Sunday, January 6, 2013

A Silver Tape Repertoire

I might have found a cure for My Opening Phobia: A sturdy mix of Philidor and the Old Indian This is obviously not the most explosive mixture but I can see practical advantages such as surviving well into the middlegame and also find yourself in a somewhat familiar setting. With a cunning move order you will reach the following position quite often:



Is there any disadvantages? Well, it is often said that improvers should play open games in order to learn the most and to fine tune their skills but I beg to differ. There will be tactics sooner or later and I can see no harm in delaying the fire works for a while. I find comfort in the following quote by Lajos Portisch:

"Your only task in the opening is to reach a playable middlegame." 

What about the white pieces? Anything is playable below master level and especially with the white pieces. Having the first move offers a distinct tiny temporal advantage. My perhaps naive guiding rule when choosing an opening as white is the "Fun Factor". I enjoy playing wild, theory dense and crazy stuff when I have the first move advantage. My opponent will have to "follow suit" until the slight first move initiative evaporates and hopefully the game by then has reached something middlegame-esque. Yes, I might fumble into a onesided theory battle but ignorance is a bliss and I might learn something.

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