Descripción

The Tricky Tromp: a combative repertoire for White IM Richard Palliser outlines a combative Trompowsky (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5) repertoire for White. The lines analysed deal with all of Black’s common responses.

A combative repertoire for White

A perennial favourite of creative players, the ‘Tromp’ sets Black complex problems from the very beginning. It has been played by Anand in a World Championship match and used as a surprise weapon by Carlsen, Nakamura, Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and many other top players. While offbeat, the Trompowsky is difficult to face.

One colourful variation outlined within is the audacious 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. h4!? – a favourite of ‘Mr Trompowsky’, the four-time British Champion, Julian Hodgson. Leading to unusual and rich middlegame play, this variation maintains its venom in 2024.

The Tricky Tromp

IM Richard Palliser is a highly experienced chess writer and opening expert, having worked closely with Gawain Jones and Simon Williams. He is also the editor of CHESS Magazine and the author of numerous books, including Starting Out: The Trompowsky Attack in 2009.

A combative repertoire for White

Welcome to the exciting world of the Trompowsky! 1 d4 Ìf6 2 Íg5 has long been one of my favourite openings and while it’s slightly slowed down the final stages of this project, it’s great to report that at the time of writing the opening remains popular with several strong grandmasters as a rapid and blitz weapon, not least Dmitry Andreikin and Vladislav Artemiev. Other GMs with more over-the-board possibilities are still using it in their repertoire from time to time, and the Trompowsky remains an excellent regular choice for the dynamic and/or aggressively-minded player at lower levels, while it can even be handled fairly positionally.

The Tricky Tromp

This repertoire for White might best be described as both dynamic and aggressive. It should be noted too that some important options are not covered: 2…Ìe4 3 Íf4, 2…e6 3e4, and the 2…d5 lines where White is quick to exchange on f6. Those were well covered by Cyrus Lakdawala in an earlier Everyman Chess work, The Trompowsky Attack: Move by Move, and you may well already have some or even all of them in your repertoire. Instead, we have a number of fun lines to enjoy, ones which can pack a certain punch and may also carry plenty of surprise value.

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