Michael Basman - Play the St. George

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Transcript of Michael Basman - Play the St. George

  • PERGAMON CHESS OPENINGS

    General Editor: Craig PritchettExecutive Editor: Martin J. Richardson

    ESTRIN, Y. B. & GLASKOV, I. B.Play the King's Gambit

    Volume 1 - King's Gambit AcceptedVolume 2 - King's Gambit Declined

    VARNUSZ, E.Play the Caro-Kann Defence

  • Play theSt. George

    MICHAEL BASMANInternational Master

    PERGAMON PRESSOXFORD NEW YORK TORONTO SYDNEY PARIS FRANKFURT

  • Contents

    PART I - THE ST. GEORGE'S OPENING1. Introduction 32. Theory of the System 83. The Quieter Attempt at Refutation 14

    PART II - THE ST. GEORGE IN TOURNAMENTPLAY4. The Three Pawns Attack 255. The Main Line 366. Main Line with White Be3 577. Polish and French Formations 678. Sicilian Close Formations as White 80

    Appendix I. Baker's Defence 98

    Appendix II. Owen's Defence.Rehabilitating 1 ... b6 107

    Further Reading and Listening 121

    Index of Games 122

  • PART I

    The St. George'sOpening

  • 1Introduction

    The St. George's Opening beginswith the moves 1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3Nf3 b5 or 1 e4 a6 2 d4 b5. I prefer toplay it the first way for aestheticreasons, but in the game Karpov-Miles, from Skara 1980, Milesplayed it the second way. However,in both cases the overall strategy isthe same Black develops hisqueen's bishop on the longdiagonal, and reinforces his whitesquare control by the moves ...a6, ... b5. He gains space on thequeenside and his pieces develop tonatural squares. His king remainsbehind a central fortress of pawns atd7, e6 and f7 and only according toneed decides to castle kingside orqueenside.

    According to the diligent re-searches of Myers and Frank Skoff,the opening was played 100 yearsago by an English player namedBaker, and he succeeded indefeating both Steinitz andBlackburne with it in simultaneous

    displays. But more of that in Appen-dix I. The first time the 'New St.George' was played appears to havebeen in the fourth (Saturday even-ing) round of the Islington weekendtournament, 1978, when under theappreciative eyes of Robert Bellin,the game Lexton - Basman began1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3 Nf3 b5 4 Bd3Bb7 5 Be3 Nf6 6 Nbd2 c5 7 dxc5Ng4 8 Bg5 f6. Unfortunately,Black lost this game, but the resultof a game is never a good indicationof its quality and in fact I think look-ing at results is just another exampleof human laziness which preventsthem from learning to analysegames properly.

    After this game I played the open-ing at least forty times in 1979 andwas in the middle of recording themagnum 4 tape opus on ... e6,... a6, ...b5! when news of thefollowing occurrence broke upon astunned British Isles.

  • English playerbeats worldchess champion

    By Leonard Harden.Chess Correspondent

    Tony Miles got England offto a flying start in the Euro-pean chess finals in Skara.Sweden, yesterday when hebeat the world champion, Ana-toly Karpov, in a remarkable46-move game where Karpovnever recovered from a shockon move one. England tied 4-4with the Soviet team, who havewon all six previous Europeancompetitions.

    Miles met Karpov's regular 1P-K4 by 1 . . . P-QR3, a moveso rare in chess theory thatit has no recognised name.Karpov floundered for a plan,lost first the initiative andthen a pawn within 25 moves.Miles got the pair of bishopson an open board and punchedhome his advantage withpowerful play until the pres-sure forced the world cham-pion to concede a second pawnjust before a d j o u r n m e n t .Overnight analysis convincedKarpov that he was helplessagainst the advance to queenof Miles' extra pawns and heconceded without resumption.

    Miles's win was only thesecond this century by a Bri-tish player against a reigningworld champion and the firstsince Penrose beat Tal at the

    1960 Leipzig O l y m p i c s .Britain's No. 1 has met Karpovseven times previously withthe meagre haul of two drawsin the 1977 BBC Master Game and five defeats.

    He decided on 1 ... P-QR3to counter Karpov's massivebook knowledge and after ana-lysis at home at Birmingham.A very similar stratagemswitching black's first andsecond moves has been used bythe British expert Michael Bas-man on the Cutty Sark Con-gress circuit. But English teammembers said last night thatthe pawn push should ben a m e d . . .

    Reprinted from Guardianreport January 1980 byLeonard Barden, Chesscorrespondent

  • I reproduce Miles's account fromthe New Statesman column ofJanuary 1980, with kind permissionof the newspaper."A. Karpov (USSR)-A. Miles(England), European Team Cham-pionship, January 1980

    1 e4

    Karpov is always at home in well-known theoretical lines so it is bestto avoid them. A couple of yearsago I had a ridiculous!?) idea of anall-purpose defence to anything butas yet had not found a suitableopponent to test it on. Now, Idecided, was as good a time as any.

    1 .... a6!?2 d4 b5

    By this time the spectators'laughing was becoming embarrass-ing.

    3 Nf3 Bb7It's only 1 ... b6 with a bit more

    space really!?4 Bd3 Nf65 Qe2 e66 a4 c5!?7 dc

    If 7 e5 c4 is unclear.7 ... Bxc58 Nbd2 b49 e5 Nd5

    10 Ne4 Be711 0-0

    I expected Bg5.11 ... Nc612 Bd2

    Now if Bg5 f6 and a quick 0-0-0.12 ... Qc713 c4 bc14 Nxc3 Nxc315 Bxc3 Nb416 Bxb4 Bxb417 Rac1 Qb618 Be4 0-0

    Black has a perfectly reasonableposition. Now White tries to forcematters prematurely.

    19 Ng5 h620 Bh7+!? Kh821 Bb1 Be722 Ne4 Rac823 Qd3?

    Presumably an oversight. Thebattery looks threatening but nevergets time to operate.

    23 ... Rxc124 Rxc1 Qxb225 Re1

    25 Rc7 was the alternative buteven then Black has a wide choiceof strong continuations.

    25 ... Qxe526 Qxd7 Bb427 Re3 Qd5

    Forcing a winning ending. Therest is technique.

    28 Qxd5 Bxd529 Nc3 Rc830 Ne2 g531 h4 Kg732 hg hg33 Bd3 a5

  • 34 Rg3 Kf635 Rg4 Bd636 Kf1 Be537 Ke1 Rh838 f4 gf39 Nxf4 Bc640 Ne2 Rh1 +41 Kd2 Rh242 g3 Bf343 Rg8 Rg244 Ke1 Bxe245 Bxe2 Rxg346 Ra8

    I now sealed ... Bc7 but Karpovresigned without resuming."

    After the game there arose somequarrels over naming. The Englishteam, anxious to avoid any associ-ation with its erstwhile member, butafraid to take the final step in callingthe opening 'Miles's Defence',came up with the ludicrous title of'Birmingham Defence'. Could any-one have thought of a worsename?! Even Miles's suggestion'Bull Ring Defence'* was superior,but this was quashed as tooesoteric.

    I do not particularly like namingopenings, any more than I likescrawling my name over the booksthat I buy but I like the name ofSt. George, which shows on theone hand that this defence wasdeveloped by English players and'For the benefit of our foreign readers, the'Bull Ring' is the name of the shopping centrein Birmingham, in addition to the more well-known meaning Ed.

    on the other that it was used inheroic rearguard circumstances. St.George, to my knowledge, onlykilled one dragon and Miles has onlybeaten Karpov once.

    By a nice coincidence, Miles'sbirthday is on April 23rd.

    Theoretically, how did this open-ing manage to arise independentlyin the minds of two players, withoutany discussion between either?(there is no truth in the idea that Ibriefed Miles for his game againstKarpov).

    The reason goes back to 1975,when the English Defence (1 c4 b6)was struggling for rebirth and manyEnglish Masters were also trying outOwen's Defence again (1 e4 b6). Iplayed this defence many times in1974-76 and suggested it to Miles,who jubilantly smashed up DavidGoodman in 18 moves with it.

    Later we thought of producing acassette and Miles wrote half of itbefore it ground to a halt. He foundno real counter play for Black ifWhite played a quite simple and in-nocuous looking line; and there waseven danger for Black beinggradually pushed off the board.

    The game Franklin-Miles fromLara 1975 was the real death knell tothe variation; in a contest whereMiles, already half a G M, shouldhave been odds on winner, hestruggled pitifully and went outwhimpering. In fact, he lost twogames in that tournament, in a

  • period when he was a weekendtournament 'killer'. (He has sincegraduated to international Swissesfor his major successes.)

    Let's have a look at this opening- the Owen's Defence.

    1 e4 b6 2 d4 Bb7 3 Bd3 e64 Nf3 c5 5 c3

    The mark of White's system.White has had no difficulty in set-ting up his classical pawn centreand it looks as if he will have nodifficulty in defending it. Thequestion now remains will Blackbe able to develop normally himself,despite the obvious cramping effectof White's central pawns. After all,the Pirc and Modern Defences havesuccessfully combatted the doublepawn centre before.

    A few more moves.5 ... Nf6 6 Qe2 Be7 7 0-0 Nc6

    8 a3

    Now Black begins to feel in-secure. If he continues 8 ... Qc7 -the natural continuation he runsinto 9 e5 Nd5 10 c4 and his poorknight at d5 is trapped!

    How subtle of White to play6 Qe2 and not 6 Nbd2 to guard hise-pawn, because now f4 isunavailable to the black knight.How subtle to play 8 a3, which notonly threatens expansion with b4,but also takes away the square b4from the knight at d5.

    We can see that the problem ofthe system is the problem ofknights, and their positioning of f6and c6, which makes them vulner-able to the sudden thrusts e5 andd5. Incidentally, though 1 e4 b6 fellinto disuse after experiences like theFranklin-Miles game, I do not feelsuch a logical system can be bad,and have made some suggested im-provements in Appendix II.

    Now we go on to Chapter 2.

  • 2Theory of theSystem

    From the previous chapter it can bereadily seen why the idea of themoves ... a6 and ... b5 should arise,because the pawns on thosesquares safeguard the position ofthe knight at d5 by restraining themove c4 by White.

    This automatically means that theblack knight on f6 feels that much

    more at home, because the move e5would no longer presage a pawnavalanche down the central files,driving Black's pieces back to base.

    The position shown in the dia-gram above is just one which mightarise from St. George's Opening,and, as you can see, there isonly a slight difference to the1 ... b6 opening in that Black'spawns are at a6/b5.

    Continuing this logical train ofthought, we return to base to lookfor improvements for White.

    Starting with 1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6White asks himself "If d5 is such animportant square for Black, and ifBlack is trying to play ... b5 andplace his bishop on the longdiagonal, why don't we take awaythis square immediately by playing3 c4, and perhaps we can then playd5 and completely smother the poorblack bishop."

  • Thus arises one of the most excit-ing lines of the St. George Defence- the Three Pawns attack. In order

    to contest d5 and the white squaresBlack has no choice but to sacrificea pawn by 3... b5! And after that4 cxb5 axb5 5 Bxb5 Bb7 we askourselves what has Black got forhis pawn?

    The answer is, a good deal. Thepoints e4 and g2 are now tenderweak spots in the white camp andBlack is ready to assail them withmoves like ... f5 and ... Nf6. Whatusually happens, in the most criticalline, is that White sacrifices a rookbut almost assassinates the blackking almost.

    From the diagram White plays6 Bd3 to guard the e-pawn thebishop is anyway misplaced at b5 -

    Black replies 6... f5; White 7 exf5Bxg2 8 Qh5+.

    We see now why White delayedthe moves which he could haveinterpolated w Nc3 b Bb4,because in that case Black wouldnow have the square f8 for his king.

    Now, however, there is only onemove which looks like suicide -and that is 8 ... g6 9 fxg6. Black hashere only one move. And it isn't9 ... Nf6 because with 10 g7+ Nxh511 gxh8 = Q White regains hisqueen with an attack to boot.Black's only move is 9 ... Bg7 stop-ping g7 discovered check.

    This doesn't seem to help much.10 gxh7 + Kf8. Worse seems tofollow because White can now cap-ture on g8 with check.

  • At this point I must diverge, butnot into an appendix and statethat the sort of play that arises hereis well known in the sister systemsof the English Defence (1 c4 b6)and Owen's Defence (1 e4 b6).

    For reasons of clarity we shalltrace the history of the famousEnglish Defence. After 1 c4 b6 2 d4e6 3 e4 Bb7 4 Bd3 f5 5 exf5 Bxg2(White's rook is now a goner) 6Qh5+ g6 7 fxg6 Bg7 8 gxh7 +Kf8.

    We now reach an identical posi-tion to the previous one exceptfor the queenside pawn configura-tion and for a long time nobodyever thought of playing anythingbut 9 hxg8 = Q+ Kxg8. What couldbe better than winning a piece withcheck? But eventually it dawnedthat despite this White was still go-ing to end up the exchange downafter 10 Qg4 Bxh1, and his strippingaway of the pawns from Black'sking did not give him enough com-pensation for this material loss.Besides this, Black obtained rapidplay himself by moves like ... Nc6(attacking d4) and Q-f8-f6 orQ-e8-h5. Black's bishop at g7proved a powerhouse in bothdefence and attack, and of courseendgames, with an extra exchangealways favoured Black.

    Then along came Browne (WalterBrowne) and in a game against ourfavourite whipping boy, Tony Miles,he produced a full rook sacrifice.From the last diagram (got it?) heignored the juicy morsel at g8 andsimply brought his knight from g1 toe2. 9 Ne2. Black immediately saveshis knight with tempo! (whichshows what an inordinately difficultmove 9 Ne2 is to find) by playing

    9. . . Nf6 10 Qh4 Bxh1 11 Bg5.

  • White hasn't even got any directthreats here he is just content totie Black up with his pawn at h7trapping the black rook, and hisqueen and bishop battery tieingBlack's pieces to the defence of f6.

    Miles did not manage to untiehimself and was demolished in thisgame in about 20 moves - - andthose moves were:

    11 ... Nc6 12 Nf4 Kf7 13 Bg6+Ke7 14 Nh5 (putting the screws onf6).

    14... Qf8 15 Nd2 e5 16 0-0-0Nxd4 17 Rxh1 Ne6 18 f4 (brilliantlyopening the f-file) d6 19 Ne4(another one attacks f6) and thegame did not last long.

    Subsequent analysis showed thatMiles's 12 ... Kf7 had not been cor-rect, and then it was found that12 Nf4 by Browne was wrong aswell ... so the argument continues.The present last word can be foundon Otto Hardy's cassette, 'TheEnglish Defence for the Eighties'.

    Now we shall return to the St.George. In that opening if Whiteplays the sort of line that Browneused against Miles, then Black hasbetter resources.

    For example, if we reach thisposition, and it is Black to play, hecan always try something like ...Ra5 x bishop at g5 to break the pinon his knight, or something cool like... Nc6-b4-d5 to defend f6 if hefeels more confident.

  • What of the Owen's Defence?Well that line of it died a definitedeath at the hands of a Russiananalyst. White's rook sacrifice waseven more powerful than in theEnglish Defence, mainly becauseBlack had not played ... e6, andcould not bring his queen to e7 incertain critical variations.

    Here is one.1 e4 b6 2 d4 Bb7 3 Bd3 f5 (if this

    doesn't work try ... e6 next time).4 exf5 Bxg2 5 Qh5+ g6 6 fxg6

    Bg7 7 gxh7+ Kf8.

    Seen it before? Note the differentpawns particularly the one at e7.8 Nf3!! Nf6 9 Qg6!! Stupendous.

    There is no need to go to h4anymore there's nothing to pin.Now Black has his pick of White'spieces at f3 or h1, but whichever hechooses. White uses the other tobuild up a mating attack.

    Note carefully how he does it Isuggest you try and win for White inthe event of both 9 ... Bxh1 and9 ... Bxf3 and then turn to the endof the chapter for the correctanalysis.

    For completeness, we'll mentionthat White does not need to go intothe rook sacrifice line against the St.George or even against theEnglish Defence. He can try to holdhis centre with the move f3 atvarious points. This usually has theeffect of conferring the initiative onBlack.

    For example, after 1 e4 e6 2 d4a6 3 c4 b5 4 cxb5 axb5 5 Bxb5Bb7.

  • At this point White can play 6 f3,which messes up his naturalkingside development (the knightcannot go to f3) and I usually play6 ... Qh4+ here, either to persuadeWhite to further weaken the longdiagonal by 7 g3, Qh5 or to movehis king with 7 Kf1.

    Back to the diagram, White canplay 6 Bd3 f5 and now 7 Qe2 Nf6

    8 Nc3 Bb4 9 f3 at which pointBlack can simply develop withmoves like ... 0-0, ... Nc6 or flinginto the attack with ... c5 and... Qa5.

    Relevant material on the ins andouts of these lines can be found onthe cassettes by Keene and Hardyon the English Defence and the St.George cassette, but as they do notpose grave theoretical problems toBlack, I will not deal with themhere. ...

    In the position after 9 Qg6, themain lines are:

    9 ... Bxh1 10 Bh6! Rxh711 Ng5!

    9 ... Bxf3 10 Rg1! Rxh7 11 Qg3!Be4 12 Bxe4 Nxe4 12 Qf3+ Kg814 Qxe4 with the better game.

  • 3The QuieterAttempt atRefutation

    White builds a two pawn centre,supports it, and castles.

    White's development is so beauti-fully economical and harmonious inthis line that we wonder how Blackcan bother to fight against it. But inchess there is room for everyone. Itis one thing to set up a position;another to maintain and advance it.Black's position takes longer to setup, but because of this he canchoose more carefully his plans,knowing already that a certain, fixedconfiguration opposes him.

    We shall study the MAIN LINE.Play 1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3 Nf3 b5

    4 Bd3 c5 5 c3 Bb7 6 0-0 Nf6.

    Here White has several ways todefend his e-pawn with 7 Nbd2,7 Re1, 7 Qe2. And other movessuch as 7Bg5(?), h6 8 Bxf6 Qxf69 Nbd2 Qd8 and 7 e5(?) Nd5 which

  • help Black by clarifying the situa-tion.

    We shall look at the two mostcommon moves, 7 Qe2 and 7 Re1.

    7 Qe2. This has its owncharacteristics. One is that it mayhelp a4 to happen because White'squeen and bishop are lined upagainst the black pawns at b5 anda6. Another is that though thequeen is not exposed along thee-file, she may be attacked in somepositions by Nd5-f4, or the move... g5-g4xf3 sometimes becomespossible because the pawn at f3would gain a tempo by attack on thequeen.

    What is Black's plan to be here?An orthodox idea might be 7 ... Be7and later ... 0-0, though Black mustkeep an eye open for greek giftsacrifices by w dxc5 Bxc5/w e5Nd5/w Bxh7+ Kxh7 w Ng5+ etc.He can do this by keeping an eye ong5 by playing ... h6.

    Black can choose to play moreflexibly and develop more piecesbefore committing his king. Ideaslike ... Be7, ... h6, ... g5 have beentried with success on the kingside,and on the queenside Nc6 andQb6.

    In an early game with Bednarski(International Master) I tried7 ... Be7 here but was not happyafter the reply 8 a4! because ifBlack now answers 8 ... b4 9 e5Nd5 10 c4! (that poor knight)9 ... Nc7 and Black's knight is con-signed to oblivion.

    Later on I noticed that 7 ... Be7was not necessary, and I could play7 ... Nc6 straight away, withoutfearing 8 d5. I began to play7 ... Nc6 and eventually a fewelephants came around to fall intothe trap.

    8 d5?! Ne7! (Not of course8 ... exd5 9 exd5+ Ne7 8 d6 win-ning a piece).

  • Black has carefully calculated thathis knight this time the queen'sknight though being chased willland in a good position, and thatWhite has not the development tomaintain his pawn on rush.

    9 d6 Ng6 10 e5 Bxf3!The point. White must now

    recapture with the pawn, becauserecapturing with the queen allows11 ... Nxe5. Note that this wholeline hinges on White having playedQe2 on move 7, rather than Re1.Had the positions been with whitequeen at d1 and rook at e1, thenWhite could reply to ... Bxf3 withQxf3 maintaining his kingside intact.

    11 gxf3. Now Black gains realcounter play.

    11 ... Nd5 12 Kh1 (Otherwise hegets mated by ... Nf4 and ...Qg5 + ).

    12 ...f6!

    The thematic move. Black mustnot fear for his king, as long as hecan break up the white pawn chain.

    One of my games with the IsraeliAfek now continued:

    13 Bxg6+ hxg6 14 Qd3 Kf715 Rg1 (threatens a deadly check atg6) g5! 16 Nd2.

    It is not clear at first sight who isattacking Black's king is exposedon f7 and he cannot really consider14 ... fxe5 because of the strongreply 15 Ne4. But his next movetears the bars of his cage asunder.

    16 ... Bxd6!. Grr!17 exd6 Rxh2+. Zop!18 Kxh2 Qh8+. Splat!19 Kg2 Nf4+. Crunch (Winning

    a queen).Such wins are spectacular, but

    strictly of limited application,because White need not necessarilyoblige by playing 7 Qe2 and next8 d5.

    Let us return to the position after7 Qe2 Nc6.

  • Here White has a choice of alterna-tives, but he must be aware ofBlack's intention to play ... cxd4and then ... Nb4 to exchange offthe bishop at d3. In answer to this, 8Nbd2 cxd4 9 cxd4 Nb4 10 Bb1 is notsufficient as Black can rapidly buildup on the c-file before White candrive away the knight with a3.

    Thus 10 ... Qc7 11 Nb3 Rc812 Ne1(?) Qc4 is quite okay forBlack.

    So earlier White would have torelinquish his double pawn centre,in the event of 8 Nbd2 cxd4 9 Nxd4Qb6.

    Another plan for White in thediagram position is 8 a3 (the ubi-quitous move); but as the game inPart II shows, Sowray-Basman,Black has good counterplay.

    Having looked at 7 Qe2, we'llpass on to the other major line,7 Re1.

    This immediately cuts out thereply 7... Nc6 because of theanswer 8 d5; so Black must thinkclearly about his choice of planhere. I've always thought that8 ... Qb6 is a good move, because Ilike the concealed threat to thewhite f2 square, left unguarded bythe move 7 Re1. But this idea wasseverely tested in the gameNicholson-Basman from Part II ofthis book.

    Shall we then play 7 ... Be7? Nowa critical series of moves followsafter 8 Nbd2 Nc6. At this junctureWhite chooses to advance. 9 e5Nd5 10 dxc5 Bxc5 11 Ne4 Be7.

    This sort of position is always in-teresting, and has similarities withKarpov-Miles. White gains little byplaying 12 Nd6+ Bxd6 13 exd6,because of ... Qb8 and Qxd6. Healso has to decide how he is goingto defend his pawn at e5, if Blackattacks it by ... Qc7, without mov-

  • ing his knight from its good post ate4. But meanwhile it is White'smove, and he can try the instantattack 12 Bg5. This has the threatof Nd6 + , so Black's combi-nation ... Nxe5 is of no use here.Equally of no use seems to be12 ... Qc7 because of 13 Bxe7 Kxe714 Nd6 Nxe5 15 Nxb7 Nxf3 +16 Qxf3 Qxb7 17 Be4. So let's turnto 12 ... f6. In the event of makingthis move, one has to be careful ofthe check on the d1-h5 diagonal.

    Can White play 13 exf6 gxf614 Ne5 -- threat Qh5+ and Qf7mate? No he can't because Blackhas got a knight at c6, so after14 ... Nxe5 15 Qh5+ Nf7 holds forBlack.

    Perhaps with these thoughts inmind the game A. Lewis-Basman,January 1980 (played on the sameday as Karpov-Miles, and Lewismade a much better job of it!) con-tinued with 12 a4! reaching ournext diagram.

    This sort of move sets Black prob-lems with his knight at d5. Captur-ing at a4 is not so bad in that itopens the a-file, and White haspressure on an isolated a-pawnbecause this pawn is right at theedge of the board and can be com-pensated for by central play.

    But after 12 ... bxa4 White has13 c4. This is also interesting. Thevarious exchanges of pawns on thequeenside have at least ensured thatBlack has a secure outpost at b4,but after White's 14 Bb1, is it reallymuch of an outpost the knight iscut off from the centre of the boardand fairly ineffectual. The actualgame continued from the diagramwith 12... Qb8 with a disguiseddefence of the b-pawn, and acounter attack on the Whitee-pawn. Yet White found a stronganswer here in 13 Bg5!

  • It is unfortunate for Black that heis unable to capture at e5 now,because of the sequence 13 ...Nxe5 14 Nxe5 Qxe5 15 Nf6+ winn-ing Black's queen for rook andknight. Black is, therefore, troubledby the threat to exchange bishopsand invade on d6. He played 13 ... f6(13 ... Bf8 looks the only alterna-tive) 14 exf6 gxf6 15 Bh4.

    It is precisely because of thisbishop retreat that White gains theadvantage, because he can comewith tempo to g3, attacking theblack queen and then move into d6.After the further moves 15... 0-016 Bg3 Qd8 17 Nd6 Bxd618 Bxd6 Rf7 White had gained thetwo bishops and was set to win thepawn at b5. Though Black later cob-bled a win out of this game, he wasdecidedly unhappy throughout.

    So what can we say about the7 Re1 line? It seems to give Whitechances of a lasting initiative, andBlack must be careful about hischoice of developing moves. Wehave looked at a straightforwardidea, of playing first ... Be7, inorder to allow ... Nc6 to happenwithout fearing d5 by White. Butthis still ran into difficulties due tothe well timed blows a4! and Bg5!by White.

    Of course, if one is worried by theRe1 line, it can be avoided by adopt-ing Miles's move order of 1 ... a62 ... b5, as played against Karpov,because White has not time for 0-0

    and Re1, and must guard his pawnwith Qe2 or Nbd2, but then onepasses up the chance of inveiglingWhite into the Three Pawns attack.

    So why not have another go?Instead of 7 Re1 Be7 8 Nbd2

    Nc6, try 8 ... h6 which reachesanother diagram.

    This is intended to prevent whitepieces coming in on g5. Black is nottoo happy about making the move,because g6 is slightly weakened,which means that the thrust... f7-f5 is less likely to happen.

    Nonetheless, the move does haveaggressive intent as well as defen-sive. In some lines ... g7-g5 isplayable; in others, rather thanblock the b7 bishop's diagonal aftere4-e5 Nd5, Black can retreat hisknight to h7 and then leap out at g5.

    If we follow White's last plan of9 e5 Nd5 10 dxc5 (White must ex-change now as otherwise Blackachieves a favourable block by ... c4

  • or... cxd4) 10 ... Bxc5 11 Ne4 Be7.White may now continue 12 a4,thematically attacking the queen-side pawns, in order to be able todrive Black's knight away from d5by a later c4.

    Black plays 12 ... bxa4. Whiteattains his objective by 13 c4 Nb414 Bb1 but now Black can play14 ... Qc7, with an attack on thepawn at c4. White answers 15 Qe2,Black plays N8c6 16 Ng3 (to defendthe king's pawn) and now after16 ... Na5 White has once again tothink of the defence of his pawn atc4.

    This is one possibility, another isto argue; after 7 Re1 Be7 8 Nbd2White has given up the chance ofdeveloping his knight at c3, so whynot now exchange by 8 ... cxd49 cxd4 Nc6.

    Both White's pawn thrusts d5and e5 are here catered for, andthere are threats of ... Nb4, but nowcomes 10 a3 Na5 11 b3 b4 12 a4d5!?

    The idea of playing this FrenchDefence is based on the variation13 e5 Ne4 when Black does notneed to play one of the morepassive lines of ... Nd7, but offers apawn sacrifice to obtain whitesquare control.

    If 14 Nxe4 dxe4 15 Bxe4 Bxe416 Rxe4 Qd5 17 Re3 Black has fullcompensation for his lost pawn bycastling and invading down the c- ord-file, and White's pawns at b3 andd4 are liabilities in turn.

    Let us return to the position after7 Re1 and make a few moreremarks.

    After 7 ... h6 White's immediate8 d5 could be met by 8 ... c4(otherwise White himself plays c4)9 Bc2 Bc5 followed by ... 0-0,when White's pawn at d5 will behard to maintain.

    After 7 ... Be7, 8 a3 is possible,trying for space with b4. Blackshould wait for this advance tohappen, then hit back with ... d5.For example, 8 ... h6 9 b4 cxd410 cxd4 d5. If now 11 e5 Nd7 andthe knight can travel via b6 to c4, abeautiful outpost presented to Blackby White's b4.

    After 7 Re1 Be7 an immediate a4is worth considering. Black can playa la Nicholson-Basman, an improvedversion with ... cxd4 cxd4 Nc6-b4,or move 7 ... c4 8 Bc2 b4 9 Nbd2d5 10 e5 Nd7.

  • Black can then put some pressureon the queenside whilst White mustplay for f4-f5. I give some samplemoves (not analysis): 11 Nf1 Qa5

    12 Bd2 Nc6 13 Nh4 Nb6 14 f4 g615 g4 b3 16 Bb1 Nxa4 17 Qf3 Qb518 f5 gxf5 19 gxf5 0-0-0 and Blackseemed to come out of that onequite well.

    Sometimes Black can answerWhite's a4 semi-combinatively -after 7 Re1 Be7 8 Nbd2 Nc6 9 a4Black now has the possibility of9 ... b4 because after 10 e5 he doesnot need to allow his knight to bechased by Nd5 11 c4, but can play10 ... bxc3 11 exf6 cxd2.

    After that lengthy diagnosis, Ishall leave my readers and wishthem success in their games,whether they be against AnatolyKarpov or the man at the club.

  • PART II

    The St. George inTournament Play

    INTRODUCTION

    After its launching at the beginningof 1980, the St. George became afirm favourite among club playersup and down the country. Somestrong players even took it up,notably Julian Hodgson andMichael MacDonald-Ross.

    This section of the book presentsrecent (1980-1) games, allannotated in immedia-style.

    The St. George is a fairly univer-sal defence, playable against both1 e4 and 1 d4. Its characteristicmoves are ... e6, ... a6, ... b5,followed by a queen's fianchetto.

    Black usually plays ... Nf6 and if theknight is later disturbed by e5, it cansettle on the outpost at d5, wherethe pawn at b5 prevents White fromejecting the knight by c4.

    I have divided the material intoseveral sections:

    a) the three pawns attackb) main linec) main line with White Be3d) Polishe) Frenchf) Sicilian Close formations

    arising from 1 b4 asWhite.

  • 4The Three PawnsAttack

    (1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3 c4 b5)

    The three pawns attack is rarelyseen, partly I think because e4players are not used to shoving uptheir c-pawns. Perhaps there is abetter chance of getting it out of adelayed Polish (1 d4 a6 2 c4 e63 e4 b5), but then d4 players maynot be used to moving up theire-pawns so soon.

    White's intention is to overwhelmthe centre with pawns, fight for thed5 square, and if necessary play d5to stifle the bishop at b7. Againstthis Black must react aggressively,sacrificing a wing pawn for playalong the central diagonal. Anexciting game usually results withWhite very much on the defensive.

    An interesting side line is whereWhite stops short of accepting thegambit, and simply develops pieces.After 1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3 c4 b5 Whitecan play 4 Nc3. Perhaps best hereis ... bxc4, assuring a centralmajority of pawns, because moveslike 4 ... Bb7 5 d5 Bc5 6 dxe6 fxe67 Qxh5+ and 5 ... Bb4 6 Bf3 lookrather unlikely to me.

    After 4 Nc3 bxc4 5 Bxc4 Nf66 Nf3 (6 e5 d5) Bb7 7 Qc2 Bb48 Bd3 c5 is okay for Black. Needstesting.

  • Gambit customers in 1980 provedto be Sax (who left without paying),Pritchett (died of over consump-tion), and Short (won the middlegame).

    C. Pritchett-M. Basman, ManorTyres, Bristol, 1980

    1 e4 e62 d4 a63 c4 b5

    Black gambits a pawn to lure thewhite bishop from the defence ofg2, and begins his counter attackalong the central diagonal.

    4 cxb5 axb55 Bxb5 Bb76 Nc3 Bb47 Bd3 f58 Qh5+ g69 Qe2 Nf6

    10 Bg5

    The pressure on White's centre isnow intense, but 10 f3 would havebeen better than this pseudo pin.Black bursts his bonds!

    10 ... fxe411 Bxe4 Nxe4!

    11 ... Bxe4 12 Bxf6 is also pos-sible.

    12 Bxd8 Nxc313 bxc3 Bxc3+

  • White's king must now go intothe centre as 14 Kf1 would loseback the queen after ... Ba6.

    14 Kd1 Bxa115 Qb5 Bd516 Bxc7 0-017 Ne2 Rxa2

    Black goes for the ending. Nodoubt he could have played the mid-dle game attack more incisively.

    18 Bxb8 Rb219 Qxb2 Bxb220 Bg3 Bxg221 Rg1 Bf322 Kc2!

    White begins to fight back. Hisfirst offer is to trade pieces into anopposite colour bishop ending.

    22 ... Ba323 Nc3 Be724 Rb1 Kg725 Rb8 Rf726 Be5 +

  • White continues to try for pieceexchanges. He hopes to get to afinale with all pawns on the sameside of the board, when his pawndeficit will not matter. But Blackholds back.

    26 ...27 Bg328 Nd1!29 Kd2

    Kh6Bc6Ba4+

    The troublesome knight must beeliminated, even if it means partingwith the two bishops. Now Blackreactivates his remaining pieces,and puts pressure on White's weakpawns.

    29 ...30 Kxd131 Ke232 Ke333 Rb434 Ke435 Be536 dxe5

    Bxd1Rf5!Bf6Rd5g5Kg6Bxe5

    Bishops have come off and nowBlack abandons his d-pawn andgoes after the white h-pawn. Thefirst passed pawn will be created.

    36 ...37 Rb738 Rxd7

    Rd1Rh1Rxh2

    Now if White goes for the blacke-pawn with 39 Re7, Black driveshim back with ... Rh4+ and... Kf5, swallowing White's e-pawn.

  • 39 Kf340 Kg341 f342 Re743 Rg744 Rf7 +45 Rh7

    h5Rh4Rb4Kf5Rb3Kxe5

    Has patient defence been re-warded? It looks like he will capturethe stray h-pawn. But Black is readywith the dampener.

    45 ...46 Kg4

    h4 +Rb1!

    White can eat the g-pawn, butwill lose after 47 Rg1 + 48 Kxh4Rh1+ a skewer. Or he can trap hisown king by 47 Kxg5 Rg1 + 48 Kh5h3 and the pawn queens.

    47 f4 +48 Rxh449 Kg550 Kf651 Kg552 Kf653 Ke6

    gxf4Ke4e5Rb6+Rb8Kd4Rb5

    The two connected passed pawnswill decide: Black is just makingheavy weather of it.

    54 Kf555 Rh156 Kg457 Re1 +58 Kf459 Ra1Whiteresigns.

    Ke3e4+f3Kd3f2e3

  • N. Short-M. Basman, Manchester,1980 (June)

    1 e42 d43 c44 cxb55 Bxb56 Nc37 f3

    e6a6b5axb5Bb7Bb4

    White sticks stolidly to his extrapawn at the expense of hamperedkingside development.

    7 ... Qh4 +

    Black exposes the queen to eitherweaken the long diagonal or disturbthe king.

    8 Kf19 Nge2

    10 e5

    Ne7f5

    Either White lets the f-file beopened or he opens the longdiagonal himself. White choses thelesser evil.

    10 ... g5Tally ho!

    11 Bd212 f413 Ng3

    94Rg8

  • Black's honeymoon on thekingside is over and he is left withdisjointed pieces. After the game Idecided that 10 ... 0-0 followed byqueenside play was better.

    13 ... c514 Na4!?

    Short takes a risk, as this couldhave been answered by 14 ... Ra5!Better was 14 Nce2 with advan-tage.

    14 ... Nd5?15 Nxc5 Bxc516 dxc5 Nc617 Qb3

    Black has nothing to show for atwo pawn deficit. He is threatenedby 18 Nxf5! as well.

    17 ... Rf818 Rd1 Qe719 Qc4 Na520 Qc1 Nc621 a4 Rc822 Kf2

    Black is desperate. He can't evenprevent White's b4 becauseof... Ncxb4, Bxb4 Nxb4, Bxd7 + ,exploiting the concealed weaknessat d7.

    22 ... Nxe5!?23 fxe5 Rxc524 Qb1 Rxb525 axb5 Qc5 +

    Black begins a furious counterattack. Unfortunately, Shortrumbles that he is a rook ahead.Black is further hampered by being

  • unable to play ... f4 because ofNe4.

    26 Ke1 Qxb527 Bh6 Rf728 Qc1 Ba629 Rd2 Qb8

    Hoping to force a concessionfrom White with this attack on thee-pawn, but White blithely returnsmaterial to force a total blockade onthe black squares.

    30 Rxd5! exd531 Bf4

    The rest of the game wasunrecorded due to Black's timetrouble, but White won with hisextra piece and better position.

    G. Sax (GM)-M. Basman, SurreyOpen, 1980

    1 e4 e62 d4 a63 c4 b54 cxb5 axb55 Bxb5 Bb76 Nc3 Bb47 f3 Qh4 +8 g3 Qh5

    Sax decides to allow the centraldiagonal to be weakened, ratherthan move his king. But soon hedecides to move his king as well!

    9 Bf1 f510 e5 Ne711 Kf2 f4!

  • A second pawn sacrifice to openthe f-file against the white king.

    12 Bxf4 0-013 h4 c514 a3 Bxc315 bxc3 Nd516 Bd2 cxd417 cxd4 Nc618 Be1

    Apart from his two extra pawnsWhite has little to be happy about inthis position. An exposed king,

    hampered development and severallines open to the black pieces. Theblack knights are also well placedand even the rook at a8 threatens tocome into the attack.

    18 ... Qg4Putting pressure on the pawn at

    d4.

    19 Rb1

    A good practical move to flusterBlack, who spent a long time con-sidering whether the piece sacrifice19 ... Rxa3 20 Rxb7 Ne3 followedby ... Nxd4 works. Certainly theattack looks strong, with imminentexplosions on the f3 square, butdoes it definitely win?

    19 ... Ra7

    Black bides his time, but if he wasnot going to sacrifice, a better wayof continuing the attack, pointedout by Sax, was 19 ... Ba6!

  • 20 h5! Qxd4 +21 Qxd4 Nxd4

    Black retains his attack even inthe endgame, but now White hassurvival chances.

    22 Rh4! Nf523 Re4! Bc624 Bb5 Bxb525 Rxb5 Rxa326 Rb7

    Material equilibrium is re-established and now the secondwave of attack begins.

    26 ... Nfe327 Bd2 Nd1 +28 Kg2 N5e3+29 Bxe3 Nxe3 +30 Kh3 Rd3

    With both sides now running lowin that precious commodity time,the game accelerates to its destinedconclusion.

    31 g4 Rc832 h6 gxh633 Ne2 Nd534 Kg3 Rf835 Ng1 Rf736 Rb2 Kg737 Rf2 Kg638 Ne2 Kg539 Ng1

  • Black now, mentally unable toretreat, advances to his destruction.

    39 ... Nf4

    Chronic.

    White's next move wins allBlack's pieces.

    40 Rxf4 Rxf441 Nh3+ Kg642 Nxf4+ Resigns

    R. GranatM. Basman, Islington,December 1981

    1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3 c4 b5 4 cxb5axb5 5 Bxb5 Bb7 6 Nc3 Bb4 7 Bd3 f5(as in Pritchett-Basman, but hereGranat does not give the check; thisimproves his chances slightly).

    8 Qe2 Nf6 9 Bg5 fxe4 10 Bxf6exd3 11 Qh5 + g6 12 Qh4 Be7!This way Black gets an endgame

    edge. 13 Bxe7 Qxe7 14 Qxe7 +Kxe7 15 d5 (15 f3 was more stub-born) exd5 16 Nf3 d4! (clears theway for the bishop to work)17 Nxd4 Bxg2 18 Rg1 Nc6!19 Rxg2 Nxd4 20 Kd2? He couldhave found a better move than that:20 ... Nb3+ 0-1.E. Formanek (I M)-M. Basman,King's Head International (London),February 1982

    1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3 c4 b5 4 cxb5axb5 5 Bxb5 Bb7 6 f3 Qh4 + 7 g3Qh5 8 Bf1 Nc6 (otherwise 9 Qb3)9 Nc3 Bb4 10 Bg2 f5 11 e5 Na5 (tohamper White's natural develop-ment of Ne2 followed by 0-0)12 Nh3 Ba6 13 Kf2 Ne7 14 Nf4 Qf715 Nd3 Bxc3 16 bxc3 Bxd317 Qxd3 Nb3! 18 f4 c6 19 Rb1Rxa2 + 20 Bb2! (not 20 Kf1 Nxc121 Rb8+ Nc8!) 0-0 21 Rf1 Rb822 Kg1 Qe8 23 c4 Qc8 24 Bf3 Qa6?(Stupid. 24 ... Nc5 25 dxc5 Rbxb2is at least equal.) 25 Bc1! Qa426 Bd1! (White's backward bishopmoves win him material.) Nxc127 Rxb8+ Kf7 28 Qe3! Qxc429 Bh5 + g6 30 Rxc1 Nd5! (Blackswindles but it is not enough; thewhite rooks get in first.) 31 Rxc4Nxe3 32 Rc3 Nd5 33 Rcb3! gxh534 R3b7 Ra1+ 35 Kf2 Ra2 +36 Kg1 Ra1+ 37 Kf2 Ra2 +38 Ke1 Ke7 39 Rh8 Ra1 + 40 Kd2Ra2+ 41 Kc1 Nc3 42 Rxh7+ Kd81-0.

  • 5The Main Line

    (1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3 Nf3 b5 4 Bd3 c55 c3 Bb7 6 0-0 Nf6).

    This is the typical main line posi-tion, though all games in this sec-tion will not reach it. However, it isattractive to White as he developshis king-side pieces normally andcastles. He gains a two pawn centreand his pawn at d4 is supported bythe pawn at c3. Nonetheless, Blackhas pressure in this position againstboth White's centre pawns (e4

    by ... Nf6, ... Bb7; d4 by ... c5[ ... g5!?], ... Nc6, ... Qb6) and theblack pieces also come to gooddeveloping squares. Black must becareful to develop his queen'sknight at the right time, otherwise insome positions the move d5 byWhite is very strong. Black mustalso be flexible about his king, andnot castle it kingside too early,otherwise he may run into a greekgift sacrifice on h7 (eg from thediagram 7 Re1 Be7 8 a3 0-0 9 e5Nd5 10 dxc5 Bxc5 11 Bxh7 + Kxh712 Ng5+ Kg6 13 Qg4).

    The games in this section featureseveral quick victories againstmiddle range players, to show thereader how to carry out his plansagainst weak (BCF 160) grade oppo-sition; for these are the players hewill most frequently meet.

    Two critical games againstSowray and Nicholson help theunderstanding of the line. In theSowray game the continuation was7 Qe2 Nc6 8 a3 cxd4 9 cxd4 Na5

  • 10 Nbd2 Rc8 and Black obtained anactive position.

    However, 10... Rc8 may nothave been the most accurate, as itdeserts the guard of the pawn at a6,and White could here have causedtrouble by 11 a4 (11 ... b412 Bxa6).

    Perhaps better than 10 ... Rc8was 10 ... Qb6, answering 11 a4with b4, and more critically 11 b4with ... Nc4!? 12 Bxc4 bxc413 Nxc4 Qb5.

    The game with Nicholson dealt aheavy blow to the continuation7 ... Qb6 (from first diagram, after7 Re1 Qb6). Nicholson played 8 a4!and the queen was awkwardlyplaced, because if Black playshere ... bxa4 or ... b4. White canlater gain a tempo with Nb1-d2-c4attacking the queen.

    Possibly there will be improve-ments in the 7 ... Qb6 line, orperhaps the simpler 7 ... Be7 oreven 7 ... h6 should be preferred. A

    game C. Pritchett-J. M. Way(analysed in the Monster Book ofAudio Chess) went 7 Re1 h68 Nbd2 Be7 9 e5 Nd5 10 dxc5 Bxc511 Ne4 Be7 12 a4 when Black couldhere have played 12 ... bxa413 Rxa4 Qc7! 14 c4 Nb4 15 Bb1Qxc4.

    N. Bradbury-M. Basman, Bore-hamwood, 1980

    1 d4 b52 e4 a63 Bd3 Bb74 Nf3 e65 0-0 c56 c3 Nf67 Re1 Be78 Nbd2 Nc69 Nf1 Qb6

    10 d5

  • This sacrifice is always enticing,as if Black accepts he opens thee-file for the white rook. However,Black can then plug the e-file with apiece.

    10 ... exd511 exd5 Nxd512 Ng3 Nc7!13 Nf5 Ne6

    Manoeuvre completed. White'spressure down the e-file is sup-pressed and he thus has no com-pensation for the pawn loss.

    14 Ng5 g615 Nh6 NcdS16 Be4 f617 Bxb7 Qxb718 Ne4 Qc619 a4 bxa420 Ng3 Nf721 h4 d5

    Black's pawn moves ... f6 and... d5 have weakened his defencealong the e-file, but White is in noposition to take advantage of this,for example by doubling rooks.

    22 Qe2 Nxh623 Qxe6 Qxe624 Rxe6 Nf725 Rxa4 a526 b4 cxb427 cxb4 Kd728 Rb6 axb429 Rb7+ Ke630 Raa7 Rxa731 Rxa7 Bc532 Ra6+ Nd6

  • Black's king continues its gaycentralization. The two extra pawnsmust soon decide.

    33 Kf1 Rb834 Ke2 Rb635 Ra4 Bd436 Nf1 Ne4Whiteresigns.

    J. G. Nicholson-M. Basman,Cambridge Open, 1980 (Ap)

    1 e4 e62 d4 a63 Nf3 b54 Bd3 c55 c3 Bb76 0-0 Nf67 Re1 Qb6

    Black must be careful how hemoves here. He mustn'tplay 7 ... Nc6 because of 8d5. So hisalternatives are 7 ... Be7, to prepare... Nc6, or 7 ... h6, to prevent awhite bishop eventually arriving atg5, and the queen moves ...Qc7 orQb6.

    8 a4!

    The sharpest. White will takeadvantage of the black queen byNbd2-c4 if Black plays ... b4 or... bxa4.

    8 ... cxd49 cxd4 Nc6

    10 axb5 Nb4!

  • Black produces a pawn sacrificeto hold the balance. He is preparedto exchange a side pawn toeliminate White's good bishop. If11 bxa6 Nxd3 12 Qxd3 Rxa6 Blackhas adequate pressure.

    11 Nc3!

    Keeping up developmentimpetus.

    11 ... Nxd312 Qxd3 axb513 Rxa8+ Bxa8

    Black is now way behind indevelopment, as it will take twomoves to castle. But White does notsee any advantage in taking theb-pawn as his own e-pawn is underfire. If 14 e5 b4 15 Na4 Qc6.

    14 Bf4!

    Simple development with a dropof poison - threat Nxb5 andNc7+.

    14 ... Bb415 Bg5!!

    Finely played. Previously Blackcould have answered 14 Bg5 by... b4, but now his bishop is in theway and Black has the nigglingpressure on his knight at f6 to con-tend with. 15 ... h6 16 Bh4 g517 Bg3 is a dubious solution.

    15 ... 0-0

  • It's do or die! Black accepts aseriously weak kingside as he cansee nothing else.

    16 Ne5!

    Threat: 17 Bxf6 and Nxd7 forkingqueen and rook.

    16 ... Qb717 Bxf6 gxf618 Qg3+ Kh819 Qh4!

    White is not chickening out for adraw. He wants a mate after 19 ...fxe5 20 Qf6+ Kg8 21 Re3!

    19 ... Be720 Ng4

    Now Black must part with apawn.

    20 ... Rg821 Nxf6 Rg7

    White is on top with an attack andan extra pawn. But now we see asuperb demonstration of back rowdefence by Black.

    24 Qf4 b423 Nd1 Qb524 h4! Rg625 Ne8 f626 Nc7

  • The itinerant knight has so farcaused havoc in Black's defences,but is now about to be lassooed.

    26 ... Qb8!Intending to answer 27 Nxe6! by

    ... Bd6! or ... Qg8! Back rowdefence!

    27 d5

    White keeps on coming but thereis no threat of 28 dxe6 dxe629 Nxe6 because of ... Qg8, with adouble attack on the knight at e6and the pawn at g2.

    27 ... Bb728 d6 Bf8

    Now Black has real counter playwith his active bishops.

    29 h5 Bh630 Qf3 Rg731 Qxf6 Bg532 Qe5 Qf833 Ne3 Bf4

    Black's counter play mounts.White's knight at c7 is cut off andthe d6 pawn in danger.

    34 Qd4 Bc635 Nc4 Kg836 Ne5

    White continues to cause troublewith his knights, and now hopesBlack will allow one of his bishops

  • to be traded for the knight at e5,when he will be able to capitalizeone of his extra pawns.

    36 ... Rxg2+!!37 Kxg2 Qg7+38 Kh1 Qxe539 Qxe5 Bxe5

    Despite the material balancebeing very much in White's favour(exchange and a pawn ahead) theposition is not and Black's bishopsdominate. White must lose a pawnback and his knight is a pitiful shortranging crawler at the edge of theboard.

    40 b3 Bxd641 Ne8 Be542 h6 Kf743 Ng7 Bxg7?

    A faulty exchange loses Black hisgood position. 43 ... Kg6 was cor-rect. There followed a few morenonsensical moves and the playersagreed a draw due to time shortage.

    44 hxg7 Kxg745 Kg2 Kf646 f3 Ke5

    Drawn

    J. Molyneux-M. Basman, Man-chester, April 1980

    1 d4 b52 e4 a63 Nf3 e64 c3 Bb75 Bd3 Nf66 Qc2

  • In general, this queen move can-not be good, because the queen isplaced on a file which may beopened against her (the c-file).

    6 ... c57 Nbd2 Nc68 e5 Nd59 Ne4

    9 ... cxd4

    Black applies the standardremedy, if White answers 10 Nxd4Nxd4 11 cxd4 Nb4 nets Black thetwo bishops.

    10 Neg5White launches into a furious

    attack while his central structurecollapses around him.

    10 .. h6

    Where are you going my prettymaid?

    11 Bg6!!Sir, she said.

  • But:

    11 ... hxg512 Nxg5 Nxe513 Bxf7+ Nxf714 Qg6 Qf6Whiteresigns

    R. Abayasekera-M. Basman, Surrey, 5 April 1980

    1 e4 e62 d4 a63 Bd3 b54 Nf3 c55 c3 Bb76 0-0 Nf67 Re1 Qb68 Bf4 Be79 dxc5 Bxc5

    White puts up little fight to pre-vent Black from equalizing in thecentre. Black now aims for ... d5without allowing White to play e5.

    10 Be3 Bxe311 Rxe3 Ng412 Re2 Nc613 Nbd2 Rd814 Nf1 0-015 Rc1 Nce516 Nxe5 Nxe517 Bb1 d5!

    White cannot now block the posi-tion with e5, because there is ablack knight in the way.

    18 exd5 Rxd519 Qe1 Qd620 Ne3 Nf3 + !

  • Black's knight forks the whiteking and queen. If it is taken, Blackattacks the exposed king.

    21 gxf3 Rg5 +22 Ng4 Bxf323 h3 Bxg424 hxg4 Rxg4+25 Kf1 Qh2

    Whiteresigns

    P. Vargas-M. Basman, SurreyOpen, April 1980

    1 d4 b52 e4 a63 Nf3 e64 Be2? Bb75 e5 d66 0-0 Nd77 Bf4 h68 Ne1 dxe59 dxe5

    White now finds he cannot holdhis advanced e-pawn. Black sur-rounds it in various ways.

    9 ... Ne710 Bf3 Qb811 Bxb7 Qxb712 Qf3 Qxf313 Nxf3 g5

    White's minor pieces, especiallyhis knights, now put up a pitiful

  • show against Black's advancingpawns.

    14 Bg3 g415 Ne1 Nf516 Nd3 c517 Nd2 c418 Nc1

    White's knights have now goneback to base several times, andBlack's picks off his first materialgain.

    18 ... Nxg319 hxg3 Nxe520 Ne4 f521 Nf6+

    Courage!

    21 ... Kf722 Nh5 Rd823 Re1 Nc624 c3 e5

    White resigns, with one knightburied at c1, the other awaitingcollection at h5 (by ... Kg6).

    P. Sowray-M. Basman, Exeter,1980

    1 e4 e62 d4 a63 Nf3 b54 Bd3 c55 c3 Bb76 0-0 Nf67 Qe2 Nc6

  • One of the main positions. Blackentices 8 d5 Ne7 9 d6 but insteadWhite chooses a quieter line,discussed on St. George tape 3.

    8 a3

    The purpose of this is to protectthe bishop at d3 by preventing ...Nb4. It also plans space gainingwith 9 b4. However, Black is able touse the weakness at b3 to start aqueenside counter-action.

    8 ... cxd49 cxd4 Na5!

    10 Nbd2 Rc8

    11 b3 d512 e5 Ne4!

    Black gets an active move in, in-stead of the retreat ... Nd7. He isstill playing off one attack againstthe other, as after 13 Nxe4 dxe414 Bxe4 Bxe4 15 Qxe4 Blackregains his pawn with ... Nxb3.

    13 Bb2 Be714 Rac1 0-015 Bb1! Qb616 Nxe4 dxe417 Rxc8 Rxc818 Nd2!

  • White's 15th move Bb1 wascrafty. Instead of having his bishopat d3, under attack by the blackpawn coming to e4, he is able todelay recapture and bring his knightto d2, where it holds the b-pawn. Itlooks like Black will lose a pawnafter all.

    18 ... Bd519 Bxe4 Nxb320 Nxb3 Bxb321 Bxh7+

    White wins a pawn, but no morethan equalizes as he is left with apoor bishop and no control of thec-file.

    21 ... Kxh722 Qd3+ Kg823 Qxb3 Rc424 f4 Qc625 Qf3! Qxf326 Rxf3 a527 Rb3! b428 axb4 Bxb429 Kf1!

    Black cannot now force hisa-pawn past the sixth rank, and hisking is far from the scene ofaction ... if it was on d5 ofcourse. ... White's king, on theother hand, threatens to come tod3.

    29 ... g630 Ke2 Rc2 +31 Kf3 Be132 g4 Rxh233 Rb8+ Kg7

  • Black seems to have regained hispawn and has a passed a-pawn aswell. But now the bishop at b2,stifled so long, bursts into blazingenergy.

    34 d5!Ensuring a protected passed

    pawn, as 34 ... exd5? 35 e6+ f636 e7 wins for White.

    34 ... Bb435 d6!

    Of course Black cannot take thebishop at b2, as 36 d7 queens.

    35 ... Rd236 Bc1 Rd537 Be3 Bc338 Bb6!

    Even grimmer threats loom,besides the queening of the d-pawn- the mate by Bd8 - f6 and Rh8.

    IS IT CURTAINS?

    38 ... g5!Breath for the king.

    39 Bd8 gxf440 Bf6+ Kh741 Kxf4

    White threatens to move in with 42Kg5 and Rh8 mate, so Black mustdrive the king back.

    41 ... Bd2 +42 Ke4 a443 Ra8 Bb4!?

  • Pragmatic decision. In a 15minute allegro finish, Black preparesto jettison his bishop after 44 Rxa4Bxd6 45 exd6 Rxd6 and let Whitetry and win that ending.

    44 Ra7 Kg645 d7 Bc5!46 Rb7 a3

    Curses and damnation! Blackescapes after all. If White queens by47 d8 = Q Rxd8 48 Bxd8 he cannotstop Black doing the sameafter ... a2.

    47 Rb5! a248 Rxc5 a1=Q49 Rxd5

    A peculiar time to agree a draw,but Black must take perpetual checkas otherwise he cannot preventWhite queening his d-pawn.

    J. H. Hodgson (not Julian)-M. Basman, llford, 1980

    1 e4 e62 d4 a63 Bd3 b54 Nh3

    In general off beat moves do notwork well against the St. George,which is a very harmonious systemof development. This game is anexample.

    4 ... Bb75 0-0 c56 dxc5 Bxc5

  • 7 Qe2 Nc68 c3 Qc79 Kh1 Nge7

    10 f4 0-011 Qh5

    Now White starts up a totally un-justified attack. (He should bringout some of his queenside first!)

    11 ... f5!12 a4 b413 exf5 Nxf514 Ng5 h615 Ne4 Nce7

    Black doesn't bother to retain thetwo bishops. His other pieces havemore than enough activity.

    16 Nxc5 Qxc5Threat ... Ng3+ winning White's

    queen.17 Qe2 Nd518 cxb4 Nxb419 Bxf5 Qxf520 Nc3

  • Almost a model position for Blackin this opening. The St. Georgebishop has undisputed sway at b7,the queen is active at f5, the blackknight has found an outpost at b4.White's c1 bishop is hopelesslylocked in by its own pawn at f4.

    20 ... Nc221 Rb1 Rab8!

    21 ... Rab8 is incredibly subtle,even though I say so myself. Blacksees that White is desperate to freehimself by Be3, so puts his rook onthe line weakened by the absence ofthe bishop from c1 the b-file.

    22 Be3 Nxe323 Qxe3

    White rids himself of one liability- the dark squared bishop. But the

    remaining knight is no match for thelong range black bishop.

    23 ... Bc624 Qe2 Rb4

    White's position now rapidlcollapses.

    25 Qxa6 Rxf426 Rxf4 Qxf427 Ra1 Qf2

    28 Rg1 Qxb229 Qc4 Qc2!

  • White is cruelly paralysed,because Black simply threatens30 ... Rf3! (31 gxf3 Bxf3 + ) winningthe pinned knight at c3.

    30 Qb4 Qxg2 +Whiteresigns

    C. Crouch-M. Basman, Charlton,1980

    1 e4 e62 d4 a63 Nf3 b54 a4

    4 ... Bb7Black decides to exchange his

    wing pawn for nebulous centralplay. 4 ... b4 is safer.

    5 Nbd2 Nf66 e5 Nd5

    Now White wins the b-pawn.7 axb5

    Black does not recapture becausehe wants White to spend a moveplaying Bd3 before he does so. In-stead he develops his kingside.

  • 7 ... Be78 Nb3 0-09 Bd2

    Now White is ready to play10 Na5, so he has managed to dowithout developing his king'sbishop so far.

    9 ... axb510 Rxa8 Bxa811 Bxb5 Nc612 0-0 Qb8

    Black's long range positional planis to open the centre with ... f6, butfirst he activates his queensidepieces. His queen has a pinningeffect against the undefended whiteb-pawn.

    13 c4

    13 Be2 was possibly more solid,now White's bishop is cut off andhis knight at b3 becomes loose.

    13 ... Nb614 Bg5 Bxg515 Nxg5 h616 Nh3 Na7!

    The bishop now looks verymiserable.

    17 Ba6 Na4

  • This ensures recovery of material,as besides the b2 pawn, 18 ... Qb6is threatened.

    18 Nd2!

    White begins to make up for hisearlier dissolute play.

    18 ... Qxb219 Qxa4 Qxd220 Qa1! Qe221 f3 Rb822 KM! Rb623 Ng1!

    White's accurate defence hasenabled him to escape from a trickyposition. Black's pieces lined up onthe a-f ile are just as much a target asthe offside bishop.

    23 ... Qd324 Rd1 Rxa625 Qxa6 Qxd126 Qxa7 Bc6

    Black still has the edge in thisposition, but he makes no furthergains and the game is drawn 19moves later.

    27 h3 Qd2 28 Qc5 Qe3 29 Kh2Ba4 30 Kh1 Bb3 31 Qxc7 Qc3 32c5 Ba4 33 Qd6 Bc6 34 Qb8+ Kh735 Qb1 + g6 36 Qd1 Bb5 37 f4 Bc638 f5 gxf5 39 Qh5 Kg7 40 Qh4Qd2 41 Nf3 Qd1+ 42 Kh2 Bxf343 gxf3 Qe2+ 44 Kg1 Qxf345 Qf6 + . Drawn.

  • 6Main Line withWhite Be3

    An interesting formation ariseswhen White plays his bishop to e3at an early stage, to prevent Blackfrom freeing his game with ... c5.For example, after 1 e4 e6 2 d4 a63 Nf3 b5 4 Be3.

    In that case Black must eitherplay ... c5 more slowly (after ... d6)or can make a pseudo gambit with4 ... c5 immediately. If Whiteaccepts the gambit by 5 dxc5 Qc7 6b4 he may run into difficulties with a

    backward c-pawn after 6 ... d67 cxd6 Bxd6 8 a3 Nbd7. There areseveral types of formation thatWhite can adopt involving Be3, andone of the most promising is wherehe avoids Nf3, but plays first Be3and Nd2. Later he may play f3 togive his king pawn further support.

    We can see an example of this:1 e4 e6 2 d4 a6 3 Be3 b5 4 Nd2

    Bb7 5 f3.

  • We can see what White is playingat here; he has given the pawn sup-port, and now if Black answers5 ... c5 White will snap it off andguard the pawn with Nb3 ratherthan the weakening move b4. Thereis an example of this type of positionin the game Basman-Perkins in thissection.

    Besides Nd2, White can also playhis queen to d2, likewise planning tohold his c-pawn, this time by 4 Qd2Bb7 5 f3 c5 Qc7 6 Qf2!

    Possibly Black can sidestep theproblems of these lines by aiming toplay ...f5 after White's f3, reasoningthat White's hampered develop-ment on the kingside will not allowhim to take advantage of this move.A game Sellos-Basman (publishedin Chess, Feb. 1982) went 1 d4 b52 e4 Bb7 3 f3 a6 4 Be3 e6 5 Nd2 f56 exf5 exf5 7 Bd3 Qf6 (a vital moveto hold the kingside together) andBlack won an exciting game.

    M. Basman-A. Perkins, Man-chester, 1980 (June)

    1 b4 e52 a3 d53 e3 Be6

    Black follows the prescription ofWorld Champion Petrosian in hismatch with Spassky and sets up asort of Samisch formation to bluntthe bishop at b2. His bishop at e6also tries to prevent the expansionof White's game by c4.

    4 Bb2 Nd75 Nf3 f65 c4!? dxc47 Qc2 Nb6

    8 d3!

  • Making it into a full pawnsacrifice. If Black accepts, Whitewill have compensation along thewhite diagonals and the central d-and c-files.

    8 ... Bf5

    A clever answer. When Whiteplays 9 e4 he will block the whitediagonal b1-h7, and thus lose partof his compensation. He gains atempo though, to bring his rooks in-to action.

    9 e4 cxd310 Bxd3 Be611 0-0 Bd6

    12 a4!

    Another pawn is offered to fanthe attack. White intends to drivethe knight from b6 and then attackthe weakened white squares withBc4.

    12 ... Bxb413 a5 Nd714 Bc4 Bxc415 Qxc4 Bd6

  • Black erects the barricades oncemore. His pretty pyramid stretchingfrom c7-e5-g7 has the effect ofshutting the files.

    16 Rd1 Nh617 Nc3 Nf718 Nb5 0-0

    If 18 ... a6, then 19 Rxd6!?

    19 Ba3 Kh8

    Black's knight manoeuvre... Nh6-f7 has enabled him tocastle, but meanwhile White hasbeen putting pressure on thepyramid's exposed link at d6.

    20 Bxd6 cxd621 Nxd6 Nxd622 Rxd6

    White has won one pawn back,and for the other pawn he countsthe d-file hold.

    22 ... Rc8

    It looks like White's queen canretract to any old place as long as itattacks the knights at d7, but in factthis is not the case as 23 Qd3 Rc724 Rd1 Rf7 sees Black threateningto disentangle by ... Qe7 and Nf8.

  • Here White's knight at f3, limited bythe black pawns at f6 and e5, playsa non participatory role.

    23 Qd5White brings his queen to prevent

    Black's ... Rf7. 23 Qe6 would be ablunder because of 23 ... Nc5!(watch these hidden freeing twists).

    23 ... Rc524 Qe6

    Now Black can simplify by24 ... Rc6 25 Rxc6 bxc6 26 Qxc6Qc8 but White still keeps his gripwith 27 Rc1! Instead Black plays

    24 .. Qxa5

    Looks good for Black. If 25 Qxd7Qxa1 + or 25 Rxa5 Rc1 + .

    BUT WHAT HAS BLACK OVER-LOOKED?

    25 Rdd1

    The winning move.Black must part with a piece.

    25 ... Qb426 Rxd7 Rfc827 Rad1 Rc128 Qg4

    White's attack persists becausehe still has something left of hisd-file/seventh rank play. Here thethreat of mate at g7 forces Black tocome to heel.

  • 28 ... Rxd1 +29 Rxd1 Qc430 h3 a531 Rd7

    Back again. This time the matethreat forces a queen exchange.

    31 ... Qc1 +32 Kh2 Of4+33 Qxf4 exf434 Rxb7 g535 Ra7 Rc236 e5! fxe537 Nxg5 Rxf238 Ne4 Ra239 Nf6 Black

    resigns

    Mate is unavoidable.

    N. Littlewood-M. Basman,Nottingham, 1981

    1 e4 e62 d4 a6

    3 Nf3 b54 Be3

    When White plays an early Be3 itshows his intention to preventBlack's ... c5 move. Depending onthe configuration, Black may still beable to achieve this advance.

    4 ... Bb75 Nbd2 Nf66 Bd3 c5

  • This advance involves an at leasttemporary pawn sacrifice.

    7 dxc5 Qc78 b4

    White would like to defend hisc-pawn with 8 Nb3, but Black hastied this piece to defend the otheradvanced pawn at e4.

    8 ... Nc69 a3 Ng4

    10 Qe2

    White seems to have maintainedeverything, and will answer10 ... Nxe3 with 11 Qxe3.

    But the eruptions continue on thequeenside.

    10 ... a5!

    Causing a splittage of White'squeenside pawns. If White tries tohold them intact with 11 c3 he isbeaten by 11 ... axb4 12 cxb4Nxb4! Or if 11 Rb1 axb4 12 axb4Black has an incredible response12 ... Nxe3 13 Qxe3(?) Nxb4 14Rxb4 Bxc5! picking up the rook.

    12 Bxb5 axb413 Nc4

  • White sells his pawns and pawnstructure for piece activity againstthe black king.

    13 ... Be714 Nd6+ Bxd615 cxd6 Qxd616 Rd1 Qe717 Bf4 bxa3

    White achieves his object ofpreventing Black from castling, butnow the passed a-pawn is adangerous decoy.

    18 Bd6 Qf619 0-0 a220 e5 Qf421 g3 Qh622 Qd3

    22 h4 should have been playedhere.

    22 ... Qh3!

    An incredible situation. Bothsides face mating dangers. Black atd7, White at h2 and in a concealedmanner at g2.

    23 Rfe1 Nd4Black swings in with his mating

    attack.

    24 Bxd7 +

  • And White swings back,dangerously exposing the blackking.

    24 ... Kxd7

    Of course White cannot play25 Qxd4 Bxf3 26 Bb4 dis ch becauseof ... Bd5!

    25 Bc5!

    In this complex position Blackdoes not locate the complex win (ifthere is one) by 25 ... Nxh226 Qxd4+ Bd5 27 Re3 a1 = Q28 Rxa1 Rxa1 + 29 Qxa1 Ra830 Qd4 Nxf3 + 31 Rxf3 Qh5 withWhite under pressure on the 'St.George' diagonal.

    25 ... Bxf326 Qxf3 Qxh2 +27 Kf1 Qxf2+28 Qxf2 Nxf229 Kxf2 a1=Q30 Rxa1 Nxc2

    Everything comes off and we'releft with the boring bits. RemarkablyBlack has come away with twoextra pawns, but his knight may notget out.

    31 Rad1+ Kc632 Re2 Ra233 Bd6 Rc834 Rh1 h635 Rc1

  • Black's knight is getting crucified.

    35 ... Kb536 Rb1+ Kc437 Rb7 f638 Rxg7 fxe539 Bxe5 Rf8 +40 Kg1 Kd3

    Now the pawns have diminishedso drastically, Black stakes all on hischance of weaving a mating net.But White is alive to the dangers.

    41 Rg2 Ra542 Bf4 Nd443 Rd2+ Ke444 Kg2 h545 Re7 e546 Rd1 Kf547 Rh7 Ra2+48 Kh3 Nf3!49 Rxh5+ Ke450 Rxe5!+ Nxe551 Re1 +

    Draw

  • 7Polish and FrenchFormations

    Polish Defence formations ariseafter the moves 1 d4 b5 2 e4 Bb7.

    The chief differences betweenthis move order and that of the St.George occur when Black tries to dowithout the supporting move ... a6.Then there are lines where Whiteimmediately captures at b5 in returnfor the loss of the e4 pawn,(discussed in earlier St. George

    material) and other continuationswhere Black consistently delays... a6 but puts pressure on e4.These variations are examined onthe cassette 'Polish Defence'. In thissection are added a couple ofgames, one versus N. Dickensonwhere Black tries unsuccessfully toundermine White's e5 pawn with... d6, and another game versusAlain Defize, which shows thequeen's fianchetto coupled with... g5 and f5 expanding thematicallyon the kingside.

    The St. George is not a universalantidote. For example after 1 e4 e62 d4 a6 3 a4 Black is best advisedto go into a French with 3 ... d5(though the gambit suggested by N.Camp 3 ... b5 4 axb5 Bb7 is pos-sible too!) Similarly, after 2 d3 then,as White has declined to take up hisoptions in the centre, Black shoulddo so with ... d5 and ... c5.

  • A. Defize-M. Basman, Liege, 1981

    1 d4 b52 Nf3 Bb73 e3 a64 Bd3 e6

    Many players feel that quitesound developments will eventuallyexpose Black's ambitious forma-tion. The present game shows thatBlack can play actively in thesesituations too.

    5 a4 b46 c4

    White creates space on thequeenside, and prepares for amassive pawn centre with a later e4,

    6 ... g5

    As White has held back a little inthe opening, Black feels thisadvance is justified.

    7 0-0 Bg78 Nbd2 g49 Ne1 f5

    Everything looks very loose, butBlack is banking on White being

  • unable to play e4 (opening thecentre) without losing his ownd-pawn.

    10 Nc2 Nc611 e4 Qf6!

    The crisis: Black's powerfulqueen is needed to hold the kingsidetogether, and should not be shut inby an immediate 11 ... Nge7. Thequeen, of course, does not fear themove 12 e5 since that would openthe line of the bishop at b7.

    12 exf5 exf5

    White opens, but without havingaccess to e4 by a piece, he reallycannot bring his pieces into theattack.

    13 Nb3 Nge714 Nc5

    It looks as though White hasmade progress, but the bishopcalmly retreats, leaving the d-pawnloose.

    14 ... Bc8!15 d5 Ne516 Nxb4

    White, finding he is losing all overthe board, desperately grabs atpassing material.

    16 ... Qb6!

  • A cruel switch to the queensidewhich unexpectedly wins a wholepiece. White cannot defend both hisknights.

    17 Be3White tries an attempt to trap the

    black queen.17 ... Qxb418 Ra3 0-0

    White resigns as there is no wayto trap the black queen and he re-mains a piece down.

    N. Dickenson-M. Basman,Islington, 1981

    1 d4 b52 e4 Bb73 e5

    The new vogue. White ridshimself of worries about thedefence of his pawn at e4 and hopeshis pawn at e5 will put the blackking under heavy pressure.

    3 ... a64 Nf3 d65 c4!

  • A good reply to Black's 4 ... d6(4 ... e6 is safer) as White nowhopes to take advantage of theopening of the a4-e8 diagonalleading to Black's king.

    Possibly 5 ... c6 6 a4 b4 is righthere.

    5 ... dxe56 Nxe5 Nd7

    Putting the question to theknight. After 7 cxb5 Nxe5 8 bxa6!Nf3+ 9 gxf3 Bxa6 White could wina pawn and Black's compensation isproblematic, despite all White'spawn islands.

    7 Qb3! Nxe58 dxe5 Qd4!

    Black tries to eliminate the whiteking pawn, which is holding up hiskingside development ( ... Nf6).

    9 Be3 Qxe510 cxb5 a5!

    An unattractive looking movebut Black must close the diagonaleading to his king at all costs.

    11 b6! e6!12 bxc7 Bb4 +13 Nc3 Nf6

  • Black has improved his develop-ment and hopes to be able to pickup the pawn at c7 after he hascastled.

    14 a3 Bxc3 +15 Qxc3 Qxc3 +16 bxc3 0-017 c4 Rfc818 Bf4

    Black can now safely regain hispawn with ... Ne8 though the alter-native 18 ... e5!? is also attractive.However, it is insufficient after19 Bxe5 Re8 20 f4 Ng4 21 Kd2.

    18 ... Ne819 Rb1 Be420 Rb2 Nxc721 f3 Bg622 Be2 Na623 0-0 Nc524 Rd1

    White has had to use up movesdeveloping his pieces, and nowBlack by rapid tactical play takes offthe c-pawn.

    24 ... Na4!25 Rb7 Nc326 Rd2 Nxe2 +27 Rxe2 Rxc4

  • In a position with bishops oropposite colours, a win is usuallyonly possible if rooks are kept on.White manages now to exchangeboth pairs.

    28 Reb2 h529 Bd2! Kh730 Rb8 Rxb831 Rxb8 a432 Rb4

    DrawnBecause Black cannot save his

    a-pawn and avoid the exchange ofrooks at the same time.

    C. Baker-M. Basman, EveningStandard, London, July 1980

    1 c4 e62 d4 a6

    Not a common order of moves, asusually 2 ... b6 (the EnglishDefence) is preferred. Here if Whiteplays 3 e3 Black can either gambitby ... b5 or play 3 ... b6 or 3 ... f5.

    3 Nf3 b54 e3 bxc4

  • This game now transposes intothe theme "If White allows hisc-pawn to be exchanged for Black'sb-pawn, Black then fills up thecentre with pawns."

    5 Bxc4 Nf66 0-0 Bb77 Nbd2 Be78 b3 0-09 Bb2 d5

    10 Bd3 Nbd711 Rc1 c5

    Black must have equalized.

    12 Qe2 cxd4(?)13 Bxd4 Qa514 e4 dxe415 Nxe4

    Black is now unwilling to swappieces with 15 ... Nxe4 16 Bxe4Bxe4 17 Qxe4 Nf6 18 Qb7 Nd5 andinstead plays for complications.

    15 ... Nd516 Bb1 Rac817 Nfd2!

    The knight at d2 threatens tocome into c4 and probe Black'sweak squares at b6 and d6.

  • 17 ... N7f618 Nc4 Qb519 Qf3! Rfd8

    Despite his active pieces Black isin trouble. Here 19 a4! Qe8 wouldenable White to break up the blackkingside as the bishop at b7 isundefended. White choosesanother way to take advantage ofthe exposed black queen, butin doing so exposes his own pieces.

    20 Bd3 Nb4!

    A glance at the diagram showsthe complex tactical nature of theposition, with nearly all pieces inaction. There are pins and counter-pins, attacks and latent and dis-covered attacks, and White's threatto break up Black's castled position.

    21 Bxf6 Rxd3!22 Qg4 Bxf6

    Black hopes he is out of it as now22 Nxf6+ Kh8 just flails at emptyair. But instead White plunges hisknight into the forking square at d6.

    23 Ncd6! Rxd624 Nxd6

  • Black has had no choice but toreturn some material, but it lookslike he will need to part with more,as the knight at b4 is left hanging inthe event of 24 ... Qd7.

    24 ... h5!

    To deflect the white queen fromits attack on the knight at b4.

    25 Qg3!

    White still wants more than theexchange at c8. If now 25 ... Qd726 Nxc8 Bxc8 27 Qc7 Qxc728 Rxc7 Black's bishop at c8 is lost.

    25 ... Be526 Nxb5 Bxg327 Rxc8+! Bxc828 Na7!

    White has the last laugh in an in-credible combinative flurry lasting10 moves. He will be the exchangeahead.

    28 ... Bb729 hxg3 Nxa2

  • If Black is to hold this ending,despite the active white rook, heneeds to exchange off the queen-side pawns and then anchor a pieceat d5. The tactical situation allowshim to do this.

    30 Rd1 Bd531 Rb1 Nc3!32 Ra1 Bxb333 Rxa6 Ne2 +34 Kh2 Nd435 Nc6 Nf5Game shortly drawn.

    P. Walker-M. Basman, CharltonOpen, 1980

    1 e4 e62 Nf3 a63 g3 d5

    Against quiet formations theblack queen fianchetto is less effec-tive as White can defend his e-pawnwith a later d3. So a simple centralthrust is preferable.

    4 e5 c55 Bg2 Nc66 0-0 g5!

    White has allowed his e-pawn tobe surrounded and this thrust putshim in difficulties.

  • 7 c3 g48 Nh4 h59 f4 Be7

    White has managed to reinforcehis e-pawn but now his king's posi-tion is in danger.

    10 Na3 Bxh411 gxh4 Nh612 Nc2 Nf513 Ne3 Nxh414 Qe1 Nxg215 Nxg2

    Positionally the game is alreadydecided as Black has won a pawnand White's king is still exposed.Black now needs to activate hisbishop.

    15 ... Bd716 d3 Ne717 Be3 d4!

    Black parts with a pawn to open ablistering attack down the longdiagonal.

    18 cxd4 Bc619 Nh4 Qd520 Qg3 cxd421 Bd2 Nf5!

  • The doubled pawns Black obtainsare irrelevant as long as he breaksthe blockade at h4.

    22 Nxf5 exf523 Kf2 h424 Qg1

    Now it's a simple mopping upoperation. The white squares arestill letting White down, and the St.George bishop triumphs after all.

    24 ... Qf3 +25 Ke1 Qxd326 Rc1 Bb527 Rf2 g328 Rg2 h3

    White resigns

    White must lose his rook or bemated at e2.

  • 8Sicilian CloseFormations as

    White

    If you play the St. George as White(1 b4 or 1 e3 or 1 a3) you must beprepared for a diversity of Close For-mations. For example, if you go1 e3 or 1 a3, then as likely as notthe enemy will reply 1 ... g6 to stopyour queen's fianchetto. Therefore,I play 1 b4 to ensure that this willnot happen.

    However, even after 1 b4. Blackis unlikely to go into regular St.George positions with pawns at e5and d5. He is more prone to a con-servative stance, placing his pawnsat e5 and d6 and then fianchettoingthe king's bishop. This sort of thingoccurred in 12 out of the 16 games Iplayed as White in 1980 and I wasnot happy about it.

    This section then is for playerswho want to make use of the'universal' aspect of the St. Georgeopening. I append several gamesshowing the type of play thatresults. I choose two main set ups,the one involving a double fianchet-to (g3 and Bg2) and the other thequieter development of the king'sbishop at e2. The trouble with thefirst line is that it takes a long time toset up first you are undertakingslow moves on the queenside

  • (a3/b4/Bb2) and then you are doingthe same on the kingside(g3/Bg2/e3/Ne2/d3/Nd2). Thesecond formation takes less time,but you may be left without anymiddle game play as occurred inthe game Basman-Kinlay. ThereWhite was unable to play d4,because the answer ... e4 wouldgive Black too much space on theking's wing; and he was, further-more, uneasy because of Black'seventual threat ... e4 w Nd4 c5.Another example of this problemcan be seen in the game G. Welling-Lesman, from the Monster Book.

    M. Basman-A. Hall, Surrey Open,1980

    1 b4 e52 a3 a55 b5 d64 c4 Nd7

    It is clear that White will notobtain much on the central blackdiagonal, so must transfer attentionto the other side.

    5 Nc3 Ngf66 g3 Be77 Bg2 0-08 d3 Re89 e3 Bf8

    10 Nge2 Nc5

    Black has a passive game withpieces locked in on the darksquares. White would like to drivethe knight away from c5 with d4,but fears it would then move intoe4.

    11 Na4! Nxa412 Qxa4 d5

  • Black is tempted by White's lag indevelopment (uncastled king) toopen the position. It all proves amirage.

    13 cxd5 Nxd514 0-0 Nb615 Qc2 a416 Bb2 Bd617 d4

    Black has mismanaged his centralcontrol, otherwise he would at least

    have been able to answer ... e4 toWhite's thrust of the d-pawn.

    17 ... exd418 Bxd4 Qe719 Nf4 g5?

    An unbelievably bad move. Blackexposes his king with no justifica-tion.

    20 Nh5 Nd721 Ng7 Rd822 Nf5 Qe623 f4!

  • This move either opens the f-fileor prevents Black from placing apiece at e5, blocking the line ofWhite's queen's bishop.

    23 ... g424 Nxd6 cxd625 Rfd1

    Rather than immediately strivingto attack the black king, White con-centrates on mobilizing all hispieces. Here his rook will provetroublesome, threatening to invadealong the weakened central files.

    25 ... Nf826 Bb6 Re827 Qc7 Qf628 Rac1 Qb229 Qxd6 Re630 Qd8 Qxb531 Rc5

    Black now loses more quicklythan he otherwise would have done,due to his exposed king.

    31 ... Qe832 Rg5+ Kh833 Bd4+ Resigns

    M. Basman-P. Wells, EveningStandard Open, 1980

    1 b4 e52 Bb2 d63 e3 g64 g3 Bg75 Bg2 c6

  • A subtle move, as Black is prepar-ing to disrupt White's pawnswith ... a5. White decides toanswer this with b5.

    6 a4 Ne77 Ne2 Be68 d3 0-09 Nd2 Qd7

    10 0-0 Bh3

    Black bluntly exchanges White'sbishop before even developing thequeenside. The position resembles aClose Sicilian in reverse.

    11 Bxh3?!

    Better was 11 c4.

    11 ... Qxh312 c4 h613 Rb1 Nd714 Ba1 f515 d4 g5

    Black starts a menacing pawnavalanche on the kingside. Hisqueen is ready to help at any rate!

    16 dxe5 Nxe517 Rb3 Ng4

  • White seems suicidally inclined inthis game, or perhaps he thinks he isluring Black's pieces away from thecentre.

    18 Nf3 Bxa119 Qxa1 Ng620 Ned4

    Black should now have destroyedWhite's game with 20 ... c5! drivingthe knight from d4 and preparing... Ne5 and mate. He delays oncemore with this:

    20 ... N6e521 c5! dxc522 bxc5 Rad8

    White's game still looks terminalwith threats of 23 ... Rxd4 24 exd4Nxf3 + 25 Rxf3 Qxh2 mate to copewith. He finds a defence, however.

    23 Re1!

    Now ... Rxd4 24 exd4 Nxf3 +25 Rxf3 Qxh2 + gets Black nowhereas the f2 pawn is miraculouslydefended.

    23 ... Rfe8!

  • This renews the threat of ... Rxd4as the white king would no longerbe able to escape via e2.

    24 Qa2!White starts to embarrass the

    black king along the distantdiagonal.

    24 ... Kh825 Qb2 Kg826 Qa2

    At this point, with both sidesshort of time, the players could findnothing better than to agree a draw.

    M. Basman-R. Hardy, Cambridge,4 May 1980

    1 b4 e52 a3 g63 Bb2 Bg74 Nf3 d65 c4 f56 e3 Nf67 Qc2 Be68 c5

    White plays c5 not just to open afile, but to ensure his knight a safeoutpost later at d4, if needed.

    8 ... Ng4

  • Black intends to wander hisknight back to f7, guarding the d6pawn, but is running behind indevelopment.

    9 Bc4!

    White begins to bid for the a2-g8diagonal, especially as he sees Blackmay be prevented from castling.9 ... d5 leaves the e-pawn weak.

    9 ... Qe710 cxd6 cxd611 Bxe6 Qxe612 Ng5 Qd713 Qb3

    Probably the simple 13 Nc3 isbetter than this attempt to denyBlack castling rights. Now Blackmade a recovery.

    13 ... Bf6!14 f3 Bxg5?

    13 ... Nxe3 looks better here.

    15 fxg4 Nc616 Nc3 Ne717 0-0 d5

  • Black has been able to block thequeen's diagonal at b3, and is nowready to castle. Unfortunately, hiswhole position is too loose to sup-port itself.

    16 Na4! Qd617 Nc5 b618 Qa4 +

    Black must now at last move hisking, as he cannot oppose queenswithout leaving the e-pawn en prise.

    18 ... Kf719 Nd7 d420 Qb3+ Ke8?

    20 ... Nd5 would be moreresilient.

    21 Nxe5

    Black resigns, due to catastrophealong the central diagonal after21 ... Qxe5 22 Bxd4 and Bxh8.

    M. Basman-R. A. Lee, Exeter, 12April 1980

    1 b4 a52 b5 e53 Bb2 d64 g3 Nf65 Bg2 g66 c4 Nbd77 Nc3 Bg78 d3 0-09 Nf3 Nc5

  • Though White has good centralcontrol on the white squares, helags in development slightly, and ishere threatened by ... e4.

    10 Nd2! Nfd711 h4! h612 Qc2 Ne613 e3 Ndc514 Ne2 f5

    The game has taken a somewhatoriginal turn, with White holding hisking in the middle until the pawnpositions have come to grips.

    15 a4 Nd716 d4!

    Black's knights now lose groundin the centre and White takes theinitiative.

    16 ... exd417 exd4 Nf618 0-0-0

  • Though White's pawns areadvanced in front of the king,castling queenside is justified hereas Black has poor development andcannot easily open the files on thatwing.

    18 ... d519 cxd5 Nxd5

    Apparently White's decision isstrange, to allow Black a blockadingknight at d5, but he is relying on hissuperior development to put Blackout of the centre.

    20 Nc4 Re821 Ne5 Nf822 Bxd5+!

    Parts with a marvellous bishop,but now the blockade at d5 isdestroyed.

    22 ... Qxd523 Nf4 Qd624 Rhe1 Bd725 Qb3 +

    White can check on this diagonaldespite not having a white squarebishop to help with its control, dueto his well placed knight at f4. ifnow 25 ... Kh7 26 Ba3 will win.

  • 25 ... Be626 Nxe6 Qxe627 d5 Qb628 d6+ Kh729 d7 Black

    resigns.

    The push through the centrereduces Black to pulp. However, hisposition is not that bad. It's just thatafter 29 ... Red8 30 h5 g5 31 f4 g432 Qc2 he hasn't any good moves.

    M. Basman-J. Kinlay, ManorTyres, Bristol, 1980

    1 b4 e52 a3 Nf63 e3 d64 Nf3 g65 h3 Bg76 Bb2 0-07 c4 Re8

    Unfortunately the bishop at b2has little to bite on, and d4 by Whiteis always answered by ... e4!

    8 Nc3 Nbd79 Be2 e4

    White has another problem inthat his knight will not have a verysecure outpost at d4, due to aneventual ... c5! by Black. So hechooses another spot, which is nottoo successful either.

    10 Nh2 Ne5!

  • Against 11 Ng4 now, Kinlaydemonstrated the idea 11 ... Nfxg412 hxg4 Bxg4! 13 Bxg4 Nd3 +14 Kf1 Nxb2 15 Qb1 f5 with a goodposition for Black.

    11 Qb3 c612 f4

    As White's plan of Ng4 doesn'twork, and he is faced with threats of... Be6 and ... b5, he tries anotherway of obtaining counterplay. Thisdoesn't work either.

    12 ... exf313 Nxf3 Nh5

    Simply threatening to come in ong3. White's king has no safe spot,so chooses the lesser evil.

    14 0-0 Ng315 Rf2 Be6!16 Nxe5 dxe5!17 Qc2 Qh418 c5 Rad8

  • It is by now very hard to holdWhite's game together. ProbablyBlack's most serious theat is toplay ... Bf5-d3, exchange bishopsand then double rooks on the opend-file.

    19 Bf1 Rd720 d3 Red821 Ne4

    White starts to make concessionsto keep Black off his back. Heaccepts doubled e-pawns ratherthan lose a pawn on the d-file.

    21 ... Nxe422 dxe4 Qg523 Rf3 Rd224 Qc3

    By now Black was becomingfrustrated by not having crashedWhite's defences, though he hadreduced him to a state of moderateparalysis. His next move is based ona mating hallucination.

    24 ... R8d3??25 Qxd3! Rxd326 Bxd3

  • Here Black destroyed his scoresheet in disgust at the disap-pearance of a beautiful position.With two rooks against a queen,White is on equal terms, thoughBlack could still have caused troubleby playing 26 ... Bb3! here threa-tening to invade along the queen fileby 27 ... Qd8.

    26 ... Qd8727 Rdl!

    Now 27 ... Bc4 is answered by28 Be2! and 27 ... Bb3 by Bc2!

    27 ... Qh428 Bc3 Bb329 Rd2 Bh630 Bf1 Qxe431 Rd8+ Kg732 Bd3

    Black here resigned. Prematurely.

    M. BasmanMcNab, llford, 24May 1980

    1 b4 Nf62 e3 g63 Bb2 Bg74 Nf3 d65 Be2 e56 d3 Nbd7

    A very normal Close Sicilian setup by Black. But soon thingschange.

    7 a4 0-08 Nbd2 Nd5

  • Black tries to strike againstWhite's weak queenside pawns.This reacts against him, however,as he eventually loses time.

    9 c3 a510 Qb3! N7f611 b5

    (Now Black cannot play ... Nc5 ashis knight is on the wrong square.

    11 ... Be612 c4 Nb413 0-0

    A strong black knight slightly off-side at b4.

    13 ... c514 Ng5

    White begins to play his trumps- the long central white diagonal,

    the square e4, and the possibility ofopening the f-file and the diagonalof his bishop at b2 by f4!

    14 ... Bg415 f3 Bh616 h4 Bc817 f4!

  • Black's game is already criticaldue to his over-activity in the lastfew moves. His knight on f6 is indanger from two directions.

    17 ... Bg418 Bf3! Bxf319 Rxf3 exf420 Raf1

    White has mobilized with light-ning speed, exploiting the pin alongthe f-file. Black now wriggles hard.

    20 ... d5!21 Bxf6! Qxf622 cxd5

    White has cleared the way for hisknight to come to e4. Black must tryfor ... f5 himself, to cover f6, andthus 22...Bxg5? 23 Ne4 Qe524 hxg5 Nxd5? 25 Qxd5 Qxd526 Nf6 + is not recommended.

    22 ... Qe5!23 Nde4 f5!

  • The crisis: Black can still escape ifhe can drive White's attackingknight from e4. White resorts to tac-tics to keep up the impetus.

    24 d6+ Kh825 Rxf4! Nd526 R4f3 Nxe3

    The pins, counterpins and forksare beginning to bewilder, but thissacrifice is O.K. for Black as long ashe follows up 27 Rxe3 Bxg5!28 hxg5 fxe4.

    27 Rxe3 fxe4?

    Now the white knight becomesdangerous.

    28 Rxf8+ Rxf829 Rxe4 Qf5

    30 Qe6!The decisive move. If Black

    allows the exchange of queens, thewhite d-pawn will win the ending.

    30 ... Qf2+31 Kh2 Bg732 d7 Bd433 Nf3! Rxf334 d8=Q+ Kg735 Qee7+ Kh636 Qg5+ Resigns

  • Appendix IBaker's Defence*

    "1 e4 a6 2 d4 b5

    Baker's Defense, St GeorgeDefense, 'Birmingham Defense'1 ... a6 as a defense to 1 e4 is stillvery unusual. It astonished thechess world when Tony Miles notonly dared to play it against WorldChampion Karpov in January, 1980,but he won the game (see 5-1 and7-5, MOB Vol 1). That struck a re-sounding blow for popular accep-tance of unusual openings.

    However, we had already seenthat Michael Basman had been suc-cessfully practicing the same idea(proceeding a6 with e6) in 1979 (1-1,MOB 1), and then, in our May,1980, issue (6-1) we gave the gameSteinitz-Baker, the same opening in1868! It started 1 e4 a6 2 d4 b53 Nf3 Bb7 4 Bd3 e6 5 Nc3 c5 6 dxc5Bxc5 7 a4 b4 8 Ne2 Nc6 9 0-0Nge7 (0-1, 33). Black's play bears anamazing resemblance to that ofBasman and Miles.

    Reprinted with permission from The MyersOpenings Bulletin, Vol. 2, No. 5.

    Now, it might seem strange to getexcited about an 1868 simultaneousexhibition, but I was truly excited onreceiving the score of another Bakerwin, played at the same time as hisgame with Steinitz!

    Thanks for this go to Frank Skoff,former USCF President, of Chicago.We are already grateful to him forother fine pieces of research whichhave appeared in earlier MOB's. Hefound the game score, togetherwith an explanation of the cir-cumstances under which it wasplayed, in an issue of DeutscheSchachzeitung (No 23, December1868).

    On Dec. 11, 1868, at the StJames Club in London, Steinitzplayed an extraordinary sort of'match' against Blackburne.Blackburne, whose 27th birthdayhad been celebrated just the daybefore, had already been playingblindfold chess for seven years. Ithad been a blindfold exhibition byLouis Paulsen which had inspiredhis enthusiam for chess, and fromthen on Blackburne probably played

  • more blindfold exhibitions thananyone else has done.

    On this occasion, he and Steinitzplayed just one game against eachother, but at the same time theywere playing five games (all, in-cluding their own game, withoutsight of the board) against the samegroup of five 'amateurs'. So each ofthem was playing a six-board blind-fold simultaneous but it wasn'ttoo easy for the amateurs either,each of whom was playing simul-taneously against two greatmasters!

    The competition was a successfor Blackburne. He and Steinitzdrew their game, but in the otherfive he had three wins, one loss andone draw, while Steinitz had only awin, two draws, and two losses.

    By now you will have guessedthat both Blackburne and Steinitzlost to Baker -- and his 1 ... a6!

    White: Blackburne Black: J. BakerBlindfold Simultaneous, London,1868

    1 e4 a62 d4 b53 Bd3 Bb74 Nh3!?

    This odd-looking move isn'tpointless. It entices Black to playthe erroneous 4 .. f5? 5 exf5 Bxg26 Qh5+ g6 7 fxg6 Bg7 8 gh+ Kf89 Ng5 winning (9 ... Qe810 hxg8Q+ Rxg8 11 Nh7+ + or9 ... Nh6 10 Rg1 Bb7 11 Rg4 or11 Ne6+ dxe7 12 Rxg7). Bakershows good sense in continuingwith what is now accepted asthematic development despitehis not having been able to studybooks by the yet unbornTartakower, Sokolsky, andNimzowitsch.

    4 . . . e65 0-0 c56 c3 d5

    At this point, where we mightprefer 6 ... Nf6, the openingbecomes less interesting than thatof Steinitz-Baker, but it's under-standable if he felt that a morestandard, French Defense-type of

  • development was justified by theknight placement on h3.

    7 e5 f5Baker gets away with this, and

    from then on plays very well, but nodoubt it was worse than 7 ... Nc6.Maybe Blackburne, playing blind-fold, thought that 7 . . . f5 8 exf5Nxf6 9 Re1 Bc8 was harder tocalculate than 8 f4 (but 10 Ng511 Qe2), or that 8 ... Qxf6 wassatisfactory, but Black's develop-ment isn't good enough to allowopening up of the game at this stage.

    8 f4 Nh69 Nd2 Nf7

    10 Nf3 h611 Qe1 Nc612 Be3 c4

    Closing the queenside prior toconcentrating on the kingsideattack.

    13 Bc2 Be714 Kh1 Kd715 Qd2 Qc7

    16 Nf2 Rag817 g3 Qd818 a4 g519 axb5 axb520 Rg1 g421 Ne1 h522 Kg2 h423 Kf1 hxg324 hxg3 Rh225 Ke2 Qb626 Kdl b427 Ng2 b328 Kc1

    Maybe this was a blunder due toplaying blindfold, or maybe it wasan excuse to get it over with.White's game was very bad.

    28 ... bxc229 Qxc2 Kc730 Kd2 Na5

    0-1Frank Skoff conjectured that

    perhaps no one has ever matchedBaker's feat of simultaneouslydefeating two masters of thecategory of Blackburne andSteinitz. Of course, his openingwasn't taken seriously. He wasn't aprofessional player, and this was ablindfold exhibition, even if it was asort of a match between the twostars. Under ordinary circumstancesit would be ridiculous to even con-sider naming an opening aftersomeone because he used it in asimultaneous exhibition. This couldbe an exception. Baker's success

  • with 1 e4 a6 2 d4 b5 is in a class byitself, and his handling of the open-ing, especially against Steinitz, con-forms with modern practice. All Iknow about Baker is that his firstname was John, and that he was anofficial of the British Chess Associa-tion. We'll hope that more of hisgames will be located.

    Here is a recent example of thisopening, played in June of this year.Notes are by Gerard Welling.

    White: P. Kok Black: G. WellingHolland, 1981

    1 d4 e62 Nf3 b53 e4 a64 Bd3 c55 c3 Bb76 0-0 Nf67 Qe2 Nc68 a4

    Earlier this year we drew a closegame after 8 d5 Ne7 9 dxe6 (Ed.Note: After 8 d5 Ne7, White couldget in serious trouble withsomething such as 9 d6 Ng6 10 e5Ng4 11 Bxg6 [11 h3 Bxf3] hxg612 h3 Bxf3 13 gxf3 Nh6 [Qh414 fxg4 Qxh3 15 f4 Qh1 + 16 Kf2Rh2+ 17 Kg3 is only good forperpetual check], then Nf5 and/orQh4).

    8 ... cxd49 axb5

    9 Nxdl? (9 cxd4 Nb4 10 axb5 Nxd3.)

    9 ... axb510 Rxa8 Qxa811 Bxb5

    11 cxd4 Nb4, 11 Nxd4 Nxd412 cxd4 Bxe4, 11 e5 Nd5= +.

    11 ... Na7!A very strong move: not good

    was 11 ... dxc3 12 Nxc3 and thene5, the move played initiates apowerful attack on the whitesquares.

    12 Nxd4One variation I calculated was 12 e5Bxf3 13 gxf3 Nxb5 14 exf6 gxf6 15Qxb5 Rg8+ 16 KM Qxf3 + + .

    12 ... Bxe413 Bg5!

    Not so good is 13 Nd2 Bxg2 andNxe6 does not work.

    13 ... Bc5!

    Another powerful one. 13 ... Be714 f3 does not give anything con-crete, nor 13 ... Bxg2 becauseWhite then has the dangeroussacrifice 14 Nxe6 (threat Nxg7 orNc7 + ) fxe6 15 Qxe6 + Be7 (Kd816 Qd7+ +) 16 Bxf6 gxf617 Bxd7+ followed by Re1.

    13 ... Bc5 plans something like14 f3 Bxb1 15 Rxb1 Bxd4 +16 cxd4 Nxb5, but 17 Bxf6 is notclear, 14 ... Nxb5 15 Qxb5 Bxd4 +16 cxd4 Bc6 may be a better try foran advantageous endgame youropinion?

  • 14 Bxf6 gxf615 Nxe6?

    I hoped for that one - - it's apositional trap. No good either was15 Nd2 Bxg2 16 Nxe6 Bxf1 after17 Bxd7 + Kxd7 18 Nxc5+ Kc619 Nxf1 Kxc5, or 17 ... Ke718 Nxf1 fxe6 19 Qxe6 + Kd8 win-ning.

    15 ... fxe616 Qh5+ Kd817 Qxc5 Nxb518 QxbS Bxg2

    The climax of Black's whitesquared strategy.

    19 Rd1 Bc620 Qb6+ Ke8

    Behind the central fortress.

    21 Qd4Black had the nasty threat of a

    beautiful win by 21 ... Qa422 Qb8+ (22 Rd4 Rg8+ 23 Kf1Bb5+ 24 Ke1 Rg1 + winning) Kf7

    23 Rxd7+ Bxd7 24 Qxh8 Qd1+25 Kg2 Bc6 + 26 Kg3 Qg1 +27 Kh3 (Kf4 Qg5 + +) Qg2 +28 Kh4 Qg5+ 29 Kh3 Bg2 + +!Well, that is what I planned duringthe game; now I see that instead ofthe nice mate in 6 at move 24 Blackwould have a simple mate in 3 by24 ... Qg4+ 25 Kf1 Bb5+ 26 Ke1Qe2 + +. A pity.

    21 ... Rg8 +22 Kf1 Qb8!

    Attacking h2 and b2, the queenhas exerted heavy pressure from aback rank post all the gamethrough, and she will not leave it!

    23 f4

    23 Nd2 Qxh2 24 Nc4 Rg1 +25 Ke2 Qh5+ wins.

    23 ... Rg424 Ke2 Rxf4

    0-1Although that game by Welling

    transposed from the Polish DefenseI believe that it deserves to beincluded in any future book on 1 e4a6."

    BAKER'S DEFENCE???*

    "In the 3/10 BCM, Hartston callsit the "Only Defence" (tongue incheek, of course), saying that

    'Reprinted with permission from MyersOpenings Bulletin, Volume 1, Number 6.

  • Karpov's openings are "so wellworked out" that this "might beconsidered the only defence toKarpov's 1 e4". Others in GreatBritain, such as Barden and Chess,have started to call it the Birming-ham Defence because Miles, whodefeated Karpov with it, is fromBirmingham, in England.

    I find it hard to go along with thatbecause I believe that in the interestof consistency place names shouldbe given to openings either becausethe initial use of an opening wasby different players in a particulartournament or place, or because theoriginal analysis and practice of itwas by a group of players, and itisn't possible to fairly honour onlyone.

    Michael Basman is selling cas-settes which teach the play of thisdefence. He calls it "St. George'sOpening", another indirect tributeto Miles for having slain theRussian dragon, Karpov. I grantBasman the right to name thedefence in respect to his havingused the system more than anyoneelse (although his preference hasbeen to precede ... a6 and/or... b5with ... e6), and he is generous tonot attach his own name to it. Yetwhile admiring the poetic inspirationof the name, for a couple of reasonsI disagree with it (unless, perhaps,the Champion Dragon was an earlierone than Karpov?). The first reason,which a slight rewording could easi-

    ly answer, is th


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