Graham Burgess - The Queens Gambit for the Attacking Player

Graham Burgess and Steffen Pedersen

Books

Wells, Complete Semi-Slav, Batsford 1994

Flear, New Ideas in the Queens Gambit Accepted, Batsford 1994

Markov and Schipkov, Winning With the Slav, Batsford 1994

Ward, Opening Play, Batsford 1994

Dunnington, Pawn Power, Batsford 1994

Wells, Piece Power, Batsford 1994

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, vol. D, ahovski Informator 1987

Pedersen, 1.d4!, John Rendboe 1993

Kondratiev, Slavianskaya Zashchita, Fizkultura i Sport 1985

Karpov (editor-in-chief), Secrets from Russia, Olbrich 1993

Polugaevsky, Queens Gambit: Orthodox Defence, Batsford 1988

Samarian, Queens Gambit Declined, Batsford 1974

Konikowski and Thesing, Semi-Slav Defence:Botvinnik Variation, S1 Editrice 1993

Pickard, ECO Busted, Hays 1993

Beliavsky and Mikhalchishin, D44, ahovski Informator 1993

Den Broeder and Van der Vliet, Second Amber, Magnana Mu 1993

Pachman, Das Damengambit, Olms 1993

Periodicals

Chess Base Magazine

Informator

New in Chess Quick Service

New in Chess Magazine

New in Chess Yearbook

Inside Chess

Chess Life

British Chess Magazine

Chess Monthly

Dragon

Europe checs

Europa Rochade

Skakbladet

Nyt fra Sydstfyn

Tidskrift fr Schack

Norsk Sjakkblad

Jaque

Shakhmaty v SSSR

Chess in the USSR

Shakhmatny Biulleten

Biulleten Tsentralnovo

Shakhmatnovo Kluba SSSR

The Purpose of this book

Our aim in this book is to equip the reader with sufficient weapons to play for a win with White after the moves 1 d4 d5 2 c4. The many branches of the Queens Gambit have developed huge bodies of theory, with relatively few books devoted to them. Therefore our task has been rather a difficult one, and we have had to be quite ruthless with variations we do not consider to be up to the mark.

To summarise the authors general policy:

1) We have given at least two viable, ambitious systems against the most important and topical of Blacks defences. Where this was not appropriate (either because the alternatives to the main system were too insipid, or demanded so much detailed coverage and we would not dream of sending our readers out to battle inadequately armed as to make the book too large) we have striven to give plenty of choice inside the main lines.

2) When a sensible defence for Black is out of fashion, we have given the reasons for this; i.e. the line which presumably has been putting people off playing the position with Black.

3) Against unusual, generally aggressive options for Black, we have provided a safe, convincing way for White to proceed.

4) In all cases, we have been on the look-out for move order tricks; both how to avoid being move-ordered out of the repertoire advocated here, and ways to manoeuvre Black onto unfamiliar territory.

Those, at least, have been our minimum aims. Naturally, we have also given many extra ideas for White where these seem worthy of exploration. We have taken great care to examine Blacks resources in refuted lines, especially when the theory is based on games which are rather old, or between obscure players.

The recent advances in the strength of chess-playing software have had some impact on this book. Both authors have used Fritz2 on fast computers to help unravel some of the positions arising in this book which are of a highly tactical nature. Silicon analysts are still a little crude in their positional assessments, but if pointed in the right direction, can be a very useful tool.

How the book found its authors

How has it happened that one of the co-authors of this book lives in England, and the other in Denmark? In early 1993, I (GB) was living in Svendborg (Denmark) and had been commissioned by Batsford to write this book. When, in June 1993, I was asked by Batsford to take the job in London as their chess editor, I was left with a small problem regarding this book. I had already spent several months compiling, organizing and critically reviewing material in my database (the hard slog of writing an openings book), so certainly did not want to abandon the project, but clearly would hardly have the spare time to complete the book to my satisfaction in a sensible time framework. The obvious solution was to bring in my club-mate, Steffen Pedersen, as a co-author. So, we exchanged databases, discussed which lines to consider, and kept in touch. Broadly speaking, GB is responsible for the sections on the Semi-Slav (without the Marshall Gambit), Queens Gambit Accepted, Vienna, Ragozin, Tarrasch, Semi-Tarrasch and 2...f5, while SP wrote the sections covering the Orthodox Systems, the pure Slav, the rest of the second move deviations, and the Marshall Gambit. When the word I is used, it refers to the principal author of the particular section. Naturally, there was plenty of discussion about the critical positions in all these lines (many of which we had worked on together during the previous two years), and GB, doubling as the editor of the book, was able to standardize stylistic matters throughout.

Move orders

All chess players have their own likes and dislikes, and so choose their move orders to avoid or allow certain possibilities. For instance, after 1 d4 f6 2 c4 e6, the move 3 f3 is popular (to avoid a Nimzo-Indian), whereupon 3...d5 leads into a Queens Gambit, in which White is committed to putting the knight on f3. Thus we have considered all the lines relevant to this; in any case, this fits in well with our policy of giving more than one viable option for White in the main lines.

There are just a few requirements in order for this book to equip you with a complete repertoire with the Queens Gambit:

1) You must play 1 d4. Of course, after 1 f3 or 1 c4, transpositions very often occur into lines in this book, but are by no means guaranteed.

2) After 1 d4 d5, you must play 2 c4. We have not catered for 2 f3 (intending c4 on move three) against the Chigorin, Rausis line, or 2...e6 3 c4 dxc4. This requirement is not much of a burden, since avoiding the Albin seems to us rather unnecessary cowardice!

3) After 1 d4 f6, you need to play 2 c4 to be certain of staying within the confines of this book against an opponent who intends a subsequent ...d5 (after 2...c6 or 2...e6). Instead after 2 f3 d5 3 c4 dxc4, lines of the QGA arise which are not discussed here.

On an entirely different matter of move orders, in the opening phases of the main games we have not always stuck rigidly to the move orders in the actual games, but have in some cases adjusted reality in the interests of clarity. We feel the benefits of this policy far outweigh the danger of being misled about a particular players repertoire. In any case, most players adjust their repertoires continually, so its best to be ready for anything.

The Queens Gambit at Club and at International level