Chessville Reviews - Play 1.e4 e5! - A Complete Repertoire for Black in the Open Games - by Nigel Davies

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Play 1.e4 e5!
A Complete Repertoire for Black in the Open Games
Reviewed by Michael Jeffreys

by Nigel Davies

Everyman Chess, 2005

ISBN 1857444019

192 Pages, softcover

Figurine Algebraic Notation

Best by Test!?

“1…e5 is arguably the simplest and most logical reply to 1 e4, taking space in the centre and opening diagonals for the queen and bishop. It has been played by every world champion in the history of the game, and many of them played nothing else.” – Nigel Davies

According to my Power Book 2004, Black answers 1.e4 with 1...c5 more than twice as often as with 1...e5. Why the reluctance to play what once upon-a-time used to be considered the best response to 1.e4? Says Davies in the book’s introduction:

Why? Because of the ocean of possibilities. Besides various forms of the Ruy Lopez there are a number of other major openings, not to mention a bunch of dangerous gambits. This was my thinking for many years. I occasionally played 1…e5 but, with a view to ‘avoiding’ sharp theoretical lines, I usually played the Pirc or Modern Defence. The turning point came when the former Soviet Champion Lev Psakhis once explained to me that an extensive grounding in the Ruy Lopez was essential if you want to develop your game. He added that in Russia it was said that the one failing of Lev Polugaevsky was that he never received this education.

From that moment I resolved to start playing more games with 1.e4 e5 and to phase out the Modern Defence, with which my results against strong players were lackluster. My results with Black against 1.e4 improved and within two years I gained the Grandmaster title. I attribute much of this achievement to Psakhis’s advice and my belated education in this classic.

Certainly Davies gives a strong endorsement for at the very least giving 1…e5 (assuming you don’t already play it) a try. He spends over half the book (108 pages to be exact) on the Ruy Lopez, with the Two Knights Defence and The Scotch game getting the Lion’s share of the rest of the book, while The King’s Gambit and the Vienna receive honorable mentions.

Let’s take a quick look at each chapter, and see what Mr. Davies has to offer:

Chapter One
Ruy Lopez Keres Variation: 12 Nbd2

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7:

Davies begins with a detailed quote by Paul Keres as to how the Estonian grandmaster came up with 11...Nd7. Here is a portion of it:

This train of thought led me to test the move 11…Nd7. This move has some advantages in comparison with 11…Qc7. First, it frees the f6-square for the Bishop, which will put pressure on d4 supported by the subsequent …Nc6. Second, the queen is not committed too soon and may also help in the siege of d4 by moving to b6. Third, Black’s f-pawn is free to move to f5 if White should decide to play d5.

But 11…Nd7 also has its disadvantages. On d7, the knight stands to a certain extent in the way of the other pieces. If White plays Nbd3-f1-e3, Black’s d5 and f5 will be inadequately guarded, and in some variations Black’s useful pressure on e4 is lacking. Nevertheless, I decided to examine the move more closely and work out some strategic plans.

Keres’ explanation is excellent and really helps the reader to understand the key ideas behind this move. This entire chapter covers White’s main response to the Keres variation: 12.Nbd2. In the game below, from 2004, Davies defeats another popular chess coach/writer, GM Jonathan Rowson, in this line by using a few deft tactical strokes:

Rowson, Jonathan (2547) - Davies, Nigel R (2502)
BCF-chT 0304 (4NCL) West Bromwich (6.1), 21.03.2004

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Nbd2 exd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.d5 Nce5 15.a4 Rb8 16.axb5 axb5 17.Nh2 Ng6 18.g3 Nf6 19.h4 h5 20.f4 Ng4 21.Ndf3 Qb6 22.Kg2 c4 23.Qe2 b4 24.Nd2 c3 25.bxc3 Nxh2 26.Kxh2 Bg4 27.Qe3 Qd8 28.cxb4 Bxh4 29.gxh4 Qxh4+ 30.Kg1 Rfc8 31.Ra2 [Diagram]

31...Rc3! 32.Bd3 Rxd3 33.Qxd3 Qxe1+ 34.Qf1 Qg3+ 35.Qg2 Qxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Nxf4+ 37.Kh2 Rxb4 38.Rc2 Ra4 39.Rc6 Nd3 40.Kg3 Nxc1 41.Rxc1 Rd4 42.Nc4 Rxe4 43.Nxd6 Rd4 44.Re1 Rd3+ 45.Kh2 f5 46.Re8+ Kh7 47.Nf7 Rxd5 48.Kg3 f4+ 49.Kh4 f3 50.Ng5+ Kg6 51.Ne4 Bd7 52.Re7 Bf5 53.Nf2 Kf6 54.Ra7 g5+ 55.Kg3 g4 56.Kh4 Rd2 57.Ra6+ Ke5 58.Ra5+ Kf4 0–1

Chapter Two
Ruy Lopez: Keres Variation: 12 Others

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7:

First Davies looks at: 12. dxe5, to which he recommends 12...dxe5 13. Nbd2 Bb7! And Black begins to pressure e4:

Other moves covered are:

12. dxc5 And again after 12…dxc5 13. Nbd2, Black has 13…Bb7.

12. d5 Premature according to Keres. After 12…Nb6 13. g4 (trying to prevent …f5), Black has 13…h5! as played in Fischer-Keres, Curacao 1962, which Keres won after a long and complicated struggle.

12. b3 Kasparov’s move against Ponomariov in Russia vs. The Rest of the World, 2002, which ended in a draw after 27 moves.

Chapter Three
Ruy Lopez: 9 Others

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0:

Says Davies in the introduction to this chapter:

While it is true that the prophylactic 9.h3 is by far White’s most popular choice at this point, it is by no means mandatory. Several alternatives are available, all of which lead to rich and complex ‘Spanish’ struggles.

The first “other move” Davies looks at is 9. d4, to which he likes 9...Bg4, and if 10. d5 then 10...Na5 11. Bc2 Qc8!:

Davies notes: "This neat finesse is why 11.d5 drifted back out of the limelight. After the immediate 11…c6 White can play 12.h3, when 12…Bd7?! 13.Nxe5! dxe5 14.d6 ‘wins’ the bishop pair."

The point being that after 11…Qc8!, now Black’s dark squared bishop has the d8 square available. Black went on to win in 37 moves from the above position in L. McShane-I. Sokolov, Bundesliga 2001.

Other moves covered in this chapter include:

9.d4 Bg4 10.Be3
9.a4
9.d3

Chapter Four
Ruy Lopez: Fifth and Sixth Move Alternatives

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6:

Says Davies:

While I believe that 6.Re1 is White’s best and most challenging, a number of alternative developments have been tried at this stage. As with 9^th move alternatives, I don’t think that Black has many problems if he knows what he’s doing.

The most important of White’s ideas is the Worral Attack with 6.Qe2, a one-time favourite of Alekhine and Keres that was taken up more recently by Britain’s Nigel Short. The point is that with the queen protecting e4, White can use the rook more effectively on d1 than the usual post on e1.

Moves covered in this chapter include:

5.Nc3
5.d3
5.0-0 Be7:
                    6.Qe2
                    6.Bxc6
                    6.d4

Chapter Five
Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6:

Says Davies:

Ever Since Bobby Fischer revived this line in the 1960s, the Exchange Variation has enjoyed a consistent following among strong players. Most recently it has been GM Rozentalis who has championed White’s cause. From Black’s perspective the main problem has been in generating counterplay; all too often he finds himself in a miserable and rather passive endgame with few winning chances.

The solution I present in this chapter is still in its experimental stages but has received the backing of 1…e5 aficionados such as Alexander Beliavsky and Michael Adams. Both these Grandmasters have been playing the primitive looking 5…Qf6 with success and, on examining their games it is easy to see why. Black is getting the kind of active counterplay that is unheard of in most of the standard lines.

And so after 5.0-0, 5.Nc3, or 5.d4, Davies does indeed suggest Black play 5…Qf6.

I should mention that of all of Davies recommendations in this book, this may be the most off-beat. IM Andrew Kinsman, in his book The Spanish Exchange (Batsford, 1998) only mentions this move in his book's very last chapter under “Odds and Ends.”

Be that as it may, Davies then looks at two White responses: 6.d4 and 6.d3. For a nice example of how to play this line as Black, check out Magem Badals-Morozevich, Pamlona 1995, which Moro won in 40 moves.

Chapter Six
Two Knights Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6:

Says Davies:

After 3…Nf6, White’s 4 Ng5 effectively wins a pawn, but the lost time gives Black good compensation after 4…d5 5 exd5 Na5. In Alkekseev-Yemelin (Game 39) we see what is essentially the main line (9 Nf3), but with my recommendation being the slightly unusual 10…Bc5 rather than 10…Bd6, and then Yemelin’s 12…Nb7!?. Black seems to be doing quite well here, and the fact that this line is quite unusual should mean that many exponents of White’s side will be caught unawares.

White can also play 4.d4, after which Davies recommends 4…exd4 5. e5 Ne4!?, which has the endorsement of GM Romanishin.

Chapter Seven
The Scotch Game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 and now Davies recommends 4…Bc5:

The idea is that after 5.Nxc6, Black plays 5…Qf6 threatening mate on f2. After 6.Qd2 dxc6, Black can gain a rapid lead in development if White is not careful.

Chapter Eight
Third Move Alternatives

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 This section mainly covers the Four Knights opening: 3. Nc3 Nf6:

And if White plays 4.Bb5 here, Davies recommends NOT Rubinstein’s aggressive 4…Nd4, but rather Capablanca’s calm 4…Bb4.

One line goes: 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Bxc3 Preventing 8. Nd5 8.bxc3 Qe7 9.Re1 Nd8 Regrouping the knight to e6, where it helps reinforce Black’s kingside defences. 10.d4 Bg4 and Davies went on to win as Black in 40 moves (R. Shabtai-N. Davies, Tel Aviv 1993).

Chapter Nine
Second Move Alternatives

1.e4 e5 2.f4 This section mainly covers the King’s Gambit (with a quick look at the Vienna and the Danish Gambit), to which Davies recommends the declined variation: 2...Bc5:

While I know many books on the King’s Gambit recommend that Black take the offered pawn, I was happy to see Davies recommend the declined variation, as that is what I have been playing my whole chess career, and have done just fine with it.

The Bottom Line

I like this book. Davies uses lots of recent games (many from 2000-2005), and he has a nice writing style that comes from his many years as a chess coach as well as having written numerous chess books. He uses several of his own games as examples, which I really like. Additionally, he offers up a lot of his own analysis and ideas, rather than just giving you stock responses to White’s moves.

While the book can’t cover everything, it does a nice job of packing in a lot of information within its 192 pages. At the end of each chapter there is a brief summary of the recommended lines, as well as a complete game index on the book’s last page.

Although my main reply over the last few years to 1.e4 has been 1…d5, this book makes me want to give 1…e5 a try. And to my mind, this is a sure sign that the author has succeeded in writing a quality book. On a scale of 1-10, Play 1e4 e5! gets a 9.

From the Publisher's website:
Author Biography and Booklist Nigel Davies

Play 1.e4 e5!
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