Gary Gifford wrote on Mon, Feb 27, 2006 05:52 PM UTC:
Sam wrote: You're the first person I have known to like the Dunst; I have
always read that it is weak.
GKG response: There are lots of Dunst players. Bill Wall is one of them
and his book lists games of many Dunst players. Revern Tim Sawyer (author
of Blackmar-Diemer Gambit books) also plays the Dunst frequently.
Sam wrote: I researched it a little since Zillions likes opening with the
Dunst....
GKG response: I was very skeptical of this comment; But I looked into it
before responding and you are correct. Out of 11 games Zillions, to my
surprise, played 1. Nc3 4 times, 1. Nf3 6 times, and 1. d4 once. Not one
1. e4 or 1. c4. Unbelievable. I was expecting to see all e4, d4, and c4
openings. Maybe an 1. f4. But on a related note... I play my Dunst as
follows: 1. Nc3 d5 2. e4 ...; Zillions plays his Dunst:
1. Nc3 d5 2. d4.... That second move aspect makes a tremendous difference
in the game. In my case I allow (encourage) black to play 2 ... dxe4 or 2.
... d4 (driving the knight to e2). Zillion's method blocks black's
d-pawn, preserving the Knight on c3. I'll have to see if that line is in
Wall's book, I imagine it is. I know that, presently, I don't care for the Zillion's
variation at all.... but maybe if I look into it I will find
something good. I'll check it out.