Written, but not posted, during lockdown.
IN this series I am looking at the statistically best way to play against popular opening lines.
The numbers are drawn from the 2021 edition of ChessBase's Mega database, ignoring, where possible, those results that include very few games and so are statistically insignificant.
The Grob: 1.g4 periodically has spells of popularity at club level.
Black's most popular reply, 1...d5, scores an excellent 55%
 |
| Position after 1...d5 |
A) 2.Bg2 (1,377 games)
After 2...c6!? the line splits.
A1 3.h3 e5, after which the line splits again.
A1.1 4.d4 e4 5.c4 Bd6 6.Nc3 Ne7, when A1.1a 7.Qb3 0-0 scores 69% for Black, albeit from a small sample, and A1.1b 7.Bg5 f6 scores 91% for Black, albeit from a small sample.
A1.2 4.d3 Be6 5.Nf3 f6!? scores 75% for Black, albeit from a small sample.
A2 3.g5!? Bf5 scores 57% for Black, albeit from a small sample.
A3 3.c4 dxc4!?, after which the line splits again.
A3.1 4.h3 e5 scores 70% for Black, albeit from a small sample.
A3.2 4.b3!? Bxg4 5.bxc4 e5 scores 100% for Black, albeit from a small sample.
B) 2.h3 (327 games)
2...e5 3.Bg2 h5!? scores 71% for Black, albeit from a small sample.
Thanks for this.always handy to know what to do against unusual openings.
ReplyDeleteCheers. It certainly gives a starting point for further study, if nothing else.
ReplyDelete