TWO KNIGHTS’ DEFENSE
Author: Jan Pinski
160 pages
$19.95
Everyman

Reviewed by John Watson

I reviewed Jan Pinski’s THE FOUR KNIGHTS in an earlier column, with the rough conclusion that it was an excellent and objective book, but so objective that it showed the utter harmlessness of all White systems! Now Pinski has released his THE TWO KNIGHTS’ DEFENSE. I actually went over a moderate amount of this book a couple of months ago, comparing it with Joszef Palkovi’s THE TWO KNIGHTS’ DEFENSE and TRAXLER ATTACK, a book that Pinski draws heavily from, and Eric Schiller and my SURVIVE AND BEAT ANNOYNG CHESS OPENINGS (“SBACO”), which it seems that Pinski didn’t have. Unfortunately I haven’t marked up too much of these copies, but I remember thinking that Pinsky tried to improve upon Palkovi from time to time but that it would take a serious Two Knights’ player to really need the Pinski in addition to Palkovi’s. In “SBACO” we relied upon Palkovi, but came up with quite a bit that was new. I like the move 6...Bd7 after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ in place of the more common 6...c6. So do Palkovi and Pinski, except that Pinski likes his improvement that goes 7.Qe2 Bd6 (7...Be7 is also okay, as we show in “SBACO”) 8.Nc3 0–0 9.Bxd7 Qxd7, and now 10.a3!. He seems to think that the whole line favors White. Looking as “SBACO” (published well before Pinski) we say: “An ambitious alternative is 10.a3 with the idea of b4. The untried move 10...Be7!? seems to give interesting play. This initially seems to indicates the suitability of 7...Be7 instead of 6...Bd6, but of course that is not so easy to say.

11.b4 [11.0–0 Nxd5 (or 11...Rfe8!?) 12.Qxe5 c6 is very interesting, for example,  13.d3 Rfe8 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Bd2 Nc6 16.Qf4 Bf6 with counterplay] 11...Nxd5 12.Nxh7 Black gets enough play in a line such as 12.Qd3!? Bxg5 13.Qxd5 Qxd5 14.Nxd5 Rad8! 15.Nxc7 Nc4 16.d3 Bxc1 17.dxc4 Bb2. 12...Rfd8! 13.bxa5 Nxc3 14.dxc3 Kxh7 with chances for both sides. White’s pawns are very weak, but the exposed state of Black’s king provides some balance. I think that’s a fair verdict for many of the lines in this book (including 6...c6). Probably only the devotee of either or both colors will have to have this book, although others might want to investigate and try out this complex traditional opening.

Click to buy Pinski’s TWO KNIGHT'S DEFENCE.

Click to buy Pinski’s FOUR KNIGHTS.

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