Offbeat first moves
Black's rarer first moves. Rules of thumb: keep the London set-up against the Dutch (1…f5) — and against the Stonewall, trade the dark-squared bishops; against 1…e6 play 2.Nf3; against 1…d6 or 1…g6 develop with Nf3 and Bf4 and watch b2; punish the Englund Gambit (1…e5) without falling for its trap; meet 1…c5 with 2.d5; and take the whole centre with e4 when Black allows it (1…b6, 1…b5).
- 15 min
- 1 step
- Lesson 99 of 132
Picking up where you left off.
13 lines, two of them core:
- Dutch Defence: 1…f5 with …e6 (core)
- Leningrad Dutch: …g6 (important)
- 1…e6: stay in London territory (important)
- Englund Gambit: 1…e5 (core)
- 1…c5: advance with d5 (important)
- 1…b6: take the centre (important)
- Stonewall Dutch: trade the dark-squared bishops (important)
- 1…d6: back to the King’s Indian (important)
- 1…g6 with …c5 and …Qb6: b2 is poisoned (important)
- 1…b5: the Polish Defence (important)
- 1…e6 2.Nf3 c5: the Zukertort set-up (deeper)
- Englund Gambit with 2…d6 (deeper)
- 1…c5 2.d5 Nf6: Benoni without c4 (important)
Learn takes up to five new lines at a time, core lines first. When the chapter is learned, practise it from memory.
Lesson complete
Nice work.
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