Where in the Book?

Sometimes it can be difficult to find the actual position you play in a book about the opening you played. This is especially difficult when positions are reached by different move orders than the book gives.

In today's game we have another English line. As I was looking it up, at first I had a hard time finding it in Wisnewski's "Play 1...Nc6!" book. Eventually I found it by transposition in Chapter 13, in a note to Game 66.

Our game begins 1.c4 Nc6 2.Nc3 e5 3.d3 (This is a waiting move. White is likely a Dragon Sicilian player who wants to get a Reversed Dragon with an extra move.) 3...Nf6 4.g3 Bc5 (At first I was confused in the book by Chapter 14 which is really the English Four Knights directly without the early d3) 5.Bg2 0-0 (The book gives 5...a6 first here with a move order that has d3 coming on move 5. Apparently he doesn't like to castle this just yet. After 6.Nf3 d6 7.0-0 he plays 7...h6. 7...0-0 would transpose to my game.) 6.Nf3 d6 7.0-0 a6 (Better late than never.) 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bd2?! (This has got to be a waste of time. 9...Bg4 10.a3 Qd7 and Black has a good position.

Mating Patterns

Over the past decade I have played 1...Nc6 over 2000 times, trying almost everything typcial set-up for Black. My second move is usually some push of my e-pawn or d-pawn. You never know what kind of game will result.

One good this is that White rarely spends time preparing for 1...Nc6; Black is comfortable playing familiar lines. I like to head toward patterns that make sense to me and watch for combinations. In this game the center becomes closed. Black gets to finish with a nice mating pattern.