Heroes of the Old Indian

A53: David Bronstein 22 games
A54: David Bronstein 23 games
A55: Bent Larsen 11 games

Enjoy!


Try this link to get the games as pdf or this link to get a copy of the pgn-file.

Silver Tape Chess Opening

The Holy Grial for DIY Chess Improvers must be the search to find the Silver Tape Chess Opening. The Opening that will get you into a game of chess with very little effort and a neglible risk of getting blown away before the middle game.

After reading a very interesting and inspirering book: "Barouque Chess"  I became a little curious about the Old Indian (ECO: A53-A55) as a candidate for the Silver Tape Chess Opening title.

I asked a question about chess books about the Old Indian and received a most helpful reply:

"Hi 
I'm not really "in the know" about chess books anymore. I the last 3 years I have only purchased one book (and I didn't even use it for long). My book on the Old Indian is by Andy (Andrew) Soltis. It is really old and just a pamplet in descriptive notation. The analysis is probably too outdated now. When I used to play the old indian, it was really hard to get analysis too. I'd say just use a standard all in one opening book like Modern Chess Openings, ECO, or Nunn's Chess Openings. These will give you all you need to know to play the old indian. Basically, you are just setting up Nf6,d6,Nbd7,e5,Be7,0-0,c6,Qc7 a lot of the time, so you don't need a whole lot of analysis. That's the great thing about the Old Indian. You can play it without learning much book. The downside is that a strong positional player will keep you passive for a very long time. (The Old Indian is almost identical to the King's Indian, except the bishop is more actiively placed on g7 than e7.) Still, it takes a certain level of player to really put the squeeze on you, and even then it's not a winning advantage for white. Try it! If you like the positions, by all means play it. It's a nice solid way to play and doesn't require a whole lot of preparation. Again, bookwise, your best bet is one of those big multi-hundred page reference manuals that covers all the openings in one book. Cheers! "

Have a look at this Capablanca game for inspiration: Juan Corzo vs Jose Raul Capablanca, 1913

Move First, Think Later

Willy Hendrik's book "Move First, Think Later" arrived in my mailbox a few days ago. I have not been able to read much out of it but the first impression is that the book has been worth waiting for. You can read a few sample pages at the New in Chess Web site.

The first few pages is loaded with controversial stuff and it makes a lot of sense. After reading just a few ages, I dare to suggest that those few pages alone makes the book worth buying. Hey, Reading 20+ pages is probably well above the average of pages read from any chess book bought. Don't stare at me, Opening Monographs!

This book will problaly be an inspiration for many posts to come.