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Opening LanesGary Lane
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Chasing Fire Everyone is on the look out for new moves in the opening, but can it be possible on move five in the c3-Sicilian? The modern professional player is always seeking out new, fashionable moves because they play in so many tournaments that they want to thwart their opponents from looking up all their regular openings on the computer. It can sometimes seem a never ending search or as I think of it – like chasing fire. But occasionally it can work wonders, even in familiar main lines. Their example can be borrowed by us mere mortals and used in casual games or tournaments as a shortcut to improve our openings. Francesco Bentivegna from Italy e-mailed "I have an interesting (and really important) question this month. I played many games with my favourite Sicilian Alapin, one of my favourite weapons against the Sicilian Defense with very good results. But look at this strange and interesting game: Kristjansson-Jones, Reykjavik 2012. What about the recent 5...Bf5!?. I didn't find anything about it. A new weapon for Black in the main line with 2...d5?" The game is quite revealing in that White who is rated 2500 soon gets into trouble in the opening, which is appealing to those who want to play something a bit different. The move is known, but only in the last couple of years has 5...Bf5 been adopted by top players, so it has slipped under the radar if you look in specialist opening books. Here is the inspirational game selected by the reader: Stefan
Kristjansson – Gawain Jones 1 e4 c5 2 c3 This is the starting point of the c3-Sicilian with the obvious intention to build a pawn centre with d2-d4. The reader refers to it as the Alapin and that is a familiar name in some countries for the c3-Sicilian. Semyon Alapin (1856-1923) born in Vilnius, which is nowadays known as the capital of Lithuania. He played to a high level including results such as fifth place at the super strong tournament Monte Carlo 1901. However, he spent a lot of time writing about openings and games. His name is linked to several openings, but the Alapin Sicilian is arguably the best known around the world. 2...d5 3 exd5 Qxd5 4 d4 Nc6 5 Nf3 Bf5!?
This move is the latest fashion. Jones often plays open tournaments and consequently needs to constantly update his openings. This means that anti-Sicilian weapons are a chore he has to contend with, but this bishop move was used at Hastings this year to defeat the top English player David Howell, so it would be well-known to him. I would guess the reason why the reader thinks it is a new move is because it is not mentioned in every book on the opening. For instance, I can't find a reference to it in The Complete c3-Sicilian by Evgeny Sveshnikov, which is perhaps not surprising, because it is only recently that the line has been played at a high level. Instead, 5...cxd4, 5...Nf6, 5...e5, and 5...Bg4 are the main alternatives discussed in the standard literature on the opening. 6 Na3 White is not about to be troubled by an innocuous looking bishop move. The idea of the knight on the edge of the board is that it can enter the action via b5, when it threatens Nc7+ and can often take back on d4 after ...cxd4. Other moves a) 6 Be3 cxd4 7 Nxd4 and now a1 7...Nxd4 8 cxd4 Bxb1 9 Qa4+ (9 Rxb1 looks wrong because of 9...Qxa2, but 10 Bb5+ is very good for White, so Black is much more likely to prefer 9...a6) 9...Kd8 (a major concession in the opening to have to move the king although White still has some work to do before he can safely castle kingside) 10 Rxb1 Nf6 11 f3 (White wants to move his light-squared bishop without allowing the pawn on g2 to be taken) 11...Qe6 12 Kf2 Qf5 13 d5 (maybe 13 Rc1 should be preferred because after 13...Ng4+ 14 Ke2 Nxe3 15 Kxe3 the king looks odd on e3, but is perfectly safe and the black king on d8 is in more danger) 13...Qxb1 (this could be viewed as a high level draw offer, because White gives up a rook to force a draw) 14 Qa5+ Kc8 15 Be2 (or 15 Qc3+ Kd8 16 Qa5+ is a quicker way to draw) 15...Qxh1 16 Qc3+ Kd8 17 Qa5+ Ke8 18 Bb5+ Nd7 19 Bxd7+ Kxd7 20 Qb5+ Kd8 21 Qa5+ Kd7 ½-½, S.Vysochin-A.Areshchenko, Kiev 2011. b) 7...Nf6 8 Na3 Nxd4 (8...0-0-0 looks like a reasonable option until White plays 9 Qa4!) 9 Qxd4 e5 10 Qxd5 Nxd5 this ending is fine for Black and the opening must be considered a success because White has only achieved equality 11 Bb5+ (11 Nc4 looks logical) 11...Ke7 12 Bc5+ Kf6 (the king might look odd on f6, but there is no danger and I would prefer to be Black) 13 Bxf8 Rhxf8 14 0-0 a6 15 Bc4 Nf4 16 Rfd1 Rfd8 17 f3 b5 18 Bf1 h5 (Black is trying to make progress and perhaps against a lesser player the strategy might have worked, but White is not panicked easily) 19 g3 Ne6 20 Kf2 Nc5 21 b3 Rac8 22 Rxd8 Rxd8 23 Ke3 Rc8 24 Rd1 Be6 25 Nc2 Nd7 26 Kd2 Nc5 27 Ke3 Nd7 28 Kd2 Nc5 ½-½, P.Potapov-Wen Yang, Moscow 2012. 6...cxd4 7 Nb5?! The other idea behind the knight being on a3 was revealed in the heavyweight encounter D.Howell-Wang Yue, Hastings 2012. That game continued 7 Bc4 Qe4+ 8 Kf1 (the king moves out of the way and White will be hoping that the wandering black queen can be exploited by threatening it with the rest of the white pieces) 8...e6 9 Nb5 d3 (9...0-0-0?! is not so good, because 10 Ng5 Bg4 11 Nxe4 Bxd1 12 Bg5 favours White) 10 Nfd4 (or 10 Nc7+ Kd7 11 Nxa8 Qxc4 is good news for Black, because the white knight in the corner is trapped and can be taken later) 10...Nxd4 11 cxd4 Rc8 (Black has managed to thwart any prospect of a White initiative and already enjoys the brighter prospects, mainly because the king on f1 is poorly placed) 12 f3 Qc6 13 Bxd3 Bxd3+ 14 Qxd3 a6 (instead 14...Qc2 15 Qxc2 Rxc2 16 Nxa7 Nf6 also looks promising) 15 Nc3 Nf6 16 d5?! (16 Kf2 is not a perfect position, but at least the material is level) 16...Nxd5 17 Nxd5 Qxd5 18 Qxd5 exd5 19 Be3 Rc2 20 Re1 Kd7 when the extra pawn gave only Black winning chances in the ending. 7 Nxd4 is probably the best choice in the circumstances. It looks wrong because of 7...Nxd4, but White has the unexpected reply 8 Bb5+! when 8...Bd7 9 Bxd7+ Qxd7 10 Qxd4 Qxd4 11 cxd4 leads to equal opportunities. It is worth pointing out that 7...0-0-0 8 Be3 reaches a level position and the difference now is that the queen on d1 is protected, so that 8...e5? allows 9 Nxf5. 7...0-0-0!
Is it really possible to have a winning position against such a strong player as Kristjansson after a mere seven moves? It certainly looks like it, which is an indication that 5...Bf5 is likely to come under closer scrutiny. 8 cxd4 The natural 8 Nbxd4 is the usual move in such positions, but Black has neglected to move his king's knight which in turn means White does not have his bishop on e2, which allows the trick 8...e5! that surprisingly exploits the pin on the d-file allowing Black to win with ease. 8...e5 9 Qa4 The Icelandic player wisely chooses to complicate the position and hope for the best. Instead, 9 Nc3 has been tested, but it is no threat to the assumption that Black is on top: 9...Bb4 (9...Qa5! might be even better: 10 Qa4 {10 d5 Nb4 threatens ...Nc2+, which is rather ominous for White} 10...Qxa4 11 Nxa4 exd4 with an extra pawn for nothing) 10 Bd2 Bxc3 11 bxc3 Nge7 12 Be3 exd4!? (12...Qa5 looks to be a sterner test) 13 cxd4 Be4 14 Be2 g5!? (14...Qa5+ 15 Bd2 Qf5 is the safe alternative, but the advance with the g-pawn is always going to cause White some angst because he has to make a major decision) 15 Nxg5?! (15 0-0! is the safest approach when Black still has some work to do to prove any advantage) 15...Bxg2 16 Rg1 f6 17 Bg4+ f5 18 Bf3?! (maybe 18 Bh5!?) 18...Bxf3 19 Nxf3 (19 Qxf3 is met by 19...Rhe8 when White still has lots of practical problems associated with his weak d4-pawn) 19...f4! 20 Bd2 (20 Bxf4 runs into 20...Rhf8 when Black will win a piece) 20...Nxd4 21 Nxd4 Qxd4 22 Qg4+ (White has spotted a chance to win a pawn back, but it just forces Black into playing good moves) 22...Rd7 23 Rc1+ Nc6 24 Qxf4 Re8+ 0-1, M.Pacher-A.Istratescu, Plovdiv 2012. Of course, 25 Be3 does not work, because of 25...Qxf4. 9...exd4 10 Bd2 Qe4+! 11 Kd1 White has to give up any vague hopes of castling and the king in the middle of the board looks rather exposed. 11...a6!? I prefer 11...Bg4! as a way to avoid the White continuation in the actual game. For instance, 12 Be2 (12 Rg1 is arguably the best reply, but it looks silly and you run the risk of spectators laughing near the board: 12...a6 13 Rc1 Kb8 14 Rxc6 Bxf3+ 15 gxf3 Qxf3+ 16 Be2 Qxc6 and Black is better) 12...a6 13 Rc1 Kb8 and now that 14 Ng5 is no longer safe, then 14 Na3 Nf6 is awful for White. 12 Rc1 Kb8 Not 12...axb5? which allows White have all the fun upon 13 Qa8+ Kc7 (or 13...Kd7 14 Qxb7+ wins) 14 Ba5+ Kd6 15 Bxd8 winning. 13 Ng5 axb5 14 Qxb5 Rd5 Black has let slip the clear advantage, but the fact that he has a strong initiative makes all the difference. 15 Qb3 Bg4+ 16 f3 Rxg5 17 Bxg5 Bb4!?
The great thing about Jones is his ability to put the opponent under constant pressure until they crack, but sometimes you have to be more cautious, so 17...d3 should be considered. 18 Rxc6! 18 fxg4 Qxg4+ 19 Kc2 Qxg5 is just good for Black. 18...d3 Taking back the rook is not a good idea: 18...bxc6 19 Qxb4+ wins; while 18...Qxc6 19 Qxb4 Bxf3+ 20 Kd2 is better for White. 19 Qxd3? This lets White's revival slip away and allows Black to increase the pressure. White should consider the strange looking 19 Rc3! when a sample line runs 19...Bxc3 20 Qxc3 Bxf3+ 21 gxf3 Qxf3+ 22 Kc1 Qxh1?? (22...Nf6 23 Qe5+ Kc8 24 Rg1 favours White) 23 Bf4+ Ka7 24 Qa5 checkmate. 19...Qxc6 20 fxg4 Nf6 21 Be2?! Ne4 22 Be3 Ba5 22...Rc8 is very good for Black, because the threat is 23 ...Nf2+ 24 Bxf2 Qc1 checkmate. 23 Qc4 Qd7+ 24 Qd3 0-1 There are no more moves, so I contacted Englishman Gawain Jones via his Internet blog and he kindly wrote back to say he had won on time. The Ruy Lopez Saga In the last couple of months, much interest has been generated by top Russian grandmaster Pavel Ponkratov, who unleashed an unusual fifth move in the Ruy Lopez at a tournament in Moscow. A reader initially prompted the surge of popularity. This is because he takes an interest in the Jaenisch Gambit, also commonly known as the Schliemann. At the time I commented that while I had found a few examples on the database of the move 5...Nge7, I could find no references in the obvious books in my library. This led eagle-eyed reader Mark Nieuweboer from Surinam to point out that a diligent author had mentioned it in a book from 1982, where an old correspondence game from 1969 was quoted. Jimmy Adams from England wrote the book and he kindly replied to my e-mail about the obscure line. He also added the revelation that his book published by The Chess Player had been plagiarised and added "Ten years after it was published in the UK, a second edition appeared in Russia, with the addition of just three or four games by grandmaster Yudasin – who was now credited as joint author of the book with Soloviev! My name was nowhere to be seen." Since then I can thank Christian Unmack from Sweden who sent an e-mail with the following message "I noticed that the move 5...Nge7 in the Schliemann was also mentioned by Michael de la Maza in his book Rapid Chess Improvement. It seems he played it against someone called Chamberlain, but I do not know when or where. It is a bit amusing because he uses it as an example of a move that is not played in master games." I do have that interesting, controversial book in my library, so looked up the comment and here is the game with my notes: Chamberlain – Micheal de la Maza 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5 4 Nc3 fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nge7? The question mark is given by Mr. de la Maza and is presumably prompted by his quick demise in the game. 6 Nfg5 Nd4?? Black goes seriously wrong and the author gives his own losing move a couple of question marks. I would suggest at this stage that Black has equal opportunities if he goes for 6...Nf5! when, for instance, 7 Qg4 is met by 7...d5. 7 Qh5+ 1-0
The author comments "wins the game on the spot" with no further analysis, so for those who are wondering how to pursue victory, I will add a few more moves. 7...Ng6 Of course 7...g6 allows 8 Nf6 checkmate. 8 Nxh7! Kf7 The king needs to protect the knight on g6, but it still leads to ruin. 9 Neg5+ Ke7 10 Qxg6 Nxb5 What else? 11 Nf7 Qe8 12 Nxh8 and Black should put the pieces back into the box. I should point that this is not a reflection of Mr. de la Maza's general play, but he gives it as an example of how when you play poorly it is time to upgrade your opening knowledge. I will quote the author: "By using Fritz's auto-annotation feature, I can see that the preferred fifth moves for Black in this line are 5...Nf6 and 5...d5. I prefer 5...d5 so I added this single move to my opening repertoire. I did not study this line further nor did I study alternative moves for Black prior to the fifth move. I simply noted where I had deviated from Master play and changed just one move so that next time I would avoid the mistake that I had made in this game." Well, I said the book was controversial. However, I can see his point if you play hundreds of rapid Internet games and just need to boost your opening moves to avoid losing in the same way. Then again, I reckon if you only play serious tournament chess you might have to concede a lot of games before your openings are at a decent level. The only snag is that the example used is in the Schliemann, which is notoriously complicated and knowledge of book moves is very handy. After the author's 5...d5, I wonder what happened in the next game when his opponent ignored the attack on his knight and played 6 Nxe5, which requires very accurate defence by Black. Still, I know plenty of people who have been inspired by the book so it must have a certain something. I would like to say a big thank you to Patsy A. D'Eramo, Jr. from the USA who not only pointed an old reference from the 1980s, but more importantly added a small pdf as an attachment so I could see exactly what was written in the book. He writes, "I enjoyed your articles on the Schliemann. Attached is one more reference, Spanish: Schliemann (Jaenish) by Leonid Shamkovich and Eric Schiller, American Chess Promotions, Macon, Georgia 1983, ISBN 0713442484." I appreciate the information and let me add what the authors thought of the move currently being promoted by a Russian grandmaster rated 2665 and see how opinions on openings has changed: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5 4 Nc3 fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nge7? As usual the authors give this move a question mark. 6 d4 exd4 It is now known that 6...d5 is the best move and I was curious what was thought about this move in 1983. The analysis is 7 Ng3 e4 8 Ne5 with a clear advantage to White. Well, White is certainly on top, but I guess after 8...g6 it is not easy to prove a quick advantage, especially because the obvious 9 Bg5 can be met by 9...Qd6, avoiding all the potential problems of the pin and covering the vulnerable f6-square. 7 Nxd4 Ng6 7...Nxd4 8 Qxd4 Nc6 9 Qd5! Qe7 10 0-0 "gives White a tremendous game" is more accurate study from the 1980s. 8 0-0 Be7 9 Nf3 d5
This move is part of analysis by Shamkovich and Schiller. The authors do mention the correspondence game given by Jimmy Adams in a previous book on the subject, which continued 9...Bb4 10 a3 Ba5 11 c4 d6 12 Qa4 Bb6 13 c5 dxc5 14 Bg5 1-0, Norton-Williams 1969 and 9...0-0 10 Bc4+ Kh8 11 Nfg5! "with a strong attack" is also exactly as quoted by the authors. 10 Nc3 Be6 11 Re1 Bf7 12 Ng5 There is no prose at this point, but the assumption by the chess code is that White is doing very well. Finally, my thanks to fellow ChessCafe.com columnist Tim Harding who managed to find an even earlier example of 5...Nge7. If you want to see his excellent annotations see his column Correspondence Chess at a Crossroads? He writes about the Jimmy Adams book, mentioning the correspondence game from 1969 and adds "As it happens, I found a much earlier example of it, while doing the research for my book Correspondence Chess in Britain and Ireland, 1824-1987. As I show there, W. Hatton-Ward (who was white in the following game) organised numerous correspondence matches and tournaments through his chess column in the Referee, a Sunday newspaper. He was also organiser of two master tournaments in London, in 1932 and 1946." Therefore, here is the 'forgotten' game along with my brief comments: W.Hatton-Ward – FP. Reynolds 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5 4 Nc3 fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nge7 6 d4 d5 Strangely, this is the forgotten move that has revived the entire line in 2012. 7 Neg5 h6 8 Nxe5!? I like the style of ignoring the threatened piece and instead pursuing glory. 8...hxg5 9 Bxg5 I quite like 9 Qf3!? when a sample line runs 9...Be6 (or 9...Qd6 10 Bxc6+ bxc6 11 Bxg5 Be6 12 0-0-0 with the superior chances) 10 Bxg5 Qd6 11 0-0-0 0-0-0 12 Bxc6 Nxc6 (if 12...bxc6, then 13 Rhe1, intending Nf7, is good for White) 13 Ng6 Be7 14 Bxe7 Nxe7 15 Nxh8 Rxh8 16 Rhe1 with equal opportunities, which is exactly what White is after when sacrificing a piece in the opening. 9...Qd6 10 0-0?! The decision to castle kingside is made with good intentions, such as getting the king's rook into play, but Black has own trumps of checkmate on h2 if the knight on e5 moves to the wrong square. 10 Qe2 Qe6 11 f4 Bd7 12 0-0-0 is not perfect and White has some compensation for the piece, but admittedly I prefer Black. 10...Bd7 11 Bxc6?! 11 f4 is more in the spirit of the opening, although Black should be fine upon 11...Nxe5 12 fxe5 Qe6. 11...Nxc6 12 Re1 Nxe5? 12...Be7 is the best bet to maintain Black's advantage, because the obvious 13 Nxc6 allows the crucial check 13...Qxh2+ when 14 Kf1 Qh1+ 15 Ke2 Qxg2 and Black is winning. 13 Rxe5+?! It is easy to be critical of old games with the help of modern software, but I also spotted that this is wrong and something else is required. 13 Qf3! is the star move, handing White the advantage after he plays Rxe5. 13...Be6 14 f4?! 14 Qf3, intending Rae1, looks very promising. 14...g6?! Or 14...Kf7 15 f5 Bd7 16 Qf3 Re8 and Black hangs on, but White still has a strong initiative. 15 Qd3 Kf7 16 Rae1 Bd7 17 f5 gxf5? This makes it easier for White to gain a clear advantage. Probably best is 17...Kg8, but 18 f6 maintains White's edge. After 17...Bxf5, White has all the fun upon 18 Rxf5+. For instance, 18...gxf5 19 Qxf5+ Kg7 20 Bf4 (if White wants to show off, then 20 Re3! is a killer move) 20...Qg6 21 Be5+ Kh7 22 Qxg6+ Kxg6 23 Bxh8 wins. 18 Rxf5+ Kg8 19 Bf4 Bxf5 20 Qxf5 Qd8
21 Bg5 ½-½ Maybe a diplomatic draw? Anyway, the reality is that 21 Qe6+ forces victory because of the line 21...Kh7 22 Qf7+ Bg7 23 Re3 and White soon checkmates. Has anyone else spotted 5...Nge7 in another book? And finally Paul Lowry from the USA has an interesting new take on a standard opening. He e-mailed to say "I have begun to play 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 b3 as white. I know that Igor Glek plays 4 g3. Are there any Master games with this line? Does the variation even have a name?" I must admit that although it is unusual I would have thought a few enterprising masters might have given it a go, but it is rather neglected. Then again, it is hardly surprising when there are plenty of good alternatives, such as 4 Bb5 or 4 g3 as observed by the reader. One might add 4 d4, so that 4...exd4 5 Nxd4 transposes to the Scotch Four Knights and the list of other moves goes on. However, when I took a closer look at the results of 4 b3, the results were not promising, but maybe that was because White was often out-rated. I will leave it to Mr, Lowry to record some fine victories in this line against masters before we can contemplate calling it the Lowry Variation. I am sure that someone has already given it a name, but what? In the meantime, I will give a model example of how Black can win against 4 b3: Helge Hedden – Erich Maahs 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 b3
The strange looking move designed to fianchetto the queen's bishop which intrigues the reader Mr. Lowry. 4...Bc5 5 h3 It is curious to note that 5 Nxe5? has been played a few times with the latest appearance being at the Australian U18 championships in the game L.Chan-H.McConnell, Mooroolbark 2011, which continued 5...Bd4 6 Nxc6 dxc6 and now 7 f3 is roughly equal, but White taking on e5 is a positional trick that just does not work in this variation, because of 5...Nxe5! 6 d4 Bb4 winning. Perhaps 5 Bc4 is the consistent approach, but then the queenside fianchetto will take time to make any impression on the position. A sample line runs 5...0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 h3 (7 Bb2 Bg4 8 h3 Bh5 9 Be2 is roughly equal, but far from impressive) 7...Be6 8 d3 and I will leave our reader Mr. Lowry to battle that sort of position. 5...0-0 6 Bb2 If you start playing moves like 6 Be2, then you are not committed to this new opening and it is unlikely to be named after you! The game M.Chmel-T.Kostiuk, Evpatoria 2002, saw things soon get worse for White: 6...d5 7 d3 Bb4 8 Bb2? (8 Bd2 is ugly, but necessary) 8...d4 9 Qd2 dxc3 10 Bxc3 Bxc3 11 Qxc3 and it is time to count the pieces and give up. 6...d5!
This is the best way for Black to seize the initiative by challenging the centre. 7 exd5 Nxd5 8 Nxd5 When I was doing some research in this line, I noticed that a 2349 had been beaten as black in the game R.Markfeit-A.Mandel, Landshut 2000. I soon realised it was a fluke, but will demonstrate the game anyway to show the need to concentrate, because Black loses his queen in a rather unfortunate manner: 8 Bc4 Nf4! 9 Rg1 (9 0-0 runs into 9...Qd6! with an excellent game) 9...Bf5 10 Ne2 Re8 11 Ng3 Bg6 12 Be2 e4! 13 Nh2 White's pieces look a right mess as they lack harmony 13...Qg5 14 Ng4 h5 15 h4 Qxh4 16 Ne3 Qh2? (instead of this blunder, Black should play 16...Rad8, which achieves a brilliant position with an extra pawn bonus) 17 Rh1 (Yes, the queen is trapped!) 17...Nxg2+ 18 Kf1 Qxh1+ 19 Nxh1 Nf4 20 Ng2 Nxg2 21 Kxg2 h4 (Black keeps on hoping, but White to his credit soon wraps up the game) 22 Bh5 Rad8 23 Bxg6 fxg6 24 Bc3 Rf8 25 Qg4 Rf5 26 Qxg6 Rf7 27 Qxe4 h3+ 28 Kxh3 Bxf2 29 Rf1 Rdf8 30 Nxf2 Rf4 (or 30...Rxf2 31 Qe6+ Kh7 32 Rxf2 Rxf2 33 Kg3 Rf8 34 Qd7 wins) 31 Qe6+ Kh8 32 Kg3 Rf3+ 33 Kg2 R8f4 34 Rh1+ 1-0. 8...Qxd5 9 Bc4 Qe4+ 10 Be2? It might be more in the spirit of the opening to try 10 Qe2!? when 10...Qxc2 11 Bc3 Qg6 12 Bd3 at least has the merit of giving Black something to think about. 10...Qg6! 11 Kf1 White gives up the chance to castle, but the alternatives are not very enticing: 11 0-0? Bxh3 12 Ne1 Rad8 is just good or 11 g4 e4 12 Nh4 Qh6 13 Ng2 Rd8 with an advantage to Black. 11...e4 12 Ne5 Maybe 12 Nh2 is a tiny bit more accurate, but 12...f5 locks the knight out of the game for a while and would be another admission that the opening has been a failure. 12...Nxe5 13 Bxe5
13...Bxf2! A neat combination, which picks up a useful pawn. 14 Kxf2 Or 14 Bxg7 Bb6! 15 Bxf8 Qf6+ 16 Bf3 exf3 17 g4 Kxf8 leading to a big advantage. 14...Qf5+ 15 Kg1 Qxe5 16 d4 Qd6 17 Bc4 Be6 18 d5?! This just effectively hands Black another pawn for free, but the position was already rather depressing for White. 18...Rad8 19 Qd4 Bxd5 20 Bxd5 Qxd5 21 Qxa7 c5 22 Qa5 Qd4+ 23 Kh2 Qd6+ Black is completely dominant although the quickest route to victory probably comes from 23...Qe5+ 24 g3 e3. 24 Kg1 f5 25 Qe1 Rf6 26 c3 Qe5 27 Rd1 Rxd1 28 Qxd1 Rd6 29 Qe2 Rd3 30 h4 Qd6 0-1 Has anyone else played a wacky looking opening? Opening Lanes is based on readers' questions. Do you have a question about a particular opening line? Baffled by a branch of the Benoni or Budapest? Submit your questions (with your full name and country of residence please) and perhaps Gary will reply in his next ChessCafe.com column. Yes, I have a question for Gary! © 2012 Gary Lane. All Rights Reserved. A PDF file of this month's column, along with all previous columns, is available in the ChessCafe.com Archives. Comment on this month's column via our Contact Page!! Pertinent responses will be posted below daily. |
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