Welcome to the exciting world of the Trompowsky! 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 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 behandled fairly positionally.
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...Ne4 3 Bf4, 2...e6 3 e4, 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.
I’ve long been aware that Julian Hodgson’s old favourite, 2...Ne4 3 h4!?, has at times been rather underestimated by theory, possibly in part because the great Trompowskyte gave it up and switched to 3 Bf4 during the 1990s. Back in 2021, I was delighted to be asked to sketch out a white repertoire with 3 h4 for Simon Williams to use on his Killer Tromp production for Ginger GM. I’ve now significantly revised and expanded that earlier coverage, adding too some secondary lines along the way, not least 3...c5 4 dxc5, which may be preferred to 4 d5 by those who dislike Benoni-style centres or who just want to open the position to the maximum.
While I didn’t have a huge amount of new material to add to the old main line, 2...Ne4 3 Bf4, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that instead 3 Bh4 is in better health than has often been considered, so as an alternative to 3 h4 we examine it in Chapter Four. For the 3 h4 fan, meeting 2...c5 with 3 d5 makes a lot of sense, as if 3...Ne4 4 h4, but against 2...c5 I’ve also covered 3 Bxf6 gxf6 4 d5 and then the dangerous gambit that is 4...Ëb6 5 Nd2!?. More positional opponents who prefer to meet the Trompowsky with 2...e6 may well nowadays be ready for 3 e4, but may find the 3 Nd2 lines of Chapter Seven trickier to meet, not least if they join the many black players who have slightly carelessly allowed 3...h6 4 Bh4 c5 5 e4!, which is another promising gambit line. Black can play more solidly, but then Int roduction White can often obtain a souped-up version of the Torre Attack.
In recent years I’ve lost a bit of confidence in 2...d5 3 Bxf6, due to both the solid 3...exf6 and some new dynamic ideas for Black, not least 3...gxf6 4 c4 e5!?. Of course, 3 e3 c5 4 Bxf6 gxf6 5 dxc5 has been all the rage at the top level, but such a positional and topical approach is slightly out of keeping with the other lines in this book. As such, I’ve also taken a good look at meeting 2...d5 too with 3 Nd2, another line which carries definite practical sting and is usually far from dull.
Whether you adopt some or all of the variations covered here, I hope you’ll find your Trompowsky repertoire refreshed, or even have an exciting new weapon with which to go to war against 1 d4 Nf6. Above everything, do enjoy your rompowsky study and games!
Richard Palliser
York, October 2024
Richard Palliser is an International Master and the editor of CHESS Magazine. In 2006 he became Joint British Rapidplay Champion and in 2019 finished third in the British Championship. He has established a reputation as a skilled chess writer and written many works for Everyman, including the bestselling The Complete Chess Workout.
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