In the Arena
Playing Black
INSIDE THE MIND OF GM VARUZHAN AKOBIAN
By
GM VARUZHAN AKOBIAN & WILLIAM FAULK
One of our top players gives his insights on playing the second move.
AMONG GRANDMASTERS, having the
white pieces constitutes such a considerable advantage that Black is typically
merely trying to equalize and often hopes
only to draw. The white pieces allow a
high-level player to take full advantage of
preparation and even grandmasters are
usually much more confident when they
have white. White is able to dictate play
given that he starts the game with the initiative and has some control over what
type of battle will ensue: positional or
tactical. My own results serve as evidence
of the superiority of the white pieces when
they are in the hands of a high-level
player. My winning percentage is significantly higher when I’ve had white and
this is true of most grandmasters.
Given the fact that White has the first
move, he dictates and limits—to a large
degree—Black’s feasible responses. It is
usually a good idea for a non-titled player
to select one defense against e4 and one
against d4 and learn them “inside and
out” so to speak. This limits the amount
of studying a player must do in order to
become proficient in the opening with
black. Black must however, have a solid
response, not only to 1. e4 and 1. d4 but
also to 1. c4 and 1. f4 at minimum. The
openings 1. c4 (the English) and 1. f4
(the Bird) are much less common than the
openings in which a pawn occupies a
center square but the player seeking to
improve with black should become familiar with a solid response to each. With
regard to less common openings, for
example 1. g4 (the Grob), if Black possesses a sound knowledge of opening
principles, he can often rely upon this
knowledge to find sound responses to
White’s quirky opening without actually
knowing it in detail.
According to statistics, among top-rated
36
Chess Life — July 2012
players (FIDE 2500 and above) the best
chances for Black against: 1. e4 is 1. ... e5.
Black’s 1. ... e5 response to 1. e4 is known
as the “open game” aka the “double king’s
pawn game.” However, despite its statistical superiority, it is only the second most
popular defense among players rated FIDE
2500 and above as most grandmasters opt
for some variation of the Sicilian Defense
(1. e4 c5)—the most popular choice against
1. e4. The Sicilian is regarded as an
“attacking” defense as it immediately
strikes at the center at the d4-square.
Note that if all of the games contained in
the databases are taken into account,
then it is the Sicilian that offers best
chances for Black while 1. ... e5 is second.
In fact, it is primarily because of the power
and success of the Sicilian that 1. d4
offers White better chances than 1. e4.
The move sequence: 1. e4 e5 is the
first move in a variety of open game openings