Review
The Fascinating Réti Gambit – 1.e4 e6 2.b3!? A Fun Anti-French!,
by Thomas Johansson, 228 pages, Self-published, 2006.
$24.95 softback, $34.95 hardback.
http://hem.passagen.se/tjmisha/reti_gambit.html Thomas Johansson is a strong (around 2200) amateur player from Sweden. This is his third publication, following two well-received books on the King’s Gambit (The King's Gambit for the Creative Aggressor, a repertoire book based on the Knight’s Gambit, and The Fascinating King’s Gambit based on the Bishop’s Gambit).
OK, so what is the Réti Gambit? Most players will have heard of the Réti Opening 1 Nf3, but few will be aware that in the 1920s the Czech grandmaster Richard Réti (actually born in Pezinok, then in Hungary, in 1889) was one of the most inventive grandmasters around. His creativity was seen in the field of endgame studies as well as opening and middlegame plans. He was also a good writer (Modern Ideas in Chess, Masters of the Chessboard).
In Gothenburg (aka Göteborg), Sweden, in 1920, the first big chess event in Europe following World War I took place. In the third round, two experts in the French defence from different generations sat down to play each other. Réti had the White pieces against his older colleague, the renowned defensive expert Géza Maróczy (born 1870) from Hungary. It is not hard to imagine Réti racking his brains to decide what line he should choose... The game began 1 e4 e6 2 b3!?... I guess we shall never know whether this was over-the-board inspiration, a creative suggestion from Réti’s friend Breyer, or perhaps a whimsical suggestion from the ever-playful Tartakower, who later employed this line several times himself (both Breyer and Tartakower were also playing at Gothenburg). The game produced an unusual middlegame struggle and was drawn only after various vicissitudes. By the way, whilst it is possible to find games with 2.b3 played before Réti’s time, it seems that he was the first to offer the gambit 2....d5 3.Bb2.
If facing the French was a problem for Réti in 1920, it is an even bigger problem now. The expansion in French theory has been phenomenal. White’s three main continuations all have their snags: 3 Nc3 is generally regarded as theoretically strongest, but the ramifications are huge and complex; Sveshnikov considers that 3.e5 is the second best move and also sufficient for a white advantage, but proving it in practice against an experienced French Defence player is quite another matter; Karpov’s old favourite 3.Nd2 is still fully playable but it breaks the rules of development, so it is hardly surprising that Black gets to choose from among a wide choice of playable continuations, according to the type of position he prefers, or the degree of risk he is prepared to run.
2.b3!? might seem a rather extreme reaction to the problem of what to play against the French, but it has certain clear advantages: a) it is playable; b) the theory is not yet well-developed; c) in most of its variations White is able to avoid the normal patterns of the French and compel Black to fight in an unclear, unfamiliar position; d) it is provocative, therefore Black may over-react in an attempt to “punish” White.
Johansson’s book makes a good primer for anyone wishing to adopt this line. He appears to have made a pretty thorough investigation of the available material, has done his own analysis and tried it out in many games on the Internet. The material is laid out quite clearly, and there are many helpful verbal comments as well as analytical notes of varying depth. He even deals with possible transpositions to the more popular “Anti-Sicilian” 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 b3. There is a useful index of variations but unfortunately no index of players. Production values are very good for a book of this type.
Verdict: This won’t be for everyone, but for many amateur players this book will provide just what they need to create an unusual pattern of struggle in the often stereotyped French Defence. ****
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