my latest books
"Re-Engineering the Chess Classics"
Nominated for the 2023 Chess.com Book of the Year
"The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement"
"Game Changer" won the ECF Book of the Year 2019 and the FIDE Book of the Year 2019
Unresolved contradictions and the mystery of Bh6 in the Pirc!
There are many difficult things about learning a new chess opening, but unresolved contradictions are perhaps the most painful. Unresolved contradictions typically arise in a student’s mind when opening courses praise a strategy in one chapter and then show it leading nowhere in another!
More on the stunning Dragon idea against the Pirc! 5.Qd2!?
In the last post, we looked at the most natural human responses to Dragon’s stunning 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Qd2!? In this post we look at the way the engines counter this idea… and it’s equally stunning!
A stunning Dragon idea against the Pirc! 5.Qd2!?
I’ve been continuing my investigation of the Pirc together with Dragon 3.3. It’s slow progress because Dragon keeps on digging up exciting new ideas which I can’t resist analysing! In the next couple of posts, we stop in amazement to look at a virtually unknown idea in the Austrian Attack with some subtle and venomous points!
The Pirc: to …c6 or to …a6, that is the question.
Some more general Pirc instruction: the difference between …c6 and ..a6 systems and a useful technique to develop better understanding of your openings.
"The secret of my success: with every move I force the opponent to think for themselves!"
- Alexander Alekhine
about
I am a Chess Grandmaster and writer, and one of England's top players. When I am not doing my job as an IT Consultant, I fill my free time with as much chess as possible
my work
Writing and discussing chess has always been one of my passions. I review chess books in a regular column for New in Chess magazine and have written 8 books myself. I also contribute to chess videos regularly.
contact me
I hope that you enjoy the site. I will enrich its content over time and would love to hear what you think. Let me know whether there are any topics you would like me to cover in my blog.
"How many moves do I consider when analysing? Only one, but it's always the best one!"
- Emanuel Lasker
