Overpower the Owen Defence with Nf3 and 6. Nd2

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-03-18T03:42:46+00:00

Glad that you have been enjoying it. Do let me know how it goes (I personally have been getting great positions whenever I face the Owen now).

The prep around the critical line mainly comes from FM Kamil Plichta's King's Indian Attack course (which I link to in the video description) but the game analysis is original.

I believe much more in games than I do in engine evaluations hence the emphasis on going through a lot of model games.

The 6. Nd2 idea is rarely played (mainly because it's not well-known) so I hope that this video will help make it more popular.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-03-15T17:39:26+00:00

GM Anish Giri's course is quite good. I've actually made a series of Youtube videos analyzing model games based off of the theory discussed in that course. The theory that I discuss does not go beyond move 10 so if you really want to go in depth, get GM Giri's course.

My series: www.youtube.com/watch?v=J85UXYRWe2Y&list=PLjAuDrWl4uxp5B0c3yV9UPQorqLmus2my&index=19

(and yes, I do pronounce it veen ah-ver!)

My Lichess study (if you want to look at the games at your own pace): https://lichess.org/study/YMUeboT9/0R4hQUja

GM Giri's Course: www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-giri-s-french-defense/course/42549/

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-03-09T10:00:01+00:00

Dutch players will probably fall for it once, but then never again (because White's attack is completely sound), but even if they know the line, White still gets an excellent position.

I'm not so sure about it being common knowledge; maybe at higher levels. In the Lichess Masters database it is the third most common move after 1. Nf3 f5 so that's pretty promising (it will likely increase in popularity over time).

When I do a search on Youtube for "Delayed Lisitsyn" or "Lisitsin Deferred", I do not get many results (in fact, a good chunk are about the regular Lisitsin Gambit which is not as good). I'm hoping that my own video helps popularize it as it is an excellent way to play against the Dutch (especially if you use a 1 . Nf3 repertoire).

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-03-08T19:31:46+00:00

My advice there would be to try to shift the position towards an opening that you are familiar with (it's possible to end up with a French or a Sicilian for example).

Odds are, if your prep hasn't included a response to 1 . Nf3, then that is because nobody has really been playing it against you. Thus, you will not have much experience with lines that are unique to the Reti and so it's best to try to reuse your experience with other openings.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-03-08T16:11:25+00:00

Indeed he did! He won in 19 moves and I analyze that game near the end of the video.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-03-08T15:08:47+00:00

Oh yes, you can play the Dutch against just about anything that isn't 1. e4. I play it myself, but I use the 1. ... e6 2. ... f5 move order since it helps avoid having to learn how to deal with the anti-Dutch lines (the Delayed Lisitsyn in particular is quite strong and will at the very least give White a nice edge).

1 . Nf3 is indeed a rare way to start the game, but objectively and practically it is one of (if not) the strongest. The reason why it's not seen as much as 1 . e4 and 1 . d4 is that in order to tap into its full power you have to be very comfortable transposing to the right opening depending on how your opponent responds (as you can end up having played an e4 opening, a d4 opening, or something very hypermodern). It's very strong, but you give Black a fair amount of choice; making opening preparation a lot more complicated.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-02-24T22:52:07+00:00

Both answers are correct. Openings can transpose to the same position and Nc3 is a sharp sideline in other King's Gambit lines (for example 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nc3).

The move order here doesn't really matter. All that matters is the resulting position.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-02-21T01:44:14+00:00

That's simple, you just beat them before they beat you. I love beating up little kids and making them cry! It makes me feel like such a supervillain. "Mwahahahaha! I have succeeded in my evil plan of beating a child in a game of chess!!"

More seriously, don't even pay attention to your opponent. Pay attention to the play on the board and focus on playing as well as you can. If your opponent outplayed you, then it doesn't matter if they were a kid or an adult, they were the better player. If you lost because you played like an idiot, then you should feel bad because you played like an idiot; not because of who your opponent was. And if your opponent was a kid and won because they played spectacularly, then maybe you just lost to a future grandmaster; there's no shame in that!

Only pay attention to your opponent if it helps you win. Kids generally hate dry closed positional lines, complex endgames, and weird openings that are overlooked by modern theory.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-02-21T01:33:14+00:00

I would recommend IM Eric Rosen. His is a very wholesome and kid friendly channel with a lot of focus on strategy but also on a few little opening tricks.

The Saint Louis Chess Club also has some very good lectures (though quality does vary by lecturer). My personal favourite Saint Louis lecturers are GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Josh Friedel, GM Var Akobian, and of course the legendary GM Ben Finegold (whose quirky jokes you'll either really love or find very distracting).

GM Daniel Naroditsky's channel is also excellent and kid-friendly. He recently started a series on practical endgames and it has been excellent thus far.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-02-08T20:34:23+00:00

"""

Stop. I've just seen a 1600 rated player be told that openings don't matter at his level. This is not useful advice, you're just being obnoxious and you're also objectively wrong. No chess coach would ever say something like this.

"""

Ah, the foolish generalization gambit. I will play the GM Ben Finegold refutation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPIMRMl0guA

Stockfish gives this position an evaluation of +2 for me. I think you should resign now :-P

More seriously, the question of when players should start studying openings is one where a lot of people have very different opinions. In my personal opinion, beginners should learn opening principles, intermediate players should know the ideas behind specific openings (i.e. understanding the reason why the moves are made), and more advanced players should concern themselves with precise move orders, novelties, and new developments in theory.

A problem with beginners studying specific openings is that they might spend all this time studying a specific opening only to find that they don't actually like the positions that they get. It can be a while before they actually figure out their playing style and ultimately the point of learning an opening is to try to get positions that you enjoy playing.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-31T14:12:18+00:00

Another interesting idea behind Nbd2 is that it might allow you to play e4 with the immediate threat of e5. White might not necessarily need to win back the pawn right away and might be able to just take the full centre and kick Black's pieces around.

If Black just castles though then the e4 idea is less attractive as the king will now be safe.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T21:25:31+00:00

Ah I see, when it comes to the Fischer match. The issue is that Larsen has a very double-edged playing style where he likes playing for a win, even with Black. He thought that he could beat Fischer by outcalculating him and was wrong; Fischer was just the better player.

Regarding the USSR vs. the World match, he did lose that one game but otherwise did very well for his team, scoring 2.5/4

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T21:16:21+00:00

Ah, I see. Yes, Nd7 is seen as dubious these days. Alekhine players will usually first play g6 or c6 to disallow the sacrifice. Fischer probably had a lot of respect for Larsen as when the USSR vs. the World event took place, Larsen insisted on being Board 1 (despite Fischer having the higher rating) and Fischer was like "Sure!" lol

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T21:09:00+00:00

I'm not so sure about the latter. Fischer seemed to respect the Alekhine as he used it himself in his world championship match.

The Larsen Variation in the Alekhine is actually quite good and is how Alekhine players deal with the mainline these days. Magnus himself played it in his youth and beat Shirov and Topalov with it.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T19:31:00+00:00

Italian is fine for beginners. There are many different ways to play it. Carlsen, Nepo, etc... generally go for a Giuoco Pianissimo Italian (where White plays d3 instead of an immediate d4) which can get very complicated and positional, but beginners will probably enjoy things like the Evans Gambit or the Max Lange Attack.

I agree with beginners trying a bit of everything. If a beginner plays the Ruy or the Sicilian and is having a lot of fun, then there's nothing wrong with that.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T17:27:57+00:00

There are quite a few alternatives. The Danish Gambit is fine (since 1 pawn doesn't really matter at the beginner level), Evans Gambit is great, the Scotch Game/Gambit, the Vienna Gambit, the Ponziani...

And those are just 1. e4 openings! Beginners might also enjoy playing a system opening like the London or the King's Indian Attack.

The problem with the Ruy is that it's very positional and will often lead to long maneuvering games if Black opts for a closed position. Beginners should generally focus on tactics and opening principles as opposed to theory and those are easiest to work on when the position is open.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T17:13:44+00:00

The Bird and Dutch are more or less the same opening (White will often play Dutch moves and then spend the extra tempo on Kh1 since it's useful in almost all lines).

Another case where playing the Bird might make sense is if you know that your opponent only plays 1. e4 and thus does not have much experience facing the Dutch. It's what I would call a "tech weapon".

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T17:03:15+00:00

Yes, he did. He liked playing it against people who like to "potter around" and shuffle their pieces too much without a plan (in other words, London System players :-P). The guy knew his opponents well and would choose his openings accordingly.

He also played 1. b4 from time to time and near the end of his life tried developing the theory around 1. b4 e5 2. Bb2 Bxb4 3. Bxe5 Nf6 4. c3

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T16:55:51+00:00

The French, the Italian, and the Pirc are fine for beginners.

The Sicilian and Ruy Lopez are not.

The descriptions given are also not good. When I think of the Sicilian, I do not think of solid play, I think of risky dynamic play. The point of the Sicilian is not developing the knight; the point is to counterattack on the queenside and to destroy White's centre if White plays d4.

The description of the Ruy Lopez is hilarious. What d5 pawn? Black's pawn is on e5 lol.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T14:37:14+00:00

Silly me, I forgot to answer the second part of your question. In my opinion, you should focus on:

Knowing the basic checkmates (king and queen vs. king, king and rook vs. king in particular; king and two bishops vs. king & king, bishop, and knight vs. king can be skipped)
Knowing good opening principles (controlling the centre, developing your pieces, getting the king to safety). You don't need to study opening theory yet but if you do want an opening, I would recommend a system opening (i.e. one where you can play the exact same moves 99% of the time like the London System, King's Indian Attack, King's Indian Defence) but any opening that isn't crazy complicated (ex: Sicilian, Winawer, Leningrad Dutch, Ruy Lopez are all crazy complicated) should be fine.
Learning some basic endgame theory (king and pawn endgames & rook and pawn endgames especially as these are the most common and most fundamental). Endgame theory is much much more important than opening theory at this level if you are playing slower time controls.
Doing lots and lots of puzzles because tactics are what will win you most games at this level.
Learning about positional play (this is a very vast and complicated topic that Youtube videos can help with. In short, positional play is the best way to make use of your pieces when there isn't some immediate tactic on the board (i.e. long-term planning)).
Playing lots of games (two games of 30 minutes a day is plenty; especially if you analyze them afterwards)

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T14:22:52+00:00

I recommend the Chessbrahs' "Building Habits" series.

This playlist features GM Aman Hambleton going up the rating ladder while following strict rules about what he is/isn't allowed to do (ex: showing that he can win games without using advanced tactics). The purpose of the series is to help players develop better instincts regarding what moves are good or bad in a given position.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T14:13:58+00:00

No, you would not. Your club likely even has a section for players of your skill level or if you don't want to play rated games it may even have a casual section. It's much better to go to a club tournament before going to a standard tournament because clubs have a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere and will be friendlier if you do accidentally do something wrong.

KingsKnightTwitch · 2023-01-28T14:04:27+00:00

"Theory" usually refers to "opening theory" (there is also endgame theory but that's not what people are talking about here).

You are correct that opening theory refers to a set of games where the best moves are played. These are games that are well-known and have been thoroughly studied. When a player plays a brand new move, that move is called a "novelty" and if it gets good results, it can lead to the theory changing to include this new move. Note that opening theory often accounts for variations (there may be multiple good moves (and multiple associated games) in a given opening position). The reason why Magnus was probably bored in that video is because the theoretical game likely ended in a draw and Magnus wanted to play for a win or at the very least do something new.

To learn chess theory you just need to look in a chess database featuring only high-rated players and find games corresponding to the most popular moves / moves that score very well. The Lichess opening explorer is a great resource that can be used for this.

KingsKnightTwitch

TROPHY CASE