Opening Lanes
by Gary Lane

The Dashing Danish

This month the theme is gambits and people from around the
world are finding intriguing ways to give away their pawns.

Martin Hansen (Denmark) says  "A couple of years ago in
our local club championship, I played Black in the following
gambit line: 1 b4 e5 2 Bb2 Bxb4 3 f4 exf4 4 Bxg7 Qh4+ 5 g3
fxg3 6 Bg2 gxh2+ 7 Kf1 hxg1R+(!) 8 Kxg1. I can't find the
game list, but as I recall it I got busted in a complicated game.
Now I'm going to face the same opponent as Black once again,
and I want badly to refute his gambit. Do you have any
suggestions?"

The best advice I can offer is to avoid it! There are a number of
games where White triumphs by grabbing material and then
fending off the Black attack.
Y.Lapshun R.Kaufman Philadelphia 1999
1 b4 e5 A reasonable alternative is 1...d5 2 Bb2 Qd6 which was
discussed in the February column of 'Opening Lanes'. 2 Bb2
Bxb4 3 f4 (See Diagram) White tempts Black into accepting
more material. The idea behind this swashbuckling, dashing
idea can be traced to the Owen's Defence. For instance: 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. 3...exf4 4 Bxg7 Qh4+ 5 g3 fxg3 6
Bg2 gxh2+ 7 Kf1 hxg1Q+ 8 Kxg1 (See Diagram) A critical
position for the future of the line. White is on the verge of
taking a rook and in the short-term his king is relatively safe.
Black need to activate the rest of his pieces and if he can find
time to castle then he can bring all his pieces into the attack.
8...Qg3 8...Qg5 occurred in Von Otte-H.Alber, Hessen Ch
1992, when Black won a nice miniature after 9 Bxh8 b6 10
Rxh7 Bb7 11 Qf1 Nh6 12 Rg7 Bc5+ 13 Kh2 Ng4+ 14 Kg3
Bd6+ 0-1. An improvement is 12 Bf6! when 12...Qg6 13 Rxh6
Qxh6 14 Bxb7 or 12...Qxg2 13 Qxg2 Bxg2 14 Rh8+ wins.  9
Bxh8 d5 10 Rxh7 Ne7 11 Bf6 White rightly wants the threaten
Rh8+ to put the black king under pressure. 11...Ng6 12 e3 Bg4
13 Qf1 Nd7 14 Nc3 c6 15 Rb1 White is clearly on top. He has
activated his pieces and prevented Black from harmonising his
pieces into an attacking force. 15...a5 16 a3 Bd6 17 Rxb7
Nde5 18 Ne2 Bxe2 19 Qxe2 Ng4 20 Rh3 The black queen has
run out of squares. 20...Qxh3 1-0

A good way of handling the gambit is to avoid it and
concentrate on developing:
J.Ferreiro-M.Roeder San Sebastian 1995
1 b4 e5 2 Bb2 Bxb4 3 f4 d6 This is a good way to halt the
aggressive ambitions of White by simplifying the position. If
anyone is looking for a potential trap then W.Labahn-M.
Kaminski, Berlin 1990, will bring cheer to Black who tested
3...Nf6. After 4 fxe5 Ng4 5 e4 Ne3! White could have resigned.
4 fxe5 dxe5 5 Bxe5 Nf6 (See Diagram) Black has avoided any
complications and can strive to get his pieces into the action.
White relies heavily on his influence of the a1-h8 diagonal and
even the semi-open f-file will be useful if he can quickly castle
kingside. 6 Nf3 0-0 7 e3 c5 8 Bc4 Nc6 9 Bb2 Be6 10 Bxe6
Ferreiro exchanges his bishop because 10 Bb3 b5 forces Bxe6
because otherwise Black is better. 10...fxe6 11 0-0 Qd6 12 Na3
Bxa3 13 Bxa3 b5 14 Qe2 b4 15 Bb2 Rad8 16 Bxf6 16 e4
should be considered. 16...Rxf6 17 a3 a5 18 axb4 cxb4 19 Qa6
Qd5 20 d3 Qc5 21 d4 Qc3 22 Qd3 Qxd3 23 cxd3 Ra8 24 Ra4
Ra6 25 Rc1 Rf5 26 Nd2 «-« Even at the end, Black has all
the chances.

Pablo Rodriguez Molinari (Argentina) had a problem in the
Buenos Aires under-23 championship when he faced the top
seed who played a tricky gambit against the French Defence. 
Airando Molinari Buenos Aires under-23 Ch 2000
1 e4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e5 c5 4 b4 cxb4 5 a3 b3 6 cxb3 Nc6 7 d4
Qb6 8 Nc3 Bd7 9 Na4 Qc7 10 Bd2 Be7 11 Bd3 Nh6 12 Bxh6
gxh6 13 0-0 0-0-0 14 b4 a6 15 b5 axb5 16 Bxb5 f6 17 Qd3
fxe5 18 dxe5 Nxe5 19 Nxe5 Qxe5 1-0

If this wasn't bad enough apparently he tried to improve
against it in blitz games playing the same opponent with 1 e4
e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e5 c5 4 b4 cxb4 5 a3 and now 5...Nc6 6 axb4
Bxb4 7 c3 Be7 8 d4 gave White good play because Molinari
could not decide where to move the knight on g8. He wants to
know of a good way to cope with the gambit.

The French Wing Gambit, with the idea of securing the centre
by diverting the c-pawn, has had a lot of practical success. It
attracts those who like wild, attacking games. In many cases
the set-up for White is very similar to an Advance French
except White has more open lines on the queenside. The
following encounter demonstrates the sort of aggressive game
one can expect:

J.Dovzik-F.Vrana Pardubice 1996
1 e4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e5 c5 4 b4 cxb4 5 a3 (See Diagram) 5...Nc6
This is the move that was played in Molinari's blitz games. The
tame 5...b3 allows White to achieve his opening goal of
creating a strong centre without sacrificing a pawn. In
S.Hansen-Zbinden, Danish Junior Ch 1982, White gratefully
took the pawn with 6 cxb3 and soon used his space advantage
to create a winning attack. The game went 6...Nc6 7 d4 Nge7 8
Bd3 Qb6 9 Nc3 a6 10 Na4 Qa7 11 b4 Bd7 12 Bb2 Nf5 13 Nc5
b5 14 Rc1 Be7 15 Qc2 Rc8 16 0-0 g6 17 g4 Ng7 18 Qd2 h5 19
h3 Kf8 20 Qf4 Kg8 21 Rc2 Bf8 22 Ng5 Be8 23 Rfc1 Nd8 24
Nce4 dxe4 25 Nxe4 1-0.
6 axb4 Bxb4 7 c3 Be7 8 d4 f6 Black sensibly tries to
undermine the centre. 9 Bd3 fxe5 A neat miniature was the
result of passive play by Black in the game Geisdorf-
Zimmermann, Bundesliga 1981: 9...Qc7 10 Bf4 f5 11 0-0 h6 12
Ne1 Bd7 13 Qh5+ Kf8 14 Bxf5! exf5 15 e6 wins. 10 dxe5 Qc7
I think it is a good idea to wait and see where the queen is
really needed. For instance: 10...Nh6 11 Bxh6 gxh6 12 0-0 0-0
13 Nbd2 Rf7 14 Re1 Qf8 and Black is better. 11 Bf4 Nh6 12 0-
0 0-0 13 Bxh6 gxh6 14 Re1 Rf7 15 Qd2 Bf8 16 Na3 Bg7?! 17
Nb5 Qb8 It cannot be right for Vrana to allow his queen to be
forced back to a terrible square.  18 Qe3 Re7 19 Ra4! The
queen's rook prepares to swing across to the kingside. This idea
is well known to those who adopt the Wing Gambit because
when Black plays ...f6xe5 the possibility arises. 19...a6 20 Nd6
Nxe5 21 Nxe5 Qxd6 22 Rg4 Kh8 23 Qf4 Qc7 24 Re3 (See
Diagram) White has just about every piece poised to attack and
Black is in trouble. It is hardly surprising that such openings in
blitz games score highly. 24...h5 25 Rxg7 1-0

I suggest steps should be taken to deprive White the option of
playing d4 because without a strong centre the pawn sacrifice
looks a bit odd.
P.Ciuffoletti-Vallejo Pons Saint Vincent 1999
1 e4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e5 c5 4 b4 cxb4 5 a3 It is worth noting that
if White tries to be clever and avoid the idea outlined in the
illustrative game with 5 d4 then Black is still fine. For instance:
5...Nc6 6 a3 bxa3 7 Bxa3 Nge7 8 Bd3 Bd7 9 0-0 Nc8. 5...d4
(See Diagram) Black seeks to stop White from playing d4 by
occupying the square himself. The idea is to follow up with
...Nc6 and ...Bc5 to support the pawn. 6 axb4 Bxb4 7 Bb2!?
White targets d4 and seeks to develop quickly but it is not
particularly convincing. In M.Martens-R.Djurhuus, Santiago
1990, White opted for 7 Ba3, leading to a tense struggle. There
followed 7...Bxa3 8 Nxa3 Ne7 9 Bd3 Ng6 10 0-0 Nc6 11 Re1
0-0 12 Re4 f6 13 exf6 Qxf6 14 Re1 e5 15 Nc4 Bg4 (the pin is
awkward for White) 16 Be4 Nh4 17 Ra3 Rae8 and Black had
much the better game. 7...Bc5 8 Bd3 Nc6 9 0-0 Nge7 10 Re1
Ng6 11 Be4 Ciuffoletti decides to sacrifice another pawn in
pursuit of the attack. 11...Ncxe5 12 Nxe5 Nxe5 13 Qh5 Nd7 14
c3 g6 15 Qh6 Bf8 With no pain there is no gain! Black is
obliged to defend stoutly but the extra material means that
victory is in sight.  16 Qh3 Qb6 17 Bxg6 (See Diagram) A
remarkable position has arisen. Black has the option of taking
either bishop but only at the cosy of accelerating White's
onslaught. 17...Nf6 Black refuses to be dragged into even
further complications but it looks like 17...Qxb2 can be tried
when 18 Qxe6+ just fails to impress upon 18...Kd8 19 Qe8+
Kc7 20 Ra4 Qb5 and Black is clearly better. 18 Na3 fxg6 19
Nc4 Qc7 20 Rxe6+ Kf7 21 Rxf6+ Kxf6 22 Qh4+ Kf7 23
Qxd4 Be6 24 Qxh8 Qxc4 Black has allowed the position to be
simplified and he remains a piece up. 25 d3 Qxd3 26 c4 Qf5
27 Qxh7+ Ke8 28 Qxb7 Rd8 29 Qxa7 Bc5 30 Qa4+ Bd7 0-1

Ademar Godoy (Venezuela) asked a couple of questions and I
have selected the one concerning a well-known opening. He
says "In order to avoid dangerous lines of the Sicilian Defence,
with White I've often played the Chekhover Variation: 1 e4 c5
2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Qxd4 Nc6 5 Bb5 Bd7 6 Bxc6 Bxc6 7 Nc3
Nf6 8 Bg5 e6 9 0-0-0 Be7 10 Rhe1 0-0 11 e5 dxe5 12 Qh4 Qc7
13 Nxe5 Rfd8 14 Ng4 Nxg4 15 Bxe7 Rxd1+ 16 Rxd1, and now
in this position I've faced different moves: 16...Qf4+, 16...Ne5
and 16...Nh6. What is the best plan for White against these
moves?"

I think the final position is roughly level and will usually lead
to a draw with best play by Black. A typical example is the
following game:
Van den Berg-A.Kalinin Wijk aan Zee 1999
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Nc3 Nc6 4 Bb5 Bd7 5 Bxc6 Bxc6 6 d4
cxd4 7 Qxd4 Nf6 8 Bg5 e6 9 0-0-0 Be7 10 Rhe1 0-0 11 e5
dxe5 12 Qh4 Qc7 13 Nxe5 Rfd8 14 Ng4 Nxg4 15 Bxe7
Rxd1+ 16 Rxd1 (See Diagram) The position is equal. White
usually make progress in an ending where is more easy to
convert the three versus two pawn majority on the queenside
into a passed pawn. 16...Qf4+ Other moves are possible:

(a) 16...Nh6 17 Bd6 Nf5 18 Bxc7 (the ending is what White is
usually after) 18...Nxh4 19 g3 Nf3 20 h4 f6 21 b4 (White
advances his queenside pawns intending to create a passed
pawn that forces Black on to the defensive) 21...a6 22 a4 h5 23
Kb2 g5 24 b5 Be8 25 hxg5 fxg5 26 Rd3 g4 27 Rd6 axb5 28
axb5 Rc8 29 b6 Ng5 30 Rd4 Bc6 31 Rc4 Bf3 32 Rc5 Nh3 33
Rxh5 Nxf2 34 Nb5 Nd1+ 35 Kb3 Ne3 36 c4 Rf8 37 Be5 Rf5
38 Rh8+ Kf7 39 Nd6+ Kg6 40 Rg8+ Kh7 41 Rg7+ Kh6 42
Nxf5+ Nxf5 43 Rc7 1-0 C.Vaugeois-D.Levacic, French Team
Ch 1999.

(b)16...Ne5 17 Bd6 Ng6 18 Qg3 (18 Bxc7 Nxh4 19 g3
transposes to the previous note) 18...Qa5 19 Rd2 h6 20 f4 Rd8
21 Qf2 Qh5? (21...b6 offers equal chances) 22 Qxa7 Qxh2 23
f5 Rxd6 (23...Nf4 24 Qd4!) 24 Qb8+ and White won material
in A.Nadanian-R.Gadjilu, Voskresensk 1993.

17 Kb1 Qf5 18 h3 Another route to an early exit from the
tournament room is 18 f3 Ne3 19 Rd2 h6 20 Qd4 Nd5 21 Nxd5
«-« Adorjan-Tal, Sochi 1977. 18...Nf6 19 Bxf6 Qxf6 20 Qxf6
gxf6 21 b4 Kf8 22 f3 Ke7 23 b5 Bd7 24 a4 a6 25 Rd4 axb5
26 axb5 f5 27 Kb2 Rg8 «-«
The variation is a good try at playing for a win while
preserving the option of a draw.
 
Finally Lev D. Zilbermints (USA) wants to know what I think
of the line that he has named after himself: 1 d4 e5 2 dxe5 Nc6
3 Nf3 Nge7. 

Well, I have to admit that I have seen the occasional article by
Lev where he is keen to boost the popularity of the gambit and
he maintains its honour non-stop in his own games. It is
certainly interesting and for the benefit for those who are not
aware of the opening I found some examples:

S.Nowland-L.Zilbermints Parsippany 1999
1 d4 e5 2 dxe5 Nc6 There are no prizes for guessing that
A.Miles-R.Huebner, Tilburg 1985, was a game where the result
was not in doubt after a couple of moves: 2...Qh4 3 Nf3 Qa4 4
Nc3 Qa5 5 e4 «-«. 3 Nf3 Nge7 (See Diagram) 4 e6!? This is
not the critical test of the variation. Also possible:

(a) 4 Bf4  (called the Klein Defence by Zilbermints) 4...Ng6 5
Bg3 Bc5 (perhaps 5...Qe7) 6 Nc3 Bb4 7 Qd3 Qe7 8 a3 Bxc3+ 9
Qxc3 gave White the advantage in Radomskyj-Zilbermints,
Westfield Ch 1993; (b) 4 e4 Ng6 5 Nc3 Ncxe5 6 Nxe5 Nxe5 7
Bf4 Nc6 8 Bb5 Be7 9 0-0 0-0 10 Nd5 d6 11 Re1 Ne5 12 Bxe5
dxe5 13 Nxe7+ Qxe7 14 Qf3 c6 15 Bc4 Be6 with equal
chances in C.Batezel-Zilbermints, Parsippany 1999; and (c) 4
Bg5 (this has been suggested by various commentators with the
idea of pinning the knight forcing Black to make concessions
by weakening the pawn structure) 4...h6 5 Bh4 g5 6 Bg3 Nf5!
gives Black a playable position.

4...fxe6 5 e4 Ng6 6 Be2 Bc5 7 Bg5 Be7 8 Be3 Bf6 9 c3 0-0 10
Nbd2 d5 11 0-0 Nce7 12 Qc2 c6 13 Rad1 e5 14 Bc5 Nf4
Black is already better with a good post for the knight on f4 and
is ready to launch a kingside attack. 15 Rfe1 Qe8 16 exd5 cxd5
17 Bf1 b6 18 Ba3 Bf5 19 Qb3 Qg6 20 Bxe7 Bc2! Now the
White position collapses.  21 Qa3 Nh3+ 22 Kh1 Nxf2+ 23
Kg1 Nxd1 24 Bxf8 Rxf8 25 Nxe5 Bxe5 26 Rxe5 Qf6 27 Nf3
Be4 28 Rxe4 dxe4 29 Bc4+ Kh8 30 Nd2 Ne3 31 Ba6 Qf2+ 32
Kh1 Qxg2 mate 0-1

An entertaining game where Black wins in style. I have to
applaud Zilbermints' commitment to lesser-known openings
especially having seen some of his fine, attacking games with
the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. I think the Zilbermints Gambit
has good surprise value but Black should not get enough
compensation for the pawn. I prefer the line starting with 4 Bf4.

Any comments on gambits or main lines are welcome.