Gustafsson's Black repertoire against 1.e4: The Open Games

Jan Gustafsson' Black repertoire against 1.e4 Vol. 2: The Open Games

A couple of weeks I raved about the first volume in the series, in which German GM Jan Gustafsson presented a very detailed Marshall Gambit repertoire (also including Anti-Marshall lines). That volume was state-of-the-art and included some original ideas too, and was the best DVD on chess openings I had ever seen. Volume 2 doesn't quite live up to that ridiculously high standard, but it's excellent as well and certainly worthwhile for 1.e4 e5 players.

This time around, Gustafsson covers all the reasonable White alternatives starting from 1.e4 e5 up until 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0, which is the where things start on the first disk. Of course White isn't going to vary on move 7, so that really means that the alternatives go from moves 2 to 6. Gustfasson works backwards from the disk 1 position, so we have the following chapters, each corresponding to a video clip (and analysis file) on the DVD:

There are 19 clips in all (one of which is an intro), with a total running time of about 5 hours and 34 minutes. As in the earlier disk, the clips serve as a useful introduction to the openings and variations in question, explaining the key problems, Gustafsson's choice of variation and outlining the basic approach he'll recommend. The clips are complemented and supplemented by detailed analysis files that fill out what's missing in the videos. Gustafsson's presentations are very clear and his sense of humor is an added bonus.

While there is more material overall on this disk than in volume 1, I would say that overall a bit less memorization is required. Sometimes there are forcing lines and important move-order finesses (such as those relevant to 5.d3 and 6.d3 in the Spanish, both in their own right and compared to each other), but often it's enough to know certain schemes. (This is especially true in a number of the Anti-Marshalls from disk 1 along with the d3- and Qe2-systems on disk 2.) Gustafsson does a nice job of making clear what you need to know, and what kind of thing it is you need to know, whether it's a precise move order or a general scheme, or some combination of the two.

Just so the review isn't a complete love-fest, I'll mention some minor gaps in his coverage. Gustafsson addresses the regular Exchange Ruy (Spanish) with 4.Bxc6 and the delayed version with 6.Bxc6, but the 5.Bxc6 line is omitted altogether. It's not a catastrophe, but it probably should have been included. It can transpose to the 6.Bxc6 version as follows: 5.0-0 Be7 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Nd7 8.Nbd2 is the start of his main line in the 6.Bxc6 chapter, and 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.d3 Nd7 7.Nbd2 Be7 8.0-0 gets us to the same place. There are some good alternatives to 7...Be7, and these are unavailable to Black via the 5.0-0 Be7 move order, but it must be said that Black does so well with 7...Be7 that this isn't a particularly weighty criticism.

Gustafsson covers the main line of the Moller Gambit in some detail, but there are some non-trivial sidelines that could and perhaps should have been mentioned. Of course the Moller is a non-factor in grandmaster play, but it does show up from time to time in amateur play. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Nxe4 8.0-0 Bxc3 9.d5 Bf6 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Rxe4 d6 12.Bg5 Bxg5 13.Nxg5 h6 14.Qe2 hxg5 15.Re1 Be6 16.dxe6 f6 Gustafsson gives only 17.Re3 c6 18.Rh3 Rxh3 19.gxh3 g6 in his analysis file, while mentioning in the video that the plan is to play ...Kf8-g7 and that 20.Qf3 is met by 20...Qa5, hitting the rook and giving Black time to swing the queen over to defend the f-pawn.

That's fine if the rook moves, but in practice White generally disregards it for the frisky 21.Qxf6!? The following moves are more or less forced: 21...Qxe1+ 22.Bf1 (the threat is 23.Qh8+) 22...0-0-0 23.Qxe7 Qe4 (to meet Qf7/f6 with ...Qf4/f5). White is running out of gas, but 24.b4 keeps a little spark alive. In three games to reach this position in the database, White has gone 1.5-1.5 playing up in all three games against opponents rated from 2272 to 2525. He's probably lost after 24...d5! (N - rather than 24...Qf4 as played in all three games) 25.b5 d4!, but it's a lot easier to play like this when you know the line beforehand, especially for a club player.

In the main line Scotch (3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5) there has been a ton of action lately, since the DVD was recorded, thanks largely but not solely to Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is more addicted to (the) Scotch than James Bond. Has Gustafsson's work looks good as far as it goes, but higher-rated viewers in particular will really need to keep their eyes glued to their databases. Shirov-Carlsen and Carlsen-Aronian from Wijk aan Zee 2011 quickly leave Gustafsson's analysis behind, though it should be added that White failed to achieve anything in either game. A more important example is Nepomniachtchi-Svidler from the Russian Championship in December, won fairly convincingly by White. Here it would seem that "Nepo" has a much more optimistic view of the particular White approach than Gustafsson does on the disk, so that's a game worth thinking about. The Scotch is a periodically "hot" opening, so while the DVD gives the viewer a good foundation, the details are likely to change over time in a way that's less likely in, say, the Bishop's Opening or the Ponziani.

So the disk isn't the end of theory, the last thing a 1.e4 e5 player will ever need. It's not as necessary for such players as disk 1 is for a Marshall Gambiteer. But it is a genuinely excellent product that I very heartily recommend to all 1.e4 e5 players rated over 1800. His recommendations are clear, logical, thoroughly prepared and well-suited not just for GMs but good club players as well. In sum: it's an excellent product for 1.e4 e5 players, and I hope ChessBase will keep Gustafsson in their dungeon until he releases some more videos for us.

Ordering info here (with samples). To save a few bucks you can purchase the two volumes together.

The prices is €32.90 incl. VAT, €27.65 ($38.21) without VAT for customers outside the EU. Both volumes together cost €59.90 (€50.34 or $69.56 without VAT for Customers outside the EU) instead of €65.80 when ordered separately. Clicking any product above will take you to the shop where it can be ordered.

Sample videos

• Sample vidoe on the Marshall
• Sample video on the Antimarshall

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