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Chessville
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My favorite line from the Batman (1989) movie is when the Joker – no slouch in the dangerous device department – is bested by the Dark Knight and his gadgets. He can only ask in green-eyed jealousy “Where does he get those wonderful toys?” No, wait a minute. That opening might work for Randspringer. The current book under review is published by the venerable New In Chess. Perhaps something with a bit more gravitas? My favorite character in the James Bond movies has always been “Q”, the tireless creator of all sorts of off-beat weapons for the hero. Whoever the villain, whatever the dilemma, “Q” provided something that was both surprising and effective. The name is Bosch, Jeroen Bosch. Not number 007 from HMSS (Her Majesty’s Secret Service), but number 004, from SOS (Secrets of Opening Surprises). He definitely prefers his opponents shaken, not stirred… The International Master is back, with a host of co-authors, and his 4th edition of SOS is loaded with offbeat opening ideas – accent on the “beat”, if your opponent doesn’t get over his shock and awe at what just hit him only a few moves into the game. This has become a fun twice-a-year series, and there’s something for just about anybody. Let me show you. The first chapter, “The SOS Files” highlights important 2005 wins that used the opening ideas from Volumes 1-3. A contest helps: play the best SOS game, send it to New In Chess, and get $275. It’s a great idea, and awesome when you run into the following:
After that, it’s on to the new stuff! Artur Kogan kicks off with “A Surprising Scandanavian,” 1.e4 d5 2.ed Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8. “Here my opponent looked shocked at my queen retreat, and his face even began to change colour!” “The Alapin Opening” is a nice introduction by Bosch to 1.e4 e5 2.Ne2. Most likely there is going to be a lot of puzzlement across the board. Sergey Volkov explains about “Attacking the Slav Stonewall” with g2-g4, and Jaan Ehlvest presents “The Dutch Benoni” 1.d4 c5 2.d5 f5 (sometimes called the Clarendon Court Defence). Bosch returns with the fine “The Katalymov Variation” 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 de 4.Nxe4 Qd5, and Glenn Flear makes his case for working on “The Other Long Diagonal” with Owen’s 1…b6. Mikhalchishin suggests “Following Smyslov and Reti” with 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.b4. Reinderman takes a look back at the “King’s Gambit Vienna 1903” 1.e4 e5 2.f4 ef 3.Nf3 f5 – was this “refutation” actually refuted? Later Glek and Sedina do similar anthropology around “Alekhine’s Blunder” 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6. Rogozenko presents two chapters on “An Indian SOS” that features a Modern-style defense with a knight at h6, or knights at d7 & e7. Glenn Flear returns to look at an intermezzo move in the Scotch, “Patzer Sees a Check”: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 ed Nxd4 4.Bb4+. While Bosch suggests that White “Move-order Your Sicilian Opponent” with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.e5, he also suggests that Black try “Kozul’s SOS against the Rossolimo” 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Na5. Mikhalchishin takes a peek at “The Bellon Gambit” a line to heat up play when White avoids the Benoni. Gurevich leads the reader into the “Flexibility Zone” with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 a6. Whew! It’s all tied off with a “Who’s Who” page on the authors. New In Chess magazine is the place to turn to for strong commentary and analysis of mainstream play. More and more SOS – the NIC column, the book series – is one of the better places to turn to for serious looks at apparently not-so-serious lines. Consider them “joke openings” at your own risk.
Let’s face it, if Batman played chess, he’d
know Jeroen Bosch.
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