Thematic Obsession

On Thursday at youth chess camp, I taught a short session on the minority attack and another on hanging pawns. On Friday, I tried to initiate a minority attack when the position did not call for it. Later in this game, my opponent had hanging pawns. By this point in the game, I already had a clear advantage.

The game was played in Arena at chessdotcom. 10 minutes.

Stripes,J. (1796) -- Internet Opponent (1968) [E08]
Live Chess Chess.com, 08.08.2025

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.Rd1 h6

A rare move

White to move

9.a3N

Perhaps I'm hoping to conduct a minority attack.

9.Nbd2 is natural and best  b6 10.e4 Bb7 11.e5 Nh7 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.h4  appeared in Nepomniachtchi,I (2779) -- Tabatabaei,M (2689) Julius Baer Play In Match Chess.com INT rapid 2023, which Black won in 93 moves.

9...Re8 10.cxd5?!

10.Nc3 dxc4 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.Ne4

10...exd5 11.b4

Hastily initiating a minority attack that lacks support of pieces

11...Nb6 12.Nbd2

White will have difficulty getting the light-squared bishop into play.

12...Bf8 13.e3

13.Ne5 may be better

13...Bg4

White to move

14.Nb3

14.Re1 is better. White's opening cannot be deemed a success, as Black seems to be the one making threats.

14...Nc4 15.Nc5 b6 16.Nd3 Qc7 17.Re1 Nd6

White to move

18.Nfe5

The wrong knight. 18.Nde5 is equal.

18...Bd7

18...Bf5 pins the other knight.

19.Bb2=

White missed an opportunity to gain a pawn. 19.Nxd7 Qxd7 20.Ne5 Qe6 21.Qxc6 Rec8 22.Qa4.

19...Nde4?

This error helps White to gain the advantage. 19...Bf5

20.Rac1 Rac8 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Ne5

22.f3 Nd6 23.e4 was better.

22...Qf5 

White to move

 23.Qe2

White missed an opportunity to take control.

23.f3!+- Nd6 24.Qxf5 Nxf5 25.Bh3 This pin is the key to the tactical sequence 25...g6 26.e4 Ne7 27.Bxc8 Rxc8 28.Re2

23...Ng5 24.h4 Ne6 25.Qf3?

25.Rxc6 Rxc6 26.Nxc6+-

25...Qxf3 26.Bxf3 Nd8

26...c5 27.dxc5 bxc5 28.b5 would keep some chances for equality.

White to move

27.b5!

Although the minority attack that I tried to force led only to handing Black equality or perhaps even a slight advantage, shackling my opponent with hanging pawns was a good decision. Even here, though, the routine 27.Rc2 was slightly stronger, according to the engine.

27...c5 28.dxc5 bxc5+-

Now Black has hanging pawns. These are not always a defect in the position, but here they present White with vulnerable targets without offering Black any dynamic counterplay.

White has superior minor pieces, as well as more space and mobility.

29.a4

It is not terrible to secure the majority, but there are much better opportunities on the board. For instance, 29.Nd3 Nb7 30.Bxf6 removes a defender, although giving up one of the "superior" minor pieces 30...gxf6 31.Bxd5 Na5 32.Bc4 Rcd8 33.Nf4

29...Bd6 30.Ng4

30.Nd3 

30... Nxg4 31.Bxg4 Rc7 32.Red1 Be5

White to move

33.Ba3! d4 34.exd4

34.Rxc5! Nb7 35.Rxc7 Bxc7 36.Rxd4+-

34...Bf6 35.dxc5 Nb7 36.c6

Black's position is resignable. See "Two Donner Quotes".

White to move

The game went on another 25 moves. I kept my advantage. 1-0

When preparation meets opportunity

The expression, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity", is often credited to Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BCE-65CE), but has not been sourced to any of his writings. Another version, credited to several golfers ("the harder I practice, the luckier I get") has been tracked by Quote Investigator, who finds the sentiment was around before any of the golfers credited had been born. The Yale Book of Quotations (2006), ed. Fred R. Shapiro offers, "Luck is the residue of design" from Sporting News (21 Feb. 1946), quoting baseball executive Branch Rickey.

Whatever, the origins of the phrase, the concept has merit. Yesterday, I faced the Budapest Gambit in a ten minute game after having spent part of Sunday reading Vassilios Kotronias, "Budapest Gambit: Repertoire for White" in Chess Informant 162, 49-59. Perhaps it was luck, then, that I was better prepared than my opponent.

Stripes,J. -- Internet Opponent (1459) [A52]
Live Chess Chess.com, 21.04.2025

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3

All so far as recommended by Vassilios Kotronias in Chess Informant 162. He offers another option at move 4 also, but Bf4 is his top choice.

Black to move

7...0-0?

Four games in CB Mega 2024

7...Qe7 is Black's normal move, which White meets with 8.Qd5 and possibly a slight advantage.

8.h3

Of course.

8...Nh6 9.e4

My move appears to be inaccurate. I considered 9.Qd2 Qe7 (I wanted to prevent 9...Nf5 but it can be met with 10.e4 [10.Nd4 is better 10...Ncxd4 11.cxd4] 10...Nh4 11.Nd4 Qe7 12.0-0-0+/=) 10.g4 d6 11.exd6 Qe4 12.dxc7 Qxc4 13.Bg2 Re8 14.Bxh6 gxh6 15.0-0 Qe6 16.Rfe1 Qe7 17.Qxh6 Qf8 18.Qxf8+ Rxf8 1-0 Anand,V (2786) -- Boffman (1517) Anand Charity sim ICC INT 2007. 

9...Re8N

9...f6 10.exf6 Qxf6 11.Bxc7 Qxc3+ 12.Nd2 with a slight advantage for White.

White to move

10.Qd2

10.Bg5! was a missed opportunity 10...f6 11.exf6 Nf7 12.Bh4 and a clear advantage for White.

10...f6?!

10...d6 11.0-0-0! (11.Bd3? Nxe5 12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.Bxh6 gxh6=) 11...dxe5 12.Qxd8 Nxd8 13.Nxe5 f6 14.Nd3 and White is somewhat better.

11.Bxh6

This move struck me as better after 10...f6, but I could have played 11.c5!

11...gxh6 12.Qxh6

Black to move

12...fxe5

12...Nxe5 was Black's last chance to put up a struggle. 13.0-0-0 Nf7 14.Qh4

13.c5! Re6? 14.Bc4+- d5 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Bxe6+ Bxe6 17.Qxe6+ Kf8

White to move

18.0-0 Qe7 19.Qh6+ Qg7 20.Qxd6+ White won by resignation 1-0

Breaking Routine

For those keeping track, my five positions per day in Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions (2018) faltered. I continue to work through this book, but some days do two or three positions. This morning, I spent some time on number 246, a terrific ending played by Akiva Rubinstein against Emanuel Lasker in 1909. Had I remained on track with five per day, I would have been at position 266.

I have faltered in that routine, but also deliberately broke my routine in a rapid game this morning with good results, although my play could have been improved.

Internet Opponent -- Stripes,J. [B21]
Live Chess Chess.com, 17.02.2025

1.e4 e6 2.f4 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d3

Black to move

My database shows that I've been on the Black side of this position no less than 98 times in online play.

4...d6

4...d5 is the main move and my norm, but I've also played 4...g6, Nge7, a6, and d6. I last played my move in this game on the Internet Chess Club in 2002.

5.c3 b5?!N

5...Nf6=
5...g6 6.a4=
5...Be7 6.Be2=

6.a3

6.d4+/=

6...Bb7= 7.Be2 Nge7?!

The knight's prospects from this square are limited and the dark-squared bishop is denied its natural square.

8.Qc2

8.Be3 g6 9.0-0 Bg7 10.h4

8...g6 9.b4?! cxb4 10.axb4 Bg7

White to move

11.Ra2?

11.d4 a6=

One gets the sense that neither player grasps the needs of the position.

11...0-0

11...Rc8 12.Qb3 Qb6 and Black has an advantage.

12.Be3 a6

12...d5 13.e5 d4! (13...Nf5 also leads to advantage for Black) 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Bxg2 Black is better.

13.Nbd2 Rc8

14.-- △Nxb4 Black is getting pressure on White's position.

14.Rb2

Black to move

14...Nb8

14...f5! 15.e5 15.Qb3 d5 16.e5 d4 17.Nxd4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Bxg2 19.Bf3 Bxh1-/+

15.d4 Nd7 16.Bd3 Nb6

16...f5! was still the correct idea.

17.Qc1 Na4

17...Rc7 can be played at once.

18.Rc2 Rc7 19.0-0 Qa8 20.Re1

20.Qa3

20...Rfc8-/+

White to move

Black's pieces are well coordinated. Although completely different, the position sparked a memory of a correspondence game that I played in the 1990s (see "Playing by the Book"). In that game, I had pressure along the long diagonal a1-h8 and along the b-file and broke through to victory with penetration on the b-file.

21.Nb1?

21.Bf2 Rxc3 22.Rxc3 Rxc3 23.Qb1 Rc7 Black maintains an advantage, but there is still a game to be played.

21...Bxe4-+ 22.Ng5?

22.Bxe4 Qxe4 23.Bf2 Qd3 24.Rd1 Qf5

22...Bxd3 0-1

60 Days, 300 Positions: Day Two

Thomas Engqvist urges review as an integral aspect of the process of learning 300 chess positions. Today, I reviewed the first five positions in 300 Most Important Chess Positions (2018). Three of these appear among those in Rashid Ziyatdinov, GM-RAM: Essential Grandmaster Knowledge (2000), a book I labored part-way through more than a decade ago.

All five positions are derived from four games played by Paul Morphy. One, from a game against his father, is a position I had not studied prior to working through the first part of the book in February 2019, although I have a position from the game in my collection of exercises for students, Checkmates and Tactics (2019).

As noted yesterday, I wrote about the first position in the book shortly after it arrived in the mail. I noted there that two moves—both played by Morphy at different times—differ only slightly in their merits, but Morphy’s move in the reference game has been the dominant choice of masters. As both moves are playable, judgement is necessary. Engqvist’s observation that “one should avoid unproductive one-move threats” (14) is worth reviewing.

Positions 4 and 5 both derive from Schulten — Morphy, New York 1857, game 7 in GM-RAM. I have memories of attempting to imitate Morphy’s play in this game against a student in a blitz or rapid event a week or two after we had studied the game together. I remember his laugh as we found ourselves in the same opening. He won the tournament, but I won that game. Morphy’s play inspired my plans, but my young student avoided Schulten’s errors. That student achieved an expert rating as a high school student when he won the Spokane Falls Open in August 2019.

Both Engqvist and Ziyatdinov urged memorizing this game. Engqvist writes, “learn this model game by heart” (16). I had it lodged in my short-term memory when I was working through it with Ziyatdinov’s book about the time that I studied it with my young student, but I cannot completely reconstruct it from memory this morning.

Schulten, J. — Morphy, P.
New York 1857

1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 e4!

I recall studying the opening stats and learning that 3…exf4 appears to score better. Nonetheless, I nearly always play 3…e4 here. I have had the position after 3.exd5 at least 426 times in online play. Black has won five games more than White. I've been White more often as the King's Gambit is an opening I play with some regularity. The first time that I played 3...e4 was in 2007 in a 15 minute game with a three second increment. I won in 45 moves.

My recollection of the game begins to falter here. I remember the next move, but with some uncertainty.

4.Nc3 Nf6

At first, I wrote Bb4 without sight of the board. I corrected the notation after checking the game score in 300 Most Important Chess Positions.

5.d3 Bb4

Of course, the timing of the bishop move is important, as here it pins the knight.

6.Bd2

Black to move

This is position 4 in Engqvist’s book. It does not appear in Ziyatdinov as a key position.

6…e3!

I played 6...exd3 in that 2007 game, which preceded my study of Morphy's game. I played 6...e3 for the first time in 2016. winning that game in 48 moves.

7.Bxe3 O-O 8.Bxd2 Bxc3

I still struggle with Morphy’s choice here, as it is not clear to me how the exchange of bishop for knight implements the principle of development.

9.bxc3

Why not Bxc3? This was the move played against me in 2016. According to the engines, bxc3 appears slightly better that capturing with the bishop.

9…Re8+ 10.Be2

This game is one of several Morphy games that merit study because of his effective use of pins. When my memory of this game gets me to point, I always remember Morphy’s moves when I’m able to recall Schulten’s.

10…Bg4 11.c4

Would Schulten have been better off here with 11.Nf3? Stockfish 16 favors 11.Kf2.

Black to move

Position number 5 in Engqvist is position number 150 in Ziyatdinov.

11…c6! 12.dxc6??

I identified this move as Schulten’s critical error when I first studied this game in detail, and capturing this pawn was one of my own errors in one of the worst tournament games I have played (see "Knowing Better"). In that game, my opponent played 3...c6!? and things went downhill quickly for me.

12…Nxc6-+ 13.Kf1

This position is number 151 in Ziyatdinov and I had it once doing tactics training on Chess.com.

13…Rxe2!

Morphy’s exchange sacrifice that maintains one of the pins on e2 is reminiscent of the Opera Game.

14.Nxe2 Nd4 15.Qb1

It is difficult to find a move for Schulten here that makes sense. The position is resignable. 

15…Bxe2+ 16.Kf2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1

Black to move

Morphy has a forced mate in seven.

17...Nf3+ 18.gxf3 Qd4+ 19.Kg2 Qf2+ 20.Kh3 Qxf3 21.Kh4

Philip W. Sergeant, Morphy's Games of Chess (1957 [1916]), 229 ends the game score here, giving the moves to mate as a comment. Other books and some databases carry the game all the way to mate.

Both 21...Nh6 and 21...Ne3 finish the job. My students rarely find 21...Nh6 and then 22.h3 Nf5+ 23.Kg5 Qh5#.

Halloween Gambit: Early History

For more than a century, the line known today as the Halloween Gambit was an entertaining option in casual play, but received minimal attention. Wikipedia notes that it appeared in a brief note in an 1888 publication as Gambit Müller und Schulze (not the names of specific people, but rather anyone or everyone). The article relies for historical details upon a article by Tim Krabbe for Chess Cafe (March 2000) and now hosted elsewhere. Krabbe's article is entertaining and the central facts are verifiable. He was prompted to write it after losing to a Crafty clone on ICC named Brause. Brause was the work of Steffen Jacob who coined the name The Halloween-Attack in the Four Knight's Game.

Although Krabbe goes back as far as Oskar Cordel, Führer durch die Schachtheorie: Ausführliche Tabelle der Spiel-Eröffnungen auf Grundlage neuester Forschung (1888), there were at least two games published in magazines prior to Cordel's text. Cordel notes that the opening had been played in Leipzig and a game played there in 1874 is the oldest in ChessBase Mega 2024.

The annotation in Deutsche Schachzeitung (July 1874) of the game between an unnamed player who played the gambit against Johannes Minckwitz, editor of the publication, offers what remains today an apt assessment of the gambit: it is unsound, but in practical play White gets a dangerous attack.

I offer the original annotations, which were in German, translations, and some of my own comments.

NN -- Minckwitz,Johannes [C47]
Leipzig, 02.05.1874

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5

Dieses Opfer ist zwar incorrect, gewährt jedoch einen im practischen Spiele sehr gefährlichen Angriff. This sacrifice is indeed incorrect, but grants a very dangerous attack in the practical game.

4...Nxe5 5.d4

Black to move

5...Ng6

5...Nc6 is the principal alternative.

6.e5 Ng8 7.Bc4 Bb4 8.0–0 Bxc3 9.Qf3 Qe7 10.bxc3 Nh6 11.a4 Nh4 12.Qe4

Black to move

12... d5

Schwarz ist hierzu genöthigt, da er sonst auf keine Weise zur Entwickelung gelangen kann.
Black is compelled to do this, because otherwise he cannot achieve development in any way.

13.Bxd5 c6 14.Bxc6+!

Diese Fortsetzung fällt zu Gunsten von Schwarz aus. Die Combinationen sind sehr interessant.

This sequel is in Black's favor. The combinations are very interesting.

14...bxc6 15.Qxc6+ Qd7 16.Qxa8 0–0

White to move

17.Bxh6

This move gives Black opportunities. Better would be 17.Ba3 or 17.Rb1.

17...Bb7 18.Qxa7 Ra8 19.Qb6

19.Qc5 Qg4

19...Ra6?

White to move

 20.Qb5??

20.e6!! Qd5 21.exf7+ Kf8 22.Qb4+ Kxf7 23.f3 and White should prevail. The move played walks into a mate in four, which Minckwitz finds.

20...Nf3+ 0-1 

21.gxf3 Rg6+
21.Kh1 Rxh6 22.h3 Rxh3+

Ten years later, the second game in the database was played and published. It was part of a blindfold exhibition in St. Petersburg. Ernst Falkbeer provided annotations.

The White player is not well-known. Sarah Cohen (aka batgirl) described him as a strong amateur in "The Prince of Mingrelia, Part 1" on chess.com. The game was published in a Vienna newspaper: Wiener Hausfrauen-Zeitung (1885), which I was able to find online.

De Marcovan,M - NN [C47]
Blindfold Exhibition M de Marcovan St Petersburg, 1884
[Falkbeer,Ernst Karl]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5

Ein ganz neues und geniales Opfer des Blindspielers, um die Partie interessanter zu machen.

A completely new and ingenious sacrifice of the blind player to make the game more interesting.

4...Nxe5 5.d4 Ng6 6.e5 Ng8 7.Bd3 d6 8.f4 dxe5 9.fxe5

Black to move

9...Bb4

Augenscheinlich darf die Dame den Bauer auf d4 nicht schlagen, weil sie sonst durch 9...Qxd4 10.Bb5+ verloren ginge.

Apparently, the queen must not capture the pawn on d4, otherwise she will pass through (discovered attack) 9...Qxd4 10.Bb5+ was lost.

10.0–0! Qxd4+ 11.Kh1 Bxc3 12.bxc3 

Black to move

12...Qxc3

Schwarz hätte den Bauer auf c3 nicht schlagen, sondern die Dame nach 12...Qd8 zurückziehen sollen.

Black should not have captured the pawn on c3, but should have withdraw the queen with 12...Qd8.

13.Qf3

Ausgezeichnet gespielt. Weiß droht jetzt zu gleicher Zeit das direkte Schach auf f7 und das Abzugsschach, respektive den Gewinn der Dame durch 14.Lb5+.

Excellently played. White is now threatening direct check on f7, or winning the queen by 14.Bb5+.

13...Qxe5

Es war schon gar nichts mehr zu machen.

There was nothing more to be done.

Wenn die Dame den Turm nahm, so folgte 13...Qxa1 14.Qxf7+ Kd8 und dann 15.Bg5+

If the queen took the rook, then 13...Qxa1 14.Qxf7+ Kd8 and then Bg5+.

14.Qxf7+ Kd8 15.Bxg6 hxg6

White to move

16.Bg5+

Ein schönes Endspiel dieser reizenden kleinen Partie.

A beautiful endgame of this charming little game.

16...Ne7 17.Rad1+ Bd7

Weiß setzt in zwei Zügen matt:

White mates in two moves:

18.Qf8+ Rxf8 19.Rxf8# 1-0

Break the Rules!

Neil McDonald writes in Break the Rules! A Modern Look at Chess Strategy (2012), "experienced players ... tread a fine line between the moves they want to play and the moves they are compelled to play." He continues, "Rules and precepts are useful starting points, but we have to use our judgement, creativity and knowledge to find the best move and plan in the specific position in front of us." A game he employs to illustrate has White beginning the game with eight consecutive pawn moves. The game is Navara -- Shimanov, Vilnius 2010.

When I read this book last year, I was already familiar with both the concept and a different Caro-Kann game from having seen them yoked in John Watson, Secrets of Modern Chess: Advances since Nimzowitsch (1998). Watson cites as an example of rule independence a game that Andy Soltis presents in The Art of Defence where Black's first ten moves included seven pawn moves. Yet, somehow I remember it as the same line presented by McDonald (maybe it, too, is in Watson's book).

After McDonald's explication, however, I began playing this line against the Caro-Kann in my online games. I've trapped several bishops when my opponent strayed from the best course. In other games, I've also sacrificed a pawn on e6 to lock in Black's dark-square bishop. These games turned out to be good preparation for a tournament game when my opponent attempted to play the Nimzo-Larsen Attack. But there was more: inspiration from a game I looked at nine years ago.

A game in Chess Informant 124 (2015) inspired me such that I have been meeting 1.b3 with 1...a5 ever since with good results. That game is Rapport -- Adly, Tsaghkadzor 2015. Sometimes I enjoy creating chaos at the board, but I always find it useful to remove my opponents from their comfort zone.

Both these games inspired and guided me during my round four game against David Griffin in the Inland Classic last weekend.

Griffin,David (1522) -- Stripes,James (1873) [A04]
Inland Classic Rathdrum (4), 25.02.2024

1.Nf3 Nc6 2.b3 a5N

A novelty inspired by Rapport -- Adly. Rapport is a devotee of 1...b3. I call this move a novelty because the position does not appear in my usual databases. However, further research shows that the move in the present position has been played 902 times on Lichess.

I did have an OTB game against Griffin Herr in 2019 that began 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b3 a5. Before the game, Griffin had asked me how I responded to 1.b3. I told him the truth, not knowing that we would be paired.

3.Bb2 e6 4.e3 a4

White to move

5.Be2

5.a3 seems important, as I suggested to David after the game.

5...a3

5...Nf6 6.0-0 Be7 7.d4 0-0 8.c4 d5 9.bxa4 b6 10.Nc3 Na5 0-1 (34) Shytaj,L (2459)--Ponkratov,P (2613) Riadh 2017.

6.Bc3 Nf6 7.0-0 d5=

White to move

8.Nd4

8.d4 has been popular on Lichess, where this position has occurred in 114 games. David wanted to avoid this move because his bishop's scope on the long diagonal was his intended manner of play.

8...Nxd4 9.Bxd4

9.exd4 Bd6 and I would have continued with somewhat more normal development, perhaps seeking to take advantage of the absence of White's king's knight.

9...c5 10.Be5

10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bxf6 gxf6=
10.Bxf6 gxf6= (10...Qxf6 would be a mistake).

10...h5

I am aiming to trap the bishop. After my a-pawn push, I suspect Griffin did not assess the concrete analysis behind this move.

11.Nc3

11.h3 was David's suggestion after the game.
11.d4 is also good.

11...Nd7

We have reached the game's critical position. Both sides still have chances. After White's next move, Black gets the upper hand and carries it to the end.

White to move

12.Bg3??

12.f4! Qb6 (12...f6? 13.Bxh5+ Ke7 14.Qg4 Qa5 15.Qg6 fxe5 16.Qe8+ Kd6 and White is better) 13.Na4 Qc6 and White is slightly better.
I anticipated 12.Bb5 f6 13.Bg3 h4 with a slight edge for Black.

12...h4-+

I'm winning the bishop.

13.Bf4 g5

Here, I wrote 9/13 in the margins of my scoresheet and then went and asked the tournament director whether I had broken the rules by doing so.

14.Re1!

Perhaps David's strongest move of the game. The bishop cannot be saved, but Black might yet be punished for an inordinate number of pawn moves and a king that likely will remain in the center.

14...gxf4 15.exf4 d4 16.Nb5 Nf6

White to move

17.Bc4

17.f5 seems best and principled. Black's material advantage remains, but White has good chances to create some play in the center.

17...Qb6

Finally! After eleven pawn moves and five knight moves, I develop another piece. Already, I am looking towards some checkmate ideas.

18.Qc1

David's focus on removing my a-pawn did not help his game.

18...h3 19.g3 Qc6 20.Bf1

Forced. There cannot be very many positions in the database where Black has pawns on h3 and a3 on move 20.

Black to move

20...Bd7

I wanted to avoid White's bishop pinning my queen against my king with the knight on a3. Also, I might get an opportunity to create a bishop and queen battery along the long diagonal.

21.Nxa3 Bd6

Targeting the unprotected pawn on f4

Stronger was 21...Qf3 22.Qd1 Qxd1 23.Raxd1 Rxa3-+

22.Nc4

22.f5 Qf3

22...Bxf4 23.Ne5

23.gxf4 Rg8+ and checkmate follows.

23...Bxe5 24.Rxe5 Ng4

White to move

25.Re1

25.Qe1 is best, then 25...Qf3 26.Rxc5 Rh5! a deflection that I might have missed 27.Qe2 (27.Rxh5 Bc6 and White can only delay checkmate) 27...Qxe2 28.Bxe2 Rxc5.

25...Qf3

Bc6 will be decisive

26.Qd1? Qxf2+ 0-1

Although my play was unorthodox, it worked because David did not adapt his plans to the needs of the position. The early a5 thrust by Black is not dangerous, but it is disruptive if White does not meet it appropriately.

Maczuski -- Kolisch 1863

On Tuesday, I showed a short game to my young students that is the source for exercise 19 in Checkmates and Tactics (2019), a book that presents 150 exercises that I developed in 2006 for scholastic chess players. While doing so, my ignorance grated. I knew nothing about the players, although the name of the losing player was familiar enough that I thought I should know more.

While printing the game score before club, it surprised me that only two games played by Ladislav Maczuski appeared in ChessBase Mega (online was no different). This paltry selection was surprising particularly because the game data indicated it was part of a four game match between the players. ChessBase has 151 games played by Ignatz Kolisch, plus two consultation games. Maczuski's performance in the game against a strong master suggests that he should be better known. Kolisch was "one of the world's leading players from 1859 to 1867", according to David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld, The Oxford Companion to Chess (205).

It is not surprising that chessgames.com has more information than almost any where else that I searched. Edward Winter's Chess Notes is also useful. Note 2335 has an 1876 game played by Maczuski as part of a blindfold simul that does not appear in databases. Note 11728 recommends Fabrizio Zavatarelli, Ignaz Kolisch The Life and Chess Career (2015) for "a detailed discussion". Chessgames.com led me to the first publication of the game and a second the next month. ChessBase referenced David Levy and Kevin O'Connell, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games, Vol. 1 1485-1866 (1981), which also references Schachzeitung (1864). Levy and O'Connell get the date wrong, an error carried forward in ChessBase.

I know more than I did on Tuesday and know how to learn a bit more should I manage to acquire a copy of Zavatarelli's book.

Here is the game.

Maczuski,Ladislav -- Kolisch,Ignaz [C45]
Match Kolisch--Maczuski +2-2=0 Paris (1), 03.1863

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4

The fifth most popular reply wins a pawn, but often a great cost

5.Nc3

5.Nb5 is an alternative 5...Bb4+ 6.N1c3 Ba5 7.Be2 a6 (7...Qxe4? 8.Nxc7+ Kd8 9.Nxa8 Qxg2 10.Bf3+-) 

5...Bb4 6.Qd3!?

6.Be2 and 6.Ndb5 are more frequently played

Black to move

6...Nf6 7.Nxc6

Also possible: 7.Nf5 Qxe4+ 8.Qxe4+ Nxe4 9.Nxg7+ Kf8 (9...Kd8) 10.Nh5 (10.Bh6 Nxc3 11.Nf5+ Ke8 12.a3 Ba5 13.b4 Bb6) 10...Nxc3 11.Bh6+ Ke7 12.Bg7 Ne4+ 13.c3 with equal chances.

7...dxc6 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Nxe4

9...0-0 seems prudent, but White does not yet have full compensation for the pawn with the line played.

10.Qd4

Black to move

10...Qe7

10...Bf5 has also been played here 11.Qe5+ Qe7 12.Qxe7+ Kxe7 13.Bxg7 Rhg8 14.Bd4 (14.Bh6 may be better) 14...Rad8 15.c3 c5 16.Be3 b6  and Black won in 60 moves Trabert,B (2285)--Tomescu,V (2436) Montecatini Terme 1999.

11.0-0-0 Qg5+??

A terrible blunder.

11...Nxc3 12.Qxg7 Nxa2+ 13.Kb1 Rf8 with a slight edge for Black, who went on to win in 65 moves Rizovic,S--Minic,M Vrnjacka Banja 2006.

White to move

This position could make a good exercise.

12.f4! Qxf4+

Black could also play 12...Qe7, but the game is lost in any case.

13.Bd2 Qg4

13...Qh4 14.Re1 0-0 15.Rxe4+-
13...Qf6 also prevents checkmate.

White to move

This position appears in my Checkmates and Tactics book. My students have been solving it, or failing to solve it nearly twenty years.

14.Qd8+ Kxd8 15.Bg5+

The game as it appears in La Nouvelle Régence (image above) would seem to indicate that the last move was not played.

15...Ke8 16.Rd8# 1-0

Not so Easy

Yesterday, I posted a position on Facebook from a game played online. In that position, my opponent blundered and lost. But, had my opponent played differently, I would have lost. The position generated a fair amount of discussion. I am particularly grateful to three commentators--Lukas Bratcher, Chris Kalina, and Misha de Rue. All three regularly comment.

We begin eighteen moves prior to the posted diagram in order to show several missed opportunities by both contestants as they played too fast with too little analysis. I was White.

White to move

Black has captured my rook on c5. I correctly assessed that my passed c-pawn could win, but missed some of the details.

33.dxc5??

It was necessary to first divert Black's king away from my e-pawn.

33.g4+ Kg5 34.dxc5+-

33.Bd3+ Kg5 34.dxc5+-

33...Kxe5-/+

Now, Black has an edge.

34.b4 g5 35.Bf3 f6 36.Bh5 h6 37.Be8 f5?

37...d4+ 38.Kd2-/+

38.Bc6

38.c6 d4+ 39.Kd2 Kd5 40.Ke2-/= Black is slightly better, but it is unclear how to make progress due to the c-pawn threatening to advance.

38...Bc8 39.Be8 f4+

39...d4+-/+

40.gxf4+ gxf4+ 41.Kf3= d4

White to move

42.Bg6??

I may have been overconfident, thinking I was better. Or, I may have believed that my bishop was needed for defense.

42.c6=

42...Bb7+ Black has the edge, but there was a stronger move.

42...Bd7-+

43.Kf2 f3 44.Bh5

Black to move

44...Kf4

44...d3 is the only move that clearly maintains Black's advantage 45.Ke3 f2 46.Kxf2 Kd4-+

45.Be8 Ke4??

45...d3=

46.Bg6+??

46.c6+-

46...Kf4= 47.Bd3??

47.Be8=

47...h5

Black missed another opportunity to put White away.

47...Be4 48.Bxe4 Kxe4 49.c6 d3 50.c7 d2 51.c8Q d1Q oh boy! White hopes to draw with perpetual checks, but Black's king can hide among the forest of pawns on the queenside.

48.Bg6 h4 49.h3

49.Be8 (only move) holds out some hope of equality, but Black remains better.

49...Ke5-+

49...Bc8-+

50.Be8 d3 51.c6

The position I posted on Facebook

Black to move

51...Bxc6??

The losing move, also suggested by a Facebook member. If Black considered the consequences of this move, he may have thought to saddle me with an unpromotable h-pawn (wrong bishop does not control h8). 

51...Ba8-/+ Black retains an edge.
51...Bc8! and Black will win. 52.Kxf3 (52.Bd7 d2 "Black wins the race." Chris Kalina)

Black to move

Analysis diagram after 51...Bc8 52.Kxf3

52...Bxh3

(Misha de Rue pointed out other ways for Black to win from this position: 52...Kd4 53.Kf2 Kc3 54.Bh5 Kc2 [or 54...d2; or 54...Bxh3] )

53.Bd7 was suggested with the belief that Black blundered in taking the h-pawn. 53...d2 54.Ke2 Be6!

White to move

Analysis diagram after 54...Be6!

I think this move solves the problems perceived in the analysis that saw 52...Bxh3 as an error.

51...d2 was also suggested, but 52.cxb7 d1Q 53.b8Q+ with an extra bishop and an exposed Black king, White should win easily. 53...Ke6 54.Qb6+ Ke7 (54...Qd6 55.Qxd6+ Kxd6 56.Kxf3+-) 55.Qe3+ Kf8 56.Bg6+-.

52.Bxc6+-

Black to move

52...Kd4 53.Bxf3 Kc3 54.Ke3 Kb2 55.Kxd3 Kxa3 56.Kc3

Here my opponent thought for a full minute. I suspect it is now dawning upon him that the game is lost.

56...a5 57.bxa5 b4+ 58.Kd2 b3 59.a6

White won by resignation 1-0

Both my opponent and I have some things that we can learn from how we played this ending.

Bramley -- Burgess 1946

Sometimes a particular game captures my attention. Tuesday morning I went through five games in Irving Chernev, The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess (1955). I have been working through this book since mid-September. I went through the games quickly and then returned to the first, spending considerable time examining variations that might have been played. Using the opening explorer on Lichess, I found another game with the same odd ninth move.

That afternoon, I showed the game to my after school chess club. On Wednesday, I spent more time exploring the game, annotated it, and created a worksheet for my students with positions derived from the game--mostly those that did not occur. Captions under diagrams indicate the positions on the worksheet.

I cannot find any information about the game beyond what Chernev offers--only surnames, location, and year. Another book includes the game, László Polgár, Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games, but derived from Chernev. The game is number 500 in Chernev. Polgár includes it among 100 miniatures with sacrifices on f2/f7.

Bramley -- Burgess [C54]
Surrey, 1946

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4

5.d3 is the top choice of masters

5...exd4 6.cxd4

6.b4 Be7; 

6.e5 d5 7.Bb5

6...Bb4+ 7.Nc3

This move initiates the Greco Attack, which I have explored in several articles on Chess Skills.

7.Bd2 also preferred.

7...Nxe4 8.0-0

8.d5

8...Nxc3

8...Bxc3 9.d5 Bf6 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Rxe4 d6 Although approximately equal, Black tends to do better.

9.bxc3 Be7?!

Here we reach what struck me as a novelty when I first looked at the game. It has been been played by others, even at least once by a chess master.

White to move

Stockfish 14 on Lichess gave this move and White's response ?? in annotations to Boricsev,O. -- Sevostianov,P. 2017.

9...d5 10.Re1+ Be7 11.Bd3

10.Re1

Better is the immediate 10.d5 Nb8 (10...Na5 11.Bd3) 11.d6! (11.Re1 reaches the game) 11...cxd6 12.Bxf7+ Kxf7 13.Qd5+ Kf8

White to move

Analysis diagram

14.Re1 Na6 15.Ng5 Qe8 16.Bf4 Nc7 17.Qf5+ Kg8 18.Bxd6 Ne6 19.Nxe6 dxe6 20.Rxe6 Bxe6 21.Qxe6+ Qf7 22.Qxe7 Qxe7 23.Bxe7 Kf7 24.Bc5 Rhd8 and drawn in 63 moves. Chen,Y (2081) -- Kislik,E (2347) Budapest 2011.

14.Ng5 Bxg5 15.Bxg5 Qe8 16.Rfe1 Qf7 17.Qxd6+ Kg8 18.Re7 Nc6 and White won in 32 moves. Sizov,A -- Prikhodko,P Serpukhov 2001.

10...0-0

10...d5 11.Bd3 0-0 12.h3 Be6 13.Bf4 Qd7 14.Rb1 b6 15.Qd2 Bd6 16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.Re2 h6 18.Rbe1 Rfe8 19.Bb5 f6 20.a4 Bf7 ½-½ Boricsev,O (2343) -- Sevostianov,P (2248) Mukachevo UKR 2017.

11.d5 Nb8

Both players have made errors, but White seems to be much better.

11...Na5 would be my inclination 12.d6! (12.Bd3) 12...cxd6 13.Bd5 Nc6 14.Ba3 Bf6 15.Qd3 (15.Rb1) 15...Ne7 16.Be4 g6 17.Bxd6+-

12.d6!

Lichess opening explorer shows that eleven other moves have been employed here, but none with the sort of results garnered by 12.d6! 12.Qe2 has been the most popular and Stockfish likes it almost as well.

12...Bf6

12...cxd6 13.Ba3 Nc6 14.Bd5 White's advantage is clear;
12...Bxd6?

White to move

Analysis: Exercise 2

13.Bg5 Qe8 14.Rxe8 Rxe8+-

White to move

13.dxc7

White could have struck now with 13.Bxf7+! Rxf7 14.dxc7 Qf8 (14...Qxc7 15.Re8+ Rf8 16.Qd5+ Kh8 17.Rxf8#) 15.cxb8Q Rxb8 16.Ba3 Be7 (16...Qxa3?

White to move

Analysis: Exercise 6

17.Re8+ Rf8 18.Qd5+ Kh8 19.Rae1+-)

17.Rxe7 Rxe7 18.Qd5+ Qf7 19.Qd6+-

13...Qxc7 14.Ba3

Again, White could have played 14.Bxf7+! Kh8 15.Bb3

14...Bxc3

Why not trade a rook for two bishops? 14...Qxc4 15.Bxf8 Kxf8?

White to move

Analysis: Exercise 1

16.Qd6+ Be7 17.Qxe7+ Kg8 18.Qe8#

15.Bxf7+!

Black to move

15...Kh8

During chess club, I was asked what if Black captures the bishop.

15...Kxf7

White to move

Analysis: Exercise 5

16.Qd5+ Kg6 17.Qg5+ Kf7 18.Qf5+ Bf6 19.Ng5+ Kg8 20.Qxh7#

Matters end more quickly if the rook nabs the bishop. 15...Rxf7 16.Re8+ Re7 17.Rxf8#

16.Bxf8 Bxe1 

16...d5 17.Ng5 Be6

White to move

Analysis: Exercise 4

18.Bxg7+ Kxg7 19.Nxe6+ Kh8 20.Nxc7+-

White to move

Exercise 3

17.Qd4

Black can delay, but not prevent checkmate. 1-0