Favorite defense?

[Mongols_rule]

D4 (queens gambit) = my strongest is Slav or Semi-Slav

E4 = probably Scandinavian

 

[Myzenium]

Mine is Alekhine's. (1. e4 Nf6 2. e5)

This is one of the few defenses White initiates, giving White a strong group of pawns in the center.

 

[Mongols_rule]

Alekhine is actually the Nf6 that Black does. e5 is just White's counterattack.

 

[tehfreak]

I like pirc
1.e4 d6
2.d4 Nf6
3.f4 g6
4.... Bg7
5... o-o

 

[Ribannah]

Eh ... Gunderam defence.

 

[Myzenium]

Mongols_rule said:

Alekhine is actually the Nf6 that Black does. e5 is just White's counterattack.

Why would Alekhine choose a defence that allows White to build a strong center? Alekhine was certainly not a novice; he was a World Champion.

You must have your facts mixed up. (2. e5) is White's defence to the premature attack on White's center pawn. Like the Sicilian Defense, it also can be interpreted as a counter-attack.

 

[Ribannah]

Because, Myzemium, that center (potentially 4 pawns) is not as strong as it seems. Black is able to break it down, and Alekhine showed how. (He did not play this opening every time, btw.) If white plays well he can retain a small advantage against the Alekhine Defence (1 e4 Nf6), but that is true for the more usual openings as well.

At the time there was a hot discussion about influence on the center: should one occupy it or control the squares without occupying it, as Reti did with fianchettoes? Now we know that both ways have merits.

 

[Smash]

1.e4-French-prefer the Winawer(not sure why as most positions reached are "awkward" for black)

1.d4..depends on my mood but mostly the Dutch and KI.
Slav and Semi Slav have been employed on occasion.

Anything else is usually answered with Nf6 and see what transposes.

 

[Mongols_rule]

yeh - i used to use Dutch a lot: became a pro at it. but Slav is my strongest.

 

[Ribannah]

I like pirc
1.e4 d6
2.d4 Nf6
3.f4 g6
4.... Bg7
5... o-o

For good measure, it's already Pirc after 1.e4 d6.

 

[Mongols_rule]

i used to play Scandinavian alot, that was great! huge center advantage.

have anyone here played the Center Game? i used to love that.

 

[davos]

My preferences are the The Caro-Kann against e4, the slave agianst d4.

 

[Red Threat]

Sicilian, Najdorf variation.

 

[Mongols_rule]

why does everyone prefer Sicilian? it's so weak!

 

[Red Threat]

why does everyone prefer Sicilian? it's so weak!

WEAK???? White must be careful! Ant it's so enjoying...

 

[Richard Cribb]

I used to like Sicilian too - it is an excellent opening when you play for a win, but complicated, so you need to be really well prepared to play it against strong opposition, otherwise you will rather be playing for a loss.
Now I am just about to turn 40, so I prefer something a bit calmer like French or different systems with 1...g6.
However, against 1.d4 I am still young enough to dare a King's Indian...

 

[Mongols_rule]

well, for me Sicilian is easy to beat as White. but i have to be maticulous with my pawns or else i will lose the center...

 

[Soviet]

Mongols_rule said:



Why would Alekhine choose a defence that allows White to build a strong center? Alekhine was certainly not a novice; he was a World Champion.

You must have your facts mixed up. (2. e5) is White's defence to the premature attack on White's center pawn. Like the Sicilian Defense, it also can be interpreted as a counter-attack.

what's your rating? haha, not to sound cocky but it sounds like you have your own facts mixed up.

the 4 pawns attack line, black fianchettos (g6, Bg7), chips away at white's center with c5, nc6, bg4 (after nf3)...it's really quite annoying to play it as white if you don't know the line. especially because every time you play a 1/0 on ICC almost half the games where you play e4 end up in an alekhine. usually I just sidestep the whole line by not even playing e5.

sicilian is too broad. there's tons of lines and they're all different. saying 'oh, I play the sicilian' doesn't say much. it's one thing if you say you play a kan, a dragon, a schvenigen, etc.

personally vs d4 I play the gruenfeld, and vs e4 I play a 4 knights sicilian, great line if you know it well it's hard to lose. there's always a danger of not getting more than half a point out of it though especially against higher rated opponents.

I want to learn the sveshnikov...

 

[Richard Cribb]

Soviet - Your arguments about the Alekhine makes sense, but on the other hand you have GM Mihai Suba's opinion about it. He abandonned it because as he wrote, quoting a Bulgarian master, " when you play the Alekhine against a weaker opponent, you just sit there watching his mistakes, and still you can't win". He terms it a "limited" opening.
I think the positional lines are more difficult to face than the Four pawns, enjoying a small but clear advantage. It is damned difficult for black to get something going then. An instructive example is Karpov - Bagirov, as far as I remember from Leningrad 1971, where white sat comfortable in his chair and just developed a lethal initiative on the queenside.
However it may be a good opening to frustrate a stronger opponent...
I suppose the best way of learning the Sveshnikov - a very interesting line - is to study the games of masters like Sveshnikov(obviously!), Krasenkow, Leko and Kramnik.

 

[Myzenium]

what's your rating? haha, not to sound cocky but it sounds like you have your own facts mixed up.

No one asks for my rating. Understand, Soviet? Especially when it's already posted in this forum, you shouldn't ask.

the 4 pawns attack line, black fianchettos (g6, Bg7), chips away at white's center with c5, nc6, bg4 (after nf3)...it's really quite annoying to play it as white if you don't know the line. especially because every time you play a 1/0 on ICC almost half the games where you play e4 end up in an alekhine. usually I just sidestep the whole line by not even playing e5.

If you know so much about Alekhine's Defence, prove it. You, me, this forum. I get the White pieces. If you have any guts, you'll play Alekhine's Defence. Is it agreed?