The Complete Polar Bear System - Strong & potent! - Henrik Danielsen

1 f4 .. is a very under estimated chess opening. The Danish / Icelandic Grandmaster Henrik Danielsen recognized its potential and developed it in a very powerfull waepon against black. Since this system is hardly known on grandmaster level, it is possible to surprise chess players of all levels. The Polar Bear System is comparable to the Kings Indian Attack with white and the Dutch Leningrad with black.

The Polar Bear System plays easily and it is difficult for black to equalize. Rather then variations one needs to remember idea's. Henrik's book reads pleasently and gives those idea's. Since the system is so unknown Henrik uses a lot of internet games, so one has the feeling that there is a complete set of example games.

1.f4 is the Bird opening. It was played by Henry Bird. He wanted to leave the mainstream and create new original positions. He liked a setup with b3 and Bb2. Initially this was very succesfull. However black setups with 1 .. d5 and a later g6 proved to be very hard to crack. So this system lost its popularity.

The Polar Bear System is very good at cracking the black setup with 1 .. d5 and a later g6 up. Against other variations the PBS plays like a charm. Missing in this book is the From gambit 1 f4 - e5. This setup is very dangerous for white, when he is unprepared. Henrik promissed to deal with this system in his next book.

Henrik Danielsen

Henrik Danielsen was born in 1966 in Nykoebing Denmark, is a professional chess player and grandmaster in since 1996. He played in chess Olympics in 1992, 1994 and 1996 for Denmark and 2006, 2008 and 2012 for Island. Henrik Danielsen won the Island Championship in chess 2009. Henrik Danielsen is known as a very creative grandmaster, regarded as a mentor and acts as a kind of ambassador for chess.

Henrik Danielsen has done what many only dream about. He took leave from his work in psychiatry in 2006 in Denmark, to move to Iceland and work as a professional chess player full time. After two years, Henrik Danielsen acquired Icelandic citizenship and grandmaster wages from the Ministry of Culture in Iceland after a vote of the Icelandic Parliament (Althing). Who can say that !!! Henrik now leads a chess school in Iceland.

Book Preface

The Polar Bear is a system for players who like interesting and original positions without being too concerned about proving a theoretical advantage. In many of the variations the positional themes and plans are of more importance than actual move orders. Our system starts after 1.f4 (the Bird opening) and then fianchetto of the Kings, Bishop. A mirror image of the Leningrad Dutch. The system is a hybrid combination of the strategically complex King's Indian and Dutch defences with reversed colours. By playing the Polar Bear, we make it difficult for Black to play for a flat equality. We want a potent, fighting game with a "full board". I do not understand why the Dutchdefence 1.d4, f5 is considered an aggressive opening, but the Bird 1.f4, d5 not. It doesn't seem logical. I will let the veracities speak for themselves and show you a strong and fascinating system.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure". I have spent many years developing the Polar Bear System. I know it inside out. However I have to warn you: The Polar Bear System is difficult to handle! Indeed I have turned every stone in the system. Since there is no theory of importance, I had to work hard. I read everything about the Dutch defence and used the ideas with reversed colours. Therefore the theory in this book, was mainly created through my own games and analysis. I have played thousands of games online, trying to discover the very essences of the system. Many

of the games were of poor quality, so I had to select the best ideas. And turn them into a repertoire book. Omitting lines in which I do not believe. The project turned out to be too substantial for one book, so I had to split it up in two books.

I would like to thank my partner Arora Hronn Skuladottir, for helping me turn the Polar Bear System into a book. She is a multitasker! Computer typesetting, creating the cover, proof reading, photos and final preparation. Without her help, it would have been difficult. evertheless here is complete book of the Polar Bear System, with a full covering of 1.f4, d5.