The Zukertort System

A Guide for White and Black

Grigory Bogdanovich

• Publisher: Mongoose Press
• eBook ISBN:
  9781936277513
• Year: 2014

Back to the future! Far from a dusty relic once played by great masters such as Rubinstein, Pillsbury, and Bogolyubov, the Zukertort System now enjoys new life. Modern world-class players such as Artur Yusupov, Teimour Radjabov, and Lázaro Bruzón have come to appreciate the Zukertort's rich potential and play it with confidence against strong opposition. The Zukertort System is a fully viable, dynamic 21st-century opening.

Often considered a variation of the better-known Colle System, the Zukertort stands proudly on its own, offering White chances to launch a sharp kingside attack or to work up a slow squeeze on the queenside. In this monograph by Zukertort practitioner IM Grigory Bogdanovich, players of the white pieces will discover how to build on the assets of their position, while players of Black will learn how to defend their territory. All along, the reader is treated to a positional manual on fundamental themes such as hanging pawns, the isolated queen's pawn, and sacrifices to open lines for attack.

Table of contents

• CONTENTS
• Foreword
• Introduction
• The Subject of Our Serious Study
• Part I: Play for White
• Chapter 1: A Piece Attack
• Chapter 2: Opening Up the a1-h8 Diagonal
• Chapter 3: Transforming the Pillsbury Formation; The Marshall Plan
• Chapter 4: A “Psychological” Attack by White’s Kingside Pawns
• Chapter 5: Play with Hanging c- and d-Pawns
• Chapter 6: Play with an Isolated d-Pawn
• Chapter 7: A “Repulsive” Queenside Pawn Majority
• Chapter 8: A Position “Suffocated at a Distance”
• Chapter 9: White’s Plan with e3-e4
• Part II: Play for Black
• Chapter 1: The Bishop Hunt
• Chapter 2: “Hooray for Being Primitive!”
• Chapter 3: An “Aggressive Defense” for Black On the Kingside
• Chapter 4: Is it Possible to Perplex White With ...Qb6?
• Chapter 5: And the Little Kid Asked: “Check on a5 - Good or Bad?”
• Chapter 6: Black’s Counterplay with a Queenside Pawn Advance
• Chapter 7: Half a Kingdom for a Horse ...on e4!
• Chapter 8: Following Capablanca’s Recipe
• Chapter 9: “A Fruitful Opening Idea” - Black’s Main Argument
• Chapter 10: Black Builds a “Cabin”
• Chapter 11: “Reviving” the Light-Squared Bishop With the Schlechter-Lasker Method
• Chapter 12: A Delicate Question: Who Benefits From an Early Pawn Trade on d4?
• Chapter 13: The “Exchange Square” on е5
• Chapter 14: Is the …Nс6-b4 Maneuver Really So Dangerous for White?
• Supplementary Games
• Afterword
• Tactical Methods and Strategic Themes
• Bibliography