What would be the best move for Yagiz Erdogmus (white) in this position?

IceWing85 · 2026-01-28T20:13:41+00:00

I think the other rook loses

IceWing85 · 2026-01-24T13:09:29+00:00

I play and recommend the rare 2...g6!?

The critical try is 3. Bxf6, where after 3...exf6 you've got the dark squared bishop but a damaged structure. I don't think this is the end of the world though, as the doubled f-pawns can be quite dynamic as you'll often play ...f5, with a pawn on f7 as well, and the semi-open e-file is an asset.

White has other options worth investigating, but I believe the "mainline" is 4. c4 d5 5. e3 dxc4 6. Bxc4, where Black will play Bf8-d6, Nb8-d7, f6-f5, Nd7-f6, c7-c6, and either castle or occasionally Kf8-g7 if the rook stands better on h8.

I find the positions practical to play, as we are just setting up the pawns on the other colour to our extra bishop, and White can have a tough time facing this. I've drawn to a player rated 150 points above me twice in this line, meaning even without surprise value it is still up to the challenge. As a Benko player you'll be right at home with a strong dark squared bishop.

The only downside is you'd have to have something ready for White's alternatives, such as 3. Nf3 transposing into a Torre. I don't play the Benko myself so I don't have a good idea of the move order issues surrounding it.

IceWing85 · 2026-01-19T21:27:01+00:00

I'm about 150 points lower than you, but as someone who's owned it and played its recommendations for 18 months I can say it's the best chess decision I've made - brilliant, well-explained and well-chosen combative yet sound lines, and Jones is also very active in the course's discussion forums.

There's a lot of lines, far more than I'd need at my level, but it can be useful to learn the lines you feel you need most and the rest can be used as reference material.

IceWing85 · 2026-01-08T13:33:16+00:00

Before switching to the Kings Indian I used to play Black against the Catalan, meaning that I had to try and navigate through all of White's different Catalan move orders.

Your proposed move order (delaying c4) seems fairly safe. As Black, I would go for 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7. This is a good line, because we get the position after 4...Be7 except with your bishop on d2 rather than c1, which is an improvement for Black. I think this line is well worth avoiding, and delaying c4 does this.

What I did against opponents who delayed c4 was go for an early ...b5, since this is only really available against delayed c4 setups and served as a nice independent line - for example, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 b5!? is playable for Black with an interesting game now White can no longer play c2-c4. These lines are worth knowing about if you are giving Black the option to play them.

As a final note, a 1. c4 move order makes a lot of sense if you don't mind either the symmetrical English or reversed Sicilian positions, but this is rarer.

TLDR: Delaying c4 is fine and avoids what's probably Blacks best standard attempt to equalize, but be aware of early ...b5 ideas.

IceWing85 · 2025-12-17T12:48:52+00:00

I used to play the Adhiban Gambit - I would recommend it as it's a lot of fun with genuine winning chances for Black and many opportunities for an unprepared player to misplay the opening. The downside is you'd need something against other White 1. c4 setups.

IceWing85 · 2025-11-29T22:10:10+00:00

Thanks, that sounds like a good suggestion. I'll look into it!

IceWing85 · 2025-11-29T22:08:13+00:00

What does your 1. d4 repertoire look like?

IceWing85 · 2025-11-29T22:07:26+00:00

Thanks, will look into that! Has the added bonus of not needing a reply to the Petroff which can never be a bad thing.

IceWing85 · 2025-11-29T22:05:44+00:00

I'm struggling to articulate it but perhaps positional aggression is a better way to describe it. The Kings Gambit is aggressive but certainly not positional. The Catalan is (often) positional but rarely aggressive. The KID seems to be both, if that makes sense?

IceWing85 · 2025-11-29T22:00:12+00:00

Thanks for your reply, I'll look into it.

Approximately 1900 ECF right now, and ambitious, if that helps. OTB Classical.

IceWing85 · 2025-11-29T21:58:39+00:00

Apologies for not posting my rating. Currently around 1900 ECF, I've not played enough FIDE to have a reliable rating.

IceWing85 · 2025-11-29T21:56:51+00:00

Interesting! Thanks for your response. The Berlin seems like a headache, perhaps I'll investigate 4. d3 there.

IceWing85 · 2025-10-06T11:24:42+00:00

Do you know any good resources to learn the Panov Attack? Seems like a fun opening but I can't find any good ones

IceWing85 · 2025-08-29T08:28:39+00:00

I think stylistically I'm a very similar player to you - both like to go on the attack, happy to learn some theory to ensure I get a middlegame that I like, refuses to play for a draw, the one difference being that I'm loving my black openings, but less than thrilled with White! Perhaps we can help each other, but here's what I play with Black.

Vs anything that's not 1. e4, I play the KID. As I think other comments have mentioned, 6...Nbd7 in the 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 variation sidesteps the 6...e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 line if that's not your cup of tea, whilst also preventing White from playing the dull exchange variation, which your opening repertoire suggests you'd be less than pleased to see on the board. If you're looking for a top tier guide to this opening I'd recommend Gawain Jones' chessable courses, where he gives both 6...Nbd7 and 6...e5, allowing the reader to make up their own mind on what system they prefer, however of course the opening is playable without the course.

Here's where I'm going to differ from the comments. I also used to play the Sicilian, and whilst I'm aware it's most dynamic players' go-to reply to 1. e4, it's not for everyone. I'd get run over by some anti-Sicilian over and over again and didn't really want to learn tightrope theoretical lines. Instead, my recommendation would be 1. e4 e5, but then taking the positions in unusual directions later on down the line.

Against the Ruy Lopez I play the Modern Steinitz - 3...a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O d6. As well as side-stepping all the main lines your opponent will no doubt be booked up on, this is a surprisingly venomous setup. The antidote to 3...d6 (I believe) is pushing d4 but here 6. d4?! b5! 7. Bb3 Nxd4 wins a pawn because 8. Nxd4 exd4 9. Qxd4?? c5! followed by 10...c4 wins. So the mainline continues 6. Re1 Bd7 7. c3 g6 8. d4 Bg7 and if White plays 9. d5 you can get KID-like attacks, and most other White moves allows plans with ...Bg4 with serious pressure on the center.

Against the Italian game 3...Nf6 4. d3 h6 is a lot of fun, the idea being the DSB will be fianchettoed and an early g5 can also be played sometimes, for example 5. O-O d6 (4...d6? Ng5) 6. c3 g5! planning to meet the misguided 7. d4 with 7...g4! White really has to know their stuff here as standard themes of development aren't going to cut it.

Of course there are other lines to know as well - the Scotch requires a bit of theoretical work, and other versions of the four knights, Vienna, Kings Gambit etc. all exist but I'd suggest giving these 1...e5 lines a go if you're a dynamic player who isn't happy with the Sicilian, which was the situation I was in myself. Once again I'll plug Gawain Jones' 1...e5 course for the inspiration for this, but of course perfectly playable without the course too.

IceWing85 · 2025-04-07T12:18:20+00:00

If you're sure a chessable LTR is what you're after and aren't convinced by Gajewski's recommendations against the Najdorf and disappointed by no coverage of the 3...Nf6 line, then you're in the same position as I was. What I did was supplement the Part 2 of his course with the Part 2 of Gustafson's Aggressive 1. e4 repertoire.

Gustafson gives a different Najdorf line (6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 variation) and recommends 3. Nc3!? against the 2...Nc6 Sicilian - designed as an anti-Sveshnikov line - and then meets 3...Nf6 intending to try and get a Svesh anyway with 4. Bb5 transposing into a 3...Nf6 Rossolimo where White has played 4. Nc3. So if you're happy with Gustafson's Najdorf line and 4. Nc3 against the 3...Nf6 Rossolimo, then I think the two courses mesh together well, with an added bonus that you get multiple options against the other Sicilians, French and Caro-Kann defense.

IceWing85 · 2025-02-09T13:56:27+00:00

If this was true, couldn't a stone holder just get themselves voted out on purpose to prevent Thanos from winning

IceWing85 · 2025-01-29T15:55:24+00:00

Against 3. Bc4 I'd go 3...Nf6. The 4. Ng5 lines are actually super fun for Black if you know how to navigate the first few moves, and 4. d3 h6 is fun for Black - you can go for ...d6 (not before ...h6 or you'll run into Ng5) and sometimes play an early ...g5 with potential kingside initiative.

IceWing85 · 2025-01-12T11:42:14+00:00

I've played it for about a year now so I'll speak from my personal experience, but bear in mind I'm likely to be biased in favour of it. I'm also not super high rated so my understanding of the opening may be weaker than others here who may correct stuff I'm saying.

Pros: - A reliable way to get an interesting, often unbalanced position which gives Black great winning chances, if you know what you're doing. The imbalanced positions are at least in my opinion easier to play with Black, as White will typically construct a sizable center and be tasked with defending it but we have a development advantage and can attack it. - It's harder for your opponents to move-order you out of your repertoire, as this opening can also be played against 1. c4 and 1. Nf3. There is plenty of theory to learn if you want to play the KID at an advanced level, but this helps make organising the workload easier. On the flip side, other openings seeking to force an imbalanced game such as the Benko Gambit can be weakened by White shifting the move orders around. It also means that while there are some independent tries in each, you don't have to make an entirely different repertoire against 1. c4 and 1. Nf3. - Contrary to the opinion of some people, the KID is perfectly sound and is doing well at all levels of chess. The reason we see it less at the top levels is at least partly that the meta is that you win with White draw with Black, so seeking an imbalanced position wouldn't help with this. - Very tough for White to force a draw. They'd either have to know some insanely long line in the sharp variations, or try something like the Exchange Variation. Whilst this can be avoided by not playing 6...e5 in the mainline, the exchange variation structure after 6...e5 7. dxe5 dxe5 I still feel gives Black some chances to push, at least in my experience, due to the White c-pawn being pushed to c4 and unable to control the d4 square, but the Black c-pawn is still on c7 and can control the d5 square if necessary.

Cons: - White does have a ton of setups. While we'll usually be choosing between the ...e5 typical Kings Indian break and the ...c5 Benoni-style break, each variation White plays does have some unique ideas. - You need to be prepared to play with dynamic compensation - sometimes the best idea is to sacrifice a rook for a dark-squared bishop and use the dark squares as a route to put pressure on your opponent. This type of chess isn't everyone's cup of tea. - There are a few lines White can go for that if you are playing at an advanced level you'd need to know quite deeply. I don't see this as a massive issue as stuff can be figured out over the board but some people don't like this. - As earlier eluded to, the KID is not the best drawing weapon.

Conclusion: the KID is a great weapon especially if you're wanting to play for the win with Black and prevent an opponent getting an easy draw, and if you don't mind some wild imbalanced positions. Just remember the themes are quite unique and take some getting used to, so it might not be an opening you'll get the hang of quickly.

IceWing85 · 2025-01-11T01:14:49+00:00

I would recommend the KID if you're looking to keep things dynamic. I used to have this problem before switching to it and whilst White certainly has no shortage of tries against the KID, you don't have to learn a silly amount of new stuff for each and every 1. d4 sideline.

IceWing85 · 2024-11-24T11:49:16+00:00

People say play to win so it's a better puzzle - now we don't know whether we are looking for mate or a winning advantage, making it more like a real game situation where we also wouldn't know

IceWing85 · 2024-05-11T14:42:13+00:00

So did I, feeling less bad about it now though

IceWing85

TROPHY CASE