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| From | Message | Posted by aandersen
diddyonline.com
3/31/2008
05:33:10
Play online chess |  Subject: Help ! (with openings)
Message:
Im trying to learn something about opening theory. The idea being that with a bit more knowledge, I might have some idea about where the game is going rather than being bounced around by circumstances as I seem to do now. So, I bought a book and started reading it but Im stuck on chapter 1 verse 1. Im looking at something called the C3 sicillian. Im fine with the first moves (e4 c5) but then we come to C3. The author seems to set great store by this move without really explaining what is so good about it. Im no expert (and possibly this is why Im not getting it) but to me the move seems boring, pointless and almost gives the initiative to black at this early stage.
Can anyone out there help me with this one?
Yours sincerely
Confused from London
| Posted by lighttotheright
diddyonline.com
3/31/2008
07:39:05
Play online chess |
Message:
The c3 variation is OK; but from your description, it sounds like the author may have over-hyped it. I cannot be sure of what the author stated about it, since I only have your perception from your post.
To understand the move, you must understand the motive behind it. The opening is a struggle to force the play into lines that you feel comfortable playing instead of your opponent. Presumably, e4 is played because it is considered the strongest first move by many. This can sometimes be true regardless whether you like a tactical or positional style game. 1. e4 usually turns into a tactical game. 1. ... c5 turns that tactical game into one that is non-symmetrical. 2. c3 turns the game back into a more positional one. Many people don't quite understand positional play.
When Black played 1. ... c5 he was not likely to have wanted to play a positional game. So, 2. c3 is good in that it goes directly against much of the intent of Black's first move. It supports a possible d4 advance, which is good in the struggle for the control of the center. You stated that c3 seems to be a wasted move; yet, the normal line with Nf3 can be considered just as wasted because the knight will be soon forced into an early second move. So, the main difference is whether you want a slug-fest or a dance. A lot of people cannot dance, so they prefer to slug it out in a tactical game. And then there are those people that consider 'boxing' as a form of dance. It can get confusing.
Most people play e4 because they want tactical play. It just seems strange to some that white would abruptly change the presumptive character of the game like that. Despite this, 2. c3 is fine. It is just unusual.
| Posted by schnarre
diddyonline.com
3/31/2008
09:11:18
Play online chess | Hmmnnnnn
Message:
The move 2. c3 essentially forces direct confrontation by preparing a later d4 to force Black into exchanges (e.g., 2. c3 Nc6, 3.d4 cxd4, 4. cxd4--here White has the center squares), or to supplement other moves (e.g, 2. c3 Nc6, 3.Nf3 d6, 4.d4 cxd4, 5. cxd4 Bg4, 6. Bb5). To put it simply, it's the "I'm going to grind you down!" move.
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On Chess: Being hunter better than being prey — Aggressiveness pays in chess and other games, as well as in life itself. Bobby Fischer’s relentless will to win and engage the opponent until only naked kings were left is legendary. Few opponents were able to keep from flinching or ultimately collapsing under the pressure of his fierce and predatory intent. Mikhail Tal attacked, attacked and attacked. Playing him was like facing a brigade of octopuses, each of whose tentacles were firing a Gatling gun. Of course, he wasn’t merely aggressive. He also played with extraordinary artfulness and creative flair. In his bible for athletes and coaches, Coaching the Mental Game, sports psychologist Harvey Dorfman recalls that his father had advised him at ...
Posted by marinvukusic
diddyonline.com
3/31/2008
10:07:19
Play online chess | ...
Message:
"The author seems to set great store by this move without really explaining what is so good about it."
Exact quote would be nice.
In any case this is a good opening and I would recommend putting the effort in at least first 10 pages or so (maybe author's position will become clearer from his comments).
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The 2011 SPICE Cup — This week I am in Lubbock, Texas, for the annual SPICE Cup Chess Tournament. SPICE stands for Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence, an organization devoted to the promotion of chess education and outreach headquartered at Texas Tech University. Susan is a former Women's World Chess Champion who works alongside her husband, Paul Truong, (a strong chess master in his own right) to organize all sorts of tournaments, chess classes and chess camps. The SPICE Cup is, by far, the strongest chess tournament they organize, and it is one of the strongest tournaments held annually in the U.S. each year. This year there are three different sections, each with several grandmasters. The strongest ...
Posted by aandersen
diddyonline.com
3/31/2008
12:01:07
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Message:
Thank you folks for your responses. I have decided that i will carry on reading and also when i've finished some of my current crop of games, i will try to find some games where i can experiment with this. I think that pehaps some practical experience will help me to understand.
Once again, thank you all.
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Chess: the bishop sacrifice — RB: My second nomination for chess book of the year is Sacking the Citadel: The History, Theory and Practice of the Classic Bishop Sacrifice by Jon Edwards (Russell Enterprises). It always looks so tempting: the enemy knight chased from the key defensive square at f6, our bishop unobstructed on the b1-h7 diagonal, knight on f3, queen on its starting square ready to race to h5 or d3. Most of us have tried Bxh7+ at one time or other, and most of us probably have experience of messing it up. When is the sacrifice sound? What forces does White need to press home the attack? What defensive resources can Black conjure up to frustrate us? These are the questions Edwards addresses. Divided into ...
Posted by schnarre
diddyonline.com
4/03/2008
15:00:13
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Message:
Glad we could help mate! Good luck, & good hunting!
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Chess Tournament in Chicago Teaches Discipline — The 120 elementary school children sat so quietly and intently that you might have assumed this was a mass detention period. But it was chess, not confinement, in an Oak Brook hotel ballroom on Columbus Day. And the lessons learned might assist school leaders everywhere, including those attempting a systemwide resuscitation for Rahm Emanuel, Chicago’s very disciplined, if impatient, mayor. “My dream is to get in front of education decision makers and convince them to make chess part of the curriculum for K through second grade,” said Susan Polgar, the star of the show. “That’s when thinking patterns and habits are formed. It should be mandatory, like physical education.” Ms. Polgar, ...
Posted by wschmidt
diddyonline.com
4/08/2008
11:55:52
Play online chess | My two-bits...
Message:
get a book or look at a website that focuses on good opening principles rather than trying to learn the nuances of a particular line at first. There are several good books out there that talk about controling the center, piece development and pawn structure. That stuff is way more important to learn than specific lines at the 1200-1500 level.
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Magnus Carlsen recovers from slow start to win Grand Slam in Bilbao — Magnus Carlsen is very strong in the decisive final rounds of chess tournaments, and the world No1 again showed his quality this week in the home stretch of the Grand Slam final at Bilbao. The Norwegian recovered from his drab start to the chess event, overhauled the runaway leader Vasily Ivanchuk with the win below, then again defeated the Ukrainian 1.5-0.5 in a speed tie-break to clinch first place. Carlsen, 20, rarely dominates chess tournaments, but he is tough through skiing and soccer, inventive in a crisis, and has a will to win on a par with the ultimate chess legends Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. Ivanchuk, 42, tired after his fine start. World chess champion Vishy Anand was uninspired and ...
Posted by ionadowman
diddyonline.com
4/08/2008
13:23:10
Play online chess | Also ...
Message:
... find a database that features games with this opening. Play through wins and losses (and draws). It's not a bad idea for the first few games at least just to play them through without thinking too deeply into the lines, but observing how the game shapes, and look out for motifs (tactical or strategic) that seem to recur in several games. Does the pawn structure seem pretty much the same in most games? (Yes or no). If so, what's the upshot? If not, is it because emphasis is on some other aspect of the game e.g. piece play or direct attacks on the king, say.
Cheers,
Ion
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