Opening Lanes
by Gary Lane

Who is Afraid of Bo?

The fans of the Bo Gambit have been busy sending in their
thoughts on one of the world's worst gambits, but GM Hellers
has revealed exclusively to The Chess Cafe that an American
GM must share some of the guilt for popularising this
outrageous opening. See the end of the article for further
details.

Quentin Mason (USA) has been looking at some forgotten
openings and asks
"What is your advice on the line: 1 e4 e5 2 d4 exd4 3 Qxd4
Nc6 4 Qa4...? I know white castles a lot on the queenside with
this opening. Is it sound ? Any GMs play this?" 

It is always fun to find an opening which can cause confusion
with something unusual. The psychological impact can be huge
and the hapless opponent is obliged to consume large amounts
of time coping with the new situation. The Centre Game played
with 4 Qa4 is certainly interesting as a surprise weapon but
should not worry Black. The old game J.Mieses  P.Leonhardt
Vienna 1908 shows that Black can cope well and be in a
position to pounce on any errors by White. 1 e4 e5 2 d4 exd4 3
Qxd4 Nc6 4 Qa4 (See Diagram) 

4...Bc5 Simple and best. Black's takes advantage of the fact
that White has avoided the main line with 4 Qe3 by deploying
the king's bishop to the most active square available. 5 Nc3 d6
Also worth considering is 5...Nf6 as a few people have fallen
for 6 Bg5? Bxf2+! 7 Kxf2 Ng4+ followed by Qxg5 with
advantage to Black. 6 Nd5!? Bd7 7 c3 Nf6 8 Qc2 Nxd5 9 exd5
Ne5 10 Bf4 Qf6 11 Qd2 0-0 12 0-0-0

The stage is set for attacks on both sides of the board. Black
should be better with the better development and the possibility
of a rapid queenside pawn advance. 12...a5 13 Bxe5 dxe5 14 f3
b5 15 Bd3 b4 The pawn surge prompts White to make further
concessions on the queenside. 16 c4 a4 17 Kb1 Qd6 18 g4 f5
19 h3? 19 exf5 should be considered. 19...b3 20 a3 Bxa3! 21
bxa3 Qxa3 Black has a strong attacking position for the piece
sacrifice. The connected passed pawns hovering by the white
king are lethal. 22 Ne2 Rfb8 23 Nc3 Qc5 24 Nb5 a3 25 Qe2
Rxb5 26 cxb5 Qc3 0-1

A recent game indicates that the policy of not panicking after 4
Qa4 gives Black an easy life.
J.Bellon Lopez A.Rivera, Santa Clara 1998 1 e4 e5 2 d4 exd4
3 Qxd4 Nc6 4 Qa4 Bc5 5 Nf3 This is the most popular
continuation for White. The idea is to quickly develop with the
dark-squared bishop heading for g5. 5... Nf6 6 Bg5 6 Bd3!? has
been tried successfully by Ekstrom 6...h6 7 Bh4 d6 8 Nc3

White has tried to proceed as though nothing unusual has
happened but with the queen stuck on a4 this cannot be done
with a straight face! 8...Bd7 9 Bb5 a6 10 Bxc6 Bxc6 11 Qc4 g5
12 Bg3 b5 13 Qd3 b4 14 Nd5 Nxd5 15 exd5 Bb5 16 Qe4+
White has no choice but to enter the ending as Black threatened
...Qe7+. The rest of the game is easier for Black as the pair of
bishops prove their worth. 16...Qe7 17 Qxe7+ Kxe7 18 h4 f5
19 0-0-0 f4 20 Bh2 Bxf2 21 Bg1 Bxg1 22 Rhxg1 Kf6 23 Nd4
Rae8?! 23...Bc4 looks like a better bet. 24 Nxb5 axb5 25 Rd4
Re5 26 g3 fxg3 27 Rxg3 Rhe8 28 Rxb4 Rxd5 29 b3 Re1+ 30
Kb2 Rc5 31 Rg2 Rf1 32 a4 Rff5 33 hxg5+ hxg5 34 a5 Rc6 35
Rd4 Ra6 36 b4 c5 37 Rd3 cxb4 38 Kb3 Rf4 39 Rd5 Rxa5 40
Rxd6+ Ke7 1/2

After these games it is easy to see that 4 Qa4 has never really
caught on. Does that mean the much acclaimed surprise aspect
of an opening is overrated? Not really, as GM Velimirovic
devastates G.Todorovic straight out of the opening in a game
played in the 1988 Yugoslav Championship. 1 e4 e5 2 d4 exd4
3 Qxd4 Nc6 4 Qa4 Bb4+

An understandable mistake. Such a move is common against 4
Qe3 so Black assumes there is no difference with the queen on
a4. 5 Bd2 Qe7 6 Nc3 Nf6 7 0-0-0 0-0 8 Nd5 Nxd5 9 exd5 Qe4

Black is an established international player but within 10
moves he is teetering on the verge of defeat. 10 Bc3 I suspect
10 c3 wins quicker as 10...d6 intending ...Bf5 is dealt with
forcefully by f3 followed by cxb4. 10...b5 11 Bxb5 Qxg2 12
Bxc6 dxc6 13 Bxb4 Re8 14 Ne2 Rxe2 15 Qxc6 Qg6 16 Qxg6
hxg6 17 Rd2 Ba6 18 Rxe2 Bxe2 19 Re1

After the mass of exchanges Velimirovic is rewarded with a
superior ending. 19...Bc4 20 Rd1 a5 21 b3 axb4 22 bxc4 Rxa2
23 Rd3 Ra1+ 24 Kb2 Rf1 25 c5 Kf8 26 d6 cxd6 27 Rxd6 Ke7
28 Rd2 Rh1 29 Kb3 Rxh2 30 Kxb4 g5 31 c6 Rh8 32 Kc5 f5
33 c7 g4 34 Kc6 f4 35 Rd4 g5 36 Rd7+ Kf6 37 Rd8 1-0

Cary Cherng (USA) asks about the French Defence, Two
Knight's Variation, "MCO-13 gives 1 e4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 Nc3 d4
4 Nce2 c5 5 c3 Nf6 6 d3 and so on. My question is how should
Black play against 6 e5? If this is playable for White how
should Black play?"

I believe that Black should not fear 6 e5 as White cannot win
material by taking on d4 as the e5 pawn is also under attack.
E.Gufeld V.Kortschnoi USSR Ch Tbilisi 1959 1 e4 e6 2 Nf3
d5 3 Nc3 d4 4 Ne2 c5 5 c3 Nf6 6 e5

The advance of the pawn has been played a number of times
but with precise play Black has a comfortable game. In the
game N.Aleksic-A.Parrella, Catania 1995, White tried 6 d3 and
benefited from a slow and steady build-up of forces: 6...Nc6 7
g3 e5 8 Bg2 Be7 (8...g6 intending ...Bg7 is also possible) 9 0-0
0-0 10 h3 Ne8 11 Ne1 Rb8 12 cxd4 Nxd4 13 Nxd4 Qxd4?
(13...exd4!?) 14 Nf3 Qd6 15 Nxe5! Qd8 (15...Qxe5 16 Bf4+-)
16 Nf3 Nc7 17 d4 cxd4 18 Nxd4 Bf6 19 Be3 Qe7 20 Qb3 Bd7
21 Rac1 Rfc8 22 Rfd1 a6 23 Nf5 Bxf5 24 exf5 1-0 6...Nfd7 7
cxd4 cxd4 8 Qa4 If 8 Nexd4 Black immediately restore
material equality with 8...Nxe5. For instance: 9 Bb5+ Nec6 10
0-0 Be7 11 Nb3 a6 12 Be2 e5 13 d4 is equal. 8...Nc6 9 Nexd4
Ndxe5 10 Bb5

White has some pressure on the pinned knight on c6 but it is
easily rebuffed. 10...Bd7 11 Nxc6 Nxc6 12 0-0 In a recent
game from the Belgian team championship Bezsiko tried 12
Qg4 against Meessen in order to try and restrict the movement
of Black's dark-squared bishop which defends g7. After
12...Qb6 Black had nothing to fear and won after 13 Bxc6 Bxc6
14 0-0 Rd8 15 d4 h5 16 Qh3 Bxf3 17 Qxf3 Rd5 18 Be3 Bd6 19
Rac1 Ke7 20 Rc2 g5 21 Rfc1 g4 22 Qe2 f5 23 Bg5+ Kf7 24
Re1 Re8 25 g3 Qxd4 26 Rd2 Qa4 27 b3 Qc6 28 Red1 Bc5 29
Rxd5 exd5 30 Qd3 Kg6 31 Bc1 Bb4 32 Qd4 Bc3 33 Qf4 d4 34
Qh6+ Kf7 35 Qxh5+ Qg6 36 Qxg6+ Kxg6 37 Kf1 b5 38 Bd2
b4 39 f3 gxf3 40 Kf2 Re2+ 41 Kxf3 Rxd2 0-1. 12...Be7 13 d4
a6 14 Be2 0-0 15 Be3 Nb4 Kortchnoi has an initiative and
strives to create active play by chasing the white queen. 16
Qd1 Qa5 17 Ne5 Bb5 18 Nc4 Qc7 19 Qb3 a5 20 a4 Bc6 21
Na3 Bd5 22 Qc3 Qd8 23 Qd2 Bc6 24 Nb5 Qd5 25 Bf3 Qf5
26 Bxc6 bxc6 27 Na3 Rfd8 Black has good play against the d-
pawn but Gufeld puts up strong resistance. 28 Qe2 Bf6 29
Rfd1 Rd5 30 Rd2 Rad8 31 Rad1 h5 32 Nc4 Rb8 33 Rc1 h4
34 h3 Be7 35 Ne5 c5 36 Nc4 Qe4 37 dxc5 Bxc5 38 Rxd5 exd5
39 Nd2 Qd3 40 Qxd3 Nxd3 41 Rc3 Bxe3 1/2

If Black wishes to play something more familiar, then I would
recommend 3...Nf6 when after 4 e5 Nfd7 5 d4 c5 the position
has transposed to the Steinitz Variation which normally arises
after 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Nf3 c5. 

Terence Munro (Australia) asks a practical question: " I want
to know if you could tell me a few opening tricks against and
with the Sicilian Dragon variation"

This gives me a good excuse to demonstrate a classic game in
the Accelerated Dragon by the legendary Robert. J. Fischer.
R.Fischer-S.Reshevsky USA Ch New York 1958
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 g6 5 Nc3 Bg7 6 Be3 Nf6
7 Bc4 0-0 8 Bb3 Na5?

A mistake by Reshevsky who should prefer a more established
line such as 8...a5 or 8...Qa5. The main problem for Black is
that apparently Bobby had read the refutation only shortly
before the game in the Russian magazine Shakmatny Biulletin.
9 e5! Ne8 There is not much choice as 9...Nxb3 loses material
for Black after 10 exf6. 10 Bxf7+! Kxf7 If 10...Rxf7 White still
replies with 11 Ne6 and the black queen will be obliged to
leave the board. 11 Ne6

There will be plenty of Fischer connoisseurs who will claim
that lightening never strikes twice but plenty of people have
fallen for the trap. The leading English grandmaster John
Emms crashed to defeat in a weekend tournament several years
ago when his experimentation with the Sicilian Dragon proved
to be costly. Other victories can be traced to numerous games
such as Palac-Ostojic, Belgrade 1988. Perhaps even more
surprising is that White has also missed the opportunity for a
quick win. In 1998 I was one of the coaches for England at the
European junior championships and had the opportunity to
witness the game Tronenkovs-Feige in the under 14 section.
After his opponent played the losing move 8...Na5 White
calmly replied 9 Qe2. A little knowledge goes a long way when
playing the Sicilian Dragon. 11...dxe6 If 11...Kxe6 then 12
Qd5+ leads to checkmate. 12 Qxd8 In this position Reshevsky
could have resigned but understandably did not want lose after
just 12 moves and chose to fight on. The game concluded:
12....Nc6 13 Qd2 Bxe5 14 0-0 Nd6 15 Bf4 Nc4 16 Qe2 Bxf4
17 Qxc4 Kg7 18 Ne4 Bc7 19 Nc5 Rf6 20 c3 e5 21 Rad1 Nd8
22 Nd7 Rc6 23 Qh4 Re6 24 Nc5 Rf6 25 Ne4 Rf4 26 Qxe7+
Rf7 27 Qa3 Nc6 28 Nd6 Bxd6 29 Rxd6 Bf5 30 b4 Rff8 31 b5
Nd8 32 Rd5 Nf7 33 Rc5 a6 34 b6 Be4 35 Re1 Bc6 36 Rxc6
bxc6 37 b7 Rab8 38 Qxa6 Nd8 39 Rb1 Rf7 40 h3 Rfxb7 41
Rxb7+ Rxb7 42 Qa8 1-0

There is another trap for White which often occurs. After the
moves 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 g6 6 Be3
Black can instinctively try to steer away from the main lines by
playing 6...Ng4?? to hit the bishop on e3. Just one 
small problem is that after 7 Bb5+ the only honourable 
course of action is to resign! The
reason is that 7...Bd7 is struck a blow by 8 Qxg4 which wins a
piece or 7...Nc6 8 Nxc6 bxc6 9 Bxc6+ which also wins
material for White. Has anyone lost after playing 6...Ng4?
Well, Lloyd-Dean, Bognor Regis 1959 and Springer-Felder,
Lucerne 1994 prove that the mistake has been known for a long
time but still catches people out. There are exceptions, such as
the game Schaefer-Borulla where the German woman playing
White tried 7 Bg5 to little effect before losing after 31 moves. I
suspect that having a winning position after just 7 moves might
have been a preferable alternative.

If you are thinking that playing the Dragon as Black can be
dangerous for those who don't know their theory then you
would be right. However, the same applies to White and there
are lots of games where Black triumphs quickly. K.Banas-D.
Stets Slovakia Ch 1997 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4
Nf6 5 Nc3 g6 6 Be3 Bg7 7 f3 0-0 8 Bc4 Nc6 9 Qd2 Bd7 10 0-
0-0 Rc8

The rook has taken residence on c8 which indicates pressure on
the c-file which should prompt White to immediately play 11
Bb3 and then continue playing a main line. However, a few
players have tried to improvise with disastrous consequences.
11 h4? As usual I am always happy to name the guilty people
who have allowed Black to uncork the following sequence of
moves, such as Kluenter-Wellner, Germany 1989 and Pecina-
Sluka, Czech Republic 1993. 11...Nxd4 12 Qxd4 Ng4 0-1
White resigned in view of 13 Qd3 Nxe3 14 Qxe3 Rxc4, losing
a piece.

And finally, Swedish grandmaster Ferdinand Hellers has joined
in the fun of trying to find a suitable name for the astounding
gambit arising after the opening moves 1 d4 Nf6 2 e4? Nxe4 3
Nc3 Nxc3 4 bxc3. In the July column I revealed that the
Brazilian player Bo Detthow has played it repeatedly with
success and speculated that it should be known as the Bo
Gambit. However, there appears to be another candidate who
should get all the credit.

"I would like to inform you that the so called Bo (?) gambit is a
great favourite of GM Nick de Firmian in blitz games,
especially after he and his opponent, for example me, have had
a few glasses of wine!"

I feel sure that the amiable American will be glad to know that
his many years devoted to chess have been rewarded with the
naming of the de Firmian Gambit which of course is a lousy
opening! If anyone thinks this opening or anything else should
be named after someone else, please let me know.