Chess Tip of The Day 411

There are sound chess reasons why the King's Gambit should be accepted. However, for some players, the King's Gambit Accepted may seem too obscure and complicated. Then there are players who don't like being pressed, and in fact savour positions which offer immediate chances to counterattack. Both these types of players may do better in a practical game - for psychological reasons - by not accepting the gambit. 

Edmar Mednis, Understanding The Open Games

Lessons From Bregenz V

MY round-five game, in which I was Black against Erich Kampenhuber (1675), reached the following position after six moves.

I have just played 6...d3!?

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My opponent almost instantly replied 7.exd3??, but felt obliged to resign after 7...Qf6.

The whole game took under 10 minutes, and ended with him rushing from the room, without signing scoresheets or resetting pieces.

LESSON: "Is it a trap?" should be one of the first thoughts to go through a player's mind when the opponent plays a move that seems to give up material for no good reason.

Chess Tip Of The Day 410

To truly get better, put a cap on your activities. Play five (online) games every day, win or lose. Do 10 puzzles every day, but try to get them all correct. Don't treat your rapid games or puzzle-solving like an endless spin at a casino.

Levy Rozman (GothamChess), Chess magazine

Lessons From Bregenz IV

I HAVE mentioned before on this blog that one of grandmaster Nigel Davies's favourite pieces of advice is that the most important factor in chess is the safety of the kings.

This was well-illustrated by two moves in quick succession in round four, where I was Black against Josef Nussbaumer (1742).

The following position was reached after 15 moves.

Black has just made a recapture on d7

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All 11 games to reach the position in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database continued with White getting the king to safety by castling kingside.

The wisdom of this was shown in our game, after JN started pushing his queenside pawn-majority with 16.a4?, only to be met with 16...Qc6, when it is not easy to decide what to do about White's bishop.

The game saw 17.Bf2!?, which may be best - Stockfish18 and Dragon1 are unsure.

I now played 17...e4?!, and JN wisely, if belatedly, got his king to (relative) safety with 18.0-0, even though this allows 18...exf3.

The engines much prefer 17...Qc4, keeping the white king in the centre, when best might be the engines' 18.b3!? Qxb3 19.0-0, although Black is well on top.

After 27...Qc4, the problem with the natural-looking 18.Qe2 is Black has 18...e4!, when 19.Qxc4 exf3+ gives Black a winning advantage, according to the engines, eg 20.Kf1 dxc4! (this is much stronger than 20...fxg2+ 21.Kxg2 dxc4 22.Rhe1, according to the engines) 21.gxf3 Rab8 22.Ra2 Rbd8! 23.Ra1 Rd2!? 24.Rb1 Ree2!? 25.Bxa7 Rxb2. Admittedly, Black has to find some sharp moves in this line, but they do highlight the danger of a king being uncastled and exposed, even with queens off the board.

LESSON: king safety trumps everything.

Chess Tip of The Day 409

In the ending one weakness in the opposition camp is seldom enough to win. You need to create a second weakness, and alternate attacks until the defence cannot keep up.

John Cox, Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence

Lessons From Bregenz III

I HAVE had the following position three times in my games.

In each case it arose after the moves 1.e4 d5 2.d4!? exd4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 Bf5!? 5.g4 Bg6 6.g5 Nd5 7.Nxe4 e6

I first had it at Guernsey in 2005, when I continued 8.Nh3!?, which was apparently a novelty, although ChessBase's 2026 Mega database has two subsequent games with the same continuation.

According to my notes, my opponent, Dutchman Peter Vorstermans (1934), suggested 8.c4, which I noted was also recommended by Gary Lane in his 2003 book Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.

I also noted that my main engines at the time, which I am pretty sure were Hiarcs1.5a and Deep Fritz7, "love 8...Bb4+, but Lane gives a ?, continuing 9.Ke2!"

There is little doubt that Lane, and presumably Vorstermans, were ahead of contemporary engines, as modern engines, eg Stockfish18 and Dragon1, flash red when ...Bb4+ is inputted. agreeing that the best reply is Ke2.

I next had the diagram position in round one at Bregenz, where I again continued 8.Nh3!?, having no recollection of the Guernsey game.

That is understandable, since there are almost 21 years and more than 3,000 games between the two encounters, although I do find it surprising, and a little disappointing, that my calculations came to the same apparently sub-optimal solution in both cases.

The third time I had the diagram position was in round three at Bregenz, where I continued 8.Ne2!?, which is again almost certainly sub-optimal, showing how little I had taken from my experience two rounds earlier.

I probably should have chosen one of the two moves liked by Stockfish18 and Dragon1, namely 8.c4 (known since at least a 1947 game of Emil Diemer's - the game is not in Mega26), and 8.h4 (the earliest encounter in Mega26 being a a 1997 game between two unrateds).

LESSON: it is good to look at your games, but it is so much better to study them.

Chess Tip Of The Day 408

Blogger update on feeder-widget fault: "Unfortunately, this issue hasn't been fixed for everyone yet. The team is still working on it."

The main rationale behind the English is to play either in the centre or on the queenside, but in both cases utilising the control of d5 as a focal point upon which to build one's position.

Nigel Povah, How To Play The English Opening

Lessons From Bregenz II

IN round two of the Bodensee Seniors, in which I was Black against Olaf Hilbig (2026), the following position was reached after White's 18th move.

White has just captured on e5

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After 18...Bxc4 19.Qxc4 Qd5, the game is equal, but I played the active 18...Bc5??, only to realise with horror that White has 19.Ba6!?, after which Black's light-square bishop cannot be saved.

LESSON: when a  piece has left the back rank, but nevertheless has very few squares to which it can safely move, alarm bells should start ringing. Pieces, like people, need breathing room.

Chess Tip Of The Day 407

Blogger were supposed to have sorted the problem with their feeder widget more than a week ago, but perhaps this will be the week it will be fixed.

The queen-and-knight combination is often referred to as the deadliest attacking force in chess. The two pieces work so well together because their differing movements complement each other perfectly.

John Emms, Starting Out: The Scotch Game

Lessons From Bregenz

IN round one of the Bodensee Seniors I was White against Kurt Vogel (1643).

The game began as a Scandinavian, 1.e4 d5, but I mixed things up by switching into the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit with 2.d4!?

There are 2,034 examples of this transpositional trick in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, although, on the face of it, the trick rebounds on White as 2.d4!? scores 48%, seven percentage points lower than the mainline 2.exd5.

Then again, of all the moves after 1.e4 d5 that appear at least 100 times in Mega26, 2.d4!? records the second-highest score, so it has something going for it.

Not only that, but it has been played by grandmasters, although German GM Matthias Wahls, in a 1997 article for ChessBase, wrote: "The vast majority of Scandinavian Defence supporters are aware of the possibility of becoming involved in the BDG."

He furthered this by giving d4 a question mark, explaining that he had been taught a pawn is worth "roughly two to three tempi," whereas in the BDG White "only receives a single tempo for the sacrifice."

With all due respect, I am not sure Wahls is right about this.

After 2...dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3, the following position is reached 3,407 times in Mega26.

It is Black to move, but I am showing the board from White's viewpoint

Black has accepted the sacrifice by taking on f3 - until then it was still possible to decline the gambit, for example by 4...e3 (585 examples in Mega26).

After Nxf3, White has developed two pieces, against Black's one, and has opened diagonals for both white bishops, whereas Black has yet to open a diagonal for the f8 bishop.

I make that an advantage of two development tempi, and it will be three once White castles kingside, as the king's rook will land on the half-open f file.

True, it is Black to move, but even so, by my reckoning, White has the "roughly two to three tempi" that Wahls was taught is necessary for a positional pawn sacrifice.

Then again, show the diagram position to Stockfish18 and Dragon1, and they reckon Black has the upper hand, which rather supports Wahls' opinion.

Black should continue, according to the engines, with 5...c6, 5...Bf5 or 5...g6!? The last move is interesting as it was Diemer's choice when Bogoljubow played the gambit against him in 1952 at Baden-Baden. ChessBase gives the game as a White win, but Black made the last move, the final position is dead drawn, and no explanation is given as to what happened, so it is anyone's guess as to how the game ended.

Be that as it may, the main line in Mega26 runs 5...Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 (6...Bxf3 is also popular) 7.g4!? Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Bg2 c6, reaching the following position.

White has developed three pieces, including a knight to the fifth rank, which, according to Tarrasch, counts as two development tempi

Black has developed two pieces, but it is White to move, and White can still castle kingside, developing the king's rook to a half-open file. Alternatively, White might castle long, in which case the queen's rook
will be developed to a half-closed file - one on which the black queen currently resides.

Again White seems to be getting "roughly two to three tempi" for a pawn.

Naturally, counting tempi is far from being the only way to evaluate opening play, and, in the diagram, after 6...c6, White has more space in the centre and on the kingside, but also a lot of holes.

This time the engines have a higher regard for White's play, rating the position as giving equal chances (Stockfish18) or at best giving Black a slight edge (Dragon1).

LESSON: as is often the case in chess, there is plenty of room for divergence of opinion, and the objective merits of a move, especially if it involves a gambit, may be very different from the practical results.