Edgard Colle (Ghent, May 18, 1897 – Ghent, April 20, 1932) was a Belgian chess master, who pioneered the chess opening termed the Colle System. The Colle System, 1. d4 d5, 2. Nf3 Nf6, 3. e3 followed by Bd3, c3, and Nbd2, is a form of reversed Semi-Slav opening. This system achieved the greatest use during the era from the late 1920s into the 1930s. Colle himself played the opening from 1925 until his death, scoring excellent results in major international tournaments (first in Amsterdam in 1926, ahead of Tartakower and future world champion Euwe; first in the tournament at Merano in 1926 ahead of Canal; and first in the tournament in Scarborough in 1930 (ahead of Maroczy and Rubinstein). Colle scored a number of notable successes with this opening, including a number of brilliancies (Colle - O'Hanlon, Nice 1930, featuring one of the best known example of a Greek gift sacrifice, is especially famous). This article is about the Belgian city. ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the Belgian city. ... is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Western board game. ... A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ... White has achieved the basic Colle setup and is prepared for the thematic e4 push. ... The Semi-Slav Defense is a variation of the Queens Gambit chess opening, defined by the opening moves (in algebraic chess notation 1. ... The 1920s they were sexy referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known as the [[. In East Asia, the rise of militarism occurred. ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Merano (Italian, now most common in English; German: Meran, also used in English; Ladin: Meran; Archaic (857 AD): Mairania; Latin: Merona; many of the regions Italian languages/dialects use Meran), is a town in the province of Bolzano-Bozen, Italy. ... For other uses, see Canal (disambiguation). ... This article is on the English seaside resort. ... Geza Maroczy (1870-1951) was a leading Hungarian chess master. ... Akiba Rubinstein (born 12 December 1882, died 15 March 1961 in Antwerp) was a brilliant Polish chess master and a famous grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. ... In chess, the Greek gift sacrifice or classical bishop sacrifice is a typical sacrifice of a bishop by White playing Bxh7+ or Black playing Bxh2+. A situation where the Greek sacrifice works The position to the right, which might occur after the moves 1. ...

Because of its solid pawn structure, logical piece placement, and coherent strategic aims, this opening is often taught to new players as a safe and dependable way to reach a playable middlegame. Thus, the Colle System is frequently seen in amateur or scholastic tournaments, but it is not seen as often in professional play. This is often attributed to the fact that this system is safe but somewhat passive. According to modern opening theory, White can get a solid position but cannot force an edge against a well-prepared opponent.

The opening gained popularity, especially in the United States, through the efforts of Belgian/American grandmaster George Koltanowski who remained faithful to this system throughout his long career. He said he played it as a tribute to his friend Colle who died at a young age (in fact, it is sometimes referred to as the Colle-Koltanowski). The Colle System has been used in recent times by grandmasters Pia Cramling, Susan Polgar, and most notably Artur Yusupov, who prefers to play with b3 and a queenside fianchetto (this particular setup is known as the Colle-Zukertort). To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Pia Cramling Pia Cramling (born 1963) is a Swedish chess player. ... Artur Mayakovich Yusupov (in German - Jussupow), born February 13, 1960 is a naturalised German International Grandmaster of chess. ...

Colle's playing career was hampered by ill health. He survived three difficult operations and died after a fourth, at the age of 34.

External links

• Edgard Colle at ChessGames.com
• Statistics at ChessWorld.net