miamisharks wrote on 02/09/09 at 05:08:05:


Interesting.  When I was 21 I was also rated about 2100, I also switched to 1.d4 wanting an attacking repertoire, and I also took up the 4PA.  This system is a very easy transition for a 1.e4 player.  You can also play it against the Modern Benoni, or you can take the trouble to learn Taimanov's Bb5+ in combination with the an early f4. 

In addition to the works mentioned here, there's an in-print book in German on the 4PA that is also worth having.  It's named, prosaically, Konigsindische Verteidigung: Vierbauern-Angriff.  It's accessible since it's written in straightforward chess German.

I recommend you look at 4.a3 or 4.f3 against the Nimzo and the Exchange Gruenfeld with Nf3 and Rb1.  There's a book by Yakovich that'll get you started.

The latest thinking is that the Staunton with 4.Bg5 Nc6! 5.d5 Ne5 6.Qe2! gives White good chances against 1...f5.  However you still have to play against the Dutch unless you want to switch back to your 1.e4 repertoire when confronted with 1...d6 or 1...e6, both of which can lead to a Dutch when 2.c4 is played.  I don't think the Dutch in any of its forms is a very big challenge in principle, but it would be very new terrain indeed for a 1.e4 player.  So would the Czech Benoni, so I suggest you take a very hard look at that and decide how you should play against it.

The Benko can also be trouble for someone used to wide-open chess.  The easiest transition for a 1.e4 player would probably be to the system with 5.e3, though it is not nowadays supposed to be White's best.

Moskalenko's Yearbook Surveys on the 4 Pawns are well worth studying. They provide White with some little-known yet very tricky ideas that the author himself has implemented very successfully. Generally speaking, White's game is usually somewhat easier to play, although Black should be able to eventually attain complete equality if he plays precisely.