Hi,

I hope this isn't in poor taste but i'm a beginer/intermediate player and i'm looking for openings that are aggresive and not too well studied (not asking for much). As white I generally use the KP gambit or Ruy Lopez.

Can anyone suggest an aggresive opening for black besides the Sicilian (meaning something that can be learned in a lifetime)? I've been trying the French but it seems to get me into some serious quagmires. I've been trying Alekhine's Opening with some good results lately (not sure why, the opening's rather peculiar), but anyway, any suggestions would be helpful.

The Petrov or Petroff (the same) defence is really aggressive but I highly advice you not to use it until you actually master it. This opening can lead to all sorts of problems if not learned well.

This opening is also known as the Russian defence. Vladimir Kramnik uses it quite often.

I always thought the Petroff was so boring and that there's no way you get sharp positions in it. Can you give me an example of how black can lose quickly if he doesn't know what he's doing? Doesn't it usually transpose to a sort of French Exchange?

I think the Petroff seems boring at high levels because it's balanced, so it leads to lots of draws when used in GM games. But at the amateur level, there's no such thing as a drawish opening.

Because you trade e pawns early, there are traps that beginners (on both sides) can fall into if they don't know what they're doing.

For instance: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4 4. Qe2 Nf6 5. Nc6+ and white wins the queen.

It just takes a little bit of preparation to know about these tricks and avoid them, so if the person playing black knows this opening, then he can safely play it as a way to keep white from controlling the opening choice. I still don't know if I'd call it really aggressive, though.

Personally, I usually play e5 against 1. e4 and let my opponent control the choice of opening. I get a good variety of games that way, and I learn a little bit about each opening as I play it, especially since I review my games afterwards and look up the opening in MCO to see how I could have played better. This might be an especially good idea for someone who likes the Ruy Lopez and King's Gambit, since you might end up playing the black side of openings that you already know quite well.

I've actually been thinking of trying the Alekhine opening, especially since I've started playing 1. ... Nf6 as my standard response to 1. d4 and 1.c4. It could be cool to walk into a tournament with my first move as black written down before the game starts.

--Fromper

Petroff Defence



Most beginners assume the white's pawn is fairly easy to capture after Nxe5:



Yet many don't understand that white's Knight must be immediately threatened in order for Nxe4 to safely occur:



Which then leads to:



Suppose black's knight captured e4 without threatening the Knight first:



The white Queen could move to e2, threatening to capture black's knight, to which black must defend it with either f5, d5 or Qh4. All of these moves are extremely weak because d3 would subsequently take place, forcing the Knight to recoil away. Furthermore, because white's Queen is on e2, this would enable white to move the Knight to c6, which would inevitably check the King and force white to loose its Queen.



Leading to:



And checking the king:



This is only the tip of the iceberg. There a few variations to Petroff's defence that can put black in serious pressure:



It may all sound extremely rudimentary to you, but most beginners fall under the trap of committing these silly mistakes. Personally, I find Petroff's defence far from boring, there are alternatives of course, but I deem it quite edgy.

It's not a coincidence that you both mentioned the same trick... It's one of the only things (very simple things) black should watch out for.
Of course it's not a draw yet. But I also know that when I take on d5 as white in the French and go into the French Exchange, there won't be any fire on the board for a long time. Of course, if you're better you can probably win. But it's totally balanced.

What about the Scandinavian? Could it be considered aggressive?

Not really. It's pretty passive, but I don't mind... at least it's unbalanced.

That's a nice line for white, speculative, but nice. A fun way to get into the Boden-Kieseritsky. The Petrov is alright for black, but it's not for me. Matter of taste I suppose.

I do play 1. e4 e5 though. I like getting into the Modern Steinitz which arises after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6

Some early positions:

5. 0-0 Bg4 6. h3 h5
As far as I know, this line has been somewhat discredited (not refuted). If it doesn't work, then 5. ... Bd7 is a fine alternative. White can't take the bishop (yet) and expect to survive the onslaught on the h-file.
There is a position in the Exchange variation Ruy Lopez just like it after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. 0-0 Bg4 6. h3 h5 which I also play with black.

The delayed exchange:

5. Bxc6 bxc6 6. d4 f6
This is a tough one. On the agenda for black are Bd7, Qb8, g6, Bg7, Ne7-Ng6, 0-0.. The queen is oddly wellplaced on the b-file, if h4 to threaten your Ng6, then h5, at some point black is going for f5 but there won't be many good pawnmoves for a long time. This is a good way to play with white against this.

The Siësta variation.

5. c3 f5
This is why I don't play c3 in the Modern Steinitz with white. I believe in it for black. Interesting chess to say the least! However, if you want something more solid, you can set up sort of a King's Indian.

5. c3 g6 6. d4 Bg7 7. 0-0 Bd7 more of a solid approach but Alekhine liked it.

Noah's Ark

5. d4 b5 6. Bb3 Nxd4 7. Nxd4 exd4
White hasn't fallen into the aforementioned trap line yet (notice that 8. Qxd4 loses!). Which would arise after 8. Qxd4 c5 9. Qd5 Be6 10. Qc6+ Bd7 11. Qd5 c4; you wouldn't believe how many people fall for that in blitz chess, it's scary. 8. c3, 8. a4 and 8. Bd5 are ways to wriggle out of the trap, but allows equality...

When playing 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 with black you may run into other stuff, I'll leave off the diagrams, they're not as critical as the Ruy. 3. Bc4 for instance, after which I wholeheartedly recommend the Two Knights defense (3. ... Nf6). 4. Ng5 is a patzer's move not to be afraid of.
There is the Scotch game after 3. d4. The Schmidt variation drives Scotch players nuts (3. ... exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6).
Then there is the Vienna game, Vienna gambit, the Ponziani, some other gambits, which are fairly simple.
The King's Gambit (1. e4 e5 2. f4) is pretty darn dangerous for both sides. The Nimzowitsch variation of the Falkbeer countergambit is a good antidote (2. ... d5 3. exd5 c6), gets under KG players' skin too.

Me I love playing 1. ... e5.

If you think the French Exchange is balanced and boring, then you're playing it wrong. I sometimes play the French as black, and when my opponent exchanges, I castle queen side and push my king side pawns to attack his castled king. It doesn't always work, but it's never boring or balanced.

--Fromper