Starting Out The Scandinavian - Jovanka Houska.pdf - _SZACHY.pdf - piewca

Starting Out − The Scandinavian?

B01

to the opening, and the fact that from the

first move Black players are on their own

turf. A further point to add to this is that

whereas players on the White side are

incredibly booked up on the Sicilian, 1...

e 5 , t h e F r e n c h , e t c , a g a i n s t t h e

Scandinavian many simply rely on some

s c a r c e k n o wl e d g e i n t h e h o p e t h a t

simple and natural moves will give them

the advantage. 2.-- On a personal note,

I began using the Scandinavian through

my teens and the opening took me very

easily to Woman Grandmaster level. I

must confess before signing on the

dotted line that I was a little nervous as

to whe the r I s hou ld embar k o n t hi s

project. I was hesitant as to whether I

could convey the sophistications and

subtleties both sides employ against

each other. However, while musing over

the problem, I had a sudden brainwave

as to how to categorize the information

a n d s o t h e y e a r - l o n g p r o j e c t ( o r

o b s e s s i o n !) b e g a n . - - - I m u s t a l s o

confess to be a little bit inspired to

d i s p r o ve t h e n e g a t i ve o p i n i o n t h a t

shrouds the opening at the highest level,

but I must stress there is a big difference

between the elite (with their supporting

seconds) and the lone individual playing

club chess on a weeknight! I remember

when I played 1...d5, there was always a

pause followed by an "hmmm" when my

opponent contemplated what to play!

[ 2.-- My task was helped enormously

b y t h e p u b l i s h e d w o r k o f

Grandmasters Sergei Tiviakov, John

Emms, Eric Pri, Karsten Mller and

Matthias Wahls, whose analysis I have

tried to build upon. I must also hold my

About this publication

[Jovanka Houska]

1.e4 d5 . In recent years the

Scandinavian has been catapulted into

th e l ime li g ht , a n d i t h as no w f i rml y

established itself as an opening to be

r e c k o n e d wi t h . W h y h a s i t b e c o m e

popular? Because it's easy to play - in

the majority of lines Black relies upon the

same sys te m of de vel op me nt. A ls o

there's still relatively little theory when co

mpared to mainline defences to 1 e4.

One further attraction is that it can lead

to both tactical and positional play - there

is something to suit all styles of player.

Opening expert Jovanka Houska has

successfully played both sides of the

Scandinavian, and in this book she

reveals everything you need to know,

whether you are playing it as Black or

facing it with White.

B01

Preface

[Jovanka Houska]

1.e4 d5 . The Scandinavian (or the

Centre Counter as it is also known) is a

long established opening. Indeed, the

first recorded game was played in the

15th century. In the 19th century its

popularity was based on its aggressive

and tactical opportunities; Black players

were lunging like wild men with an early

. . . e 5 a t W h i t e ' s c e n t r a l d 4 - p a w n .

No wa d a ys i t s p o p u la r i t y l ie s i n t h e

simplicity of the "big idea" fundamental

Jovanka Houska

Starting Out − The Scandinavian?

hands up and admit that at times the

material is slightly biased towards the

bl a ck p ie c es , pr i ma r i ly be c a us e I

figured that those buying a book on the

S c a n d i n a v i a n w o u l d n o r m a l l y b e

a d h e r e n t s . H o w e v e r , I h a v e n o t

shirked away from tough lines and I

have always tried to be honest as to

which variations I prefer and which are

the strongest ideas for both sides. ---

There is no denying that there are

some tough lines for Black to master;

the advent of computers has brought a

much closer scrutiny on openings.

H o w e v e r , I b e l i e v e w i t h a d e e p

understanding of the ideas and plans

behind the opening one can defeat

those relying on such technological

b e a s t s , a n d t h i s i s w h a t t h i s

introductory Starting Out book aims to

do. I will always highlight which lines

one needs to memorize and when the

viability of a position depends on a

certain move or whether there is a

certain plan that one must follow. ]

[ 2.-- Jovanka Houska, July 2009. ]

the same piece twice!" Every beginner

has this maxim drilled into them, yet this

i s e x a c t l y w h a t y o u d o i n t h e

Scandinavian: whether with the knight in

the 2...Nf6 line, or with the queen after

2...Qxd5. -- So what is the purpose of

the opening? What is the thing that

Black is willing to trade his time for? ---

A s 2 . . . Q xd 5 a n d 2 . . . N f 6 a r e r a t h e r

d i s t i n c t , i t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o wr i t e a

general introduction on the themes

covering both these systems.

[So this chapter deals with 2...xd5

ideas, and the first part of the book

covers all the 2...Qxd5 lines. ]

[ Chapter Eleven onwards deals with

2...f6 . --- NOTE: Because Black

must clearly recapture the d5-pawn

w i t h a p i e c e , w e a r e l o o k i n g t o

understand the position in terms of

piece placement. In this way Black

r e t a i n s t h e f l e x i b l e e 6 / c 6 p a w n

structure also seen in Caro-Kann and

Slav positions. ]

B01

Her Majesty Enters the Game

[Jovanka Houska]

B01

1. Introduction to 2...Qxd5

[Jovanka Houska]

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 xd5 . So what is the

w h o l e p o i n t o f t h e 2 . . . Q x d 5

Scandinavian? Why does Black commit

one of the cardinal sins of not only

moving any piece more than once, but

the queen? Well, as with most things in

the op en ing , t he an swer lie s in th e

middle of the board. Black's opening two

moves have achieved two things. First of

all Black has freed the problematic light-

Let's look at the first moves: 1.e4 d5

A bold move: Black hits out at the e4-

pawn without even bothering to support

this challenge with another pawn. 2.exd5

. T h e S c a n d i n a vi a n s e e m s t o b e a

pu z zl i n g o p en i n g, to s ay t he l ea s t ,

mainly because it flaunts one of the very

basic tenets of opening play: "don't move

Jovanka Houska

Starting Out − The Scandinavian?

squared bishop, and more importantly he

has provoked White into attacking the

queen so that White cannot establish the

two-pawn centre of d4/c4. 3.--

[ Can White try to set up a two-pawn

centre immediately? Well, to put it

r a t h e r b l u n t l y t h e a n s w e r i s a

resounding "No!". 3.d4 is convincingly

met by e5! and White's advantage has

already dissipated. ]

[T h e t r i c k y 3.f3 is the most

convincing try to establish the d4/c4

pawn centre and this is looked at in

more detail in Chapter Ten. ]

[ Let's move on to most natural move,

3.c3 , seizing the opportunity to

develop a piece while at the same time

attacking the queen. This leads us to a

further crossroads. Black's main two

moves here are a5 ( and 3... d6 ;

; there are also the minor options

3... d8 ; , and 3... e5+ ). In all lines

the onus is on White to refute Black's

play. If White doesn't play actively,

Black will be able to equalize in a very

straightforward manner. If White starts

" d r i f t i n g " , t h e n B l a c k h a s a v e r y

specific plan of development. We'll

move on to 3...Qd6 in Chapter Seven.

F o r t h e f i r s t p a r t o f t h e b o o k w e

concentrate on the traditional main line,

3...Qa5. ) ]

+++

++++

+++

looking to strike out early with pawns

breaks such as...c5 or ...e5. Instead

Black is looking for a specific mode of

development that is in essence simply a

favourable version of the Caro-Kann.

This systematic form of development is

particularly effective against White's one

pawn (d4) centre. --- As we can see from

the diagram, the light-squared bishop is

safely developed on f5, Black has nice

control of the d5-square and if Black

wishes to open the position he can make

use of his flexible pawn structure and the

semi-open d-file with a timely ...c6-c5

b r e a k . I f B l a c k wi s h e s t o k e e p t h e

position closed then he can also play ...

b7-b5 to reinforce the all-important d5-

square and maintain good control of the

light squares. --- However, the theory in

the 3...Qa5 Scandinavian has exploded

in the last few years, with numerous

attempts by White to refute Black's set-

up. As a consequence, very important

discoveries have been made for the

White side. However, just like the Red

B01

3...Qa5 - The Big Idea

[Jovanka Houska]

1.-- The basic plan for Black is not based

on tactical considerations, and he is not

Jovanka Houska

Starting Out − The Scandinavian?

Q u e e n ' s r a c e i n A l i c e Th r o u g h t h e

Looking Glass, Scandinavian players

have adapted too (the Red Queen is

constantly running but she never gets

anywhere as the surroundings run with

h e r ! ) . T h a n k s t o t h e e f f o r t s o f

Grandmasters Eric Pri, Matthias Wahls,

Ian Rogers, Susanto Megaranto and

others, the Scandinavian is still alive and

kicking, although I must admit some

lines have perhaps been consigned to

the historical archives...

advancing the pawns so far forward has

two effects:

[ 1) As top Scottish Grandmaster

Jonathan Rowson once mentioned to

me, White has in fact a very limited

number of pawn breaks (just three: d4-

d5, f4-f5 and b4-b5), and this at times

can be an unpleasant fact to handle.

Looking at the structure in the current

diagram, it is obvious that the tactical

pawn break 1.d5 is the most effective

one, and the one which explodes open

the board particularly if the black king

is still lurking in the centre. --- NOTE:

Because the d5-square is usuall y

heavily protected, this pawn break

must be tactically-based. ]

[ 1.-- 2. If White does not succeed with

pawn breaks, the focus of play will be

on the wings. White has the time and

the ext ra spa ce to lau nch a pawn

s t o r m o n t h e f l a n k s . P l a yi n g wi t h

pieces rather than the pawns leaves

Black particularly vulnerable to rapid

kingside expansions, and because his

pieces having no shield to hide behind

t h e y m a y b e c o m e v u l n e r a b l e .

Compare the main line of the Caro-

Kann, 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4

Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6, and now White

p l a y s 6 h 4 s e i z i n g s p a c e o n t h e

kingside. ]

B01

General Plans for White

[Jovanka Houska]

++++

+++

++++

+++

Pawn Breaks: 1.-- Here is a little jokey

rule: you cannot win the game without

pushing your pawns! --- If we look at

most lines of the 2...Qxd5 Scandinavian,

we see one unusual thing: apart from 1...

d 5 , . . . e 7 - e 6 a n d . . . c 7 - c 6 , B l a c k

concentrates on moving his pieces. Not

B01

The Big Strike

[Jovanka Houska]

Hi t t i n g t h e c o r e o f t h e c 6 / e 6 p a wn

structure with d4-d5! --- By sacrificing

Jovanka Houska

Starting Out The Scandinavian - Jovanka Houska.pdf

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