February 2012

February 2012
UON 30
Contents
TAL, 11 Games1 by Selected by Brian Wall ..………………………..………………..…….….1
Brian Wall vs. Damian Nash1 by Brian Wall…………………………………….…..……7
Smith-Morra (4 games) by Gary Gifford ………………………………………..….…..16
Colle vs. Dutch Defense by Gary Gifford ……………………………………..…….….24
Krazy Kats, a.k.a. “du Chattel’s Defense” & Drunken Knights*…..….27
A Few Words in Closing ………………………………………………….…...…..…. 35
*The Krazy Kat article was inspired by and is based on UON/UCO e-mails from:
Davide Rozzoni, Martin Gawne, Noe van Hulst, and Quentin Mason
1
Brian Wall articles are from Brian Wall's Digest #2047 (March 31 2011) and were used with open
permission for UON by Brian Wall.
About this UON - UON 30 (c) February 2012. All articles are property
of their respective authors and are only to be used with their
permission. Some images used are clipart. Clipart images are the
property of Microsoft Corporation and cannot be used for profit. Chess
material for future UONs can be sent to the editor at
[email protected] ; the subject line should state UON submission.
About the UON 30 Cover, “Winter Queen” — I used a Wacom
Bamboo pen/tablet and the computer program Corel® PainterTM
Essentials 4.0 running on an Acer laptop to create the piece.
-gkg
UON 30
TAL
Feb. 2012
11 Games
Tal vs. Botvinnik, 1960
selected by Brian Wall
The text below is from Brian Wall's Digest #2047 (March 31 2011)
[email protected]
Editor’s Note: Mikhail Tal (November 9, 1936 – June 28, 1992) was the eighth World Chess Champion. He holds
the records for both the first and second longest unbeaten streaks in competitive chess history. Many authorities
consider him to have been the greatest attacking Grandmaster in the history of chess. On May 28, 1992, dying
from kidney failure, he left [the] hospital to play at the Moscow blitz tournament, where he defeated Garry
Kasparov. He died one month later.
Source: Wikipedia.com Tal Photo from chessbase.com, but available from numerous sites.
I have only met one Chess genius, Mikhail Tal.
- Petrosian
Incredible Portisch-Tal game.
Tal is the bravest and most brilliant player that ever lived.
[Event "Amsterdam"] [Site "02"] [Date "1964.??.??" ] [EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"] [Result "1/2-1/2"]
GAME 1
White "Lajos Portisch"
Black "Mikhail Tal"
ECO "A04"
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d6 3.d4 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 Bg4 7.Nc3
Qc8 8.Re1 Re8 9.Qb3 Nc6 10.d5 Na5 11.Qa4 b6 12.Nd2 Bd7 13.Qc2
c6 14.b4 Nxc4 15.Nxc4 cxd5 16.Na3 d4 17.Bxa8 Qxa8 18.Ncb5 Rc8
19.Qd1 Ne4 20.f3 a6 21.Nxd4 Qd5 22.Be3 Rc3 23.Ndc2 Qf5 24.g4
Qe6 25.Bd4 h5 26.Bxg7 hxg4 27.Nd4 Qd5 28.fxe4 Qxe4 29.Nf3 Qe3+
30.Kh1 Bc6 31.Rf1 Rxa3 32.Qc1 gxf3 33.Qxc6 Qxe2 34.Rg1 Kxg7
35.Rae1 Qd2 36.Rd1 Qe2 37.Rde1 Qd2 38.Rd1 Qe2 39.Rde1 1/2-1/2
This is a Caro-Kann Tal-Portisch e6 Rook sac I was thinking of
during my Damian Nash* game, analyzed in Tal's autobiography.
[Event "Bled"] [Site "02"] [Date "1965.??.??" ] [EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"] [Result "1-0"]
*Editor’s note: The Damian Nash game mentioned follows these Tal games.
Page 1
UON 30
GAME 2
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Lajos Portisch"
Feb. 2012
ECO "B10"
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Nd7
7.d4 Ngf6 8.Bd3 Nxe4 9.Qxe4 e6 10.O-O Be7 11.c3 Nf6 12.Qh4 Nd5
13.Qg4 Bf6 14.Re1 Qb6 15.c4 Nb4 16.Rxe6+ fxe6 17.Qxe6+ Kf8
18.Bf4 Rd8 19.c5 Nxd3 20.cxb6 Nxf4 21.Qg4 Nd5 22.bxa7 Ke7
23.b4 Ra8 24.Re1+ Kd6 25.b5 Rxa7 26.Re6+ Kc7 27.Rxf6 1-0
Igor Foigel was a 2500 New England Russian transplant I beat 3 times when I lived in New Hampshire /
Massachusetts. Larry Christiansen sacced a Rook on e6 against Foigel's Caro-Kann in the US Closed and
published the analysis in Chess Life. I can't find the score of this famous game but I was thinking of the
game while playing Damian. Larry said that old Russians were probably pretty good positionally but
might feel uncomfortable in a maelstrom of tactics.
Botvinnik preventing Tal's e6 sacs in the Caro-Kann
[Event "Russia"] [Site "Match, Moscow (15)"] [Date "1960.01.16" ] [Result "1/2-1/2"]
GAME 3
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"
ECO "B18"
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Bc4 e6
7.N1e2 Bd6 8.h4 h6 9.Nf4 Bxf4 10.Bxf4 Nf6 11.Qd2 Nbd7 12.O-O-O
Nd5 13.Rde1 N7b6 14.Bb3 Nxf4 15.Qxf4 Nd5 16.Qe5 O-O 17.Ne4 Qb8
18.Nd6 Rd8 19.Nc4 Nb6 20.Qxb8 Raxb8 21.Ne5 Bh7 22.Rh3 Nd7
23.c3 Nxe5 24.Rxe5 b6 25.Rhe3 Rbc8 26.Bc4 Rc7 27.b4 Kf8 28.g4
Bg8 29.Bb3 Bh7 30.f4 Bg8 31.Kb2 Bh7 32.h5 Rdc8 33.Bc2 Bg8
34.g5 f6 35.R5e4 c5 36.Bb3 cxb4 37.cxb4 hxg5 38.fxg5 fxg5
39.Rg3 Rf7 40.Rxg5 Rf2+ 41.Ka3 1/2-1/2
Tal tries to sac on e6 again but Botvinnik drags him into endgame. Tal wins anyway.
[Event "Russia"] [Site "Match, Moscow (7)"] [Date "1960.01.08" ] [Result "1-0"]
GAME 4
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"
ECO "B18"
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.N1e2 Nd7
7.h4 h6 8.Nf4 Bh7 9.Bc4 e5 10.Qe2 Qe7 11.dxe5 Qxe5 12.Be3 Bc5
13.Bxc5 Qxe2+ 14.Kxe2 Nxc5 15.Rhe1 Nf6 16.b4 Ncd7 17.Kf1 Kf8
18.Bb3 g5 19.hxg5 hxg5 20.Nh3 Rg8 21.Red1 a5 22.bxa5 Rxa5
23.Rd6 Ke7 24.Rad1 Re5 25.Nh5 Bg6 26.Rxd7+ Nxd7 27.Rxd7+ Kxd7
28.Nf6+ Kd6 29.Nxg8 Rc5 30.Nh6 f6 31.Ng4 Bxc2 32.Nxf6 Bxb3
33.axb3 Rb5 34.Nxg5 Rxb3 35.f4 Rb1+ 36.Ke2 Rb2+ 37.Kf3 Rb3+
38.Kg4 Rb2 39.g3 b5 40.Nfe4+ Kd5 41.f5 b4 42.f6 Ra2 43.f7 Ra8
Page 2
UON 30
44.Nh7 b3 45.Nd2 b2 46.Kf3 Kd4 47.Ke2 c5 48.f8=Q Rxf8 49.Nxf8
c4 50.Ne6+ Kd5 51.Nf4+ Kd4 52.Nb1 1-0
Tal finally sacs a Knight on e6 against Botvinnik's Caro-Kann but Botvinnik is
well prepared and wins the endgame anyway.
[Event "Russia"] [Site "Match, Moscow"] [Date "1960.01.10" ] [Result "0-1"]
GAME 5
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"
ECO "B18"
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.N1e2 Nf6
7.h4 h6 8.Nf4 Bh7 9.Bc4 e6 10.O-O Bd6 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Bxe6 Qc7
13.Re1 Nbd7 14.Bg8 Kf8 15.Bxh7 Rxh7 16.Nf5 g6 17.Bxh6+ Kg8
18.Nxd6 Qxd6 19.Bg5 Re7 20.Qd3 Kg7 21.Qg3 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Qxg3
23.fxg3 Rf8 24.c4 Ng4 25.d5 cxd5 26.cxd5 Ndf6 27.d6 Rf7 28.Rc1
Rd7 29.Rc7 Kf7 30.Bxf6 Nxf6 31.Kf2 Ke6 32.Rxd7 Kxd7 33.Kf3
Kxd6 34.Kf4 Ke6 35.g4 Nd5+ 36.Ke4 Nf6+ 37.Kf4 Nd5+ 38.Ke4 Nb4
39.a3 Nc6 40.h5 g5 41.h6 Kf6 42.Kd5 Kg6 43.Ke6 Na5 44.a4 Nb3
45.Kd6 a5 46.Kd5 Kxh6 47.Kc4 Nc1 48.Kb5 Nd3 49.b3 Nc1 50.Kxa5
Nxb3+ 51.Kb4 Nc1 52.Kc3 Kg6 53.Kc2 Ne2 54.Kd3 Nc1+ 55.Kc2 Ne2
56.Kd3 Nf4+ 57.Kc4 Kf6 58.g3 Ne2 0-1
Tal plays Ngh5 like me, Botvinnik responds with ... Rg8 like Damian,
Botvinnik draws the endgame
[Event "Russia"] [Site "Match, Moscow (5)"] [Date "1960.01.06" ]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
GAME 6
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"
[ECO "B18"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.N1e2 e6 7.h4
h6 8.Nf4 Bh7 9.Bc4 Nf6 10.Qe2 Bd6 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.Ngh5 Nxh5
13.Nxh5 Rg8 14.g4 Qc7 15.g5 Bg6 16.O-O-O O-O-O 17.Ng3 hxg5
18.Bxg5 Bf4+ 19.Bxf4 Qxf4+ 20.Qe3 Qh6 21.Bd3 Bxd3 22.Rxd3 Nb6
23.Qxh6 gxh6 24.Rf3 f5 25.Re1 Rd6 26.c3 Rg4 27.Ne2 Nd5 28.Rh1
Rd8 29.Rg3 Rxg3 30.fxg3 Rg8 31.Kd2 Rg4 32.Ke1 Kd7 33.Kf2 Re4
34.Re1 Kd6 35.Nc1 Rxe1 36.Kxe1 c5 37.Ke2 cxd4 38.cxd4 Nf6
39.Kd3 Nh5 40.Ne2 e5 41.a4 Nf6 42.dxe5+ Kxe5 43.b4 1/2-1/2
Page 3
Feb. 2012
UON 30
Tal plays his famous 5 gf against Botvinnik's Caro-Kann.
Tal made Chess fun.
[Event "Russia"] [Site "Match, Moscow (3)"] [Date "1960.01.04" ]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
GAME 7
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"
ECO "B11"
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.gxf3 e6 6.d4 Nd7 7.Bf4
Bb4 8.h4 Ngf6 9.e5 Nh5 10.Bg5 Qa5 11.Bd2 Qb6 12.a3 Be7 13.Be3
g6 14.Na4 Qd8 15.Qd2 Ng7 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bxh6 Nf5 18.Bf4 Rxh4
19.Rxh4 Nxh4 20.O-O-O b5 21.Nc5 Nxc5 22.dxc5 Bxc5 23.Be2 Be7
24.Kb1 Qc7 25.Rh1 O-O-O 26.Bg3 Nf5 27.Rh7 Rf8 28.Bf4 Qd8
29.Bd3 Rh8 30.Rxh8 Qxh8 31.Qa5 Qh1+ 32.Ka2 Qxf3 33.Qa6+ Kb8
34.Qxc6 Qxf4 35.Bxb5 Qxe5 36.Qe8+ Kb7 37.Qc6+ Kb8 1/2-1/2
Tal fakes left, dodges right. He brings a Knight to f4 against Botvinnik's
Caro-Kann but trades on g6 instead of saccing on e6. Tal wins.
[Event "Russia"] [Site "Match, Moscow (15)"] [Date "1960.01.18" ] [Result "1-0"]
GAME 8
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"
[ECO "B18"]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Bc4 e6
7.N1e2 Nf6 8.Nf4 Bd6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.O-O Qa5 12.f4
O-O-O 13.a3 Qc7 14.b4 Nb6 15.Be2 Be7 16.Qd3 Nfd5 17.Bxe7 Qxe7
18.c4 Nf6 19.Rab1 Qd7 20.Rbd1 Kb8 21.Qb3 Qc7 22.a4 Rh4 23.a5
Nc8 24.Qe3 Ne7 25.Qe5 Rhh8 26.b5 cxb5 27.Qxb5 a6 28.Qb2 Rd7
29.c5 Ka8 30.Bf3 Nc6 31.Bxc6 Qxc6 32.Rf3 Qa4 33.Rfd3 Rc8
34.Rb1 Qxa5 35.Rb3 Qc7 36.Qa3 Ka7 37.Rb6 Qxf4 38.Ne2 Qe4
39.Qb3 Qd5 40.Rxa6+ Kb8 41.Qa4 1-0
Page 4
Feb. 2012
UON 30
Feb. 2012
Tal switches to the Advance Variation of the Caro-Kann and crushes Botvinnik in 29 moves. Tal sticks
with 3 e5 the rest of the return match.
[Event "match"] [Site "Ch World , Moscow (Russia) (8)"] [Date "1961.01.09" ] [Result "1-0"]
GAME 9
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"
ECO "B12"
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.Qg4 Nc6 6.Nf3 Qc7 7.Bb5
Bd7 8.Bxc6 Qxc6 9.Be3 Nh6 10.Bxh6 gxh6 11.Nbd2 Qxc5 12.c4
O-O-O 13.O-O Kb8 14.Rfd1 Qb6 15.Qh4 a5 16.Rac1 Rg8 17.Nb3 a4
18.c5 Qc7 19.Nbd4 Rc8 20.b4 axb3 21.axb3 Qd8 22.Qxd8 Rxd8
23.b4 Rg4 24.b5 Rc8 25.c6 Be8 26.Rc2 Bg7 27.Ra1 Bxe5 28.Nxe5
Rxd4 29.Nd7+ 1-0
Tal plays Ngh5 like I did against Damian Nash but Botvinnik castles Kingside
this time. Tal is victorious over the Classical Caro-Kann again.
[Event "match"] [Site "Ch World , Moscow (Russia) (2)"] [Date "1961.01.03" ] [Result "1-0"]
GAME 10
White "Mikhail Tal"
Black "Mikhail Botvinnik”
ECO "B18"
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Bc4 e6
7.N1e2 Nf6 8.Nf4 Bd6 9.O-O Nd5 10.Ngh5 O-O 11.Bb3 Nd7 12.Nxg6
hxg6 13.Ng3 Qh4 14.Qd3 Rad8 15.Re1 N7f6 16.h3 Bf4 17.c3 b6
18.Qf3 Bxc1 19.Raxc1 Qf4 20.Qe2 c5 21.Rcd1 Qc7 22.dxc5 bxc5
23.Ne4 Nxe4 24.Qxe4 Nf6 25.Qe2 Rxd1 26.Rxd1 Rd8 27.Rxd8+ Qxd8
28.Bc4 Qb8 29.Qd2 Qc7 30.Bf1 Kf8 31.b4 cxb4 32.cxb4 Nd5 33.a3
Qc3 34.Qg5 Qf6 35.Qg3 Qf4 36.Qd3 Qc1 37.a4 Kg8 38.a5 Qe1
39.Qd4 a6 40.b5 axb5 41.a6 Qa5 42.a7 b4 43.Bc4 f6 44.Bb5 b3
45.Qa4 1-0
Page 5
UON 30
Tal plays my first 10 moves then 10 0-0 Bd6 11 Ne6 repeating his 1960 Botvinnik
Ne6 sac 18 years later.
[Event "Bugojno"] [Site "Bugojno"] [Date "1978.02.26" ] [Round "1"] [Result "1/2-1/2"]
Annotator "Joe Eversole Variation of the English Opening"[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"][EventCountry "YUG"][EventCategory "14"][Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01" ]
GAME 11
White "Tal, Mihail" 2625
Black "Vukic, Milan" 2480
[ECO "B18"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Bc4 e6 7. N1e2 Nf6 8.
h4 h6 9. Nf4 Bh7 10. O-O Bd6 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. Bxe6 Qc7 13. Nh5 Rf8 14. c4 Bg6
15. Ng3 Nbd7 16. c5 Bxg3 17. fxg3 Nd5 18. Re1 O-O-O 19. Qg4 Bf7 20. Bxd5 Bxd5
21. Bf4 h5 22. Qg5 Qa5 23. Re2 Qa4 24. Rd2 Rde8 25. Qxg7 Qc4 26. Qg6 Re2 27.
Qd6 Rxf4 28. Qxf4 Bxg2 29. b3 Qe6 30. Rxe2 Qxe2 31. Qf2 Qxf2+ 32. Kxf2 Bh3 33.
Re1 Kd8 34. Kf3 Nf8 35. Re5 Bg4+ 36. Ke4 Nh7 37. Kf4 Kd7 38. d5 cxd5 39. Rxd5+
Kc6 40. Ke5 Nf8 41. b4 Nd7+ 42. Kd4 Kb5 43. a3 Nb8 44. Rg5 Nc6+ 45. Kc3 a5 46.
Rg7 axb4+ 47. axb4 Nd8 48. Rh7 b6 49. cxb6 Kxb6 50. Kc4 Nc6 51. Rg7 Be2+ 52.
Kc3 Bf3 53. Rg6 Bd1 54. Rg5 Be2 55. Rc5 Bg4 56. Rc4 Ne7 1/2-1/2
the End
Page 6
Feb. 2012
UON 30
Brian Wall vs. Damian Nash
from Brian Wall's Digest #2047 (March 31 2011)
[email protected]
Feb. 2012
by Brian Wall
Diagrams and raccoon added by the editor.
Editor’s note – The following game is mentioned in the previous article which is a collection of 11 Mikhail Tal games, selected
by Brian Wall for his Digest (#2047). Brian has indicated that Tal’s sacrificing style influenced this game. While making very
slight edits to this section for UON, Brian’s comments motivated me to add a few diagrams. - gkg
[Event "2011 Colorado Closed"] [Site "Manitou Springs City Hall, Col"]
[Date "2011.03.27" ] [Round "5"]
White "Brian Wall"
Black "Damian Nash
Result "1-0"
2049
2203
ECO "B18"
Time Control 40/2: G/1 5secdel
Annotator "Brian Wall"
Right before I made my first move Damian joked that all my pawn moves were equally possible
(because I've played them all in slow rated Chess ). That somehow gave me the idea of not playing a
pawn move at all and playing Damian's preferred move against him.
1. Nc3!!
That's what Damian was playing in the 2011 CO Closed as White.
Nobody makes me drink my own blood!
- Jeff Baffo quoted the movie Dodgeball when I played his favorite
1 Nc3 against Jeff, who wrote a book on the subject.
1 ... d5 2. e4 dxe4! 3. Nxe4! Bf5 4. Ng3! Bg6 5. h4 h6! 6. d4 e6 7. Bc4
XABCDEFGHY
8rsn-wqkvlntr(
7zppzp-+pzp-'
6-+-+p+lzp&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+LzP-+-zP$
3+-+-+-sN-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1tR-vLQmK-sNR!
xabcdefghy
Page 7
UON 30
Feb. 2012
I didn't have the patience that day for an h5 quart grip positional endgame squeeze I wanted sac-sac-mate
7 ... Nf6! 8. N1e2!!
A half century ago in 1961 I learned to play Chess and Tal tried to sacrifice a piece on e6 against
Botvinnik's Caro-Kann in a World Championship match. This plan is very well known - Damian has tried it
himself as White - the idea is a Knight or Bishop on e6 makes it difficult for Black to castle. Botvinnik had
anticipated such an event and prepared himself well.
8 ... c6 [TN Nash] 7 minutes spent. Theoretical Novelty by Damian Nash, transposing into a
standard Caro-Kann. 8 ... c5? was played once. 8 ... Bd6! was played once. I was planning 9 Nf4!! Bh7 10
d5!! after 8 ... c5? 8 ... Bd6 was OK.
9. Nf4 played 97 times
9 ... Bh7! played 106 times
10. O-O!
XABCDEFGHY
8rsn-wqkvl-tr(
7zpp+-+pzpl'
6-+p+psn-zp&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+LzP-sN-zP$
3+-+-+-sN-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1tR-vLQ+RmK-!
xabcdefghy
10 minutes spent; played 132 times, including Tal-Botvinnik 1960; 10 Qe2 played 122 times, including
Tal-Botvinnik 1960 and Tartakower-Flohr 1933; 10 c3 played 85 times including Goglidze-Makogonov
1939
10 ... Nd5 6 minutes spent, played 37 times; 10 ... Bd6!! played 82 times and then
Tal played 11 Ne6 twice. I wanted to play 10 Be6!? or Ne6!? before Damian blocked me with
10 ... Nd5 but they didn't look like sound sacs so I made a preparatory move. 10 Be6!? has been tried
thrice with mixed result.
11. Re1!!
5 minutes spent; played 5 times. 11 Ngh5! played once. 11 Qg4! played 13 times
11 Qf3 unplayed. 11 c3 played once. 11 Bd5 played 15 times. 11 h5 played 3 times. 11 Qe2 played
once. 11 Bd3 unplayed. 11 Nd5 played once. My idea was to rip Damian apart after a two pawn sac Page 8
UON 30
Feb. 2012
11 Re1!! N:f4 12 B:f4 Q:h4 13 Qf3 B:c2? 13 d5!! g5 14 Bb8. Another killer idea is 11 Re1!! N:f4 12 B:f4
Q:h4 13 Nh5 g6? 14 d5!! The whole line is very dangerous for Black
11 ... Be7?
[TN Nash] 8 minutes spent. Theoretical Novelty by Damian Nash. The problem for
Damian is 10 ... Nd5 is slightly inferior and 11 ... Be7 is slightly inferior and if you add them up together,
he's in trouble. 11 ... Nf4 played 3 times. 11 ... Qh4 played once.
12. Ngh5!
[TN Wall] Theoretical Novelty by Brian Wall. 5 minutes spent. Starting here I am under
the delusion the position is even and I am just trying to find a good move but in reality Damian's game
completely sucks and I have winning options every move. A kibizter around age 40 with a beard after
the game told me he liked Bd5 and Qh5 ideas. Best is 12 Qg4!! Rg8 13 Bd5!! cd 14 Qh5!! g6 15 Qh6! so
that kibitzer was right on!
12 Bd5! was played twice including once by Katarina Rohonyan who visited Denver and played everyone
speed Chess. I did a few emails on her. 12 h5 was played once. My other Knight to h5 is good too.
I was obsessed with saccing on e6 so I was hoping Damian would allow 12 Ngh5 g6 13 Ng7+ Kd7 14
N-either:e6 winning.
On 12 Ngh5 0-0 13 Ng7!? Kg7 14 Qh5! or 14 Bd5!! ed 15 Nh5+ Kh8 18 Bh6 Rg8 19 Qf3 are interesting but
much better is 12 Ngh5 0-0 13 Qg4!! ( Bf6 or g6 ) 14 Ne6!! with other wins possible too.
12 ... Rg8!
13 minutes spent
Damian plays the best move but I am in a murderous mood and the fact that he can't castle Kingside
now only fuels my rage that much more.
13. Rxe6!!!
XABCDEFGHY
8rsn-wqk+r+(
7zpp+-vlpzpl'
6-+p+R+-zp&
5+-+n+-+N%
4-+LzP-sN-zP$
3+-+-+-+-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1tR-vLQ+-mK-!
xabcdefghy
11 minutes spent. One of the best moves of my life, it takes Rybka days to agree this move is first or
second best. It's first ranking is 26th. It's fun to watch it slowly rise.
Page 9
UON 30
Feb. 2012
Damian analyzed ways to decline my Rook but there are no real "Peace with Honor"options- I've
removed his bulwark, his best pawn. If I get to retreat my Rook to e1 or sac on e7 I must be better.
Factors in favor of my Rook sac in case you ever get the nerve to try this
yourself:
A - undeveloped Rook on a8
B - undeveloped Knight on b8
C- undeveloped Queen on d8
D - undeveloped King on e8
E - A Rook who has lost his Castling priviliges on g8
F - A knight on d5 that can be traded or chased away by c4
His Bishops are OK
G - I will pick up ALL his Kingside pawns
H - Damian's King will be on the run from all my pieces with only three pawns left to protect him if he
can scramble under heavy fire to the Queenside.
I - The b7-pawn is unprotected - in some lines I chase his King to b6, then attack with Nc5 and Qb3
J - one weird factor - if Damian tries to seize the initiative with ... g5 I might have Re6:h6 hitting the
Peekaboo Bishop on h7
K - I have 4 Queenside pawns to open lines against Damian's three Queenside pawns if it comes down to
that.
L - I might get three connected passed Kingside pawns for the endgame
M - I can throw my Kingside pawns at Damian if he runs there
N - The best possible compensation for not winning the tournament
O - Spectators: Everyone
P - Other good moves: 13 Bd2, Qg4, a3, b3, a4, c3, Qe2, Qf3, Bd3, Bd5, Bb3,
Bf1, Ne6, Kh1, g3, Rb1, Re2, b4, Nd5, Be3, Ng3, Qd2, Nd3, Be2 et. al.
There is no shortage of good moves but none have my same spectacular effect.
Q - Larry Turner's
13 Ne6!? fe 14 Nf4!! is good too
R - Ron Rossi -did your rook sac work? -Facebook
S- Some ideas are so pretty you have to play them whether they work or not.- Eric Montany
T -Scott F Massey –Facebook Sweet game Brian nice rook sac. That's your happy birthday sac and game.
U-Larry Alan Turner Most of us mere mortals would've played Nxe6, but the Rook sac seals the deal.
Great game Brian, good to see you in fine form! LT - Facebook
V-Anthea Carson, I'm going to do a hubpage on this game- Facebook
W-Ted Doykos called me just to get the score.
X -Kevin Seidler - one sided crush
Y- If it takes a computer days to recognize my genius imagine poor Damian trying to figure out a defense
in a noisy, crowded room.
Z - I was aiming for an e6-sac on move 4 and I finally got my wish.
The strange part was I didn't know I had a good position with many options, I thought I was
overreaching in an equal position. I didn't really consider many options, I somehow immediately zeroed
in on the Rook sac and tried to make it work in my mind. 4 pawns plus a frightened King seemed plenty
of comp to me.
Page 10
UON 30
Feb. 2012
13 ... fxe6
36 minutes spent under the watchful eye of the entire congregation. Damian spent a lot of time trying
to decline the sac. That also loses.
13 ... Nd7 14 Nd5
13 ... Nb6 14 Qg4
13 ... b5 14 Nd5
13 ... Na6 14 Nd5
13 ... Qd7 14 Nd5
13 ... Nb4 14 Re5
13 ... a5 14 Nd5
13 ... Nc7 14 Re5
“A raccoon once attacked my brother
13 ... Kd7 14 Nd5
Bill's border collies… My rook is like
13 ... Qc8 14 Nd5
that raccoon…” – B.W.
13 ... Bf5 14 Bd5
A raccoon once attacked my brother Bill's border collies in his back yard. Bill yelled at that raccoon and
kicked him as hard as he could. The raccoon didn't budge. The Raccoon just stared at him for a while
then very slowly backed off.
My Rook is like that Racoon. He doesn't scare off easy, he's not eager to leave the premises, he doesn't
scatter at the first sign of trouble.
Even if I do retreat my Rook to e1 I have a great game.
I think I spent most of my time wondering what was best after 13 Re6 Nf4 I could just bail out with 14
Re7+! Qe7 15 Bf4 with a pawn plus plenty of compensation for the exchange 14 B:f4! fe 15 B:e6 Rf8??
16 Ng7 checkmate had a certain appeal. Also 14 Nf4!! fe 15 Qh5+! g6 16 Qh6!! looked very good,
harassing his Kingside. 14 Nf4!! fe 15 Qh5+! Kd7 16 Ne6!! was impossible for me to evaluate but
interesting to look at.
I hadn't decided which one to use,I was probably leaning towards the weakest one,
14 Bf4! fe 15 Be6! g5! and now 16 Bg3!!, Qg4!!, Be5!, hg! or Bh2! are all stronger than grabbing the
Rook.
It is very common when attacking to preserve an aggressive minor piece over a passive Rook.
14. Nxe6 Qc8?
This move shocked me. I reckoned c8 was the only safe square for Damian's King and now he puts his
Queen there. I imagined the tsunami destroyed Japanese airport roof collapsing with Damian blocking
the only exit. His King is dodging huge slabs of concrete without any place to hide. It's the worst square
for the Queen. Damian wanted to reenter the game via f5 but my g7-Knight has that covered. I thought
14 Ne6 Qd6 15 Nhg7+ Kd7 was his only hope. After thinking for a day Rybka decides that 16 Bd3!! or
Bh6!! wins for me. I was thinking if Damian went Queenside I could move my King's-Bishop and play c4
to drive the d5-Knight away. I was thinking more Bb3 than Bd3. I tried to calculate 14 Ne6 Qd6 15 Nhg7+
Kd7 16 Qg4 Kc8 17 Nc5+ or Bh6. I think what scared Damian away from the best defense is
14 Ne6 Qd6 15 Nhg7+ Kd7 16 Bf4 Nf4 17 Nc5+ Kc7 18 Bg8 and he might barely survive the imponderable
Page 11
UON 30
Feb. 2012
18 ... Qg6!!, certainly not a comfortable continuation to enter willingly. All Queen moves ultimately lose.
14. Nxe6 Qa5 15 Nhg7+ Kd7 16 Bd2!! is very strong
14. Nxe6 Qb6 15 Nhg7+ Kd7 16 Qg4!! is a brutal crossfire
14. Nxe6 Qd7 15 Nhg7+ Kd7 16 Qf3+ Bf6 17 Bh6 is similar to the game. With no pawn protection his
King is dead meat on the Kingside.
Damian can answer Nhg7+ with ... Rg7 Ng7+ K-any Bh6, but then I have 4 pawns for a piece plus a raging
attack.
15. Nhxg7+
XABCDEFGHY
8rsnq+k+r+(
7zpp+-vl-sNl'
6-+p+N+-zp&
5+-+n+-+-%
4-+LzP-+-zP$
3+-+-+-+-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1tR-vLQ+-mK-!
xabcdefghy
5 minutes spent
15 ... Kf7?
Another surprise, first the worst square for his Queen and now the worst square for his King. Sacrificial
shock, shock and awe, Kasparov's Attacker's Advantage, whatever you want to call it. I thought Damian
would scurry to his few remaining Queenside pawns for cover but he runs into the street naked with his
head bleeding. 15 ... Kd7!! 16 B:h6!! is way better for me and I have twice the compensation I need for a
piece after 15 ... Rg7+! 16 Ng7+ Kf7 17 Bh6!!
16. Bxh6!
I struggled with a moral dilemma for 6 minutes. My move is very strong because it:
A - frees my Rook
B - guards my g7-Knight
C - opens up g5 for a devastating Knight check
The only part that bothered me is I asked myself — would a computer worry about a pawn here?
The truth is Rybka wants that pawn too, she just want to check first to limit Damian's options.
Page 12
UON 30
Feb. 2012
She prefers 16 Qf3+!! Bf6 17 Bh6!! Or 16 Qh5+!! Bg6 17 Qf3+ Bf6 18 Bh6. I also considered 16 Bd5! cd 17
Qh5+ Bg6 and now 18 Qf3+!! Bf6 19 Bh6!! is much better than what I almost played 16 Bd5! cd 17 Qh5+
Bg6 18 Qd5?? Rg7=
16 ... Bf6!
It's just getting worse and worse for poor Damian. I have 4 pawns plus a much safer King for an
undeveloped Knight after 16 ... Rg7!! 17 Ng7! Kg8! 18 Qh5!! or Qf3!! or Qe2!!
17. Qf3!!
17 Qh5+!! Bg6 18 Qf3!! is an interesting attempt to make Damian self-block retreat squares.
I had a fantasy variation: 17 Qh5+!! Bg6 18 Bd5?? Bh5!! 19 Ng5+ Kg6! 20 Bf7+ Kh6 21 Nf5 (I announce a
minor piece checkmate ) Qf5! Oops — 17 Ng5+!! is another Super-Killer: 17 Ng5+!! Bg5+ 18 Qf3+!! Bf6
19 Bd5+!! cd 20 Q:d5+!! Kf8! 21 Nf5+!! Rg7! 22 B:g7+! Bg7! 23 Qd6+!! Kg8 24 Ne7+! wins the Queen.
I'm human, all my pieces like to be present for the hanging.
17 ... Rxg7!!
The only way to stop the horrendous 18 Ng5+!! driving Damian's King into the open
18. Nxg7!!
This is where Ted Doykos says:
“I wasn't sure about your Rook sac but when I looked back at your
game all your pieces around his King were like a team of octopi linking
tentacles for a game of Red Rover.”
18 ... Qd8!!
19. Re1!!
to guard d5.
11 minutes left for 22 moves to survive this hideous position
XABCDEFGHY
8rsn-wq-+-+(
7zpp+-+ksNl'
6-+p+-vl-vL&
5+-+n+-+-%
4-+LzP-+-zP$
3+-+-+Q+-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1+-+-tR-mK-!
xabcdefghy
Invite everyone to the partyGM Yasser Sierawan
My idea was to prevent 19 ... Kg8 20 Re8+.
Page 13
Come back here, I'm not done with you.
UON 30
Feb. 2012
19 ... b5
Delirious. 10 minutes left.
20. Bb3!
I looked at 20 Ne6!!! or Re8!!! for 6 minutes but I couldn't determine which was best.
Computer humor: 20 Ne6!! Qd7 21 Ng5+!! Kg6 22 Bf8!! mating Bg5 23 h5 pawn checkmate two Knights
down. I was just praying my minimal Chess skills would get the job done in a simple way.
20 ... a5
Delusional. 9 minutes left.
I have 49 minutes.
21. Ne6!! Qd7! 22. Nf4!!
This move is so powerful that the only temporary defense to mate is 22 ... Qf5!! 23 g4!!
and let me take his Queen next move. I told Damian I was +9 here but I am really +20 already.
Further proof I underestimated my position right to the end.
22 ... Ra7
Battle fatigue.
7 minutes left.
23. Qh5+!! Mating
XABCDEFGHY
8-sn-+-+-+(
7tr-+q+k+l'
6-+p+-vl-vL&
5zpp+n+-+Q%
4-+-zP-sN-zP$
3+L+-+-+-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1+-+-tR-mK-!
xabcdefghy
23…
Kg8!
This is going to get tricky. - Damian Nash
24. Re8+! Qxe8! 25. Qxe8# 1-0
Page 14
UON 30
Feb. 2012
XABCDEFGHY
8-sn-+Q+k+(
7tr-+-+-+l'
6-+p+-vl-vL&
5zpp+n+-+-%
4-+-zP-sN-zP$
3+L+-+-+-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1+-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy
Final Position
Happy Birthday. That was cool.
- Damian Nash, while shaking my hand.
What happened [in] this game? I was boiling mad due to all my missed opportunities, both earlier
and during the Colorado Closed. When Damian played a Caro-Kann setup I immediately thought of Tal
and wanted to sac-sac-mate on e6. I had no idea the first 11 moves were book, I had a very vague
memory of Tal-Botvinnik guiding me. I was so determined to sac, soundly or unsoundly, I didn't even
notice what a great position I had. I believe my "unsound in my own mind" Rook sac was actually
brilliant and best. Damian was faced with the impossible task of defending against a homicidal maniac
plus a hopeless position. While Damian feverishly tried to come up with a defense I let my imagination
run hog wild and invented all kinds of fantasy checkmates. I didn't know it was all good so I was
exhilarated when I won, thinking I had pulled off a great feat, the best game of my life. I was truly
shocked when it turned out it wasn't the great even battle I envisioned in my mind, it was a one-sided
route. If Damian had chosen other plans there is a good chance it would have become a great even
battle because there is no way I could see all the best attacking moves any more than Damian could find
all the best defensive moves. The problem for Damian is, he goes wrong, he goes home in a box, I go
wrong, I lose a long endgame. He was much more at risk.
Whatever the final judgment the game was a thrill of a lifetime. It more than made up for any Chess
losses ever.
End
Page 15
UON 30
Smith-Morra
Feb. 2012
ECO B21 – Gary Gifford
Gifford - DRrenard [B21] g/15 11.11.2010 Analysis by Fritz 10, with a few comments by me.
The Smith-Morra is not “Unorthodox,” but as stated in the intro, I have had no articles submitted to me for this UON.
using this as a little filler material.
So, I am
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Bc4 d6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Qe2 g6 8.0–0 Bg7 9.Rd1 Bg4 [Dia.1]
Position after
9. ...Bg4
XABCDEFGHY
8r+-wqk+-tr(
7zpp+-zppvlp'
6-+nzp-snp+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+L+P+l+$
3+-sN-+N+-#
2PzP-+QzPPzP"
1tR-vLR+-mK-!
xabcdefghy
In the quick game I usually like to have played h3 to stop this pin. I really hate having this knight pinned.
10.Bf4 Bxf3 11.gxf3 Friends recommend recapturing with the queen.
But I like to have the f-pawn
protect e4 and free up the g-file for a later attack. 11...e5 12.Bg5 0–0 13.Nd5 Nd4 An exchange sac,
Rook for Knight.The Knight seemed to be a bit too powerful and too close to home. 14.Rxd4 exd4
15.Rd1 h6 Diagram 2.
Position after
15. ... h6
Page 16
XABCDEFGHY
8r+-wq-trk+(
7zpp+-+pvl-'
6-+-zp-snpzp&
5+-+N+-vL-%
4-+LzpP+-+$
3+-+-+P+-#
2PzP-+QzP-zP"
1+-+R+-mK-!
xabcdefghy
UON 30
Feb. 2012
Encouraging the Bishop to vacate the premises or exchange itself. It decides to go peacefully. 16.Bh4
[16.Nxf6+!? Bxf6 17.Bxh6µ] 16...g5–+ 17.Bg3 Nxd5 18.Bxd5 Rb8 19.f4 b6 [19...gxf4 20.Bxf4 Kh8
21.Qg4–+] 20.Kh1µ Diagram 3.
Position after
20. Kh1
XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-wq-trk+(
7zp-+-+pvl-'
6-zp-zp-+-zp&
5+-+L+-zp-%
4-+-zpPzP-+$
3+-+-+-vL-#
2PzP-+QzP-zP"
1+-+R+-+K!
xabcdefghy
After 20. Kh1. Fritz's recommendation of 20....gxf4!? gives Black the advantage. 20...Qe7 [20...gxf4!?
21.Bxf4 Qf6µ] 21.Rg1 Kh8 [¹21...Rfc8 22.fxg5 hxg5=] 22.Qh5 [22.fxg5 f5 (‹22...Qxg5 23.Bxd6 Qh4
24.f4± (‹24.Bxb8 Rxb8 25.Qf3 Be5²) ) 23.gxf6 Qxf6²] 22...f6?? Diagram
gives the opponent new chances [¹22...Rbc8–+] 23.f5= White wins space 23...Rbd8 [23...Rfc8 24.Qd1=]
24.h4 [24.Qd1 Qc7²]
24...Qe8 Black threatens to win material: Qe8xh5 25.Qf3 [25.Qe2 Rc8²] 25...h5 [25...Qb5 26.Qh5=]
26.hxg5 [¹26.Qd1!?±] 26...fxg5= White has a new protected passed pawn: f5. Black has a new passed
pawn: h5 27.Kg2 [¹27.Bf4 g4 28.Qg3=] 27...Be5?? "Black lets it slip away"- Fritz. Black anticipates
Bxe5.... but... [¹27...Rf6µ]
Position after
27. …Be5
Page 17
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-trqtr-mk(
7zp-+-+-+-'
6-zp-zp-+-+&
5+-+LvlPzpp%
4-+-zpP+-+$
3+-+-+QvL-#
2PzP-+-zPK+"
1+-+-+-tR-!
xabcdefghy
UON 30
28.Rh1+-
Feb. 2012
h4?? Diagram
Position after
28…. h4??
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-trqtr-mk(
7zp-+-+-+-'
6-zp-zp-+-+&
5+-+LvlPzp-%
4-+-zpP+-zp$
3+-+-+QvL-#
2PzP-+-zPK+"
1+-+-+-+R!
xabcdefghy
Fritz states, “Shortens the misery for Black” [¹28...Rd7 29.Bc6 g4+-] 29.Bxh4! Mate attack 29...gxh4
[29...gxh4 30.Rxh4+ Mate attack; 29...-- 30.Bxg5+ Mate threat] 30.Rxh4+ Kg7 31.Qg4+ Kf6 32.Rh6+
[32.Rh7 Rg8 33.Rh6+ Ke7 34.f6+ Bxf6 35.Rh7+ Rg7 36.Rxg7+ Kf8 37.Rg8+ Ke7 38.Qe6#] 32...Ke7
33.f6+! Mate attack 33...Bxf6 [33...Bxf6 34.Qe6# Mate attack; 33...Rxf6 34.Rh7+ Mate attack; 33...-34.-- Mate attack] 34.Qe6# Diagram
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-trqtr-+(
7zp-+-mk-+-'
6-zp-zpQvl-tR&
5+-+L+-+-%
4-+-zpP+-+$
3+-+-+-+-#
2PzP-+-zPK+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
1–0
Page 18
Final Position
UON 30
Smith-Morra 2 - White "Gifford"
Black "Attractor"
[TimeControl "900+0" (15 minutes each)]
[WhiteElo "1860"]
[Date "2012-01-10"]
Feb. 2012
[BlackElo "1767"]
[Result "1-0"]
1.e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 d3
Attractor declines the gambit, though theory states it is fine to take the pawn. When I have Black against the
Smith-Morra I also play 3…d3.
4. Bxd3 Nc6 5. Ne2 d6 6. O-O e6 7. Kh1 Nf6 8. f4 Qc7 9. Nd2 Be7 10. Nf3 …
After my 10. Nf3 the FICS Annotator application rates the position as dead even.
10. … O-O 11. Be3 a6 12. h3 b5 13. Rc1 Bb7
14. Ned4 Nxd4 15. cxd4 Qd7 16. e5 Nd5
17. Bd2 Rac8 18. Bb1 dxe5 19. fxe5 Bb4
Page 19
UON 30
Feb. 2012
Black would like to trade off the dark-squared Bishops. The FICS Annotator application states that the following
is better as it leads to a slight plus for Black (0.53) 19. ... Rxc1 20. Bxc1 f5 21. exf6 Nxf6 22. Ne5 Qd5 23. Qc2
Ne4 24. Rxf8+ Kxf8 25. Be3 a5 26. Bf2 Kg8 {=+}. Though I think it is unlikely that we would have played that
many moves the same as shown in the analysis string.
20. Bxb4 Nxb4 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Ng5 h6 23. Rxf7
These types of moves are amongst my favorite, that is, a piece (such as the Knight here) is under attack, but the
attack is ignored. So, I attack the Queen with the Rook while winning a pawn and putting the Black King in a
slightly worse position. And here Black gets a nice idea. He thinks, “Bishop takes g2, check. King takes g2.
Then Queen d5 check, King moves and h-pawn takes Knight with the King ready to capture the Rook.” But, he
overlooks something.
23….Bxg2+ 24. Kxg2 Qc6+ 25. Be4…
Page 20
UON 30
This Bishop move foils Blacks plan.
Feb. 2012
However, as the FICS Annotator points out, after my 25. Be4 there is 25….
hxg5 26. Bxc6 Kxf7 27. Qh5+ Ke7 28. Qxg5+ Kf7 29. Be4 Kf8 30. Qg4 Re8 31. Qf4+ Kg8 32. Bb7 Nxa2 33.
Bxa6 {+-} Instead we see:
25. … Qc1 26. Bh7+ Kh8 27. Qxc1
And here Black resigns because after the forced 27. … Kh8 I will play 28.QxQ and if
the Black Rook recaptures there is Rf8 mate. 1-0
Smith-Morra 3 - White "Gifford"
Black "Louisbed"
[TimeControl "900+0"(15 minutes each)]
[WhiteElo "1874"]
[Date "2012-01-21"]
[BlackElo "1854"]
[Result "1-0"]
1.e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nf3 a6 7. Qe2 d6 8. O-O Be7 9. Rd1 Qc7
10. Bf4 e5
Page 21
UON 30
Feb. 2012
Despite being a pawn down, the FICS Annotator likes White better here by +1.11.
11. Nd5 Qd8 12. Be3 Bg4 13. Bb6 Qc8 14. Nc7+ Kf8 15. Nxa8 Qxa8
16. h3 Bh5 17. g4 Bg6 18. h4…
Instead of 18. h4, the FICS Annotator suggests:
18. Bc7 h5 19. g5 Qc8 20. Bxd6 Bxd6 21. Rxd6 Qxh3 22. Nd2
Nd4 23. Qe3 Qg4+ 24. Kh1 Ke7 25. Rb6 Qh4+ 26. Kg1 {+-}
18. … h6 19. h5 Bh7 20. Rac1 Qc8 21. Nh2 Nf6 22. Bd5 Qd7 23. f3 Nxd5 24. exd5 Bg5
25. dxc6 bxc6 26. Rc3 Bd8 27. Bc5 Bc7 28. Qd2 Ke7 29. Re1 Ke6 (Diagram)
For this game the FICS Annotator went wild with enough
analytical comments for both sides to fill a chapter in a
book. I will only mention that I find it very interesting to
see the Black King venture out into the front lines of the
battlefield.
Page 22
UON 30
30. Bf2 f5 31. f4 e4 32. gxf5+ Bxf5 33. Rg3 Rg8
34. Nf3 c5 35. Nh4 Qc6 36. Nxf5 Kxf5
37. Rg6 Qb7 38. Qe2
Threatening Qg4#... but Black can play e3 to make an escape hole.
So, 38. Qd1 is a better move for White… but Black resigned at this point.
Smith-Morra 4 - White "Gifford" Black "geographic" WhiteElo "1903"
[TimeControl "900+0"(15 minutes each)] [Date "2011-12-17"]
1-0
[BlackElo "1873"
1.e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 d6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. O-O g6
7. Nxd4 Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nd2 Ne5 10. Bc2 a6 11. f4 Nc6
12. h3 Qc7 13. Rc1 e5 14. Ne2 d5 15. fxe5 Nxe5 16. exd5 Nxd5
17. Bd4 Ne7 18. Ne4 f5 19. Bb3+ Kh8 20. Ng5 N7c6
21. Nf4 h6 22. Nge6 Bxe6 23. Nxe6 Qd6
From the diagram White is ready for
some fun starting with 24. Nxg7.
24. Nxg7 Kxg7 25. Re1 Rfe8 26. Bxe5+
Page 23
{Black resigns} 1-0
Feb. 2012
UON 30
Colle vs. Dutch Defense
Feb. 2012
ECO A80– Gary Gifford
?
On December 29, 2012 I was invited to play in a small club tournament, which I happened to win 4-0. It was a
four round Swiss system, game in 1 hour. In regard to the game, neither the Colle nor the Dutch Defense are
“unorthodox.” But what is unorthodox is to play Colle moves, without deviation, against a Dutch. One must say
goodbye to the Colle, I think, when the Dutch Defense shows up.
Hillyer, Martin - Gifford, Gary [A80]
Perry, Ohio – CLUB TOURNAMENT, Dec. 29 2011; Round 4 of 4, Analysis by Fritz
Game in 1 Hour
1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 last book move 3...d5 4.Bd3 e6 5.Nbd2 Bd6 6.c3 Prevents intrusion on b4 [6.Ne5
0–0=] 6...0–0 7.Ne5 A classical outpost 7...Nbd7 8.Ndf3 [8.f4 Ne4 9.0–0 Rf6=] 8...c5 9.0–0 [9.Be2 Qc7
10.Nd3 Ne4³] 9...Ne4 [9...Qc7 10.Nxd7 Bxd7 11.b3³] 10.Nxd7= Bxd7 11.Qe2 [11.Ne5 Be8=] 11...c4
Black threatens to win material: c4xd3 [11...Qf6 12.Nd2µ] 12.Bc2³ Diagram
XABCDEFGHY
8r+-wq-trk+(
7zpp+l+-zpp'
6-+-vlp+-+&
5+-+p+p+-%
4-+pzPn+-+$
3+-zP-zPN+-#
2PzPL+QzPPzP"
1tR-vL-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy
Position after 12. ..Bc2
Colle vs. Dutch Defense
What I find interesting is that my opponent has no Kingside attack potential, no central action, and no Queenside
play. Prior to the game I already knew that Mr. Hillyer (author of Thomas Frere and the Brotherhood of Chess)
uses the Colle rigorously and faithfully, regardless of what Black plays — so I had a bit of an opening advantage
because I knew there was going to be a Colle vs. Dutch fight… and Mr. Hillyer did not. I believe a g3/Bg2 system
is the best medicine against the Dutch.
Page 24
UON 30
Another advantage of using the Dutch in this game was that of time.
55 minutes off of his clock. I only used 13 minutes from mine.
Feb. 2012
When the game ended my opponent used
12...Rf6 [12...Qf6³] 13.Bxe4? [13.Ne5 Rh6 14.g3 Bxe5 15.dxe5µ] 13...fxe4–+ 14.Nh4? [14.Ne5 Qc7 15.f4
exf3 16.Nxf3 Raf8µ] 14...Rh6 [14...g5!? seems even better 15.Qg4 h6 16.b3–+] 15.g3 Qg5 [15...Qf6
16.f4–+] 16.Ng2 [16.f4 Qd8–+] 16...Rf8 17.b3 [17.f4 Qg6–+] 17...b5 [17...Rf3 18.h4 Qg4 19.bxc4–+]
18.bxc4 [18.f4 Qg6–+] 18...bxc4 [18...Qf5 19.Ne1–+] 19.Rb1 [19.f4 Qg6–+] 19...Be8 [¹19...Rf3 20.h4
Qd8–+] 20.Rb7?? Diagram
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+ltrk+(
7zpR+-+-zpp'
6-+-vlp+-tr&
5+-+p+-wq-%
4-+pzPp+-+$
3+-zP-zP-zP-#
2P+-+QzPNzP"
1+-vL-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy
Fritz states, in regard to White’s 20. Rb7 “but even a better move would not have saved the game.” [¹20.f4
exf3! Decoy: f3 21.Rxf3–+] 20...Bh5 21.Qb2 [21.f3 there is nothing else anyway 21...Bxg3 22.hxg3 Bxf3
23.Qe1–+] 21...Bf3 22.Rxa7 Diagram
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-trk+(
7tR-+-+-zpp'
6-+-vlp+-tr&
5+-+p+-wq-%
4-+pzPp+-+$
3+-zP-zPlzP-#
2PwQ-+-zPNzP"
1+-vL-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy
22...Qg4 Instead of this Queen maneuver, I should have played the nice Rook sac, as Fritz points out. I did look at
it briefly, but the mate in 6 seemed a bit much for me at that point. I was really moving too fast, but one of the
reasons I was moving fast was that we were close to closing time for the building and I wanted to avoid adjourning
Page 25
UON 30
Feb. 2012
the game. Anyway, the better continuation is a nice forced mate in 6: [22...Rxh2 23.Kxh2 Qh5+ 24.Kg1 Qh3
25.Rxg7+ Kxg7 26.Qb7+ Kg8 27.Qxh7+ Kxh7 28.Nf4 Qh1#] However, I do manage to win four moves
quicker.
23.h4 [23.Qb7 there is nothing better in the position 23...Bxg2 24.Qxg7+ Qxg7 25.Rxg7+ Kxg7
26.Kxg2–+] 23...Qh3 24.Ne1
White’s last move saves the Knight and stops the mate on g2, but not the mate on h1.
[24.Rxg7+ doesn't get the bull off the ice 24...Kh8 25.Rxh7+ Rxh7 26.g4 Qxg2#] 24...Qh1# Diagram
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-trk+(
7tR-+-+-zpp'
6-+-vlp+-tr&
5+-+p+-+-%
4-+pzPp+-zP$
3+-zP-zPlzP-#
2PwQ-+-zP-+"
1+-vL-sNRmKq!
xabcdefghy
Final Position
0-1
Some may recall that I worked on a Krazy Kat/Old Hippo book with Davide Rozzoni and Bill Wall and might ask,
“Why didn’t you play the Krazy Kat against the Colle? There are two reasons, one is that I think it is actually
better to play a Dutch Defense against the Colle as Black should get better space control and have good chances of
a Kingside attack against a die-hard Colle player. Two, Marty has a copy of the Krazy Kat book and might have
expected the cat. He saw me do well with it in Manhattan and just might have expected it here. I preferred to
avoid any home preparation that he might have come up with… so I did not bring a cat to a dog fight, so to speak.
Page 26
UON 30
Feb. 2012
Krazy Kats, a.k.a. “du Chattel’s Defense”
& Drunken Knights
Edited by Gary Gifford
I thought I’d throw in a few Krazy Kat games and I remembered that Martin Gawne had a white 1. Nh3
game as did Noe van Hulst, those 1. Nh3 openings are often called “Drunken Knights” these days. They
are like White Krazy Kat’s (also known as Amar and Paris Openings). In addition, Davide Rozzoni had
included some Nh6 material in an e-mail, but had referred to the defense as “du Chattel’s opening
system.” In this and the following pages I will add a few of the e-mail elements, add a few diagrams,
and add a few of my own fairly recent Krazy Kats.
Davide created a blog regarding the Black 1…Nh6 defense.
The site includes diagrams.
Here is a link, which hopefully still works.
http://theamazingchessworld.blogspot.com/2011/12/more-on-du-chattels-system.html
Davide wrote:
Starting from 2005 to 2011, I have played about 30 tournament games where I played the du Chattel's
opening system involving an early Nh6 move as Black. Mostly my opponents were rated between 1450
and 2000. They played various White systems. Surprisingly none of them played the system I feared the
most: 1.e4 Nh6 2.d4 g6 3.h4!?
But should Black player be afraid of this position ? Well, I have analyzed the position with the support of
various chess engines, and the answer is "NO."
What follows are just a few lines
[Date "2011.12.17"]
[White "test"]
[Black "?"]
[ECO "B00"]
1. e4 Nh6 2. d4 g6 3. h4 c6
(3... f6 4. h5 g5 5. f4 (5. Bc4 c6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Bb3 d5) 5... g4 6. Ne2 c6 7. c4 e6 8. Nbc3 f5)
4. h5 d5 5. e5
(5. Bf4 f6 6. hxg6 hxg6 [Editor note: fxg6?? drops the Knight] 7. Qd2 g5 8. Be3 dxe4 9. Nc3 Bf5 10. Be2
(10. O-O-O e6 11.Nge2 Bb4)
10... Kf7 11. Bh5+ Kg7 12. O-O-O e6 13. f3)
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UON 30
Feb. 2012
5... c5 6.hxg6 hxg6 7. dxc5 Nc6 8. Bf4 Bg7 9. Nf3 Ng4 10. Rxh8+ Bxh8 11. Nc3 Qa5
I have added a diagram-gkg
XABCDEFGHY
8r+l+k+-vl(
7zpp+-zpp+-'
6-+n+-+p+&
5wq-zPpzP-+-%
4-+-+-vLn+$
3+-sN-+N+-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1tR-+QmKL+-!
xabcdefghy
Editor – And Fritz gives the position as +.52 in White’s favor after recommending 12. Qd2 Be6 13. Bb5 o-o-o.
In another brief e-mail Davide stated,
1.e4 Nh6 2.d4 g6 3.h4 d5!? is an untested suggestion of Maurits Wind.
After 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nc3 we have a kind of a strange Scandinavian.
XHGFEDCBAY
1RsNLmKQvL-tR!
2+PzP-+PzPP"
3-+-+-sN-+#
4zP-+-zP-+-$
5-+-+q+-+%
6snp+-+-+-&
7p+pzp-zppzp'
8tr-vlk+lsnr(
xhgfedcbay
Page 28
UON 30
Feb. 2012
I came across this game score in an e-mail of Martin Gawne’s concerning a White system (Paris, Amar, Drunken
Knight Opening).
Gawne,Martin P (1714)
Horne,George H (1906) 1-0
A00 Summer League (10 minutes), Barrow-in-Furness, 27/7/2011
1.Nh3 d5 2.g3 e5 3.d3 c5 4.f4 Nc6 5.Bg2 Nf6 6.O-O Bd6 7.fxe5 Bxe5 8.c3 Bg4 9.Bg5 Qd7 10.Nf4 Ne7
11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.h3 Bf5 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.e4 Ne3 15.Qe2 Nxf1 16.exf5+ Kf8 17.Qxf1 Re8 18.Nd2 Be5
19.Qf3 Qc7 20.Ne4 h5 21.Re1 h4 22.g4 Rh6 23.g5 Rb6 24.Qh5 Bg3? 25.f6 (missing 25.Qh8+ Ke7
26.Qxe8+! Kxe8 27.Nf6+ 28.Re8#) gxf6 26.gxf6 Rxf6 27.Qh8+! Ke7 28.Qxf6+ Kd7 29.Qxf7+ Re7 30.Qf5+
Kd8 31.Rf1 time 1-0
And the following moves were in an e-mail from Noe van Hulst, in which he also played the white side of
a Drunken Knight.
Retihippo (1819)
Elmothegreat (1847)
ICC (5 minutes), 21/7/2011
1.Nh3 d5 2.g3 e5 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb6 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Bg5!? Nxd4 9.Nc3 Be6 10.Nf4
0-0? 11.Nfxd5 Bxd5 12.Nxd5 Qd6 13.Nxf6:+ gxf6 14.Bh6 Rfd8 15.e3! Ne6 16.Qg4+ Kh8 17.Qh5 Qe7
18.Be4! Qc5? 19.Qxf7 f5 20.Bxf5 Rf8? 21.Qxh7 mate 1-0
And I also found this very recent game, again from Noe van Hulst.
Retihippo (1854)
Detoured (1821), ICC, 10 February 2012 (5 minutes p.p.):
1.Nh3 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 d6 4.f4 Nc6 5.d3 e5 6.0-0 Nge7
7.e4 0-0 8.Nc3 h6 9.f5!? gxf5 10.exf5 Nxf5 11.Qh5! Ncd4 12.g4?! Ne7?
13.Bxh6 Ng6 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Ng5 Black resigned
(If 15...Rh8, then 16.Rxf7+ and mate on the next) 1-0.
Something Strange (1. h4…) — And here is a strange “Kadas 1.h4” opening that ends up with a
Black knight on h6. I looked up Kadas and found that it has other names including The Desprez Opening , named
after the French player Marcel Desprez, "Anti-Borg Opening", "Samuri Opening", and "Reagan's Attack".
UCO player Quentin Mason wrote, in an e-mail that, “The Kadas is a very interesting opening. I think I
have put a game or two up here on this forum a while back. I'll send a couple more once I start the year
off with tournament play.”
Editor’s Note – In my copy of the e-mail, which is possibly a forward of a forwarded copy I only have Quentin’s brief note and
the following game moves.
Page 29
UON 30
Feb. 2012
To my [editor] knowledge UON has never had a Kadas game. And since this game has a knight going to
h6 I thought I’d put it in here. I will admit that I have yet to play over the game, but it does look
interesting from glancing at the moves.
1. h4 d5 2. h5 e5 3. h6 Nxh6 4. d4 e4 5. Bxh6 gxh6 6. e3 Bg7 7. Qh5 Be6 8. c4 dxc4 9. Qb5+ Bd7 10. Qxb7
Bc6 11. Qb4 Bd5 12. Bxc4 Nc6 13. Qc5 Ne7 14. Bxd5 Nxd5 15. Qc6+ Kf8 16. Nc3 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Rb8 18.
Qc5+ Kg8 19. Qxa7 c5 20. Qxc5 Rb2 21. a4 Qf6 22. Qc8+ Bf8 23. Nh3 h5 24. Nf4 h6 25. a5 Kh7 26. Rxh5
Rg8 27. a6 Bd6 28. Qh3 Bxf4 29. exf4 Qxf4 30. Rf5 Qd2+ 31. Kf1 Ra2 32. Rxf7+ Rg7 33. Qf5+ Kh8 34. Rf8+
Rg8 35. Qf6+ Kh7 36. Rf7+ 1-0
A Few Krazy Kats of Mine
White "FastButSloppy”
Black "Gifford"
[WhiteElo "2010"]
[BlackElo "1842"]
[TimeControl "900+0"]
[Date "2011-11-12"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[LongResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"]
1. c4 Nh6 2. e4 g6 3. Nc3 f6 4. g3 Nf7 5. Bg2 c6
6. d4 Bg7 7. Nf3 d6 8. O-O O-O 9. Be3 Nd7
10. Qe2 e5 11. d5 c5
12. b3 a6 13. Rfd1 Re8 14. Rac1 Nf8 15. a3 f5
16. b4 b6 17. h4 Nh6 18. h5 Ng4 19. hxg6 Nxg6
20. Bg5 Bf6 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. exf5 Bxf5 23. Nd2 h5
24. Nde4 {+0.71}
{Game drawn by mutual agreement} 1/2-1/2
Page 30
UON 30
Feb. 2012
[White "bibbet"]
[Black "Gifford"]
[WhiteElo "1925"]
[BlackElo "1820"]
[TimeControl "900+0"]
[Date "2011-11-09"]
[Result "0-1"]
[LongResult "White resigns"]
1. e4 Nh6 2. d4 g6 3. f4 f6 4. Nf3 Nf7 5. c4 d6 6. Nc3 Bg7
7. Bd3 a6 8. O-O c6 9. Qb3 O-O 10. Bd2 Nd7 11. Rae1 e5 12. fxe5 fxe5
13. Ng5?
This appears to be the move that really hurt white. Perhaps Bibbet imagined Nxg5, Rxf8+,
Qxf8 Bxg5… it is hard to say. One computer suggests 13. d5 Nc5 14. Qc2 Nxd3 15. Qxd3 Qb6+
16. Kh1 Bg4 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. Rb1 Bf6 19. Be3 Qb4 20. Rf2 resulting in an even game. ]
13… Nxg5 14. c5+ Kh8 15. dxe5 Rxf1+ 16. Bxf1 Bh6 17. exd6 Nh3+ 18. gxh3 Bxd2
19. Re2 Bh6 20. Qc4 Qg5+ 21. Rg2 Qxc5+ and White resigned 0-1
Page 31
UON 30
[White "ALLtheTIME"]
[Black "Gifford"]
[WhiteElo "2008"]
[BlackElo "1792"]
[TimeControl "900+0"]
[Date "2011-11-07"]
[Result "0-1"]
[LongResult "White resigns"]
1. e4 Nh6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bc4 e6 4. d4 f6 5. O-O Nf7
6. d5 Bg7
7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bf4 e5 9. Bg3 d6 10. Qd3 a6 11. a4 Nd7
12. b4 Nb6 13. Bb3 f5 14. h3 Rb8 15. a5 Na8
16. Nd2 f4 17. Bh2 Bd7 18. Ba4 c6 19. dxc6 bxc6
Page 32
Feb. 2012
UON 30
20. Nc4 Qe7 21. Bb3 Kh8 22. Na2 Nc7 23. Rfd1 d5
24. Nb6 d4 25. c3 …
25. …Nb5 26. cxd4 Nxd4 27. Bxf7 Rxf7 28. Qxa6 Be6
29. Qd3 h5 30. Rdb1 f3 31. Nc3 fxg2 32. f4 exf4
33. a6 f3
34. Nd1 Qh4 35. Nf2 Ne2+
Page 33
Feb. 2012
UON 30
36. Qxe2 fxe2 37. Bxb8 Qxf2+
{White resigns} 0-1
Page 34
Feb. 2012
UON 30
Feb. 2012
A Few Words in Closing
To make UON better, please send unorthodox games and/or articles to me at
[email protected] and please put “UON Submission” in the subject line.
Note that I do not plan to write any articles for UON 31. I wrote a little this time simply to get
a UON issue out the door. And yes, I strayed from the unorthodox by a large margin.
I will gladly assemble and lightly edit articles received.
And maybe even add a few diagrams…
And with that I will close this issue and wish you all the best in chess and in life.
Sincerely,
Gary Gifford
Cleveland, Ohio
20 February 2012
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February 2012
Page 36
Feb. 2012