Tackling the Trompowsky & Torre Systems

Beschreibung

The Trompowsky and Torre Attacks, played regularly at club level, may be quite risky to face if you are not prepared. In this comprehensive treatment of both openings highlighting play from Black’s perspective popular authors Vassilios Kotronias and Mikhail Ivanov, present solid paths to dynamic equality for the second player.

The common thread in both these systems is Bc1-g5 by White. In the Trompowsky, White plays it on the second move, while it is on the third move in the Torre. In addition, there is a separate chapter on a dangerous cousin of the Tromp and Torre, the ”Barry-Tarzan“ Attack, which usually features pawn storms after castling on opposite wings.

All three have their own QuickStarter! section. This covers the major lines, allowing the reader to begin playing these systems sooner rather than later.

There is no longer any reason for Black to fear these potentially dangerous debuts. Let GMs Kotronias and Ivanov prepare you to face the Trompowsky and Torre Attacks with confidence.

About the Authors
Greek Grandmaster Vassilios Kotronias, has won the championship of Greece ten times and has represented his country many times in team competitions. He is one of the most respected opening analysts in the world today.

Russian-Serbian Grandmaster Mikhail Ivanov has been successful in many European tournaments, including the 2002 Neckar Open. He is a respected chess coach and trainer. He has co-authored several books with GM Kotronias for Russell Enterprises.

Details

Weitere Informationen
EAN	9781963885064
Gewicht	480 g
Hersteller	Russell Enterprises
Breite	15,2 cm
Höhe	22,7 cm
Medium	Buch
Erscheinungsjahr	2025
Autor	Vassilios Kotronias Mikhail Ivanov
Sprache	Englisch
Auflage	1
ISBN-13	978-1-963885-06-4
Seiten	336
Einband	kartoniert

Hersteller

Hersteller Informationen
Name	Russell Enterprises
Adresse	234 Depot Road Milford, CT 06460 USA
Internet	www.Russell-Enterprises.com
E-Mail	hwr@russell-enterprises.com

Verantwortlicher Importeur:

Verantwortlicher Importeur
Name	Schachversand Niggemann
Adresse	Schadowstraße 5 48163 Münster Deutschland
E-Mail	info@schachversand.de
Internet	www.schachversand.de

Inhalt

Rezensionen

Take a gun to a knife fight.

Those looking for sound yet challenging ways to meet the Trompowsky (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5), the Torre (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 and then 3.Bg5) and the (in my view) absurdly named Barry-Tarzan Attack (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 g6, etc.) are well advised to invest in Vassilios Kotronias and Mikhail Ivanov’s well thought out and extremely well researched book. Of course it is restrictive, as all repertoire books necessarily are, offering black a limited range of options to choose from, but it has the heft and substance of a monograph. You feel as though you would trust it with your life. And so you should, for there is plenty of original analysis and quite a lot of engine-inspired ansalysis as well. All the muses have been called upon.

When meeting the Trompowsky, black is given two options: 2…Ne4 (after which the game becomes lively and complex, and that in fairly short order) and 2…e6 (calmer, for the time being anyway, though things can become stormy later on). The knight leap (2…Ne4) is usually met with 3.Bf4 (naturally 3.h4 and 3.Bh4 are well covered too), when black continues with 3…c5 4.f3 (4.d5 Qb6 is the main alternative; two chapters are devoted to this line) Qa5+ 5.c3 Nf6 6.d5 (6.Nd2 cxd4 7.Nb3 gives black the choice of retreating the queen to …b6 or …d8, each move having its own chapter; both moves equalise) and here black can play either 6…Qb6 or 6…e6 with good play in each case. As you can probably see, black is trying to rush and harry and pressurise white in this line, exploiting the absence of the queen’s bishop from the queenside (the unprotected b2 pawn), while the jutting steed on …e4 enables the annoying queen check on …a5. A quieter, more positional game tends to arise after 2…e6, a move which incidentally will transpose to the Torre should white play 3.Nf3.

The authors’ coverage of the Torre concentrates mainly on the king’s fianchetto (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5) when, following 3…Bg7 4.Nbd2 O-O, the question is whether white should go 5.e4, 5.e3 or 5.c3, this latter circumspect move serving to bolster d4 before playing the king’s pawn all the way to e4). White also has a lot of leeway as to whether, after 5.e3 d6, the king’s bishop goes to e2, d3 or c4. Nothing too serious to be concerned about, mind, since black is doing well against all three moves.

Both 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 h6! and 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bg5 c5! are fine for black too, these sequences being ones that a Queen’s Indian or Queen’s Gambit Declined player would plumb for.

At the end of the book there is a short section (for comparison, it is about a tenth of the length of the section devoted to the Trompowsky) on the Barry-Tarzan Attack, with the take-home message being that it is hardly the king of the jungle. One system missing from examination in the book is the Veresov, and it is not even mentioned as a possibility, which was surprising. It is more in keeping with the Trompowsky and Torre than the Barry-Tarzan Attack, certainly, in that in the Veresov the queen’s bishop is also developed to g5. But I guess you cannot have everything.

This is another highly impressive work by Vassilios Kotronias and Mikhail Ivanov. That an awful lot of thought and research has gone into the chosen repertoire is evident on virtually every page of the book. What the authors do, from quite early on, is caution their readers against either fearing or underestimating these seemingly lightweight systems; and it is a lesson that they themselves have clearly taken to heart. Readers who study this book assiduously will have the measure of the Trompowsky, the Torre and the Barry-Tarzan Attack and, more importantly, they will have in their possession the weapons needed to confront them. Think of it with respect to The Untouchables. Vassilios Kotronias and Mikhail Ivanov’s Tackling the Trompowsky & Torre Systems is Sean Connery to the reader’s Kevin Costner, and the wisdom imparted is the same. Take a gun to a knife fight, here is how.

Paul Kane
https://thecaissakid.wordpress.com/2026/01/05/tackling-the-trompowsky-torre-systems/

Leseprobe