Author: Robert Henry Durrett
Date: 10:43:45 08/24/98
John Watson, in his book Play the French, New Edition, © 1996, on page 160,
gives: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7
Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Ne2 Nbc6 11.f4 Bd7 12.Qd3 dxc3 and says this is "a position
arising in the vast majority of 10.Ne2 games." In fact, this position occurs
in many GM games.
This is a tabiya {spelling varies} position in the French Winawer. Tabiya
positions are, literally, the starting points for many grandmaster games. The
players quickly move through the moves leading up to the tabyia position, using
almost no time on their clocks. These positions are usually evaluated as equal
or unclear. Typically, tabyia positions have GM advocates for both sides. In
fact, it is not uncommon for a given GM to be willing to play from a tabyia
position from either side. Also, tabyia positions occur in a large number of
games, as any large database will show. As a rule, there is much written about
a tabyia position in the chess literature. Also typically, a given tabyia will
have many possible ideas or "ways to proceed" for both sides and discussions of
these ideas are discussed in the literature.
Indeed, tabyia positions are "special" in the world of serious chess players.
Being, effectively, the starting positions of many games, they share something
in common with the "initial position" which is on the chessboard prior to any
moves being made in the game.
To see the importance of tabyia positions in chess, it is only necessary to
recognize that virtually every major opening variation, of which there are many,
have their tabyia positions. Taken together as a set, they constitute the REAL
"starting position" for serious chess.
If the so-called "initial position" deserves to have it's own "opening book,"
for whatever reason, then tabyia positions do too, for much the same reasons.
Every "starting position" needs a book because the existing opening theory goes
far beyond where chess engine's can go without a "book" for the tabyia.
So, my question is: Do most chessplaying computer programs provide a "book" for
each tabyia position? If not, why not?
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