Reti Opening - Pawn Structures, Strategy, Tactical Ideas, and Theoretical Trends.
Introduction and Free Preview
The camp dedicated to the Reti Opening is already a digital product. This product includes all the videos from the workshop as well as the PGN file related to the training sessions. Overall, the material consists of approximately 10 hours of video and a PGN database which includes 85 files!
You will find the following lectures:
Must-Know Structures in King’s Indian Attack - GM Dejan Bojkov
Understand the Reti/English Hedgehog - GM Mihail Marin
Modern Theoretical Trends - GM Boris Avrukh
Must-Know Structures in Double Fianchetto - GM Davorin Kuljasevic
Typical Structures in Reti/Catalan Setups - GM Grigor Grigorov
Typical Pawn Structures in Reti/Slav Setups - GM Petar Arnaudov
Q&A Session with GM Grigor Grigorov and GM Petar Arnaudov
In this article, we will briefly present some interesting moments taken from the lectures.
Must-Know Structures in King’s Indian Attack - GM Dejan Bojkov
In this lecture, GM Dejan Bojkov presents all must-know ideas in King's Indian Attack. Besides being a positionally sound and reliable choice, the King's Indian Attack is a very practical weapon as well. White can opt for this system against a variety of setups. Being a King's Indian player as Black and having a tremendous practice in KIA as White, GM Bojkov is the perfect match for this opening.
In this lecture, you will find all must-know positional and tactical ideas in King's Indian Attack. The lecture consists of 20 model games. Below, you shall take a look at one of them:
Understand the Reti/English Hedgehog - GM Mihail Marin
Being a famous Hedgehog expert, GM Mihail Marin is here to present the most important ideas in the Reti/English Hedgehog. Here is how Marin introduces the subject:
I will not hide the fact that the Hedgehog is one of my favourite openings with Black. But since I open the game with 1.Nf3 quite frequently, it also is a cross-point of my repertoire. Since I have earlier made the repertoire database for Modern Chess with this opening from Black's point of view, I will now show some typical ideas for White. We will divide the material into the following categories:
1) White plays b2-b3 and Bb2 with two sub-categories
1a) White exchanges the light-squared bishops
1b) White plays e2-e4 without exchanging the light-squared bishops
2) White plays Be3. This database is intended as a guide for the way White should relate to this opening. There is no clear refutation of it, but one has to be alert to using the favourable situations that may occur during the middlegame.
The PGN version of this lecture includes 10 extensively annotated model games. Below, you can examine one of them:
Modern Theoretical Trends - GM Boris Avrukh
The top-level opening expert GM Boris Avrukh covers the most important theoretical trends in Reti. Being a Catalan expert, the positions with a bishop on g2 are Avrukh's bread and butter. True to his approach, Avrukh provides a number of new ideas and less explored concepts.
The lecture deals with the following topical lines:
1)1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6
2)1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nd7
3)1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6
4)1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c5
In all these lines, Avrukh comes up with suggestions allowing White to achieve playable positions with practical problems for Black.
Must-Know Structures in Double Fianchetto - GM Davorin Kuljasevic
In his newest lecture, GM Kuljasevic explains the must-know structures in positions with double fianchetto. Systems with double fianchetto have always been preferred by positional players who try to build their opening repertoire on understanding.
In order to be sure that the reader is on the same page, before presenting the modern ways of handling the double fianchetto, GM Kuljasevic starts the lecture with a historical overview.
After learning Davorin's survey, you will be pretty much ready to start playing the Double Fianchetto.
The PGN version of the lecture consists of 11 extensively annotated model games.
Below, you shall take a look at one of them.
Typical Structures in Reti/Catalan Setups - GM Grigor Grigorov
In this lecture, GM Grigor Grigorov explains structures that every Reti player must know - Reti/Catalan Setups.
Here is how the author introduces the subject:
If you are a positional player who wants to play on understanding, the Catalan-Reti is a system that you should master. Nowadays, every player should have such openings in his repertoire. If you play a double round or quick time control, you can practically play the Catalan - Reti without preparation. Mastering the basic theoretical lines as well as the most important pawn structures is more than enough to begin. This lecture will provide you with all the necessary knowledge you need. The basic position of the lecture arises after 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2
Black has three main ways of dealing with the central tension - 4...dxc4, 4...d4, and 4.. .Be7. The first part of the lecture is dedicated to the move 4...dxc4. Black hopes that while White is trying to regain the c4-pawn, he will manage to develop the queenside by means of ...a7-a6 followed by ...b7-b5 and ...Bb7. In this lecture, I provide extensive coverage of the pawn structures arising after 5.Qa4+ followed by 6.Qxc4. The move 4...d4 leads to Benoni type of positions. The throughout coverage of this completely different structure would require an entire camp. Nevertheless, I explain the main ideas and suggest an interesting way of handling the position with White. The second part of the lecture features 4...Be7. In this case, the classical Reti/Catalan approach is related to the double fianchetto type of positions arising after b2-b3. Besides the explanations of the pawn structures, I have included a handful of theoretical information. I believe that after studying the material, you will be ready to play this line with White and Black. Enjoy!
The lecture consists of 12 extensively annotated model games and 6 test positions.
Here is one of the model games:
Typical Pawn Structures in Reti/Slav Setups - GM Petar Arnaudov
In this lecture, GM Arnaudov presents all the Slav setups that Black can try after 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3. Statistically speaking, Slav setups are the most frequent way that Black uses to fight the Reti. Since the pawn structure is very flexible, both sides enjoy a wide choice. GM Arnaudov examines systems based on both ...Bg4 and ...Bf5. Besides showing the most precise plans for White, Aranudov provides a handful of interesting ideas for Black as well.
The lecture consists of 12 extensively annotated model games and 5 test positions.
Below, we offer to your attention one of the model games.