Opening Lanes
by Gary Lane

The Omega Gambit

My thanks to Earl N Roberts who is the Kapiti Chess Club
Captain and hails from New Zealand, who came up with an
answer relating to the previous column. He wrote at length
concerning the naming of the Global Opening, which he points
out had been discussed by Michael Basman in his 1994 book
'The New St.George'. 

John Pasco (USA), also wrote in on the same topic. "The
phrase "global opening" comes from Basman (see his New St.
George). The a3/h3 opening (or a6/h6) which he now calls the
Creepy Crawly Opening. He has self-published a pamphlet on
it which is available through Chess Digest. With White, one
idea is to encourage Black's e5/d5 pawn duo in order to
establish a reversed St. George with the useful h3 thrown in.
Otherwise, as you said, c4 (or ...c5) is usual, with English or
Benoni positions ensuing. Basman's ideas are sometimes pretty
wild, but I have found the St. George to be perfectly viable at
the club level (there are many other useful ideas he has
promoted, such as Nh6 in the Leningrad Dutch). The
enthusiasm he conveys for the game and the creativity he
brings to it are worth a hundred technically adept grandmasters
plodding through someone else's terrain."
A reminder of what all the fuss is about.

M.Basman-N.Carton British Ch 1990
1 h3 e5 2 a3 g6 In the game M.Basman J.Speelman, British Ch
1990, saw Black respond in a traditional way by taking over the
centre with 2...d5. After 3 d3 Black quickly achieved a
positional advantage: 3...c6 4 Nf3 Bd6 5 c4 Nf6 6 Nc3 d4 7
Ne4 Nxe4 8 dxe4 a5 9 e3 dxe3 10 Bxe3 Qe7 11 Be2 a4 12 Qc2
Nd7=+. 3 d4 Bg7 4 dxe5 Nc6 5 Nc3 Nxe5 6 e4 d6 (See
Diagram) 

The game now looks like some sort of Nimzovitch and gives
Basman the opportunity to outplay his lower rated opponent. 7
Nf3 One problem with the Creepy Crawly is revealed if White
tries 7 f4, which is well met by 7...Qh4+ exploiting the rush to
play h3. For example: 8 Ke2 Bg4+ 9 Nf3 Nxf3 10 gxf3 Bd7
and Black is better. 7...Nxf3+ 8 Qxf3 Be6 9 Be2 h6 10 Be3
Ne7 11 Rd1 a6?! The Irishman is concerned about the knight
being pinned after 11...Nc6 12 Bb5 so he takes preventative
action. I prefer 11...0-0 when he can continue with ...Qd7 and
...f5. 12 0-0 Nc6 13 Qg3 h5 14 f4 White is in control of the
position and the threat of f4-f5 is strong. 14...h4 15 Qf2 Bd7 16
Nd5 Be6 17 c4 Qd7 18 b4 f5 It is understandable that Black
has no wish to wait and be squashed so he tries to break out. 19
exf5 Bxf5 20 Bf3 Kf8 An admission that things have gone
wrong. Black would like to castle but 20...0-0 fails to 21 Qxh4
and 20...0-0-0 is busted by the spectacular 21 Bb6! which is a
knockout blow. 21 c5 Re8 22 cxd6 cxd6 23 Nb6 Qc7 24 Nc4
Qe7 25 Rfe1 Nd4 26 Bxd4 1-0

John Mackie (Australia) asks a question about a somewhat
more popular opening. "There is no reference or readily
available reference on the following Nimzo-Indian variation: 1
d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3 6 Qxc3 b6 7
Bg5 Ba6! when 8 Qf3 does not appear to be better than 8 f3 d5
9 e3 etc.  Black is OK. How does White continue?"

It is true that old books on the Nimzo don't mention 7...Ba6
preferring to concentrate on the established and logical reply
7...Bb7. I believe it was Rozentalis's idea to play ...Ba6
immediately, therefore saving some time on lines where ...Bb7-
a6 is useful. In the following encounter Black is faced with
simple development giving White a reasonable game.

Y.Pelletier-L.Nisipeanu Bad Wiessee 1997
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 Qxc3 b6
7 Bg5 Ba6 (See Diagram)

The Romanian chooses the trendy line. His name should be
familiar after his sensational performance at the F.I.D.E World
Championship in Las Vegas. 8 e3 The best treatment of the line
is to develop, resisting the temptation to instantly try to exploit
the bishop being on a6. In the game A.Onischuk-V.Kortchnoi,
Groningen 1996, White decided to avoid a confrontation with 8
g3 intending to quietly fianchetto and castle kingside. In his
usual robust style, Black soon dictated a more aggressive
outcome: 8...d5! 9 b3 h6 10 Bxf6 Qxf6 11 Bg2 c5! 12 cxd5
exd5 13 Rc1 (13 Bxd5 Nc6! 14 Rc1 Rad8 15 Bxc6 Qxc6 16 f3
Rfe8 gives Black a fantastic attack) 13...cxd4 14 Qf3 Nd7 15
Qxf6 Nxf6 16 Nf3 d3 17 exd3 Bxd3 and Black is a pawn up.
8...d6 9 Bd3 Nbd7 10 Nf3 h6 11 Bh4 c5 12 0-0 Rc8 Or
12...cxd4 13 exd4 Rc8 and now Ivan Sokolov gives the line 14
Qb4! e5 15 Nd2 exd4 16 Qxd6 Nc5 17 Qxd8 Rcxd8 18 Bf5 and
White is slightly better. 13 d5 exd5 14 cxd5 Bxd3 15 Qxd3
Qc7 16 e4 Rfe8 16...c4 should be considered.  17 Nd2 c4 18
Qd4 c3?! (See Diagram) 

The c-pawn is on the march and the eighth rank is its final
destination. The only thing problem is that Pelletier's pieces are
well placed to put a few obstacles in its way.  Perhaps
Nisipeanu should be more wary of the pin on the c-file and
offer to exchange queens with 18...Qc5. After 19 Qxc5 Rxc5
White is at least equal after 20 f3. 19 Rac1! Qc5 20 Bxf6 Nxf6
21 Qd3 c2 The pawn is not going any further and will
eventually be lost.  22 Nb3 Qc4 23 Qxc4 Rxc4 24 f3 Nd7 25
Rf2 Rec8 26 Rd2 The threat of Nd4 to take the c2-pawn is
enough to give White a winning endgame. 27...f5 27 exf5 Rf4
28 Nd4 Rc4 29 Nb5 Nc5 30 Nxd6 1-0

If the White approach appears solid and you are looking for
something more, than 10 b4 might be the answer.

A.Dreev-V.Zvjaginsev FIDE-Wch k.o. Groningen 1997
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 Qxc3 b6
7 Bg5 Ba6 8 e3 d6 9 Bd3 Nbd7 10 b4 (See Diagram) 

White decides to take direct action against the bishop on a6 by
trying to quickly advance the queenside pawns. 10 Ne2 is
popular. 10...c5 11 dxc5 bxc5 12 b5 A consistent approach to
gain time by attacking the bishop. 12 Ne2 was seen in
D.Linauskas-O.Nikolenko, Katowice 1995, which allowed
Black to undermine the queenside pawns after 12...Ne5 13 0-0
cxb4 14 axb4 Bxc4! 15 Bxc4 Rc8 16 Rxa7 Rxc4 17 Qb3 Qb6
18 Bxf6 Rxb4 19 Qa3 gxf6 20 Ra6 Qb7 21 Ra7 Qb8. 12...Bb7
13 Nf3 Qb6 Black has to be alert in this variation otherwise he
will eventually be swamped by White's queenside pawns. A
more critical response is 13...d5!? 14 0-0 Re8 15 Nd2 h6 16
Bh4 Qb6= Hoang Thang Trang-G. Garcia, Bundapest 1997. 14
0-0 Ne4 15 Bxe4 Bxe4 16 Nd2 (See Diagram) 

White has emerged from the opening with a small plus. The
plan of advancing the pawns on the queenside in the long-term
is still a threat and the extra space makes it easier to
manoeuvre. 16...Bg6 17 a4 Rac8 18 e4 f5 19 f3 Dreev pay
attention to the detail of the position by sensibly securing e4 to
maintain the tension. If 19 exf5 then 19...Bxf5 simply activates
the bishop. 19...Rf7 20 Rae1 e5 21 exf5 The timing is now
right to take on f5. White will install a knight on e4 to hit the
backward pawn on d6. 21...Bxf5 22 Ne4 Nf8 23 Bh4 Rd7 24
Qd2 Ne6 25 f4! Black has been so content to move his knight
to d4 he misses this tactical trick. 25...Bxe4 After 25...Nxf4?
White can strike back with 26 Rxf4 which wins upon 26...exf4
27 Qd5+ Kh8 28 Qxf5. Or 25...exf4? 26 Qd5! Rf8 27 Ng5+-.
26 Rxe4 Nd4 27 fxe5 dxe5 28 Qg5 Now that the queen has
joined in the attack on the e-pawn Black's position falls apart.
It is worth noting that Zvjaginsev has finally planted a knight
on d4 but it is hardly doing anything. 28...h6 29 Qg4 Qc7 30
Bg3 Qb7 Or 30...Re8 31 Bxe5 Qd8 32 a5 demonstrates that
White has a stranglehold on the position. 31 Rxe5 Rf8 32
Rxf8+ Kxf8 33 Rxc5 Kg8 34 h3 1-0.

Edwin Lam Choong Wai (Malaysia) has been handed some
advice about openings. "My friend recommended the
Nimzovitch Defence to me in reply to 1 e4. One of his ideas is
the possibility of Black transposing to the King's Indian
Defence. I have seen some games that continue 1 e4 Nc6 2 Nf3
d6 3 d4 Bg4 and I tried it once but without success. Further
more, I don't quite like the closed-nature of the position. Gary,
can you please recommend a few possible lines of play for the
Nimzovitch?"

The Nimzovitch is an opening, which is popular partly because
it avoids learning a lot of theory. I suspect that when you are
playing Black it is difficult to avoid entering positions, which
are closed. This need not be a worry, as you will soon learn
how to cope. If you are comfortable in positions similar to the
King's Indian then the continuation 1 e4 Nc6 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4
Bg4 is perhaps not appropiate. I think that it might be of
interest to you to see another way of handling the position.

S.Polgar-J. Fries Nielsen Rimavska Sobota 1991
1 e4 Nc6 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 Nf6 4 Nc3 g6 5 h3 Bg7 (See Diagram) 

In order to make the move-order clear I have had to take a few
liberties with the illustrative game which actually started 1e4
g6 2 d4 Bg7 3 Nc3 Nc6 4 Nf3 d6 5 h3 Nf6. It is helpful to
notice how the opening transposes to the Pirc and this is where
you should look for new ideas in the line. 6 Bg5 T.Lukic-Z.
Mestrovic, Zadar 1997, saw instead 6 Be2 0-0 7 Bg5 h6 8 Be3
e5 9 Qd2 exd4 10 Nxd4 Nxd4 11 Bxd4 Re8 12 f3 Nh5 13 0-0-0
Bxd4 14 Qxd4 Qg5+ 15 Kb1 Be6 16 g4 Nf4 17 Bc4? c5 0-1
6...0-0 7 Qd2 d5 This is double-edged continuation which
invites complications. Black can also aim for queenside
expansion before challenging the centre. The game M.Apicella-
C.Hoi, Lugano 1989, proceeded in this manner. Black played
7...a6 8 Be2 b5 9 a3 Rb8 10 0-0 Bb7 11 Rfe1 e5!?. After 12 d5
Ne7 13 Rad1 Ne8 14 a4 bxa4 15 Nxa4 f6 16 Bh4 h6 17 g4 f5
18 gxf5 gxf5 19 Nc3 Bc8 Black had an edge. 8 exd5 If 8 e5
Ne4! gives Black good chances, while 8 Bxf6 exf6 9 exd5 Nb4
10 Bc4 Bf5 11 Rc1 Re8+ is also fine for Black. 8...Nxd5 9 Bh6
Nxc3 10 Bxg7 Kxg7 11 Qxc3 Qd5 12 0-0-0 Be6 If Black
wishes to take the sting out of White's attack then 12...Qa5 is
the solution. After 13 Qxa5 Nxa5 14 d5 b6 15 Bd3 Nb7 the
knight heads for d6 leaving White with a small space
advantage. If 13...Qxa2?? then 14 d5+ wins. 13 b3 Bf5 14 Nh4
Bd7 15 Rd2 Kg8 16 Qe3 Qd6 17 c3 a5 18 Nf3 Qa3+ 19 Kd1
a4 20 Qh6 f6 21 Bc4+ e6 22 d5 Ne7?! It looks messy but
22...Nd8 should be preferred. 23 dxe6 Bc6 24 Nd4 axb3 25
Nxc6 bxc6 26 Bxb3 Rab8 27 Re1 Rxb3 28 axb3 Qxb3+ 29
Ke2 Qc4+ (See Diagram) 

30 Rd3? At the last moment Sofia misses a glorious victory.
After 30 Kf3 Nf5 White can play 31 e7! Nxh6 32 Rd8+-.
30...Nd5 31 g3 Ra8 32 Qd2 Ra2 33 Rb1 Nxc3+ 34 Ke1 Qe4+
0-1
 
Finally, the naming of obscure openings is always something of
a minefield. I have had numerous replies to my enquires
concerning the 'Bo Gambit' named after the Brazilian who
ventured 1d4 Nf6 2 e4 with the follow up usually being
2...Nxe4 3 Nc3 Nxc3 4 bxc3. GM Hellers who cheekily thought
the American GM Nick de Firmian should get a mention
having played it in a number of blitz games helped along the
discussion. However, it looks like all these claims should be
suspended in view of comments from Clyde Nakamura
(USA). " I was a bit disturbed by the naming of the gambit  (1
d4 Nf6 2 e4) as the "Bo Gambit". In Schiller's book called
Unorthodox Openings, 2nd edition the same gambit was called
the "Omega Gambit".  It is the name that I had given to this
opening during the 1980's after watching the Charlton Heston
movie called "The Omega Man". An article on this gambit
appeared in the German Theoretical publication called "Rand
Springer" in 1984. It featured the game: Nakamura-Roods. A
player named Arafat had also played a form of this gambit and
named the line (1 d4 Nf6 2 e4 Nxe4 3 Bd3) as the "Arafat
Gambit". I do know that Grandmaster deFirmian had also
played this gambit. I have 1 deFirmian game from my chess
database, but it was a declined line, which transposed into
regular standard lines. A US National Master named Robert
Reynolds has also been known to play this gambit. The gambit
can also be played from an Alekhine's Defence (1 e4 Nf6 2
d4)."

I managed to track down an entertaining game played by
Robert Reynolds against Harold Winston at Ventura in 1972. 1
d4 Nf6 2 e4? This opening is certainly a lot of fun but in my
opinion White loses a pawn for just about nothing. 2...Nxe4 3
Nc3 Nxc3 4 bxc3 c5 5 Nf3 g6 6 h4 (See Diagram) 

A move which is in the spirit of the opening. The onus is on
attack. 6...Bg7 7 h5 b6 One possibility for Black is 7...d5 with
the better game. 8 hxg6 hxg6 9 Rxh8+ Bxh8 10 Ng5 Bg7 11
Qg4 The game would stop after 11 Qf3 which threatens the
rook on a8 and checkmate on f7. 11...e5 12 Bd3 f5 13 Bxf5
gxf5 14 Qh5+ 1-0

I would be interested if any readers can find examples of the
'Omega Gambit' played consistently many years ago. Any
other examples of odd openings would also be welcomed.

Copyright 1999 Gary Lane. All rights reserved.