sabato 9 febbraio 2013

The Hippopotamus, a Universal Defense

by Stefan Bücker (pdf) Chess Café


There are defensive set-ups that can be played against more than one first move. For example, the King's Indian is just as good against 1 c4 or 1 Nf3, as it is against 1 d4. But there is still 1 e4, so even the most enthusiastic King's Indian adherent needs at least a second defense in his repertoire. One of the few truly universal defenses is the Hippopotamus. When Spassky used it twice in his first world championship matchagainst Petrosian (earning two half points), the system was still considered unorthodox. To be fair, the dubious image was based on some bad experiences from master play. One of the model games illustrates the dangers of a well-prepared advance f4-f5...

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