Nigel Davies: 'e4 for the Creative Attacker' and 'Chess for Scoundrels'
Review by Sean Marsh
The two DVDs reviewed here all follow the standard Fritz Trainer format. Load up
the disc and one's computer screen split into three windows. One is a
chessboard, depicting the latest moves, one is for the notation and the third
shows the author/presenter talking to the screen. It's very much like having a
Grandmaster giving you his direct and complete attention.
Nigel Davies: 1.e4 for the Creative Attacker
'Playing
1 e4 with White is often associated with having to know reams of opening theory
but this does not have to be the case. There are many unusual but playable
lines which give White attacking chances whilst avoiding the well trodden
paths. Besides the practical advantage of putting Black on his own resources this
gives White the opportunity to play creative chess from early on in the game.'
Over the course of 22 illustrative games, GM Davies advocates an offbeat
repertoire for those with a longing for 1 e4 creativity. His
recommendations are frequently highly unusual and include the following…
The Fantasy Variation (1 e4 c6 d4 d5 3 f3) against the Caro-Kann.
1 e4 c5 2 Na3 against the Sicilian,
with the seemingly long-winded but perfectly viable plan of building up a big
clamp with an eventual c2-c3, Na3-c2 and d4.
Against the French Defence, the rare 1 e4 e6 2 f4 is the weapon of choice. This is an attempt to bypass a
lot of theory and to steer the game into the big clamp territory mapped out in
the Sicilian section.
The Big Clamp in action!
1 e4 d6/g6 2
f4 is an
unconventional way of meeting the Pirc/Modern complex. It is possible to head
for a reversed English Opening (specifically the 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 d6 3 g3 f5
system) as shown in the game Minev - Doda...
A Kingside attack is definitely on the
agenda.
1 e4 e5 is always a tricky one for ‘complete
repertoire’ recommendations. Advocating the Ruy Lopez puts the onus on the
player to learn a lot of lines and invest more time than the average club
player can afford. The Scotch was always a good standby in the past but that
has gathered a little too much theory to be covered quickly. GM Davies plumps
for an unusual line of the Four Knights Game: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 g3
Click here for
replay the start of the first lecture on the Glek System.
This, the Glek System, is still little known and could certainly surprise one’s
opponents. The instructive games on this DVD are well chosen and demonstrate
ways to generate interesting attacking chances on the Kingside, usually with
the transfer of the Knight from f3 to f5 (via h4) followed by an advance of the
f-pawn.
As explained in
the first illustrative game, there are certain similarities to the Vienna Game
with 1 e4 e5 2
Nc3 Nf6 3 g3
but after 3...d5
4 exd5 Nxd5 5 Bg2 Nxc3 4 bxc3 Black has more options with his Queen’s Knight, which could
make it’s way along to f6 via to bolster the King’s defences. With the Glek
system, 4...d5 is a common rejoinder but
Black could end up in a Vienna-type position with the Knight already committed
to c6.
The lesser Black
options are all covered in the last three illustrative games. The non-compliant
1 e4 Nf6 2
Nc3 is
guaranteed to frustrate an Alekhine player’s adventurous spirit. Once again
there are ways to get back into a Big Clamp.
The Scandinavian
Defence is currently quite popular and proves to be a bit of a thorn in the
suggested repertoire. After 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5 3 Nc3, both 3...Qa5 and 3...Qd6 are met by 4 g3, giving Black some different
problems to solve.
All of the lines
should give the player an interesting game with fresh positions. Only once does
Black escape with a draw but it should be noted that White is the higher rated
player in all examples (and sometimes by quite a margin).
They are not the
best according to other opening manuals and they will probably not bring you
success in the World Championship but for the club and tournament player they
will provide a full repertoire that is fairly easy to learn and in which the
opponent could generally turn out to be clueless.
Nigel Davies:
Chess for
Scoundrels
'Psychology
is one of the most important aspects of chess, yet most players put themselves
at a serious disadvantage by ignoring this aspect of the game. Being ‘nice’ is
all very well in civilian life, but in the war zone of the chess board a more
ruthless approach is required. The fact of the matter is that a good chess
player must be something of a scoundrel in order to survive.'
GM Davies is a
club player’s friend, forever imparting sensible and useful information. Here
he delves into the psychological aspect of chess warfare and presents a
plethora of (not quite dirty!) little tricks to give a player the edge over the
board.
The introduction
sets the scene and explains how something as innocent as offering the opponent
a cup of tea can have a greater psychological motive in the hands of a seasoned
professional than an amateur. GM Davies compares the life of professional chess
player to that of a Vietnam veteran; their everyday mentality is not always conducive to
success in ‘normal life’.
Although the introduction
is instructive and it whets the appetite for what is to follow, the
presentation would definitely have benefited from another ‘take’, as there are
far `too many ‘errs’ and ‘erms’ punctuating the speech.
A brief glance at
the contents gives a good overview of what is in store:
- Torture
- Intimidation
- Rope
- Pavlovian Responses
- Insults
- Exploiting Time Trouble
- Using Time Trouble
- Using Draw Offers
- Refusing Draw Offers
- Playing to Win
- When You Need a Draw
- Deception
- Playing Dead
- Active Defence
- Defending Difficult Positions
- Never Say Die
In the ‘Torture’ lecture, the game Sefc - Petrosian (Vienna 1957) is analysed, in which the
future World Champion ground out a win on move 96 from a formerly slightly
superior position. There’s a nice anecdote before the game, showing just how
the great players extended the psychology beyond the mere board. Petrosian was
apparently very friendly to John Fedorowicz throughout an all-play-all
tournament, despite the two of them never having met before. Apparently, ‘Iron Tigran’
had realised that the two were due to meet in the final round, and being on
friendly terms may have made the option of a speedy draw (guaranteeing first
place) more likely.
‘Insults’ take a good look at the Karpov - Miles game (Skara, 1980),
famous for the use of 1...a6 by England’s first Grandmaster. The game is excellently analysed and the
impact of such ‘insults’ on the mood and blood pressure of the victim is
discussed.
Click here for
replay the start of 'Insults'
Some of the
methods come with a health warning; none more so than ‘Using Time Trouble’. The illustrative
game is Korchnoi
- Suetin (Leningrad 1960). Korchnoi, needing
a win but in terrible trouble on the board, racked up the tension even further
by making sure he was in time trouble. Suetin became very nervous and missed
several winning chances.
For example, 36...Na3 is very strong here but
in the opponent’s time trouble it’s more tempting to play quick, easy moves to
keep the pressure on. Suetin played 36...Nd6 and White’s Bishops grew in strength after 37 Bb3+ Korchnoi survived the
time trouble (this was back in the days when move 40 had the magical quality of
reaching the time control with its blessing of a fresh and significant extra
supply of minutes) and went on to win. And this was in the final round; Korchnoy
won the USSR Championship by half a point, ahead of Petrosian and Geller (who
both won their last round games and were rooting for Suetin; Geller’s win as
Black against Bronstein was very suspicious to say the least but that’s another
story).
This little
trick, often used by Reshevsky, should be used very sparingly and only when the
situation is desperate. It worked for Korchnoy - but under the circumstances,
it was worth the risk.
There’s a
considerable amount of essential advice for scoundrels on this DVD and it’s a
real eye opener for those who still believe that chess is just a matter of
moving pieces around a board. It can be seen as a sort of 'How to Cheat at Chess' for the modern world.
Click here
for the full original review.
