I'm looking for recommendations of books that are good at explaining specific
nomenclature, especially in the openings. To you experts, open, closed,
semi-open, Indian, Dragon, etc. have meaning that is lost on beginners
(or idiots like me who don't have a lot of time for chess study).

Open/closed is somewhat but not completely obvious but there must
be some book that sort of focuses on stuff like "as soon as black plays ???,
the game becomes semi-open for black. [explanaton] If white plays ???,
it remains semi-open. [explanaton] If white plays ... " "By refusing the
exchange, the pawns remain on their original files (blocking the movement
of Bs, Rs and Qs), and this is what is meant by ..." (Is that what "closed"
means or have I gone too far?)

Even if they aren't the best books by other criteria, are there any books
that explicitly say things like what and when a game becomes "open",
"semi-open", etc..

I've noticed that several "dragon" variations seem to have zig-zagged pawns
but I wish I knew exactly what moves or pawn structures or arrangement of
pieces make a "dragon" or "Indian" variation. When does a dragon cease to
be or become blocked from becoming a dragon? Is ANY zig-zag a "dragon"
or do the protected squares have to correspond to the remaining bishops
to be effective? And so on.

The reason I ask is that it helps to think about larger concepts by name ...
if you know what the names of the concepts more clearly mean.

Middle and end game nomenclature is a bit easier to figure out because
there seems to be less of it so specific examples in the books are made
more clear by some writers. E.g., some non-expert books are very good
at explaining things like zugzwang ... even if I don't know it until it's too
late. Expert books might just say, "Now black is in a mating net." without
pointing out details to the non-expert.

Yes, I'm a bit lazy (no time!) about studying dozens of openings at length
to figure out nomenclature on my own and I'm hoping to find a book with
the short cut.

Thank you.






--
Sent by xanadoog from yahoo in area com
This is a spam protected message. Please answer with reference header.
Posted via http://www.usenet-replayer.com

"Chess Watcher" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for recommendations of books that are good at explaining
specific
nomenclature, especially in the openings. To you experts, open, closed,
semi-open, Indian, Dragon, etc. have meaning that is lost on beginners
(or idiots like me who don't have a lot of time for chess study).

Open closed semi open are terms used to describe the pawn structure in the
centre of the board.

e4 e5 d4 exd4 black'sking is exposed on the open d file.
e4 c5 black has a semi open c file as it is open to an extent but blocked by
it's own pawn.


b3 d5 Bb2 white has a bishop on an open diagonal.

there are plenty of books for novices tips for young players I find good and
also Mastering chess.

I'm looking for recommendations of books that are good at explaining
specific
nomenclature, especially in the openings. To you experts, open, closed,
semi-open, Indian, Dragon, etc. have meaning that is lost on beginners
(or idiots like me who don't have a lot of time for chess study).

Open closed semi open are terms used to describe the pawn structure in the
centre of the board.

e4 e5 d4 exd4 black'sking is exposed on the open d file.

So far, so good, but (from a chess engine that gives me opening names),
that's "Centre Game". So is this "semi-open" because only black's king
is exposed or is it completely "open" because white is also missing a
center pawn on the d-file? White's king is "open" to attack on the a5 b4
c3 diagonal. Is THAT what makes it open or is the missing d pawn that
makes it open.

If "open" for both black and white, would 3. Bd2 "close" it back up for
white's king and send it back to being semi-open position?

This is an example where the nomeclature, if I knew what it meant, could
help my thinking: "I don't like this open game. Let me look for a move to
get to a semi-open or closed position."

e4 c5 black has a semi open c file as it is open to an extent but blocked by
it's own pawn.

I know that those are the first moves of the Sicilian but I've read (ok, skimmed)
over Sicilian: Open, Semi-Open and Closed Variations. e4 c5 determines that
it's semi-open? How does it get back to the closed variations again?

b3 d5 Bb2 white has a bishop on an open diagonal.

I know that Bb2 is a fianchetto but had to look up that this is called the
Nimzowitsch-Larson. I'd call "fianchetto" another helpful nomenclature
variation to learn. You are saying there's an open diagonal for the bishop.
But the white king is still "closed" behind pawns on d2-e2.

Are you basically saying that open, semi-open, closed do not have some
sort of pure or absolute meaning but depend on the piece it's referring to?
That would explain why I'm getting confused but also why I want a book that
explains, 'This is called "open" because XXX."

Likewise dragon, Indian, (fianchetto I know), and other basic well defined
concepts or opening variations.

Thanks ... so far.






--
Sent by xanadoog from yahoo included in com
This is a spam protected message. Please answer with reference header.
Posted via http://www.usenet-replayer.com

On 2004-04-09, Chess Watcher wrote:
So far, so good, but (from a chess engine that gives me opening names),
that's "Centre Game". So is this "semi-open" because only black's king
is exposed or is it completely "open" because white is also missing a
center pawn on the d-file? White's king is "open" to attack on the a5 b4
c3 diagonal. Is THAT what makes it open or is the missing d pawn that
makes it open.

If "open" for both black and white, would 3. Bd2 "close" it back up for
white's king and send it back to being semi-open position?

This is an example where the nomeclature, if I knew what it meant, could
help my thinking: "I don't like this open game. Let me look for a move to
get to a semi-open or closed position."

These are just names for specific variations. You don't "go back to a
semi-open position." You're playing an Open Sicilian, period. It means
it started 1.e4 c5 and something like 2.Nf3 ... 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4
quickly followed.

Traditionally 1.e4 e5 has been called the "Open Game" any other first move
by black is then "Semi-Open", 1.d4 d5 is called the "Closed Game", and any
other first move by Black is "Semi-Closed". Hopefully it is obvious that a
game that starts out as an Open Game can't become a Closed Game anymore :-)

A "closed position", or "open position" etc, that usually has to do
with the pawn structure. If there are white pawns on b2, c3, d4, e5,
and theyre locked against pawns on c4, d5, e6, f7, then there are no
open lines for the rooks and bishops, the position is closed. If there
are no pawns at all on the c, d, e, f lines, all the other pieces can
move really freely. Thats an open position. Most positions are somewhere
in between these two extremes. Usually it is really only the pawns that
matter.

The openings that go by the name Open Game may be slightly more likely
to lead to open positions than the Closed Game, but thats certainly not
guaranteed.

Remco Gerlich

Perhaps you should read some of the articles on this great site:
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~dregis/DR/index.html

--
Remco Gerlich

In article
,
(Chess Watcher) wrote:

I'm looking for recommendations of books that are good at explaining specific
nomenclature, especially in the openings. To you experts, open, closed,
semi-open, Indian, Dragon, etc. have meaning that is lost on beginners
(or idiots like me who don't have a lot of time for chess study).


I think "Pandolfini's Chess Complete" is sort of a dictionary of
terms/concepts. That might help a bit.

--Harold Buck


"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

On Fri, 09 Apr 2004 09:29:38 GMT,
(Chess Watcher) wrote:

I'm looking for recommendations of books that are good at explaining specific
nomenclature, especially in the openings. To you experts, open, closed,
semi-open, Indian, Dragon, etc. have meaning that is lost on beginners
(or idiots like me who don't have a lot of time for chess study).

Open/closed is somewhat but not completely obvious but there must
be some book that sort of focuses on stuff like "as soon as black plays ???,
the game becomes semi-open for black. [explanaton] If white plays ???,
it remains semi-open. [explanaton] If white plays ... " "By refusing the
exchange, the pawns remain on their original files (blocking the movement
of Bs, Rs and Qs), and this is what is meant by ..." (Is that what "closed"
means or have I gone too far?)

Even if they aren't the best books by other criteria, are there any books
that explicitly say things like what and when a game becomes "open",
"semi-open", etc..


You may want to check out Fine's book "Ideas Behind the Chess
Openings".

Specically "open" and "closed" refer to pawn structure or files.
An open file is one with no pawns on it, closed with 2 or more pawns
both Black and White. Semi-Open files are ones where only one side
has pawns on the file.

More generally open and closed refer to sets of openings as was
explained in another message in this thread. Usually Open games are
characterized by tactical play and sacrifices; White usually attacks
on the king side and black either defends or counterattacks in the
center. Closed games are characterized by maneuvering behind pawns
that are fixed.


Mike Ogsuh
I've noticed that several "dragon" variations seem to have zig-zagged pawns
but I wish I knew exactly what moves or pawn structures or arrangement of
pieces make a "dragon" or "Indian" variation. When does a dragon cease to
be or become blocked from becoming a dragon? Is ANY zig-zag a "dragon"
or do the protected squares have to correspond to the remaining bishops
to be effective? And so on.

The reason I ask is that it helps to think about larger concepts by name ...
if you know what the names of the concepts more clearly mean.

Middle and end game nomenclature is a bit easier to figure out because
there seems to be less of it so specific examples in the books are made
more clear by some writers. E.g., some non-expert books are very good
at explaining things like zugzwang ... even if I don't know it until it's too
late. Expert books might just say, "Now black is in a mating net." without
pointing out details to the non-expert.

Yes, I'm a bit lazy (no time!) about studying dozens of openings at length
to figure out nomenclature on my own and I'm hoping to find a book with
the short cut.

Thank you.






--
Sent by xanadoog from yahoo in area com
This is a spam protected message. Please answer with reference header.
Posted via http://www.usenet-replayer.com

I'm looking for recommendations of books that are good at explaining
specific
nomenclature, especially in the openings. To you experts, open, closed,
semi-open, Indian, Dragon, etc. have meaning that is lost on beginners
(or idiots like me who don't have a lot of time for chess study).
-- snip --

Perhaps you should read some of the articles on this great site:
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~dregis/DR/index.html

There were some helpful items there but still no SOLID definitions. He talks
about open, semi-open, closed and even SEMI-CLOSED systems but you
have to see it or you don't. How does semi-open differ from semi-closed?

He gives some nice clear examples showing PAWNS ONLY in the Closed
Morphy (see the Ruy Lopez pages).
One of those positions he describes as Semi-open when there
are pawns he white c3 e4 f2 and black c7 e5 f7 but NO d pawns at all.
Why is that SEMI-open and not open? The d-file is completely open.

Another semi-open is: white pawns c3 e4 f2 and black pawns c7 d6 f7.
Here, there are two pawns on c-file, one black pawn on d, one white pawn
on e and two pawns on f. See my confusion about the "concepts" or descriptors?

I like clear, simple, irrefutable things like: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5. "Bb5 is
THE move that makes this the Ruy Lopez."

I will check out these suggestions:
I think "Pandolfini's Chess Complete" is sort of a dictionary of
terms/concepts. That might help a bit.
and
You may want to check out Fine's book "Ideas Behind the Chess
Openings".

In the meantime, even though opinions or intuition might vary, do you have
simple ways to 'define" dragon systems? I sort of see pawn zig-zagged
pawns.

Did the Indian systems originate among Indian players? Why are they called
Indian? I think I see a lot of Nf3 Bg2 and corresponding (Nf6 Bg7; Nc3 Bb2;
Nc6 Bb7) arrangements. Is that what defines an Indian or are there a few
more necessary elements?

Thank you for your help.







--
Sent by xanadoog from yahoo in area com
This is a spam protected message. Please answer with reference header.
Posted via http://www.usenet-replayer.com

(Chess Watcher) wrote in message ...

I'm looking for recommendations of books that are good at explaining specific
nomenclature, especially in the openings

There is an on-line glossary of chess terms at

http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_gl...s_terms_c.html


Also if you are a beginner, I would avoid all textbooks dealing
exclusively with a particular opening. All the opening knowledge
a beginner needs can be found in the notes of "Logical Chess: Move
by Move," by Irving Chernev. This book is always my recommendation
for the second chess book you should read (with the first being
some beginner's manual that tells you how the pieces move, etc.).

On 2004-04-10, Chess Watcher wrote:
There were some helpful items there but still no SOLID definitions. He talks
about open, semi-open, closed and even SEMI-CLOSED systems but you
have to see it or you don't. How does semi-open differ from semi-closed?

In the names of openings, semi-open start with 1.e4 and aren't
followed by 1...e5, while semi-closed is 1.d4 not followed by 1...d5.

Otherwise they're probably just synonyms.

He gives some nice clear examples showing PAWNS ONLY in the Closed
Morphy (see the Ruy Lopez pages).
One of those positions he describes as Semi-open when there
are pawns he white c3 e4 f2 and black c7 e5 f7 but NO d pawns at all.
Why is that SEMI-open and not open? The d-file is completely open.

The d file is open, but the e4 and e5 pawns are currently locked
together. A completely open center would have no pawns there either
(that's pretty rare).

Another semi-open is: white pawns c3 e4 f2 and black pawns c7 d6 f7.
Here, there are two pawns on c-file, one black pawn on d, one white pawn
on e and two pawns on f. See my confusion about the "concepts" or descriptors?

Yes. The thing is, it's really not very important what you call a
position, it's like the difference between light brown and
beige. They're just descriptions, not cleanly defined things.

I like clear, simple, irrefutable things like: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5. "Bb5 is
THE move that makes this the Ruy Lopez."

That's nice, that'll help you know the names of things, but it's no help
in finding out how to play better chess :-)

In the meantime, even though opinions or intuition might vary, do you have
simple ways to 'define" dragon systems? I sort of see pawn zig-zagged
pawns.

THE Dragon is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6. That
last ...g6 makes it "irrefutably" the Dragon, just like that Ruy Lopez
thing. I've heard that it gets its name from that zig-zag formation,
but who knows.

There are some disadvantages to that opening, and people have tried
some other move orders with the idea of playing a Sicilian (1.e4 c5)
with an early development of the bishop to g7. Those are related in
history and idea with the Dragon, so they got similar names, basically
based on how fast they play ...g6:
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6!? 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 Semi-Dragon
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 Accelerated Dragon
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 Hyper-accelerated Dragon

Did the Indian systems originate among Indian players? Why are they called
Indian? I think I see a lot of Nf3 Bg2 and corresponding (Nf6 Bg7; Nc3 Bb2;
Nc6 Bb7) arrangements. Is that what defines an Indian or are there a few
more necessary elements?

In the 19th century and before, it was normal to answer 1.d4 with
1...d5 and 1.e4 with 1...e5. Those are nowadays called classical
openings. Other answers were really rare.

Later people started playing systems that answered 1.d4 with 1...Nf6,
without playing ...d5 quickly afterwards. There were diferent moves to
continue with, but initially the 1.d4 Nf6 opening was just called
"Indian" . I have no idea why. Nowadays of course the names are much
more split up, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 is the Nimzo-Indian (used to
be Nimzowitsch-Indian, but names evolve...), 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3
Bg7 is the King's Indian, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 the Queen's
Indian, etc. That's just a matter of needing more names when the
theory goes deeper.

That's all defined just as much as 3.Bb5 is the Ruy Lopez - but it
gets mixed up once more when you reach positions that could be reached
from a number of different openings. Then it gets pretty
arbitrary. Many books follow the example of the Encyclopedia of Chess
Openings, but not all of them. There are no laws, it's just giving
names to positions...

--
Remco Gerlich