The Hippopotamus Defence is considered one of the most solid defences and GM Tigran Petrosian is considered one of the most defensive players. Apparently, Petrosian knows about Hippopotamus, but why did he never use this super-defensive defence? I thought this opening suits his playing style perfectly.
5
-
Why would he, with plenty of other optiones– Starship - On StrikeMar 28 at 19:18
-
too rare/hypermodern of a choice?– cmgchessMar 28 at 20:40
-
This is not an opinion-based question. There are definitely right and wrong answers to it– DavidMar 29 at 10:50
-
3No clue why this was closed either. It is certainly possible to provide an objective answer here. Voted to reopen.– Rewan DemontayMar 29 at 20:00
-
@RewanDemontay apparently the only questions that have objective answers are the ones discussing nerd engine shit– DavidMar 30 at 10:00
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
The Hippo is passive, but definitely not solid.. Black is allowing White to set up the way they like without posing any real challenge.
There are simply too many ways for White to get a lasting advantage, and given that time controls in Petrosian's time were longer than today, I can't think of any situation where it'd be worth it to play the Hippo.
-
3Thank you for your answer! Spassky played Hippo against Petrosian in the World Championship Match and the game was a draw.– ZurielMar 29 at 2:45