The Colle System, introduced by Edgard Colle, is a good beginner opening strategy for White because, like the Kings Indian Attack, White can play the same basic setup almost regardless of how black responds and at expect to have a sound position. The downsides of this opening are that White has a difficult time forcing an advantage out of the opening, White allows black to play the c pawn to c5, a thematic goal in Queen pawn openings, and White has a black squared bishop on c1 that is currently not participating. (Other Colle setups, with the c1 bishop being deployed at b2, f5, or f4, will be discussed in future articles.)
So, why play the Colle?
A major selling point is its simplicity. It is often said that the Colle player sets up his position and then looks up to see what Black has done. As a beginner this takes the focus off studying opening theory and allows for focus on endgame and tactical study where the time is better spent, but often ignored for fear of falling victim to various opening traps.
With the Colle System (example game below), White has a fairly simply plan… a King side attack. Initiated by advancing the e pawn to e4, sometimes even to e5, the idea is to chase away or exchange blacks f6 knight. The f6 knight is the key defender of the castled position, and specifically the h7 square. White will often sacrifice the bishop by capturing on h7 (the “Greek Gift” sacrifice). By exploiting the now vulnerable black King position, White can often unleash a devastating attack on the Black King.
The following famous game Colle-O’Hanlon, 1930 contains such an attack, initiated by a questionable (but successful) Bishop sacrifice at h7. See if you can explain White’s 15th move, Rxe6+ (and why black didn’t play 15… fxe6) and post your answer in the comment box!
Missed Opportunity
Strategy Fiend: First Chess Video!
Why Play the Colle System?
Lady Blitz Too Wild to Love?
RSS
Twitter
Buzz
Facebook
Digg
YouTube
Blip.fm
Good info here, I agree I think this will help me in my game
Thank you! A nice variant is the Phoenix Attack, easy concept to add at the right moment and will also improve your game. Good Luck!
Super interesting read! Honestly!
Here’s a comment. Great advice =) Thanks