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
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4, the move 6.Re1 leads to a very well-known dry middlegame where there is little to play for. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but if you are looking for a sharper alternative you better try the piece sacrifice 6.Nc3!?, the starting point of the Nakhmanson Gambit!
Surely, most of your opponents will be caught by surprise. As White’s developing moves come very naturally and initiate a devastating attack in the centre, Black’s defensive task becomes very hard in practice.
In the spirit of “grab your opponent by the throat and don’t let him go”, I challenge you to solve the exercise. Do you see White’s spectacular idea to win the game?
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.
Robert is on air every other Thursday
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.
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