Chess Digest, Inc.

.. • - ...

I G M Andrew Soltis

c. The Modem Fianchetto, 3 ... g6

Copyright ©1992 Andrew Soltis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

All rights reserved under Pan American and International Copyright conventions.

INTRODUCTION

ISBN: 0-87568-203-0

PART ONE

This is a revised and expanded edition of Winning With the Bird Opening, by Andrew Soltis (Chess Digest, Inc. 1982)

A. Black Doesn't Fianchetto (The Old Main Line) 1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, c5 3 e3, Nc6

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tapes, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior and current permission from the publisher.

B. Black Plays ... a6

1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, c5 3 e3, Nf6 4 b3, a6

c. Black Delays His Queen Knight's Development 1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, c5 3 e3, Nf6 4 b3,e6

5 Bb2, Be2

AUTHOR: Andrew Soltis EDITOR: Parley Long

COVER: Elaine Smith PROOFREADER: Hugh Myers

FINAL PREPARATION & DIAGRAMS: Ken Smith & Parley Long

D. Black Delays ... d5

I f4, Nf6 2 Nf3, e6 3 e3, b6 4 b3, Be7

PUBLISHER: Chess Digest, Inc. ®, 160 I Tantor, Dallas, Texas 75229

PART TWO Modern Systems

1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, Nf6 3 e6

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A. Black Fights For e5, 3 ... Bg4

B. The New York System, 3 ... Bf5

3

5

7

7

24

35

43

49

49

53

58

PART THREE

74

5

4

WINNING WITH If4

INTRODUCTION

I £4

From's GaDlbit

1 f4, e5 2 fxe, d6 3 exd, Bxd6

74

PART FOUR Other Defenses

83

A. Black Plays The Sicilian I £4, c5

83

B. Black Plays a King's Indian Defense I f4, Nf6 2 Nf3, g6

87

c. Black Plays a Modem Defense 1 f4, g6 2 N£3, Bg7

91

For most of the 20th century the Dutch Defense was considered a form of "giving positional odds." It had a terrible reputation. But in the late 1980s its fortunes rose. The Dutch became mildly popular in grandmaster chess and all the "book refutations" of it turned out to be filled with holes.

D. Imitation 1 f4, f5

93

E. Black Does Nothing In the Center 1 f4, b6

96

Yet the mirror image of the Dutch Bird's Opening ......

has enjoyed no such rehabilitation. And you have to wonder why. There has never been a convincing plan of development for Black that solves all of his problems after 1 £4.

Part of the reason for the Bird's lack of popularity is that few masters have been willing to play the opening the way Henry Bird did. Instead, they employ some sort of modem, strategic plan involving the fianchetto of White's KB and/or an attack on the center with the help of his c-pawn. In this strategy, White

6

WINNING WITH 1£4

usually plays his QN to d2, after d2-d4, and leaves his QB at home until the middlegame.

Bird, however, had many successes with an older, and simpler, plan. He fianchettoed the other bishop, with h2-b3 and Bb2, and then used his KB more aggressively, posting it at b5 (in order to secure control of e5), or at d3, where it takes aim at the key kingside point h7.

We will return Bird's Opening to the Henry Bird strategy in the following chapters.

We'll consider four responses by Black:

Part One J Black Doesn't Fianchetto His King's Bishop

Part Two Modem Systems including ... g6

Part Three J • From's Gambit

Part Four Other Defenses

7

PART ONE

A

Black Doesn't Fianchetto

(The Old Main Line)

1 £4 d5

2 Nf3 c5

3 e3 Nc6

This is the most straightforward and logical procedure for Black but it has a major failing, as we'll see. The plan is to play for ... e5 or ... d4 at some late opening or early middlegame point, and Black needs each of his three moves for the latter advance and two of them (preferably three) for the former.

This, then, is an important point of origin. Because there are so many opening move-orders, our focus will be on these points of origin rather than on the many ways of reaching them. Suffice it to say that Black could have played 1 ... c5 and 2 ... Nc6 or 1 ... c5 and 2 ... d5 to reach this position and it would not have

8

WINNING WITH If4

-

~

changed White's intentions one iota.

4 Bb5!

Despite the strength of this move, reaching a favorable version of the Nimzo-Indian Defense (but with an extra tempo for White because the colors are reversed), Black has permitted it many times at the highest levels of tournament chess. Savielly Tartakower, the Russian-born veteran of European chess from

1910 to the 1950's, uncranked his Bird's Opening every so often and had remarkable success with it. He played I £4 four times at the great Karlsbad tournament of 1911 and reached this position each time. It just seems to make so much sense for Black to play these moves because with colors reversed in the Dutch Defense White plays similar moves. But there are differences.

4

•••

Nf6

This is most natural response. 4 ••• a6 transposes into White's scheme of things but with doubled pawns for Black and an extra tempo (5 Bxc6 +, bxc 6 b3 and 7 Bb2) 4 ••• d4?!

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PART ONE

9

reaches a similar pawn structure but with the Black pawn more vulnerable at d4 after 5 Ne5, Bd7 6 Bxc6, Bxc6 7 Nxc6 (or 5 ... Qd5? 6 0-0 threatening 7 Bc4).

Bear in mind that Black can make either of these positional blunders at a later point in the opening and they can be just as bad then. See Illustrative Game No. I at end of this Chapter.

Black can fight for e5, one of the key points of this variation, with 4 ••• £6. But he doesn't have enough firepower to train on that square. For example, 5 b3, Nh6 6 Bb2, Nf7 7 0- 0, Qc7 (not 7 ... e5 ? 8 fxe, fxe 9 Nxe5!) 8 c4! with a big lead in development and plenty of targets for White in the soon-to-beopened center.

Another way to fight for e5 is 4 ••• Bg4 and then after 5 b3, e6 6 Bb2 (6 Bxc6ch!?) the move 6 ... Nge7. This enables Black to recapture on c6 with a Knight when necessary and reinforce his attack on e5 and d4. But it doesn't block White's QB and thereby creates a problem for Black in developing his own KB without hanging the g-pawn. For instance 7 h3, Bxf3 8 Qxf3, a6 9 Bxc6 ch, Nxc6 1 0 0-0 leaves Black with major developmental tasks to perform before White opens the game up with e4 or f5. Also, in this line both players can preserve their bishops but 9 Be2! (instead of 9 Bxc6 ch) looks quite good, whereas 7 ... Bh5 (instead of 7 ... Bxf3) is suspect (8 0-0, a6 9 Bxc6 ch, Nxc6 10 d3, d4 II e4 followed by g4 or 10 ... f6 II Nbd2 and e4).

This takes care of all the (a) forcing moves and (b) moves intended to counter White's strategic plan of seizing and holding e5. This leaves a number of other moves now and on succeeding turns that don't do much but develop pieces and which are essentially transpositional. Under that heading falls moves such as ... Bd7, e.g, 4 ••• Bd7 which reaches our main lines

10

WINNING WITH 1£4

after 5 b3, Nf6 6 Bb2, etc.

One final possibility here is 4 ••• Qb6, which is both forcing and directed towards a specific goal (it reinforces control of d4).

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But it also deflects the Queen from the center and encourages an attack on d5 such as 5 c4!, e.g., 5 ... a6 6 Qa4!; 5 ... d4 6 Ne5 threatening 7 Qf3; 5 ... dxc 6 Bxc4 with a preponderance of power in the center. In the last line it is easy to see White improving his position markedly by the early middle game

(5 ... dxc 6 Bxc4, Nf6 7 Ne5, e6 8 Nc3, Nxe5 9 fxe, Nd7 10 d4 or 6 ... Bf5 7 Nc3, Nf6 8 Ne5, e6 9 Qa4).

The best Black may have to hope for after 4 ... Qb6 5 c4 is 5 ... e6 but White has so many attractive means for continuing (6 Ne5; 6 b3; 6 Qa4) that we don't have to look too deeply into this position.

The moral of this analysis then is that Black's move-order has permitted White with 4 Bb5! to establish a bridgehead in the center at e5 which Black cannot challenge early in the game. It is for this reason that modern players avoid ... Nc6 until after Black has castled. Of course, that means he must postpone

PART ONE

II

his plans for ... d4 or ... e5 as we'll see ...

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12

WINNING WITH If4

PART ONE

13

Here 5 ..• Qb6 works better than before because after 6 c4 there is no danger of a White Queen coming to a4. But this is a relatively minor concern. Even better than 6 Bxc6 ch, Qxc6 7 Ne5 is 6 c4, a6 7 Bxc6 ch, Qxc6 8 Ne5! with excellent central play, e.g. 8 ... Qc7 9 Bb2, e6 10 0-0, Be7 II Ng4 or II Nc3 and similarly 9 ... g6 10 0-0, Bg7 11 Nc3.

Black can always capture on c6 with a pawn but that

leaves his center and Q-side somewhat paralyzed and besides,

it undermines the point of 5 ... Qb6. White continues, for example, in this way: 6 c4, a6 7 Bxc6 ch, bxc 8 Ne3, Bf5 9 Na4!, Qa7 10 Ne5 with a powerful control of key squares (lO ... Rc8 II 0-0, h5 . 12 Ba3, e6 13 d3, Ng4 14 Qe2, Nxe5 15 fxe, Qc7 16 Bb2 and 1 7 e4 was Tartakower-Jaffe, Karlsbad

1911).

Of course, Black can capture on c4 after 6 c4, so that White's Bishop is threatened. But either 6 ... dxc 7 bxc (intending 8 Qa4) or 7 Bxc4, g6?! 8 Ng5, e6 9 Bb2, Bg7 10 Ne4 is excellent for White.

much given up the possibility of fianchettoing his KB. We'll consider the fianchetto lines in Part Two.

But for the time being, let's point out that 6 .•• g7?! is risky because of the ready-made K-side attack White has. The reason this is so much stronger than the comparable attack in Part Two is that White's KB rather than getting in the way - is very usefully posted on b5. His QB is already lined up at b2 and his attack commences with 7 Ne3!

A belated kingside pin, 5 ... Bg4, is also unsatisfactory because of 6 Bxc6 ch, bxc6 7 h3. Then a retreat to h5 dooms the bishop (8 g4), and a retreat elsewhere leaves Black without compensation for the queenside ruins.

So 7 ... Bxf3 8 Qx£3, e6 9 Bb2, Bd6 is a natural continuation, after which White builds his usual pawn center with blocks at d3 and e4: 10 d3, 0-0, 11 Nd2, ReB 12 Qg3, Bm

13 0-0, Nd7 14 Rf2, g6 15 e4 and in McLaren-Haines, British Columbia 1977 White was unstoppable following 15 ... £5 16 ReI, Bg7 17 Bxg7, Kxg7 18 Rfe2!, Nf6 19 exf5, exf5 20 Rxe8, Nxe8 21 Qe3, Qd6 22 Qe7 ch, KgB 23 Nf3, c4 24 Qb7! (24 ... Rd8 25 Ng5! Resigns).

Note that Black has no time for simple moves (7 ... Bg7? 8 Nxd5).

If he reacts violently with 7 ... d4 his pawns will come under attack 8 Na4, Qa5 9 c4, dxc e.p. 10 Nxc3!

And White will work up a terrific initiative if he gets an extra move to work:

6 Bb2 e6

Murey - Shekhtman Moscow Championship 1971

Once Black has played his first three moves he has pretty

(1 £4, d5 2 Nf3, c5 3 e3, Nc6 4 Bb5!, Nf6 5 b3, Bd7

. I

14

WINNING WITH If4

6 Bb2, g'7 7 Nc3)

7 8 9

a6 Bxe6 Re8

•••

Bxc6 Ne5

10 Q£J

.,

.....

Preparing to castle Q-side and also encouraging the

. possibility of ... d4 with an exchange on c6 followed by Ne4 a

favorable liquidation.

10

e6

•••

Again not lO ... Bg7 because of 11 Nxc6, Rxc6 12 Nxd5

II g4 12 g5 13 Ng4

Bg7 Nd7

White has a wonderful concentration of power on the black squares. Black doesn't dare try 13 ... Bxc3 14 dxc (14

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. . . . .. . ... . _.

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PART ONE

15

Bxc3??, d4) because of his holes at f6 and h6, but 13 ... 0-0 14 0-0-0 is no easier to swallow.

13 14

d4

•••

Ne4

White threatens 15 exd or 15 Nd6 ch, Kf8 (15 ... Ke7 16 Nxc8) 16 e4. The lesser of several evils is 14 ... Bxe4 15 Qxe4, Qb6 but Black's game was no longer pleasant in any case.

14 15 16 17 18

h5 Bm f5

Qh4 ch 1-0

•••

gxh6 ep exd

d5

Qg3

White wins material.

What about an earlier ... g7? Well, at move five there would have been: 1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, c5 3 e3, Nc6 4 Bb5, Nf3 5 b3 ,g7 6 N e5 , Bd 7 7 Nxc6 doubling the pawns without

compensation .

Now back to the main line after 1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, c5 3 e3, Nc6 4 Bb5, Nf6 5 b3, Bd7 6 Bb2, e6

7 0-0

There is no reason for White to delay this move any further and there is no other useful, non .. committal move around. He preserves his options of Nc3 or c4 or d3/e4.

16

WINNING WITH If4

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7

•••

Be7

Black resigns himself to temporary loss of e5. But the Bishop is available from the e7 square to challenge its opposite number later on with ... B£6. Also note that the other natural square, d6, leaves Black vulnerable to a forking pawn advance (e4-e5).

An illustration of that ambitious alternative in action was Tartakower - Spielmann, Vienna 1910: 7 ••• Bd6 8 d3, Qc7 9 Qe2, 0-0-0 10 Nbd2, a6 II Bxc6, Bxc6 12 g3 (Risky-looking in view of the enemy bishops but necessary to protect the f-pawn and enable White to answer 12 ... d4 with 13 e4!), NeB 13 c4!, £6 14 cxd5, exd5 15 e4, d4 16 b4!

White's method of sealing the center while opening the Q.

side files is instructive. He handled the concluding phase neatly: 16 ... g5 17 bxc5, Bxc5 18 fxg5, Rg8 19 Rael, Ba7 20 Nb3, Ng7 21 Ne5!, Bxc5 22 Rxc5, Ne6 23 Rc4, fxg5 24 Rfel, Qb6 25 Ne5, Qb5 26 Nxc6, bxc6 27 Rxc6 eh, Kd7 28 Rxe6!, Kxe6 29 Qg4 ch, Kf6 30 Rfl ch, Kg7 31 Qe6! and Black resigned after 31 ... RgfB 32 Bxd4 chI, Rxd4 33 Qe7 ch, Kg6 34 QxfB.

Black has alternatives to Q-side castling but they run into other problems, e.g. 7 ... Bd6 8 d3, Ne7 9 Bxd7, Qxd7 10 Ne5

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PART ONE

17

or 8 ... 0-0 9 Bxc6, Bxc6 10 Ne5 with a possible Ng4 or Rf3-g3 coming up more powerfully than when the Black Bishop is on e7.

8 d3

This is the most effective way of setting up his center and bringing his QN into action. The Nc3-e2 shift that is useful against other Black systems is not as efficient here .

8

•••

0-0

There is never any reason for Black to hurry ... a6 since White will play Bxc6 at some point anyway to avoid the consequences of ... Nb8, a move that would reduce White's control of e5. In the old days a common situation was 8 ... Qc7 9 Qe2, 0- o 1 0 Nbd2, a6? when White emerges a tempo ahead of our main line following II Bxc6, Bxc6 12 Ne5

Here, for illustration, another Tartakower game went I2 ... Rfe8?! 13 Rf3!, d4 (tempting, but Black's Bishops will feel more shut out than White's fianchetto) 14 Rh3, Rad8 15 Rafl,

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18

WINNING WITH If4

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g7 16 e4, nra 17 Ndf3, Bg7 (all very logical yet now Black is dead lost) 18 Ng5!, Re7 19 Nxc6, Qxc6 20 e5!, Nd5 21 Nxh7 and White won shortly (vs. Alapin, Karlsbad 1911).

9 Bxc6

No reason to delay any longer (and give Black thoughts of 9 ... Nb8).

9

Bxc6

•••

It is never particularly helpful for Black to recapture with a pawn on c6 or to permit a capture there when he doesn't have

pieces around it. Black's bishops become stifled and there is no countervailing benefit since ... c4 is easily stopped (usually by c4) and the half-open b-file is relatively useless. An illustration of how to work that weakened pawn structure to White's advantage would be yet another Tartakower game (vs. Asztalos, Budapest

1913). It is worth an hour's study:

1 f4, d5 2 e3, e6 3 Nffi, c5 4 b3, Nc6 5 Bb5!, Nf6 6 Bb2, Be7 7 0 .. 0,0 .. 0 8 Bxc6!, bxc6 9 Ne5, Qc7 10 d3, a5 II Qe2, a4 12 Nd2, axb3 13 axb3, Rxal 14 Rxal, Bb7 15 g4! (he wants all 32 black squares under control), Ra8 16 Rxa8. ch, Bxa8 17 g5, Nd7 18 Ndf3, Nxe5 19 Bxe5, Qa5 20 c4! (this puts an end to any freeing advance of the c-pawn), Bb7 21 Qf2, KfB 22 h4!, Ba6 23 h5, Bb7 24 h6, g6 25 Kfl, Qa3 26 Qb2!, Qxb2 27 Bxb2, Bd6 28 Nh2!, Ke8 29 Ng4, Be7 30 Be5, Kd7 31 Ke2 (heading for a5-b6), Ke8 32 Kd2,Kd7 33 Kc2, Ke8?! 34 Kb2, Kd7 35 Ka3, Ke8 (now 35 .... Bd8 fails to keep White's King out because of the maneuver Bg7-ffi!) 36 Ka4, Kd7 37 Bb8!, Ke8 38 Ba7, Kd7 39 Bb6, d4 (or 39 ... Ba8 40 Ka5, Bb7 41 Ne5 ch, Keg 42 Bc7! and Kb6) 40 e4!, Ke8 41 e5, Kd7 42 Nf2 and Black resigns in view of Ne4 and Bxc5.

10 Ne5 Re8

. l· . . _.

PART ONE

19

The Bishop is worth preserving if Black can play ... Be8,

... Nd7 and f6 all at once. Unfortunately he can't and IO ••• Be8 has been tried rarely since a famous victory by Aron Nimzovich over Akiba Rubinstein at Semmering 1926. That game went 11 Nd2, Nd7 12 Nxd7, Qxd7 13 e4, £6 14 ora but Nimzovich suggested that 12 Qg4 might be even stronger because it would stop ... f6 and enable him to rapidly mobilize on the K-side. He gave as a sample continuation 12 Qg4, Nxe4 13 £Xe, Qa5 14 Rf2, Qb4 15 e4, Bc6 16 a3, Qa5 17 exd, Bxd5 18 Nfl!, Qc7 19 Ne3 with a clear edge. See Illustrative game No.2.

Notice also that Black can play Ll ... Qc7 above (or IO ... Qc7 II Nd2, Be8 so as to delay the White Queen's leap to g4).

This arose in another noted game, Nimzovich Saemis-

ch, Karlsbad 1929, which White won fairly quickly with another shift of heavy material: 12 Rf3!, Nd7 13 Rg3, g6 (13 ... Bf6 14 Nxd7, Bxb2 15 Nxffi, Bxal 16 QxaI) 14 Qg4, Bf6 15 Ndf3, Bg7 16 Rh3, f5 17 Qh4, Nf6 18 Ng5!

The plan of Rffi-g3 in coordination with Qg4 and Nd2-f3 is a fairly simple one to play for White. . Black, on the other hand, has little in the way of immediate counterplay and his best chances lie in somehow neutralizing the immediate attack and

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WINNING WITH 1£4

20

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later making his Bishop mean something in an opened position. With accurate play by White, this should not happen.

II Nd2 Nd7

.. (

"

The futility of Q-side counterplay for Black is shown by

11 .•• b5 which was tried in a very modem game (Shashin - S.

Ivanov, Leningrad 1981). It went: 12 Rf3!, Nd7 (12 ... c4 offers a pawn that is probably best ignored with 13 Rg3, BaS 14 Bd4 e.g. 14 ... Bc5 15 Bxc5, Rxc5 16 Ndf3 and Nd4; 14 ... Qc7 15 Ng4) 13 Rh3, Nxe5 14 Qh5!, h3 15 Bxe5, f6 16 Bb2, d4

17 Rg3 and now Black avoided the natural 17 Kh l 18 Ne4 in

favor of a complex line that eventually lost (1 7 dxe 18 Qxh6,

Rf7 19 Nfl, c4 20 Nxe3, cxd 21 Qh5, dxc 22 Rh3).

Besides the Knight retreat to d7, seeking to displace the Knight on e5, Black can also retire to e8 where the Knight covers g7. The disadvantage of 11 .•. Ne8 is two-fold it is passive since it allows White to act aggressively in the center and it permits White to work up threats against other K-side squares besides g7. The best known game here is Nimzovich - Rosselli del Turco, Semmering 1926 which went 12 e4, dxe?! 13 dxe, Nf6 when White took over the center quickly (14 Qe2, Qc7 15 Radl, Rfd8 16 a4, b6 17 f5!, exf 18 exf, om 19 Ng4!).

· . .

12 Qg4

(See diagram, next page)

The threat to g7 is immediate (13 Nxc6 and 14 Qxg7 mate). The natural defense, 12 ••• B£6, permits White to liquidate the minor pieces into a good-Knight-vs.-bad-Bishop middlegame with 13 Nxd7, Bxd7 (13 ... Bxb2 14 NxfB, Bxal 15 Nxe6 wins a pawn) 14 Bxf6, Qxf6 15 Nf3 and 16 Ne5. White could also play 13 Rf3 and 14 Rg3.

. . . . I

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j ~·l;"U;j ~ 1f;:l: I;~l~J~l;: &i· ·~lI~iHi~~ 11~

PART ONE

21

(position after 12 Q«4)

Moreover, Black cannot insert the move 12 ••• £5 to gain time and space on the K-side because of the immediate 13 Qxg7 chI (13 ... Kxg7 14 Nxc6 ch and 15 Nxd8). And if Black structurally protects g7 with 12 ••• g6 White proceeds with 13 Ndf3 and 14 Ng5, taking aim at h7, f7 and e6.

12 13 14

Nxe5 Bf6

•••

DxeS Rf3

With this White continues to attack the several K-side

targets, chiefly h 7 and g7. If Black temporizes, such as with 14 ••• Qe7 15 Ran, a5 White weighs in with 16 Rg3 threatening 17 Qxg7 ch, Bxg7 18 Rxg7 ch. Black may have to play 16 ... Bxe5 and then 17 fxe, f5 18 exf6 e.p., Rxf6 19 Qxg7 chI,

Qxg7 20 Rxf6 leads to a winning, pawn-up endgame (FischerMecking, Palma de Mallorca 1970).

Better is the immediate 14 ••• Bxe5 but then f7 joins the targets, e.g. 15 fxe, Qc7 16 Qh5, h6 17 Ran, g6 18 Qxh6, Qxe5 19 Rf6 as in Nimzovich-Spielmann, New York 1927.

This, then, is what happens when Black makes a very

22

WINNING WITH If4

natural start with ... c5, ... d5 and ... Nc6. In the next three sections we'll see what happens when he tries to reach the same kind of opening but by delaying one of these three moves until White has decided against Bb5.

ILLUSTRATIVE GAMES

No.1

T. Moore-Hoffman, Wisconsin 1989 -

1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, c5 3 e3, Nc6 4 b3, Nf6 5 Bb2, e6 6 Bb5! (White finally sees this pin, which Black could have averted with ... a7-a6 on any of his last three moves), a6? 7 Bxc6, bxc6 8 Ne5, Bb7 9 0-0, Bd6 10 Qel, 0·0 11 d3, Nd7 12 Nd2, Nxe5 13 fxe5, Be7

I ........

The attack plays itself, especially after:

14 Qg3, d4? 15 Ne4, f5 16 exf6, Bxf6 17 Nxc5, BcB 18 Ne4, c5 19 Nxf6 ch, Rxf6 20 Rxf6, Qxf6 21 Rfi, Qd8 22 exd4, cxd4 23 Ba3! Resigns

...

. -, .

. .

. . .. . ' ..

. .... -. ... .... .....

'.. . . ~. .

PART ONE

23

No.2

Nimzovich-Rubinstein, Semmering 1926 -

(Note the unusual move order, transposing into our main line after 11 moves)

I Nf3, d5 2 b3, c5 3 Bb2, Nc6 4 e3, Nf6 5 Bb5, Bd7 6 0-0, e6 7 d3, Be7 8 Nbd2, 0-0 9 Bxc6, Bxc6 10 Ne5, BeS II f4, Nd7 12 Nxd7, Qxd7 13 e4, f6 14 Qf3, Bf7 15 a4, b6 16 Rae1, a6 17 15, dxe4 18 Qxe4, e5 19 Re3, b5 20 Rg3, Kh8 21 Nf3, bxa4? (Black had to reinforce e5 with

21 ... Bd6)

.... ~ ......•........ - _ ", - .·._~..;.·.·.Y.··. .,. . . . .. . . . . .. .

• {t~-'B;:::~:/·~'{r:: ;<"~:::::::m::~:~:: ""at':: ::.':

... :.:. -. ...•.. .;,1 . . -s-,

. _...... . _.. .. ",

~~~~:~: :~:~:~:~: :: :

~~/. \~! ~};. )::

':':' :.;.: : .. :-.: .. : .: - :~ .. -.:-.:-.:

........... _._-.-_-.- .. - .v-, - ...•

. _. . .

. . . .

:~~ -=-:----: -. :~N~:;· ::::-.~:~:::0':-:::-w:.:.:-_. ·-:::~~~··:··":.::::~::.:-.~~~:f \~---=~-}:m~

,;1~' ,_:u';t, ft J!~r':t~~l:! ,~][!;!:,!!;~]~~~ ft ~~U~

~>~:]::~:~if:)';}~~'{)::; ';tc::~::::):;~::::( R ~~'

~j:~l.i~:iii;I:~:!I!::i~:~;i~~~ji~;: :I'ii",j;i]lii'iii:~[ljl ~ i::: " _ :;J

22 Nxe5!, Qe8 (22 ... fxe5 23 Qxe5, Bf6 24 Qxf6!!) 23 Qg4, Rg8 24 Nxf7 ch, Qxf7 25 Qxa4, Qd5 26 Qg4, Bd8 27 Qg6!, h6 28 ReI, Qd7 29 Re6, c4 30 bxc4, Rb8 31 Bc3, RbI ch 32 ReI, Bb6 ch 33 Kfl, Rxel ch 34 Bxel, Qa4 35 Rh3, Rf8 36 Bc3, Bd8 37 Bd2, Qxc2 38 Bxh6!, Qbl ch 39 Ke2, Qc2 ch 40 Ke3! (a stunning way to end the checks), Bb6 ch 41 Ke4, Qe2 ch 42 Re3!! Resigns

24

WINNING WITH 1£4

B

Black Plays ..• a6

1 £4 2 Nf3 3 e3

d5 c5 Nf6

am ~.

,,~-~,~'

:1 ~4U~

." .•

-.r.

:'

_. .

.:.1

-. .,.-.

/

The last move is a good waiting idea so that Black can meet 4 Bb5 ch with 4' ... Bd7, rather than 4 ... Nc6? which leads back into the old Main Line (A). Of course, if Black is going to play ... a6 he could start early with 3 ••• a6. This would give him an extra tempo to reinforce d4, which 3 ... Nf6 does not.

For example, after 3 ... a6 4 b3, Nc6 5 Bb2, as in the main line below, Black can avoid 5 ... Nf6 (which would transpose) in favor of 5 ... d-l. But the achievement of the strategic goal of ... d5-d4 is not impressive in this context. White can avoid an exchange of queens (6 ... dxe) with 6 e4 but he should keep the center fluid with 6 Qe2 or 6 Bd3, e.g. 6 Bd3, Nf6 7 exd, cxd 8 O~O and now 8 ... e6 or 8 ... g6 can be answered by 9 Ne5 when an exchange of knights opens up the f-file with annoying consequences for Black. If Black avoids the capture on e5 (8 ... e6 9 Ne5, Qd6) he faces problems in the early middlegame because

.. . . ..... _...".

PART ONE

25

of White's development and potential for opening his long diagonal at the most inconvenient moment (10 Qe2, Be7 11 Na3 and Nc4).

4 b3

White's opening almost uniformly calls for this fianchetto.

There are several other methods of playing in the center and une · g the QB all familiar with colors reversed in the Dutch Defense - but none so convenient as this. Remember that in the Dutch Black rarely has the opportunity for b6.

•••

a6

Black can also put off committing himself for another few moves (4 ... e6 as covered in the next section).

5 Bb2 Nc6

•:~

- i

-:": :~

:." :'11

~ -:.

_ -s-, -_-._-_.: .:- .

-:':'::=-:::.~:~Fh.'~' :;'-;Y-'t-I~:-· ._-":«--:::::;.-: ~.. :t

;:~:~ :--"t:~

~. '. -.".;?:~-~

~] .- .. :~:~:

.'".j) -.~-:--:

:~·:~.:I:.: .:I: " ..... }~:

. .

Now that White has three units trained on d4 it was time for Black to bring in the reinforcements. Without added power directed at that square Black is vulnerable to forcing moves such

A good illustration of this center play was:

WINNING WITH 1£4

PART ONE

27

26

as c4. For example, 5 ••. g6 could be met by an immediate 6 c4 after which 6 ... d4 loses a pawn and 6 ... e6 fails to fit in with Black's K-side fianchetto. Of course, Black could simply capture on c4 but 6 ... dxc is not particularly good when White can retake with a pawn (7 bxc, Bg7 8 Ne5, 0-0 9 Be2, Nbd7 10 0-0, Nxe5 11 Bxe5 followed by Bf3 and Nc3 with pressure on the b-

file and, potentially, the K-side as well).

Black can reinforce d4 in a different manner and one

that averts the perennial problem of Ne5 by White. This alternative method is 5 ... Bg4 with the idea of answering 6 Be2 with 6 ... Bxf3, before White gets a chance for 7 Ne5. This is a strategy sometimes used by White in related Dutch Defense positions as a means for making the K-side safe for the White

King.

But there is a drawback that becomes clearer when colors

are reversed. White has a frequent dilemma in the Bird's concerning his white-squared Bishop. If he can't use it to pin the enemy QN, where should it go? To d3, where it is subject to harassment and may bite on granite (after ... g6)? Or to e2, where it is somewhat passive? The sequence 5 ... Bg4 6 Be2, Bxf3 solves the dilemma by giving the Bishop an excellent post at £3. After 7 Bxffi, Nc6 (not 7 ... g6 again because 8 c4! is annoying) 8 d3 White is preparing for e4-e5, backed up by a

Knight on d2 and Queen on e2.

9 Nd2 Be7

10 0-0 0-0 11 Khl

This is not necessary, but it is useful. Perhaps White was toying with the idea of g4-g5 before acting in the center.

11

•••

Nd7

Aiming to neutralize the long diagonal and later exploit the black squares on it (12 ... Bf6).

12

e4

d4?

Stahlberg - Lundin Swedish Championship 1928

A typical, but faulty, decision. Black is without si · cant counterplay after this closing of the center. Black should have tried 12 ... Bf6 or 12 ... dxe 13 dxe, Nd4 to work up some activity from his pieces ..

(1 £4, d5 2 e3, c5 3 Nf3, Nf6 4 b3, a6 5 Bb2, Bg4 6 Be2, BxB 7 Bxf3, e6 8 d3, Nc6)

13 e5! 14 Qe2

ReB Nb6?!

~:

28

WINNING WITH 1£4

Dreaming of e3. But it can never reach the happy land because White will put his remaining knight at c4 and his good K-side Bishop at e4. He will then have the makings of an attack that should win matter-of-factly. But before that White must eliminate Black's last bit of life, the Q-side expansion with ... b5. Black should have kept that alive with 14 ... b5.

15 Be4 16 a4! 17 Nc4! 18 a5 19 g4

g6 Nb4 N6d5 Rc7

Had Black captured on c4 White would have retaken with the h-pawn and otherwise continued as in the game. Black's knights occupy reasonably good squares but they play no role at all on the K-side, e.g. 19 ... Nc3 20 Bxc3, dxe 21 f5, Bg5 22

Rf3 or 21 g5 and Rf3-h3-h6/Qf2-h4.

•••

f5 Rxf6 exfS g5

19 20 21 22

exf6 £5 gxfS

Black has a fighting chance with this move ( ... Nf4).

Gideon Stahlberg, who won some very nice Bird's Openings, finishes the middlegame off very neatly.

23 Ha3 24 Qg4 25 Rxf4! 26 f6!

Nf4 Rh6 Rh4 Rxg4

Worse was 26 ... Bxf6 27 Qe6 ch. Now at least Black gets to play an endgame.

. . " .

. . . '. .

. . - . . ..

• • .' ', ' •• ':. ", I.

. .' ......:. ", ',' ', .

. '_. .':; .:::.' ;:X .c:: :.,::-0 :"Y':::; :<:~\

PART ONE

29

27 28 29

fxe7! Rxg4 Rxg5 chI

Qxe7 Nxc2

This liquidates cleverly (29 ... Kf8 30 Rfl ch, Ke8 31 Re5 or 29 ... Kh8 30 Rag I, Rc8 31 Bxc5). Black had to play 29 ••• Qxg5 and the rest of this pretty game went:

30 Rgl, Qxgl ch 31 Kxgl, Nxa3 32 Nxa3, Kg7 33 Nc4, Rd7 34 Kf2, Kf7 35 Kf3, Ke6 36 h4, Rg7 37 Kf4, h6 38 Ne5, Kd6 39 Kf5, Kc7 40 Ng4, h5 41 Nf6, Rgi 42 Nxh5, Hal 43 Nf6, Rxa5 44 h5, c4 ch 45 Nd5 ch, Rxd5 ch 46 Bxd5, c3 47 h6, c2 48 h7, clQ 49 h8Q, Qfl ch 50 Ke6, Qxd3 51 Qg7 ch, Kb6 52 Qxb7 ch, Ka5 53 Kd6, Qb5 54 Qc7 chl, Kb4 55 Qc4 ch and Black resigned before he was mated by 55 ... Ka5 56 Qc5!, d3 57 Bc6!, d2 58 Bxb5, dlQ ch 59 Bd3 mate.

Back to business, and 5 ... Nc6 (after 1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, c5 3 e3, Nf6 4 b3, a6 5 Bb2, Nc6).

6 Be2

Now White cannot be stopped from playing Ne5 when he is ready.

(See diagram, next page)

6

•••

e6

Black can fianchetto (6 ••. g6) to reach a position considered later in Part Two but with the move ... a6 thrown in not

a particularly useful addition. Black can use the ... a6 move to expand on the Q-side with 6 .•• b5 but that seems to be a bit

-;

30

WINNING WITH 1£4

PART ONE

31

Now Black faces the dilemma of the Bm. At d6 it promotes ... e5 whereas at e7 it is relatively quiet. But ... e5 is going to be very hard to achieve after Ne5 by White, whereas ... Be7 helps reinforce £6 in case of an attack with Ne5.

Let's see what happens after 7 ••. Bd6. White continues with 8 Ne5 and Black cannot capture on that square with his knight because it would cost a piece. He would rather not capture with his good bishop since 8 ... Bxe5 9 fxe, Nd7 can be answered with 10 d4 and 11 c4! as pawn exchanges favor the two bishops of White.

Moreover, 7 ... Bd6 8 Ne5, 0-0 is not easy to play after 9 Nxc6 bxc 10 d3 followed by Nd2 and e4-e5. Black would do better with 8 ... Qc7 but again the placement of his queen makes 9 d4 and I 0 c4 attractive. (White also has a pleasing but more conservative plan of 9 Nxc6, Qxc6 1 0 Bd3 followed by 11 Bxf6 and c4/Nc3 or 10 d3 and Nd2.)

7

• •• •

Be7

(position after 6 &2)

premature. White can play 7 a4 (before Black consolidates with 7 ... Bb7) and then 7 ... Rb8 8 0-0 leaves Black trying to complete his development without losing the h-pawn or allowing a strong Ne5. Black can play 7 ... b4 instead but that tends to negate one of the primary objectives of ... c5, the overall Q-side push with ... c4. Again White would be doing well with 8 0-0 and later Ne5.

Since Black has already spent a tempo to ensure some control of e5 and d4, he can also undermine White's with 6 ... Bg4 7 0-0, Bxf3. However, his prospects after 8 Bxffi, e6 9 d3, Be7 lack promise because White can attack the center with pawns on light-colored squares. Black, without the bishop that usually safeguards them, has to try to compensate, e.g. 10 Nd2, Qd7 11 e4, dxe4 12 Nxe4, Nd4 13 Nd2, Nd5 14 Bxd5, Qxd5 15 Nc4, Rd8 16 Ne3, Qd7 17 f5 and in Morgan-Bock, Memphis 1976 the White attack exploded with 17 ... 0-0? 18 f6, Bxf6 19 Rxf6!, gxf6 20 Qh5, IS 21 Qg5 ch, Kh8 22 Qf6 ch,

KgB 23 Rfl, Rfe8 22 Rf3!, Nxf3 ch 23 .

8 Ne5

This apparently untested, or unreported, move generates some energy for White.

(See diagram, next page)

The first point is that a capture here will enable White to pressure d5: 8 ••. Nxe5 9 fxe, Nd7 (9 ... Ne4 self-traps the knight after 10 d3 and II h4) 10 c4. For example, 10 ... 0-0 11 d4 and now 11 ... b6 12 cxd, exd 13 Bm, Bb7 14 Nc3 or

11 ... Nb6 12 Nc3, dxc 13 bxc, Qc7 14 Qb3.

It is important to - remember that the primary reason for

Ne5 is not to open the f-file but to drive Black's KN away from the center. This is why N e5 should be played here, before Black

7 0-0

t,

. ,

. ..~

32

WINNING WITH 1£4

(position after 8 Ne5)

can castle and then bring his knight to a more useful square (following a capture on e5) at c7 via e8.

Since we know that 9 Nxc6 is a positional threat, Black should defend c6. He can use bishop or queen. The bishop seems inconsequential but has none of the drawbacks of 8 ... Qc7. The queen move misplaces that very important piece and weakens control of f6. For example, 8 ... Qc7 9 Bf3, 0-0 10 Nxc6, Qxc6

11 c4! is dangerous because of White's coming assault on d5 with Nc3 and g4-gS! (e.g. 11 ... Qc7 12 g4).

8

•••

Bd7

The bishop move makes some sense since White will not be eager to give up his excellent knight for it, and because the bishop is heading for c6 after an exchange of knights on his e5. But Black must find a square for his Nf6 to retreat to if he wants to capture on e5. Therefore White has a tempo or two before he must meet the possibility of ... Nxe5.

. -

. . .

~ .. I1I("_'.J.":.:.II~~~.I.I.'''' •••• I.G=~I:U ;a;z!c:zll!ll _._ ...

~:

PART ONE

33

:3 •

.. . ..:

:l

.,.
~ M ~ =-
:;::~ ~ ~~
.;. ~ ~-~ .. : ~:R@::?-~;:':: ft'~ ,:~

ft ft ~~~~ ~ ~ ft ~~~:

~~ ~ : ~ ~ ~~-..--

9 Bf3 0-0

10 c4

This seeks a Nirnzo-Indian pawn structure (with colors

reversed, of course) c4/d3/e3 and f4. White can also play

more in the manner of the Dutch Defense with 1 0 d4 and II Nd2 or 11 a4.

After 1 0 c4 we are nearly at the end of the opening and on the verge of a difficult middlegame. Black cannot take on e5 without losing a pawn (lO ... Nxe5 11 £Xe, Ne4 12 cxd and 13 d3 or 11 ... Ne8 12 cxd, Bb5 13 d6!, Bxfl 14 dxe).

Nor is it good for him to move his d-pawn (lO ... d4 II Nxc6, Bxc6 12 Bxc6, bxc 13 Qe2 intending e4/d3/Nd2 with the better bishop, center and overall pawn structure). White would then continue with e5 and Ne4 or some kind of K-side attack.

Best is the protection of c6 with a rook or queen. The advantage of choosing the queen is that it exerts pressure on e5 (stopping II Nc3 for instance) and protects b7 so that ... d4 can be played later. In contrast, on lO ... Rc8 White can play 11 Nc3 and if 11 ... d4 then 12 Ne2 overloading on d4 {I2 ... dxe 13 dxe, Nxe5 14 fxe, NeB 15 Bxb7 or I3 ... Qc7 14 Nxd7, Qxd7 15

34

WINNING WITH 114

-

.i

e4 or 15 Qxd7}.

The key line is IO ... Qc7 and now II d3. White will develop his QN at d2, his Q at e2 and his rooks (probably) at d l and cl. He can advance in the center with d4 (to exploit the position of Black's queen by exchanging to open the c-file) or e4- e5. Or he can try a flank attack (g4-g5) that also affects the center.

Black can open the d-file whenever he wants with ... dxe but he can't do much with it since White controls so many good squares with pawns and minor pieces (11 ... dxe 12 dxc, Rfd8 13 Nd2, BeS 14 Qe2 followed perhaps by Ng4). Note that Black finds it hard to capture on e5 now because White will retake with his bishop, attacking the queen and discouraging ... Bd6 on account of Bxf6!.

Black may do better to expand on the Q-side with 11 ... b5 12 Nd2, Rab8 but White can strike first with 13 e4.

Out of the Bird's Opening White has created a modernistic double fianchetto attack.

PART ONE

35

C

Black Delays His QN's Development

1 £4 d5

2 Nf3 c5

Black could have played ... Nf6 on the first or second moves. White also could have varied his move order, such as with 2 e3. But he need not fear 2 Nf3, d4 because after 3 c3 Black cannot support his advanced pawn for long (3 ... c5 4 cxd, cxd 5 Qa4 ch, Nc6 6 h4).

3 e3 Nf6

4 b3 e6

5 Bb2

With this piece-and-pawn configuration Black expects to

build up slowly in the center, with b6 and ... Bb7 and either

... Bd6 or ... Be7 in coordination with Qc7. Black must not try

for ... e5 early on because he hasn't enough material trained on that square and White has plenty of reinforcements and diversions (i.e. Bb5).

36

WINNING WITH 1£4

5

•••

Be7

In a comparable version (with colors reversed) of the Queen's Indian, the bishop works out OK on d6. Here this is doubtful because Black needs his bishop to watch the f6 square in case of Ng4.

For example, 5 ... Bd6 6 Ne5, 0-0 7 Bd3! creates certain difficulties for Black on the K-side. On 7 ... Qc7, for example, 8 0-0, Nbd7 invites 9 Ng4 with a threat of capturing twice on f6 (9 ... Nxg4 10 Qxg4, e5 may defend). White has even better in 9 Nxd7 because 9 ... Nxd7 permits one of the most famous combinations in chess one that was virtually invented by Bird's Opening. It is the two-bishop sacrifice and here it works with 10 Bxh7 ch, Kxh7 II Qh5 ch, Kg8 12 Bxg7!, Kxg7

13 Qg5 ch, Kh8 14 Rf3 and a rook check at h3.

Notice that with the bishop on d6 Black cannot play 7 ... Nbd7 and 8 ... Nxe5 because 9 exf would fork his two minor pieces in the center. And note further that if Black attempts to block the d3-h7 diagonal with 7 ... Ne4 he runs into a number of dangers on g7 which can no longer be defended by ... Be7 .. f6:

Laaber - Hogberg, match 1954 7 ... Ne4? 8 Bxe4!,

dxe4 9 Qg4, is (the threat was 10 Nc6!, Nxc6 11 Qxg7 mate) 10 Qh3, Rf6 11 Na3, Rh6 12 Qg3, Be7? 13 Nfl!!, Bh4 (13 ... Kxf7 14 Qxg7 ch and 15 Qxh6; 13 ... Qffi 14 Nxh6 ch}14 Nxh6 ch, Kf8 15 Bxg7 ch, Ke8 16 Nc4, Bxg3 ch 17 hxg3, Nc6 18 0-0-0, Qd7 19 Bf6, b5 20 Ne5, Nxe5 21 Bxe5 and Black resigned in dread of Ng8! and Nf6 ch. A little execution, which well illustrates the need to defend KB3 with the bishop.

White can also meet 5 ... Bd6 with the old Lasker maneuver Nc3-e2-g3. An example of that, Meleg-Bosenius, British Columbia 1982, went 6 Nc3, 0-0 7 Bd3, h6?! (perhaps to discourage g2-g4 .. g5 or Bxh7 ch sacrifices) 8 0-0, b6 9 Ne2, Bb7 10 Ng3, Nbd7 11 Ne5, Be7 12 Nh5, Nxh5 13 Qxh5, Nxe5 14 fxe5, Qe8 15 Qg4!, g5 16 h4 with what was soon a

PART ONE

37

winning attack.

See also Illustrative Game No.3 at end of chapter for a quieter treatment.

And, of course, 5 ... Nc6 is met by 6 Bb5! returning us to

(A).

6 Ne5

This appears stronger than the usual 6 Bd3 because White wants to achieve a superior knight position before Black gets 6 ... Nc6 in. Now if Black brings his knight to c6 his pawns will be doubled (6 ••• Nc6? 7 Nxc6, bxc6 8 Be2 followed by d3/Nd2/e4).

• _j_,

.,.:-

, .

1: ";-~&K~W.W~

6

•••

Nbd7

If Black is to develop his knight effectively it must be at this square. If Black takes time for 6 ... Qc7 7 Bd3, Nc6 he finds himself in a troubled house after 8 0-0 because 8 ... 0-0 allows White a free hand on the K-side with 9 Qffi or 9 Rf3. If

..,

38

WINNING WITH 1£4

Black delays castling (S ... b6) White has things to do (9 Qf3; 9 Ng4).

Also, if Black postpones any decision about his QN, he

permits White too much time to position his pieces for attack:

Kaplan - Pritchett Skopje Olympiad 1972

6 7

0-01! b6

•••

Bd31

Again 7 ... Ne4 is dangerous because of 8 Bxe4, dxe 9 Nc3 when White castles Q-side. His position is easy to play in view of Black's e-pawn and the looming attack against g7.

8 g4 9 g5

Db7 Ne4

If the knight retreats to d7 there is another two-bishop sacrifice (9 ... Nfd7 10 Bxh7 ch, Kxh7 11 Qh5 ch, Kg8 12 Nxd7 and 13 Bxg7!). But the simplest would be 10 Nxd7 and 11 Qh5 (9 ... Nfd7 10 Nxd7, Nxd7 11 Qh5, g6 12 Qh6, £6 13

Bxg6). And on 9 Ne8 there is 10 Qh5, g6 11 Ng4! (ll ... gxh

12 Nh6 mate; 11 f6 12 gxf)

10 Bxe4 11 Qh5

dxe4 Nc6

Now if the knight goes to d7 White plays 12 Ng4 with devastating threats of Rgl-g3-h3 or Nh6 ch.

12 Ng4 e5

Desperation. White could have won ultimately with the

PART ONE

39

simple 13 Nxe5. Instead he played 13 fxe5, Bxg5 14 h4, Be7 15 Nc3 and the game continued: 15 ... f5?! 16 exf6 e.p., Bxf6 17 Nxe4!, Nd4! (17 ... Bxb2 18 Ng5!, h6 19 Nxh6 ch) 18 Ngxf6 ch, Rxf6 19 Nxf6 ch and wins.

Thus, Black must be able to eliminate the knight from e5 early in the opening.

.t

7 Qf3

The point of this move is to put pressure on d5 after a subsequent c4 and also to swing the queen to h3 in coordination with an attack on h 7 when Black castles,

7

•••

0-0

Notice that 7 ••• b6 permits 8 Nc6 and 9 Nxe7. Black can prepare for this with 7 ... Qc7 but then ... Nxe5 has lost some of its impact because White can recapture on e5 with his bishop, thereby attacking the queen. A dangerous answer to 7 ... Qc7 would be g4!

The chief alternative to 7 ... 0-0 is 7 ••• Nxe5 which is best

40

WINNING WITH 1£4

met by 8 fxe!, Nd7 (9 ... Ne4 10 d3) 9 c4. Black's knight is clumsily placed in view of the attack on d5 and would be no better situated at b6. After 9 ... Nb6 10 Nc3, d4 11 Ne4! or 9 ... dxc I 0 Bxc4, 0-0 11 0-0 White has a promising position.

One point of 7 ... 0-0 is to retreat the knight to e8 so that on c7 it can protect the threatened d5 square much better. On the other hand, the knight on e8 does not attack e5 and therefore

permits White to block the Bb2's diagonal with Nc3.

8 Bd3 Nxe5

Black doesn't have any particularly useful alternatives, e.g. 8 ... Qc7 9 g4, Nxe5 10 Bxe5, Qc6 11 g5, Ne4 12 Nc3, Nxc3 13 dxc, f5 14 gxfe.p., Bxf6 15 Qh5 or 11 ... Nd7 12 Bxh7 ch, Kxh7 13 Qh5 ch, KgB 14 Bxg7!, Kxg7 15 Qh6 ch, KgB 16 g6, Nf6 17 g7, Nh7 18 gxf(Q) ch, NxfS 19 Rgi ch, Ng6 20 h4, Bfl 21 Qg5. Black should force White to decide

at this point how he will recapture on e5.

9 fxe

NeB

Again, 9 ••• Nd7 allows 10 c4 with pressure on d5.

10 0-0 Nc7

11 Nc3

(See diagram, next page)

There is nothing to be gained by attacking the overprotected d5. Instead, White will play on the K-side, with Qh3 and Ne2-f4. A sample line would be 11 ... b6 12 Ne2, Bb7 13 Nf4 threatening 14 Nh5 and 15 Qg3 or 14 Qh3, g6 15 Nh5! Because of this Black must be prepared to exchange off some pieces (e.g. 12 ... Ba6 in the line above). Perhaps the best order of moves for White after Il ... b6 would be 12 Qh3 immediately

i

-_._- ... _- ... _"". . _ .. - - ..... - ...... _. - --_ .. - ._..... . . - . . .

PART ONE

41

(position after 11 Nc3)

so that 12 ... g6 could be met by 13 Ne2 followed by doubling rooks on the f-file and potential sacrifices such as Nf4xg6 or Rf6. If Black plays 12 ... h6 then 13 Ne2 creates the possibility of Rf6! or Nf4-h5xg7.

ILLUSTRA'I'IVE GAME

No.3

Mazuchowski-Nietman, Wisconsin 1991 -

1 f4, d5 2 e3, Nf6 3 Nf3, e6 4 b3, Bd6 5 Bb2, Nbd7 6 Be2

l~ ft 4)~?:

ft jft II ft--

:x~: 4) *:; ~

42

WINNING WITH 1£4

PART ONE

43

(White still has a plan involving Ne5 but with c2-c4), b6 7 0-0, Bb7 8 Ne5, Qe7 9 d3, 0-0-0 10 c4, Rdg8 11 a4, a5 12 Bf3, h6 13 Na3, Kb8 14 NbS, Bb4 15 Nd4, Nxe5 16 fxe5, Nd7 17 Nc2, Qg5 18 d4, f6 19 cxd5, Bxd5 20 Bxd5, exd5 21 e6, Nffi 22 Nxb4, axb4 23 Qd3, Nxe6 24 a5, Kb7 25 e4, Ra8 26 a6 ch, Ka7 27 nrs, Qg4 28 Qfl, dxe4 29 h3, Qg3 30 Qc4, Qd6 31 Rd5, Qe7 32 Qc6, Rhb8 33 Rd7, Qe8 34 d5 Resigns.

D

Black Delays ••• c5

1 £4 Nf6

2 Nf3 e6

3 e3 b6

This Queen's Indian-like beginning has more logic to it than several other anti-Bird systems you're likely to run into. Black is likely to go to b7 in any event, so why not immediately? There is no reason to rush out with the d-pawn if, as we've seen from the previous pages, the break ... d4 is not feasible. Why not keep the d-pawn at home so that Ne5 can be met by ... d6?

Of course there is a price Black pays for his conservatism:

White can develop pretty much as he wants.

4 b3 Db7

5 Bb2 c5

Equally reasonable is 5 ... Be7 and 6 ... 0-0 before doing anything on the Q-side. The sequence of moves chosen may be the most accurate. Black will be able to play ... Nc6 and later

PART ONE

45

44

WINNING WITH 1£4

... d5 without harassment.

Notice the difference of 1 £4, c5 2 Nffi, Nf6 3 e3, e6 4 b3, Nc6 5 Bb2, Be7. With Black's QN already developed there is the prospect of Bb5xc6 or Ne5xc6 by White. For example, 6 Ne5! looks good because 7 Nxc6 would be a major positional accomplishment regardless of which pawn Black uses to recapture. (If Black plays 6 ... Qc7 so as to retake with his queen, White proceeds with 7 Be2 and later Bf3).

The move 6 Ne5 was tried in one recent master game in this position and it performed perfectly for White: MureyKhasin, U.S.S.R. 1975 6 Ne5, Nxe5 7 fxe5, Nd5 8 c4!, Nb4 9 Nc3, 0-0 10 a3, Nc6 11 Ne4, d5 12 exd6, Bxd6 13 Qh5!, f5

14 Nxd6, Qxd6 15 Bc3, Ne5 16 Qh4, Ng6 17 Qg3!, e5 18 0-0-0 and White had a strong game thanks to his two bishops. His advantage blossomed after he forced an exchange of queens with 18 ... Bd7 19 h4!, £4 20 exf4, exf4 21 Qd3, Qxd3 22 Bxd3, and there followed 22 ... Bc6 23 h5, Ne7 24 Rh4!, Rf7 25 Rfl, Bxg2 26 Rfxf4, Rxf4 27 Rxf4, Bc6 28 Rg4, g6 29 Rg5, h6 30 Re5, resigns.

White often cannot afford the luxury of posting his bishops on the two K-directed diagonals of b2-e5 and d3 .. h 7 • Here, because of the absence of Black counterplay, he can do what he likes with his bishops. The one at d3 not only examines the area in which Black usually castles but also supports the e4 square and may enable White to play e4-e5. It also leaves e2 free for White's Q or QN.

And there's always the possibility of the two bishop sacrifice ...

6

•••

Nc6

:1

The knight should be developed here and early so that ... Nb4 is a possibility. It's a possibility that should be saved - such as in case of 0-0 and Qe 1 by White when c2 as well as d3 are attacked and not used when White can simply reply Be2 followed by a3.

Consider what happens if Black puts the knight at d 7 .

After 6 ... Be7 7 0.0, 0·0 8 Nc3!, d5 9 Ne2, Nbd7 10 Ng3 White has effected a useful shift of his QN to the K-side. He then has a simple attacking plan of Ne5 and Nh5, a plan that worked most successfully in Emanuel Lasker's early brilliancy over a minor master named Bauer in Amsterdam in 1889. An approximation of the Lasker position would be reached with lO ... Qc7 11 Ne5, Nxe5 12 Bxe5, Qc6 and now 13 Nh5 is

murderous, e.g, 13 NeB 14 Bxg7, Nxg7 15 Qg4 or, as played, 13 ... Nxh5 14 Bxh7 ch, Kxh7 15 Qxh5 ch, Kg8 16 Bxg7, Kxg7 17 Qg4 ch and White mates or wins prohibitive amounts of material after Rf3-h3 ch.

Black should keep his pieces more active and watch out for White's shift of pieces to the K-side.

6 Bd3

7 0-0 Be7

Although the Black King becomes a target on the K-side,

8 9

0-0

PART ONE

47

46

WINNING WITH 1£4

White shouldn't delay castling in favor of Q-side development. He is not quite ready to decide what to do on the Q-side and any decision will be influenced by what White does with his QN.

An example of the Q-side option was Larsen - Wade, Hastings 1972-3 when Black played 7 ••• Qc7 and the corollary of 8 Nc3, a6. White safeguarded the position of his bishop at d3 with 9 a3 and there followed 9 ... d5 10 Ne2, b5?! II Bxf6, gxf

12 c4! (Note that with the Black Queen still on d8 White would now lose material to 12 ... dxc, which threatens 13 ... Qxd3.)

The opening of the center and Q-side was risky for Black,

and even riskier was his emergency plan of 12 ... dxc 13 bxc, b4 14 Bc2, 0-0-0. Larsen played 15 Qbl!, Bd6 16 axb, Nxb4 17

Be4! with a clear advantage.

This game also illustrates the risks to Black of Q-side

castling. For better or worse, ... 0-0 is best in nine out of ten

cases.

This insignificant-looking move is a signal that the attack is about to begin with the Ne2-g3 shift. If Black routinely develops his queen and rook, or plays conservatively in the center, he could be left without sufficient counterchances to compete with the concentration of four White minor pieces (plus a queen and assorted rooks) on the K-side.

For example, 9 ... d6 is a restrained way of playing, and perfectly safe in a position in which there is a pawn tension in the center that is, one or more of your pawns is in capturable contact with one or more of his pawns. But here, there is no tension and after 10 Ne2, Qd7 11 Ng3, Rac8 Black's logical moves do nothing to stop White's initiative with, say, 12 Ng5 (e.g.

12 ... Rfd8 13 Nh5; 12 ... g6 13 N3e4; 12 ... h6 13 Nh5!).

9 10

•••

d5

Ne2

8

Nc3

This position requires some foresight by Black. Among White's plans is f5 and Nf4, and this is why a procedure such as IO ... a6 intending 11 ... b5 and 12 ... c4 is a bit slow: 10 ... a6 11 15, Qd7?! 12 fxe, fxe 13 Nf4 and 14 Ng5. Better for Black is 11 ... exf.

On the other hand, IO ••• Qd7, directed against £5, misplaces the queen badly and makes Ne5 a strong idea. White would play II Ng3 followed by 12 NeS, Nxe5 13 fxe and 14 Qg4 (or 13 Bxe5 and 14 Nh5 a la Lasker).

Perhaps Black's best policy is IO ... Ne4 and II ... f5 but this permits White to adopt a different plan, such as c4. He has no shortage of ideas and, it seems, a promising game.

•••

This completes our analyses of positions in which Black plays ... d5 and ... c5 early on but does not fianchetto his KB . The pinning problem ( ... Nc6? being met by Bb5!) is eased when Black avoids an early development of his QN or his d-pawn, or

a3

48

WINNING WITH 1£4

Modern Systems

plays ... a6, but White then has the freedom to place his pieces aggressively.

In these variations Black plays ... d5 but does not rush into ... c5. He may play similar to the way White does when colors are reversed in the Dutch Defense. These days in the Dutch, White almost always fianchettoes his KB, and we'll examine a fianchetto of Black's KB in section (C) below.

All of the subsequent sections begin with:

1 £4 d5

2 Nf3 Nf6

3 e3

a,;:. ,.l

-'","

i

A

Black Fights for e5

3

•••

Bg4

The logic behind this is simple: Black brings out his QB before locking the center with ... e6. He may even strive for ... e5, supported by a knight at d7 and bishop at d6. He stops Ne5 by White.

But this move also means that Black will be parting with

............... ----~

Qxf3

BxB Nbd7

PART 'I'WO

51

50

WINNING WITH 1£4

a very nice piece in a position with a potentially volatile kingside attack. Black seems to be daring White to play h3 and later g4!

6 ... h6 but 7 h4 keeps the g5 plan alive (and 7 ... h5 8 g5, Ng4 just drops a pawn to Bh3).

4 h3!

6 Nc3

The knight promotes e2-e4 and keeps the Nf6 from going to e4 after g4-g5. Black has no time for 6 ... e5 now because of 7 Nxd5.

6

•••

e6

4 5

•••

More ambitious is 6 ... c6 eying 7 ... eS. Then Black must contend with 7 d4 which keeps the center closed and takes advantage of Black's temporary inability to play ... c5. The game could go 7 ... e6 8 g4, c5 9 g5, Ng8 10 dxe!, Bxe5 II Bd3 and 12 e4 or IO ... Nxc5? II Bb5 ch, Nd7 12 e4, d5 13 Be3! (13 ... dxe 14 0-0-0; 13 Be5 14 0-0-0, Qb6 15 Bxd7 eh and 16 Na4).

Another idea is 6 ... Nc5. A recent game saw 7 g4, e6 8 d3, c6 9 g5, Nfd7 10 d4, Na6 II a3, Nc7 12 b4, Be7 13 Bd3,0-0 14 Bd2 but after 14 ... a5 15 bxa5, Rxa5 16 a4, Qa8 17 Ke2, b5 Black had a dangerous queenside initiative. The

sacrifice 18 Nxd5 turned out badly in Dave-Oberg, Correspondence 1991.

Clearly 4 ... Bh5 is impossible here (5 g4 and 6 f5).

Black has only one consistent move.

This looks natural ( ... e5 intended) but perhaps too committal. The alternative development of 5 ... N c6 is suspect because of 6 Bb5 followed by 7 c4. Also, 5 ••• c5 is too early because of the weakness that it creates on white squares, including b7, e.g. 6 g4, e6 7 g5, Nfd7 8 c4, Nb6 9 Nc3 followed at some point by b3, h4 and f5 or Bg2.

The safest-looking move here is 5 .•. g6 which anticipates White's kingside expansion by strengthening the white squares there. But 6 g4, Bg7 7 g5 stiIllooks troublesome (7 Nh5 8 c4, c6 9 d4 followed by Nc3 and ultimately h4/Bh3-g4 or f5, or 7 ... Ne4 8 d3, Nc5 9 Nc3, c6 10 e4). Black's best may be

7 g4!

(See diagram, next page)

Nirnzovich played this idea here and in a similar position in the 1920's. It seizes a good deal of territory and threatens to weaken Black's chain of white-squared pawns with a later f5 and g6. Then White's KB can wreak havoc.

7

•••

Bb4

10 11

Nd6

PART 1'WO

53

52

WINNING WITH If4

(position after 7 g4!)

This was played in the seminal game Nimzovich-Kmoch, Kecskemet 1927, and it makes some sense. Black fights for e4 as a knight outpost. The problem is that the knight won't stay there long because of a tactical finesse.

But what is better? After 7 ••• g6 8 g5, Nh5 White can

try 9 Be2 intending Qg2 and Bxh5. But more adventurous is 8 h4 with the idea of h4-h5xg6. Again 8 ... h5 will be met by 9 g5, Ng4?! 10 Bh3. And after 7 ••• Bd6, the conservative approach, White continues with his expansion plans: 8 g5, Ng8 9 b3, c6

10 Bb2 (or 10 e4) e5 11 h4 and 12 Bh3.

White has a very nice position, with prospects all over the board. He will meet ll ... dxc with 12 d4 or just 12 dxe after which Black's knights have a limited future. Black should play

11 ... c6 and now 12 Be2, recommended by Raymond Keene, is better than 12 e4 played by Nirnzovich in the 1927 game. White aims for a later e4. Another method of proceeding is 12 h4 followed by Bh3.

"

B

The "New York" System (1 £4, d5 2 Nf3, Nf6 3 e3)

8 g5 9 hxc 10 d3!

Bxc3 Ne4

3

•••

Df5

(See diagram, next page)

Now IO ••• Nxc3, presumably Kmoch's intention in the seminal game, would be met by 11 Bb2 rupturing Black's position on the kingside or 11 a4, trying to trap the knight.

•••

This is similar to the New York System, popularized by Emanuel Lasker when he confronted the Hypermoderns in the 1924 New York International. Black prepares for ... Nbd7, ... e6, ... Bd6 and ultimately ... eS.

But with the addition of White's f4 this system is complicated by the danger of g4, swallowing up the Black bishop or

c4

. ····--·-·-~~~~_"WI.~ __ C __

PART 'I'WO

55

54

WINNING WITH 1£4

This is the most flexible move, although 5 ... Bd6 or 5 ... Be 7 also have their merits. They do not, however, have independent value since Black is pretty much committed to the New York System setup mentioned earlier. His QN will go to d7 because c6 is not as useful to him, and his pawn structure will be one of ... e6 ... d5 ... c6 until he can promote ... e5. See Illustrative Game 4 at end of chapter for an illustration of what happens when Black delays developing his QN until it can be safely brought to c6.

(position after 3. .. BJ5)

6 Be2 h6

4 b3

This move is necessary because of the potential embarrassment to the bishop of Nd4 or Nh4. It can now retreat to h7. However, Black also creates the danger of the opening of his kingside by g4-g5 should he castle short. This becomes his chief concern in the middlegame.

using attacks on it to launch a general kingside advance.

In general White should avoid committing his other pieces until he has to. Here he should delay moves such as Be2 until he is certain the bishop would not be better developed on g2

Of, if given the opportunity, on b5.

7 0-0

4

•••

e6

4 ••• Nbd 7 or 4 ••• c6 will likely transpose into the main line that follows. Note that 4 ... c5 is risky because of 5 Bb5 ch, or the more exact 5 Bb2 which prepares to meet 5 ... Nc6 with 6 Bb5! Then White will have a favorable version of Part One (A). Black's bishop on f5 may have to then retreat to d7 to avoid the doubling of Black's pawns, that we know would be unfavorable

to him.

5 Bb2

Nbd7

. Here there are many sequences of play but the theme is

basically the same White prepares for action in the center {c4

56

WINNING WITH 1£4

PART TWO

57

or e4) all the while dissuading Black from castling because of g4- g5. For example, 7 ... Bd6 could lead to 8 Ne5, 0-0 9 g4, Bh7 10 d3 preparing for KhI and h4 followed by g5. Black could develop his bishop on e7 instead, but after 7 ... Be7 8 Ne5, Nxe5 White retakes with his bishop and continues c4 and Nc3.

ILLUSTRATIVE GAME

An example of the plan of kingside expansion is this husband-versus-wife batde:

No.4

B,

• - ~- __..-cc-o

+. _. .

, * ~

~~

19 Nxe6, Qxe6 20 15, Qd6 21 Qxd6, Bxd6 22 fxg6, fxg6 23 813, Nb6 24 a4, bxa4 25 bxa4, Be7 26 a5, Na8 27 Rabl, Bg5 28 e4, Be3 ch 29 Kg2, d4 30 Ba3, Rf7 31 Bg4,

Re7 32 Rb2, Re5 33 Rb7, c4 34 Rff7, Bh6 35 Bb4, cxd3 36 cxd3, Rb5 37 Be6, Rxb7 38 Rxb7 ch, Kh7 39 Be7, ReS 40 Bf7, Re8 41 Bd6, Bd2 42 e5, Bxa5 43 e6, Bc7 44 Bxc7, Nxc7 45 e7, Ne8 46 Rd7, Nf6 47 Rd8, Rc2 ch 48 Kf3, Rh2 49 e8 (Q), Nxe8 50 Rxe8, Rxh3 ch 51 Ke4 Resigns

Keith Arkell-Susan Arkell, London 1988 - "

1 f4, d5 2 Nf3, Bf5 3 e3, Nf6 4 b3, e6 5 Bb2, Be7 6 Be2, h6 7 0-0, c5

8 h3, Nc6 9 d3, 0-0 10 g4!, Bh7 II Nbd2, Qc7 12 Ne5, Rad8 13 Qel, Nd7 14 Nxc6, Qxc6 15 Nffi, b5 16 Qg3, a6 17 g5, hxg5 18 Nxg5, Bg6

PART TWO

59

58

WINNING WITH 1'4

C

The Modern Fianchetto

certain it belongs on e2. White's QB, on the other hand, has no better square to start from than h2.

1 £4 2 N£3 3 e3

d5 N£6

g6

4

•••

Bg7

As indicated earlier, 4 .•. c5 or 4 ••• b6 or any other move likely to transpose into what follows is safe.

5 Bb2 0-0

Black could save this tempo in favor of queenside development (again 5 ... c5 or 5 ••• b6, etc.). But there is no reason to commit himself this early.

;;;::;:~~ 4J~

ft ft ~ft~

~:.~ 4J ", W.JI!fl A ~

6 Be2 c5

Now that White has committed himself to Be2, Black can playa la section (8) with 6 ... Bg4 such as in Simagin Bykhovsky, U.S.S.R. Championship 1965: 7 0-0, Nbd7 8 d4, c6 (to keep the b6-e3 diagonal open for Black) 9 Nbd2, NeB! 10 Ne5, Bxe2 II Qxe2, Nxe5 12 fxe, Nc7 13 Qg4, f5! and 14 Qh3, Ne6 with an excellent game.

Raymond Keene recommends 8 Ng5, Bxe2 9 Qxe2 in the above line but it seems White can improve as well with the simple 8 h3, Bxf3 9 Bxf3. By keeping the Black d-pawn under fire White should be able to work up a slight middlegame

initiative (9 c6 10 c4, dxc?! II bxc, Nc5 12 d4!, Nce4 13

Nd2 or IO e6 II Qc2, Qe7 12 Nc3, dxe 13 bxc, e5 14 d4).

Black can also delay any move of his c-pawn in favor of bringing his QB into play at h2. For example, 6 ... b6 7 0-0, Bb7 takes much of the sting out of 8 Ne5, which is effective in our main line. Also, if White confuses plans with, say, 8 Qe 1 and, after 8 ... c5, the idea of 9 d3, Black can play aggressively in the center with 9 ... d4! (e.g. 10 exd, Nd5 or 10 e4, Ng4 11

Qh4, Ne3 as in Ranniku Gaprindashvili, Tillis 1976).

While ... d5/ ... c5 was the most popular way for Black to answer 1 £4 in the early part of this century, this fianchetto defense has become the fashionable method today. It could

come about through a variety of move orders (1 g6 or 1 ... Nf6,

etc.), Note that Black needs either ... Nf6 or d5 early in the

opening to stop White from playing e4. Other than that, he can play any number of different sequences. The only move order that we know to be questionable is an early ... c5 and ... Nc6 for

Black because of Bb5! by White.

4 b3

White must play this before Black is fully fianchettoed (4 Be2, Bg7 5 b3 permits 5 ... Ne4! forcing White to block the diagonal). Also, it is wise for White to delay his KB until he is

(AnalysU after 6...66)

61

60

WINNING WITH 1£4

However, sting or not, White should play 8 Ne5 and continue with 9 Bf3 to maximize his influence on the center. A typical line would be 8 Ne5, Nbd7 9 Bf3, Nxe5 10 fxe, Nd7 11 d4:

7 0-0

Nc6

4J~

ft ft -'l ft BUB

)o:@~~

I:=f:~ 4J it B: ~1

Here 7 ••• b6 comes to mind, with the slight difference from 6 ... b6 above in that c5 is already occupied. Bent Larsen, faced by Keene at Mallorca 1971 , could find nothing more tangible than 8 a4 but it turned out to be a useful move. Let's see how:

All four bishops are directed at the center and neither knight is particularly well placed. Each side has his plans for opening matters up Black with ... c5 and ... f6, White with c4 or e4. The Black plan of c7 -c5xd4, however, is not particularly dangerous, as it corrects White's pawn structure and gives Black Iittle in the way of targets along the c-file. On the other hand,

II ... f6 is decidedly double-edged. White can gambit a pawn for a lead in development (12 e6, Nb8 13 c4, c6 14 Nc3, Qd6

15 cxd, cxd 16 e4, dxe 17 Nxe4) or simply liquidate the position in the hopes that his pieces will. be more vigorously placed than Black's in a somewhat symmetrical position (12 exf, Nxf6 13 c4, e6 14 Nc3 followed by Qe2 and e4, or 12 ... exf

13 Nc3, c6 14 e4).

For a further discussion of this kind of position see the Larsen-Keene and Ljubojevic-Tringov games below.

Larsen Keene

Mallorca 1971

7 8

•••

b6 Nc6

a4

There was no need to bring the knight out yet since White was not sufficiently prepared for a5. But 8 ... Bb7 9 Ne5, Nc6 would have transposed.

9 Ne5 Db7

10 DB Re8

White was preparing 15 Nxc6, Rxc6 (15 ... Bxc6 Qxa6) 16 c4.

16

PART1WO

63

62

WINNING WITH 1£4

Black is reluctant to test lO ... Nxe5 11 fxe, Nd7 (11 ...

Ne4!?) 12 d4 when 12 ... e6 13 c4 creates problems for himself on d5 and 12 ... f6 invites 13 e6, Nb8 14 c4 as Black no longer

has ... c6 as a defense.

Or 16 ... b5 17 Nb6, Rc7 with a cramped and difficult game in view of dxc and a later c4. Now White grabs a pawn.

17 NxaS 18 Qxa6

BaB

11 d3 Nd7

12 d4 e6

And White won after several squirms by Black: 18 ... Nf5?! 19 Qe2, cxd4 20 exd4, Qb6 21 c3, Rfd8 22 b4, Ne4 23 Bxe4, dxe4 24 Nb3, h5 25 Ne5, e3 26 Nc4, Qb8 27 Nxe3, h4 28 Nc4, h3 29 g4, Nh4 30 Qe3, Bg2 31 Rf2, Qb5 32 Ne5, Ra8 33 Rxa8, Bxa8? 34 Qxh3, Bxe5 35 Qxh4, Qc6?? 36 Qxd8 ch, Resigns.

Black's clever opening play (12 Bxd5??, Ndxe5 loses a piece) has given him a solid but relatively unambitious position in the center. White's knight is entrenched at e5 and will have to be eliminated, say with ... Ndxe5 and ... f6. Larsen manages to create a powerful position by exploitation of the virgin

queenside in half a dozen instructive moves.

Meanwhile, back at our main line move of 7 ... Nc6 (after I f4, d5 2 Nffi, Nf6 3 e3, g6 4 b3, Bg7 5 Bb2, 0-0 6 Be2, c5 7 0-0, Nc6)

13 Na3!

a6

8 Ne5

There was some concern about 14 Nb5 followed by Nd6 or Nxc6.

15 Nac4!

14 Qe2 Ne7

A surprise based on the pinned d-pawn {15 ... dxc? 16 Bxb7}. Now 16 Nxd7, 16 Nd6 and 16 a5 are threatened.

15 16

•••

Nf6 bxa5?!

This move, directed against ... d4, permits White to play for advantage in the middlegame. He will continue, as we've seen from similar examples above, with Bf3 and perhaps d3.

as!

,

8

Nxe5

·PART TWO

65

64

WINNING WITH If4

Black has no time for 8 ... d4? because 9 Nxc6, bxc 10 Na3! and 11 Nc4 establishes a bind on critical squares in the center. Black can then occupy d5 with his knight but it will be driven away eventually with e4 as White builds an infrastructure on white squares in preparation for an attack on Black's weakened pawns.

•••

If Black finds this unattractive he must protect his c6. 8 ••• Qc7 is the leading candidate and then 9 Nc3, a recommendation of Vasya Pirc, looks best: 9 ... Nxe5 10 Nb5, Qb6 (10 ... Qb8??, Bxe5) 11 Bxe5, NeB 12 Bxg7, Kxg7 and now 13 c4. White will harass Black with Nc3 and 8m. For example,

13 ... Nd6 14 Nc3 or 13 ... d4 14 Qc2. See illustrative game 5 at end of chapter for 9 ... a6, which safeguards against Nb5.

Another possibility is 8 ... Bd 7 since it is not good for White to give up his well-positioned knight at e5 for the unambitious bishop. A good method of play for White is 9 Bill (to stop 9 ... Ne8) e6 10 d3, Qc7 11 Nd2 and 12 Qe2. See illustrative game 6 at end of chapter for an example of IO ... RcS, reinforcing c6 so that ... d5-d4 becomes more attractive.

(position after 10 tU)

9 (xe5 Nd7

cannot be underestimated after IO ... b6 11 Bffi, Bb7 12 c4, e6 13 Nc3. The Black knight at d7 is singularly misplaced.

In one interesting grandmaster game (Ljubojevic-Tringov, Skopje 1972) Black sought to correct the misplacement of the knight straight away. He played IO ... Nb8 and there followed 11 Bill, Nc6 12 Nc3, e6 13 Na4!.

Black was forced to liquidate the first set of pawns and then he offered another exchange to avoid being overrun in the center. But following 13 ... cxd4 14 exd4, £6 15 exf6, Bxf6 16 Qd3, b6 1 7 Rae I he stood worse and White slowly built up a positional hammerlock: 17 ... Bd7 18 c3, Rc8 19 Bel, Bg5 20 Ba3, Be7 21 Bxe7, Nxe7 22 Nb2, Qc7 23 Ndl, Kg7 24 g3, Rf6 25 Bg4, Rxfl ch 26 Qxfl, Qd6 27 Qe2, Ng8 28 Qd2, Nh6 29 Nf2, ReB 30 Re3, Nf7 31 Bh3, a5 32 Nd3, a4 33 Nf4, axb3 34 axb3, Ng5 35 Bg2, Ra8 36 h4, Ral ch 37 Kh2, Ne4 38 Bxe4, dxe4 39 Rxe4, Qa3 40 Re2, Qxb3 41 Nh5 ch! resigns (in view of 41 ... gxh 42 Qg5 ch, Kh8 43 Qd8 ch or 42 ... KfB 43 Rf2 ch, Ke8 44 Qg8 ch, Ke7 45 Qf8 mate).

White's ancient arrangement of pieces against this modem antidote seems quite lively, as demonstrated in the hands of Larsen and Ljubojevic. My own feeling is that Black should avoid a capture on e5 until required to do so, or until a clear line

On 9 ••• Ne4 with the idea of 10 d3, Nd6! and 11 ... Nf5, White should play 10 Bf3 (lO ... Nd6 11 Bxd5).

10 d4

(See diagram, next page)

This appears more advantageous than comparable positions in which Black's QB is already fianchettoed. Here Keene recommends 10 ... b6 and 11 ... Bh7 but White's chances

... - - .. -.--.--~

._- - .

1

I

66

WINNING WITH 1£4

67

of play for him emerges after the capture.

10 ••• e6
11 DB b5
12 g4 Bb7
13 g5 Nxe5
14 fxe5 Nd7
15 Qd2 Rac8
16 Rrl b4
11 Ndl ILLUSTRATIVE GAMES

No.5

Bucker-Suetin Dortmund 1990

1 £4

2 b3 3 Bb2 4 Nf3 5 e3 6 Be2 7 0-0 8 Ne5 9 Nc3

10 d4

d5 Nf6 g6 Bg7 0-0 c5 Nc6 Qc7 a6

A common maneuver of the knight to g4

•••

a5 Qb6 c4?

17 18 19

ReI c3

Prematurely closing the one file he needs for counterplay.

Now 20 bxc4 favors White.

20 Qel 21 bxc4 22 Be2 23 cxb4

Rc7 Rxc4 Rcc8 Qxb4

A new idea, in place of the routine 10 Nxc6, Qxc6 II Bf3 or the attack on the queenside with 10 Na4. With 10 d4 White locks the center with a kingside bayonet thrust by the gpawn in mind, e.g. 10 ... B£5 II g4, Be4 12 g5!.

..

f

!

69

68

WINNING WITH 1£4

No.6

24 Rc3! Rxc3

25 Bxc3 Qe7

26 h4 Ra8

27 BxaS nra

28 Bb5 Qa3

29 QU

Bueker-Feher Eger 1989

1 14 d5

2 Nf3 Nf6

3 e3 c5

4 b3 g6

5 Bb2 Bg7

6 Be2 0-0

7 0-0 Nc6

8 Ne5 Bd7

9 Bf3 Rc8

10 Nc3 e6

11 d4 Qa5!

29 Bd7, Rxa5 30 Be8! wins faster.

29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49

Qxa5 De8 Qd8 RxcS Rc7 Rf7

Rf5 Qa5 Qc3? h5

Qc4 Bb4 Be7 Kf7 Qa6 Qa3 gxfS Qa5 Dd8 Be7 Resigns

Better than 11 ... b6 12 Qd2, a6 13 dxc5!?, bxc5 14 Nxd7, Nxd7 15 RIdl with play against the Black center after

Na4 and c2-c4 Evans-Paoli, Venice 1967.

•••

Rxf7 Bxd7 DxeS Rh7 Rb2 Qh3?

Nr2 Qfl Re2 Qel Kg2 Qdl Nh3 Qc2 R£Z Rxf5 K12 Nf4 a4 Qa2

12 Qd2 REd8

13 Radl cxd4

i

r

70

WINNING WITH If4

./

PART TWO

71

14 exd4 De8

15 g4! Bf8

16 g5 NxeS

17 lxe5 Nd7

18 Nxd5!

29 RIel! Bg4
30 Re3 Nd7
31 Kf2! Rde8
32 Kg3 Bf5
33 Hxf5 gxf5
34 Kf4 b6
35 axb6 axb6
36 KxfS NfB
37 h4 Ra7
38 h5 Ra2
39 Rle2 Nd7
40 Bd4 Rxe2
41 Rxe2 HaS 18

•••

Qxd2

A promising sacrifice.

18 ... Qxa2? runs into 19 Bc3!

19 Rxd2 20 Bxd5 21 c4 22 Be4 23 Rdf2 24 Bc2 25 a4 26 as 27 Re2 28 d5

exd5 Rc7 Nb6 Bg7 Re7 Bc6 DeB Nd7 Nb8 Bd7

In the final stage White's king alone can make a breakthrough.

42 g6 43 hxg6 44 Ke6 45 d6 46 b4

hxg6 ch fxg6 Ra7 Kf8 Ke8

............

_.

..

' .. ''-

.... ""1' •

. .... "

•• •• I~

, ,

j j

I ~

i f

72

WINNING WITH 1£4

47 Kd5 48 e6! 49 KId 4 50 Kd5 51 Kc6 52 Kb7 53 Kxb8 54 Kb7 55 Re4 56 Rxg4 57 Rd4 58 Kc7

59 Rd7 ch 60 Rd6

61 Rc6

62 cxb5

Ra4 Bxd4 Ral Rdl ch Nb8 ch Rxd6 Ke7

g5

g4 Rxe6 Ke8 Ke7 Ke8 Re4 b5 Resigns

No. 7

Brissman-Cleal, Correspondence 1981 -

1 f4, d5 2 xrs, Nf6 3 e3, c5 4 b3, g6 5 Bb2, Bg7 6 Be2, 0-0 7 0-0, b6

PART TWO

73

8 Ne5, Bb7 9 Qel, Nc6 10 Bf3, Qc7 II d4, Ne4 12 Nd2, cxd4 13 Bxd4, Nxe5 14 £Xe5, Qxc2 15 Bxe4, dxe4 16 Nc4, Ba6 17 Rf2, Qd3 18 ReI, Bxe4 19 Rxe4, Rac8 20 Rd2, Qxc4 21 bxc4, Rxc4 22 Qh4, f6 23 exf6, Bxf6 24 Bxf6 Resigns.

I

:.:.:.:.:.:.;.

:l

PART THREE

From's Gambit

PART THREE

75

1 2

£4 e5

fxe

sixth move below (6 ... Nc6).

Note that 2 ••• d5 is not a forcing move and so White can

play 3 d4 followed by c4 or Nc3/e2-e4. Also, 2 .•. £6 is faulty because White need not accept the gambit pawn with 3 exf and can play instead 3 e4, Nc6 (3 ... fxe?? 4 Qh5 ch) 4 Bb5, fxe 5

Nf3 with an edge (Dr. Reif Lasker, Breslau 1889).

3 exd 4 Nf3

Bxd6

The knight stops the murderous 4 ... Qh4 ch and prepares to advance the two unopposed center pawns. If White can push his d-pawn and e-pawn (usually in that order) to the fourth rank, he will be winning.

4

•••

g5

2

•••

d6

This is the most aggressive move but one that permits White a number of counterattacking and sacrificial possibilities based on the weakness now created around the Black king. He can try instead to use the e-file and his lead in development:

(a) 4 ••• NC6 which can be met by 5 g3 and fianchetto development. The Black knight on f6 obstructs his queen's access to h4 and prevents him from using ... h7 -h5-h4 effectively, e.g. 5 ... h5 6 d4, h4 7 gxh!, Ng4 8 Qd3, Bxh2?! 9 Qe4 ch, KfB 10 Rxh2 and White wins material, or 7 ... Ne4 8 Qd3, Bf5 9 Bh3!, Bg6 (9 ... Rxh4 10 Bxf5, Bg3 ch 11 xn, Nf2 12 Qe3 ch!) 10 Rgl, Qe7 11 Rxg6!, fxg 12 Nc3 as in Tartakower · Prins, Zaandvoort 1936. This is typical of the counter-sacrificial possibilities available to White when the enemy gets too ambitious

on the kingside.

Historically the most active answer to Bird's Opening, the From has seen relatively little action in recent years. Often when faced with 1 ... e5 players holding the White pieces will run from theoretical debate by playing 2 e4 reaching a King's Gambit. But From's pawn offer is not so dangerous that it must be avoided. Due to new analysis this chapter has been completely rewritten from move six. OUf 1982 edition recommended 6 Ng5 instead of the below 6 Ne5.

Likely to transpose is 2 ••. Nc6. White responds 3 Nffi and Black has no convenient manner of freeing himself in the center except 3 ... d6 4 exd, Bxd6. If instead, 3 ... g5 4 d4, g4 White plays 5 Ng5 with a fine game, e.g., 5 ... £5 6 e4, h6 7 Nh3!, gxh 8 Qh5 ch, Ke7 9 exf with a ferocious attack, or 5 ... d6 6 exd, Bxd6 7 c3, transposing to the note to Black's

,

~~~4)*~@

ft ~~m ft .A~ ft ~

:;:~: 4) ." .1l~'.!: f!

PART THREE

77

76

WINNING WITH 1£4

5 d4

v-, --,---.,,«-0<-' •

. ~

?-~ :1

Black is virtually committed now to trying to trap the knight that advances towards his king.

5 6

•••

g4

Ne5

Black can also play 5 ... Ng4 with ideas of a sacrifice on h2. But 6 Bg2 is safe (6 ... Nxh2 7 Nxh2, Bxg3 ch 8 Kfl, h5 9 e4, Nc6 10 d3 and 11 Nf3 as in Deppe Ulfig, 1957) since 6 ... h5 7 d4 transposes into the note above.

The slow buildup with 5 ... Nc6 also has some merit but White should consolidate provided he plays d3 instead of d4 (which gives away the e4 square to a Black knight. For illustration, 6 Bg2, Bg4 7 d3 was played in a 1961-2 tournament in which only From's Gambit was played. White scored heavily in this position with continuations such as 7 ... Qe7 8 Bg5, 0-0-0 9 Nbd2, Qe6 10 e4. Also, 7 ... 0-0 8 0-0 followed by c3 and Nbd2 is the slow means of building the White center without giving away any squares.).

(b) 4 ••• Bg4 threatens 5 ... Bxf3 and 6 ... Qh4 ch. But 5 e4 should be adequate, e.g., 5 ... Nc~ 6 Bb5, Qd7 7 c3 followed by d4 or Qa4; 5 ... Nf6 6 Nc3, Qe7 7 d3 intending Bg5/Nd5; 5 ... 15 6 e5, Qe7 (6 ... Bxe5 7 Qe2 or 6 ... Bxf3 7 Qxf3, Bxe5 8 Qxf5) 7 d4.

~
~ ~ 1%
1% 1% This move has had a questionable reputation since Emanuel Lasker used it to defeat Harry Bird himself in the second game of their 1892 match, when Lasker was an up-andcoming but little-known German master. Rather then entering a sacrificial middlegame (via 6 Ng5!?, f5 7 e4, h6 8 e5, Be7 9 Nh3) White signals his willingness to play an endgame in which he has an extra pawn but certain problems with his pawns, his development and his king safety.

6

•••

Dxe5!

One advantage of 4 ... g5 is that 5 g3 leads to complex play in which White's knight is misplaced after 5 ... g4 6 Nh4, Ne7 or 6 ... f5! For this reason:

Black can be tempted to try 6 ... Nc6, with the idea of 7 Nxc6, Qh4 ch. But the natural continuation 8 g3, Bxg3 ch 9 hxg3, Qxhl is actually in White's favor after 10 Ne5, Nf6

i

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78

11 Qd3 and rapid queenside castling. And there's nothing more than a few checks after 9 ... Qxg3 ch instead of 9 ... Qxhl.

Black's best, in fact, after 6 ... Nc6 7 Nxc6 is the simple 7 ... bxc6, reviving the threatened queen check. Then, according to an analysis by the Soviet master Alexander Bangiev, White can defend with 8 g3, and if 8 ... h5 9 Bg2, h4, then 10 Qd3! with advantage, e.g. 10 ... Bd7 11 Ne3, h3 12 Be4, Ne7 13 Bg5, f5

14 Bxf5, Bxf5 15 Bxe7! or 11 ... Rb8 12 O-O!, hxg3 13 hxg3, c5 14 Bf4, Bxf4 15 Rxf4, when White's king is safer than it may seem, and in fact is safer than Black's.

The other alternative to the endgame is 6 ... Qf6, which threatens to regain the gambit pawn by capturing a knight that has no real retreat. But this is one of those times when regaining the pawn carries with it positional costs. White has a nice game on the dark squares after 7 Nc3 (and 7 ... Bxe5 8 dxe5, Qxe5 9 Qd5!) or 7 Bd2 (with the idea of 7 ... Bxe5 8 dxe5, Qxe5?? 9 Bc3).

For example, 7 Bd2, Nc6! 8 Bc3, g3! (Or 8 ... Nxe5 9 dxe5, Bxe5 10 g3 and II Bg2 with advantage to White) 9 hxg3, Qg5 10 Qd3, Bf5 II e4, Bxe5 12 dxe5!, Rd8 13 Bd2! leads to an ending that is at least slightly favorable to White. Two games continued 13 ... Rxd3 14 Bxg5, Rxg3 15 Bf4, Rg4 and now 16 exi5, Rxf4 17 Nc3, Rxf5 18 0-0-0 was BohringerEichhorn, 1961 and 16 g3, Bxe4 17 Rh2, Nd4 18 KdI, Ne7 19 Nc3 was Vorobiev-Iliady, correspondence 1990.

7 dxe5

Qxdl ch

Black has no useful way of avoiding the endgame and 7 ... Nc6 8 Qxd8 ch only misplaces his own pieces.

8 Kxdl Nc6

PART THREE

79

9 Bg5!

The appearance that Black is doing well is deceptive. He has a temporary initiative which he will probably have to spend in order to get his pawn back. Moreover, he also has serious weaknesses on the dark squares thanks to 6 ... Bxe5 and the early

advance of the g-pawn.

9

Nxe5

•••

Black has two reasonable alternatives here that leave him a pawn behind but with compensation in the form of active

•

pieces:

(a) 9 ... Nge7 blacks the bishop's control of d8 and therefore prepares for queenside castling. After 10 Nc3, Be6 or lO ... Bf5 11 e4, Be6 White can hurt the enemy pawn structure

with 12 Bb5.

For example, 10 ... 815 11 e4, Be6 12 Bb5, 0-0-0 ch was played a few times in a 1961-62 correspondence tournament featuring From's Gambit. One game, Gigas-Popp, saw 13 Kel,

r

; r

80

WINNING WITH 1'4

Rhg8 and now White forced matters with 14 Bh4, Rd7 15 Bxe7, Rxe7 16 Bxc6, bxc6 17 Rfl, Rg5 18 Kf2, Rxe5 19 Kg3, is 20 exf5, Bxf5 21 Rf2, h5 22 Rafl with a slight edge.

White play can be improved with 14 Bf6 (instead of 14 Bh4) and 18 Rf6 (instead of 18 Kf2).

(b) 9 ... Be6 10 Nc3 and now IO ... Nxe5 II Nb5! transposes into the main line below. To avoid II Nb5 Black should take time for 10 ... a6. Then, however, II Bf6! corrects White's pawn structure and challenges Black to prove he has compensation for his long-gone pawn.

Play might continue: 11 ... Nxf6 12 exf6, 0-0-0 ch 13 Ke 1, h5 14 e3 and now according to analysis by Bangiev in New In Chess White stands better after 14 ... Nh4 15 ReI, Rh6 16 a3, Nc6 17 Ne4 or 14 ... Rh6 15 Ne4, Bf5 16 Bd3, Bxe4

(16 Nb4? 17 Nd6 chI and 18 Bxf5 ch) 17 Bxe4, ReS

(17 Rxf6 18 Rfl) 18 Bxc6, bxc6 19 Ke2, Rxf6 20 Radl,

Rfe6 21 Rd3, with clearly superior pawns.

10 Nc3

This threatens both II Nd5 and 11 Nb5 and forces Black's hand.

10

•••

Be6

There doesn't seem to be any record of the natural

lO ... c6 being played. White would then have promising chances by way of II Kel and 12 Rdl, e.g. II KeI, Be6 12 Rdl, £6 (12 ... Ne7?? 13 8f6; 12 ... Nd7 13 Ne4) 13 Bh4, Kf7 14 e3, with a fine game (14 ... Ne7 15 Ne4).

11 NbS!

PART THREE

81

Black now has these choices:

(a) 11 ... £6 hopes for 12 Nxc7 ch, Kd7 13 Nxa8, fxg5 when the White knight is trapped in the corner.

However, 13 Nxe6! turns the game from that tactical battle into a simple pawn-up technical struggle. After 13 ... fxg5 14 Nxg5 or 13 ... Kxe6 14 Bf4, Rd8 eh 15 Kel Black has no compensation.

(b) 11 ••• Kd7 and now 12 Ke I! clears the file for rook checks. After 12 ... f6 13 Rdl ch Black might continue 13 ... Kc8 14 Bh4, h5 15 e4, Rh7 16 b3, a6 17 Nc3 (or 17 Nd4!), c6 18 Na4 with an edge (Gigas-Kremer, Correspondence 1961-62).

He can also try the more active 13 ... Ke7 14 Bf4!, c6 15 Nc7, Re8 when 8angiev gives 16 Bxe5, £Xe5 17 Nxe6, Kxe6 18 e4! as leading to a slight advantage {lB ... Nf6 19 Bc4 ch, Ke7 20 Rfl and 21 nrs.

(c) 11 ... Rc8!? offers the a .. pawn and turned out well in

82

WINNING WITH 1£4

the 1985 correspondence game Bostrom-Boll, which went 12 Bf4, f6 13 Nxa7, Rd8 ch 14 Kel, c6!.

Several improvements can be suggested for White's later

play, but we can start earlier with 13 e3 (instead of 13 Nxa7), a6 14 Nd4, or 13 Kel. Black's kingside problems remain, and they can be exploited by a subsequent raid by White's king onto the dark squares, such as f2-g3-f4.

-

j

:__;_~...,....". .

83

PART FOUR

Other Defenses

Perhaps the greatest dangers to the Bird lie in the illdefined, heavily transpositional set of variations that begin with interchangeable moves such as 1 ... d6, 1 ... g6 and 1 ... Nf6. When I wrote Bird's Opening (Chess Digest, 1973) I was more impressed by Black's resources that I am now · largely because of a different appreciation of White's position. The first player is not locked into a traditional Bird setup (b3/8e2, etc) when his opponent uses his first moves to muddy the water. With consideration given to c4 as in a kind of English Opening, White can emerge with definite prospects.

Also under this umbrella we'll consider some rarely played imitative lines (1 ... b6, 1 ... £5) which test White's ability to prove an edge in a relatively symmetrical position.

A

Black Plays the Sicilian

I £4 c5

2 Nf3 g6

This is the most flexible and restrictive order of moves.

If Black plays ... Nf6 on either of his first two moves he may permit White a queenside fianchetto (1 f4, Nf6 2 Nf3, c5 3 b3 or 2 ... g6 3 b3) that eases his developmental problems.

On the other hand, Black wants to avoid ... Nc6 for the same reason we saw earlier in the systems with ... d5: White will get a nice game by playing Bb5 and 8xc6. This holds up even though Black will probably be playing ... d6 (instead of ... d5) and retaining control of e5. Even without Ne5, White has promising

play, as in the game Smederevac Minich, Yugoslav Champion-

r

3 e3 4 c4!?

Bg7

PART FOUR

85

84

WINNING WITH If4

ship 1960: 1 f4, c5 2 Nf3, Nc6 3 e3, g6 4 Bb5, Bg7 5 0-0, Nf6 6 d3, 0-0 7 Bxc6, bxc6 8 c4!, d6 9 Nc3, Rb8 10 Qc2, Nd7 11 b3!, e5 12 Bb2 and 13 Ne4! Note that in comparison to the comparable version of the Sicilian Defense, Black cannot play ... Nd4 to avoid a capture on c6. Also, Black might have done better to defend that square with his queen (5 ... Qc7) so as to recapture with a piece rather than a pawn. Of course, White could have played 5 Bxc6.

recapture with his g-pawn on f4 in case of 7 ... exf. After 7 ... Nge7 8 Bb2, 0-0 9 Bg2 we have a complex middlegame ahead (9 ... e4 10 Ng5; 9 ... d5 10 cxd, Nxd5 11 Nxd5, Qxd5 12 0·0) in

which all of White's moves are useful.

(c) Play for ••• d5 without ••• e6. This is seen in the

next note.

5 Nc3 0-0

This is a waiting move which permits Black to answer 6 b3 with 6 ... d5! after which Black is completely equal (7 cxd?!, Nxd5). White should take some precaution to anticipate this

Because of the barrenness of the traditional Bird plans (4 Be2, Nf6 5 b3, Ne4!) White needs a different plan.

•

strong action.

6 g3

The one chosen involves queenside measures often associated with an English Opening (c4/Nc3/b3) before completing the kingside development we previously considered automatic. One reason: White may decide to post his KB on g2 rather than e2.

4

•••

Nf6

,i

, .

.. , .

":'(J- -

1 i mmmmm

Black's counter-strategy need not be revealed for a move or two. But consider these alternatives. He can:

(a) Play for ••• e6 and ••• d 7 -d5-d4. This ambitious scheme should be handled this way 4 ••• e6 5 Nc3, d5 6 cxd, exd 7 Bb5 ch and now if 7 ... Bd7 then 8 Bxd7 ch, Qxd7 9 Ne5 or 7 ... Nc6 8 Ne5. Also, on 5 ... Ne7, delaying the central thrust, White has time for 6 b3, d5 7 Bb2 and if 7 ... d4 then 8 Na4 with pressure against the thinly-stretched Black center.

(b) Play for ••• d6 and ••• e5. Something like this occurs in our main line with Black knight on f6. If Black tries it with his knight at e7 or undeveloped we get something such as 4 ••• d6 5 Nc3, Nc6 6 b3, e5 and now 7 g3!? would permit White to

Now White is willing to liquidate the center after 6 ..• d5 7 cxd, Nxd5 because of 8 Nxd5, Qxd5 9 Bg2 with chances along the diagonal. (The endgame after 9 ... Qd3 10 Qe2 is not to be feared.)

The White KB will be well placed on g2 no matter what Black does in the center since Black has denied himself the early

, ,

• ...... 1 I •

• -:ir.r 1.1 r ~.I I I I I.. It' I .... ......... r

------~ ._---_.- ---_._----- --_ .. ----_._-----_._.- .--.--------~~~

r

,

;

,

6 7 8

•••

Nc6 d6

PART FOUR

87

86

WINNING WITH 1£4

... d5 he gets in Part One systems. Notice also that the White pawn at g3 reinforces f4 so that he can recapture with the g-pawn after ... e7-e5xf4 [see note (b) to the Black fourth move above].

B

Black Plays a King's Indian Defense

Bg2 d3

1 2

£4 Nf3

Nf6 g6

This position is largely untested but by analogy with the English Opening not without promise for White. Consider these

• •

contmuanons:

(a) 8 ... e5 9 0-0, followed by 10 Nd2 or 10 a3, with

queenside prospects. '

(b) 8 ... a6 9 Qd2 (to safeguard c3 for a fianchetto), Rb8 1 0 b3, b5 11 Bb2 and White operates with two plans for opening the center to his advantage Nd5 at some point and, with proper preparation, cxb and d4. Black has nothing immediate to do in the meantime and must solve the problem of what to do with his queen and QB.

3 b3

If White is to fianchetto, now is the time for it. If he delays until Black has a bishop on g7, b3 by White can be met by an uncomfortable ... Ne4 by Black.

3 4 5

•••

Bg7 0-0

Bb2 e3

~ .:\

.~~

I'i.

.! : '

/

•

,

" II~

:~

~ .~

'r..

.'

.. I.

,'; r. j.

Now 5 ..• d5 will lead into (C) of Part Two. On 5 ... c5 White should avoid 6 Be2 because then Black pursues an aggressive policy in the center that White is ill-prepared to answer (6 ... Nc6 7 0-0, d6 and 8 ... e5). But 6 c4! returns us to section (1) of this Part when White already has his queenside fianchetto

r'

,

.

:.

•

I

~

e

88

WINNING WITH If4

accomplished and will delay playing Nc3 until after he has castled.

Also, 5 ••• b6 tends to delay decisions in the center until Black is ready and White has committed himself to a square for his KB. But 6 Be2, Bb7 7 0-0 is a perfectly respectable position for White (7 ... c5 8 c4!, d5 9 cxd, Nxd5 10 Bxg7, Kxg7 II Qc2 and 12 Qb2 ch or 8 ... d6 9 Nc3, Nc6 10 d3, e5

II fxe, Nxe5 12 Qd2).

5

•••

d6

This enables Black to push ahead with ... e5 even when it may seem he doesn't have enough protection of the e5 square.

6 c4

Again this move fits in best with White's formation. Too often in the traditional Bird setups White starves from too little access to queenside squares. Here he makes up for it early on.

6

Nc6

•••

Black can play 6 ... e5 with the idea of 7 fxe, Ng4 using the pin on the long diagonal. Since White does not like 7 Be2, exf 8 exf, Nh5 he should play 7 g3 with playas in the main line.

..

7 g3

Or 7 Nc3, e5 8 g3. White has no reason to fear 7 Nc3, Ne4 8 Qcl either.

7 8

e5

•••

Bg2

PART FOUR

89

The early days of Henry Bird were also the last days of Howard Staunton, the first Englishman to be recognized as the world's best player. Staunton, who had some interest in Bird's opening ideas, worked out a number of systems in the English in which White plays both e3 and g3. Later, in the hands of weaker players, this pawn configuration backfired and was condemned. But actually it is quite safe and offers an elasticity that is not always available in more orthodox formations.

Here, for example, White has not declared his center intentions yet but tries to take the sting out of ... exf and ... e4 by Black. The capture on £4 will leave Black with a marked lack of center play (8 ... exf?! 9 gxf, Be6 10 0-0, Qd7 II Nc3, Rae8

12 d4 better is 9 ... d5 10 0-0, Bf5 with some activity). The

advance can be supported in the short run, but compromises Black in the long run (8 ... e4 9 Ng5, B15 10 0-0, h6 11 Nh3, Re8 12, Nc3 and 13 Nf2 with prospects of g4 to encircle the embattled e-pawn.

Black might do best with simple developing moves such as 8 ... Bf5 intending 9 ... Bd3. But 9 fxe complicates matters (9 ... Ng4 10 Nh4, Be6 II Nc3 eyeing Nd5 at some point).

This position is difficult to judge but it appears White has some reason for optimism if he can coordinate his pieces in the

r

i

t I

j

t

90

WINNING WITH 1£4

PART FOUR

91

next 3-4 moves. The outpost square d5 is especially important to White's middlegame and his fianchettoed KB is excellent. He should be in no rush to advance his center pawns, which are doing their best work where they are. Their role will come later.

C

Black Plays a Modern Defense

1 £4 g6

2 Nf3 Bg7

This sequence keeps White from playing 3 b3 as in the King's Indian-like position we considered in the last section.

3 c4

.;:,.~,.;.~ .. ~.:~.

'r:~~ ~

r_.-_.-_.-_.-_.-_.-_.-_.-, ~.~~

~~..x;;~..%

&"'wW:.:t~::)

Since Black has not committed himself in the center at all White can defer this in favor of 3 e3 (and if 3 ... c5 then c4). The advantages of 3 c4 over 3 e3 are slight but a few are worth noting. FOT, example, White avoids with 3 c4 the attractive Black setup with ... d5 and ... Ng8-h6-f5 (e.g. 3 e3, d5 4 Be2, Nh6). He also may save himself a tempo in some lines by delaying e3 until the middlegame (or avoid it entirely).

After 3 c4 we can round up the usual prospects with: (a) 3 •.• d6 4 Nc3, Nf6 5 e3 transposing into section (B) or 4 ... c5 5 g3, Nf6 6 Bg2, 0-0 7 0-0 when White can

92

WINNING WITH 1£4

PART FOUR

93

fianchetto on the queenside, if he wants, with d3/Qd3/b3 and Bb2.

(b) 3 .•• N£6 4 Nc3, d5 5 cxd, Nxd5 6 g3 or 6 Nxd5 and 7 g3. The play is similar to the English Opening but with white a bit loosened and Black unable to assert himself in the

center with e5.

(c) 3 c5 4 Nc3, Nc6 5 g3 again with English-like play

but with more freedom in the center for White than normal. His slight weakness on squares such as e3, e4 and g4 is easy to live with.

Black can seek symmetry in this last line with 5 ... f5 after which White should be able to break the imitation with queenside action or a d3/e4 thrust. For example, 6 Bg2, Nf6 7 a3, a6 8 RbI, Rb8 9 b4, cxb 10 axb, b5 11 c5!? (11 ... d6 12 Ng5;

11 ... a5 12 bxa},

This competes the transpositional triad of systems White

may have to deal with (1 c5; 1 ... Nf6; 1 ... g6). There is no

independent value to 1 d6 unless Black avoids a kingside

fianchetto and strikes off into new paths (2 Nf3, Nc6?! when 3 e4! creates a favorable form of an e-pawn opening).

D Imitation

1 f4 f5

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We cited a bit earlier a case in which Black establishes symmetry. This is the only true case of imitation we have to worry about because the move above was dealt with severely in the last century. The refutation? An improved version of From's Gambit.

2 e4!

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Black has little choice here. 2 ••• d6 leaves Black with serious white-colored holes, e.g. 3 exf, Bxf5 4 Nf3, Nf6 5 d4, e6 6 Bd3 followed by 0-0 and Ng5.

Black can play more conservatively with 2 ••• e6 but his position is somewhat passive (3 Nc3, Nf6 4 e5 or 3 ... Bb4 4 exf, exf 5 Nd5 and a queen check.] And pure imitation (2 ... e5?) stops after 3 exf, exf 4 Qh5 ch.

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3 4

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PART FOUR

95

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94

WINNING WITH 1£4

2 3

•••

fxe

d3

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In the From we saw that 3 ... exd 4 Bxd3, Nf6 5 Nf3 was not exceptionally dangerous with colors reversed because of 5 ... g6. But here, with a White pawn at f4, there is a strong line

in 6 f5!

If Black instead plays 5 ... e6 there is Ng5!, e.g. 6 ... g6 7

h4, Bh6 8 h5 (Bird-Gelbfuhs, Vienna 1873) and on 5 ... d5 White has the e5 square with excellent play after 6 0-0 and 7 Ne5.

Black therefore must decline the gambit. But 3 ••• Nf3 is dangerous since 4 dxe, e6 5 Bd3 and 6 e5 gives White a free hand in the center and 4 ... Nxe4 5 Bd3, Nf6 6 Nf3 is the

gambit accepted by transposition.

The chief alternative method of declining the gambit is

3 ... d5 when White has a fine endgame following 4 dxe, dxe 5 Qxd8 ch, Kxd8 6 Nc3, Nf6 7 Nge2, Bf5 8 Be3, e6 9 0-0-0 ch. Also, 3 ••. g6 is purely passive with massacres likely such as Ranniku-Karakash, Bryansk 1965: 4 dxe, e5 5 Nf3! (5 fxe??, Qh4 ch) Nf6 6 Bc4, Qe7 7 Nc3, exf 8 Qe2, d6 9 Bxf4, Be6

10 0-0-0, Nc6 11 Bb5, Bd7 12 Bg5, Bg7 13 Nd5, Qd8 14 e5 and wins.

(position after 5 tU)

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On the other hand, a quiet game in the center, such as 5 .•• e6 6 Bd3, Nc6 is too quiet. At the Podebrady International of 1936 one of the local Czech masters, Pelikan, developed an excellent position against then-former world champion Alekhine after 7 a3!, Ne7 8 Nh3, b6 9 0-0, Bb7 10 Nd2, g6 11 Bf2, Bg7 12 c3, 0-0 13 Qe2 in advance of 14 g4!

Hardly conclusive, but you're not likely to see 1 ... £5 very

often.

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Bxe3 d4

(See diagram, next page)

Despite the appearance of his pawn-bound bishop, White has the beginnings of a great game here. Black's greatest problem is his lack of influence in the center. If he plays 5 ... d5 and brings out his QB, White will occupy e5 or g5 powerfully with his KN (6 Nf3, Bg4 7 Nbd2, Nbd7 8 h3, Bxffi 9 Nxf3 and 10 Bd3 followed by 0-0 and Ne5).

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14 ... axb4 15 axb4, Rxal 16 Qxal, g6 17 e5, Bg7 18 Nc4, Qe7 19 Qbl, Ra8 20 Qc2, ora 21 Bel, Ra7 22 Qb3, Qb8 23 Ng5, h6 24 Nxe6, fxe6 25 Nxd6, Nxd4 26 cxd4, Bd5 27 Bc4, cxd6 28 Bxd5, cxd5 29 Qxd5 ch, Kh7 30 is, gxf5 31 e6, NfS 32 Qxf5 ch, Kg8 33 d5, Qe8 34 Qg4, Qg6 35 Rxf8 ch Resigns.

96

WINNING WITH 1(4

97

PART FOUR

E

Black Does Nothing In The Center

And if Black does nothing in the center, White will have a free hand in center. Our final Illustrative Game shows this:

No.8

1

•••

b6

Savage-Epshteyn, Maryland 1990 -

I f4, b6 2 b3, B-b7 3 Bb2, Nf6 4 e3, e6 5 Nf3, Be7 6 Be2, 0·0 7 0-0, Ne4?! 8 d3, Bf6 (Black's point, but ... ) 9 c3, Nc5 10 e4, d6 11 b4, Ncd7 12 Nbd2, Nc6 13 a3, a5 14 d4

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This may be better here than against other first moves by White since the first player cannot easily cover up his white squares (e4, d5) with pawn protection.

2 Nf3 Bb7

3 e3

At this point Black must begin to think for himself. If he plays 3 ••• Nf6 followed by ... e6, ... Be7 and the advance of his dpawn and c-pawn he will reach a position considered in section (D) of Part One. If he plays 3 ••• g6 followed by ... Bg7, ... Nf6 and ... d5 White will respond 4 c4 and 5 Nc3, possibly in preparation for b3 and Bb2. White can develop his KB at e2 and play Ne5 followed by Bf3 after he castles.

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98

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