The Practical Trompowsky An Aggressive Weapon for 1.d4 Modern Chess (Rel November 10, 2024)

The camp of GM Nigel Davies – The Practical Trompowsky: An Aggressive Weapon for 1.d4 Players is already a digital product.

This product includes all the videos from the workshop as well as the PGN file related to the training sessions. Overall, the material consists of 6 hours of video and a PGN database, which includes 137 files! 

You will find the following lectures:

✅ Introduction & 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5

✅ Complete Repertoire against 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4

✅ Complete Repertoire against 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6

✅ Complete Repertoire against 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 c5 and other 2nd moves for Black

Introduction by GM Nigel Davies

The starting position of the Trompowsky Opening arises after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5

White’s second move is known as the Trompowsky Attack. Octávio Figueira Trompowsky de Almeida was a Brazilian chess player who won the Brazilian Championship in 1939. He was best known for this audacious 2nd move.

What are the ideas?

1. White develops a piece to an aggressive square.
2. He may or may not capture the knight on f6, potentially weakening Black’s pawn structure.
3. It gets White a move closer to castling queenside.
4. It can transpose into other openings, such as the Torre Attack (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5) or maintain independent significance.

Who plays the Trompowsky?
In the 1990s, the arch-guru of the “Tromp” was GM Julian Hodgson, who played it at every opportunity and with great effect. Other English players, for example IM Richard Pert, still use it to this day. At faster time limits, many top GMs use the “Tromp,” such as Hikaru Nakamura, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Alireza Firouzja, Dmitri Andreikin, Richard Rapport, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Arjun Erigaisi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and many other stars.

Why should you play the Trompowsky?
The Trompowsky, like all other openings, may not force an advantage against best play. Its advantages are that it leads to a lively struggle from the early moves, allows you to get a new and original position early on, and very few players will be fully prepared for it. It’s possible to play it all the time, as Richard Pert does, or combine it with a more orthodox 1.d4 repertoire as a surprise weapon.