Magnus Carlsen second Jan Gustafsson is back to answer more chess24 Premium user questions in Episode 2 of Season 27 of Jan's Opening Clinic. In the latest video Jan gives advice on a wide range of openings, including the Marshall, Reti, Vienna, Modern (in particular a dodgy but fun line he enjoyed playing in his youth) and the Catalan. "It's the usual, we follow Anish!" says Jan of his recommendation there. There's also still some time to ask a question for Jan to answer in one of the upcoming shows!   

Jan actually played some chess himself in the Chess Bundesliga, which was a topic early on in the latest edition of the The Chicken Chess Club, a podcast featuring Jan and his Team Magnus colleagues Peter Heine Nielsen and Laurent Fressinet. 

Jan: I’m already annoyed by both of you. Vacation in the south of France, golf season, oh no, I hurt my shoulder playing golf. I played Bundesliga, I made two draws, I fell into deep depression about not being able to play chess, what am I doing with my life, sitting in German trains that are three hours late. It’s been great!

Laurent: I saw your games. You were pressing on Sunday. It was close.

Jan: Thank you, thank you. That means a lot!

Peter: Pawn up!

Jan: I haven’t had much practice, which of course will be an excuse, but I still feel this deep dread when I miss such basic things, and I also need so much time to decide on any random move. It’s rough. Any advice, Laurent, for adult improvers?

What advice would Jan's colleagues give him?

Laurent: Take a phone with you! It should be banned, to play without an engine. We are used to check openings with engines, and then it’s very difficult to think by yourself, and I think we all have the same issue with that.

Peter's solution was even simpler.

Peter: You can go my way. If you want to avoid playing badly, just be inactive and don’t play at all!

"You both have been very, very helpful", Jan summed up. 

Jan's Opening Clinic arguably provides more constructive advice. You can find the questions Jan was asked under this article, and here's Part 2 of his answers below (you can also check out Part 1).

You can jump straight to an answer that interests you by using the clickable timestamps below — you'll also find those timestamps at YouTube, and if you click on the "chapter" (e.g. "Intro") at the bottom of the video there you'll see a clickable "Chapters" pane on the right.

Intro (00:00:00) 

Theorist: English Opening; the line 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d6 3. Bg2 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c4 e5 6. Nc3 O-O 7. d3 Nc6 8. Rb1 a5 9. a3 Re8 10. b4 axb4 11. axb4 e4 12. dxe4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Rxe4 14. b5 Nd4 15. Nxd4 Rxd4 16. Qb3 is not much fun for Black, any spicy alternatives? (00:00:45) 

nilsro: Is 15.Qf3 against the Marshall any good? (00:08:03) 

aisthesis: Catalan 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Ne5, what to do with Black? (00:13:55) 

Willem8: What to do against the Reti as a Queen's Indian/Nimzo player? (00:24:24) 

Satscho(FM): Vienna 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 b5!?, what's the status? (00:33:28)

jamsnacker: Should I play 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 Bxc3 5.bxc3 f5? (00:44:06) 

chessi96: Queen's Gambit Declined, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd4 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qf3 Bg6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.Nf3 Nd7 11.Nh4 Be7 12. Ne2 f5 13. Nf3; what do you think is the correct plan/setup for Black in this position? (00:52:00) 

Outro (01:03:41)

Episode 3 of Jan's Opening Clinic 27 will be coming soon and you'll be able to find it at YouTube or on our Shows page. 

If you're a Premium member (use the voucher code JANISTAN to get 40% off!) there's still time to ask Jan a question for one of his shows this season. Simply add your question to the comments section underneath the original article.  

See also:

• Jan's Opening Clinic 27 article with the questions for Jan  
• Jan's Opening Clinic 27, Episode 1