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The bamboozling 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Bb5

The player of the White pieces is always looking for new ideas against Black's reliable set-up. The popularity of the Rossolimo Variation (1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5) has caught the eye, as it is a good system against those who prefer openings such as the Dragon and the Classical Variation. This has inspired a revival of one of Spassky's pet lines 1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Bb5.

The idea for White is if given a free hand he will exchange the pieces on c6 and follow up with f4 transposing to a favourable line of the Grand Prix Attack. A look in the standard reference books advises Black to follow the line 3...Nd4 4 Bc4 e6 5 Nf3 Nf6 6 d3 d5 with equal chances. This is all very well but the innocuous looking move 6 0-0 sets a deadly trap.

I mentioned this to one of the people I coach and thought nothing more about it. However, a few months later he managed to play the winning line in his club championship with the 1725 beating someone over 200 points higher rated than him. You'll find this giant killing act in GL57. It might catch out an unsuspecting player but surely not a 2540 grandmaster? The answer is contained in the game GL58 where White wins in stunning fashion after just 15 moves. It is not all doom and gloom for Black as GL59 shows a way for Black to play with more authority.

One of my favourite tricks is revealed in GL60 where Black plays the remarkable 9...Ke7 and wins a piece! The games in 'What's New' offer both sides a chance to win quickly and in style. Keep informed or you will miss out!