of the chess opening now known as the Colle System: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3. In the picture we see Edgar Colle (second from right) standing next to Salo Landau during a game Rubinstein vs Tartakower. |
So let's fix that. In our ChessBase show this week we'll have a few things to say about the man and see him in action against an even more notable name, Ernst Grünfeld. Colle tried to play the Colle, but Grünfeld avoided the main line and went for a Queen's Indian setup. It didn't matter: Colle showed that he was more than a one-trick pony, and gave us a game of value. First of all, he demonstrates how White can build an attack against a Queen's Indian approach; second, he shows us what to do once the pieces are in place! Colle won in beautiful style – but you'll have to join me Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Thursday morning, CET) for the details.
To watch, just log on to the Playchess server at the given time, go to the Broadcast room, and then find and select Colle-Grünfeld under the Games tab. Hope to see you there!
Dennis Monokroussos' Radio ChessBase lectures begin on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST, which translates to 02:00h GMT, 03:00 Paris/Berlin, 13:00h Sydney (on Thursday). You can find the times for different locations in the world at World Time and Date, with exact times for most larger cities here. And you can watch older lectures by Dennis Monokroussos offline in the Chess Media System room of Playchess:
Enter the above archive room and click on "Games" to see the lectures.
Monokroussos in Mexico: World Championship 2007 |
Dennis Monokroussos is 43, lives in South Bend, IN, where he teaches chess and has worked as an adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University-South Bend.
At one time he was one of the strongest juniors in the U.S. and has reached a peak rating of 2434 USCF, but several long breaks from tournament play have made him rusty. He is now resuming tournament chess in earnest, hoping to reach new heights.
Dennis has been working as a chess teacher for ten years now, giving lessons to adults and kids both in person and on the internet, worked for a number of years for New York’s Chess In The Schools program, where he was one of the coaches of the 1997-8 US K-8 championship team from the Bronx, and was very active in working with many of CITS’s most talented juniors.
When Dennis Monokroussos presents a game, there are usually two main areas of focus: the opening-to-middlegame transition and the key moments of the middlegame (or endgame, when applicable). With respect to the latter, he attempts to present some serious analysis culled from his best sources (both text and database), which he has checked with his own efforts and then double-checked with his chess software.
Everyone is invited to join this weekly training hour on Wednesday evening. Together we will have a look at the most recent grandmaster games. Recurring themes during our analyses and discussions are the latest opening developments and how to work on your own chess.
A word about myself: I was born (March 13, 1979) and raised in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. In 1995 I won the Dutch U16 Championship and played the European Championship in Poland and the World Championship in Brasil. In 1998 I moved to Amsterdam to study psychology and had a great time there. In 2003 I met my wife Evi Zickelbein and ever since we've been living together in Hamburg, Germany. In 2004 I made both master titles: one at the university and one in chess. Since 2005 I've been working fulltime in the chess world: training, coaching, writing, organizing and still actively playing myself. By now I have about fifteen years of experience as a chess trainer. Together with my dad I wrote a book about chess training (Schaaktalent Ontwikkelen), of which the Dutch version is already available and the English version will follow April 2010.
IM Merijn van Delft's lecture starts at 20:00h Central European Time (Berlin, Paris, Rome), which translates to 19:00h London. You can find the times for different locations in the world at World Time and Date. Exact times for most larger cities are here. The lecture is in the "Broadcast" room of Playchess. It is free for Premium Playchess members (50 Ducats for others).
LinksThe lectures are broadcast live on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009! |
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