Foxy 153: The St. George Defense with 1...e6 and 2...a6

The St George Defense: 1...e6 and 2...a6

The St. George defense (1...a6) is easily underestimated, yet this opening idea has remarkable surprise value and is strangely flexible. The first known chess game with the St. George was a simultaneous blindfold game in 1868 between English amateur J. Baker and World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz, which was won by Baker. More recently, Tony Miles used the St. George to defeat World Champion Anatoly Karpov. Excellent credentials!

The advocates of this opening are players willing to give up the center in order to attack from the flank, and to avoid theory. This new video presents three interpretations of the St. George, adding new weapons to your opening armory:

1) Michael Basman's method with an early ...b7-b5
2) Christian Bauer's plan of ...d7-d5
3) Alexander Chernaiev's idea of a pseudo-hippopotamus formation

Here is your chance to get off the beaten path with IM Andrew Martin as your guide!