The Road Not Taken 

BY ROBERT FROST

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Chess is a game of decisions; each move is a decision. To take or not to take? When your opponent offers an exchange of pieces or pawns, do you go along, or do you deviate? Sometimes our decisions are informed by fashion- what is accepted as the "best" decision in the given position at that point in time.

For example, in the French Defense, there is an immediate clash of pawns:

...and White has a few alternatives; he must make a decision. The most common moves are 3.e5, 3.Nc3 and 3.Nd2. Another option is 3.exd5, which was popular in the late 19th Century, but has fallen into disfavor; it is perceived as making life too easy for Black; it opens the game for his c8-Bishop, which usually is behind the pawn chain in the French.

Recently a game played in 1881 between Blackburne and Schwarz caught my attention. Blackburne was known as an attacking player....why would he go for the Exchange Variation in the French? We shall soon see.

And where did I find this game? In one of the best books ever written, "500 Master Games of Chess", by Savielly Tartakower.

It is a masterpiece; all games are commented by Tartakower, who in 1929 was basically the no. 2 player in the world.

Back to the game in question:

Another opening in which White must make a decision is the Caro-Kann Defense:

The most fashionabe move for the last 10-15 years is 3.e5. Other alternatives are 3.Nc3 and 3.Nd2....

Another decision White has to make as to whether or not to exchange happens in these positions:

To take or not to take? At this point in time, it is most fashionable to take. However, in the next two games, one by Alekhine and one by Bronstein, White retreats his knight to g3!

Alekhine-Tartakower

Bronstein-Zamikhovsky

I hope you enjoyed these games. Nice to see how Alekhine inspired Bronstein.....

Peace.