Chess Tip of The Day 412

Some gambits are of dubious or marginal worth if the opponent knows how to defend precisely.  But others are perfectly sound, and your chess education will be seriously lacking without exposure to this unique opening form.

John Watson, Mastering The Chess Openings - Volume 4

Lessons From Bregenz VI

ONE of the hardest things to do in chess, at least at club level, is sacrificing the exchange.

Materialism is so ingrained that often the possibility of an exchange sacrifice is not even considered.

I am fairly sure that is what happened in round six, when I was White against Reinhard Döserich (1734).

The critical position arose after I played 23.Bc3-b4

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I vaguely considered Black might play 23...c5?!, but I thought Black's real choice lay in deciding whether to move the king's rook to g8 or h8.

My opponent surely felt the same, as he fairly quickly played 23...Rg8, but resigned shortly afterwards.

However, for Stockfish18 and Dragon1, the real choice is whether to sacrifice the exchange with 23...e5!? or 23...f5!?

They marginally prefer the former, and after 24.Bxf8 (Dragon1 prefers 24.Qh3!?, at least for a while, and both engines also strongly consider 24.Re2!?) Qxf8 Black has interesting compensation.

In my game notes I gave a line with 25.Bc2, but another possibility is 25.Re2.

Position after 25.Re2

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Black can pick up the a5 pawn at will, but there is no rush for that, and possibly best is 25...Qb4 26.Bc2, and now 26...Qxa5, after which, for the exchange, Black has a pawn, and opposite-colour bishops, in a position in which Black's king looks the safer.

A plausible continuation runs 27.Qe3 f5 28.Qd2!? Qxd2 29.Rexd2 e4 30.h3.

King safety is no longer a major factor, and Black still only has knight and pawn for rook, but it may be that Black's pawn-majority is the more dangerous

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The engines prefer White in the final diagram, but award White the better part of equality, rather than an 'official' slight edge.

LESSON: I can recommend Ari Ziegler's 2011 ChessBase DVD The Art Of The Exchange Sacrifice as a good place for inspiration (although it did not work for me in this particular game!), but there are doubtless many other good resources for learning how to sacrifice the exchange.

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

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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.