Author: lefthandeddragon

I love literature (esp. SF and Fantasy), humor, writing, cross-country running, swimming, and board games (Chess and Scrabble are two of my favorites). I am also barefooted most of the time. ;)

Wonderful Winawer Wins

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, Winawer

I am completing a miniature book titled, “3000 Winawer Miniatures”. Below are some games from this book that will be out later this year.

The opening moves of the Winawer, just in case you didn’t know are: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4.

**************************

W. Muir-F. Stratholt, 1934
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 cxd4 6.Nb5 Bc5 7.b4 Bf8 8.Qg4 g6 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.Bd3 a6 11.Nbxd4 Qc7 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.O-O Ne7 14.Rfe1 Bg7 15.Bg5 O-O 16.Bf6 Nf5 17.Bxf5 exf5 18.Qh4 Re8 19.Ng5 h6 20.Nf3 Be6 21.Re3 Rac8 22.Rae1 Qa7 23.Nd4 c5 24.Rh3 h5 25.Qg5 1-0

Marriott-Arnold
corres., 1945
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 cxd4 6.Nb5 Bc5 7.b4 Bb6 8.Qg4 g6 9.Nd6+ Kf8 10.Qf4 f6 11.exf6 Bc7


12.Qh6+! (12…Nxh6 13.Bxh6+ Kg8 14.f7#) 1-0

R. Steiner-V. Walsh
corres.
Australia, 1947
1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 Bb4 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.Bg5 b6 7.O-O Bxc3 8.bxc3 dxe4 9.Bxe4 Qd6 10.Bxc6+ Qxc6 11.Ne5 Qe4 12.f3 Qf5 13.Bc1 Nd5 14.Re1 Nxc3 15.Qd2 Nd5 16.c4 Ne7 17.Ba3 Bd7 18.Rad1 Rd8 19.Bxe7 Kxe7 20.d5 f6 21.d6+ cxd6 22.Qxd6+ Ke8 23.Nc6 Qc5+ 24.Qxc5 bxc5 25.Rxe6+ 1-0

Reinhard Fuchs-Weyerstrass
Soest, 1972
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Be3 Nc6 6.f4 Qa5 7.Qd2 Nge7 8.Nf3 Nf5 9.Bf2 Bd7 10.Be2 Rc8 11.Kf1 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Ncxd4 13.Be1 Nxe2 14.Qxe2 d4 15.g4 dxc3 0-1

David Schurr-Robert Wilson
corres., 1951
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Nf3 Qa5 8.Qd2 Qa4 9.Rb1 c4 10.g4 Nbc6 11.h4 b6 12.Bh3 O-O 13.g5 Bd7 14.h5 g6 15.Bg4 Nf5 16.Nh2 Nce7 17.Bd1 Kh8 18.Ng4 Ng8 19.Nf6 ! +- Nxf6 20.gxf6 Be8 21.Qg5 Qa5 22.Rb4! (Eliminating all counter play.) 22…b5 23.Bg4 h6 24.Bxf5! (After 24…Bxf5 hxg5 25.hxg6+ Kg8 26.g7, White has a pretty pawn chain and mate coming.)


1-0

Schadler-Dors
corres.
Europe, 1989/90
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.exd5 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 exd5 6.Bd3 Nf6 7.Ba3 Be6 8.Ne2 Nbd7 9.O-O Nf8 10.Ng3 Qd7 11.Rb1 c6 12.Qe2 Qc7 13.Nf5 O-O-O 14.Ba6 Bxf5 15.Bxb7+ Qxb7 16.Rxb7 Kxb7 17.Rb1+ 1-0

Brunner (2460)-Lempereur (2226)
Clichy Open
France, 1991
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Kf8 8.a4 b6?! (This weakens the queenside, the same side that Black seeks counterplay in the French.) 9.Bb5 Qc7 10.Nf3 Ba6 11.O-O Bxb5 12.axb5 a5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.c4 Nd7 15.cxd5 Nxd5 16.c4! +- (Solidifying White’s passed pawn.) 7…Ne7?! (Black had the better 7…Nb4 and 7…N5b6. The text leads to a cramp position.) 17.Qe4 Nb6 18.Rd1 Rc8 19.Rd6 h6 20.Bd2 g6 21.Bxa5! 1-0

R. Babich-H. Nordah
World Jr. Ch.
Bratislava, 1993
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 7.Bd2 Ne7 8.Qg4 cxd4 9.cxd4 Qxc2 10.Qxg7 Rg8 11.Qf6 Nbc6 12.Nf3 Qe4+ 13.Be3 Rg6 14.Qh8+ Rg8 15.Qf6 Rg6 16.Qh8+ 1/2-1/2

Georges De Schryver-Hayden Lewin
corres.
Masters Tournament
IECC, 1997
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Be3 c4 6.Qg4 g6 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Qa5 9.Bd2 Nh6 10.Qf3 Nf5 11.g4 Nh4 12.Qf6 O-O 13.Bh6 Nf5 14.gxf5 Qxc3+ 15.Kd1 Qxd4+ 16.Ke2 Qg4+ 17.f3 gxf5 18.fxg4 1-0

Van Den Doel (2560)-Tondivar (2357)
Netherlands Women’s Ch., ½ Final
Leeuwarden, Mar. 16 2004
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.Bd2 Nc6 7.Qg4 Nge7 8.dxc5 O-O 9.f4 f6 10.Nf3 fxe5 11.fxe5 Ng6 12.O-O-O Ngxe5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Qg3 Nc6 15.Nb5 Bxd2+ 16.Rxd2 b6 17.Nc7 Rb8 18.Bb5 1-0

Wichert (2255)-Payce
corres.
Webchess Open
ICCF, 2006
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.Bd2 cxd4 7.Nb5 Bc7 8.f4 a6 9.Qg4 g6 10.Nxc7+ Qxc7 11.Bd3 Nc6 12.Nf3 Nge7 13.O-O Bd7 14.Qh4 O-O-O 15.b4 b5 16.a4 bxa4 17.Bxa6+ Kb8 18.Qf2 Na7 19.b5 Bxb5 20.Rfb1 Ka8 21.Bxb5 Nxb5 22.Rxb5 Qxc2 23.Nxd4 Qc7 24.Rxa4+ Qa5 25.Raxa5mate 1-0

E. Blomqvist (2418)-E. Boric (2292)
Rilton Cup
Stockholm, Jan. 4 2009
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bb4 5.e5 Qd7 6.Bd2 b6 7.Bb5 a6 8.Bd3 f5 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.O-O O-O 11.Re1 Bxc3 12.Bxc3 g6 13.Bd2 Qd6 14.Bh6 Re8 15.Qd2 Bb7 16.Ne5 Ne4 17.Bxe4 dxe4 18.Ng4 Red8 19.Bg5 Qxd4 20.Qf4 e3 21.Nh6+ (21…Kg7 22.Qf7+ Kh8 23.Bf6+ wins.) 1-0

Escalante (2020)-“gxtmf1” (1551)
Thematic Tournament
http://www.chess.com, June/July 2009
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 cxd4 6.Nb5 Be7 7.Qg4 Kf8 8.Nf3 Qb6 9.Bd3 h5 10.Qf4 Nc6 11.Nbxd4 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 g5 13.Qe3 Qxb2?! 14.O-O Bc5?? 15.Nxe6+! +- Bxe6 16.Qxc5+ Kg7 17.Rfb1 b6 18.Qe3 Qa3 19.Qxg5+ 1-0

“Mikevic34”-Escalante
Cell Phone Game, Mar. 2016
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4 g6!? (This move is not as well known as 5…Kf8 or 5…Ne7. But it provides for some fast, sharp play.) 6.Bg5?! Qa5! 7.Nge2?! (Already White seems to be having problems with his king still stuck on e1.) 7…Nc6 8.g3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qxc3+ 11.Bd2 Qxa1+ 12.Qd1 Qxd4 (Also winning, but considerably weaker, is 12…Nxd4 13.Qxa1 Nxc2+ -+) 13.Bd3 Qxe5+ 14.Be3 d4 15.Bb5? Qxb5 0-1

I have been writing this blog, weekly, since 2018. I have had great fun writing here, and it has (hopefully) made me a better player. I appreciate all those who have responded to this blog with questions comments, and occasionally games. And I hope to have made a positive influence on your play and appreciation of chess.

But my interest has been shifting and I do want to complete some book ideas and so I need to back away from this blog.

If you have a game you want to share, or show off to the world, now is your chance! Send a copy of your game (in PGN, text, DN or AN), and I will annotate it. Free!

Or if you have a question or an area you want covered, again, email me! Love to hear from you!

Enjoy the game and the day. May both be bright for you!

Gambit and Sacrifices

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, gambit, sacrifice

Sometimes even good players get these two words confused.

A gambit usually occurs in the opening. A player would freely give up a pawn in hopes of gaining something in the future. Such things include an open file for a rook, a gain of a tempo (or more), or more spectacular ways, a king hunt or a forced mate.

Many openings contain the word gambit in their name. Examples include the King’s Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4), the Queen’s Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4), the Albin Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5), the Budapest Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5), From’s Gambit (1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6), the Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5), and the Latvian Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5).

A piece sacrifice usually occurs in the middle game or endgame. In this case, a player freely gives up a piece, instead of a pawn, to gain the same as a gambitted pawn. The type of sacrifice, because of the value of a piece is much greater than a single pawn, is much rarer. It is appropriate to call these sacrifices as attacks if it is part of an opening.

The Fried Liver Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7) is a well-known piece sacrifice in the opening. There are others.

That would seem to be easy to remember. But there are some exceptions, although there are (apparent!?) valid reasons for these exceptions.

The first one is the Marshall Attack, which involves Black giving a pawn in the Ruy Lopez. The opening moves are (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5). So why is this variation of the Ruy Lopez not called a gambit?

It turns out that there is a Marshall Gambit. In fact, there are two of them.

Here is the first Marshall Gambit: 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6.

And here is the second: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.e4.

Even though Frank Marshall was a great American player, having third opening system with “Marshall Gambit” would seem at least a little confusing.

Another opening that may confusing, at least as far as it’s name, is the Muzio Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.0-0). Here White is giving up a knight to use the open f-file to attack Black’s king. If a piece is being sacrificed, then shouldn’t it be called the Muzio Sacrifice or the Muzio Attack?

I agree. I haven’t figured out this one yet.

Here is one even more confusing.

The Wilkes-Barre Variation begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5. There is no gambit, attack, counter-attack, or sacrifice attached to the name. Maybe it’s because it is unclear who is doing the sacrificing and what is sacrificed. Play over a few games and let me know what you think which word works best. Or create your own.

Christmas Wish List

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, Humor, Uncategorized

Dear all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent, chess-loving goddess, Caïssa,

I have been studying the Royal game each and every day. Sometimes I’ve spent almost eight hours a day studying.

I have played over Master games, solved chess problems, sharpened my openings, polished endgames skills, and even helped some new players to get better.

I humbly beg, just like I did last year, to become better in the game. Specifically, I want to become an attacking genius like Alekhine, a tactical magician like Tal, a fighter like Fischer and Kasparov, have the technical know-how like Botvinnik, and play with the clarity like Capablanca.

It’s a tall order I know. But I’ve been good so far and make several improvements in my home. I’ve installed the tiles in my bathroom to alternating dark and white squares, started another bookcase dedicated exclusively to chess books.

I have even rolled the little pieces of leftover bread into pawns, queens, and all the other pieces I see on the board, so they don’t go to waste. I’ve tried making a chess cake, but with even less success.

All of my friends think I am crazy. At least the very few that I know.

I worship you. I love you.

Please extend your gracious gifts of insight, intuition, and inspiration to your humble servant, just like the muses of old.

Your very humble patzer and wood-pusher, me.

Yet ANOTHER UNNAMED GAMBIT

by lefthandeddragon, posted in gambit, Uncategorized, Winawer

As most of you know, I love going through old chess books and magazines to find interesting openings, forgotten gambits and unique insights into this grand game.

I found this nameless gambit from an old publication.

The opening emerges from the Fingerslip variation of the Winawer. The term “Fingerslip” refers to the accidental touching or moving the c1-bishop instead of the normal 4.e5, which lays claim to the center and allows more freedom for White’s pieces. But in today’s Internet chess games, esp. in blitz (5 minutes) and bullet (1 minute) games, it perhaps might be more appropriate to call it the Mouseslip variation of the Winawer.

Let’s now take a look at this nameless gambit and it’s attractions for White.

E. Saarepere-L.H. Searle
corres.
CCLA Class I-III, #27 Tourney
Australia, 1948
[Annotator “CCLA Record May 1949”]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 dxe4 (Safer to decline the gambit pawn by 4…Ne7 when White does best to transpose into normal channels by 5.e5 etc.) 5.Qg4 Qxd4 6.Nf3! (This powerful knight move changes everything. It develops a piece. It cannot be taken. It threatened the enemy queen. It has the power and ability to easily travel to many other squares. And finally, it produces chaos on the chess board. Notes by RME, that’s me!) 6…Qf6 (Spielmann recommended 6…Nf6 and if 7.Qf4 e5, but surely 7.Qxg7 gives White an advantage.) 7.O-O-O (Accent on development!) 7…Nh6? (Not 7…exf3? 8.Bg5! The plausible 7…Nc6 also fails, e.g. 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.Nxe4 Bxd2+ 10.Rxd2 Qg6 11.Qxg6 hxg6 12.Rhd1 O-O-O 13.Bxc6 bxc6 14.Ne5 winning. However 7…Bd7 appears to give Black a satisfactory game.) 8.Qxe4 Qe7 9.g4 Nc6 10.Ba6! (At first sight, this pseudo-sacrifice looks rather meretricious, but actually it is very effective because it forces Black to castle k-side where his king can be easily attacked.) 10…Bxc3 11.Bxc3


11…f5 (The immediate 11…O-O is not much better, e.g. 12.Bd3 f5 13.gxf5 Nxf5 14.Rhg1 g6 15.h4 with a strong mating attack.) 12.gxf5 Nxf5 13.Bb5 O-O 14.Rhg1 g6 15.Bxc6 [After 15.Bxc6 White gave the conditional, if 15…bxc6 16.Ne5 and Black is helpless, e.g. 16…Nd6 (16…Qe8 17.Ng4!) 17.Nxg6 Nxe4 18.Nxe7+ Kf7 19.Rg7+ Ke8 20.Nxc6 and mate next move.] 1-0

This quick victory is not an isolated case. Here are some additional quickies from the same time period.

Frederick-Reynaert
corres.
Europe, 1948
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 dxe4 5.Qg4 Qxd4 6.Nf3 Qf6 7.Qxe4 Nc6 8.Bb5 Nge7 9.Qxb4 +/- Bd7 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 11.Bg5 Qg6 12.Qxe7mate 1-0

Ronald Schwarz-Labau
Germany, 1948
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 dxe4 5.Qg4 Qxd4 6.Nf3 Qf6 7.O-O-O Nc6 8.Qxe4 Nh6 9.Bg5! Qg6? 10.Qxc6+! bxc6 11.Rd8mate 1-0

Boris Kostić-M. Brueder
Ljubljana, 1938
[ECO]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 dxe4 5.Qg4 Qxd4 6.Nf3 Qf6 7.Qxe4 Qe7 8.O-O-O Nf6 9.Qh4 Nc6 10.g4 Bd7 11.g5 Ng8 12.Bg2 +/- Qf8 13.Nb5 O-O-O 14.Nxa7+ Nxa7 15.Bxb4 Ne7 16.Ne5 Qe8 17.Nxd7 Rxd7 18.Rxd7 Qxd7 19.Rd1 Nf5 20.Qe4 Qb5 21.a4 Qa6 22.b3 Nc6 23.Bc3 Qb6 24.Qf4 h6 25.h4 hxg5 26.hxg5 Rh4 27.Qd2 Ncd4 28.f4 c5 29.Rh1 Rxh1+ 30.Bxh1 Qd6 31.Kb2 e5 32.Qg2 Qe7 33.fxe5 Kb8 34.Bd2 c4 35.Qd5 cxb3 36.cxb3 Nc6 37.Bf4 Qe6 38.Qxe6 fxe6 39.Bxc6 bxc6 40.Kc3 Ne7 41.Kc4 Ng6 42.Bg3 Kc7 43.b4 Nf8 44.Bf2 g6 45.b5 Nd7 46.Bd4 Kb7 47.a5 Kc7 48.a6 1-0

Even in later decades Black can easily find himself in a lost position in a hurry.

R. Potzschmann-Schroder
corres.
East Germany, 1960
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 dxe4 5.Qg4 Qxd4 6.Nf3 Nh6 7.Qf4 e5 8.Qg5 exf3 9.O-O-O fxg2 10.Bxg2 Nf5 11.Nb5 Qb6


12.Qd8+! Kxd8 13.Bg5+ Ke8 14.Rd8mate 1-0

Carlos G. De la Cruz Sanchez (2259)-Michele Mollero (2179)
Bali Open A
Benidorm, Spain, Nov. 23 2003
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 dxe4 5.Qg4 Qxd4 6.Nf3 Nh6 7.Qxe6+ Bxe6 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.O-O-O Nf5 10.Nxf5 Bxf5 11.Nd5 Bd6 12.Bb4 Bxb4 13.Nxc7+ Ke7 14.Nd5+ Kd8 15.Nxb4+ Nd7 16.Bb5 Rc8 17.Rd4 Ke7 18.Nd5+ Kd6 19.Ne3+ Kc5 20.Rd5+ 1-0

So why, isn’t this gambit with 6.Nf3, played more often? Probably it’s due that many White players eschew wild combinations, tactile melees, and chaos, confusion, and unknowns on the chessboard. This is exactly where Black can also win.

See below.

Eric Schiller-IM Thomas Welin
Iceland Open
Reykjavik, 1986
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 dxe4 5.Qg4 Qxd4 6.Nf3 Nh6 7.Qxe6+ Bxe6 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.Nxe4 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 Nc6 11.Nxc6 Bxc6 12.O-O-O O-O-O 13.Be2 Bxg2 14.Rhg1 Bh3 15.Rxg7 Bf5 16.Rg5 Bg6 17.Nc4 Rxd1+ 18.Bxd1 Rd8 19.Ra5 Rd4 20.Ne5 Rf4 21.Rxa7 Kb8 22.Ra3 Rxf2 23.Nd7+ Kc8 24.Nc5 c6 25.h4 Rh2 26.Ra4 Nf5 27.Rb4 Ne3 28.Ne4 c5 29.Ra4 Kb8 30.Nc3 Nxd1 0-1

Draz Dragicevic-E. Can
World Jr. Ch.
Gaziantep, Turkey, Aug. 10 2008
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 dxe4 5.Qg4 Qxd4 6.Nf3 Nh6 7.Qf4 e5 8.Nxe5 Bd6 9.Nf3 Bxf4 10.Nxd4 Be5 11.Nb3 Ng4 12.Nxe4 Bxb2 13.Rb1 Be5 14.f4 Bd6 15.Nxd6+ cxd6 16.Be2 Nc6 17.h3 Nf6 18.Bf3 O-O 19.O-O Rb8 20.Bc3 Bf5 21.Nd4 Nxd4 22.Bxd4 b6 23.Rb2 Rbc8 24.c3 Rfe8 25.Rd1 Nd7 26.a4 Nc5 27.a5 bxa5 28.Rb5 a4 29.Bxc5 Rxc5 30.Rxc5 dxc5 31.Rd5 a3 32.Rd1 Rb8 33.Kf2 Bb1 34.Rd7 a6 35.Ra7 Bd3 36.Bd5 h5 37.Ke3 Bb5 38.Rxf7 Kh8 39.Ba2 Re8+ 40.Kf3 Re2 41.Rf8+ Kh7 42.Bg8+ Kh6 43.Rd8 g6 44.Rd7 Bxd7 45.Kxe2 c4 46.Bxc4 Bb5 47.Kd2 Bxc4 48.Kc2 h4 0-1

Many White players prefer to have a definite advantage, no matter how small, coming out of the opening rather than relying on tactics and confusion.

The move 6.O-O-O certainly gives White this option. Not only does the king have some amount of protection, but as the d4-pawn is gone, the d-file is now open for White and the Black queen is in the line of fire.

We will cover 6.O-O-O next week.

Solution to last week’s puzzle. Here is the complete game.

J. Dziel-S. Gorkiewicz
corres.
Poland 1990/2
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 Ne7 6.Qg4 O-O 7.Bg5 Qd7 8.Bd3 Nbc6 9.h4 Nf5 10.Bf6 Nce7 11.h5 Kh8


12.Qxg7+!! Nxg7 13.h6 Ng6 [13…Rg8 14.hxg7+ Rxg7 15.Rxh7+ Kg8 16.Rxg7+ Kf8 (16…Kh8? 17.Rg5#) 17.Nf3 Qc6 18.Kd2 with the idea of Rh1 +-] 14.hxg7+ Kg8 15.Rxh7 Kxh7 16.gxf8=Q 1-0

Happy THANKSGIVING!

by lefthandeddragon, posted in correspondence, Problems, Uncategorized

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

After dinner, or whatever you may do, always remember to enjoy the dessert.

It’s White to move and win. Answer next week.

J. Dziel-S. Gorkiewicz
corres.
Poland 1990/2
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 Ne7 6.Qg4!? (White has a number of good moves here. Erdall-Hatherill, Pensacola, 1982 continued with 6.Ba3!? O-O 7.Bd3 b6 8.Nh3 Ba6 9.Bxh7+ Kh8 10.Qh5 Ng8 11.Bxg8+ Kxg8 12.Ng5 Qxg5 13.Qxg5 Re8 14.Be7 Nd7 15.Bf6 Nxf6 16.exf6 1-0.) 6…O-O 7.Bg5 Qd7 8.Bd3 Nbc6 9.h4 Nf5 10.Bf6 Nce7 11.h5 Kh8


Two recent tactical shorts

by lefthandeddragon, posted in Dragon, game, games, Greek Gift, miniature, Opening, Uncategorized

Earlier this week I won two interesting, and quite fun, games.

Oh! – before I go on, I’ve got to mention that I won both games on the same day. I found two resignations on my cell phone when I woke up. Nice way to start the day!

My opponent likes to keep the position closed. So a gambit is the way to go!

Escalante (2020)-“PaulKaspar” (1907)
USCF Internal Championship, Spring 2020 (Round 4)
chess.com, Oct.-Nov. 2021
1.e4 c6 (The Caro-Kann, usually a safe response to 1.e4.) 2.d4 d5 3.f3 (The gambit is known as the Fantasy variation. Not only is it tactical, but there are many unexplored paths.) 3…e6 4.Nc3 dxe4 5.fxe4 Bb4 6.Bd3 Ne7?! (Black also has 6…Qxd4 7.Bd2 Nd7 8.Nf3 Qd6!? But I was willing to try this line as White has some open lines to play with.) 7.a3 Ba5 8.Nf3 Nd7 9.O-O O-O (Better is 9…O-O. The text move closes all attacking chances by Black. And White’s attack is still brewing.) 10.e5! c5?


11.Bxh7+! (Black loses quickly after 11…Kxh7 12.Ng5+ Kg6 13.Qg4 f5 14.Qg3. His best, which only loses, is 11…Kh8 12.Ng5 Nxe5 13.Be3.) 1-0

Earlier this year I self-published 2000 Sozin Miniatures (3rd Edition) and 2000 Dragon Miniatures. I concluded, and stated in both books, that Black wastes time and can easily run into problems if he combines these two (separate) openings.

Escalante (2008)-“Tacktickle” (2111)
USCF Internal Championship, Spring 2020 (Round 4)
chess.com, Oct.-Nov. 2021
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 (OK – this is the Najdorf) 6.Bc4 (And this move makes this game into a Sozin Najdorf. Which doesn’t last long as Black attempts to make it into a main line Dragon.) 6…g6?! (This Najdorf Sozin-Dragon hybrid can cause Black to be on the defensive very quickly.) 7.Bb3 Bg7 8.Be3 O-O 9.f3 Nbd7 10.Qd2 (White continues to develop as if this game was a pure Dragon setup, a perfectly good response to the hybrid.) 10…Qc7 11.O-O-O Ne5 12.Bh6 Nc4? (Black has better with the counter-intuitive 12…Nc6, which at least keeps his center flexible.) 13.Bxc4 Bxh6 14.Qxh6 Qxc4 15.h4! (Opening up Black’s position by creating a pawn storm; a well-known thematic idea in the Dragon.) 15…Bd7 (> 15…Rc8) 16.h5! (The pawn now enters Black’s territory.) 15…Bc6 17.g4! Rfc8 18.g5 Nxh5 (This might be Black’s best move, but it runs into another thematic idea in the Dragon.)



19.Rxh5! gxh5 20.Nf5 1-0

Nameless gambit?

by lefthandeddragon, posted in gambit, games, Opening, Uncategorized

There is an opening, or rather a gambit, that appears to have no name. Yet, this series of moves is well-known among most chess players. But no matter what you may call it, Black doesn’t do that well.

Let’s look at it.

1.e4 b6

Now known as a Owen’s Defence, this move seeks to avoid main lines after 1.d4 and 1.e4. But as you will soon see, there are main lines that arise from 1.e4 b6 as well. And one of those lines is the gambit.

2.d4 Bb7

White takes advantage of the opportunity to take the center.

3.Bd3!?

Usual move here is 3.Nc3 e6 with similarities to a Nimzo-Queen’s Indian hybrid.

Before we get to the gambit line, let’s look at some tamer, and safer, Black lines.

Eliska Richtrova (2355)-Ewa Nagrocka (2145)
Wuppertal, Women’s, 1990
1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 b6 3.e4 Bb7 4.Bd3 Bd6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.O-O Bxc3 7.bxc3 Ne7 8.c4 O-O 9.Bb2 d6 10.Rb1 Nd7 11.Ng5 h6 12.Nh3 e5 13.f4 exd4 14.Bxd4 Nc6 15.Bc3 Qh4 16.Rf3 Nc5 17.Rg3 g6 18.Qd2 Rae8 19.Nf2 Ne6 20.Ng4 f6 21.f5 Ned4 22.Nxh6+ Kg7 23.Rxg6+ Kh7 24.Ng4 1-0

Zbigniew Gorecki (2005)-Augusto Caruso (2286)
Padova Open, Dec. 2 2000
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 b6 4.e4 Bb7 5.Bd3 d5!? (By far, the most common response is 5…e6. The text move is an attempt to throw White off his game by introducing a less common move. It works in this game.) 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Qb3 Nxe4 8.Nxe4 dxe4 9.Bc4 Qe7 10.Bd2 Nc6 11.Bc3 O-O-O 12.Ne2 Qg5 13.O-O e3 14.f4 Qg4 15.h3 Qh5 16.Bxf7 Qxe2 17.Rae1 Qd3 18.Qe6+ Kb8 19.Rxe3 Nxd4 20.Qe5 Qc2 21.Rf2 Qf5 22.Bh5 Qxe5 23.fxe5 Bc5 24.b4 Nf5 0-1

Daniel Ludwig (2338)-FM Miles Ardaman (2356)
U.S. Masters, 2006
Hendersonville, NC, 2006
1.e4 b6 5.Nc3 Nxd3+ 6.Qxd3 e6 7.O-O-O Ne7 8.d5 d6 9.Qc4 e5 10.Nb5 Kd7 11.f4 a6 12.Nc3 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ng6 14.Bg3 Qg5+ 15.Kb1 h5 16.Nf3 Qg4 17.Rd4 h4 18.e5 Qxf3 19.gxf3 hxg3 20.e6+ fxe6 21.dxe6+ Kd8 22.Qe2 Rh6 23.Rg4 Ne5 24.Rxg3 Rxe6 25.Re1 Rf6 26.Ne4 Rf5 27.Rg5 Rf7 28.Rxe5 dxe5 29.Ng5 Re7 30.Qd3+ Rd7 31.Qf5 Bd6 32.Nf7+ Ke8 33.Nxe5 Re7 34.Qh5+ Kd8 35.Nf7+ Kd7 36.Qg4+ 1-0

But now Black unleashes his gambit:

3…f5

Black stakes a claim in the center and has the possible threat of …fxe4

White can decline the f-pawn of course.

Schelli-Andrae
corres. 1985
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.Nc3 Nf6! 5.Qe2 e6 6.f3 (As it turns out, slow and quiet moves do not work in this variation. Better is 6.Bd2 with the idea of O-O-O, as the kingside is rapidly becoming a mess.) 6…fxe4 7.Bxe4 Nxe4 8.Nxe4 Be7 9.Nh3 O-O 10.Nhf2 Nc6 11.O-O Nxd4 12.Qd3 Nf5 13.Bd2 d5 14.Nc3 a5 15.Rfe1 Ba6! 0-1

Zolnierowicz-Zvara
Prague 1990
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.f3 e5?! (The start of a bad plan.) 5.dxe5 fxe4 6.fxe4 Bxe4?! (Black was hoping for 7. Bxe4? Qh4+ 8. Kf1 Qxe4. White avoids this problematic check with a simple developing move.) 7.Nf3 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Bc5 9.Nc3 Nc6 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Bxe7 Ngxe7 12.O-O-O Ng6 13.e6 O-O 14.exd7 Kh8 15.Qe4 Na5 16.Rhe1 Qf6 17.Qxa8 1-0

Owosina-Khamdanov
Moscow Ol.
Russia, 1994
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.Nd2 (5.e5!?) 5…g6 6.Ngf3 fxe4 7.Nxe4 Bg7 8.Bg5 O-O 9.O-O-O Nc6 10.c3 Kh8 11.h4 Nh5 12.Qe3 Qe8 13.g4 Qf7 14.gxh5 Qxf3 15.hxg6 d5 16.Nd2 Qxe3 17.fxe3 e5 18.gxh7 Na5 19.Rhf1 c5 20.dxc5 bxc5 21.e4 c4 22.Be2 d4 23.Rxf8+ Rxf8 24.Rf1 d3 25.Rxf8+ Bxf8 26.Bg4 Kxh7 27.Bf5+ Kg7 28.Be6 Ba6 29.Bd5 Bb5 30.Be3 Kg6 31.Bxa7 Bh6 32.Bb6 Nc6 33.Kd1 Kh5 34.Bxc4 Bxc4 35.Nxc4 Kxh4 36.a4 Kg4 37.a5 Kf3 38.a6 Kxe4 39.a7 Nxa7 40.Bxa7 Kd5 41.Be3 Bf8 42.Nd2 Be7 43.c4+ Kc6 44.Ne4 Bb4 45.Bd2 Bc5 46.b4 Bd4 1-0 (Black can’t stop Kc1, Kb1, Ka2, Kb3, etc.)

4.exf5

This move lets Black spear the h1-rook. But this move is probably the best for White. Things now get very interesting.

Black cannot immediately take the g-pawn as he loses quickly.

Here is the game that popularized White’s response to Black’s gambit.

Greco-N.N.
Rome 1620?
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 (White is willing to give up his rook to get the king.) 4…Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Nf6 (This is a huge error. Black has to play 6…Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.hxg8=Q+ Kxg8 and while White’s rook may fall, Black has to worry about his very exposed king. Amusing by the way, is 6.fxg6 e5? 7.g7+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.gxh8=N#) 7.gxh7+ (White is now willing to give up his queen for the forced mate. King safety is more important than safety for the rook or queen, and even both. Note: While 7.g7+ Nxh5 8.gxh8=Q Bxh1 9.Qxh7 would eventually win, the text move is faster, and fast attacks are always better for winning the game (less mistakes possible) and for one’s own ego.) 7…Nxh5 8.Bg6mate 1-0

So Black must do something other than to immediately take the g2-pawn or the h1-Rook. In fact, he can never the rook (due to the tempi needed to take the rook and the fact that his king ends up being a target). And probably can’t ever take the g2-pawn either.

Here is why he can never take the rook:

Hecker-Roos
Dusseldorf, 1935
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.hxg8=Q+ Kxg8 9.Qg5 Bxh1 10.f3 Rxh2 11.Qd5+ e6 12.Qxa8 Qh4+ 13.Kd1 Qf2 14.Qxb8+ Kf7 15.Ne2 Bxf3 16.Kd2 Bxd4 (16…Qxd4 17.Qe8+ Kxe8 18.Ke1 Rh1+ 19.Ng1 Qxg1+ 20.Bf1 Qxf1+ 21.Kd2 Qe2#) 17.Bg6+ (17.c3 Be3+ 18.Kc2 Bxe2 19.Bg6+ Kg7 20.Bd2 Bxd2 21.Nxd2) 17…Kg7 (18.Qg8+ Kxg8 19.Bh7+ Kxh7 20.Kd3 Qxe2+ 21.Kxd4 c5+ 22.Kc3 Qxc2#) 0-1

Zakeralo-Drevoricev, 1955
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.hxg8=Q+ Kxg8 9.Qg5 Bxh1 10.f3 Rxh2 11.Qd5+ e6 12.Qxa8 Qh4+ 13.Kd1 Qf2 14.Qxb8+ Kf7 15.Ne2 Bxf3 16.Nc3 Qf1+ 17.Kd2 Bh6mate 0-1

Standler-Muhin
corres. 1973
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.hxg8=Q+ Rxg8 9.Nf3 Bxh1 10.Ng5 Qe8 11.Nh7mate 0-1 (similar to the Greco game above.)

Kapitaniak-Mino
Romania, 1976
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.Nf3! Bxh1 9.Ne5 Bxe5 10.dxe5 Bd5 11.hxg8=Q+ Kxg8 12.Qg6+ Kf8 13.Bh6+ Rxh6 14.Qxh6+ Kf7 15.Bg6+ Ke6 16.Bh5+ Kxe5 17.f4+ Kf5 18.Qg5+ Ke4 19.Qe5# 1-0

Waller-Wurditsch
Austria Ch., 1977
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Qg6! Bxh1 10.Bh6 Rxh7 11.Ng5 Bxh6 12.Nxh7+ Nxh7 13.Qxh6+ Kf7 14.Qxh7+ Ke6 15.Qh6+ Kd5 (15…Kf7 16.Bg6+ Ke6 17.Be4+ Kf7 18.Qh7+ Kf8 19.Bg6 Bd5 20.Qh8+ Bg8 21.Qh6#) 16.Nc3+ Kxd4 17.Qe3mate 1-0

Jennings-Diebert
Columbus, 1979
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Qg6 Bxh1 10.Bh6 Rxh7 11.Ng5 Bxh6 12.Nxh7+ Nxh7 13.Qxh6+ Kf7 14.Bg6+ Ke6 15.Bxh7+ Kd5 16.Nc3+ Kc4 (16…Kxd4 17.Qe3+ Kc4 18.b3#) 17.Bd3+ Kxd4 18.Qe3mate 1-0

What happens if Black was to take the f3-knight instead of the h1-rook? The short answer is that it is better as Black loses at a slower pace.

Carlsson-Frausing
Denmark, 1977
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Qg6 Bxf3 10.Rg1 Rxh7 11.Qg3 Be4 12.Bxe4 Nxe4 13.Qf3+ Kg8 14.Qxe4 d5 (14…Nc6?! 15.Bf4 +-) 15.Qe6+ Kh8 16.Nc3 +- (16.Bg5? Qd7! ; 16.Rg2 Qd7 17.c3 e5) 16…Qd7 17.Qxd5 Qxd5 18.Nxd5 Nc6 19.c3 e5 20.Nxc7 Rc8 21.d5 +- Rxc7 22.dxc6 Rxh2 23.Be3 Rxc6 24.O-O-O Rc7 25.Rd8+ Kh7 26.Rgd1 Rh4 27.R8d7 Rhc4 28.Kc2 Kg8 29.R1d5 Kf8 30.Rxc7 Rxc7 31.b3 Ke7 32.c4 Ke6 33.a4 Bf8 34.a5 Bc5 35.axb6 axb6 36.Kc3 Rf7 37.b4 Bd4+ 38.Bxd4 exd4+ 39.Kxd4 Rf4+ 40.Kd3 Rf3+ 41.Ke4 Rf6 42.Rb5 Kd7 43.f4 Kc6 44.Rg5 Re6+ 45.Kf5 Re1 46.Rg6+ Kc7 47.b5 Rc1 48.Rc6+ Kd7 49.Kf6 Rh1 50.f5 Rh4 51.Kg7 Rg4+ 52.Kf7 Rf4 53.f6 Rh4 54.Kg7 Rg4+ 55.Kf8 Rf4 56.f7 Rg4 57.Rxb6 Rxc4 58.Rg6 Rf4 59.Kg8 Ke7 60.Rg2 1-0

Kolenbrander-Perrenet
corres.
Netherlands, 1979
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Bxg2 5.Qh5+ g6 6.fxg6 Bg7 7.gxh7+ Kf8 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Qg6 Bxf3 10.Rg1 Rxh7 11.Qg3 Be4 12.Bxe4 Nxe4 13.Qf3+ Nf6 14.Qxa8 d5 15.Nc3 c6 16.Bf4 Nfd7 17.O-O-O e5 18.dxe5 Qc7 19.Rxg7 Kxg7 20.Nxd5 cxd5 21.Qxd5 Nf8 22.Rg1+ 1-0

Well, If Black can’t take the h1-rook, or the f3-knight, can he at least take the g2-pawn? Black must play this move to gain any material for the attack that is about to commence on his side of the board, so he is virtually forced to play into this variation with the queen check.

Maybe Black can play 4…Nf6 and wait a tempo or two before snagging the g2-pawn. Can that win the game for him? I don’t know, but with the games on hand, I wouldn’t count on it.

Ploder-Daikeler
corres., 1986
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.fxe6 dxe6 7.Qe2 Qe7 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.O-O O-O-O 10.Ne5 g6 11.Ba6 Kb8 12.Bxb7 Kxb7 13.Nxd7 Rxd7 14.Qf3+ Rd5 15.Bxf6 Qb4 16.Nc3 Qxb2 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Qxd5+ Ka6 19.Rab1 Qxc2 20.Rfc1 Qf5 21.Qc4+ 1-0

“TrustHim”-“MikeMinaev”
VOG Chess
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Nf6 5.Be2 Bxg2 6.Bh5+ g6 7.fxg6 Bg7 8.gxh7+ Nxh5 9.Qxh5+ Kf8 10.Qf5+ Bf6 11.Bh6+ Kf7 12.Qh5+ Ke6 13.Qg4+ Kd6 14.Bf4+ e5 15.Bxe5+ Bxe5 16.dxe5+ Kxe5 17.f4+ Kd6 18.Qg6+ Kc5 19.b4+ Kxb4 20.Qxg2 Qh4+ 21.Kd1 Nc6 22.Qd5 Qf6 23.Ne2 Qxa1 24.a3+ Qxa3 25.Nxa3 Kxa3 26.Qb3mate 1-0

Turner-Moreland, 1993
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Nf6 5.Be2 e6 6.Bh5+ Ke7 7.Bf3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 d5 9.Qe2 Qd7 10.Nf3 c5 11.dxc5 bxc5 12.Ng5 Nc6 13.Nxe6 Kf7 14.Ng5+ Kg8 15.Qe6+ Qxe6+ 16.fxe6 Nd4 17.Na3 Nxe6 18.O-O Nd4 19.Re1 Re8 20.Rxe8 Nxe8 21.c3 Ne2+ 22.Kf1 Nxc1 23.Rxc1 Nd6 24.Rd1 d4 25.cxd4 cxd4 26.Rxd4 Be7 27.Rd5 h6 28.Nf3 1-0

Ariel Mordetzki-Andres De La Torre (1692)
Marcel Duchamp Open
Montevideo, Feb. 12 2017
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3 f5 4.exf5 Nf6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.O-O Bd5 (At this point Black has white squared holes in his position that will prove hard to cover.) 8.c4 Bf7!? 9.Nc3 c6 10.Qa4 Qc7 11.Qa6 Qc8 12.Qxc8+ Rxc8 13.Rfe1 g6 14.fxg6 hxg6 15.Bf4 Kd8 16.Ng5 Bg8 17.Bxg6 Bxc4 18.Bf7! +- Nh5 19.Bxc4 Nxf4 20.Nf7+ Kc7 21.Nxh8 Bg7 22.g3 Nh3+ 23.Kg2 Rxh8 24.Rxe7 Bf8 25.Re8 Nf6 26.Rxf8 Rxf8 27.Kxh3 Rh8+ 28.Kg2 1-0

The Siesta Variation

by lefthandeddragon, posted in gambit, games, Opening, Ruy Lopez

When a person hears the word “Siesta”, they would likely think of Spain, where, because of the heat, a long slumber between 2 and 5 PM is frequently practiced. And if that same person hears of the Siesta Variation in chess, it is quite likely that they envision a long, slow-moving positional game where nothing interesting occurs for most of the game.

Except the Siesta Variation is anything but boring. It is extremely tactical and wild enough to feature a few piece sacrifices.

Why this name then? It turns out that the name comes from the location of a 1928 Budapest tournament. Which was held in the Siesta Sanatorium, a private mental hospital in the Buda Hills. And yes, that means there are a lot of craziness in that place. Now the name makes more sense.

Let’s get going by first defining what the opening moves are.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 (yes, this is a Ruy Lopez) a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5. Black’s 5th move challenges the normal, but still fully under tension, slow pace of many Ruy Lopezes. In fact, it blows up the kingside and center.

White can certainly try to sidestep the main lines of the variation, but he doesn’t get too much, and Black can easily take over the initiative.

Janos Balogh-Hermanis Matisons
Bardejov, July 27 1926
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 f5 5.d3 (Too slow!) 5…d6 6.c3 Qf6 7.Nbd2 f4 8.d4 Bd7 9.Qe2 Nge7 10.Bb3 g5 11.h3 h5 12.Nf1 exd4 13.Nxd4 Nxd4 14.cxd4 Qxd4 15.h4 g4 0-1

Fiorentino Palmiotto (2104)-A. Echte
corres.
Europe, 1967
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 7.Qa4 fxe4 8.Qxc6+ Bd7 9.Qxe4 Nf6 10.Qe2 Be7 11.d3 O-O 12.O-O Bc6 13.Ng5 Qd7 14.f4 h6 15.Ne4 d5 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Na3 Rae8 18.Qd1 d4 19.Bd2 Qf5 20.cxd4 exf4 21.Bxf4 Bxd4+ 22.Kh1 Qd5 23.Qc2 Rf6 24.Bg3 Rfe6 25.Rae1 Bf2 0-1

White has two main lines here.

(1) 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4, which White seeks to quickly open the center as he believes can take advantage of open lines faster than Black.

(2) 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.O-O, which White seeks king safety before launching any attack.

The first line was more popular from the 1950s to the 1970s. But after getting crushed too often, esp. after …h6 (a good combination move, defending Black’s kingside and threatening to open the h-file), White changed tactics.

Here are some games White probably does not want to remember.

Mikhail Vasilievich Shishov-Rashit Nezhmetdinov
Tbilisi, 1947
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4 e4 (Black rightfully avoids 7…b5?! Spassky-Hallstrom, World U20 Ch., Antwerp, 1955 continued with 7…b5 8.Bb3 Nf6 9.O-O Bg4 10.Re1 Be7 11.Bg5 Na5 12.dxe5 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 dxe5 14.Be6 +- e4 15.Rxe4 Rf8 16.Rd4 Bd6 17.Nd2 h6 18.Re1 1-0) 8.Ng5 d5 9.f3 h6 10.fxe4 hxg5 11.exf5 Bd6 12.Qg4 Nf6 13.Qxg5 Kf8 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.Qg6 Qd7 16.Bg5 Re8+ 17.Kd1 Ne4 18.Kc2 Qf7 19.Qxf7+ Kxf7 20.Bc1 Ng3 21.Rg1 Rxh2 22.Nd2 Ne2 23.Rd1 Rxg2 24.Kb3 Nxc1+ 25.Raxc1 Bf4 26.Nf3 Bxc1 27.Rxc1 Rb8+ 28.Ka3 Rbxb2 0-1

Baturinsky-Estrin
Moscow, 1947
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4 e4 8.Ng5 d5 9.f3 h6 10.fxe4 hxg5 11.exf5 Bd6 12.Qg4 Nf6 13.Qxg5 Kf8 14.Bf4 Rh5 15.Qg3 Qe7+ 16.Kd1 Ne4 17.Qf3 Rxf5 18.Bxd6 Nxd6 19.Re1 Qf6 20.Qh3 Re8 21.Nd2 Rxe1+ 22.Kxe1 Nxd4! 23.cxd4 Qxd4 0-1

Y. Shaposhnikov-Y. Estrin
corres., 1954
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4 e4 8.Ng5 d5 9.f3 h6 10.fxe4 hxg5 11.exf5 Bd6 (Not 11…Qd6 12.Bxg5 Rxh2 13.O-O +/-) 12.Qe2+ (White has other queen moves, but nothing seems to work.) 12…Kf8 13.h3 g4 14.Qxg4 Rh4 15.Qg5 Re4+ 16.Kd1 Be7 17.Qg6 Nxd4 18.Nd2 b5 19.cxd4 bxa4 20.Nf3 Bf6 21.Bg5 Rb8 22.Bxf6 Nxf6 23.Rc1 Rxb2 24.Qg3 Ree2 0-1

J. Kuszubowski -H. Matzerath
corres.
BRD, 1956
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4 e4 8.Ng5 d5 9.f3 h6 10.fxe4 hxg5 11.exf5 Bd6 12.Nd2 Qf6 13.Qf3 O-O-O 14.Nf1 Nxd4 15.cxd4 Qxd4 16.Bd1 Bb4+ 17.Nd2 Re8+ 18.Be2 Nf6 0-1 (19…Ne4 cannot be stopped.)

Boris Gruzmann-V. Yurkov
USSR, 1969
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4 e4 8.Ng5 d5 9.f3 h6 10.fxe4 hxg5 11.exf5 Bd6 12.Qd3 Kf8 13.Nd2 Nf6 14.Kd1 Qe8 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Nf1? c5 17.Be3 c4 18.Qc2 Ne4 19.Kc1 (When your king has to make this type of journey you know you are in trouble.) 19…Rb8 20.Nd2 Nxc3 21.Re1 Na4 22.b3 Ba3+ 23.Kd1 Nb2+ 24.Ke2 Nd3 25.Rh1 Qh5+ 26.Nf3 Re8 27.bxc4 4 28.Qxd3 gxf3+ 29.Kf2 fxg2 30.Qxa3+Kf7 31.Kxg2 Qg4+ 32.Kf2 Rh3 0-1

White does better in line 2.

Adams-Piket
G/60
Cannes Team Tournament, 1992
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.O-O Bd3

[Alternatives lose.

Vladislav Klyashtorny-Alexandr Arakeljan
Volodarskij Spring-A, June 29 2007
7…Nge7?! 8.d4 b5 9.Bb3 e4 10.Ng5 d5 11.f3 exf3 12.Qxf3 Qd7 13.Bxd5 g6 14.Bf7+ Kd8 15.Be6 Bxe6 16.Qxf8+ Qe8 17.Nxe6+ Kd7 18.Nc5+ Kc8 19.Qxe8+ Rxe8 20.Bg5 1-0.]

8.Re1

[Despite this being the most common move White has other adequate responses. ECO cites this game:

Gerasin-Rucencev
USSR 1968
8.Qb3 b5 (not 8…Ne7? 9.Ng5! +/-) 9.Qd5 Nd4 10.cxd4 Ne7 11.Qe6 Bxf1 12.Bb3 Bc4 13.Bxc4 bxc4 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Nc3 Qd6 unclear 16.Qxc4 h6 17.Qe4 Rd8 18.Nxe5 Qe6 19.f4 unclear again.]

8…Be7 9.Bc2 Bxc2 10.Qxc2 Nf6 11.d4 Qd7 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.Be3 O-O-O 14.Nbd2 Rhe8 15.Rad1 Qd3 16.Qxd3 Rxd3 17.Nc4 Rxd1 18.Rxd1 Bf8 19.Kf1 b5 20.Ncd2 e4 21.Nd4 Nxd4 22.Bxd4 Ng4 23.Ke2 g6 24.h3 Nh6 25.Nf1 Nf5 26.Ne3 Nxd4+ 27.Rxd4 Bg7 28.Rd1 c6 29.h4 Re5 30.g4 a5 31.g5 a4 32.a3 Kc7 33.Rd2 Re7 34.Ng2 Be5 35.Ne3 Bg7 36.Rd1 Re5 37.Ng4 Rf5 38.Ke3 Rf3+ 39.Kxe4 Rh3 40.Nf6 Rxh4+ 41.f4 Kc8 42.Rd6 Bf8 43.Rd2 h6 44.Ke5 hxg5 45.fxg5 Bc5 46.Ne4 Be7 47.Rg2 Kd7 48.Nf6+ Kc7 49.Ke6 Bc5 50.Kf7 Be3 51.Kxg6 Kd6 52.Ng4 Bc1 53.Kf6 Rh3 54.g6 Rf3+ 55.Kg7 Rf4 56.Kh7 1-0

GM Anand-GM Artur Yusupov
Candidates Match
Wijk aan Zee, 1994
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.O-O Bd3 8.Re1 Be7 9.Bc2 Bxc2 10.Qxc2 Nf6 11.d4 O-O 12.d5 e4 13.Ng5 Ne5 14.Ne6 Qd7 15.Nd2 e3 16.Rxe3 Nxd5 17.Nxf8 Nxe3 18.Qxh7+ Kxf8 19.fxe3 Re8 20.e4 d5 21.Nb3 dxe4 22.Be3 Bf6 23.Rf1 Ng4 24.Bd4 Qc6 25.Bc5+ 1-0

GM Andras Adorjan- Pawel Lurje (2220)
Groningen Open
Netherlands, 1996
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.O-O Bd3 8.Re1 Be7 9.Bc2 e4 10.Bxd3 exd3 11.Qb3!? Nf6 12.Qxb7 Na5 13.Qb4 c5? (> 13…c6! with the idea of 14…14.Qa4 O-O.) 14.Qa4+ Kf8 15.Na3 d5?! 16.b4! Nb7 17.Ne5 Qc8 18.Nxd3 c4 19.Ne5 Qf5 20.Qc6 Rb8 21.Nc2! Nd8 22.Nd4 1-0

Three Short Games

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, gambit, game, games, King's Gambit, miniature

Escalante-“MikhailZorro” (1555)
King’s Bishop Gambit Thematic, Round 2
chess.com, Sept. 2021
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 Qe7!? (A rarity. The earliest example of a Master game with this move is Zalys-Zapata, Quebec Open, Canada, 1978 which continued 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d3 g5 7.Nf3 c6 8.Nxg5 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Bxd5 Qxg5 11.Bf3 Qf6 12.Ne4 Qh4 13.Bd2 Be6 14.Bc3 f5 15.Bh5+ Bf7 16.Nf6+ Kd8 17.Bxf7 Bd6 18.Nh5 Be7 19.Bxh8 Nd7 20.Qf3 Kc7 21.Bg7 Bd6 22.Re1 Rd8 23.Re8 Rxe8 24.Bxe8 Nb6 25.Bf6! 1-0. I decided to copy White’s moves only because I had a problem finding a better ones.) 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d3 g5 7.Nf3 h6 8.e5! Nh5 9.Nd5 (The immediate b4 is probably faster.) 9…Qc5 10.b4 Qc6 11.Nd4 Qa4? (Qg6) 12.Bb3 Qa6


13.Nxc7+ 1-0

Escalante (1949)-“klaxcek2” (1771)
King’s Bishop Gambit Thematic, Round 2
chess.com, Sept. 2021
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 Nf6 5.Nf3 Qh5 6.Nc3 d6 7.d4 g5 8.h4 h6 9.e5 Ng4 10.Qe1 (10.Qe2!?) 10…Be7?! (Black has to chance 10…Kd8) 11.Nd5! (White is practically winning after his move.) 11…Kd8


12.Nxe7! Kxe7 13.exd6+ (As White will have trouble attacking the king from open lines of the center, 13.Kg1, with the idea of hxg5, is probably better.) 13…Kxd6?? (13…Kf8 is Black’s only chance. Then White should continue with 14.Kg1.) 14.Ne5 Be6 15.Qb4+ (Mate is coming.) 1-0

“henrysitohang060707” (1682)-Escalante
Blitz Game
chess.com, Oct. 23 2021
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5 (The Leningrad variation) 4…h6 5.Bh4 b5 (A gambit I wanted to try. Actually, it’s more of a bluff than a gambit. Alternate moves include …c5 and …Nc6) 6.e3 (Of course, White should take the pawn.) O-O 7.Bd3 (Again White’s best move was to take the pawn.) bxc4 (Black will make use of the extra tempo.) 8.Bxc4 d5 9.Bb3 Ba6 (Black has equalized here. And it’s quite possible that he now has a small advantage. So much for declining the gambit!) 10.Qf3 Nbd7 11.Ne2 c5 12.O-O Rc8 13.a3

13…cxd4 (chess.com computer says that Black missed a forced win here with 13…Bxc3! 14.bxc3 g5 15.Bg3 g4 16.Qf4 Bxe2 17.Qxh6 cxd4 18.Bh4 d3 19.Rfb1 Rxc3 20.Ba4 g3 21.f3 d2 22.Bxd7 d1=Q+ 23.Rxd1 Bxd1 The only thing I can say is “wow”.) 14.exd4 Bxc3 15.Nxc3 Bxf1 16.Rxf1 Qc7 17.Bg3 Qb7 (OK, 17…Qb6, striking the d4-pawn as well as the bishop, was better.) 18.Na4 Ne4 19.Re1 Nd2 [White resigns. Again, chess.com provides some stunning (and correct!) tactics : 19…Nd2 20.Qd1 Qxb3 21.Bf4 Qxd1 22.Rxd1 Nc4 23.h4 Rfe8 24.g4 Kh7 25.g5 hxg5 26.Bxg5 f6 27.Bf4 a5 28.Kg2 Kg6 29.Rd3 Kf7] 0-1

Longest Sea-serpent?

by lefthandeddragon, posted in Longest Game, Uncategorized

Chernev called them “SEA-SERPENTS”. What are they? Simply put, they are chess games exceeding 100 moves. The name reminds one of the long list of moves each player has to record in a tournament game.

Which brings up the following question: “Just how long is the longest game in chess?”

Is it 120 moves? 150 moves? Not even close.

175 moves? Getting closer.

200 moves? Still longer.

250 moves, right?

Nope!

The longest game in history is whopping 269 moves, played over 23 ½ hours.

It seems ridiculous, but it’s true. I was amazed when I goth news – even more when I finally got the score.

I made some notes to the game and added a few diagrams just in case you get lost. I also added a PGN file (minus the diagrams of course) – for those of you who rather push buttons than pieces (or don’t have a readily available set).

Let’s go!

Ivan Nikolić-Goran Arsović
Belgrade, Feb. 17 1989
[E95]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.O-O e5 8.Re1 Re8 [Black can’t be too aggressive in the KID. ECO gives the following: 8…Ng4?! 9.h3 (or 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 Nh6 12.Qd2 Nf7 13.Rad1 g4 14.Nh4 exd4 15.Nb5 +/- Bilek-G. Garcia, Havana 1965) 9…exd4 10.Nxd4 Nxf2 11.Kxf2 Qh4+ 12.Kf1 f5 13.Nf3 fxe4 14.Qd5+ +/-.] 9.Bf1 h6!? (An unusual move. Marini-Czerniak, Mar del Plata Zonal 1950, continued with 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.h3 b6 12.Be3 Bb7 13.Qc2 Kh7 14.Red1 c6 15.c5 Qe7 16.cxb6 axb6 17.Nd2 b5 18.a3 Nh5 19.Nb3 Nf4 20.Rd2 Ne6 21.Rad1 Red8 22.Na2 Rac8 23.f3 Ndf8 24.Nc5 Nd4 25.Qc3 Nfe6 26.Nxe6 Qxe6 27.b4 Rc7 28.Nc1 f5 29.Nd3 Qf6 30.f4 fxe4 31.Nxe5 g5 32.fxg5 Qxe5 33.Bxd4 Qxg5 34.Bxg7 Rxd2 35.Qxd2 Qxg7 36.Qf4 c5 37.Qf5+ Qg6 38.Rd7+ Rxd7 39.Qxd7+ Qg7 40.Qxg7+ Kxg7 41.bxc5 Bc6 42.Kf2 Kf6 43.Ke3 Ke5 44.g4 Kd5 45.Bg2 Kxc5 46.Bxe4 Be8 47.h4 Kd6 48.Kf4 Ke6 49.g5 hxg5+ 50.Kxg5 Ke7 51.Bd5 Kd6 52.Ba2 Ke7 53.Bb3 Kd6 54.Bc2 Ke7 55.Bg6 Bc6 56.h5 Kf8 57.Bd3 Kg7 58.h6+ Kf7 59.Kf5 Bd7+ 60.Ke5 Bg4 61.Bxb5 Bd1 62.Bd3 Bh5 63.Kd4 Kf6 64.Kc3 Kf7 65.Kb4 Bd1 66.Bc4+ Kg6 67.Bb3 Be2 68.a4 Kxh6 69.Bc4 Bf3 70.a5 1-0.) 10.d5 Nh7 11.Rb1 f5 12.Nd2 (And Muresan-Semenova, Women’s World Semi-Finals, 1983, continued with 12.b4 f4 13.Ba3 Bf8 14.Nd2 g5 15.Nb3 Ndf6 16.c5 Re7 17.Na5 Rg7 18.Nc4 g4 19.Rb3 Ng5 20.cxd6 cxd6 21.b5 Nf3+ 22.Kh1 Nxe1 23.Qxe1 h5 24.b6 a6 25.Na5 h4 26.Bc4 g3 27.Nd1 Qe8 28.fxg3 hxg3 29.hxg3 Qg6 30.Nf2 Qh7+ 0-1.) 12…f4 13.b4 g5 14.Nb3 Bf8 (14…Ndf6!?) 15.Be2 Ndf6 16.c5 g4 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.a3 Ng5 19.Bf1 Re7 20.Qd3 Rg7 21.Kh1 Qe8 22.Nd2 g3 23.fxg3 fxg3 24.Qxg3 Nh3 25.Qf3 Qg6 26.Nc4 Bd7 27.Bd3 Ng5 28.Bxg5 Qxg5 29.Ne3 Re8 30.Ne2 Be7 31.Rbd1 (Rbc1!?) 31…Rf8 32.Nf5 Ng4 33.Neg3 h5 34.Kg1 h4


35.Qxg4! Qxg4 36.Nh6+ Kh7 37.Nxg4 hxg3 38.Ne3 gxh2+ 39.Kxh2 Rh8 40.Rh1 Kg6+ 41.Kg1 Rc8 42.Be2 Rc3 43.Rd3 Rc1+ 44.Nf1 Bd8 45.Rh8 Bb6+ 46.Kh2 Rh7+ 47.Rxh7 Kxh7 48.Nd2 Bg1+ 49.Kh1 Bd4+ 50.Nf1 (50.Kh2! and White starts making progress.) 50…Bg4 51.Bxg4 Rxf1+ 52.Kh2 Bg1+ 53.Kh3 Re1 54.Bf5+ Kh6 55.Kg4 Re3 56.Rd1 Bh2 57.Rh1 Rg3+ 58.Kh4 Rxg2 59.Kh3 Rg3+ 60.Kxh2 Rxa3 61.Rg1 Ra6 62.Rg6+ Kh5 63.Kg3 Rb6 64.Rg7 Rxb4 65.Bc8 a5 66.Bxb7 a4 67.Bc6 a3 68.Ra7 Rb3+ 69.Kf2 Kg5 70.Ke2 Kf4 71.Ra4 Rh3 72.Kd2 a2 73.Bb5 Rh1 74.Rxa2 Rh2+ 75.Be2 Kxe4 76.Ra5 Kd4 77.Ke1 Rh1+ 78.Kf2 Rc1 79.Bg4 Rc2+ 80.Ke1 e4 81.Be6 Ke5 82.Bg8 Rc8 83.Bf7 Rc7 84.Be6 Rc2 85.Ra8 Rb2 86.Ra6 Rg2 87.Kd1 Rb2 88.Ra5 Rg2 89.Bd7 Rh2 90.Bc6 Kf4 91.Ra8 e3 92.Re8 Kf3 93.Rf8+ Ke4 94.Rf6 Kd3

95.Bb5+ Kd4 96.Rf5 Rh1+ 97.Ke2 Rh2+ 98.Kd1 Rh1+ 99.Kc2 Rh2+ 100.Kc1 Rh1+ 101.Kc2 Rh2+ 102.Kd1 Rh4 103.Ke2 Rh2+ 104.Kf1 Rb2 105.Be2 Ke4 106.Rh5 Rb1+ 107.Kg2 Rb2 108.Rh4+ Kxd5 109.Kf3 Kc5 110.Kxe3 Rb3+ 111.Bd3 d5 112.Rh8 Ra3 113.Re8 Kd6 114.Kd4 Ra4+ 115.Kc3 Ra3+ 116.Kd4 Ra4+ 117.Ke3 Ra3 118.Rh8 Ke5 119.Rh5+ Kd6 120.Rg5 Rb3 121.Kd2 Rb8 122.Bf1 Re8 123.Kd3 Re5 124.Rg8 Rh5 125.Bg2 Kc5 126.Rf8 Rh6 127.Bf3 Rg6 128.Rc8+ Rc6 129.Ra8 Rb6 130.Rd8 Rd6 131.Rf8 Rg6 132.Rf5 Rd6 133.Kc3 Rd8 134.Rg5 Rd6 135.Rh5 Rd8 136.Rf5 Rd6 137.Rf8 Ra6 138.Rc8+ Rc6 139.Ra8 Rb6 140.Ra5+ Rb5 141.Ra1 Rb8 142.Rd1 Rd8 143.Rd2 Rd7 144.Bg2 Rd8 145.Kd3 Ra8 146.Ke3 Re8+ 147.Kd3 Ra8 148.Kc3 Rd8 149.Bf3 Rd7 150.Kd3 Ra7 151.Bg2 Ra8 152.Rc2+ Kd6 153.Rc3 Ra2 154.Bf3 Ra8 155.Rb3 Ra5 156.Ke3 Ke5 157.Rd3 Rb5 158.Kd2 Rc5 159.Bg2 Ra5 160.Bf3 Rc5 161.Bd1 Rc8 162.Bb3 (FIDE’S Laws of Chess, Article 10.9a, stipulates that the 50 move draw rule can be extended to 100 moves when a position of K+R+B vs. K+R is reached. Here the Pawn invalidates that extension.) 162…Rc5 163.Rh3 Kf4 164.Kd3 Ke5 165.Rh5+ Kf4 166.Kd4 Rb5 167.Bxd5 (It now seems that White, after putting in so many moves and so much effort, might just win. But with this capture, a drawish K+R+B vs. K+R position is reached. And the game goes on. And on and on and on.) 167…Rb4+ 168.Bc4

168…Ra4 169.Rh7 Kg5 170.Rf7 Kg6 171.Rf1 Kg5 172.Kd5 Ra5+ 173.Ke6 Ra4 174.Bd5 Rf4 175.Re1 Rf6+ 176. Ke5 Rf5+ 177.Kd4 Kf6 178.Re6+ Kg5 179.Be4 Rf6 180.Re8 Kf4 181.Rh8 Rd6+ 182.Bd5 Rf6 183.Rh1 Kf5 184.Be4+ Ke6 185.Ra1 Kd6 186.Ra5 (186.Ra6+ and White gains a tiny advantage. Not enough to win, but he needs all the advantages he can gain to win the game.) Re6 187.Bf5 Re1 188.Ra6+ Ke7 189.Be4 Rc1 190.Ke5 Rc5+ 191.Bd5 Rc7 192.Rg6 Rd7 193.Rh6 Kd8 194.Be6 Rd2 195.Rh7 Ke8 196.Kf6 Kd8 197.Ke5 Rd1 198.Bd5 Ke8 199.Kd6 Kf8 200.Rf7+ Ke8 201.Rg7 Rf1 202.Rg8+ Rf8 203.Rg7 Rf6+ 204.Be6 Rf2 205.Bd5 Rf6+ 206.Ke5 Rf1 207.Kd6 Rf6+ 208.Be6 Rf2 209.Ra7 Kf8 210.Rc7 Rd2+ 211.Ke5 Ke8 212.Kf6 Rf1+ 213.Bf5 Rd2 214.Rc1 Rd6+ 215.Be6 Rd2 216.Rh1 Kd8 217.Rh7 Rd1 218.Rg7 Rd2 219.Rg8+ Kc7 220.Rc8+ Kb6 221.Ke5 Kb7 222.Rc3 Kb6 223.Bd5 Rh2 224.Kd6 Rh6+ 225.Be6 Rh5 226.Ra3 Ra5 227.Rg3 Rh5 228.Rg2 Ka5 229.Rg3 Kb6 230.Rg4 Rb5 231.Bd5 Rc5 232.Rg8 Rc2 233.Rb8+ Ka5 234.Bb3 Rc3 235.Kd5 Rc7 236.Kd4 Rd7+ 237.Bd5 Re7 238.Rb2 Re8 239.Rb7 Ka6 240.Rb1 Ka5 241.Bc4 Rd8+ 242.Kc3 Rh8 243.Rb5+ Ka4 244.Rb6 Rh3+ 245.Bd3 Rh5 246.Rc6 Rg5 247.Rh6 Ra5 248.Bc4 Rg5 249.Ra6+ Ra5

250.Rb6 (250.Bb2+ Kb5) 250…Rg5 251.Rb4+ Ka5 252.Rb2 Rg3+ 253.Kd4 Rg5 254.Bd5 Ka4 255.Kc5 Rg3 256.Ra2+ Ra3 257.Rb2 Rg3 258.Rh2 Rc3+ 259.Bc4 Rg3 260.Rc2 Rg5+ 261.Bd5 Rg3 262.Rh2 Rc3+ 263.Bc4 Rg3 264.Rh8 Ka3 265.Ra8+ Kb2 266.Ra2+ Kb1 267.Rf2 Kc1 268.Kd4 Kd1 269.Bd3 Rg7 1/2-1/2

[Event “Belgrade”]
[Site “Belgrade YUG”]
[Date “1989.02.17”]
[White “Nikolić, Ivan”]
[Black ” Arsović, Goran”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “E95”]
[PlyCount “538”]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.O-O e5 8.Re1 Re8 {Black can’t be too aggressive in the KID. ECO gives the following: 8…Ng4?! 9.h3 (or 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 Nh6 12.Qd2 Nf7 13.Rad1 g4 14.Nh4 exd4 15.Nb5 +/- Bilek-G. Garcia, Havana 1965) 9…exd4 10.Nxd4 Nxf2 11.Kxf2 Qh4+ 12.Kf1 f5 13.Nf3 fxe4 14.Qd5+ +/-.} 9.Bf1 h6 {An unusual move. Marini-Czerniak, Mar del Plata Zonal 1950, continued with 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.h3 b6 12.Be3 Bb7 13.Qc2 Kh7 14.Red1 c6 15.c5 Qe7 16.cxb6 axb6 17.Nd2 b5 18.a3 Nh5 19.Nb3 Nf4 20.Rd2 Ne6 21.Rad1 Red8 22.Na2 Rac8 23.f3 Ndf8 24.Nc5 Nd4 25.Qc3 Nfe6 26.Nxe6 Qxe6 27.b4 Rc7 28.Nc1 f5 29.Nd3 Qf6 30.f4 fxe4 31.Nxe5 g5 32.fxg5 Qxe5 33.Bxd4 Qxg5 34.Bxg7 Rxd2 35.Qxd2 Qxg7 36.Qf4 c5 37.Qf5+ Qg6 38.Rd7+ Rxd7 39.Qxd7+ Qg7 40.Qxg7+ Kxg7 41.bxc5 Bc6 42.Kf2 Kf6 43.Ke3 Ke5 44.g4 Kd5 45.Bg2 Kxc5 46.Bxe4 Be8 47.h4 Kd6 48.Kf4 Ke6 49.g5 hxg5+ 50.Kxg5 Ke7 51.Bd5 Kd6 52.Ba2 Ke7 53.Bb3 Kd6 54.Bc2 Ke7 55.Bg6 Bc6 56.h5 Kf8 57.Bd3 Kg7 58.h6+ Kf7 59.Kf5 Bd7+ 60.Ke5 Bg4 61.Bxb5 Bd1 62.Bd3 Bh5 63.Kd4 Kf6 64.Kc3 Kf7 65.Kb4 Bd1 66.Bc4+ Kg6 67.Bb3 Be2 68.a4 Kxh6 69.Bc4 Bf3 70.a5 1-0.} 10.d5 Nh7 11.Rb1 f5 12.Nd2 {And Muresan-Semenova, Women’s World Semi-Finals, 1983, continued with 12.b4 f4 13.Ba3 Bf8 14.Nd2 g5 15.Nb3 Ndf6 16.c5 Re7 17.Na5 Rg7 18.Nc4 g4 19.Rb3 Ng5 20.cxd6 cxd6 21.b5 Nf3+ 22.Kh1 Nxe1 23.Qxe1 h5 24.b6 a6 25.Na5 h4 26.Bc4 g3 27.Nd1 Qe8 28.fxg3 hxg3 29.hxg3 Qg6 30.Nf2 Qh7+ 0-1.} f4 13.b4 g5 14.Nb3 Bf8 {14…Ndf6!?} 15.Be2 Ndf6 16.c5 g4 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.a3 Ng5 19.Bf1 Re7 20.Qd3 Rg7 21.Kh1 Qe8 22.Nd2 g3 23.fxg3 fxg3 24.Qxg3 Nh3 25.Qf3 Qg6 26.Nc4 Bd7 27.Bd3 Ng5 28.Bxg5 Qxg5 29.Ne3 Re8 30.Ne2 Be7 31.Rbd1 {Rbc1!?} Rf8 32.Nf5 Ng4 33.Neg3 h5 34.Kg1 h4 35.Qxg4 $1 Qxg4 36.Nh6+ Kh7 37.Nxg4 hxg3 38.Ne3 gxh2+ 39.Kxh2 Rh8 40.Rh1 Kg6+ 41.Kg1 Rc8 42.Be2 Rc3 43.Rd3 Rc1+ 44.Nf1 Bd8 45.Rh8 Bb6+ 46.Kh2 Rh7+ 47.Rxh7 Kxh7 48.Nd2 Bg1+ 49.Kh1 Bd4+ 50.Nf1 {50.Kh2! and White starts making progress.} Bg4 51.Bxg4 Rxf1+ 52.Kh2 Bg1+ 53.Kh3 Re1 54.Bf5+ Kh6 55.Kg4 Re3 56.Rd1 Bh2 57.Rh1 Rg3+ 58.Kh4 Rxg2 59.Kh3 Rg3+ 60.Kxh2 Rxa3 61.Rg1 Ra6 62.Rg6+ Kh5 63.Kg3 Rb6 64.Rg7 Rxb4 65.Bc8 a5 66.Bxb7 a4 67.Bc6 a3 68.Ra7 Rb3+ 69.Kf2 Kg5 70.Ke2 Kf4 71.Ra4 Rh3 72.Kd2 a2 73.Bb5 Rh1 74.Rxa2 Rh2+ 75.Be2 Kxe4 76.Ra5 Kd4 77.Ke1 Rh1+ 78.Kf2 Rc1 79.Bg4 Rc2+ 80.Ke1 e4 81.Be6 Ke5 82.Bg8 Rc8 83.Bf7 Rc7 84.Be6 Rc2 85.Ra8 Rb2 86.Ra6 Rg2 87.Kd1 Rb2 88.Ra5 Rg2 89.Bd7 Rh2 90.Bc6 Kf4 91.Ra8 e3 92.Re8 Kf3 93.Rf8+ Ke4 94.Rf6 Kd3 95.Bb5+ Kd4 96.Rf5 Rh1+ 97.Ke2 Rh2+ 98.Kd1 Rh1+ 99.Kc2 Rh2+ 100.Kc1 Rh1+ 101.Kc2 Rh2+ 102.Kd1 Rh1+ 103.Ke2 Rh2+ 104.Kf1 Rb2 105.Be2 Ke4 106.Rh5 Rb1+ 107.Kg2 Rb2 108.Rh4+ Kxd5 109.Kf3 Kc5 110.Kxe3 Rb3+ 111.Bd3 d5 112.Rh8 Ra3 113.Re8 Kd6 114.Kd4 Ra4+ 115.Kc3 Ra3+ 116.Kd4 Ra4+ 117.Ke3 Ra3 118.Rh8 Ke5 119.Rh5+ Kd6 120.Rg5 Rb3 121.Kd2 Rb8 122.Bf1 Re8 123.Kd3 Re5 124.Rg8 Rh5 125.Bg2 Kc5 126.Rf8 Rh6 127.Bf3 Rd6 128.Re8 Rc6 129.Ra8 Rb6 130.Rd8 Rd6 131.Rf8 Ra6 132.Rf5 Rd6 133.Kc3 Rd8 134.Rg5 Rd6 135.Rh5 Rd8 136.Rf5 Rd6 137.Rf8 Ra6 138.Re8 Rc6 139.Ra8 Rb6 140.Ra5+ Rb5 141.Ra1 Rb8 142.Rd1 Rd8 143.Rd2 Rd7 144.Bg2 Rd8 145.Kd3 Ra8 146.Ke3 Re8+ 147.Kd3 Ra8 148.Kc3 Rd8 149.Bf3 Rd7 150.Kd3 Ra7 151.Bg2 Ra8 152.Rc2+ Kd6 153.Rc3 Ra2 154.Bf3 Ra8 155.Rb3 Ra5 156.Ke3 Ke5 157.Rd3 Rb5 158.Kd2 Rc5 159.Bg2 Ra5 160.Bf3 Rc5 161.Bd1 Rc8 162.Bb3 {FIDE’S Laws of Chess, Article 10.9a, stipulates that the 50 move draw rule can be extended to 100 moves when a position of K+R+B vs. K+R is reached. Here the Pawn invalidates that extension.} Rc5 163.Rh3 Kf4 164.Kd3 Ke5 165.Rh5+ Kf4 166.Kd4 Rb5 167.Bxd5 {It now seems that White, after putting in so many moves and so much effort, might just win. But with this capture, a drawish K+R+B vs. K+R position is reached. And the game goes on. And on and on and on.} Rb4+ 168.Bc4 Ra4 169.Rh7 Kg5 170.Rf7 Kg6 171.Rf1 Kg5 172.Kc5 Ra5+ 173.Kc6 Ra4 174.Bd5 Rf4 175.Re1 Rf6+ 176.Kc5 Rf5 177.Kd4 Kf6 178.Re6+ Kg5 179.Be4 Rf6 180.Re8 Kf4 181.Rh8 Rd6+ 182.Bd5 Rf6 183.Rh1 Kf5 184.Be4+ Ke6 185.Ra1 Kd6 186.Ra5 {186.Ra6+ and White gains a tiny advantage. Not enough to win, but he needs all the advantages he can gain to win the game.} Re6 187.Bf5 Re1 188.Ra6+ Ke7 189.Be4 Rc1 190.Ke5 Rc5+ 191.Bd5 Rc7 192.Rg6 Rd7 193.Rh6 Kd8 194.Be6 Rd2 195.Rh7 Ke8 196.Kf6 Kd8 197.Ke5 Rd1 198.Bd5 Ke8 199.Kd6 Kf8 200.Rf7+ Ke8 201.Rg7 Rf1 202.Rg8+ Rf8 203.Rg7 Rf6+ 204.Be6 Rf2 205.Bd5 Rf6+ 206.Ke5 Rf1 207.Kd6 Rf6+ 208.Be6 Rf2 209.Ra7 Kf8 210.Rc7 Rd2+ 211.Ke5 Ke8 212.Kf6 Rf2+ 213.Bf5 Rd2 214.Rc1 Rd6+ 215.Be6 Rd2 216.Rh1 Kd8 217.Rh7 Rd1 218.Rg7 Rd2 219.Rg8+ Kc7 220.Rc8+ Kb6 221.Ke5 Kb7 222.Rc3 Kb6 223.Bd5 Rh2 224.Kd6 Rh6+ 225.Be6 Rh5 226.Ra3 Ra5 227.Rg3 Rh5 228.Rg2 Ka5 229.Rg3 Kb6 230.Rg4 Rb5 231.Bd5 Rc5 232.Rg8 Rc2 233.Rb8+ Ka5 234.Bb3 Rc3 235.Kd5 Rc7 236.Kd4 Rd7+ 237.Bd5 Re7 238.Rb2 Re8 239.Rb7 Ka6 240.Rb1 Ka5 241.Bc4 Rd8+ 242.Kc3 Rh8 243.Rb5+ Ka4 244.Rb6 Rh3+ 245.Bd3 Rh5 246.Re6 Rg5 247.Rh6 Rc5+ 248.Bc4 Rg5 249.Ra6+ Ra5 250.Rh6 {250.Bb2+ Kb5} Rg5 251.Rh4 Ka5 252.Rh2 Rg3+ 253.Kd4 Rg5 254.Bd5 Ka4 255.Kc5 Rg3 256.Ra2+ Ra3 257.Rb2 Rg3 258.Rh2 Rc3+ 259.Bc4 Rg3 260.Rb2 Rg5+ 261.Bd5 Rg3 262.Rh2 Rc3+ 263.Bc4 Rg3 264.Rh8 Ka3 265.Ra8+ Kb2 266.Ra2+ Kb1 267.Rf2 Kc1 268.Kd4 Kd1 269.Bd3 Rg7 1/2-1/2