Category: chess

ODDS GAMES

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, odds, Uncategorized

Sometimes between players of unequal strengths, the stronger player offers advantages to the weaker player to make the game more even. These advantages include time odds (such as 5 minutes to 3 minutes in a speed game), draw odds (the weaker player is granted a win if the game was to end in a draw), or the choice of an opening. Even blindfold games and simuls can fall into this category.

 

 

But by far the most popular advantage utilized is the odds game. This is a game where the stronger player would take off a pawn, a piece, and even more, before the start of the game.

 

 

This advantage for the weaker player is hard to overcome if the game becomes closed. Which is why the stronger player goes for an open game, where tactics predominate, checkmates are sudden and quick, and there is a good chance for a brilliancy.

 

 

Enjoy the games below. They are all short, brilliant, and fun (as long as you are not on the losing side).

 

 

 

Remove all pieces inside the parenthesis before playing over the game.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 McDonnell-Popert
England, 1830
(Nb1)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 [The Evans Gambit. Hard to defend with all the open lines even with all the pieces still on the board (an empty square means more movement for the bishops).] 4…Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.h3 h6 10.Bb2 Nf6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Ba3 e4 13.Qb3 Qd7 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Nh5 16.Rad1 Qf5 17.Bxf7+ Qxf7 18.Rd8+ Kxd8 19.Qxf7 1-0

 

Smith-N.N.
London, 1852
(Nb1)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 c6 4.d4 Be6 5.Bg5 Qd7 6.Qe2 Bg4 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Rd1 (One of the benefits of playing without the b1-Knight is that the a1-Rook can play to a center file a move earlier. As in this game. And the next two.)  8…Qc7

2019_04_11_A

9.Nxe5! Bxe2 10.Rd8+ Qxd8 11.Bxf7mate 1-0

 

Morphy-N.N.
New York, 1857
(Nb1)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Nxd4 4.Nxe5 Ne6 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Bxe6+ Kxe6 8.e5 Bc5 9.O-O Nd5 10.Qg4+ Kxe5 11.Bg5 Qf8 12.Rad1 Kd6 13.Qe4 Qf7 14.c4 Kc6 15.Rxd5 Kb6 16.Rxc5 c6 17.Qe5 Re8 1-0 (Black realizes he can’t stop the mate. After 18.Rb5+, he can only choose between being mated immediately with  18…cxb5 19.Qxb5#, or to prolong the agony with 18…Ka6 19.Ra5+ Kb6 20.Be3+! c5 21.Qxc5# )

 

 David Janowski-N.N.
Paris, 1895
(Nb1)
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5.O-O gxf3 6.Qxf3 Qf6 7.e5 Qxe5 8.d3 Bh6 9.Bd2 Ne7 10.Bc3 Qc5+ 11.Kh1 O-O 12.Rae1 d5 13.Qh5 f6 14.Rxe7 Qxe7 15.Bxd5+ Kg7 16.Re1 Qc5 17.Re5 Qf2 18.Rg5+ Bxg5 19.Qxg5+! Kh8 20.Qxf6+!! Rxf6 21.Bxf6mate 1-0

 

Morphy-N.N., 1850
(Ra1)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nce7 9.O-O c6 10.d4 exd4 11.Re1+ Kd7 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 cxd5 14.Qxd5+ Kc7 15.Bf4+ Bd6 16.Qc5+ Kb8 17.Qxd6+ Qxd6 18.Bxd6mate 1-0

 

Morphy-N.N.
New Orleans 1858
(Ra1)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nd4 9.Bxd5+ Kd6 10.Qf7 ($Ne4#) Be6 11.Bxe6 Nxe6 12.Ne4+ Kd5 13.c4+ Kxe4 14.Qxe6 Qd4 15.Qg4+ Kd3 16.Qe2+ Kc2 17.d3+ Kxc1 18.O-Omate! 1-0 (As far as it is known, this is the first time that a player has mated an opponent by castling. Note that this is the only move possible to mate.)

 

 Steinitz-N.N.
London, 1863
(Ra1)
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 Bb4 5.Nd5 Ba5 6.Nxf4 d6 7.c3 Bb6 8.d4 Bg4 9.Bb5 Kf8 10.O-O Ne5 11.Nxe5 Bxd1 12.Neg6+  1-0

  

Steinitz-N.N.
London, 1863
(Ra1)
1.e5 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 Nd5 5.Qxd4 c6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Qe4 Bc5 8.O-O Ne7? 9.Ng5 g6 10.Nxf7 Rf8 11.Nd6+ Kd8 12.Qh4 Qc7

2019_04_11_B

13.Qxe7+! Kxe7 14.Bg5+ Rf6 15.exf6+ Kf8 16.Bh6mate 1-0

 

Tarrasch-Kelz
Nuremburg, 1890
(Ra1)
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.O-O (Not satisfied at only being a Rook down, White sacrifices a Knight, This is known as the Muzio Gambit, usually played when White has a full set of pieces.) 5…gxf3 6.Qxf3 Qf6 7.Nc3 Qd4+ 8.Kh1 Qxc4 9.Qxf4 Ne7 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.Qxf7+ Kd8 12.d3 Qc6 13.Bg5+ Be7 14.Qf8+ Rxf8 15.Rxf8mate 1-0

  

Morphy-T. Knight
New Orleans, 1856
(Ra1, Nb1)
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 Qe7 5.d4 d5 6.Bxd5 c6 7.Bxf7+ Qxf7 8.Ne5 Qf6 9.Qh5+ Ke7 10.h4 gxh4 11.O-O Bh6 12.b3 Nd7 13.Ba3+ c5

2019_04_11_C

14.Rd1! Nxe5 15.Bxc5+ Ke6 16.Qe8+ Ne7 17.d5mate 1-0 (Is this the first time that a Knight has been mated by a pawn?)

 

 

Barnes-N.N.
New York, 1877
(Ra1, Nb1)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 Nc6 5.a3 Nce7 6.Nf3 a6 7.O-O b5 8.Ba2 c6 9.Ng5 Nh6 10.Qb3 Qa5 11.Re1 cxb2 12.Rd1 bxc1=Q (Black now has more pieces than at the beginning of the game.)

2019_04_11_D

13.Qxf7+ Nxf7 14.Bxf7+ Kd8 15.Ne6mate 1-0

 

 

Cochrane-N.N.
London, 1842
(Qd1)
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kd1!? (This move is probably better than the usual 4.Kf1 in the Bishop’s Gambit. And it’s all possible due to White electing to play without his Queen in first place.)  4…Bc5 5.Nf3 Qd8 6.d4 Bb6 7.Bxf4 f6 8.e5 Ne7 9.exf6 gxf6 10.Nc3 Nbc6 11.Re1 Ba5 12.Ne4 Bxe1 13.Nxf6+ Kf8 14.Bh6mate 1-0

 

 

Zuckertort-N.N., 1860
(Qd1)
1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Bf5 3.Nc3 Bxc2? (A move that only wastes time. Any developing move would have been better than the text.) 4.Rc1 Bg6 5.Nb5 Na6 6.Bxc7 Nxc7?? 7.Nxc7+ Kd7 8.e4 Rc8 9.Bb5+ Kd6 10.e5mate 1-0

  

Apscheneek-N.N.
Riga, 1934
(Qd1)
1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 d6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.O-O-O Nf6 5.f3 O-O 6.e3 c6 7.g4 h6 8.Nge2 Be6 9.Ng3 Nbd7 10.h4 Nh7 11.g5 hxg5 12.hxg5 Bxg5 13.Bd3 Bh6 14.Rdg1 d5 15.Nf5 Bxf5 16.Bxf5 Qf6 17.Bxd7 d4 18.exd4 exd4 19.Ne2 Qe7 20.Nxd4 Qxd7 21.Rxh6 Rad8 22.Rxg7+! (White is now a Rook and Queen down. But he’s not worried. The pieces may have been free, but he has a mate in three!) Kxg7 23.Nf5+ Kg8 24.Rg6+! fxg6 25.Nh6mate 1-0

  

E. Hearst-R.E.
Blitz Game, 1955
(Qd1, Ra1, Ng1)
1.b3 g6 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e4 Bg7 4.h4 h5 5.g4 hxg4 6.h5

2019_04_11_E

6…Nxh5? 7.Bxg7 Nxg7? 8.Rxh8mate 1-0

 

The Daring Damiano

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, gambit, Opening, Petrov, Uncategorized

The Petrov (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6) has a reputation for being drawish. But that doesn’t mean that there no pitfalls.

 

Let’s take a look at one of them, sometimes called “The Daring Damiano” (don’t ask me why).

 

The moves are 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4. Although White has several moves available to choose from, he almost always chooses 4.Qe2. The main reason is that it activates his queen and he can quickly win the game if Black stumbles.

 

Let’s take a look at a common (at least among beginners) trap from this position and let’s call it “Ancient Chess Trap” (or ACT). The moves that make this (bad) variation are (in case you need review all the move so far) are : 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2, and now Black can lose quickly lose with 4…Nf6??

2019_03_28

5.Nc6+! +-

 

This trap is one worth remembering as it can come up in other openings and is a nice way to end a rated game early enough so you can enjoy playing blitz chess for the rest of the day.

 

After the better 4…Qe7, the game can continue with 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 [Black almost has to take the pawn. After 6.d4 Nd7, White won nicely with 6.d4 Nd7 7.f4!? f6?! 8.Be2 fxe5 9.fxe5 dxe5 10.O-O exd4 11.Bh5+ Kd8 12.Bg5 Nf6 13.Rxf6 Qxe4 14.Rd6# 1-0 (Steinkuehler-Horwitz, Manchester 1961).] 7.Qxe5 Qxe5+ 8.dxe5 Bf5, giving Black a decent chance.

 
This was starting point for Hertan’s article in the February 1990 issue of Chess Life. By the way, his article was titled, “The Daring Damiano”. It may the first time anyone has used the term to describe this variation in the Petrov.

 

The big question here, is how should White continue? The answer is not clear.

 

9.Bb5+ doesn’t look so good after the obvious 9…c6. In addition, Sapfirov-Yaroslavsev, USSR 1971, continued with 9.Bb5+ Nd7!? 10.O-O Bxc2 11.Bf4 c6 12.Be2 Bf5 13.Nc3 Be7 = (ECO evaluation). So Black can at least equalize.

 
It turns out that 9.Bd3 is an error as Black can continue with 9.Bd3? Bxd3 10.cxd3 Nc6 and his development is no worse than White and Black may already have the advantage.

 

9.c3 has possibilities. After 9.c3 Nd7 10.f4 O-O-O 11.Be3 f6 (this move deserves either !? or ?!), Black won after 12.Be2 fxe5 13.O-O exf4 14.Rxf4 Re8 15.Rxf5 Rxe3 16.Bg4 h5 17.Kf2 Re4 18.Bh3 g6 19.Nd2 gxf5 0-1 (R. Oosting (1983)-FM S. Muehlenhaus (2199), HZ Open, Netherlands Aug. 6 2017).

 
Other games with 9.c3

 

Fridthjofsdottir-Canela
Thessaloniki Ol., 1984
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 7.Qxe5 Qxe5+ 8.dxe5 Bf5 9.c3 Nd7 10.Bf4 O-O-O 11.Nd2 Bc5 12.Nb3 Bb6 13.Nd4 Bg6 14.O-O-O Rde8 15.Re1 Nc5 16.Bc4 Rhf8 17.Rd1 Re7 18.f3 Rfe8 19.Rhe1 Nd7 20.e6 fxe6 21.Bxe6 Kb8 22.Bxd7 Rxe1 23.Bxe8 Rxe8 24.Bg3 Kc8 25.Re1 Rxe1+ 26.Bxe1 Bxd4 27.cxd4 Kd7 28.Bg3 Bd3 29.Be5 Bf1 30.g3 Be2 31.Bxg7 Bxf3 32.Kd2 Ke6 33.Ke3 Bd5 34.a3 Kf5 35.Be5 c6 36.Bb8 a6 37.Kd3 Ke6 38.Kc3 Kd7 39.Kb4 b6 40.Kc3 Kc8 41.Be5 Kd7 42.Kd3 Ke6 43.Bc7 b5 44.Kc3 Kd7 45.Bb6 Be6 46.Kb4 Kd6 47.Ka5 Bc8 48.Bc5+ Kc7 49.Kb4 Bf5 50.Kc3 Kd7 51.Kd2 Ke6 52.Ke3 h5 53.Kf4 Kf6 54.Be7+ Kg6 55.Ke5 a5 56.Kd6 Be4 57.a4 bxa4 58.Bd8 Bd5 59.Bxa5 Kg5 60.h3 Kf5 61.g4+ 1/2-1/2

 

Herbrechtsmeier-Duerr
Badenweiler Open
Germany, 1988
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 7.Qxe5 Qxe5+ 8.dxe5 Bf5 9.c3 Nd7 10.Bf4 O-O-O 11.Nd2 Re8 12.Nc4 f6 13.O-O-O fxe5 14.Bg3 g6 15.Bd3 Bg7 16.Bc2 h5 17.h4 Nc5 18.Rhe1 e4 19.Bf4 a6 20.Ne3 Rhf8 21.Bg3 Bh6 22.Kb1 Nd3 23.Nxf5 gxf5 24.Bxd3 exd3 25.Rxe8+ Rxe8 26.Rxd3 Re1+ 27.Kc2 Re2+ 28.Kd1 Rxb2 29.Rf3 Rd2+ 30.Ke1 Rxa2 31.Rxf5 Bd2+ 32.Kd1 Bxc3 33.Rf8+ Kd7 34.Rf7+ Ke6 35.Rxc7 Be5 36.Bxe5 Kxe5 1/2-1/2

 

Jolanta Zawadzka (243200-Ewa Harazinska (2310)
Polish Women’s Ch.
Poznan, Apr. 1 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 7.Qxe5 Qxe5+ 8.dxe5 Bf5 9.c3 Nd7 10.Bf4 O-O-O 11.Bc4 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Re8 13.f4 f6 14.O-O fxe5 15.fxe5 Bc5+ 16.Kh1 Bxb1 17.Raxb1 Rxe5 18.Bd3 h6 19.b4 Be7 20.Bf5+ Kb8 21.Bg4 Bf6 22.Bf3 Re3 23.c4 Rd8 24.a4 c6 25.a5 Kc7 26.b5 cxb5 27.Rxb5 b6 28.c5 bxc5 29.Rxc5+ Kd6 30.Rc6+ Ke7 31.Rb1 Rd6 32.Rc7+ Rd7 33.Rc4 Rd4 34.Rcc1 Ra3 35.Rb7+ Rd7 36.Re1+ Kd8 37.Rb8+ Kc7 38.Rb7+ Kd8 39.Rb5 Bc3 40.Rb8+ Kc7 41.Rb7+ Kd8 42.Rb8+ Kc7 43.Rb7+ 1/2-1/2
White can offer a pawn with 9.Nc3. Black should not take it and play the most reasonable development move; 9…Nc6. The c-pawn is still vulnerable, and Black is free to castle queenside, giving his king safety and his activity to his rook.

 

Finally, White can sidestep this variation with 6.d4 dxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6. But that is for another post.

Swiss Gambit

by lefthandeddragon, posted in Bird, chess, gambit, games, miniature, Opening, Uncategorized

Most players know of Froms’ Gambit [1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3), with continuation of either 4…g5 (to drive away the knight) or 4…Nf6 (to defend and ready to redeploy the knight to g4 or e4)].

 

But White can also offer a similar gambit after 1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3. This gambit is known as the Swiss Gambit. Because of its rarity, most players are not aware of it or it’s thematic ideas.

 

Let’s take a look the gambit after the opening moves (1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3).

2019_03_14_a

If Black was to take the pawn, he would be a pawn up in the game. However, it would be hazardous to do so as both of White’s bishops (after 3…exd3 4.Bxd3) would be activated and his own kingside would be vulnerable. There are two things that slow down White’s attack. The first is the f-pawn, which unlike in the From’s Gambit (which does not have such an advanced pawn), blocks the bishop from going to f4 or g5. The second thing is that Black usually plays an early 4…Nf6, to stop the h5 checks.

 
Now, lets look at some games.

 

First, Black does not have to take the pawn. But such a plan can be risky as the d3-pawn can easily capture the e4-pawn and White has a nice center, without having to sacrifice a pawn.

 

Ranniku-Karakas
Briansk, 1965
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 g6 4.dxe4 e5 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bc4 Qe7 7.Nc3 exf4 8.Qe2 d6 9.Bxf4 Be6 10.O-O-O Nc6 11.Bb5 Bd7 12.Bg5 Bg7 13.Nd5 Qd8 14.e5 dxe5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.Qxe5+ Kf7 17.Nxf6 1-0

 

Priehoda (2404)-Cyprian
Kubin Open, 1978
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 e3 4.Bxe3 Nf6 5.Nc3 d5 6.d4 Bf5 7.Bd3 e6 8.Nf3 c6 9.O-O Bb4 10.Ne2 Nbd7 11.Ng3 g6 12.Qe2 O-O 13.Bd2 Bxd2 14.Qxd2 Qc7 15.Rae1 Rae8 16.h3 b6 17.Nh1 Nh5 18.Ne5 Nxe5 19.fxe5 c5 20.Bb5 Rc8 21.g4 cxd4 22.gxf5 exf5 23.Qxd4 Rcd8 24.e6 Qe7 25.Bd7 Nf6 26.Qh4 Qc5+ 27.Nf2 Qe7 28.Nd3 Kg7 29.Qd4 Kh6 30.Ne5 Ne4 31.Qe3+ Kg7 32.Nc6 Qh4 33.Nxd8 f4 34.e7 Rf6 35.Qf3 Nd2 36.Qg4 1-0

 

Petran (2341)-Veselsky (2200)
Slovakia Ch.
Dolny Kubin, 1979
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e3 5.d4 e6 6.Bd3 Bb4 7.Bxe3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 O-O 9.Nf3 d6 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Bd2 Qe8 12.Qe2 Rf7 13.Rae1 Nf8 14.f5 h6 15.Nh4 Bd7 16.Qf3 Qc8 17.Qg3 Nh5 18.Qh3 Nf6 19.Ng6 N6h7 20.fxe6 Bxe6 21.Rxf7 Bxh3 22.Ree7 Nxg6 23.Rxg7+ Kf8 24.Ref7+ Ke8 25.Bxg6 1-0

 
If Black wants to decline the pawn offer, he must play an early …d5.

 

Heinola-Lehtivaara
Tampere Hervanta, 1987
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 d5 4.dxe4 dxe4 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Be3 c6 8.Nge2 Bf5 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.Bd4 Kc7 11.Ng3 e6 12.Be5+ Nxe5 13.fxe5 Ng4 14.Ncxe4 Nxe5 15.Be2 g6 16.h3 h5 17.Kb1 h4 18.Nxf5 gxf5 19.Ng5 Re8 20.Rhe1 Rh6 21.Rd2 Bc5 22.Bf1 Nd7 23.Bc4 e5 24.Red1 Nb6 25.Bb3 Be3 0-1

 

And he must play it accurately.

 

R. Oberlin-R. Berggren
US Open
Los Angeles, 1991
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 d5 4.Nh3 Nf6 5.Nf2 exd3 6.Bxd3 Nc6 7.O-O b6? (This setup of the knight on c6 and the bishop going to b7 seems too slow and out of touch with a tactical opening such as this one. Black soon finds himself short of moves.) 8.Nd2 Bb7 9.Nf3 Qd7 10.Ng5 Nd8 11.Bxh7 e6 12.Bg6+ Ke7 13.Re1 Kd6 (Let the King Hunt begin!)

2019_03_14_b

4.f5 exf5 15.Nd3 Qa4 16.Bf4+ Kc6 17.Ne5+ Kc5 18.Qd2 d4 19.b4+! Kd5 20.c4+ 1-0

 

It is only after 1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 Nf6 that the real battle begins.

De Groot-Anderssen
Amsterdam, 1875
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Ne4 Nc6 8.c3 d6 9.Nfg5 Nxe4 10.Nxe4? (>Bxe4) 10…g6 11.Qe2 e5 12.O-O Bf5 13.Ng5 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Bxg5 15.fxg5 Qe7 16.Qh3 Qd7 17.Be3 Qxh3 18.gxh3 0-1

 

After the moves 1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6, White has three excellent choices of 6.Ng5 (A brazen attempt at an attack, probably best for a blitz game), 6.Ne5 (a more cautious and shy approach to an attack), and 6.Be3 (a developing move that allows White to castle queenside if the need arises).

 

Bird+Dobell-Gelbfuhs
Vienna, 1873
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 Nf6 5.Nf3 (a very good move as the knight usually finds itself involved in White’s attack.) 5…e6 (this move is the most common as it allows his bishop to develop and bolsters his defense of his weak point on f7.) 6.Ng5!? g6 (not 6…Bc5? because of 7.Bxh7 Kf8 8.Nxe6+, winning) 7.h4 Bh6 8.h5 Bxg5 9.fxg5 Nd5 10.hxg6 Qe7 11.Rxh7 Rxh7 12.gxh7 Qb4+ 13.Kf1 Qh4 14.Bg6+ Ke7 15.Qh5 1-0

 

Popp-Jørgensen
corres.
IECC, 2000
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 Nf6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Ng5 c6 7.h4 Bg4 8.Be2 Bxe2 9.Qxe2 g6 10.Qe6 Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qf5 12.Qf7+ Kd7 13.h5 gxh5 14.Rxh5 Qc5 15.Rh1 Qxc2 16.Ne6 Qe4+ 0-1

 

Christian Maltais (2134)-Daniel J. Freire (2047)
corres.
DE10A /pr 48
ICCF, 2016
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Ng5 d5 7.Qe2 Bc5 8.Nd2 O-O 9.Ndf3 Qd6 10.h4 Nc6 11.c3 h6 12.Ne5 hxg5 13.hxg5 Ne4 14.Bxe4 dxe4 15.g6 Rf5 16.Nf7 Rxf7 17.Qh5 Qf8 18.Qh8mate 1-0

 

Ivar Jakobsson-Hakan Johansson
Stockholm, 1974
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Ne5 d6 7.O-O b6 8.Ng4 Ba6 9.Nxf6+ Qxf6 10.Re1 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Nc6 12.Qf3 Kd7 13.Nd2 d5 14.c4 Bc5+ 15.Kh1 Nd4 16.Qh3 Rae8 17.cxd5 Nc2 18.Ne4 Qh6 19.dxe6+ Kc8 20.Qf3 Kb8 21.Nxc5 bxc5 22.Qb3+ Nb4 23.a3 a5 24.axb4 cxb4 25.Rxa5 1-0

 

Schirmer-Schleipen, 1956
1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Be3 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Nbd2 Nd5 9.Ng5 Bxg5 10.fxg5 Rxf1+ 11.Nxf1 Nxe3 12.Bxh7+ Kf8 13.Nxe3 Qxg5 14.Qf3+ Qf6 15.Qh5 Ke7 16.Rf1 Qh6 17.Qf7+ Kd6 18.Rd1+ Kc6 19.Be4+ d5 20.Bxd5+ exd5 21.Qxd5+ Kb6 22.Nc4+ 1-0

PAWNING AND MORE

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, names, Uncategorized

The Word of the Day on Monday, Feb. 25th 2019, for Words With Friends (a popular Scrabble-like game for smart phones), was PAWN. Now Words With Friends (WWF) usually give a brief definition, and sometimes no definition, for their Word of the Day. This time they gave a lengthy definition, or rather several definitions, for PAWN.

Here it is.

 

48555_XXX_v1

 

PAWN

NOUN
1. a chess piece of the smallest size and value, that moves one square forward along its file if unobstructed (or two on the first move), or one square diagonally forwards when making a capture. Each player begins with eight pawns on the second rank, and can promote to become any other piece (typically a queen) if it reaches the opponent’s end of the board.

2. a person used by others for their own purposes.

3. an object left as security for money lent

 
VERB
1. to deposit (an object) with a pawn broker as security for money lent.

 
No surprise here. After all, chess is popular game!

 

But it got me thinking. How many of the pieces, usually given as nouns, can also be used as verbs. The list may surprise you.

 
We have PAWN (+ED, +ING, +S) as shown above.

 

We  also have QUEEN (+ED, +ING, +S)
v.
1. to promote a pawn in a chess game to a queen.

 

And KNIGHT (+ED, +ING, +S)
v.
1. to raise one to the level of knighthood, esp. by a queen or king.

 

Here are three more pieces.

KING (+ED, +ING, +S)
v.
1. to reign as king.
2. to promote a checkers piece to a king (in checkers you can only promote to a king).

 
BISHOP (+ED, +ING, +S)
v.
to appoint as a bishop (the head of a diocese)

 

ROOK (+ED, +ING, +S)
v.
1. to deprive of by deceit.
2. to take money or property from by fraudulent means.

 
… and a bonus piece

Some non-chess players claim that CASTLE is the word for the pieces in the corners at the start of the game. Technically, the word CASTLE is only used as verb among the chess players, publications and lexicon.

 
But if we grant the non-players the permission to use CASTLE as a noun, then we would have another noun-verb.
In case you need a reminder, here is the definition.

 
CASTLE
v.
1. a move involving a player’s unmoved king and one of the player’s original unmoved rooks. It consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player’s first rank, then moving the rook to the square over which the king crossed. It is considered a king move.

 

 

Najdorf Thematic, part 2

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, miniature, Najdorf, Sicilian, Sozin, Uncategorized

As mentioned before, I have entered into Najdorf Thematic Tournament at chess.com. I have advanced to the next round; it seems my Sozin variation is scoring some delightful wins for me.

 

Here’s one of them from the second round.

 

 

Escalante-“KINGLOU” (1546)
Thematic Tournament – Sicilian Najdorf, 2nd round
chess.com, 2018
[Escalante]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e5 [This move looks weak as it opens the diagonal for the bishop, but the nut is not so easy to crack. Black must be willing to have doubled pawns on the e-file (after …Be6) and suffer the difficulties of his pawn structure in coordinating his pieces.] 7.Nf3 (7…Nf5 eliminates much of Whites’s pressure  after 7…Bxf5. 7.Nde2 is the more positional approach. 7.Nf3 resembles a Two Knight’s Defence, something I more familiar with.) 7…Nc6 (7…Be7 is better as it would have allowed 8….O-O after 8.Ng5.} 8.Ng5 {This position is now very similar to the Two Knight’s Defence, where Black is forced to give to give up a pawn. However, in this game, White already has the greater mobility, coordination, and the initiative.) 8…d5 9.Nxd5 Nxd5 10.Bxd5 Be6 (White has a strong tactical response to Black’s lack of development.)

2019_01_31_a

11.Nxe6! fxe6 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Qxe5 Rg8 [Better is 14… Kf7 15.O-O (15.Bg5?! Be7 and Black’s king, despite not being able to castle, will be safe on the kingside) Bg7 16.Qf4+ Qf6 17.Qc7+ Qe7 18.Qxc6 Rhc8 19.Qa4 and White remains on top.] 15.Qxe6+ Qe7 16.Qxg8 Qxe4+ 17.Be3  O-O-O (Black’s best move; everything else loses faster.) 18.O-O Bd6 19.Qb3! (19.Qxh7? is a mistake due to 19…Be5 with the idea of …Rh8.) 19…Qe5 20.g3 h5 21.Qb6 Kd7 22.Qb7+ Bc7 23.Bf4 Qa5 (Better, but still losing is 23…Rb8 24.Rad1+ Ke7 25.Qxc6 Rb6 26.Qd7+ Kf6 27.Bxe5+ Bxe5 28.Qd8+) 24.Rad1+ Ke7 25.Bxc7!

2019_01_31_b

1-0

Trivia Questions

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, French, Trivia, Uncategorized

OK,

 

Here are some trivia questions guaranteed to win a few bets at a chess club.

 

 

(1) Which chess player(s) did NOT receive a GM title from FIDE?

 

Jose Capablanca

 

Anatoly Karpov

 

Camilla Baginskaite

 

Nona Gaprindashvili

 

Bobby Fischer

 

 

 
Answer : Jose Capablanca. He received his GM title by Czar Nicolas II at the St. Petersburg 1914 International Tournament. FIDE was organized in 1924 and started awarding titles in 1950.

 

 
(2) How many moves can a Rook make in a single turn?

 

 

 

Answer : Just one move, like all the other pieces. He can, however, move to many different squares.

 

 
(3) Can a player win a game without moving a single pawn?

 

 

 

Answer : Yes. An opponent fails to show up for the game. In the case of which a player must play a move to start the clock, he may play 1.Nf3.

 

 

(4) Can a player move two of his pieces in a single turn?

 

 

 

Answer : Yes. It’s called castling.

 

 

(5) Can a player take two of his opponent’s pieces in a single turn?

 

 

Answer : No. It’s not possible.

 

 
(6) We know all about a discovered check and a double check. Can a player ever triple check his opponent?

 

 

 

Answer : Actually, that is impossible. It’s not even possible in Siamese chess. Try it!

 

 

(7) Which of these openings have a variation known as the “Wing Gambit”?

 

Sicilian

French

King’s Indian Defence

Bird’s Opening

 

 

 
Answer : Interesting enough, Bird’s Opening does not have a Wing Gambit variation. And while the KID does not have a Wing Gambit, it does have a Bayonet variation with b4.

 

 

Try them out and let me know how it goes! =)

Smothered with Love

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, Smothered Mate, Uncategorized

A smothered mate occurs when a Knight is checking the enemy king and that king is blocked by his own pieces so he cannot escape. These mates can roughly be broken down to three types.

 

The first, which can be called the “oops” variation of the smothered mate, occurs when a player entombs his own  pieces and forgets about a wandering Knight. This type almost always happens in the opening.

 

Griffith-N.N., 1888
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Ne7 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Nc4 cxb5 7.Nd6mate 1-0
McGrouther-McCann
Dundee, 1893
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 Nge7 6.Nd6mate 1-0
Reshevsky-Margolit
Simul
Israel, 1958
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Nge2 Nc6 6.a3 Qa5 7.Bd2 e5 8.axb4 Nxb4 9.Rxa5 Nd3mate 0-1

 

 

The second type occurs when a piece of the same color as the mating Knight give supports to the Knight by pinning one or more of the other side’s pieces. For the naming conscious person, we’ll call this the “Pinning and Winning” variation.
Muhlock-Kostics
Cologne, 1912
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3mate 0-1
Arnold-Bohm
Munich, 1923
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Qe2 Ngf6 6.Nd6mate 1-0
Godai-Kieninger
Vienna, 1925
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3 Ngxe5 8.axb4 Nd3mate 0-1

 

Sereda-Gambarashvilli
Tiflis, 1934
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5 4.Bd3 b6 5.Nbd2 Nc6 6.b3 cxd4 7.exd4 Bb7 8.O-O Nd5 9.c4 Nf4 10.Bb1 Nxd4 11.Bb2 (11.Nxd4 Qg5 12.g3 Nh3#) 11…Nde2+ 12.Kh1 Qg5 13.Rg1 (13.Nxg5 Bxg2#) 13…Qg4 14.h3 Qh4 15.Be4 Bxe4 16.Nxe4 Nxh3 17.Nh2 Nxf2+ 18.Nxf2 Ng3mate 0-1

 

Denker-Shayne
Simul
Rochester, 1945
[Chernev, 1001 Best Short Games, # 442]
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.b4 Bxb4 4.c3 Bc5 5.d4 exd4 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.e5 Ne4 8.O-O Nxc3 9.Nxc3 dxc3 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Qd5 Rf8? (Naturally castling is the better move.) 12.Bf6 gxf6 13.exf6 Bxf6 14.Rfe1+ Be7 15.Ne5 c6 16.Nxf7! cxd5? (16…Qc7, to make room for the king to run, still loses to 17.Rxe7+ Kxe7 18.Re1+ Kf6 19.Qg5+. The text move, however, loses even faster.) 17.Nd6mate 1-0

 

Edward Lasker-I.A. Horowitz
New York, 1946
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 c5 4.c4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Nc3 d4 8.exd4 exd4 9.Nb5 Bb4+ 10.Bd2 O-O 11.Bxb4 Nxb4 12.Nbxd4 Qa5 13.Nd2 Qe5+ 14.Ne2 Nd3mate 0-1

Dudkin-Skitin
USSR, 1967
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 Qe7 6.a3 Nxe5 7.Nxd4 Nd3mate 0-1

 

The last type of the smothered mate is preceded by a piece (usually a Queen) sacrifice that either removes a defending piece or forces a defending piece to capture the sacrificed piece on a square next to the king and thereby remove the last flight square for the king.

 

N.N-Canal
Simul, 1935
1.e4 e5 2.Ne2 d5 (This powerful retort is one reason why Alapin’s opening is not played during these modern times.) 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nbc3 Qa5 5.d4 Nc6 6.d5 Nb4 7.Bd2 Bf5 8.Rc1 Bxc2 9.Rxc2 Nd3mate 0-1

 

Morphy-N.N.
New Orleans, 1856
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 g5 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.d4 Nc6 7.Nf3 Qh5 8.Nd5 Kd8 9.c3 Nf6 10.Nxf6 Bxf6 11.e5 Bg7 12.h4 f6 13.Kg1 g4 14.Nh2 fxe5 15.Nxg4 exd4 16.Bxf4 Rf8 17.Bg5+ Ne7 18.Qe2 Re8 19.Ne5 Qxe2 20.Nf7mate 1-0

 

Schlemminger-Sternbach
Bochum, 1936
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.b3 Bg7 4.Bb2 c5 5.e3 O-O 6.Nd2 Qa5 7.Bd3 cxd4 8.exd4 Nc6 9.Ngf3 d6 10.a3 Nh5 11.O-O Nf4 12.Bc2 Qh5 13.Ne4 Bh3 14.Ng3 Qg4 15.gxh3 Qxh3 16.Ne1 h5 17.Ne4 Bxd4 18.Bxd4 Nxd4 19.Bd3 f5 20.Ng3 h4 21.Nh1 Qg2+ 22.Nxg2 Nh3mate 0-1

 

When the Queen sacrifices herself on the back rank, this variation is known as Philidor’s Legacy. However, Philidor was not the first; this idea has been around since Greco.

 

N.N.-Greco
Rome, 1620?
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.Re1 O-O 6.c3 Qe7 7.d4 exd4 8.e5 Ng4 9.cxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Qh4 11.Nf3 Qxf2+ 12.Kh1 Qg1+ 13.Nxg1 Nf2mate 0-1

 

N.N.-Greco
Rome, 1620?
1.e4 e5 2.f4 f5 3.exf5 Qh4+ 4.g3 Qe7 5.Qh5+ Kd8 6.fxe5 Qxe5+ 7.Be2 Nf6 8.Qf3 d5 9.g4 h5 10.h3 hxg4 11.hxg4 Rxh1 12.Qxh1 Qg3+ 13.Kd1 Nxg4 14.Qxd5+ Bd7 15.Nf3 Nf2+ 16.Ke1 Nd3+ 17.Kd1 Qe1+ 18.Nxe1 Nf2mate 0-1

 

Mcconnell-Morphy
New Orleans, 1849
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 Bg7 5.d3 h6 6.O-O Nf6 7.c3 b5 8.Bxb5 c6 9.Bc4 d5 10.exd5 cxd5 11.Qe2+ Be6 12.Bb3 O-O 13.d4 Ne4 14.Bc2 f5 15.Nbd2 Nc6 16.c4 Bxd4+ 17.Nxd4 Nxd4 18.Qd3 Qb6 19.Kh1 Nxc2 20.Qxc2 Nf2+ 21.Kg1 Nh3+ 22.Kh1 Qg1+ 23.Rxg1 Nf2mate 0-1

 

Morphy-N.N.
Paris, 1859
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc3 Qh5 9.Nxe4 Be6 10.Neg5 Bb4 11.Rxe6+ fxe6 12.Nxe6 Qf7 13.Nfg5 Qe7 14.Qe2 Bd6 15.Nxg7+ Kd7 16.Qg4+ Kd8 17.Nf7+ Qxf7 18.Bg5+ Be7 19.Ne6+ Kc8 20.Nc5+ Kb8 21.Nd7+ Kc8 22.Nb6+ Kb8 23.Qc8+ Rxc8 24.Nd7mate 1-0

 

Bird-N.N.
London, 1886
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Nc3 g4 5.Ne5 Qh4+ 6.g3 fxg3 7.Qxg4 g2 8.Qxh4 gxh1=Q 9.Qh5 Be7 10.Nxf7 Nf6 11.Nd6+ Kd8 12.Qe8+ Rxe8 13.Nf7mate 1-0

 

Young – Dore’
Boston, 1892
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nxe4 6.O-O Nd6 7.Nxc3 Nxc4 8.Re1+ Be7 9.Nd5 Nc6 10.Bg5 f6 11.Rc1 b5 12.Rxc4 bxc4 13.Ne5 fxg5 14.Qh5+ g6 15.Nf6+ Bxf6 16.Nxg6+ Qe7 17.Rxe7+ Bxe7 18.Ne5+ Kd8 19.Nf7+ Ke8 20.Nd6+ Kd8 21.Qe8+ Rxe8 22.Nf7mate 1-0

 

Chodera-Pechmann
Prague, 1910
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 d6 5.Nge2 Nc6 6.d3 Be6 7.Na4 Qe7 8.Nxc5 dxc5 9.O-O O-O-O 10.f4 c4 11.f5 cxd3 12.fxe6 dxe2 13.Qxe2 Nd4 14.Qf2 Ng4 15.Qxf7 Qc5 16.e7 Nf3+ (16…Ne2+ would have worked just as well.) 17.Kh1 Qg1+ 18.Rxg1 Nf2mate 0-1

 

Howell-Brunnemer
New York, 1915
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.c3 Qf6 6.O-O d6 7.Bg5 Qg6 8.cxd4 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxg5 10.Kh1 Qe5 11.Nb5 Bb6 12.N1c3 a6 13.f4 Qc5 14.Na3 Nf6 15.e5 Ng4 16.Ne4 Qe3 17.Qc2 Bf5 18.Nxd6+ cxd6 19.Qxf5? Qg1+ 20.Rxg1 Nf2mate 0-1

 

Capablanca-Mattison
Carlsbad, 1929
[Escalante]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 (The Classical Variation of the Nimzo-Indian is considered stronger now than 20-30 years ago. Maybe Capablanca was on to something.) 4…c5 5.dxc5 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bxc5 7.Bf4 d5 8.e3 Qa5 9.Be2 Bb4 10.O-O Bxc3 11.bxc3 O-O 12.Rab1 Qa3 13.Rfd1 b6 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Ng5 f5 16.Bf3 Qc5 17.c4 Ndb4 18.Qb3 e5 19.a3 Nc6 20.Bxc6 [Mattison reads the handwriting on the wall and resigns instead of 20…Qxc6 21.c5+ Kh8 22.Nf7+ Kh8 (22…Rxf7 23.Rd8+) 23.Nh6+, well, you know the rest.] 1-0

 

Fox-Hodges
New York, 1937
[Remove Nb1]
1.e4 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.e5 Nfd7 4.e6 fxe6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.Nf3 Qd6 7.Ne5 Nbd7 8.Bf4 Qb4+ 9.c3 Qxb2 10.Qc2 Qxa1+ 11.Ke2 Qxh1 12.Bg6+ hxg6 13.Qxg6+ Kd8 14.Nf7+ Ke8 15.Nd6+ Kd8 16.Qe8+ Nxe8 17.Nf7mate 1-0

 

C. Bloodgood-B. Evans
Norfolk USO, 1961
1.g4 (The Grob, as played by its most dedicated and infamous adherent.) 1…d5 2.Bg2 c6 3.g5 e5 4.h4 Bd6 5.d3 Be6 6.e4 Ne7 7.Nd2 O-O 8.Bh3 Bxh3 9.Nxh3 f5 10.gxf6 Rxf6 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Ne4 Rf7 13.Bg5 Be7 14.Qg4 Qa5+ 15.c3 Bxg5 16.Nhxg5 Rf8 17.Qe6+ Kh8 18.Nf7+ Kg8 19.Nh6+ Kh8 20.Qg8+ Rxg8 21.Nf7mate 1-0

 

Grischuk (2606)-Ponomariov (2630)
Torshavn, 2000
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Bg7 7.a4 a5 8.Ng5 e6 9.f4 dxe5 10.fxe5 c5 11.c3 cxd4 12.O-O O-O 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Nf3 f6 15.Nc3 fxe5 16.Bg5 Qd7 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Rxf1+ 19.Qxf1 Qd4+ 20.Kh1 Qxe5 21.Bd8 Qc5 22.Ne4! +/- Qb4 23.Ng5! Kh8 (Obviously not 23…Qxb3 24.Qf7+ Kh8 25.Qe8+ Bf8 26.Qxf8#. But Black is quite lost without looking for free pieces.) 24.Qf7 +- Bd7 25.Bxe6 Rxd8 26.Qg8+ Rxg8 27.Nf7mate 1-0

 

Bischoff (2561)-Ka Mueller (2517)
German Ch., 2004
1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.d4 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3 e5 8.Bb2 e4 9.Nd2 a6 10.Be2 Qe7 11.O-O-O b5 12.f3 exf3 13.Bxf3 bxc4 14.bxc4 Ba3 15.c5 Bxb2+ 16.Kxb2 O-O 17.Rhe1 Qd8 18.e4 dxe4 19.Ndxe4 Nd5 20.Nxd5 cxd5 21.Nd6 Nf6 22.h3 Be6 23.Qc3 Qc7 24.Ka1 Rfb8 25.Rb1 Qc6 26.Rb3 Qa4 27.Bd1 Rxb3 28.Bxb3 Qa3 29.Re3 Rd8 30.Qe1 Rb8 31.Rxe6 fxe6 32.Qxe6+ Kh8 33.Nf7+ Kg8 34.Nh6+ Kh8 35.Qg8+ Nxg8 36.Nf7mate 1-0

An Interesting Game.

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, Endgame, game, Queen, Uncategorized

Wilson-Thompson
Detroit, 1990
Two connected rooks are slightly better than a single queen. The advantage lies with the player who has the initiative.

In this game, the White, with the single queen, is the one with the initiative but cannot break through the Black’s defence. White declines a few forced draws along the game, but is never in real danger.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3!? (The Bogolyubov continuation of the Two Knights Defence.) 8…Rb8 9.Bxc6+ Nxc6 10.Qxc6+ Nd7 11.d4 Be7 12.Nf3 (One interesting try is 12.Ne4!? But this lead to a Black victory in Leimkuhler-Heidsiek, corres., 1977/9. The game continued with 12.Ne4 Rb6 13.Qa4 O-O 14.O-O f5 15.Nc5 f4 16.Nxd7 Bxd7 17.Qxa7 Bb5 18.Re1 Bh4 19.c3 Bxf2+ 0-1.) 12…Rb6 13.Qa4 exd4 14.O-O (Tempting is 14.Nxd4. But after 14… Rb4 15.Nc6 Rxa4 16.Nxd8 Bxd8, Black wins a piece. And after 14.Qxd4 O-O 15.O-O Bc5, White’s queen gets kicked around.) 14…O-O 15.a3 Bf6 16.b4 Ba6 17.Re1 Bc4 18.Qxa7 Qc8 19.Bf4 Rb7 20.Qa5 Bb5 21.Bg5 Bxg5 22.Nxg5 Nb8 23.Ne4 Nc6 24.Nd6 Qd7 25.Qxb5 [Surely better is 25.Nxb5 Ra7 (25…d3 26.cxd3 Rxb5 27.Qxb5 Qd4 28.Nd2) 26.Qb6 Rb8 27.Qc5 +-] 25…Rxb5 26.Nxb5 Nxb4 27.Nxd4 Qxd4 28.c3 Qf6 29.axb4 g6 30.Ra2 Rd8 31.Rc2 Qe6 32.Rec1 Qe4 33.Nd2 Qe2 34.Nf1 Qb5 35.Rb2 Qg5 36.Rbb1 f5 37.c4 f4 38.Rc3 Qf5 39.Rbc1 Rb8 40.Rb3 Qg5 41.Rcb1 Qf5 42.c5 g5 43.h3 h5 44.c6 Qb5 45.Rc3 Kf7 46.Rc5 Qd3 47.c7 Rc8 48.Rbc1 g4 49.R1c3 Qb1 50.hxg4 hxg4 51.R5c4 Qf5 52.g3 fxg3 53.Nxg3 Qd5 54.Rc5 Qd1+ 55.Kg2 Qa4 56.b5 Qa8+ 57.Kg1 Ke6 58.Rc6+ Kd7 59.Ne4 Qa1+ 60.Kg2 Qb1 61.Nf6+ Ke7 62.b6 Rh8 63.Rc1 (63.Nd5+ Kf7 64.Rf6+ Kg7) 63…Qf5 64.Ng8+ Rxg8 65.c8=Q Rxc8 66.Rxc8 Qf3+ 67.Kg1 g3 68.R8c7+ Kd6 69.R1c2 gxf2+ 70.Kf1 Qd3+ 71.Kxf2 Qd4+ 72.Kf1 Qxb6

2018_12_12

73.R7c3 (Simply 73.Rc6+ draws.) 73…Qb5+ 74.Ke1 Qe5+ 75.Kd1 Qh5+ 76.Re2 [76.Kc1 Qh1+ (76…Qg5+ 77.Kd1 Qg1+ 78.Kd2 Kd5 79.Rc5+ Kd4 80.R5c4+ Kd5 81.Rc5+) 77.Kb2 Qb7+ 78.Kc1] 76…Qh1+ 77.Kc2 Qa1 78.Rd3+ Kc5 79.Rb3 Qa2+ 80.Rb2 Qa4+ 81.Kc1 Qa1+ 82.Kc2 Qa4+ 83.Kd2 Qd4+ 84.Kc1 Qf4+ 85.Kb1 Qf1+ 86.Ka2 Qf7+ 87.Rb3 Qa7+ 88.Kb2 Qg7+ 89.Rc3+ Kb4 90.Re4+ Kb5 91.Rc4 Qe5 92.Rc8 [Again, a simple draw can be found with a check (92.Rc5+ =)] 92…Qe2+ 93.Rc2 Qe5+ 94.Kb1 Qe1+ 95.Kb2 Qe5+ 96.R2c3 Qe2+ 97.Ka3 Qe7+ 98.Ka2 Qe2+ 99.Rc2 (99.Rc5+ is yet another draw.) 99…Qe6+ 100.Kb1 Qe1+ 101.Kb2 Qe5+ 102.R2c3 Qe2+ 103.Kb1 Qe1+ 104.Ka2 Qe2+ 105.Rc2 Qe6+ 106.Kb1 Qe1+ 107.Rc1 Qe4+ 108.R8c2 (Passive, but still enough to draw. 108.R1c2 is better, as White still has a possible check if necessary.) 108…Kb4 109.Ka1 Qd4+ 110.Ka2 Qd5+ 111.Kb1 Qd3 112.Kb2 Qd4+ 113.Ka2 Qd5+ 114.Ka1 Qd4+ 115.Kb1 Qd3 116.Kb2 Qd4+ 117.Kb1 Qd3 118.Kb2 Qd4+ 119.Ka2 Qd5+ 120.Kb1 Qd3 1/2-1/2

A Najdorf Tournament

by lefthandeddragon, posted in chess, games, Najdorf, Sicilian, Sozin, Uncategorized

I am playing in a Najdorf Thematic tournament at chess.com.

 
The tournament is organized into several sections with the winners of each round advancing to the next.

 
I won my preliminary section with a perfect score of 8-0. I didn’t think I would so well, but here I am being advanced to the next round with the other winners of their sections.

 
Here are a couple of games from this tournament.

 

“Leatherneck”-Escalante
Sicilian Najdorf Invitational
chess.com, 2018
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 (This position defines the Najdorf, the theme of this tournament.) 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Be7 8.Re1 O-O 9.Bg5!? (A move rarely seen in this variation.) 9…Qc7 10.Qe2 Qc5 11.Rad1? Qxg5 12.g3 Bd7 13.f4 Qg6 14.f5 Qg5 15.Qe3 Qxe3+ 16.Rxe3 e5 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.Bxd5 Bc6 19.Ne6 fxe6 20.Bxe6+ Kh8 21.Bd5 Bxd5 22.exd5 Nd7 23.b4 Nb6 24.g4 Rac8 25.Rd2 Nc4 26.Rc3 Nxd2 0-1

 

Escalante-“MiddlegamerUmesh” (1531)
Sicilian Najdorf Invitational
chess.com, 2018
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 (The move constitutes the Sozin variation, a favorite of Fischer’s and the variation which I played exclusively in round one. Having a perfect score makes me want to try it again in round two. We’ll see.)  6…e6 7.Bb3 Qc7 8.Be3 Be7 9.g4 b5 (9…Nc6 10.g5, with the possibility of the same sacrifice.) 10.g5 Nfd7? 11.Bxe6! 1-0 (Black didn’t want to face 11…fxe6 12.Nxe6 Qa5 13.Nxg7+ Kf8, and White with three pieces for the piece, plus the attack, should win.)

 

Since I have not included any diagrams in my games, here is some artwork of Fischer, the (in)famous prodigy and world chess champion.

 

 

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