ham204 wrote on 09/15/09 at 19:36:55:


If you are looking for one opening you can play as Black against just about anything, then the Modern, 1...Nc6 and even 1...b6 strike me as logical choices.

Personally I would recommend the Modern, as it is the most flexible 'one opening against everything' variation - you can play setups with ...a6, ...c6, ...Nc6, an early ...e5, or even ...f5 in some variations. It's also very effective against d4 deviations, which can otherwise be quite annoying to face.

Combining the Caro-Kann and Slav is another repertoire which is very solid, although in spite of the similarity in Black's opening moves, the two openings are very different in nature.

Gd Evening everyone!

I'm new to this forum and look forward to some interesting discussions.  By way of introduction, I have been playing chess on and off for 37 years (!).  My rating has hovered around the 2000 - 2150 mark.  I have started my 'career' with slow openings such as the English and 1.nf3.  Then i migrated to 1.d4 and found that I was getting better results, mainly because I was fiinding better material to study for my repertoire and I chose tactical variations ( remember, these were pre-internet days).  Lately I have returned to chess after a very long absence (about ten years) and decidied to play 1.e4.  I find it much more combative and the hand to hand fighting is very much to my liking, especially if I have a good idea of the strategic idea behind the opening. In searching for my white opening repertoire I intend to combine both 1.d4 and 1.e4 playing according to my opponent's dislikes!  In search for an optimum and efficent repertoire which minimises home work I always try to find variations which end in similar postions, such as the IQP in both open and closed games.  I find that my studies of the IQP have 'armed' me well  to handle the position both as Black and White.
As Black I cannot afford the time and energy to study long current variations which can change overnight.  I try to find related defences which can afford me the possibility of transposing from one defence to another with minimum fuss.  Eg lately I have played the Philidor starting with 1...d6; 2...Nf6 and then 3...e5 if I find that my opponent has a gleam in his eye after 2...Nf6!! IN answer to 1.d4 I try to play a KID/Benoni/Benko setup according to the opponent's strenght.
Does anyone have similar setups for Black?  I would be very interested in a repertoire which leads to simlar 'battle arrays' in the middlegame.

Thanks for reading this post !$