Why you should learn the Grunfeld Defence.
I’ve recently become a great admirer of the Grunfeld Defence from the Black side.
It’s a perfect opening for blitz. Here’s why:
Black has great initiative from the very start. It’s White’s position that is under duress. Sure, in classical chess, White can put the long-term squeeze on Black with a trump like the complete occupation of the center, but this is blitz we’re talking about here.
A virtue of the Grunfeld so important in blitz is the strong activity and natural placement of the pieces. The more natural and obvious your moves means less book time and more play time.
The White players who play against the Grunfeld are often positional players. The Grunfeld, while it certainly has positional considerations like any other opening, tends to be more tactical, thus unsettling many White players anticipating the positional comfort zone. It can be a jarringly different mindset from most other d4 or c4 openings.
And lastly– and probably most important for me– the Grunfeld is an answer to the English Opening. There really is nothing quite as annoying as being under the thumb of a good English Opening player. That constant nagging positional edge along the long, light diagonal ages you years prematurely, I swear. Sure, I could learn to meet the English Opening properly, of course, but… that’s a lot of work! Let’s not forget: I’m just a lazy, casual blitz player here. As I’m sure you are too. So, I like to look for a multi-purpose opening– one setup for many different occasions. In the past, I’ve tried the King’s Indian setup against the English, but, even then, White can still keep that annoying English Opening flavor to the game. But with the Grunfeld as an answer to the English Opening, I feel like it’s White who must play MY game. Sure, there are options available to an English Opening player that aren’t to a 1.d4 player (like an early Qa4+), but the game STILL has the character of a Grunfeld for Black: the active, natural placement of pieces; the strong pressure on the center should White decide to occupy it; a slight lead in development. And as any experienced blitz player will tell you: it’s far better to be in a familiar position for you than to be in a familiar position for your opponent, if only for the edge in time.
I highly recommend studying– who am I kidding? looking– over the games of the British GM David Howell.
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