It’s often funny when I sit down to do this blog how one
thing leads to another, one game unearths another.
The theme for this week was going to be about premature resignation
and how I’ve often stumbled upon a game where the player gave up when
there were still a few chances left in the game.
I hit upon a perfect example when I was looking to see who (if anyone)
had fallen for a smothered mate trap in the Budapest Gambit which was
the original theme before I found the premature resignation game.
And when I was looking for a clue to give you a guide to see my idea
in the premature resignation game I happened upon a game that was agreed
a draw where one player missed a heart breaking win.
So this weeks theme is….I’ve forgotten what I was talking about now.
Let us have a look at the Budapest Gambit.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5
The pawn charge 2…e5 is the key feature of the Budapest.
The argument runs something like this.
Black is looking for easy development at the cost of a pawn.
He will claim if he wins back the pawn then the position is equal
at the same time setting a snare or two along the way.
White will hold the pawn and avoid the traps and give back the pawn
when he is ready using the time wasted by Black in recapturing the pawn
to carry a plus into the middle game.
Infact you could say that is the same argument for every opening gambit.
After the standard opening moves:
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Bb4+ 5.Nd2 Nc6 6.Ngf3 Qe7
This position has stirred the imagination of a few players.
White to make their 7th move
Plan A: Chase the g4 Knight.
7.h3.
Black ignores the threat and plays…
7…Nc6xe5 8.hxg4 Nd3 Checkmate.
Two games, RonL v olifan RHP 2003 and coquette v davefish RHP 2007 ended this way.
OK try plan B: Chase the Bishop
7.a3
Black ignores the threat and plays…
7…Ngxe5 8.axb5 Nd3 Checkmate.
35 games (not an error, 35 games!) have ended this way on RHP including:
kinboshi - rookguy RHP July 2008
kinboshi - rookguy RHP October 2008
(Yes kinboshi had been caught twice by the same player)
Instead of chasing the Bishop or the Knight with 7.a3 or 7.h3
White should play 7.e3 and develop.
In the above losses White showed a severe lack of sense of danger.
(Check all checks for and against you).
Obviously playing a dozen or so more games at the same time giving
each one very little (or no) thought does not help matters.
Staying with the Budapest. A loose move order sets this one up.
(This is the premature resignation game)
jove062 - chessynessy RHP 2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3
Black should now play 5…Bb4+ and THEN Qe7. Instead…
On a few occasions Black has shown a touch of desperation to win back
his pawn. (Why sac it if you are going to go to odd lengths to get it back.)
5…Qe7
6. Nc3 Ngxe5
Black is now in trouble due to the fact the Queen is involved
in capturing back the pawn.
Regular readers of this Blog know how many warnings I give about using
the Queen for any other reason than attacking the enemy King.
She is the weakest link and any non-mating combination including
the Queen must be looked at very carefully.
If there is a hole in it then you can bet your socks the Queen will be the culprit.
7.Nxe5 Nxe5
8 Nd5 ….
The Queen is in the stew because suddenly Nxc7 + has appeared. Black tried.
8….Qd6
Walking into a self-pin, using the Queen to hold a Knight and stop Nxc7.
Too much. A simple pawn move was enough for Black to resign.
9.c5
Black resigned.
Chalk up another win against an over-loaded, over-worked and exposed Queen.
Well perhaps, perhaps not.
A bit early I’m thinking, (….can you see the Black Queen sac?)
There is a shot or two to be fired here.
I’ll give you a clue.
Armed with the clue, I was thinking Black could play on to make White tip-toe
carefully to his win. I’ll go through the game again on the PGN moving thingy.
You see how knowing one trap from one opening can help you in another.
It was whilst looking for the clue game I found the drawn game.
The trap stats for here:
The are 45 victims of this trap on RHP and this weeks blog heroes,
are Huntingdon User 343005 and Blanca User 222465 who have
caught 5 players each with this very same trap.
There is no honour amongst Trap-Setters.
These two have met 10 times between 2007 and 2010.
Blanca plays 1.e4 so no chance he can get caught by his own trap.
But Huntingdon plays 1.d4 and 3 times Blanca has tried to lure Huntingdon
into the same trap.
Huntingdon - Blanca RHP 2009 (twice) and RHP 2010
On each occasion Huntingdon has politely refrained from nicking the d-pawn
and played 5.Nf3 winning two and drawing one.
And that would have been that but standing out in the list of 0-1
showing all the lads who had stolen the d-pawn and lost was a ½ - ½.
Some chappie had won a piece but could only draw as Black.
Some chappie had lost a piece and somehow got a draw.
This needs looking at….and off again I went all side-tracked.
sbini - Blanca RHP 2010
Black had won the piece with the above trap and was cruising to a win.
Then came this clumsy mistake. Black to play.
Nxf3 was the simple win. White has no pin and win the Knight
ideas with Rh3 because Black then plays Nxd4. Game over.
Instead Black took the pawn with check. Rxf3+
And then discovered after Ke2 both the Rook and Knight were attacked.
That is how Black lost his extra piece.
We join the games when it is just moves away from an agreed draw.
Did you see it?
Well first of all Black agreed a draw in a good position
with plenty of play left in the game. Black to play.
12…Kd7 and then with the b7 Rook behind the passed b-pawn.
Push it. It does appear this pawn will distract White long enough
for Black to go on a pawn feast.
But that’s not it. White missed a simple win.
Believe me if I saw it in a flash in a an ending then it is simple.
Here White can play 12.Rxb7 Kxb7 13. e6,
after 13…fxe6 14.g6 the g-pawn sails home. 1-0.
Note that 13.g6 intending to promote the e-pawn does not work.
After 13...fxg6 14.e6
The Black King can get into the promotion square.
And finally.
IM Andrew Martin a very experienced teacher and demon of the demo boards
has been working overtime putting together a smashing collection of YouTube games.
Very good, very entertaining, very instructive and free!
These are superb and I fully recommend them.
By far the best set of instructive vids I've seen on the net.
He enjoys what he does, he is good at what he does, it's as simple as that.
So far 14 have been posted - the linked ones are just a sample.
I find the videos of other chess trainers seem to be directed at IM/GMs and generally goes over my head, but Andrew Martin is talking to us mere mortals.
Also - was that an endgame at the end of this blog? Tsk tsk.
Dean