Meet#5: Zugzwang (Re-scheduled)

Greetings all,

Re-scheduling last weekend's meet.

This time, the theme of our meetup is going to Scandinavian Defense !

One of my personal favourites. Not to say that its better than the other openings but I like the simplicity of opening up the center early on in the game.

White plays e4 and then black immediately counters the move by playing d5. More than likely, an exchange is going to take place. This opening response by black is also called "Center Counter" The black queen will be out early, while white attempts to chase her away. Not so easy! There are some lethal squares for the black queen to retreat.

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/4/7/8/5/600_435378309.jpeg

One advantage of the Scandinavian is the element of surprise. It is a fully sound opening yet many opponents are not fully ready for the number of ways that Black could play the opening.

Note: Casual and noob players, relax! The chess opening strategy, like the one mentioned above and being used as a theme for our chess meetup group, is only to introduce you very roughly, to the world of chess openings, not to scare you into thinking we are professionals. We are not. We are very ordinary players trying to improve our chess.