Opening Lanes 
by Gary Lane

The English in Exile?

Mr. G. Hughes (Wales) writes: "In the English I often draw or
lose with White after the opening moves 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 g3
d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5 5 Bg2 Nb6 6 Nf3 Nc6 7 a3 a5 8 0-0 Be7 9 d3 0-0
10 Be3 Be6 Can you suggest a good continuation for White or is
there a chance to deviate just before I reach this important
position? In the past I have tried 11 Bxb6 to double the pawns and
11 Qc1" . I think the question could be probably more easily
answered if I had a complete game score. This is because White
often reaches an interesting position which the opening books say
is good but without a decent plan for the middlegame things soon
fall apart. Therefore, do not abandon the English without giving it
another go. My own recommendation is 11 Na4 which has been
played by World Champions Botvinnik and Kasparov. The ideas
are fairly obvious because White will occupy the c5 square with
his bishop to offer an exchange of pieces and this can be followed
up with Rc1 to use the semi-open c-file; d4 is also an option to
open up the position. 

One of the games which attracted me to this variation is this
excellent example by Botvinnik against Portisch from Monte Carlo
in 1968. 1c4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 g3 d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5 5 Bg2 Be6 6 Nf3
Nc6 7 0-0 Nb6 8 d3 Be7 9 a3 a5 10 Be3 0-0 11 Na4 (See
Diagram) 11...Nxa4 Black is in no mood to allow White to have it
all his own way and prevents the immediate possibility of playing
Bc5. In the game Kasparov  K.Georgiev, Ch-blitz St. John (3)
1988, Black tried 11...Nd5 and was soon suffering after White
quickly developed his queenside pieces: 12 Bc5 Bd6 13 Rc1 h6
(13...Ra6!? has been tried by Spragget) 14 Nd2 Rc8 15 Ne4 b6 16
Nxd6 cxd6 17 Bxb6 Nxb6 18 Rxc6 and White is a pawn up with a
clear advantage. 12 Qxa4 Bd5 In such a harmless looking position
it is easy to go wrong. For instance after 12...Qd7 in G.Forintos-
L.Sapi Hun Ch 1968, White followed the basic plan of occupying
the c-file with the rook followed by Bc5 to exchange pieces with
an unexpected positive result after 13 Rfc1 Rfd8 14 Bc5 Bd5? 15
Nxe5! Nxe5 16 Qxd7 Rxd7 17 Bxd5 leaving Black with a pawn
deficit. 13 Rfc1 Re8 14 Rc2 14 Qb5 threatens Nxe5 when the
bishop on d5 is under attack or Qxb7 but the plan is rebuffed after
simply 14...Bf6 15 Qxb7? Nd4 16 Qxc7 Nxe2+ 17 Kh1 Nxc1 and
Black is winning. 14...Bf8 15 Rac1 Nb8 Portisch has found an
inspirational way to cope with the pressure on the c-file by offering
a pawn as bait in order to trap a rook. It sounds great except
Botvinnik has seen further. 16 Rxc7 Bc6 Now the rook and queen
are threatened which seems to spell disaster for White. 17 R1xc6!
The start of a brilliant combination to wreck Black's whole idea.
17...bxc6 18 Rxf7! (See Diagram) The sign of a champion! One
rook has already been given up and the now the other one is
offered in view of 18...Kxf7 19 Qc4+ Kg6 20 Qg4+ Kf7 21 Ng5+
Qxg5 (21...Kg8 22 Qc4+ wins) 22 Bxg5+-. 18...h6 19 Rb7 White
is clearly on top as the material balance has been restored while the
attack against the weakened black king has only just begun.
19...Qc8 20 Qc4+ Kh8 21 Nh4! Qxb7 This time Portisch takes the
rook because he recognises that 21...Qe6 is also futile for Black
after 22 Qe4 Nd7 23 Qxc6. 22 Ng6+ Kh7 23 Be4 Bd6 24 Nxe5+
g6 25 Bxg6+ Kg7 26 Bxh6+ 1-0 Black resigned rather than allow
his queen to be taken after 26...Kxh6 27 Qh4+ Kg7 28 Qh7+ Kf6
28 Ng4+ Ke6 29 Qxb7.

 I can understand why 11 Bxb6 has not worked out well for you
because in practical experience it is difficult to exploit the doubled
b-pawns. K.Opocensky-S. Flohr Podebrady 1936 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3
Nf6 3 g3 d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5 5 Bg2 Nb6 6 Nf3 Nc6 7 a3 a5 8 0-0 Be7
9 d3 0-0 10 Be3 Be6 11 Bxb6 cxb6 (See Diagram) In
compensation for the doubled pawns Black has the bishop pair
which in practice has proved to be fine for Black 12 Nd2 In the
game G.Fabiano-T.Marinelli, Rome 1990, Black tried 12 Qa4 to
control the b5-square but it proved to be harmless after 12 Qa4 f6
13 Nd2 Kh8 14 Rfc1 Rc8 15 Rab1 Nd4 16 Qd1 Rc7 17 Nc4 Rd7
18 Kf1 b5 19 Nd2 b4 20 axb4 Bxb4 21 Qa4 b5 22 Qd1 Bg4 when
Black had a strong initiative. 12...f5 13 Nc4 e4 14 Ne3 exd3 15
Ned5 dxe2 16 Qxe2 Bxd5 17 Nxd5 Bf6 -

11 Qc1 has a certain element of surprise about it, but as there are
no traps for Black to fall into, it can hardly be recommended.
Indeed, the thinking behind it is to play Nb5 followed by Bc5
which can be much more easily achieved with 11 Na4.

A.Webster-J.Hodgson British Ch 1992 1 c4 e5 2 g3 Nf6 3 Bg2 d5
4 cxd5 Nxd5 5 Nc3 Nb6 6 Nf3 Nc6 7 0-0 Be7 8 a3 a5 9 d3 0-0 10
Be3 Be6 11 Qc1?! (See Diagram) 11...Nd4 The knight is heading
for b3 so White feels obliged to take it.12 Bxd4 exd4 13 Ne4
Hodgson suggests 13 Nb5 with an equal position after 13...c5 14
b4 axb4 15 axb4 Rc8 16 Na7 Ra8 17 Nb5. 13...a4 14 Nc5 Bc8?!
14...Bd5! is an obvious improvement to guard b7 and be more
active. For instance: 15 Ne1 Bxg2 16 Nxg2 Qd5 17 Ne4 c5 is
better for Black. 15 b4 axb3 16 Nxb3 Bf6 17 Nfd2 g6 18 Ne4 Bg7
19 Nec5 Nd5 20 a4 Nc3 21 Re1 Re8 22 Qc2 c6 23 a5 Qc7 24 Na4
The precautionary 24 Bf3 intending Na4 is necessary. 24...Be6 25
Nxd4? Julian Hodgson is highly regarded for his keen sense of
tactics so one should always be wary of indulging in tricky
combinations against him. 25...Qxa5 26 Nxe6 (See Diagram)
26...Nxe2+! Excellent! Black has noticed that after the exchanges
White will have a hard job of hanging on to his material due to the
lack of harmony amongst his pieces. 27 Rxe2 Bxa1 28 Nec5 Rxe2
29 Qxe2 Bd4 30 Qe7 Qd2 31 Ne4 Qd1+ 0-1

Tobias Bende (Sweden) wants to know "What is White's best
after 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 f5?" It seems that all players dream of refuting
an opening but trying to do it after just two moves guarantees a
nightmare game. The idea of taking on the Vienna with 2...f5 has
been known for some time and can give the player of the White
pieces quite a scare if they do not know what to do. As a general
rule, the only way to test the merits of a gambit is to take the pawn!

E.Falkbeer-A.Anderssen Berlin 1851 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 f5 (See
Diagram) It has to be remembered that around the time this game
was played the King's Gambit was renowned as an attacking
weapon and players were keen to enter similar positions whether
they were Black or White. 3 exf5 Nf6 4 g4 Bc5 5 g5 0-0 A rather
bold move but keeping in the spirit of the opening. The idea can be
traced back to the variation 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 Bc4 g4 5
0-0 when White has a strong initiative in compensation for the
material. The only snag in the main game is that with colours
reversed Black is a move down and the attack soon fizzles out. 6
gxf6 Qxf6 7 Qf3 Bb6 8 d3 c6 9 Ne4 Falkbeer wishes to force back
the queen but at the same time invites ...d5 with some remote
chances based on opening the f-file. An easy way to cope with
such positions is to try and exchange any aggressive pieces, so 9
Be3 should be considered. 9...Qe7 10 Bd2 d5 11 f6?! One of the
great things about such ancient games is that they are always
entertaining. Here White embarks on a plan of rapid development
in order to chase the black king. A modern player would doubtless
continue with the superior 11 Ng3 and rely on technique to convert
the material advantage. 11...Qc7 12 0-0-0 dxe4 13 dxe4 Rxf6 14
Bc4+ Kh8 15 Qh5 Nd7 16 f4 Rf8 17 Nf3 Nf6 18 Qh4 Bg4?
Anderssen falls for a nice trick. White is still favourite after the
more reliable 18...Nxe4 when the game might continue 19 Nxe5
Bf5+=. 19 Nxe5 (See Diagram) 19...Bh5 Of course 19...Bxd1
allows the stunning 20 Ng6 mate. 20 Bc3 Be3+ 21 Kb1 Bxf4 22
Qxf4 Nd5 23 Rxd5 Rxf4 24 Rd7 Qc8 Black should accept the
inevitable and give up his queen with 24...Qxd7 although after 25
Nxd7 Rxe4 26 Rg1 White is still better. 25 Ng6+ hxg6 26 Rxg7
Rf3 27 Be5 Qf8 28 Rf7+ Kg8 29 Rxf3+ Kh7 30 Rxf8 1-0

A great advert for the romantic school of chess with a game filled
with sacrifices and attacking chances. This era might be gone
forever but if you try out an opening from the past, you can usually
be guaranteed fireworks.

W.Williams-K.Hayward, Correspondence 1986 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 f5 It
is possible to decline the gambit with 3 Bc4 and after a long search
in the archives I managed to find a Black win. The game V.Vainio-
J.Kivijarvi, Finland 1997 continued: 3...Nf6 4 d3 Bb4 5 Bd2 d6 6
Nge2 Nc6 7 a3 Bxc3 8 Nxc3 f4 9 Qb1 Nd4 10 Nb5 Nxb5 11
Bxb5+ c6 12 Bc4 Qb6 13 f3 d5 14 Bb3 Be6 15 Qa2 0-0-0 16 0-0-0
Rhe8 17 Bc3 Bg8 18 a4 c5 19 Rhe1 d4 20 Bxg8 Rxg8 21 Bd2 g5
22 g4 h5 23 h3 Rg7 24 Qc4 a5 25 c3 Kb8 26 Kc2 Rc8 27 Rb1 Rh7
28 Rh1 Rch8 29 Rhc1 hxg4 30 hxg4 Rh2 31 Kd1 Rg2 32 b4 dxc3
33 Bxc3 cxb4 34 Be1 Nd7 35 d4 exd4 36 Qd5 Qa6 37 Qc4 Qd6 38
Qd3 Ne5 39 Qb3 d3 40 Rb2 d2 41 Rxd2 Rxd2+ 42 Bxd2 Rh2 43
Rc2 Rh1+ 44 Ke2 Qa6+ 45 Qc4 Nxc4 46 Kd3 Ne5+ 47 Kd4 Qd6#
0-1. 3 exf5 d5 I suspect Black knew that trying to play a line which
arises from 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 d4 Qh4+ with colours revered can
go only go two ways   a glorious defeat or a glorious loss! 4 Qh5+
Ke7 5 g4 Nf6 6 Qh3 d4 7 g5 Ne8 8 Ne4 Qd7 9 Qh4 Qc6 10 Bh3
Kf7 11 Nf3 Bd6 12 d3 Qd5 I am often told by juniors when I
coach them that they don't like positional chess but prefer tactics.
This is understandable but inevitably the most successful attacks
occur when one side has a big positional advantage. Even a brief
glance at the current position indicates that this is such a case,
because White has transferred most of his pieces to the kingside
while the black king is exposed with no adequate defensive barrier.
13 f6 Bxh3 14 g6+! (See Diagram) The finish by the American is
spectacular 14...Kxg6 15 Rg1+ Kf7 16 Nfg5+ Kf8 17 fxg7+ Kxg7
18 Qh6+ (See Diagram) A classic queen sacrifice to record
checkmate in style. 18...Kxh6 19 Ne6+ Kh5 20 Nf6+ Nxf6 21
Ng7+ Kh4 22 Bg5 mate. 

One would think that a look at the previous two games would be
enough to put anyone off the opening for life. However, an
example from a German league game shows that there are still
those who prefer an independent approach.

M.Kuehn-M.Schmeidler Bundesliga 1997 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 f5 3 exf5
Nf6 4 Nf3 e4 5 Ng5 d5 6 d3 Bb4 7 dxe4 Bxc3+ 8 bxc3 Qe7 9 Be2
dxe4? 10 Bh5+ (See Diagram) The obvious move is 10...Kf8 but it
falls victim to 11 Ba3! c5 12 Bxc5 Qxc5 13 Qd8 Ne8 14 Qxe8
mate. 10...g6 11 fxg6 0-0 12 gxh7+ Kg7 13 0-0 Nc6 14 Rb1 Ne5
15 Re1 Qc5 16 Qd4 Qa5 17 Nxe4 Nc6 18 Bh6+ Kxh6 19 h8Q+
1-0

Finally, an interesting item by Cludio Corra (Brazil) "Please,
pay attention to this B Gambit. A club player has scored a lot of
victories in this opening line: B Detthow-C.Sadde, Brazil 1 d4
Nf6 2 e4 Nxe4 3 Nc3 (See Diagram) Nxc3 4 bxc3 d5 5 Ba3 g6 6
h4 h5 7 Bd3 Nc6 8 f4 Bg4 9 Nf3 Qd7 10 0-0 Bh6 11 g3 Bh3 12
Rf2 Rg8 13 Kh2 Bg4 14 Qe1 f6 15 Rb1 Nd8 16 c4 b6 17 cxd5 Bf8
18 Bb5 c6 19 dxc6 Nxc6 20 Qe4 Rc8 21 d5 Bf5 22 dxc6 1-0 "

I am quite sure that B wins in spite of his opening due to his
superior play. Normally, a gambit will offer some compensation
such as better development or obvious attacking chances. In this
case the semi-open e-file is not enough for the pawn. However, I
would welcome contributions from readers who feel that an off-
beat line should be credited with a name of a club player or
something else. For example: I am reliably informed by eight-year-
old Cameron Thompson (Australia) that if White puts his pawns
on the squares a4, b3, c4, d3, e4, f3, g4 and h3 then it is The Great
Wall of China! What do you think? 
