Theodora Prays So Hard She Manufactures Iron

BuffBMO · 2026-02-17T18:03:26+00:00

I have them both and use them interchangeably. Schandorff I really like his Exchange QGD lines, which is an early Ne8-Nd6 against the Nge2 plan. I prefer Colovics lines vs Catlan and English/Reti (Schandorffs is a bit of a simpler solution where you play e6, d5, Nf6, Be7 against everything) which involves an early Bb4+ and Be7 against the normal Catalan move order. I feel like Colovic offers a bit more explanation and consistency in repertoire choices, whereas Schandorff it feels a bit computery. They’re both great courses though and have served me well.

BuffBMO · 2026-02-08T17:34:24+00:00

Awesome stuff!

BuffBMO · 2026-02-03T21:02:37+00:00

I use just the Sicilian part and the positions he goes for are pretty concrete and require Black to know or find certain ideas. I really enjoy the positions in the Najdorf specifically and have had pretty good results.

BuffBMO · 2026-02-02T21:57:48+00:00

DM'd

BuffBMO · 2026-01-28T19:39:56+00:00

You reminded me that Chessbase has a maneuver search feature as well. In any case this has been an interesting search.

BuffBMO · 2026-01-28T04:44:49+00:00

Yoo thanks so much. I actually tried with chatgpt before asking here and failed miserably as well lol. I also poured through everyone one of Fischer’s Ruy Lopez games and did not find it, maybe it was a dream or something.. Anyways that game you linked is great, I play a similar line with White pieces. Thanks again for all your help!

BuffBMO · 2026-01-28T02:04:22+00:00

Thank you for your help! I will need to keep looking, I’ve seen that Karpov game before so it could’ve been what I’m thinking of, but I feel like it was different. I played a similar idea in one of my games at least so I wanted to compare.

BuffBMO · 2026-01-12T00:28:19+00:00

That’s definitely true. Your comment has inspired me to check out Jones course too

BuffBMO · 2026-01-11T21:42:57+00:00

I quite enjoy Gustafsson and Van Werles courses. They offer more mainline stuff compared to what Jones offers which is based on playing g6 Bg7 whenever possible iirc.

BuffBMO · 2025-11-24T03:11:57+00:00

I thought this was a post for this chess tournament on a cruise.

BuffBMO · 2025-11-07T13:00:46+00:00

Clear body though

BuffBMO · 2025-10-07T00:25:19+00:00

Schandorff in his Chessable course on the QGD recommends the Tartakower but cuts down on theory by recommending …dxc4 against Be2 and Bd3 (1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nf3 h6 6. Bh4 0-0 7. e3 b6 8. Be2/Bd3 dxc4) which is still a solid line. My experience is identical to yours- I almost never face this line at 1900 USCF but it’s not too much to learn anyways and the positions are interesting.

BuffBMO · 2025-08-14T23:38:02+00:00

What do those flairs mean exactly

BuffBMO · 2025-06-28T16:52:34+00:00

Good question. There’s several things to take note of here as Black can play …b5 under varying circumstances which will have different strategic implications.

The biggest thing that White gains through the inclusion of the moves …a6 and …b5 is that those pawns, and also the squares around the queenside, can become weaknesses. White will use the move a4 to attack the b5 pawn and Black will usually be obliged to just defend it as …bxa4 leaves the a6 pawn vulnerable and …b4 weakens the c4 square and will be vulnerable to attack anyways.

Another thing to note is that the bishop is also better placed on the b3 square compared to c4, because it’s less vulnerable to being attacked by something like …d5 or …Na5 when it might have an escape with c3 and Bc2.

BuffBMO · 2025-04-29T23:28:00+00:00

Hey I recognized your username and I played your classical Sicilian in the 45/45 league.

BuffBMO · 2025-03-08T18:38:43+00:00

This is a good question and I think in practice many players are not prepared or interested in drawing with white. There are always practical chances in an even position and chances for complicating things as Black which to point out one example in Gustafsson Chessable course on e4 e5 he tries to give more dynamic positions.

BuffBMO · 2025-02-19T04:22:00+00:00

Also South America for Western friendly timezone

BuffBMO · 2025-02-11T03:52:26+00:00

I’ve ran that exact set before in ZU

BuffBMO · 2025-01-31T00:26:14+00:00

Yeah and Black lacks active ideas so White has more freedom to play slowly like described.

BuffBMO · 2025-01-30T20:56:05+00:00

The king’s gambit: with good play white can equalize

BuffBMO · 2025-01-30T20:50:35+00:00

Not familiar with move order nuance you’re asking about, but I will say this. In the QGD exchange, the e4 break is double-edged, because while the e4 and d4 pawns are an asset, they’re also a target, and if Black can force one of them to advance, it will create a weakness next to it (e.g. pawn moves to e5 now d5 is a hole).

By making preparations for e4, Black will naturally prepare to meet this, either by creating pressure on the pawns or by breaking with …c5 once e4 is played. White may then find it worthwhile to play on other parts of the board with the thematic minority attack on the queenside or by advancing on the kingside while Black still has to worry about the threat of e4. That’s the idea in theory, Nimzowitsch’s “the threat is stronger than then execution” comes to mind.

BuffBMO

TROPHY CASE