On the Korchnoi's KG book... Co-author Vladimir Zak "was the main trainer at the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers during the 1940's and 1950's. His most famous pupils were Boris Spassky and Viktor Korchnoi". Source:
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=43508And Spassky, as we all know, played, oh how he played the KG! Link for your convenience:
http://bit.ly/2DDSeUr@Water_Flame #6 how not to get a boring game with white AT BEST in the lines i gave?
Yes, in the good ol' times Spassky beated his opps with this opening (and if you want to play it, look at his games!). But this was more often due to his talent (and sometimes just due to incredible luck) than because of the opening.
You will have fun with the Kings Gambit against unexperienced players, i have, but on the OBJECTIVE level, Computer says no to the Kings Gambit (*cough*).
Spassky, Bronstein, Korchnoi, Fischer have played it.
More recently Short and Aronian.
1.e5 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 exf4 will put you to sleep.
While it may be good as a surprise weapon once in a while, it makes little sense to make it your main opening with white against 1...e5.
Because it is rather easy for black to prepare against it. He has to know 1 or 2 lines well and can choose these lines according to his own taste. White, on the other hand, has to be prepared for all those lines where black tries to keep the extra pawn as well as lines like 2...d5 & 3...exf4 where black is content with "just" equalizing.
Of course, you can still win with it, but that doesn't mean you win *because* of the opening. After all, people also win games with the Grob occasionally.
If you enjoy beating lower rated players without learning anything, then you can of course play it all day. :)
"Because it is rather easy for black to prepare against it. He has to know 1 or 2 lines well and can choose these lines according to his own taste. White, on the other hand, has to be prepared for all those lines where black tries to keep the extra pawn as well as lines like 2...d5 & 3...exf4 where black is content with "just" equalizing."
The same can be said about 2 Nf3 and the Ruy Lopez: There is the Russian Petrov, the Berlin, the Marshall, the Breyer, the Arkhangelsk. Black picks one. White must be prepared for all.
True, but if white is not prepared, that will most likely just allow black to equalize more easily.
On the other hand, if white is not prepared in the King's Gambit and black is - well, that's an easy win for black. ;)
Spassky: "the gambit doesn't give white much, but neither does the Ruy Lopez nor the Giuoco Piano"
If white is unprepared in the Ruy Lopez he can also be overrun in the Marshall Gambit, the Open Ruy Lopez, the Schliemann Variation.
Even Latvian Gambit or Elephant Gambit can lead to a quick win for black if white plays inexactly.
If black wants equality, then the Russian Petrov Defence is hard for white to prove more than equality.
