Carlsen often seems to win without doing anything in particular, but
doing it very well. Commentators have tried to explain his peculiar gift
by appealing to 'nettlesome' moves, moves that have no obvious dangers,
but perhaps are surprisingly awkward to meet.
Opening
Carlsen, particularly when younger, has been noted more for his
avoidance of sharp and theoretical lines, than having signature opening
systems. He often seems content to aim for a 'normal' White plus in the
opening, hoping to build on it later on, particularly in blitz.
We have entered an era where it is not always obvious what the best
players are doing. They are better than previous generations, they play
all positions well, and they are fighting against players who also do
everything well, and what makes the difference is not apparent to me.
But while Kramnik's play is subtle and deep, there are games which
makes it look as though what he is doing is as simple as it looks.
Opening
Kramnik brought to several apparently settled opening systems a new
clarity in pursuing White's main plans. In the Grunfeld, it was White's
Karpov had a marked preference for positional play, although, in his own
words, "if my opponent offers sharp play, I do not object." Karpov had
no soft spots that anyone could discern -- an alleged weakness against
'romantic' openings was less of a handicap than the openings some chose
against him.
Opening
Karpov has always embraced the need for deep preparation. Here he digs
deep into a position that was all the rage at the time.
Boris Spassky became World Champion on the second attempt, defeating Petrosian in 1969 and losing his title to Fischer in 1972. He had something of a reputation of having a 'universal' style, able to play all positions well, but that is true of anyone who holds the crown of chess, and he has a marked facility with dynamic and attacking play.
Your choice
of
opening will rest (or should rest) on several
considerations: your style and temperament as
a
chessplayer, your time and aptitude for study,
and your
ambitions as a player. The standard recommendation
for
Brian complained that he lost quickly facing this line. You might guess he fell into a trap which may be the main hope of Black when playing this line:
