Nowadays, Gruenfeld Defence is one of the most topical and complicated openings. Practically, every top-player has the Gruenfeld in his opening repertoire. Still, the complexity and the enormous amount of theory make a number of players reluctant to play this opening. This is the reason why we decided to start another ambitious project - complete Gruenfeld repertoire in three parts prepared by GM Mihail Marin.
Being aware of the fact that it is difficult to study a new opening without knowing the typical middlegame positions which could be reached, we have decided that this database should start with some pawn structures that every Gruenfeld player should know. The coverage of the structures is based on 4 articles that GM Marin wrote for Modern Chess Magazine. After studying the arising positions from a structural point of view, the reader will better understand the theoretical part of the database.
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The Steinitz Defence Deferred is an interesting and still relatively unexplored system against the Ruy Lopez (3.Bb5). Apparently passive, yet extremely solid and quite flexible, it has survived the test of time since the late 19th century. Chess greats like Janowski, Schlechter, Capablanca, Alekhine, Keres, Smyslov, etc.
The aim of this opening survey is to provide you with an easily understandable and concrete Steinitz Defence Deferred (in further text SDD) opening repertoire against the Ruy Lopez. SDD is a relatively rare occurence on the top level, but this can be a blessing in disguise for a club or a casual tournament player. Many white players dismiss such opening variations as second-rate and pay less attention to them than to Breyers and Marshalls of the world, on which they are ready to spend countless hours of analysis. If your knowledge of SDD is solid and deep, while your opponent's is superficial and coupled with "today I play against that off-beat Ruy Lopez line" approach, guess who has the upper hand?
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Since White has serious problems to obtain an advantage in the Berlin Defence, top players started searching for new ideas in the Italian Game. That is why every 1...e5 player should have a solid weapon against this opening.
In his database, GM Boris Avrukh suggests a modern approach to this classical opening. He provides the reader with detailed explanations and valuable new ideas. This feature makes the survey suitable not only for club players but also for top grandmasters. At the end of the database, the reader could find a test section which helps him to test his understanding.
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In his first opening database, GM Evgeny Postny provides us with a complete repertoire against the Benko Gambit. Instead of taking the pawn, White starts fighting for the initiative by playing 4.Qc2.
In his analysis, GM Postny proves that even if Black plays correctly, White manages to retain a small edge in a risk-free position. This is certainly the scenario Benko players are afraid of.
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Nimzo-Indian Defence is one of the most difficult openings to meet when you play 1.d4. Given the fact that the arising positions are very complicated, Black fights for more than equality.
In his database, GM Kiril Georgiev builds a repertoire for White which is mainly based on a positional understanding. He suggests the solid Rubinstein System which arises after 4.e3. In most of the proposed variations, the move 4.e3 is followed by 5.Nge2. GM Kiril Georgiev not only provides you with a number of interesting novelties but at the same time he explains all the positional subtleties of the arising positions.
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In this database, GM Aleksander Delchev observes the so-called Vienna Variation in Queen's gambit.
The position arises after the first moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4. This is a very dynamic option which requires some exact knowledge.
With this database, you will have a GM repertoire against 1.d4 and you will be ready to face strong opponents and even to outplay them.
The database contains 50 illustrative games and 23 original, theoretical analyses which cover all the deviations and the main lines.
After completing this database, you will be able to play the Vienna Variation even at a top level.
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In the first database concerning the Berlin, we have learned how to handle the
Berlin Endgame which arises after the move 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0
Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8 Kxd8. As we have seen, if Black
knows what he is doing in this endgame, it's extremely difficult for White to
pose any problems.That's the reason why White started to look for some
possible deviations from the Berlin Endgame. Despite the fact that such lines
don't promise an advantage, the arising posиtions and structures are complex
and tricky to handle. That's why Black should be very familiar with all the
positional and tactical subtleties in order to avoid entering a difficult
position.
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The Chebanenko Slav is an extremely popular opening in the modern grandmaster practice. Nowadays this variation is a hard nut to crack for every 1.d4 player. In his last database concerning the Slav Defense, GM Davorin Kuljasevic provides us with a classical approach which allows White to obtain an edge against Chebanenko. As always, GM Kuljasevic shares with his readers a number of novelties and original positional concepts.
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An ex top 10 Grandmaster, who has defeated on the board no less than 8 World Champions in three formats - classical, rapid, and blitz - has released the best of his knowledge about Berlin Endgame.
The Berlin Variation is by far the most popular top-level player's weapon against Ruy Lopez. Nevertheless, the vast majority of chess fans are not familiar with the subtleties of the arising positions. In his newest opening project, GM Kiril Georgiev builds a complete Berlin-based repertoire against Ruy Lopez.
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The Semi-Slav defense is among the most popular openings for black against 1.d4. It is very flexible and usually leads to complex play in the middlegame. The name of the opening is logical since with 4...e6 black is playing a mix between the Slav and Queen's gambit declined (QGD).
In the present database, GM Davorin Kuljasevic provides you with a lifetime positional repertoire against this modern system.
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