Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) Choosing a black response against 1. d4 (Read 7061 times)
tewald
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #11 - 11/21/06 at 23:26:47
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Wow--the answers exploded! Thanks to everyone who has answered. 

JEH said, "Now if you want to go with the KID, try it old school with Nbd7, which will also be more familiar to you since you use the Nbd2 deployment in the KIA. You can also avoid the exchange variation if that was an issue." I've often wondered why Nbd7 doesn't seem to be played much in the KID. I am more comfortable with it, since, as JEH points out, it's the norm in the KIA.

From what several of you have said, the Nimzo is really not applicable unless white plays Nc3; of course that is true, so I guess I should set that one aside for a while. I'm tempted to concentrate on the KID, but then I have that new Benoni book ordered...Wink

Thanks, again, for all your help. This has been great.

Tom
  
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Ptero
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #10 - 11/19/06 at 18:53:23
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Tewald - thanks!
Hope you're now happy that you're Q's been fully answered. I'd just add that the 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 Benoni is less sharp than the pure 2...c5 version, not that play can't still explode if both sides play very sharply/critically: e.g. Korchnoi-Kasparov on ChessPub.


Yes, but in that case (as far as I recall the game) it black who chose to create the chaos. If I can believe your book, black has safer options.
  
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #9 - 11/19/06 at 18:48:05
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A combination of the Nimzo, Benoni and Cox's 'Dealing With d4 Deviations' should do the trick IMO


That is indeed a high class repertoire. I used to play the Nimzo with the QI which worked very well against players under 2100 (my own national rating usually floats between 2150-2200). But recently I had a chance to play in a couple of stronger tournaments and discovered that players of higher caliber (I mean 2300-2500 - difficult opponents for me at least) just choke my Queen's Indian positionally Sad without breaking sweat. I figured that the Modern Benoni (I am talking about the 2...e6 and 3...c5 version) will give me more chances to mix things up and make such opponents, at the very least, calculate some variations and lose time on the clock. It is the only major change I made to my opening repertoire since I formed it about 17 years ago.
So far I have not had a chance to play the MB OTB, but results against master strength opposition in rapid games have been quite encouraging.
I have to add that IM palliser's book on the Benoni has been very helpful (even though I'm rated above the "intended audience" Embarrassed - I don't care). It is great for anyone starting the MB (as is indeed this section of Chesspublishing.com).
  
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #8 - 11/19/06 at 16:48:07
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Tewald - thanks!
Hope you're now happy that you're Q's been fully answered. I'd just add that the 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 Benoni is less sharp than the pure 2...c5 version, not that play can't still explode if both sides play very sharply/critically: e.g. Korchnoi-Kasparov on ChessPub.
  
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JEH
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #7 - 11/18/06 at 21:16:56
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Without overgeneralising the KID and Benoni tend to lead to more tactical play


With the KID and the Benoni, Blacks opening problems often need to be solved tactically as White is usually positionally better. Fortunately the tactics seem to manifest at some point   Cheesy

Now if you want to go with the KID, try it old school with Nbd7, which will also be more familiar to you since you use the Nbd2 deployment in the KIA. You can also avoid the exchange variation if that was an issue. 

Whilst theory bounds onwards with Nc6 and Na6 lines, the Nbd7 line gets less attention, still remains playable, and is more solid, and that might suit you if you like the solid Czech Benoni but want to try something a bit different.  
  

Those who want to go by my perverse footsteps play such pawn structure with fuzzy atypical still strategic orientations

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, stuck in the middlegame with you
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ANDREW BRETT
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #6 - 11/18/06 at 08:45:17
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To answer your question is both incredibly easy and incredibly difficult !

You've mentioned the KID, Nimzo and the Benoni as lines you've looked at . Well quite simply play the line that you enjoy and understand the most. How do you feel in your games is more important than the results (within reason).

Without overgeneralising the KID and Benoni tend to lead to more tactical play than the Nimzo- are you comfortable with that.

If you can't remember theory i'd avoid the KID and Modern Benoni.

If you want to play the Czech Benoni fair enough it's safe,solid and has clear plans.

Whether you play any of the above lines you can't avoid 2Nf3 and will have to have something ready.

Good luck !

Andrew Brett
  
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #5 - 11/17/06 at 12:42:18
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"My problem is that in your post here you mention a combination of 2 of my 3 options, and I was hoping to stick with one!" 


The thing is that the Nimzo is not a stand alone option. If White doesn't play 3 Nc3 then you need another whole system, be it the Queen's Indian, the Bogo-Indian, a QGD line with White committed to Nf3, or the Benoni with many of the nastier options avoided. And of course whatever you play you can't avoid stuff like the Colle, which is what my fine work Dealing with d4 Deviations covers.

But many people feel this extra workload is worth it because the Nimzo is such a very fine defence.

If you want a single system which plays a similar way all the time and is pretty easy theoretically, then out of the 3 you mention the KID is the only option (or the Czech Benoni, subject to the point Keano makes). To play the Benoni alone (ie via 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5) needs a bit of theoretical knowledge in order to avoid unpleasant accidents (it's much easier with 2...e6 3 Nf3 c5), and the Nimzo, as I say, doesn't stand alone.
  
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tewald
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #4 - 11/16/06 at 23:06:09
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Thanks to all of you who have answered.

Richard Palliser: Viceroy, the first answerer and now an opponent at Queen Alice, recommends your book on the Benoni. On the strength of his recommendation, I just ordered it on Amazon. Does he get a commission?  Grin

My problem is that in your post here you mention a combination of 2 of my 3 options, and I was hoping to stick with one! I note that you don't recommend the KID, though. One problem: I see that you have a new book coming out in January, and, in the very title, you refer to my beloved KIA as an "annoying system"! How rude!  Cry I suppose I should get it just to see how you recommend people play against my favorite. Hmmm...I'll see if your Benoni book lives up to all the compliments they heap on you at Amazon! Congratulations on that, btw.
  
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #3 - 11/16/06 at 12:37:18
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A combination of the Nimzo, Benoni and Cox's 'Dealing With d4 Deviations' should do the trick IMO. Note that 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 avoids the sharper of the Benoni lines, due in no small part to the 7...a6 anti-MML (well covered by Watson and on this site), and often leads to quite thematic play, such as in the fianchetto variation.
  
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #2 - 11/13/06 at 11:40:40
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It sounds like you were fond of Czech Benoni and had a feel for it - stick with that!

Remember though you will need something different against the move-order 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 - here you have to decide wheter to play QID positions, QGD positions, or to play those strange Benoni positions after 2...c5. (I´ll not even mention the KID because I think that would be too much work and not really a practical fit)
  
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Re: Choosing a black response against 1. d4
Reply #1 - 11/12/06 at 11:18:09
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Tewald,
 
I would think that the Nimzo was best if you like a more positional game. The Benoni & KID are very tactical and wouldn't seem to fit in well with the KIA. At least, that how it seems to me Wink Though the KIA and KID superficially look like they have a lot in common, I never felt that when I played them. 

You need to plan what you're going to play if white avoids the Nimzo, which they often do. The Benoni can fit in well with the Nimzo, but again that seems more like a sharp tactical option, which may not be your cup of tea. Maybe the QID or QGD might be more suitable. 

BTW I regularly play at QA too.
  
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tewald
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Choosing a black response against 1. d4
11/11/06 at 17:04:39
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I have a lot of resources (ChessPublishing, plus books, CDs, etc.) on the KID, the Nimzo, and the Benoni. How do you recommend choosing the one to concentrate on? When I used to play OTB, I played the Czech Benoni, finding that I had played it intuitively without having learned it, so I figured I'd stick with it. Now I'm in my mid-fifties, playing around 1800 at ChessWorld.net and QueenAlice.com (correspondence sites), and am just getting back into OTB play (I was around 1450 when I quit about 15 years ago). As white I play a modified KIA, so the KID seems a logical match, but I'm not sure. My analytical skills are far greater than my memorizing skills, so I can't really do all 3 of them.

Any help would be appreciated.

Tom
  
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