Lack of Opening Ideas

The non-stop playing of the top players is taking its toll. There is no time to rest, there is no time to think things through, there is no time to invent new ideas.

The players play and it is their seconds and helpers who do the hard work of constantly coming up with new moves and lines to surprise the opponents. Some are obviously better than others, but even the best run out of ideas at some point.

It is not surprising therefore when there are so many games played with the same openings. Just sticking to what is safe ensures against big surprises, but that also leads to less excitement.

In the penultimate round of the Zagreb Grand Prix Mamedyarov employed the Scandinavian (also known as the Centre Counter) against Caruana. It was yet another tournament that wasn’t going well for Mamedyarov and it appeared as if he didn’t care. Hence, 1 e4 d5.

Black got the usual slightly inferior but extremely solid position from the opening and eventually drew the game. Players note very carefully what everybody else is playing and they probably concluded that the Scandinavian isn’t good enough for classical games, but the opening exploded in the Paris Grand Prix in both the rapid and the blitz.

Mamedyarov played 2 more games with it – he beat Anand and lost to Dubov. He stuck to his treatment of 3 Nc3 Qa5, the same line he played in Zagreb against Caruana.

Other players tried their luck with the Scandinavian as well and they all went their own ways. Nakamura also played 2 games in it, choosing 3 Nc3 Qd6 in his loss to Caruana and draw with Giri.

It was Duda who employed it the most. Perhaps tired a bit of his trusty Petroff, he kept choosing the peculiar development after 3 Nc3 Qd8 that involed the double fianchetto. His results were great – he lost 1, won 3 and drew 1. The good thing about his opening was that he always played the same, which is very practical as it requires very little preparation.

While things worked out better than expected for Duda, I doubt the Scandinavian will catch up on the highest level. It will now be subjected to serious analysis and they will find ways how to deal with it. Surprises only last so long on that level. That is why they need a constant supply of fresh ideas.

The public had its quick rush with the Scandinavian and now we’re waiting for the next one. I wonder what it will be.

Alex Colovic
A professional player, coach and blogger. Grandmaster since 2013.
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2 Comments
  • Chris
    Sep 27,2019 at 1:37 am

    Wasn’t it one of these …Qd8 and …g6 Scandinavian lines where Fischer crushed Robatsch way back when? I seem to recall that being the reason it’s not too popular.

    • Oct 3,2019 at 12:54 pm

      Yes, I’d say that game is still valid, but the plan with double fianchetto by Duda doesn’t allow for that an easy win. 🙂

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