Mariánské Lázně Lesson 5: Your Opponent's Opening Knowledge Is Overrated

ONE of the more entertaining books of recent years is Fide master James Schuyler's 2016 tome Your Opponent Is Overrated.

Its subtitle of A Practical Guide To Inducing Errors gives a clue as to the contents.

The book's blurb on Amazon runs: Which opening does better in practice: the wild, "unsound" and "refuted" Latvian Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 f5) or the solid Philidor Defence (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d6)?----- As James Schuyler points out, referring to the definitive Megabase, the Latvian Gambit scores higher. How can such a discredited opening (and the same story is repeated with other "unsound" openings) do so well? The point is that playing like this throws the opponent off balance, makes them anxious and induces mistakes.

Leaving aside the poor grammar, incorrectly named database and unfortunate layout,  the theme is clear.

I was reminded of it in round five at Mariánské Lázně after playing the Englund Gambit: 1.d4 e5!?

After the further moves 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 we reached the following tabiya.

This position occurs 2,885 times in ChessBase's 2024 Mega database

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The main continuations are developing the queen's knight with 4.Nc3, when both Nd5 and Nb5 are threats, and protecting the e5 pawn with 4.Bf4, while Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 like the rare 4.Bg5.

My opponent (Fide 1456) preferred 4.g3!?, which has been tried by grandmasters, but suggests my opponent either has a very sophisticated opening repertoire or, more likely, has a repertoire with large holes in his knowledge.

I have played the Englund once before, four years ago.

On that occasion my opponent (rated about 1850) deviated from the norm even earlier by playing 3.e3!?

LESSON: there is a natural tendency to give opponents far more credit than they deserve. Because I have certain opening knowledge, I tend to think my opponent will know it too, and may even know it better. The truth, at least at club level, is that the player who gets in a 'surprise' move first. usually gets at least a psychological advantage.

Mariánské Lázně Round Five

Many fine buildings remain from Mariánské Lázně's golden age before WW1

FACED my third Czech in the second of today's double-round games.

Pavel Stehlik (1456) - Spanton (1736)

Englund Gambit

1.d4 e5!?

After the self-inflicted misery of round four, I decided to cheer myself up by having some fun, rather than meeting yet another London System (my opponent's habitual choice, according to ChessBase's 2024 Mega database).

2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.g3!?

The main move in Mega24 is 4.Nc3!? (well ahead of 4.Bf4), but the text has been played by grandmasters, including three times by Gata Kamsky, albeit in blitzes.

4...Nxe5

Black has regained the sacrificed pawn, but White is slightly better, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1

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5.Bg2 Nf6 6.0-0 d5 7.Nbd2 Bg4 8.Nxe5 Qxe5 9.Nf3 Qh5!?

The engines reckon this is an improvement on the known move 9...Qe6.

10.Re1!?

One of the 'rules' given by chess teacher, and first world correspondence champion, Cecil Purdy, is to not put a rook behind an unmoved pawn, even if you intend to quickly move the pawn. The engines suggest 10.Bf4, 10.Qd3!? or 10.c4!?

10...Bc5 11.Qd3 0-0

Interesting, but definitely double-edged, is castling long.

12.Be5 Bf5 13.Qb3 Bxe3 14.Bxe3 Rfe8 15.Qg5!?

This certainly relieves any lingering pressure on the white king's position, but after ...

15...Qxg5 16.Nxg5

... Black may be a tad better, even though the c2 pawn cannot be sensibly captured.

16...Re7 17.c3 Rae8 18.e3 h6 19.Nf3 c5 20.Rad1 Be4 21.Nd2!?

The engines are fine with this; indeed it is their first choice, along with 21.h3.

21...Bxg2 22.Kxg2 d4

How should White respond?

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23.Nf1!?

The engines are OK with this but prefer exchanging on d4 before dropping the knight back.

23...dxc3 24.bxc3 Ne4 25.Rc1?!

Passive. Probably better are 25.c4 and 25.Rd5!?

25...Rd7 26.Re2

The engines still like c4, and also suggest 26.f3.

26...Red8 27.Rc2 c4 28.f3 Nc5 29.Nd2?!

The engines give 29.e4, but seven so award Black the upper hand.

29...b5 30.Kf1?!

White had to play 30.Ne4!?, according to the engines, but it would be a tough position to defend.

30...Na4 31.Nb1 Rd3 32.f4!?

White has almost run out of decent moves.

32...f5

What should White play?

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33.Red2?!

The engines at first are not too unhappy with this move, but then they reckon White is positionally lost anyway, eg 33.Kf2 Nc5 34.Kf3 a6 35.Re1 Kf7 36.Ke2 h5 37.Rd2 Ne4 38.Rc2 Ke6 39.Kf3 Kd5 40.Rg1 Kc5, after which Black activates the queenside majority.

33...Rxd2 34.Nxd2 Rd3

Black is winning a pawn

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35.e4 Rxc3 36.Rxc3 Nxc3 37.e5 Nxa2

Black has a large advantage, but the white protected passed pawn means most pawn-endings will be drawn

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38.Ke1 Nc3 39.Nf3 b4?

Careless ...
40.Nd2 Kf7 41.Nxc4

... but Black still has a winning advantage.

41...Ke6 42.Ne3 a5 43.Kd2 g5!?

Opening a second front, which makes White's defence much more difficult.

44.Nc4 a4 45.Nb2!?

This does not, as may first appear, lose on the spot, but it certainly does not help matters.

45...gxf4 46.gxf4 a3 47.Nd3 a2 48.Nc5+ Ke7 49.Nb3

The black a pawn is stopped, but White cannot save the f4 pawn.

The game finished:

49...Nd5 50.Kc2 Nxf4 51.Kb2 Ke6 52.Nd4+ Kxe5 53.Nc6+ Ke4 54.Kxb4 Nd3+ 55.Nxd3 Kxd3 56.Kxa2 f4 0-1

Beat The ... Englund Gambit

IN this series I am looking at the statistically best way to play against popular opening lines.

The numbers are drawn from the 2021 edition of ChessBase's Mega database, ignoring, where possible, those results that include very few games and so are statistically insignificant.

The Englund Gambit: 1.d4 e5?! might be regarded as something of a joke, but there are nearly 4,000 examples of it in Mega21.

What is more, Black scores 42%, including 1,337 wins, so it is not without bite.

After 2.dxe5,Black overwhelmingly plays 2...Nc6, but there are 192 examples of making the pawn sacrifice immediately permanent by offering a second pawn with 2...d6!?

Position after 2.dxe5

A) 2...Nc6 (2,520 games)

After 3.Nf3 the line splits.

A1 3...Qe7 4.Qd5!?, after which the line splits again.

A1.1 4...f6 5.exf6 Nxf6 6.Qb3 d5 7.Bg5 Bd7 reaches a position in Mega21 in which White scores 100% with 8.c3, 8.Nc3 and 8.e3.

A1.2 4...Nb4?! 5.Qb3, when A1.2a 5...Qc5?! 6.c3 Nc6 7.Bf4 scores 70% for White, albeit from a small sample, and A1.2b 5...Nc6!? 6.Bf4 scores 88% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A1.3 4...b6!? 5.Nc3 Bb7 6.Bg5 scores 89% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A2 3...f6 4.Bf4!? scores 85% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A3 3...d6 4.exd6 Bxd6 reaches a position in Mega21 in which White scores 79% with both 5.g3 and 5.Bg5, albeit from small samples.

A4 3...Nge7 4.b3!? Ng6 5.Bb2 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 scores 75% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A5 3...Bc5 4.Bf4 scores 89% for White, albeit from a small sample.

A6 3...d5 4.exd6 is a transposition to A3.

B) 2...d6!?

After 3.Nf3!? the line splits.

B1 3...Nc6 is a transposition to A3.

B2 3...Bg4 4.Bf4!? Nc6 5.exd6 Qf6!? 6.d7+!? scores 88% for White, albeit from a small sample.

Worth A Punt (part four)?

BLACK'S main move after 1.d4 e5!? 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4 is the tricky 4...Qb4.
But the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 suggest a very interesting alternative in 4...d6!?, which occurs just once in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
After 5.exd6, Maxim Ivanov (1923) - Vyacheslav Reva (-), Ukraine U8 Championship (Yevpatoria) 2007, continued 5...cxd6 6.e3 Qf6 7.Nc3 with a large advantage for White, although Black apparently won (the score in Mega20 is incomplete).
Reva was on the right track with 6...Qf6, but should have played it a move earlier. The point is that 5...Qf6!? threatens White's dark-square bishop and the b2 pawn.

How should White proceed?

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White can protect both weak points by 6.Bc1, but after 6...Bxd6 Black has a handy lead in development.
The other way to protect both weak points is 6.Qc1, but then 6...Bxd6 7.Bxd6 Qxd6 also gives Black reasonable compensation. Stockfish10, for example, continues 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.Qd2, when Komodo10 likes 9...Qe7, meeting Stockfish10's 10.0-0-0 with 10....0-0 with an unclear position.
After 5...Qf6!?, White is two pawns up, so could think about returning the pawns by 6.e3!? Qxb2 7.Nbd2 Bxd6.
The engines give best play as 8.Bxd6 cxd6 9.Rb1 Qc3 (if 9...Qxa2?!, then 10.Nc4 is strong) 10.Rb3 Qa5 11.Rb5!? Qc3 12.Bd3 Nf6 13.0-0 a6 14.Rb3 Qc5 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 0-0, when Black's weaknesses at d6 and b7 look more serious than White's at c2 and a2.
But this line deserves investigation by anyone thinking of giving the Englund Gambit a punt, as do the earlier alternatives 3...f6!? and 3...d6!?
CONCLUSIONS
The Englund Gambit has not been analysed out - there are discoveries to be made by anyone with patience, an inquiring mind and a decent analysis engine.
For many whites it will come as an unpleasant surprise, and the pressure will be on them to refute Black's 'inferior' play.
Black should not worry about being a pawn down from an early stage, but must play actively to create tactical chances.

Worth A Punt (part three)?

THE main line of the Englund Gambit remains 1.d4 e5!? 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7.
Black threatens to regain the sacrificed pawn, so White traditionally develops a piece while preventing a capture on e5, viz 4.Bf4.
This seems to have been first played by Alexander Alekhine in 1933. Two previous games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database feature Swede Erik Lundin playing 4.Qd5, which is less convincing but is still reasonably popular today.
A much-less popular alternative to 4.Bf4 is 4.Bg5, although it tends to transpose to the main line after 4...Qb4+ 5.Nc3 Qxb2 6.Bd2.
But the most-popular move in Mega20 is 4.Nc3!?, which does not attempt to hold on to the e5 pawn. The main idea is that after 4...Nxe5, White can get on with developing his game, starting with 5.e4. This was tried in last year's high-level encounter Alexander Riazantsev (2645) - Saveliy Golubov (2469), 73rd Moscow Blitz, which continued 5...Nf6 6.Be2 d6 7.0-0 h6 8.Nd4 g6 9.f4 Nc6 10.Nd5, when White was better but the game was drawn in 71 moves.
Black usually meets 4.Bf4 with 4...Qb4, which can easily throw White into a panic. The main line continues 5.Bd2 Qxb2, but  Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer 5...Qe7!?, which was played by Golubov to draw against a 2699 in the same 73rd Moscow Blitz.
But while 5...Qe7!? might be a good practical choice, most Blacks opt for 5...Qxb2 in the hope White will fall for 6.Bc3?? Bb4!, after which White is lost, eg 7.Bxb4 (not 7.Qd2? Bxc3 8.Qxc3 Qc1#) Nxb4.
White should instead meet 5...Qxb2 with 6.Nc3, when 6...Bb4 7.Rb1 Qa3 8.Rb3 Qa5 9.a3 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Qc5 11.e3 leaves White with the bishop-pair and a lead in development. But material is level and Black has the better pawn-structure.

How should Black proceed?

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The normal continuation is 11...Nge7, but the engines prefer two moves that do not appear in Mega20, ie ...Nh6!? and ...b6!?
Looking at 11...Nh6!?, the engines continue 12.Be2 0-0 13.0-0 b6 14.Ng5 d5!? 15.g4!? (not 15.exd6?? Qxg5), when they much prefer White, but there is a lot of play left.
There is no doubt many Whites will be ready for 4...Qb4, but there is a virtually unknown, but highly promising, alternative, which will be looked at in part four of this series.

Worth A Punt (part two)?

AFTER 1.d4 e5!? 2.dxe5, the main move is 2...Nc6, which White usually meets by developing a knight of his own, while simultaneously holding on to the e5 pawn, viz 3.Nf3.
Black normally replies with the tricky 3...Qe7, but Emil Diemer of Blackmar-Diemer Gambit fame liked to sac his f pawn.
Edgar Walther - Diemer
Swiss Championship (Thun) 1956
3...f6!? 4.e4!?
The analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 strongly prefer this over the obvious 4.exf6. After the latter, one of Diemer's games continued 4...Nxf6 5.Nc3 d5 6.Bg5 d4 7.Ne4? (White has an edge after 7.Nb5 Bb4+ 8.c3 dxc3 9.Qxd8+ Nxd8 10.Nxc3) Nxe4!, when Black wins a piece. G Brachtl - Diemer, Baden Seniors 1978, saw 8.Bxd8 Bb4+ 9.Nd2 (9.c3 dxc3 does not help White) Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 Nxd2 11.Bxc7 Ne4 (0-1, 37 moves).
4...fxe5 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.Nc3
6.Ng5!? d5!? 7.exd5 Na5 has a Two Knights' theme about it. White can hold on to his extra pawn with 8.Bb5+ c6 9.dxc6, but 9...Qxd1+ 10.Kxd1 Nxc6 gives Black some compensation, although the engines prefer White.
6...Bc5?!
The engines much prefer the pinning 6...Bb4.
7.0-0 Rf8?!
Almost certainly better is the natural 7...d6.
8.a3?!
White may have a small edge after this, but the move is slow. Better is the engines' 8.Ng5 or 8.Nd5.
8...d6 9.Qd3 Nh5?
Black more-or-less equalises with 9...Bg4.
10.b4 Bb6 11.Nd5 Bg4

How should White proceed?

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12.Nxb6
If 12.Bg5, Diemer may well have planned to sac the exchange with 12...Rxf3!? After 13.gxf3 Qxg5 14.fxg4 Qxg4+ 15.Kh1 0-0-0 the engines prefer White but the position is not clear.
Also unclear is 12.Ng5 Nf4 13.Nxf4 exf4 14.Nxh7 Ne5.
12...axb6 13.Ng5 h6 14.Ne6 Bxe6 15.Bxe6 Nxb4?!
Diemer consistently chooses the sharpest option, but the calmer 15...Nf4 16.Bxf4 exf4 may well have served Black better.
16.Qe2 g6!? 17.Bxh6 Rh8 18.Qf3 Qe7 19.axb4 Rb8!? 20.Bf5!? Rxh6 21.Bxg6+ Rxg6 22.Qxh5
The smoke has cleared, and White is a pawn up. But the mass of heavy pieces means it will not be easy to convert his advantage.
22...Qf7 23.Qh3 Ke7 24.Qh4+ Kd7 25.f4 exf4?
This helps White. Much better is mobilising his passive rook by 25...Rbg8.
26.Rxf4 Qg7 27.Qh3+ Re6 28.Raf1 Qd4+ 29.Kh1 Rbe8 30.Rf7 Kc8(??)
Did Diemer really play this? According to the score in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database he did, but much more sensible is breaking the pin on the e6 rook by 30...Kd8.
31.Qa3(?)
Much stronger, if …Kc8 really had been played, is 31.Rf8.
31...R6e7 32.Qa8+ Kd7 33.Qxb7 Qxb4 34.Qd5 Kd8 35.Rxe7 Rxe7 36.c4 Kd7 37.h3 Re5 38.Qd3
Stronger is the engines' 38.Qg8!, eg 38...Rxe4 39.Rf7+ Re7 40.Qg4+ Ke8 41.Rf1 Kd8 42.Rf8+ Re8 43.Rxe8+ Kxe8 44.Qc8+ Kf7 45.Qxc7+, although queen-and-pawn endings are rarely simple.
38...Rc5 39.Rf7+ Kc6 40.e5?!
Stockfish10 likes 40.Kh2, but the rook-and-pawn ending after 40...Qxc4 41.Qxc4 Rxc4 is not clear.
40...Qe1+ 41.Rf1 Qxe5 42.g4
This gets a double-question mark in Mega20, but the move is fine (albeit the position is equal).
42...Kb7 43.h4?!
Still trying to win, but it was safer to take the draw, for example 43.Rf5 Qe1+ 44.Rf1 Qe6 45.Rf4.
43...d5! 44.cxd5??
This is the losing move. White had to play something like 44.Rf5, although Black is better after 44...Qe1+ 45.Kg2 (best) dxc4.
44...Rc3 45.Qe2? 0-1
45.Qe2? loses instantly, but 45.Qd2 Rh3+ 46.Kg1 Rg3+ 47.Kf2 Rxg4 is also hopeless.
This is an imperfect game, to say the least, but it illustrates some of the attacking chances a tactically-minded Black can generate.

Worth A Punt?

IMAGINE  a defence to 1.d4 that receives virtually no serious attention from anyone with the white pieces.
Further, imagine it is a defence played by the likes of Paul Keres, Rudolf Spielmann, Kurt Richter and Emil Diemer.
Add to this the fact that Alexander Alekhine was among those Whites who on occasion failed to beat the defence (he was once significantly worse against an amateur after just seven moves), and you might think it is indeed worth giving it an outing.
Because it is a gambit, it can be especially effective at relatively fast time limits, and as a surprise weapon (which it almost always will be).
The defence is the Englund Gambit, which arises when Black meets 1.d4 with 1...e5!?
Here is the game where a future world champion struggled to show his superior talent.
Alekhine - V Lifschitz
Bern (Switzerland) Simul 1922
1.d4 e5!? 2.dxe5 d5!?
Overwhelmingly most popular is 2...Nc6, which makes 2...d5!? a surprise move in what is already a surprise defence. But probably a better way of implementing this idea is 2...d6!?
3.exd6!?
This is White's usual response, at least in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, but the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon White is much better off with a move such as 3.e4, which is less good after 2...d6!?
3...Bxd6
For his pawn, Black has opened diagonals for both bishops and has a developed piece, while White has merely opened a diagonal for one of his bishops.
4.Nc3 Nf6 5.e4 0-0 6.Bg5?!
This natural-looking move may be a mistake. The engines give 6.Bd3 with advantage to White.
6...Re8 7.Bd3?!
Better is the engines' 7.Qf3.

How should Black proceed?

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7...Nc6
Strong is 7...Nxe4!, one point being that 8.Bxd8?? loses to 8...Nxc3+, eg 9.Ne2 Nxd1 10.Bxc7 Nxf2 11.Bxd6 Nxd3+ 12.cxd3 Bg4 etc. Better is 8.Nxe4, but 8...Qxg5 9.Nge2 Nd7 is very good for Black.
8.Nge2 h6 9.Bh4 Bg4 10.h3 Bxe2 11.Nxe2 g5 12.Bg3 Nxe4 13.Bxe4 Rxe4 14.0-0
White gets his king to safety, but meanwhile Black has won back his pawn and has fully equalised (½–½, 27 moves).
(to be continued)

There'll Always Be An Englund

A WISE man said: "When all else in chess fails, try having fun."
Paul May (154) - Spanton (170)
Doncaster U171 Round 3
Englund Gambit
1.d4 e5!? 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.e3!?
It should not come as a surprise to learn the normal move is 3.Nf3.
3...Nxe5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nh3?!
I cannot see the point of this. White usually plays 5.Nc3.
5...d5 6.Nf4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 dxc4 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8
Black's king can no longer castle, but that does not seem a serious problem in this position. Meanwhile, White is a pawn down.
10.Na3 g5!?
Exploiting the knight's lack of good squares.
11.0-0-0+ Ke7 12.Nd5+ Nxd5 13.Rxd5 f6

What should White play?

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14.Nxc4?
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 agree best is 14.f4.
14...Be6 15.Rd4 c5 16.Re4 Bd5
White loses the exchange.
17.Rxe5+ fxe5 18.Nxe5 Bxa2 (0-1, 37 moves).

Fun Distraction

I COULD not help but be distracted by the game played on a board next to me during Battersea 2's 8-2 promotion-sealing win against Wanstead & Woodford 2 on Wednesday night.
Paul Stokes (158) - Paul Haddock (128)
Englund Gambit
1.d4 e5?!
This is the Englund Gambit or, as I like to think of it, a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit with colours reversed and a tempo less. Either way, it is just about as unsound a move as is possible on move one. The gambit is named after rich Swedish amateur Fritz Englund, who did not invent it but sponsored a tournament where the games had to start 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Qd5.
But if the gambit really is unsound, why does anyone play it? Well, the lines can be a lot of fun, there is always the possibility of White falling for a diabolical trap, and anyway it takes precise play to bust Black.
For what it is worth, the analysis engine Stockfish10 reckons White is already winning after 1...e5?!, but Komodo9 gives White only a slight edge.
2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4
If 4.Qd5, as in Englund's themed tournament, Black gets interesting play with 4...f6 or 4...d6.
4...Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2
Black now lives in hope that White will not see the trap that has been set for him.

White faces a critical choice at move six

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6.Nc3
Not 6.Bc3?? (the second-most popular move in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database) as 6...Bb4 wins for Black. The mainline from here in Mega19 runs 7.Qd2? Bxc3 8.Qxc3? Qc1# - no wonder some people think the Englund is worth a punt!
6...Nb4?!
The main move is 6...Bb4, as once played by Paul Keres (he lost in 34 moves). The text is inferior … if White finds the best reply.

White to make his seventh move

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7.Rc1?
This lets Black back into the game. Correct is 7.Nd4, eg 7...Bc5 8.Rb1 Qa3 9.Ndb5 Qa5 10.a3, with a massive advantage for White. But it is still possible to go wrong - one game in Mega19 went 10...Qb6 11.axb4?? Bxf2# (Pal Eros - Michael Keane, IBCA blind olympiad 1976).
7...Nxa2 8.Nxa2 Qxa2 9.e4 f6?
This seems to be a novelty, and not a very good one. An American player rated around 1500, Jerry Simpkins, has two games in Mega19 that reached the position after 9.e4. In the first he played 9...d6, and in the second he played the engines' choice, 9...Bc5.
10.Bd3
The engines believe 10.exf6 to be even stronger, but helping Black's development would give him practical chances.
10...fxe5 11.Nxe5 Nf6 12.Bc4 Qb2 13.c3 Resigns
White's huge lead in development more than compensates for his pawn-minus, but Black's resignation struck me as the most surprising 'move' of the whole game.