HAVING yesterday revisited one of the most famous chess games ever played, Morphy - Brunswick/Isouard, Paris Opera House 1858, I suddenly wondered if anyone had played 3...Bg4?! in the Philidor against me, and, if so, whether I handled it reasonably.
It turns out I faced the move once, ten years ago.
Spanton (2034) - Willi Ingold (1801)
Liechtenstein 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4?! 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6? 7.Qb3
I am fairly sure I knew, or at least suspected, we had been following Morphy's gem up to this point, but now my opponent varies, and not in a good way, from that game's 7...Qe7!?
7...Qd7? 8.Qxb7 Bc5!?
This is best, according to my main analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10, although 8...Qc6?, which runs into 9.Bb5, is more common in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database.
9.Qxa8 0-0 10.Be3
10.Qb7 was played in three Mega19 games to reach this position (in a fourth, Black resigned before White could make his 10th move).
10...Bxe3 11.fxe3 Qg4 12.0-0 Nbd7 13.Qxa7 Qxe4 14.Bd3 Qh4 15.Nd2 e4? 16.Rf4 Qh5 17.Nxe4 Ng4 18.Rxg4
Black chose this point to offer a draw, which certainly showed a highly developed state of optimism.
18...Qxg4 19.Qxc7 Nb8 20.a4 Nd7!? 21.a5 h5 22.h3 Qe6 23.a6 Ne5 24.a7 f5 25.a8=R
I cannot recall if I was showing off or was too lazy to get up and hunt for a queen.
25...Rxa8 26.Rxa8+ Kh7 1-0
Tim, I was curious enough to check if anyone had played 3...Bg4?! in the Philidor against me too. Two players have, both in 2006. In the first game, I played 6.Nc3 (rather than 6.Bc4) and won a pawn straightaway after 6...Bc5 7.Qg3. In the second game, I played the "recommended" 6.Bc4 and won a piece immediately after 6...Bb4+ 7.c3 (as Black still needs to defend against the mate on 'f7'). Perhaps not surprisingly I went on to win both games, even if not in the swashbuckling style of Morphy! Martyn
ReplyDeleteI suspect ...Bg4 is mostly played by people who have little theory but are determined not to "give up the centre" by ...exd4. And when they discover ...Bg4 is doubtful, they may well 'progress' to 3...f5.
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