Opening Lanes by Gary Lane Fantasy This month inquiries from around the world continue to be answered and the solution to one is to choose a fantasy. Readers from Australia, England, Tunisia and USA want to know more about the openings. As usual, the final question covers a subject that is rarely covered in other columns and this time it is about the merits of giving away a pawn for nothing. Martin Alvin (England) wants to play a gambit but has little co-operation from his opponents. "I have played the Blackmar- Diemer Gambit a little. One problem for white is that after 1 d4 d5 2 e4, Black can play e6 which forces white into the dreaded French Defence! Another line I came across was: 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e4 Nxe4!? This looks daft, but after 4 Nxe4 dxe4, it is not obvious how White gains an advantage. The black pawn on e4 is very annoying and is difficult to shift. Maybe 5 f3 should be played in the spirit of the gambit?" The line featuring 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e4 Nxe4 4 Nxe4 dxe4 causing the problem is known to Blackmar-Diemer Gambit players as the Hubsch Variation after the game Hubsch- Tartakower, Vienna 1922. The idea is that after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e4 Nxe4 4 Nxe4 dxe4 Black has exchanged off a potentially attacking piece in the form of the queen's knight. The variation can still be awkward for Black and GM Joel Benjamin has lost to this tricky opening. P.Theon-E.Girard Bescanon 1999 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e4 Nxe4 4 Nxe4 dxe4 (See Diagram) 5 Bc4 5 f3 is well met by 5 e5 because 5 fxe4? Allows 5 Qh4+. 5 Bf5 6 g4 The Frenchman plays a move which is certainly in the spirit of this adventurous line. I also like 6 c3, which offers White more options such as Qb3. In the game J.Fletcher A.Powell, 4NCL (British league) 1999, Black returned the extra pawn but still came under attack: 6 Bg6 (6 Nc6? 7 Qb3 e6 8 Qxb7 Na5 9 Bb5+ Ke7 10 Qa6+- P.Aston-T.Thynne, Torquay 1990) 7 h4 e3 8 Bxe3 Be4 9 Nf3 e6 10 Rh3 Nc6 11 Qe2 Bxf3 12 Qxf3 Be7 13 Rg3 Bf6 14 Bg5 Bxg5 15 Rxg5 g6 16 d5 exd5 17 Bxd5 and White was better. 6 Bg6 7 Ne2 e5! Black deprives White of the f4 square for the knight. If 7 e6 then 8 h4 h6 9 Nf4 Bh7 10 g5 gives White an initiative. 8 Be3 Nd7 9 h4 h5 10 Ng3 White reveals his intention to round up the e4 pawn. 10 Nf6 11 gxh5 Nxh5 12 Qg4 12 dxe5 is a possible alternative. 12 Qd6 12 exd4 is a sterner test of White's play. 13 0-0-0 (See Diagram) 13 Nxg3 14 dxe5 Ne2+ 15 Bxe2 Qe6 16 h5 Bh7 17 Qxe6+ fxe6 18 h6 White is doing well but now Black walks into a mating net. 18 gxh6? 19 Bh5+ Ke7 1-0 Earl Takasaki (USA) has an interesting question "In the Caro Kann after 3...dxe4 I've been playing 4 f3 with fairly good results after 4 exf3 (at club level). Are white's attacking chances enough compensation for the pawn? After 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 f3 exf3 5 Nxf3 we have transposed into the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit and a variation called the Zeigler Defence. An annotated game can be found in my December column. If you are looking for another gambit against the Caro Kann then the following question might be of some interest. Ben Harkness (England) wishes to know more about 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 f3 which can lead to sharp, entertaining positions. This is known as the Fantasy Variation and has been played by a number of top players. G.Meszaros-C. Astengo Ticino 1994 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 f3 (See Diagram) This signals the start of the Fantasy Variation. 3 dxe4 Speelman recommends Black to decline the pawn. 4 fxe4 e5 5 Nf3 Of course, 5 dxe5 allows 5 Qh4+ when Black has a big advantage. 5 exd4 6 Bc4 White is no rush to take back on d4 and instead concentrates on targeting f7. 6 Be7 7 0-0 Be6 Black wishes to cut out the pressure on the f7 pawn. 7 Nf6 has been played a number of times followed swiftly by Black resigning. For instance: 8 Ng5 0-0 9 Nxf7! Rxf7 10 Bxf7+ Kxf7 11 e5 and White won material in T.Wall-D.Rej, Copenhagen 1995. In the game H.Klip-E. Knoppert, Netherlands Ch 1993, saw 7 Qa5 when White offered another pawn to secure a strong initiative after 8 b4 Qxb4 9 Ne5 Qc5 10 Bxf7+ Kd8 11 Nd3 Qa5 12 Nd2 Nf6 13 Nc4 Qa6 14 Nf4 c5 15 e5 Ne4 16 Qd3 Ng5 17 Bd5 g6 18 Rb1 Nc6 19 h4 Bf5 20 Qe2 Ne4 21 Bxe4 Bxe4 22 Qxe4 Qxc4 23 Rxb7 Rc8 24 Nd5 Re8 25 e6 Rf8 26 Rxf8+ Bxf8 27 Rd7+ 1-0. 8 Bxe6 fxe6 9 Nxd4 Qd7 10 Qh5+! Kd8 If 10 g6 then 11 Qe5 is very strong. 11 Be3 (See Diagram) Meszaros continues with his development and Black is in trouble with his king looking vulnerable in the middle of the board. 11 Qe5 also looks good after 11 Bf6 12 Bg5. 11 Nf6 12 Qf7 Na6 13 Nxe6+ Kc8 14 Nc3 White has a big positional advantage although there is no immediate breakthrough. Therefore, it makes sense for Meszaros to activate his pieces. 14 Bd6 15 Qxd7+ Kxd7 16 Nxg7 White is two pawns up in an ending which provokes Black to try and upset matters.16 Bxh2+ 17 Kxh2 Ng4+ 18 Kh3 Nxe3 19 Rf7+ The rook comes to the seventh rank starting a king hunt which makes a mockery of the attempted fight back which won a pawn for Black. 19 Kd6 20 Re1 Nxc2 21 Rd1+ Kc5 22 Rxb7 Rhb8 23 Na4+ Kc4 24 b3 mate. The next approach sees Black resisting the temptation to take on e4 and instead adopting a more defensive approach. T.Wall-J.Hodgson British Ch 1990 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 f3 e6 A solid reply that keeps the position closed. Also possible: 3 g6 4 Be3 Nf6 5 e5 Nh5 6 Ne2 Ng7 7 Ng3 h5 8 h4 Be6 9 Be2 Nd7 10 c3 Nb6 11 Nd2 Nc4 12 Nxc4 dxc4 13 b3 cxb3 14 axb3 Nf5 15 Nxf5 Bxf5 16 0-0 Bg7 17 b4 and White had an edge in W.Ma P.Schuurman, Haarlem 1999. 4 Nc3 (See Diagram) 4 Bb4 The pin on the knight is an almost automatic response. Other replies: a) 4 c5 5 exd5 exd5 6 dxc5 Bxc5 7 Qxd5 Qe7+ 8 Qe4 Be6 9 Be3 Nc6 10 Bb5 Rc8 11 Nge2 and Black had no compensation for the pawn in J.Pinski-M. Tseitlin, Budapest 1996. b) 4 Nf6 5 Be3 Qb6 6 Rb1 c5 7 Bb5+ Bd7 8 Bxd7+ Nbxd7 9 exd5 Nxd5 10 Nxd5 exd5 11 Ne2 c4 12 0-0 Bd6 13 Nc3 Qc6 14 Bg5 0-0 15 f4 f5 16 Qf3 Nb6 17 a3 Rae8 18 Rbe1 Rxe1 19 Rxe1 Re8 20 Rxe8+ Qxe8 21 h3 h6 22 Bh4 «-« I.Mashinskaya-A. Deviatkin, Moscow 1998. 5 Bf4 Nf6 6 Qd3 b6 7 Nge2 Ba6 8 Qe3 0-0 9 0-0-0 Be7 10 g4!? An adventurous move by Tim Wall who is renowned for his attacking play. The drawback is that the speed of the attack after opposite side castling is very important and the pawn move is not convincing. A better idea might be 10 Kb1 to try to put a stop to Black's counterplay before embarking on an onslaught. For example: 10 b5 11 Nc1 b4 12 N3e2 Nbd7 13 h4 c5 14 Bg5 Rc8 15 e5 Ne8 16 f4 h6 17 Bxe7 Qxe7 18 g4 Nc7 19 dxc5 Bxe2 20 Nxe2 Nb5 21 Nd4 Nxd4 22 Qxd4 Qxc5 23 Qxc5 Rxc5 24 Rd4 a5 25 Bg2 Rc7 26 Bf3 «-« J.Gallagher- D.Kumaran, Hastings 1994. 10 b5 (See Diagram) Hodgson prefers to keep control of the position rather than try 10 dxe4 when 11 fxe4 Nxg4 12 Qf3 Nf6 13 Rg1 hands White the initiative. 11 Ng3 b4 12 Nce2 The tempting 12 Bxa6 is met by 12 bxc3 when 13 Bb7 Qb6 wins for Black. 12 Bc4 13 b3 Bb5 14 g5 Nfd7 15 h4 a5 16 h5 a4 17 Bh3 axb3 18 axb3 c5 19 exd5 cxd4 20 Nxd4 e5 21 Ngf5 Bc5 22 Bxe5 Re8 23 Qf4? White is in trouble but 23 f4 prolongs the struggle although after 23 Nxe5 24 fxe5 Qxd5 Black is clearly on top. 23 Nxe5 24 Nxb5 Qa5 25 Nh6+ gxh6 26 gxh6 Ng6 0-1 Ahmed Abdelmoumen (Tunisia) writes, " I want to know if this line of the Spanish is known, what the name of the variation is and who is better after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 O-O b5 6 Bb3 Bc5 7 c3 Nxe4 8 Qe2 d5 9 d3 Bxf2+. The opening is better known as the Moller Attack and is characterised by an early Bc5. It is a favourite of some of the world's leading players such as Adams, Onischuk, and Shirov. I believe that after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 O- O b5 6 Bb3 Bc5 7 c3 Nxe4 8 Qe2 d5 9 d3 Bxf2+ (See Diagram) it is White who has the advantage. After 10 Rxf2 Nxf2 11 Qxf2 Black has given up two pieces for the rook but the bonus of the extra two pawns gives him compensation. It has to be said that this is an improvement on the game M.Matulovic-J.Feller Siegen OL 1970 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 b5 6 Bb3 Bc5 7 c3 Nxe4 8 Qe2 d5 9 d3 Nf6 10 d4 Be7 11 dxe5 Ne4 12 Rd1 The pin on the d-file is very awkward for Black. 12 Be6 13 c4 bxc4 14 Ba4! 1-0 A better approach by Black is not to take the e-pawn and instead concentrate on development. M.Adams-Onischuk Wijk aan Zee 1995 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 b5 6 Bb3 Bc5 7 c3 d6 (See Diagram) The decision to secure the centre pawn is considered the main line of the variation. 8 d4 Bb6 9 h3 Bb7 10 Re1 0-0 11 a4 11 Bg5 is worth considering. 11 h6 12 d5?! Adams later revealed that he preferred 12 Be3 when of course 12 Nxe4? is blown apart by 13 Bd5 which wins a piece. 12 Ne7 13 axb5 axb5 14 Rxa8 Bxa8 15 Na3 White is content to put pressure on the b-pawn but Black can counter in the centre. A solid alternative is 15 Be3 to exchange off Black's strong dark- squared bishop. After 15 Bxe3 16 Rxe3 c6 17 dxc6 Bxc6 18 Nbd2 Qc7 both sides have equal chances. 15 c6 16 dxc6 Bxc6 17 Bc2 Ng6 18 Bd3 Qd7 19 b4 Ra8 20 c4?! A natural move but it allows Onischuk to breakthrough with an exchange sacrifice. 20 Rxa3 21 Bxa3 bxc4 22 Bxc4 Nxe4 (See Diagram) Black has a dream position with threats against f2. As usual in the Moller the dark-squared bishop is a real menace. 23 Rxe4 Bxe4 24 Bb2 Qc6 25 Qb3 d5 26 Bf1 Qf6 27 Bc1 Nh4 28 Be2 Bxf3 29 Bxf3 e4 30 Bb2 Nxf3+ 31 gxf3 Qg5+ 0-1 Finally, the B“ Gambit that is also known as the Omega Gambit continues to create interest amongst readers. Jacob Edwards (Australia) reveals he was tempted to give away a pawn. "You seem to have little time for the Omega as a 'sound' (or indeed 'semi-sound') opening, which is fair enough, but surely you must acknowledge its psychological impact? By giving up a pawn for virtually nothing, White is saying to Black, "The pressure's on you to win, now." This can be a particularly traumatic experience for the player who, mentally, has resigned himself to starting the game at a slight disadvantage! Especially when 'virtually nothing' is a few developing moves, a strong- centre, and a ready-made kingside attack. As a player without the time (or, rather, the inclination) to study chess, I have little hesitation in dragging out the Omega Gambit. Last week I (mis-) played the Omega in an important Interclub match, and was surprised at how strong the kingside attack was for White, even with the Queens having been exchanged: After the game, my opponent and I spent half an hour or so analysing various Black responses to the Omega, desperate (in his case) to prove that White cannot get away with such rubbish. Ultimately we failed, for even those positions which GMs would pronounce winning for Black were (at our miserly level) complicated and full of life. J.Edwards-M.Stokes Interclub, 1999 1 d4 Nf6 2 e4 Nxe4 3 Nc3 Nxc3 4 bxc3 g6 5 Bd3 Bg7 6 Be3 c5 7 Qd2 Qa5 8 Nf3 Nc6 9 Rb1 cxd4 10 cxd4 Qxd2+ 11 Kxd2 0-0 12 h4 f5 13 d5 Ne5 14 Nxe5 Bxe5 15 f4 Bf6 16 h5 Kg7 17 Rh2 e5 18 Rbh1 exf4 19 Bxf4 Rg8 20 hxg6 hxg6 21 Bc4 g5 22 Bc7 b5 23 Bb3 f4 24 d6 Rf8 25 Bd5 Bb7 26 Rh7+ Kg6 27 Bxb7 Rae8 28 Bf3 Re3 29 g4 Bc3+ 30 Kd1 Bg7 31 Be2 Rfe8 32 Bd3+ Kf6 33 Ba5 1-0 It is great to hear to that you are enjoying chess and there is nothing wrong with playing little known openings for fun. Yes, you won despite your pawn sacrifice but I would recommend that you take a look at more established openings to improve. For example: the King's Gambit 1 e4 e5 2 f4 offers a pawn in return for a lead in development. The great thing about adopting such a line is not only the opportunity to play entertaining games but a chance to examine the history of the line. Looking at the games of the old masters who used the opening to great effect can do this.