1.b4 Theory and Practice of the Sokolsky Opening

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1.b4 Theory and Practice of the Sokolsky Opening by Jerzy Konikowski & Marek Soszynski

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It used to be that multiple books appearing in a short time span was a sign that the opening was "topical", that is - popular. The most I personally ever saw was five books on a line in the Sicilian in seven months! That was hard to keep up with.

These days books are more likely devoted to specific variations in an opening. That would not be too likely for 1.b4. 1.b4 Theory and Practice of the Sokolsky Opening takes a step outside the norm.

Past books on 1.b4 have been either digests of annotated games or compilations of material thrown together to represent the current state of the opening. "Theory and Practice" adopts a compendium approach, 315 full pages of material, while including ideas, fresh analysis and conclusions.

Anyone thinking that this is a rehash of previous material are mistaken and the easiest proof is the Chapter on 1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 e4!?

Another place where the authors have put a stamp on their material is in the line 1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 f6!? This has been the centerpiece for much 1.b4 material as the so-called Sokolsky gambit with 3.e4 has seen quite a large number of pages comparatively. In this book the authors prefer 3.b5 and state this preference very clearly.

Very few places have been passed over in regards to the opening, including the name. Having been labeled the "Orang Utan", the "Polish Opening" and "Sokolsksy's", the move 1.b4 has had as many names as some lines in the Sicilian, yet these authors have uncovered two more candidates for the opening's name!

What the name of the opening is really has only minor importance to players, but this does indicate the lengths the authors have gone to in researching the book.

Another difference consists of placement of material. From Sokolsky to Lapshun, works on 1.b4 have stuck the defences based on 1...e5 at the front of the book. This is likely because the 1...e5 defenses pose the fewest transpositional possibilities and are the most principled.

Konikowski and Soszynski begin with the more "offbeat" defenses such as 1... a5 and 1...c5, then worked through 1...d5 and 1...Nf6 and ending with 1...e5 lines. Konikowski has used this setup of going from least likely or offbeat variations at the start to the heartiest lines at the end in his previous books.

This is one issue with the layout. More than any other opening, lines in 1.b4 can cross back and forth. White moves are pretty much mapped out, but Black can adopt a number of defenses and get to them via different move orders.

For example, If Black plays a queenside fianchetto and on move 7 opts to push the d7 pawn up to d5, this can arrive at the same position as if the choice had been to start with d5 and only later fianchetto the QB.

The problem is, do each of the move orders deserve their own chapter? The authors here decided to go in that direction. This makes referencing material very labor intensive. Working through the book I found myself returning to positions that I thought were through a chapter or two beforehand.

Each chapter has a theory section followed by annotated games. Sections on theory are confusing because a line is presented at the start of each chapter with an "introduction" followed by offshoots from the main branch point listed as "A", "B", "C" etc.

There is some confusion here because some of the options 'A', 'B', etc. receive there own sections while other offshoots are dealt with briefly in the intro. This complicates the research process as well as limiting coverage of some lines.

Chapter 4 for example starts with 1.b4 d5, the intro takes 2.Bb2 Nf6, section 'A' has 2...Qd6 and section 'B' is 2...Bf5. There are 7 other second moves listed (C - J) in the introduction, while 'A' and 'B' are dealt with separately, and one of those defenses 2...Bg4 is actually fairly critical to the opening and becoming somewhat common. That would be under 'I' in the introduction to chapter 4 and letter 'J' is a defense 2...a6 where the authors say check 1.b4 a6 2.Bb2 d5 in the introduction, not the chapter intro - but the full intro to the book.

This is very confusing and detracts from a reader's appreciation of the book.

This book is in many ways overdue. A fresh view of much of the material helps to renew the energy that lovers of 1.b4 have for the opening as well as contesting the notion that it is a bad opening.

Marketing of this book has taken the opening line on the back cover "Weird and wacky or safe and sound? The Sokolsky Opening is both" as the main selling point.

I don't feel that way.

1.b4 sets problems in the opening, the player who pushes the b-pawn up is likely more prepared for those problems. That is enough for some players to enjoy success at chess. And have some fun at it!

Source: NM Bill McGeary