Simon Says — Basman's lost ideas (part 1)

by Simon Williams
9/24/2018 – In this Simon Says we take a look at an idea from one of the real pioneers of original chess, Michael Basman. Does his opening idea of 1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6!? make any sense? Simon is on-demand this week, but free for ChessBase Basic account holders. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.
How many times have you been caught off guard by a seemingly inferior and unusual opening system that later turns out to be an especially strong one? Unorthodox openings can be a real asset to anyone’s opening repertoire and they often do not contain much theory, making them easy to master for your next important tournament.

“Everything’s impossible until somebody does it.” – Basman Batman...

Mike Basman is an interesting character in English chess, but also will have a place in chess history for his unconventional style. He will be the focus of the next two episodes of Simon Says.

Here's a position for you to start thinking about:

 
Afek vs Basman, Biel 1979
Black to move

Play it out against the engine!

What did Basman now unleash?

This week's show

Simon is on-demand this week. Normally, to chat with Simon, tune in on Playchess or ChessBase Videos.

Previous shows on-demand

View all past shows, with a ChessBase Premium Account.

Simon is live most Mondays at 18:00 CEST / 5 pm BST time / 12 Noon EDT

About Simon Says

In early 2015 Simon Williams launched his own show called "Simon says" after producing the first of his ChessBase video series. On a weekly basis (with breaks for tournaments and chess events) Simon entertains the chess world with attacking ideas, play strategies and witty manoeuvres on the chess board.

ChessBase Premium members can watch the show live and have permanent access to the videos in the archive. Through the end of 2017, 43 “Simon Says” shows have been published. Their length differs but most of them run for about 60 minutes.

Read more in Meeting Simon Williams.

Much more from Simon's shows in the archive at Videos.ChessBase.com

Recent Simon Says shows

Still more Simon

On another note, Simon recently published his newest DVD "The Tactical Chigorin". 

Opening with the Chigorin shows your intention to play for a win right from the outset. After 2...Nc6 Black's pieces fly into the game putting pressure on White's position from a very early stage. This opening is ideal for the type of player who strives for an unconvential yet attacking game right from the start.

Here's a teaser:

More DVD's by Simon Williams...

Simon Williams became a IM in 1998 and a GM in 2008. For the last 15 years he has concentrated on teaching, playing and making instructional chess DVDs. He also has a lot of experience commentating about chess. Being the regular commentator at the strongest and best open tournament in the world, Gibraltar. Simon Williams is the author of numerous chess books. His first chess book. 'Play the Classical Dutch' got voted, in New in Chess, as one of the top 10 chess books of all time. His playing style is very aggressive, preferring attacking chess to positional grinds. No wonder he produced two widely acclaimed ChessBase DVDs on the King's Gambit. More information about Williams can be found on his website.

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