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The Trompowsky, 2nd Edition Reviewed by Rick Kennedy
Looking for a new chess opening? Grandmaster Nigel Davies might just have what you're looking for. Then again, he might not. But that wouldn't be the fault of his highly instructive (and entertaining) recent book, The Trompowsky, which I recommend highly. The titled opening (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) has come a long way in about three decades, when you consider that Vlastimil Hort, writing in How to Open A Chess Game (1974), noted:
Since then, the
terra incognita has slowly been mapped. Robert Bellin wrote a book
about the Trompowsky (and the Torre Attack) in the 1980s; Julian Hodgson and
Joe Gallagher each wrote one in the 1990s; and Wolfgang Gerstner, Jesus De
la Villa and Peter Wells have written books in the new millennium.
The author has played on both sides of the Trompowsky. He has studied earlier books and kept up with the Informants and TWIC. Davies has a balanced perspective in his presentation, even going so far as to present (in the Introduction):
Those looking for a “smash your opponents to smithereens in every line down to the 10th variation” approach will be infuriated by Davies’ insistence that at times Black has an equal game. Readers should recall, though, that Bobby Fischer played both sides of the Ruy Lopez, for example – and won with both black and white pieces. His advantage was that he knew the opening inside and out. (And he was, after all, Bobby Fischer.) To play the Tromp well, you need to be an aggressive soul, you need a map and a hearty guide – but you also need to understand pawns, pawn centers, middle game wrangles and endgame niceties. In other words, you have to play a complete game of chess. (Otherwise, try the Jerome Gambit: either you or your opponent will perish ingloriously in some kind of miniature.) Here are three positions to show the variety of the landscape:
Golod-Adamson
Chepukaitis – Klimov
Hodgson – A. Panchenko Yes, chess fans, that last position looks suspiciously like the Blackmar Diemer Gambit, with an extra tempo for White! Davies uses well-annotated game examples to show off the play. (All except one are from the ‘90s or later.) Where he sees that an earlier author has hit the right path, he points it out. When he (or his trusty faithful companion, Shredder) finds a tactical hole, he names it and then suggests a fix. What works, what doesn’t, what’s making a come-back and what’s sliding into decline – the author fills you in. There is plenty new and changing in even the first ten moves. The Grandmaster clearly is having fun, and the attitude is easily caught by the reader. (Those who got in on the ground floor with the Benko Gambit can relate.)
Each page has two or three diagrams. Each chapter has a summary, with the main lines, references to the relevant games, and key positions. If you are a Tromp
fanatic, you’ll want this book to see what’s hot. (Who am I kidding?
Fanatics probably already have the book and have marked it up with their own
ideas.) If you’d just like to try something different for a change –
and you’re not afraid to wander off the beaten path, learning new chess
every step of the way – The Trompowsky is a great book. Even if
you decide only to vacation there, not relocate permanently, the Tromp is a
great state of mind to visit!
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