'Secret' Gambit Repertoire For White (part four)

BELOW is an article I posted in April, which fits into the current 'Secret' Gambit series as it covers a gambit against the French Defence that is very little-known.

HERE is another way to spice up a repertoire, and, believe it or not, it can be played against both the French Defence and the main way of declining the Queen's Gambit.
The same position is reached after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? and 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e4!?
As far as I can recall, I came up with the idea during an idle moment at a tournament in the Czech Republic four years ago
After the natural continuation 3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6, the position resembles a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6).

Position after 4...Nf6 in the 'New BDG'

Position after 3...Nf6 in the regular BDG

The extra moves in the first diagram - c4 for White, ...e6 for Black - have interesting effects.
Having a pawn on c4 gives White extra control in the centre. It keeps a black piece off the d5 square, and makes it easier, and probably more advantageous, to meet ...c5 with d5.
This costs a tempo, which Black has used to open a diagonal for his dark-square bishop. But playing ...e6 rules out developing the light-square bishop to f5 or g4, which is a common occurrence in the regular Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
All in all, it could be argued this is an improved BDG, and certainly one in which Black cannot rely on having memorised a recommended antidote.
But perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun, for on checking in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database I found long-time US champion Frank Marshall played 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? four times in 1911 alone, while the move-order 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e4!? is known from a game in the 1983 Armenian U18 Championship.
Here is Emil Diemer, of Blackmar-Diemer fame, using yet another move-order:
Diemer - Ewald Habermann
Zemgalis Farewell Tournament (Stuttgart) 1951
1.d4 d5 2.e4 e6 3.c4!?
Many BDG enthusiasts, when deprived of their favourite opening by 2...e6, play 3.Be3!?, which is known as the Alapin French.
3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.f3!? exf3
Black does not have to accept the gambit, as grandmaster Alexei Barsov showed in a 2004 game when he played 5...Bb4!? His 2067-rated opponent replied 6.Bg5, but could not find a decent answer to Barsov's continuation 6...c5. Better tries would seem to be 6.a3, as Marshall played in a draw in his 1911 match against Boris Kostić, and 6.Be3. Indeed, Be3 might be better played at move five, as I will show in the next game.
6.Nxf3 Bb4!?
As Barsov was later to do, Habermann makes full use of having opened the f8-a3 diagonal. More popular, however, is 6...Be7 7.Bd3 0-0, although the engines reckon White has fairly decent compensation for his pawn-minus (Stockfish10 reckons the position is level; Komodo10 gives Black a slight edge).
7.Bd3 Bxc3+!?
This is somewhat reminiscent of Black capturing on c3 in lines of the Göring Gambit Accepted, but the engines much prefer 7...c5 or 7...0-0.
8.bxc3 0-0
Here the engines give 8...Nbd7 or 8...b6, but with advantage for White.
9.0-0 c5 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Ne5 cxd4?
This allows a winning attack against Black's king, so the engines prefer 11...h6 12.Bh4 g5, but this also gives White a very dangerous attack.
 12.Nxd7 Bxd7 13.Rxf6!?
Also winning is the simple 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Bxh7+ Kxh7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Qg4+ Kh8 17.Rf3 etc.
13...gxf6?
Best-play, according to the engines, is 13...dxc3 14.Qh5 g6 15.Qh4 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 Qd6 17.Bc2, when White has a huge attack as well as a bishop for three pawns.
14.Qh5 1-0
**********
Alexander Ianovsky (2202) - Vladimir Tchoubar (2390)
Kiev Independence Cup 2002
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Be3!?
This can be played with the idea of following up with f3 only after Black has committed to ...Be7, thus meaning ...Bb4 would come with loss of tempo. But more often the idea is to dispense with f3, certainly in the short term, and instead prepare long castling, a plan which should appeal to the attack-minded.
5...Be7
Black played ...Bb4 anyway in Spanton (1923) -  Ivo Škvír (1599), Olomouc Open 2016. There followed 6.Qb3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 0-0, when 8.Ne2, intending Ng3, was the way to go, according to the engines, although they prefer Black.
6.Qc2 c5 7.d5!?
As I pointed out in the introduction, one of the advantages of having played c4 is that it makes it easier to reply to ...c5 with d5.
7...exd5 8.cxd5 Bf5
Not 8...Nxd5?? as 9.0-0-0 Be6 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 11.Bc4 wins for White.
9.0-0-0

How should Black proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
9...0-0??
A remarkable mistake for a 2390 to make.
Blockading the passed pawn with 9...Bd6 makes sense. The engines then reckon Black has a small edge, but, with Black almost certainly castling short, the position is unclear.
10.d6 Bxd6 11.Nb5 Ne8 12.Qd2?!
Stronger is the simple 12.Nxd6 Nxd6 13.Qxc5.
12...Nc6 13.Nxd6 Nxd6 14.Qxd6 Qa5!?
Black's best try, according to the engines.
15.Qxc5 Qxa2 16.Qa3 (1-0, 29 moves)
**********
Here is a look at what can happen when Black tries to spoil White's fun by refusing to capture on e4, typically by playing 3...c6!?
Richard K Delaune (2365) - Alexander Passov (2290)
Eastern Open (Washington DC) 1997

Position after 3...c6!?

(The game reached the diagram position via the move-order 1.c4 c6 2.e4 e6 3.d4 d5)
4.e5!?
Komodo10's choice, 4.Nc3, is marginally more popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, while Stockfish10 likes 4.exd5. Grandmasters have played all three moves, and 4.cxd5. Suffice it to say there is no consensus on how either player should proceed.
4...dxc4!?
This has been played by Alexander Shabalov, but the most-popular move, at least in Mega20, is 4...c5, whereupon Stockfish10 reckons White gets an edge with 5.Nf3 and 5.cxd5, but Komodo10 reckons both moves lead to equality.
5.Bxc4 Nbd7?!
The most-popular move, albeit from a small sample size, in Mega20. Black's idea is that this knight will hit White's light-square bishop with ...Nb6, while his other knight will occupy the outpost square d5. But it seems the plan is too slow, not least because it takes the queen's knight two tempi to reach b6, so no tempo is being gained on the white light-square bishop.
Shabalov has three times played 5...c5, when 6.d5!?, as first played in Igor Stohl (2530) - Shabalov (2465), Werfen (Austria) 1990, is very interesting. Shabalov replied 6...a6 (the engines prefer 6...exd5) and drew against Stohl's 7.Nc3. Shabalov again played 6...a6 when he had the same position 17 years later against Zviad Izoria. The Georgian grandmaster tried 7.Qf3, but lost in only 24 moves. However, the engines are adamant White has the upper hand after the simple 7.d6!? As with many lines in the 'New BDG', we are on fresh ground from an early stage, and it is very difficult to know where the truth lies.
6.Nf3 Nb6 7.Bd3
The bishop takes the chance to eye h7, as it would not seem to have many prospects on b3.
7...Ne7 8.Nc3 Ned5 9.Ne4 Be7 10.a3!?
White takes time-out to prevent Black's pieces from using the b4 square.
The engines reckon White is also much better after 10.0-0, and if 10...Nb4, then one line they give goes 11.Bb1 h6 12.a3 N4d5 13.Ne1!? with the idea of following up with Qf3 or Qg4.
10...0-0 11.h4!? f5
This comes to be Stockfish10's choice. The problem with Komodo10's 11...Kh8 is 12.Neg5, eg 12...h6 13.Bb1!, when Komodo10 reckons 13...g6 'only' gives White the upper hand, but as soon as the move is played on the board it comes up with 14.h5! with what the engines agree is a winning attack.
12.exf6 gxf6 13.Qe2 Qc7
Komodo10's choice, but Stockfish10 does not like it because of the reply ...
14.Neg5!
… whereupon Komodo10 agrees with the game's …
14...fxg5
… but Black seems to be busted after …
15.hxg5 Kg7
The engines reckon best is 15...Rf5 16.Ne5 Bd6, but then Stockfish10's 17.g6 Bxe5 18.Rxh7 seems to be winning, eg 18...Bg7 19.Bxf5 Qd6 20.Rxg7+! Kxg7 21.Qh5 Nf6 22.Qh6+ Kg8 23.Bd3, when White is a piece-for-two-pawns down but has a raging attack. The tactics are sharp and the line is quite long, but Black's position has been difficult to play from an early stage.
16.Ne5+ Ke8 17.Rxh7 Kd8
The only alternative, according to the engines, is 17...Nd7, but then 18.Qh5+ Kd8 19.Nf7+ Rxf7 20.Rxf7 is simply winning for White.
18.g6 Nf6 19.Bf4
Black's queen is trapped, despite being deep in its own half of  the board (1-0, 34 moves).
**********
CONCLUSIONS
The 'New BDG' is probably no better, but no worse, than the traditional Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
Its main advantage for the practical player is that, over-the-board, Black will have to start thinking from move three, rather than following a memorised BDG antidote.
The main differences are that, in the New BDG, White has more central control while Black has a tempo more for development (but with a restricted light-square bishop).
This means, generally speaking, White is less likely to produce a quick knockout blow (not withstanding Diemer - Habermann), but can afford to, and should, build up more slowly.
Assuming Black captures on e4, White neither has to rush to make the gambit permanent with f3, nor rush to try to win the pawn back - after all, it is a doubled-pawn that may fall in due course anyway.
The position after 3...dxe4 has had no modern tests at the highest level, and possibly never will, but it will continue to appear from time-to-time in club chess.

New Spice (part four)

HERE is another way to spice up a repertoire, and, believe it or not, it can be played against both the French Defence and the main way of declining the Queen's Gambit.
The same position is reached after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? and 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e4!?
As far as I can recall, I came up with the idea during an idle moment at a tournament in the Czech Republic four years ago
After the natural continuation 3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6, the position resembles a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6).

Position after 4...Nf6 in the 'New BDG'

Position after 3...Nf6 in the regular BDG

The extra moves in the first diagram - c4 for White, ...e6 for Black - have interesting effects.
Having a pawn on c4 gives White extra control in the centre. It keeps a black piece off the d5 square, and makes it easier, and probably more advantageous, to meet ...c5 with d5.
This costs a tempo, which Black has used to open a diagonal for his dark-square bishop. But playing ...e6 rules out developing the light-square bishop to f5 or g4, which is a common occurrence in the regular Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
All in all, it could be argued this is an improved BDG, and certainly one in which Black cannot rely on having memorised a recommended antidote.
But perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun, for on checking in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database I found long-time US champion Frank Marshall played 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? four times in 1911 alone, while the move-order 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e4!? is known from a game in the 1983 Armenian U18 Championship.
Here is Emil Diemer, of Blackmar-Diemer fame, using yet another move-order:
Diemer - Ewald Habermann
Zemgalis Farewell Tournament (Stuttgart) 1951
1.d4 d5 2.e4 e6 3.c4!?
Many BDG enthusiasts, when deprived of their favourite opening by 2...e6, play 3.Be3!?, which is known as the Alapin French.
3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.f3!? exf3
Black does not have to accept the gambit, as grandmaster Alexei Barsov showed in a 2004 game when he played 5...Bb4!? His 2067-rated opponent replied 6.Bg5, but could not find a decent answer to Barsov's continuation 6...c5. Better tries would seem to be 6.a3, as Marshall played in a draw in his 1911 match against Boris Kostić, and 6.Be3. Indeed, Be3 might be better played at move five, as I will show in the next game.
6.Nxf3 Bb4!?
As Barsov was later to do, Habermann makes full use of having opened the f8-a3 diagonal. More popular, however, is 6...Be7 7.Bd3 0-0, although the engines reckon White has fairly decent compensation for his pawn-minus (Stockfish10 reckons the position is level; Komodo10 gives Black a slight edge).
7.Bd3 Bxc3+!?
This is somewhat reminiscent of Black capturing on c3 in lines of the Göring Gambit Accepted, but the engines much prefer 7...c5 or 7...0-0.
8.bxc3 0-0
Here the engines give 8...Nbd7 or 8...b6, but with advantage for White.
9.0-0 c5 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Ne5 cxd4?
This allows a winning attack against Black's king, so the engines prefer 11...h6 12.Bh4 g5, but this also gives White a very dangerous attack.
 12.Nxd7 Bxd7 13.Rxf6!?
Also winning is the simple 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Bxh7+ Kxh7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Qg4+ Kh8 17.Rf3 etc.
13...gxf6?
Best-play, according to the engines, is 13...dxc3 14.Qh5 g6 15.Qh4 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 Qd6 17.Bc2, when White has a huge attack as well as a bishop for three pawns.
14.Qh5 1-0
**********
Alexander Ianovsky (2202) - Vladimir Tchoubar (2390)
Kiev Independence Cup 2002
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Be3!?
This can be played with the idea of following up with f3 only after Black has committed to ...Be7, thus meaning ...Bb4 would come with loss of tempo. But more often the idea is to dispense with f3, certainly in the short term, and instead prepare long castling, a plan which should appeal to the attack-minded.
5...Be7
Black played ...Bb4 anyway in Spanton (1923) -  Ivo Škvír (1599), Olomouc Open 2016. There followed 6.Qb3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 0-0, when 8.Ne2, intending Ng3, was the way to go, according to the engines, although they prefer Black.
6.Qc2 c5 7.d5!?
As I pointed out in the introduction, one of the advantages of having played c4 is that it makes it easier to reply to ...c5 with d5.
7...exd5 8.cxd5 Bf5
Not 8...Nxd5?? as 9.0-0-0 Be6 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 11.Bc4 wins for White.
9.0-0-0

How should Black proceed?

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
9...0-0??
A remarkable mistake for a 2390 to make.
Blockading the passed pawn with 9...Bd6 makes sense. The engines then reckon Black has a small edge, but, with Black almost certainly castling short, the position is unclear.
10.d6 Bxd6 11.Nb5 Ne8 12.Qd2?!
Stronger is the simple 12.Nxd6 Nxd6 13.Qxc5.
12...Nc6 13.Nxd6 Nxd6 14.Qxd6 Qa5!?
Black's best try, according to the engines.
15.Qxc5 Qxa2 16.Qa3 (1-0, 29 moves)
**********
Here is a look at what can happen when Black tries to spoil White's fun by refusing to capture on e4, typically by playing 3...c6!?
Richard K Delaune (2365) - Alexander Passov (2290)
Eastern Open (Washington DC) 1997

Position after 3...c6!?

(The game reached the diagram position via the move-order 1.c4 c6 2.e4 e6 3.d4 d5)
4.e5!?
Komodo10's choice, 4.Nc3, is marginally more popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, while Stockfish10 likes 4.exd5. Grandmasters have played all three moves, and 4.cxd5. Suffice it to say there is no consensus on how either player should proceed.
4...dxc4!?
This has been played by Alexander Shabalov, but the most-popular move, at least in Mega20, is 4...c5, whereupon Stockfish10 reckons White gets an edge with 5.Nf3 and 5.cxd5, but Komodo10 reckons both moves lead to equality.
5.Bxc4 Nbd7?!
The most-popular move, albeit from a small sample size, in Mega20. Black's idea is that this knight will hit White's light-square bishop with ...Nb6, while his other knight will occupy the outpost square d5. But it seems the plan is too slow, not least because it takes the queen's knight two tempi to reach b6, so no tempo is being gained on the white light-square bishop.
Shabalov has three times played 5...c5, when 6.d5!?, as first played in Igor Stohl (2530) - Shabalov (2465), Werfen (Austria) 1990, is very interesting. Shabalov replied 6...a6 (the engines prefer 6...exd5) and drew against Stohl's 7.Nc3. Shabalov again played 6...a6 when he had the same position 17 years later against Zviad Izoria. The Georgian grandmaster tried 7.Qf3, but lost in only 24 moves. However, the engines are adamant White has the upper hand after the simple 7.d6!? As with many lines in the 'New BDG', we are on fresh ground from an early stage, and it is very difficult to know where the truth lies.
6.Nf3 Nb6 7.Bd3
The bishop takes the chance to eye h7, as it would not seem to have many prospects on b3.
7...Ne7 8.Nc3 Ned5 9.Ne4 Be7 10.a3!?
White takes time-out to prevent Black's pieces from using the b4 square.
The engines reckon White is also much better after 10.0-0, and if 10...Nb4, then one line they give goes 11.Bb1 h6 12.a3 N4d5 13.Ne1!? with the idea of following up with Qf3 or Qg4.
10...0-0 11.h4!? f5
This comes to be Stockfish10's choice. The problem with Komodo10's 11...Kh8 is 12.Neg5, eg 12...h6 13.Bb1!, when Komodo10 reckons 13...g6 'only' gives White the upper hand, but as soon as the move is played on the board it comes up with 14.h5! with what the engines agree is a winning attack.
12.exf6 gxf6 13.Qe2 Qc7
Komodo10's choice, but Stockfish10 does not like it because of the reply ...
14.Neg5!
… whereupon Komodo10 agrees with the game's …
14...fxg5
… but Black seems to be busted after …
15.hxg5 Kg7
The engines reckon best is 15...Rf5 16.Ne5 Bd6, but then Stockfish10's 17.g6 Bxe5 18.Rxh7 seems to be winning, eg 18...Bg7 19.Bxf5 Qd6 20.Rxg7+! Kxg7 21.Qh5 Nf6 22.Qh6+ Kg8 23.Bd3, when White is a piece-for-two-pawns down but has a raging attack. The tactics are sharp and the line is quite long, but Black's position has been difficult to play from an early stage.
16.Ne5+ Ke8 17.Rxh7 Kd8
The only alternative, according to the engines, is 17...Nd7, but then 18.Qh5+ Kd8 19.Nf7+ Rxf7 20.Rxf7 is simply winning for White.
18.g6 Nf6 19.Bf4
Black's queen is trapped, despite being deep in its own half of  the board (1-0, 34 moves).
**********
CONCLUSIONS
The 'New BDG' is probably no better, but no worse, than the traditional Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
Its main advantage for the practical player is that, over-the-board, Black will have to start thinking from move three, rather than following a memorised BDG antidote.
The main differences are that, in the New BDG, White has more central control while Black has a tempo more for development (but with a restricted light-square bishop).
This means, generally speaking, White is less likely to produce a quick knockout blow (not withstanding Diemer - Habermann), but can afford to, and should, build up more slowly.
Assuming Black captures on e4, White neither has to rush to make the gambit permanent with f3, nor rush to try to win the pawn back - after all, it is a doubled-pawn that may fall in due course anyway.
The position after 3...dxe4 has had no modern tests at the highest level, and possibly never will, but it will continue to appear from time-to-time in club chess.

Lasker's Spanish Inquisition (part 10)

LASKER'S final Spanish Exchange as White came at New York 1924 against many-times US champion Frank Marshall.
Lasker - Marshall
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4 Bg4!?
A popular move against 5.0-0, but relatively rare here.
6.dxe5 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 0-0-0
For 7...Bc5?!, see https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2020/01/laskers-spanish-inquisition.html
8.Ke1!?
By getting out of the pin, White makes it harder for Black to capture the e5 pawn.
8...Bc5
Ernst Grünfeld three times played 8...f6!? against Siegfried Wolf, scoring a win and two draws.
9.h3 Bh5 10.Bf4
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer 10.Ke2!?, which transposes to a known position where it is normally White to move.
10...f5!? 11.Nbd2
Black is very active after 11.exf6 Nxf6 - exactly the type of position Marshall loved.
White is two pawns up after 11.exf5 Bxf3, but the position is unclear.
11...Ne7 12.Bg5 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Rhe8 14.Rd1 fxe4?
This is too cooperative. The engines give 14...h6 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.fxe3, and now 14...fxe4, when 15.Nxe4 does not hit anything, so Black equalises the material with 15...Rxd1+ 16.Kxd1 Nf5 etc
15.fxe4?!
15.Nxe4 was almost certainly better.
15...h6 16.Bh4 Bd4 17.Nc4 g5 18.c3 Ng6 19.cxd4 Nxh4 20.Ke2 Rd7?!
The engines like the active 20...Rf8 21.Rhf1 (or 21.Rd3 Ng2/g6) Nf3 22.Ke3 Rf4.
21.f3 Ng6 22.Ne3 c5 23.dxc5 Nf4+ 24.Kf2 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Rxe5?
Better is 25...Nxh3+ 26.Kg3 Nf4 27.Nd5 Nxd5, although White still has an advantage after 18.Rxd5.
26.Nd5 Nxh3+ 27.Kg3 g4 28.Nf6 h5 29.f4 Rxc5?!
The engines' 29...h4+ 30.Kxh4 (30.Kxg4?! Nf2+) Nxf4 looks a better try.
30.Re1 Rb5 31.e5 Kd8 32.Nxh5 Ke7 33.f5 Ng5 34.Kxg4
White is a pawn up again, at least temporarily, and the rest is fairly simple.
34...Nh7 35.Nf4 Rxb2 36.Nd5+ Kd7 37.e6+ Kd6 38.e7 Kxd5 39.Re6 Rg2+ 40.Kf4 Rg8 41.e8=Q Rxe8 42.Rxe8 c5?
This accelerates the loss, but the engines' best line, 42...Kd6 43.Re6+ Kd7 44.Rg6 is convincing enough for White.
43.Rd8+ Kc6
Or 43...Kc4 44.Rh8 Nf6 45.e5 etc.
44.Rh8 1-0

Hastings Warm-Up

TO get in the right mood for Hastings, here is a cracker of a game, full of the fighting spirit we can hope for from this year's Masters with its 18 GMs.
Notes in italics are algebraicised from 500 Games Of Master Chess by Tartakower and du Mont.
Underlined notes are from My Fifty Years Of Chess (republished by Dover as Frank J. Marshall's Best Games of Chess).
Dawid Janowski - Frank Marshall
Match 1912
Petrov's Defence
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3
The U.S. chess champion was famed for his sacrificial, attacking play, but even he drew the line at 4.Nxf7!?, a favourite move of the Scottish player John Cochrane. The knight sac has subsequently been played by Ivanchuk, Topalov, Short and Carlsen, so is certainly something a Petrov player needs to prepare for.
4...Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6
An ancient idea, which the American champion took up with the addition of several bold innovations.
7.c4
More impatient than, first, 7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 Bg4 with complications.
A premature move, evidently played to avoid the variation [7.0-0 Bg4].
7...Bb4+
So that if 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.0-0 Bxd2! 10.Bxd2 Bg4 with a fine game for Black.
8.Kf1
But this has even less to recommend it.
8...0-0 9.cxd5
The move-order given in 500 Master Games Of Chess and by ChessBase is 7...0-0 8.cxd5 Bb4+ 9.Kf1, but Marshall presumably knew better, and it is clear from the notes in 500 Master Games of Chess that Tartakower/du Mont did not use Marshall's book as a source.
9...Qxd5 10.Qc2 Re8 11.Nc3

Black to play and win

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
[Janowski] appears to expect only 11...Bxc3 12.bxc3, when his centre would be rounded off nicely, and compensate him for the loss of castling.
This harmless-looking move proves fatal. But also after 11.Bxe4 Rxe4 12.Nxc3 Bxc3, followed by ...Bg4, Black has the initiative.
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 give 11.Be3 or 11.a3, in each case with a tiny edge for Black.
11...Nxc3! 12.bxc3
He rejoices in view of the threats 13.bxc3 and 13.Bxh7+, but the position holds some magnificent resources.
12...Qxf3!
A bolt from the blue. This queen's sacrifice had to be calculated far beyond its main variation, 13.gxf3 Bh3+ 14.Kg1 Re1+ 15.Bf1 Rxf1#, for the position holds many and varied possibilities for White.
Before my opponent answered this surprise move, I heard him whisper, "Swindle!"
13.cxb4
Hoping to win a pawn after all, although it would have been better for him yt lose one by 13.h3, threatening 13...Qd5 14.cxb4 Qxd4 [the annotation reads 14...QxP, but the d4 pawn must be meant] 15.Bb2 Qxb4 16.Bxh7+ Kh8 17.Bd3 with even chances.
After 13.h3, the game Aleksa Strikovic (2490) - Jesus Baron Rodriguez (2384), Mancha Real (Spain) 2000, continued 13...Qh5 14.cxb4 Nc6 15.Be3 Nxb4 16.Qa4 Nc6, when Black has a pawn and the better coordination, but White has the bishop-pair (0-1, 41 moves).
13...Nc6
A splendid continuation, which, so to speak, changes his original idea (a disorganising sacrifice) to a new plan (an irruptive sacrifice).
14.Bb2?
Here again, 14.h3 is better, or at least 14.Bd2.
There is nothing better: 14.Be3 Bh3 15.Rg1 Rxe3 and wins.
Naturally, gxf3?? still loses: 14...Bh3+ 15.Kg1 Re1+ 16.Bf1 Rxf1#
14...Nxb4
Cards on the table! Of no value, evidently, would be 14...Qh5 15.a3 etc.
And now a second combination, which leads to some interesting play.
The text is given an exclamation mark by an anonymous annotator in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database (perhaps following Marshall's lead), but even stronger seems to be the engines' 14...Bh3!? 15.Rg1 Nxb4, eg 16.Bxh7+ Kh8 17.Qd1 Qxd1+ 18.Rxd1 Bd7, threatening 19...Bb5+.
15.Bxh7+ Kh8 16.gxf3
The engines point out White gets mated after 16.Qc4 Bh3 17.Rg1 Nd5, eg 18.Qd3 Ne3+ 19.Ke1 Nc4+ etc.
16...Bh3+ 17.Kg1 Nxc2 18.Bxc2 Re2
After this irruption, the attack is in full swing.
19.Rc1 Rae8
Threatening ...Re1+ and also ...Rxc2. White isn't given a moment's rest.
Also winning is an immediate ...Rxc2!? 20.Rxc2 Re8 21.Rc1 Re6 and mates next move.
20.Bc3 R8e3
Another inspired move, but the simpler 20...Rxc2! 21.Rxc2 Re6 finishes off the game at once.
21.Bb4
If 21.Be4, 21...Rxc3, and if 21.fxe3, 21...Rg2+ 22.Kf1 Rxc2+ followed by ...Rxc1+ and ...Rxh1.
21...Rxf3 22.Bd1 Rf6 0-1

Morphy v The Petrov

PAUL Morphy always played 1.e4 as White, and 79.5% of his games continued 1...e5.
Nevertheless Morphy only faced the Petrov six times, despite it being a popular defence in the mid-19th century.
Perhaps this had something to do with Morphy being recognised as a genius of Open games, and there may have been a feeling that the Petrov allowed a very-open Open game.
Although Morphy only faced the Petrov seven times, he tried three different systems against it.
He seems to have respected the Petrov - he certainly rated the defence enough to try it three times in his celebrated match against Johann Löwenthal.
Morphy first faced the Petrov in a 'casual'* game in 1850 against the same Löwenthal.
Morphy - Löwenthal
Petrov Defence Cozio Attack
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qe2!?

Position after 5.Qe2!?

Wikipedia attributes this move to Lasker. But while it became a favourite of his - and of Capablanca - it is normally credited to the 18th-century Italian Carlo Cozio. This game is the first in which it appears in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database. It probably appealed to Morphy because White aims for a small lead in development in a symmetrical pawn-structure, and therefore is reminiscent of his play against the French.
5...Qe7 6.d3 Nf6 7.Nc3!?
Normal is 7.Bg5, but Carlsen, Ivanchuk, Nakamura and So have experimented with the text. It is also the preference of the engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
7...Be6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6!?
Giving up the bishop-pair in the interest of speedy development. Capablanca also played this way in a win over Marshall at St Petersburg 1914.
9...Qxf6 10.d4
Löwenthal notes in his Morphy's Games Of Chess: "10.Nd5 does not yield any advantage as Black can safely reply with 10...Qxb2."
10...c6?!
Marshall played 10...Be7?! against Capablanca, only to be hit with 11.Qb5+. Marshall was an attacking player, and probably sacrificed his b pawn deliberately (he played the same move 11 years later against Mieses), but the idea is not liked by the engines.
Those same engines reckon Black's best is 10...Qe7, in which case White has a slight lead in development, but Black has the long-term advantage of the bishop-pair.

White to make his 11th move

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
11.0-0-0?!
Morphy seems to have missed a trick here. 11.d5, as pointed out by Löwenthal, is strong. After the forced 11...cxd5, Löwenthal gave 12.Nxd4, but that allows unclear complications with 12...Qxb2. Better, as given by the engines, is 12.0-0-0, when White will recover his d pawn while leaving Black with a weakness at d6 and a lag in development.
11...d5
 "In order to prevent the advance of the [white] d pawn" - Löwenthal.
12.Ne5 Bb4 13.Nxd5?
A rare miscalculation by Morphy. An anonymous annotator in ChessBase suggests 13.Qe3.
13...Bxd5 14.Ng6+
This is better than 14.Nxc6+ Be7, eg 15.Nxe7 Qxe7 16.Qh5 Qg5+.
14...Qe6?
White is better after this. What both players missed is 14...Kd7! After 15.Nxh8 Na6 19.Nxf7 Qxf7, White has rook and two pawns for bishop and knight. This may be OK materially, but Black has open lines for his bishop-pair, and White has problems untangling his kingside. Meanwhile, the black king is safe on d7 as White has no pieces that can get at it.
15.Nxh8 Qxe2
Best, according to the engines, but the whole sequence helps White activate his kingside.
16.Bxe2 Kf8 17.a3
ChessBase gives "17.c4! Be6 18.d5 cxd5 19.Bf3 Kg8 20.Bxd5 Bxd5 21.Rxd5," when ChessBase's 21...Kh8? loses to 22.Rd8+ etc. However, Black can improve with 21...Be7, when White will again emerge with rook and two pawns for bishop and knight, but this time Black will not have the bishop-pair, and White will have no problems with kingside development. The engines prefer White.
17...Bd6 18.Bd3
Better is ChessBase's 18.Bh5! as White subsequently gets rid of Black's bishop-pair with a double-capture on f7.
18...Kg8?!
Löwenthal: "18...Bxg2, although it looks hazardous, might have been played with advantage." Certainly, 19.Rhg1 is nothing to be worried about. But Löwenthal may have feared 19.Bc4 Bd5 20.Bxd5 cxd5 21.Rd3, but the engines reckon Black is much better after 21...Nd7.
19.Nxf7 Kxf7 20.f3 b5 21.Be4 Nd7 22.Rde1 Nf6 23.Re2 Re8?
A positional error that I suspect many club players today would know to avoid. The point is that, as a general rule, when you have one rook and the opponent has two, it is a mistake to exchange a pair as the opponent's two rooks have a degree of redundancy.
24.Bxd5+ cxd5 25.Rxe8 Nxe8 26.g3 g5 27.Kg2 Ng7 28.Ra1 a5 29.Kd3 Ke6 30.a4 b4 31.c4!
Löwenthal: "An excellent move."
31...Bc7
Black faced a tricky decision. Neither Stockfish10's 31...dxc4+ 32.Kxc4, nor Komodo10's 31...bxc3 32.Re1+ Kd7 33.bxc3, seems satisfactory for Black.
32.Re1+ Kd6 33.Re5 dxc4+ 34.Kxc4 Ne6 35.Rb5 Nf8 36.Rd5+ Ke6 37.Rc5+ Kd6 38.d5 Kd7 39.Rc6 Bd6 40.Ra6 Ng6 41.Rxa5
Morphy's skilful rook manoeuvres have netted him a second pawn, and an overwhelming advantage.
41...Ne5+ 42.Kb5 b3!?
Hoping to make this pawn passed and thus create counterplay. 42...Nxf3 is met by 43.Ra7+, eg 43...Kc8 44.a5 Nd4+ 45.Kb6, and the a pawn will cost Black a piece.
43.Ra7+ Kd8 44.f4 gxf4 45.gxf4 Nd3 46.Kxc4 Nxf4 47.Rh7 Be5 48.Rxh6 Bxb2 49.Kxb3 Bg7 50.Rh7 Be5 51.a5 Nxd5!?
ChessBase gives this a question-mark, but Black is lost in any case.
52.Rxh5 Bxh2 53.Rxd5 Kc8 54.Rb5 Kc7 55.Kc4 Kc6 56.Rh5 Bg1 57.Rh6+?
The engines reckon White is still winning after this, but the position now seems to be drawn. Correct, as pointed out in ChessBase, is 57.Rh7 followed by a6 etc.
57...Kc7?
In Morphy's Games Of Chess, there comes the note: "After a few moves the game was declared drawn."
But Black is losing here. He should have played 57...Kb7, which draws, as a check with the Nalimov endgame tablebase shows.
In ChessBase the game continues:
58.Kb5?
A mistake. As ChessBase points out, White wins with 58.Rh1 Be3 59.Rb1 Kc6 60.a6 Bb6 61.Rb5 Ba7 62.Rb7 Bb6 63.Rf7 followed by a7 etc. If in this line Black tries 61...Kc7, then 62.Kd5 leads to similar play.
58...Kb8 ½–½
ChessBase claims White is winning, as indeed do the engines. But the Nalimov endgame tablebase shows the position to be drawn.
*As I pointed out in my series on Morphy v The French, most games in Morphy's times were 'casual' - tournaments were rare and matches not much less so.

Birth Of A Variaton?

IN 500 Master Games Of Chess by Tartakower and du Mont, the Siesta Variation of the Deferred Steinitz Defence to the Ruy Lopez is credited to Capablanca.
The "birth of a variation," according to the authors, occurred in the following game:
Endre Steiner* - Capablanca
Budapest 1928 (known as the Siesta Tournament)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5

So far so simple, but there is a problem - Capablanca had faced the move 5...f5 in his match against Marshall 19 years earlier.
It was game 14, and ended in a draw (Capablanca was leading by seven wins to one in the match, which was promoted as being for the US championship and was to be the first to eight wins).
But that is not all - back in 1892, at the German chess federation's seventh congress master tournament, held in Dresden, von Scheve played the "Siesta Variaton" to draw against Walbrodt.
Of course it is easy to be wise with the benefit of a database, but it is surprising neither a strong player such as Tartakower, nor a leading writer and chess editor such as du Mont, was apparently aware of 5...f5 being played in the Capablanca - Marshall match.
Anyway, putting chess history aside, how should White meet the Siesta (the move 5...f5 is still relevant today, being second in popularity to the more conventional 5...Bd7)?
The game Walbrodt - von Scheve went 6.d3 (reminiscent of a popular line against the Schliemann) Nf6 7.Qe2 Be7 8.Bb3 Na5 9.Bc2 0-0 10.Nbd2 f4!? (½–½, 22 moves).
White reacted more energetically in Capablanca - Marshall: 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4 e4 (the same moves were played in E.Steiner - Capablanca, with Tartakower commenting: "It is clear that Black's game will remain powerful if he can maintain this advanced post") 8.Qe2 Be7 9.Nfd2 Nf6 10.h3!? (Stockfish10 and Komodo9 strongly dislike this move, and subsequent games featured 10.0-0 or 10.f3) d5 (½–½, 31 moves).
The Siesta still occasionally appears at high levels, with the most recent game involving two 2400+ players in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database being from last year's French club championship. Yuri Solodovnichenko (2531) - Deimante Cronette (2461) continued 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.0-0 Bd3 8.Re1 Be7 9.Qb3 Rb8!? (9...b5 10.Qd5 Qd7 11.Qxd3 bxa4 is considered the main line, but looks pleasant for White) 10.Qd5 Bf5 11.d4!? (the uncredited annotator in Mega19 points out that 11.Bb3 was played in a 2015 ICCF correspondence game, and is preferred by the engines) Nf6! (this double-pawn sac seems to be Black's only decent move) 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qc6+ Bd7 14.Qxa6 e4 (for his two pawns, Black has the bishop-pair and kingside attacking chances) 15.Ng5 Rb6 16.Qe2 d5 17.Bf4? (the bishop becomes a target here - the engines reckon 17.c4 or 17.a4 keeps the game in balance) 17...0-0 18.a4 Ne8!? (a retreat, but it lets a more powerful piece - the queen's rook - join the kingside attack) 19.a5 Rg6 20.Nxe4 Rxf4 21.Ng3 Re6 22.Qd2 Rff6 23.Re5 Bd6 24.Rxe6 Rxe6 25.a6 Qe7 26.f3? (White spent almost eight minutes over this move, which leads to a quick loss, but he was in big trouble anyway) Bxg3 27.hxg3 Re2 28.Qd3 Re1+ 29.Kf2 Bb5! 0-1
*The attribution "A. Steiner" in the book seems to be a mistake.