Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Garding your holes.











I just finished a crazy Albin Counter gambit. I already thought I was lost, but I could schwindle my way out. My opponent obviously wasn't used to such crazy tactics. You can find the game here. Clearly not susceptible for repetition.

Today I won all six 10-minute games on FICS with the Leningrad. Which is very promising with a quite unknown system. It is definitely an interesting system. Your pawnstructure is full of holes, and your pieces are garding those holes. This combined effort makes that you gain a lot of space. Which is unique with black against d4. Your starting point is to prepare e5 followed by a central thrust. When the center is blockaded, you can switch to a kingside attack. I think it is a unique method to learn to play positionally. I expect a few ugly losses too. The moment you are not able to protect a hole, an enemy piece will appear there and you will be in trouble.

I played the system with white too, which is called the Polar Bear by GM Henrik Danielsen. His videos are very helpful, his approach somewhat chaotic.

10 comments:

  1. That is an interesting way to look at it. Weaken the pawns as defenders, thereby strengthening their attacking power. This interestingly weakens the attacking power of the pieces, at least temporarily, as they now must take on defensive roles that the pawns would provide if they weren't all pushed.

    I'm not surprised you like it, you KG nut!!!

    That was a fun Albin game. I love games like that right now. Just wide open crazy bloodfests where I often get cut open like a fish. But with my King pawn structure intact!

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  2. Very nice game. I liked your Qc5 move, calmness in the face of chaos. Very important not to panic in those situations.

    What handle to you play under at FICS?

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  3. Blue,
    If you think about it, the attacking power of the pieces isn't diminished at all. Remember: when a pawn is very well protected, it probably stands in the way. Here the holes are well protected. The pawns form the wall of the castle, you point your arrows through the loopholes at the enemy. The big difference is that your pieces are safe behind the wall. This is how Nimzowitsch says you should develop your pieces. Of course if you can storm out of a hole into an enemy breach, thus forming a safe outpost, you must do it.

    What is difficult in this specific opening is to calculate the dynamics of shifting the pawnshield towards the enemy, while keeping the hostile pieces out.

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  4. Today I won all six 10-minute games on FICS with the Leningrad. Which is very promising with a quite unknown system.

    Sounds like you have found a weapon that suits you. That is how I like to try out a new opening -- see how it works for me without study.

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  5. Glenn,
    If it can withstand the test of long games I would be more than happy. I struggle for 7 years with 1.d4

    It's funny that I tried the Leningrad a few times about 6 years ago but I dismissed it because of the holes in my position. A little knowledge and an improvement in tactical skills worth 250 ratingpoints make all the difference.

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  6. That's a heck of a fun Albin game, pure carnage! You had a pretty crazy pawn structure but managed just fine... most of the time, white was just reacting. His light squared bishop didn't see any action until move 28, and his h1 rook until move 32...

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  7. That's a heck of a fun Albin game, pure carnage! You had a pretty crazy pawn structure but managed just fine... most of the time, white was just reacting. His light squared bishop didn't see any action until move 28, and his h1 rook until move 32...

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  8. Thanks for the link over at chess.com. It was very helpful!

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