I have made a video analysis of a recent game.
The video is 13.2 MB and can be viewed by clicking the link below.
Enjoy and feel free to comment on the game 
Test Yourself Video #14 is now available!
It’s been a few months since I did my last Test Yourself Video, but now I’m back with a few more…
Enjoy!
I have played on chess.com for a few months now. My handle is cludi.
The game below is one of my best efforts so far, at least when it comes to attacking chess.
Play chess online!
In part I of this series I briefly described the strategic ideas behind the Marshall Attack.
In this part I’ll go through the most normal lines where white accepts the gambit.
This is the most heavily analyzed part of the Marshall Attack - prepare for A LOT of lines in this posting!
This is the line:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 leading to this position:
Marshall’s original idea was 11…Nf6 here, but it’s now widely accepted that the best move is
11…c6! Now white has 6 playable options at his disposal:
A 12.d4
B 12.d3
C 12.Re1
D 12.Bxd5
E 12.g3
F 12.Qf3
A 12.d4
The idea for white is of course to open up for the queenside pieces as quickly as possible. And it gives space for the queen manoeuvre Qd1-d3-f1 which is very normal in the lines where the white rook retreats to e1 and thus blocks the queen from moving d1-f1 directly.
We play 12…Bd6 positioning the bishop for attack - pointing at h2 - and driving away the white rook with tempo.
A1 13.Re1 This is the normal white response 13…Qh4 14.g3 (14.h3? Bxh3! 15.gxh3 Qxh3 16.Re5 Bxe5 17.dxe5 Qf5 =+) Qh3
A11 15.Be3 Opposed to lines where white develops his knight first, his bishop is more active here; It defends important squares f2/f4/g5. 15…Bg4 16.Qd3 Rae8 17.Nd2 This is to be considered the modern main line. Let’s look at the position
At GM level, 17…Qh5 is clearly the prefered move. Since white will probably play Qf1 sooner or later and we don’t want to trade off queens we’ll probably have to retreat our Queen to h5 anyway. So 17…Qh5 makes perfect sense, but why not wait until white actually plays Qf1??
I suggest you play the logical 17..Re6!?
This rook could be heading for h6 or f6 or it could simply wait for its rook colleague to double up in the e-file. The most critical line for black is probably
A111 18.a4 trying to open up a backdoor for the white rook. We simply ignore this plan for now and continue our attacking plans: 18…f5! 19.Qf1 Qh5 20.axb5 (20.f4 Rh6 21.Qg2 Kh8) f4! with excellent attacking chances
White should simplify things as much as possible here 21.Bxf4 Bxf4 22.Rxe6 Bxe6 23.gxf4 and now we have no better than 23…Kh8 or 23…axb5 with very unclear position. White’s king is exposed but it’s questionable if black can take full advantage
A112 18. Qf1 Qh5 19.a4 transposing into A111 or 19.Bxd5 cxd5 which is favouring black
A12 15.Re4 Threatening Rh4 and in many lines white is prepared to sac this rook for black’s light squared bishop. This was what Kramnik tried against Leko in Brisago 2004. Leko won a brillant game - not just because of the opening of course. Leko played 15…g5 16.Qf1 (16.Qf3 Bf5 17.Bc2!? Bxe4 18.Bxe4 Qe6 19.Bxg5 f5 is unclear)(16.Bxg5? Qf5!)(16.a4 f5 17.Re3 Kh8! 18.Bxd5 cxd5 19.axb5 f4!) Qh5 (16…Qxf1 17.Kxf1 Bf5 18.f3 h6 19.Nd2 Bxe4 20.fxe4 Nc7 Anand-Svidler ½-½, San Luis 2005) 17.Nd2 (17.Be3?? Nf6!) Bf5 18.f3 Nf6 19.Re1 Rae8 20.Rxe8 Rxe8 21.a4 Qg6 22.axb5? Bd3 23.Qf2 Re2 24.Qxe2 Bxe2 25.bxa6 Qd3!! Threatening mate after tempting 26.a7?? Qe3+ 27.Kg2 Bxf3+! 28.Nxf3 Qe2+ 29.Kg1 Ng4 30.a8Q+ Kg7 white cannot prevent the mate
A2 13.Re2
We play 13…Qh4 14.g3 (14.h3? Bg4! 15.f3 Bf5 and the white king position is very weakened) Qh5 15.Nd2! White sac’s a pawn to get rid of the light squared bishop (15.Re4 Qg6=+)(15.Qe1 Bg4 16.Re4 f5=+) Bg4 16.f3 Should black take the pawn 16…Bxf3 17.Nxf3 Qxf3? The problem is that the black attack is non-existant after 18.Rf2. Black has to settle for an even endgame.
You can decline the pawn and try to maintain your attacking chances with 16…Bf5!? 17.Ne4 Bc7 18.Qf1 Qg6 but I’m not sure black has enough compensation for the pawn any longer, but surely the position is still pretty unclear
A3 13.Rh5?!
This looks dubious. Although the rook supports a possible Bg5 for white and of course prevents black’s Qh4, it’s risky business to keep it in front of the black kingside pawns.
We start chasing the rook right away: 13…g6! 14.Rh6 (14.Bxd5 cxd5 15.Rh6 Re8) Re8 (threatening Bf8)15.g3 (giving the rook the h4 square) Bf5 and white’s game is very cramped. Black has excellent chances here
B 12.d3
The idea for white is of course to open up for the queenside pieces as quickly as possible. This move does not give white space for the queen manoeuvre Qd1-d3-f1, instead it gives support to the e4 square where white would like to put his b1 knight.
We play 12…Bd6 positioning the bishop for attack - pointing at h2 - and driving away the white rook with tempo.
B1 13.Re1
The normal move in this line. We play 13…Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Re4 opening up for Qf1 and threatening Rh5 at the same time. The problem now is that after 15…Qf5 our light squared bishop has no ideal square (neither e6 or b7 are ideal)
If you don’t like this line you can play 13…Bf5 instead - preventing white from playing Re4. Whites best reply is 14.Qf3 Re8 15.Rxe8 Qxe8 and now either Nd2 or Bd2, both with just about equal chances.
B2 13.Re2?!
Black has a good game after 13…Bf5! Black cannot play 14.Nd2 because d3 is hanging and the best he can do is 14.d4 or 14.Re1 with loss of tempo.
B3 13.Rh5?!
Same comments as to the A3 line!
Simply play 13…g6 14.Rh6 Re8 and enjoy your game
C 12.Re1
This will almost surely transpose into some of the other lines.
We just play 12…Bd6 as usual and awaits the reaction from white.
D 12.Bxd5
This reply is quite different in nature to the ones we have looked at so far.
White decides to exchange on d5 right away, which is of course removing a possible attacking piece and weakening the black pawn structure and perhaps most importantly allowing white to use the e3 square for his rook. From black’s point of view the good news are that the f7 pawn is now free to join the action as it is not pinned by a b3 bishop.
After 12…cxd5 white has two main options, 13.d4 or 13.Qf3 Let’s have a look at both.
D1 13.d4
White focuses on development of his queenside pieces. We automatically play our standard Marshall Attack move 13…Bd6 and now white has a choice of where to put his rook (14.Rxd5?? is of course not an option - 14…Bxh2+!)
D11 14.Re3
Looking a little strange as it blocks the c1 bishop, but it is a very normal move in this line. The advantage of the move is that the white queen can go to f1 directly and it prepares h3 in case black plays Qh4. This is called the Kevitz Variation, named after Alexander Kevitz.
A nice aggressive reply to this variation is 14…f5!? American (almost danish!) GM Nick de Firmian now played 15.Qf3 in this game against Ivanov in the 2002 US Championships.
Another white option is 15.Nd2 f4 16.Re1 f3!? 17.Nxf3 (17.g3? Qf6 =+ ) Bg4 18.Re3
It’s a bit unclear where black should place his queen at this time. While finding out where to put it, a very good plan is to double rooks in the f-file: Ra7-f7! which is very dangerous for white.
Remember, in this line we have sac’ed 2 pawns so we need to have a successful attack to avoid a hopeless endgame.
D12 14.Re1
We play 14…Qh4 15.g3 Qh3 16.Qf3! Best defence…Threatening d5 pawn and planning to go to g2
16.Be3?! Bg4 17.Qd3 Rae8 18.Qf1 Qh5 19.Nd2 Re6 with good attacking chances for black
We have a very sharp answer to 16.Qf3: 16…Bf5!
D121 17.Qxd5 Rae8! is very dangerous for white -
18.Qxd6?? Rxe1#,
18.Rxe8?? Rxe8 and there’s no defence against the threats Be4 and Re1 mate
Best defence is 18.Bd2! Bd3 19.Na3 and now I don’t think black has anything better than: 19…Bxa3 20.bxa3 Bc4 Black is down 2 pawns but very active pieces and opposite colored bishops makes the game holdable…
D122 17.Qg2 Qg4 18.f3 (18.h3 Qg6) Qg6 19.Bf4 (19.Be3 Rfe8 This is a little trap:
20.Rxe8?? Rxe8 21.Bxd6 (21.Na3 Bxf4 22.gxf4 Qxg2+ 23.Kxg2 Re2! -+) Re1+ 22.Kf2 Qe6! 23.Be5 Rc1! -+
20.Na3 Bxa3 =
20.Nd2 b4 21.Bxd6 Qxd6 22.Nb3 bxc3 23.bxc3 += difficult endgame for black
D2 13.Qf3
This is not a good system for white - neglecting development of queenside pieces is a deadly sin against the Marshall Attack! Although the d5 pawn is hanging, white could very quickly be in big trouble.
We play our normal 13…Bd6 and now white should of course not try to grab the d5 pawn:
14.Rxd5?? Re8! 15.Kf1 Qe7! 16.Qe3 Be6! 17.Rd4 Bc5 -+
D21 14.Re1
14…Re8!?
This is not played very often although I believe it’s much stronger than Qh4, Be6, Bb7 which are the alternatives for black here.. I’ve found this move in a CC game from 1974! The game continued
15.Re3 (15.Rxe8+? Qxe8 16.Qd1 (16.Qe3 Bf5! 17.d4 Bf4! 18.Qxe8 Rxe8 19.Be3 Bxe3 20.fxe3 Rxe3 21.Kf2 Rd3! giving white trouble developing knight and rook) Qe5 with very strong attack) d4!? 16.cxd4 (16.Qxa8? dxe3 17.dxe3 Bb8! 18.Qf3 Bb7 look at those bishops!! -+) Rb8 17.b3?! Bb7 =+ black won the game
D22 14.Re2?
14…Qg5! preventing d4 as the c1 bishop is hanging. There are no satisfying continuatios for white.
15.Re1 Bg4! 16.Qe3 Bf4 is terrible for white
15.g3 Bg4 16.Qe3 Qh5 is even worse
Best move is clearly 15.h3 although black still has big advantage after 15…Bf5 16.Na3 Be4 17.Qg4 Qe5
D23 14.Re3
In this line the best black continuation is a very atypical move in the Marshall Attack: 14…Qc7!
We are threatening on h2 and if white tries to protect it, he’s running into tactics:
15.h3? d4! 16.Re1 (16.Qxa8 dxe3 17.Qe4/f3 exf2+ -+) Bb7 -+ in either case the monster bishops are killing white!
15.g3? d4! Same story as above!
15.d4! Bxh2 16.Kh1 Bd6 17.Qxd5 Bb7 with a clear black advantage
E 12.g3
The idea of this move is prevent Qh4 and take the sting out of Bd6. You could call this a prophylactic way of defending against the Marshall Attack. Or you could just regard it a different move order to one of the known lines above…
Anyway, black has a real choice to make here. Does he want to transpose into some of the known lines above or does he want a different setup than the classical Marshall Attack one?
3 things are worth considering from black’s perspective:
1) Where to put the e7 bishop- d6 or f6?
2) Where to put the queen - d8-d7-h3 or g5 or f6 or c7?
3) Where to put the c8 bishop - f5 or g4 or b7?
These issues cannot be solved independantly. We need a plan to get the best out of all our pieces.
Yet, my suggestion is to postpone some of the decisions! How?
12…Bd6 Our standard Marshall Attack move! 13.Re1 Ra7
This is a very flexible move. The rook is of course typically heading for e7 and postponing decisions of where to put c8 bishop and queen for a moment.
White has a few options here:
E1 14.d3
14…Re7 15.Rxe7 Qxe7 16.Nd2 Bf5 17.Qf3 Qe1+ 18.Nf1 (18.Kg2 Qe6 threatening Bh3,Qe1# when white covers the mate we play Re8 =+) Bh3 19.Qd1 Qe5 20.Bxd5 Qxd5 21.Ne3 +=
E2 14.d4
14…Re7 15.Rxe7 Qxe7 16.Nd2 (16.a4 Bh3 17.Nd2 Re8 =) Bh3 17.Nf3 Re8 18.a4 h6 =
E3 14.a4
14…Re7 15.Rxe7 Qxe7 16.d4 (16.axb5 axb5 17.d4 Bh3 18.Nd2 Re8 ) Bh3 17.Nd2 Re8
Transposing into E2F 12.Qf3
This is simply bad for white. 12…Bd6
13.Bxd5 cxd5 transposing into D2 is the best white can do.
13.Re4?! Qg5! preparing Bf5 is good for black. For example 14.h4 Qg6 15.d4 (15.d3 h5) Bf5 =+
These were the most important lines when white accepts the gambit.
In part III we’ll look at the lines where white declines the gambit.
See you there…
In this series I will try to give you an idea of how to play the Marshall Attack from black’s perspective. The Marshall Attack, which is in fact a gambit, is a very good black weapon against the Ruy Lopez and I plan to show you how to handle the most common white ways of defending against it…
The attack, or gambit if you like, was invented by Frank Marshall in the early 1900’s. He had tried it out in a few games before playing it against Capablanca in 1918. Marshall eventually lost the game against the world champion, but the idea was born and has developed in the last 90 years, making it one of the important contributions to chess opening theory. And easily one of the most analyzed, too.
The Marshall attack has been, and still is, played on the very highest levels. including World Championship matches. It’s soundness is perhaps debatable, but in any case it’s a very dangerous weapon which offers excellent practical chances against almost all levels of players.
In this part I will discuss the main strategic ideas behind the gambit, both accepted and declined .
Let’s look at the opening moves of the Marshall Attack:
C89:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5
What is the idea of 8…d5!? which is sacrificing a pawn?
Well, basically black claims that 8.c3 was a positional mistake. Black believes that if white takes the pawn (9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5) he will have very promising attacking chances on the kingside because all the white queenside pieces are very immobile.
White Accepting The Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5
The c3 pawn is blocking the development of Nb1 and Bc1 has to wait for the d-pawn to move forward before it comes into play. White is virtually without any defenders of the kingside at this moment.
Blacks plan is very clear. He wants to position his pieces for a kingside attack and force white to create weaknesses around his king. Black almost certainly has a longlasting attack on the white king. Depending on white reactions he will play moves like Bd6, Qh4, Bf5/g4, Ra8-e8-e6, Nd5-f6-g5. All black pieces awill participate in the attack, but of course white is not without chances if he defends very accurately.
As you can read from the above, the Marshall Attack is a positionally based gambit. Black gives a pawn in exchange for very active pieces and a long lasting attack on the kingside.
White’s goal is to activate the queenside pieces while defending against black’s attack, hoping to survive to be able to enter an endgame with a pawn in hand.
Developing moves like Be3, Nd2 and often a4 to activate the rook are very normal. The queen almost always goes to f1 to help defending. Sometimes via d3 other times directly from d1.
This setup is the main line and will be discussed in detail in Part II of this series
White Declining The Gambit
There are several ways of declining the gambit for white. The most popular ways are 9.d4 or 9.d3
White accepts that taking the pawn is too risky and concentrates on developing his queenside pieces instead. This is leading to position types very different from the ones where white accepts the gambit.
Now black cannot expect to attack kingside. He will have to play a more positional game and probably go for queenside operations instead.
This may be bad news for a dedicated Marshall Attack player, but at least the good news are that he is not a pawn down…
Part III will take a closer look at possible black plans should white decline the gambit.
The Marshall Attack is a very dangerous black weapon against the Ruy Lopez.
It has been played at the very highest levels since Frank James Marshall introduced the idea in the Manhattan CC in 1918 against Morrison and Capablanca! - one of the best recent Marshall Attack games is Kramnik-Leko 2004
I am going to analyze a game I have just finished on chess.com. It was actually a Nimzowitsch Defence (1.e4 Nc6) thematic game, but it transposed into a Ruy Lopez only a few moves into the game.
1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5! The Marshall Attack!
When playing the Marshall Attack, you basically claim that 8.c3 was a mistake!
8.c3 - a standard move in Ruy Lopez, preparing d4 and making the c2 square available for the light squared bishop - has blocked the development of the queenside pieces.
You want to take advantage of the white queenside immobility by opening the centre to be able to launch a kingside attack. And you’re willing to sacrifice a pawn to execute this plan!
9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6
So far we’re following the Marshall Attack main line.
12.Qh5?
This is a bad mistake. White is ignoring the development of his queenside pieces and makes a pointless queen move which threatens nothing and only loses tempo. 12.d4 was neccessary to open up for the c1 bishop and b1 knight.
White is in trouble already.
12…Nf6
Chasing away the queen and positioning the knight for kingside attack!
13.Qd1 Bd6 14.Re1
This position illustrates the idea of the Marshall Attack very well.
The black pieces are mobile and able to participate in a kingside attack very quickly.
The white pieces are immobile and practically none of them are defending the kingside.
I considered 14…Ng4 here, but I was afraid that after 15.h3 Qh4 16.Re2! I would have to retreat my knight to f6.
Instead, I decided to go for direct attack. I boldly played
14…Bxh2+!
This may not be 100% watertight, but against a fairly fast mover I thought that it would at least offer me very good practical chances. Against a very slow mover I probably wouldn’t have played it.
15.Kxh2 Ng4+ 16.Kg1?
This is losing instantly.
One of my points when playing 14…Bxh2+ was 15.Kxh2 Ng4+ 16.Kg3 h5! because after 17.d4 h4+ 18.Kf3 (18.Kh3? Nxf2+) Qf6+ black has a very good attack
16…Qh4 17.Bxf7+!
The very last shot from white.
17…Kh8?? 18.Qf3! holds the game for white
17…Rxf7 (17…Kxf7 is more accurate) 18.Re8+ Rf8 19.Qb3+
19.Rxf8+ Kxf8 20.Qf3+ Kg8 21.Qg3 looks promising for white, but after exchenging queens on g3 the white king is caught on the back rank and the white queenside pieces are too slow to save their king…
19…Be6! 0-1
White is lost. He can do no better than 20.Qxe6 Kh8 21.Qxg4 (or 21.Rxf8+ Kxf8 22.Qxg4) to avoid the mate.
Note that three white queenside pieces never moved in this game: a1 rook, b1 knight and c1 bishop!
No wonder white was in trouble in this game.
I’m thinking of posting more on the Marshall Attack later on. Stay tuned
Claus Jensen - Jaco Alberts
Ruy Lopez Closed, Chigorin Variation
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7
This is the classical move in this position leading to a closed Ruy Lopez. Black wants to castle kingside and keep the f8-bishop as a possible defender of his kingside.
The main alternatives for black are
5…Bc5 - Møller Attack, which is more agressive. Black gets better attacking prospects, but the bishop is of no help defencively
5…Nxe4 The open variation is often leading to very tactical positions.
optical communication6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6
Had black chosen to castle here, I would have to consider if I was prepared to face the Marshall Gambit (7…0-0 8.c3 d5!?) or if I should go for an anti-Marshall with 8.h3 or 8.a4. I think I would have chosen the latter, because I have had a few bad experiences against the Marshall over the years…
8.c3 0-0 9.h3
This is all main line stuff. 9.h3 is important and clearly better than the immediate 9.d4 because Bg4 is very annoying for white. It pins the f3-knight and if we chase it away with h3-g4 then it has a good square on g6 where it points at e4 and helps defending the black king.
9…Na5
Chigorin Variation. Black is planning to expand on the queenside and hopefully being able to defend his kingside at the same time. 9…Na5 is unblocking the c-pawn and at the same time threatening the b3 bishop which is forced to move as it would clearly favour black to allow him to trade it for the knight.
10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 cxd4 12.cxd4 Qc7 13.Nbd2 Nc6
14.a3?!
This is a little pointless. If black carelessly plays 14…Re8?! then 15.d5! is good for white, but black is not supposed to fall for that sort of thing.
Note also that 14.d5?! Nb4! 15.Bb1 a5 is only helping black with his queenside expansion.
14.Nb3 is probably the correct continuation. No need to waste a tempo with a3…
14…exd4 15.Nb3 Bb7 16.Nbxd4 Rfe8
16…Nxd4 has been played several times before, but according to my databases this move is new.
White to move
The position is very interesting.
Although black has a positional weakness in his isolated d6 pawn I think white’s main plan should be to play for a kingside attack since it’s not that easy to take advantage of the superior pawn structure at this time. It’s not until a possible endgame white’s possibilities of exploiting this weakness are present…
For now, the question is: How should this attack be set up to have maximum effect? Let’s look at some of the possible plans:
1. Exchange the knights on c6, move the f3-knight to f5 via d4, play Bc1-g5/e3 and then try to get the Queen joining the attack later on.
The drawback of this plan is that black is allowed to activate his queen and in many lines the e4 pawn will be hanging. So black is not without tactical chances here.
Possible lines:
17.Nxc6 Qxc6! 18.Nd4 Qb6 19.Nf5 Bf8 20.Be3 (20.Qf3 d5!) Qc6 Now 21.f3 is protecting the e4 pawn but unfortunately also blocking the queen. And 21.Rc1Rxe4! 22.Bxe4 Qxe4 23.Qf3 Qxf3 24.gxf3 Bc8! getting a few pawns for the exchange gives black excellent chances of holding this endgame .
17.Nxc6 Qxc6! 18.Bg5 Rac8 19.Rc1 Qd7 20.Qd2 (20.Bd3 Bd8!) Bd8! and now it’s very difficult to find a useful continuation for white.
2.Trying to remove as many defensive pieces from black as possible and possibly sac the e4 pawn in the proces. This plan is initiated by Bg5.
Possible lines:
17.Bg5 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Nxe4 19.Bxe7 Rxe7 20.Nf5 Re6 and now either
21.Nxg7!? Kxg7 22.Bxe4 Bxe4 23.Qd4+ Kg8 24.Rxe4 with only remote chances of winning the endgame, or
21.Bxe4 Rxe4 (21…Bxe4 transposing into the line above) 22.Qxd6 Qxd6 23.Nxd6 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 resulting in a drawn endgame. Black having bishop vs knight is the side, if any, with VERY remote winning chances.
3. Since the white pieces are better positioned for attack than the black ones, avoid any immediate simplifications of the position and try to position the white pieces for a kingside attack leaving the black queenside pieces as passive as possible.
This plan is initiated by Nf5!? and this is the plan I chose in the game which now continued
17.Nf5 Ne5!
Interesting move - I expected (and hoped for!) something like 17…Bf8?! 18.Bg5 Qd8 19.Qd3! with excellent attacking prospects
18.Bf4
Hoping for 18…Nxf3+? 19.gxf3 which I believe offers white excellent attacking prospects. The half open g-file looks almost lethal for black.
I didn’t like 18.Nxe5 dxe5 - why help black get rid of his weak d6-pawn if it is not helping my attack anyway?
I was very close to putting the bishop on g5 instead, but I wasn’t sure if I had anything after 18.Bg5 Nxf3+! 19.gxf3 (19.Qxf3?? Qxc2) Bc8! - I may have the open g-file at my disposal, but my attacking knight is about to be killed off and I have too few pieces left for the attack. It is of course possible to sac the h-pawn in this line;
Perhaps my best continuation is to get rid of that defencively important e7 bishop and put my other knight on f5; But 18.Nxe7 Qxe7 19.Nd4 Ng6! and black has consolidated his kingside position.
18…Bf8 19.Rc1 Qd7 20.Bg5
At this point I thought black was in trouble:
20…Qd8 (to avoid Bxf6 gxf6 which is clearly favourable for white) 21.Nxe5 dxe5 22.Qf3! with excellent white attack.
But black here brings an excellent tactic;
Black to move
20…Nxe4! 21.Rxe4 (21.Bxe4 Bxe4 22.Rxe4 Qxf5 and black is winning) Nxf3+ 22.Qxf3 Re5!
Best (and only) defence once again!
This position is crazy - it’s all tactics at this point, but in a few moves both sides have to consider the prospects of a possible endgame!
Another diagram is needed to examine the position closer…
White to move
I’m up a knight for a pawn at this point, but my Nf5 is hanging and my Re4 is pinned by the b7 bishop.
I considered several candidate moves here:
23.Qg4 Qxf5 (23…Rxf5? 24.Rf4!) 24.Qxf5 Rxe5 25.Rh4 Rxg5 26.Bxh7+ Kh8 and I have no better than Be4+ leading to an opposite coloured bishop endgame which I believe is drawn
23.Nxd6 Bxd6 24.Bf4 leading to another even endgame
23.Ne7+ Bxe7 24.Rxe5 Bxf3 25.Rxe7 Qd8 again I think this is no more than a drawn endgame
I actually think I found the best continuation in the position - offering both tactical and endgame chances:
23.Nh6+! gxf6 24.Bf6 Bxe4 25.Bxe4 Rc8!
Against 25…Rxe4 26.Qxe4 Rc8 I planned 27.Rc3 Rxc3 28.Bxc3 - I fancied my chances in this endgame despite being a pawn down. The d6 pawn requires all attention from black and he also have to take care of mating threats around his weakened king
26.Rd1
26.Qg3+ Rg5 27.Bxg5 hxg5 28.Qxg5+ Bg7=
26…Rce8 27.Bc6 (Again 27.Qg3+ is no better) Qf5 (only move) 28.Bxe8
28.Qxf5 Rxf5 29.Bxe8 leading to an opposite coloured bishop endgame
28…Qxf3 29.gxf3 Rxe8 30.Kh2 Re6??
It’s incredible! Having played an immaculate defensive game this far, black blunders the game away just as we were heading for an endgame that looked holdable for black.
31.Rg1+
Black loses his bishop without any compensation. He played on for a few more moves but the game was of course lost. 1-0
*Tyrannosauruschex
Claus Jensen
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3
Claus Jensen
*Tyrannosauruschex
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
Kestutis Kadonas-Claus Jensen
1.e4 c5 2.f4
The Grand Prix Attack in it’s purest form. White is planning to go for kingside attack and black should seek counterplay in the centre and on the queenside.
2…d5
Tal gambit! A very effective weapon against 2.f4 and the reason why the best move order for white is 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 giving white a much better Grand Prix Attack than in this game.
The idea of the Tal Gambit is to strike back in the centre immediately. Black is not allowing white to undisturbedly set up his kingside attack.
3.e5?!
To decline is clearly not the best way to refute the Tal Gambit.
The main line is accepting the gambit with 3.exd5 Nf6 4.Bb5+ Bd7 5.Bxd7 Qxd7 with just about equal chances.
3,e5 is giving black no problems. White applies no pressure and black has excellent counterplay in the centre, space on the queenside and even control of the f5 square.
3…Nc6 4.Nf3 e6!
This unambitious and quiet move, even blocking the Bc8, is giving black a favourable line of the French Defence because white has played f4 which in most lines is not recommendable. The game shows that I was right about the prospects for black here.
The alternative was 4…Bg4 or 4…Bf5 to free the bishop before playing e6. But I didn’t like Bf5 as it would occupy the square that I intended to put my knight on. Bg4 is surely playable but I didn’t want to give up my bishop pair at this point which would be the case after 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3
5.c3
Clearly preparing d4
5…Qb6
A standard, multi purposed, move in the French Defence. Attacks both d4 and b2 and prevents a white Bb5.
6.d4 Nh6
6…Ne7? 7.dxc5! Qxc5 is awkward for black. After the text move black can now retake with bishop should white play dxc5.
And of course this knight is heading for the very nice f5 square.
7.Na3
Better perhaps 7.Bd3 to prevent Nf5. Note that 7.Bd3 is not losing the d4 pawn because after 7…cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.cxd4 Qxd4 10.Bb5+! black loses the queen instead…
7…cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5
Now it’s clear that black has a very comfortable position. Black has no weaknesses, better development and clear targets to attack in the white position, like d4 and b2. Only problem for black is development of Bc8.
9.Nc2 Bd7
Making space for Rc8 and hoping for some activity on queenside
10.g4 Nfe7 11.a3?
Very strange move which unneccesarily weakens the white queenside position without serving any purpose.
Better was 11.Bd3 h5 12.g5 shutting down the kingside and if black puts his knight on f5 white can trade it off for the bishop.
11…h5!
Attacking g4 to regain control of f5 square. Ne7, which is currently blocking Bf8, would like to go there again…
12.Bh3?
Best chance for white is 12.g5, but black is still clearly better after 12…Nf5
12…hxg4 13.Bxg4 Rc8
Very natural, but perhaps better to play Na5 immediately
14.0-0?!
Very difficult for white to find useful plans against the very solid black position. But he should have realised that castling kingside is risky business because of the open h-file.
14…Na5!
Very strong. Pointing at both b3 and c4. And at the same time opening up for both Rc8 and Bd7 and Ne7. White is in big trouble.
15.Ne3 Nb3 16.Rb1 Nc6
Attacking d4
17.Nc2
Forced to protect d4
17…f5!
Showcasing the lack of coordination between the white pieces.
This lonely bishop on g4 has no escape route and white is therefore force to open up the g-file which is lethal after white decided to castle kingside only a few moves ago…
18.exf6 ep gxf6 19.h4?
19.Re1!? Rg8 20.Kh1!? Now 20…Rxg4 21.Ne3 Rg7 22.Nxd5 is very interesting, but still with a black edge after 22…Qb5!
19…Rg8
Of course pinning the bishop
20.Nh2 Nxc1 21.Rxc1 f5 22.Kh1 fxg4 23.Nxg4 Qd8!
Threatening on h4 and because of the open white king position white is lost.
And therefore white rightfully resigned in this position.
Kadonas, Kestutis - Jensen, Claus
1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5 3.e5 Nc6 4.Nf3 e6 5.c3 Qb6 6.d4 Nh6 7.Na3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Nc2 Bd7 10.g4 Nfe7 11.a3 h5 12.Bh3 hxg4 13.Bxg4 Rc8 14.0–0 Na5 15.Ne3 Nb3 16.Rb1 Nc6 17.Nc2 f5 18.exf6 gxf6 19.h4 Rg8 20.Nh2 Nxc1 21.Rxc1 f5 22.Kh1 fxg4 23.Nxg4 Qd8 0-1
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