Had a couple of recent games v S.G.
He set up a grand simul on the Open Invites and I took a couple.
Not entirely fair as it was my two games v his 40+.
He was moving fast in these games, I kept up with him but as we live
in different time zones. I was left looking and cooking at the board
whilst he was sleeping.
Amongst Latvian Gambit players there is the saying:
“…and if the Black King reaches a6 it is safe.”
This note followed analysis in one of the ultra sharp lines.
Where White sacs a chess set and Black has to dodge all kinds of banana skins.
But if he can get the King to a6 he should be safe. (well so they say).
My Black was a Latvian, we both avoided this line but halfway through
trying to dig myself out of a wretched looking position I sent the King to a6.
Somehow, by Blog coincidence, it went into a Rook ending which I am sure S.G. misplayed.
(two blogs and I am now an expert on Rook endings!).
I consider S.G’s (38. Rgf7)
a mistake, it gave me hope and actually woke me up to the potential in my position.
I was expecting a long slog defence, my one semi-active Rook v his two
very active Rooks 38. Rgf7 chopping a Rook just looked wrong.
He could have squeezed a lot more out of that position before trading down.
Then S.G. moving too fast made a blunder. (42. Ka1 ) It must be because everything
I looked at after that seemed to give me wins.
Swiss Gambit - Greenpawn 2013
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qf6 4. Nc4 {The Leonhardt's Variation.} 4... fxe4 5. Nc3 Qf7 6. Ne3 c6 7. Nxe4 d5 {We have both been here before. In a 2010 game S.G. played 8.Ng4 and he later won.} 8. Ng3 h5 {Theory. Hopes of disrupting White and in a few lines it stops White from play a deadly Qh5+.} 9. d4 {9.h4 is suggested but this move must be OK.} 9... h4 10. Ne2 Nf6 {Get a bit out, aim at e4.} 11. Nc3 Bb4 {Still looking at e4 and developing.} 12. Bd3 {Our other game was so interesting at this stage I gave this one scant analysis. I soon drift into a nice bad typical Latvian position} 12... h3 {Might as well. I'm stuck for an idea. Let’s see what happens. Often your best move is to see what the other fellow does and take it from there.} 13. Qe2 {Oooh...careful. He has Nxd5+ picking up the loose b4 Bishop.} 13... Bxc3+ 14. bxc3 {I could not see anything really serious with the discovered check, though I suspected the worse. Let's see what happens.} 14... hxg2 15. Nxg2+ {I never expected that! A backward Knight move with discovered check. At first I was happy...} 15... Kd8 16. Bg5 {.....But now not quite so happy. Need to untangle the Queenside.} 16... Bh3 {He's out with a tempo.} 17. Ne3 {Even though S.G. was racing through all his games he is not going to play the tempting Nf4 allowing Re8.} 17... Nd7 {And that is that Knight out.} 18. O-O-O {I was more worried about c4 opening the game.} 18... b5 {Stopping c4 and giving me b5-b4 ideas.} 19. Bf5 {I'm not liking Black now.} 19... Qf8 {Hopefully scrounging a perpetual.} 20. Kb1 {Now the Black King run looks forced.} 20... Bxf5 21. Nxf5 Kc7 22. Bf4+ Kb6 {Getting Kings kicked about is all part of the fun of being a Latvian Gambiteer. If it isn’t mate it's just a check.} 23. Bd6 Qf7 24. Bc5+ Nxc5 25. dxc5+ Ka6 {I've made to a6. Black wins!} 26. Rd4 {Ra4+ and Nd6+ 1-0. I have a resource.} 26... Ne4 {Hello loose f5 Knight, hello c3 pawn.} 27. Ra4+ {I've been kicked off a6. I'm losing.} 27... Kb7 28. Rxe4 {Damn. Looks like the best move.} 28... Qxf5 29. Re7+ Ka6 {I am back on a6. I'm winning!} 30. a4 {My King is in trouble with no squares to go on a6. I wriggle like a rat.} 30... Rab8 31. Ka2 {Open Kings on a2 and a6. A bog-standard Latvian game.} 31... Qf4 32. Ra1 {A trap aimed at pinning my Queen after Qxa4+. OK Queens off.} 32... Qc4+ 33. Qxc4 bxc4 34. Rg1 {Strewth. My King is still in a mating net on a6. I thought they said it would be safe.} 34... Rh3 {I have to get that c3 pawn to give my King the b4 square.} 35. Rgxg7 Ra8 {Forced and played through gritted teeth. He has Rooks on the 7th and I have very poor Rook on a8.} 36. Rc7 {Now his c-pawn is going to be a passer. Looks grim. Must give the King the b4 square before it gets mated.} 36... Rxc3 37. Kb2 Rf3 38. Rgf7 {That's wrong. Or he's seen something I've not. Rxc6+ and run the c-pawn. Do I have counter-play here?} 38... Rb8+ {Activate him first.} 39. Ka2 {I thought he would go to Kc1. OK I'll go for it.} 39... Rxf7 40. Rxf7 c3 {That looks annoying. I'm getting a Rook on the 7th and I'll be aiming at those f & h pawns.} 41. Rf6 Rb2+ 42. Ka1 {Why there. I actually had good look at 42.Ka3 and cannot see anything wrong with it.} 42... Rxc2 43. Rxc6+ {Decision. Kb7 to stay in touch with his c-pawn or a4 and set up mating chances. Big moment and I am taking my King off a6.} 43... Ka5 {Win or lose but this looks good as I am still in touch with his c-pawn.} 44. Rf6 Kb4 {That is a nice trap. The obvious 36.c6 meets 45...Kb3 and it mates.} 45. Rf7 {To give me b-file checks. But my pawns are running and his c-pawn will get in the Rooks way. When looking at it I now kept finding all these Black pawn promotion wins I doubt if it can be saved now.} 45... d4 46. c6 d3 {S.G. now played 47.c7 but then he must have spotted it stops the Rb7+. It's a good idea to spot these things before you send the move.} 47. c7 Kb3 48. Kb1 Re2 49. c8=Q Re1
1. e4 e5 2. Ng1f3 f5 {Sharp tactical play with sudden reversals of furtune are to be expected from this opening.} 3. Bf1c4 {Paul Keres' line.} Nb8c6 4. d4 Qd8e7 5. O-O fxe4 6. Nf3g5 Ng8h6 {To stop encroachment by White at f7. This will prove to be a permanent weakness for Black, in this game.} 7. Ng5xe4 Qe7h4 {Two Q moves in the first 7, and a N on the rim--I fear for Black's development. Still, Black may be pursuing a prepared variation.} 8. f3 Nc6xd4 9. Bc1g5 {White turns the game into a counter gambit to accelerate his development.} Qh4h5 10. c3 Nd4c6 11. g4 Qh5g6 12. Nb1d2 {I considered the following alternatives: A) advance the a-P to give the White B a retreat square in case of ... Na5, continuing to hit on Black's weakened f7. B) Kh1 to get off the open diagonal; I rejected this latter move in view of Black's possible ... b6 & Bb7, which looked very strong. I opted for developing another piece instead.} Nc6a5 13. Bc4d3 {Oh dear, another N on the rim! B-d3 seemed almost as good a square as retreating to a2: it re-inforces the center and forces Black to move his Q yet again. The Q check from b6 I considered to be harmless.} Qg6b6 14. Rf1f2 {Laying a trap: if now ... Qxb2, then Nc4 (threatening much more than merely the unprotected N on a5), Qb5 (nowhere else to go); Nd6+ with a discovered attack on the Black Q by the B on d3.} Nh6f7 {My opponent, 300+ points my junior, does not fall into the trap. Instead, he sets one that I fall into!} 15. Kg1g2 {Unpinning the R, but overlooking a tactical shot...} d5 {Ooops, I did not see that coming. White just hung a piece, it seems. I have seriously mis-underestimated my opponent. Time for a positional assessment to see what can be salvaged. White's pieces are developed centrally & pointed at critical squares in Black's territory, with good control of the center, K in a safe corner. Black is about to win a piece, but on the other hand is under-developed, his few developed pieces are not well coordinated, the K is still in the center with half-open lines leading straight to him. I refused to believe that White had no compensation for the lost piece. I decided to ignore the immediate tactical threat and proceed on the assumption that White's accumulated strategic advantages would eventually prevail.} 16. b4 dxe4 17. bxa5 Qb6g6 18. Qd1a4 {The plan: abandon the dark- squared B to his fate, mobilize my remaining heavy pieces, and try to put the Black K under pressure along whatever lines can be forced open.} Bc8d7 19. Qa4xe4 Qg6xg5 20. Qe4xb7 Ra8d8 21. Nd2e4 {Clearing the d-file with gain of a critical tempo.} Qg5f4 {... Qe3 looked more aggressive here; I would have replied just the same.} 22. Ra1d1 {The massing of the White forces is approaching the flash-point where spontaneous combustion is possible. Black's uncastled K is in grave danger.} Nf7d6 {Perhaps Black thought that by trading off White's aggressively posted N on e4, he would relieve his position. On ... Bd6, White has many options: c3-c4 or Bc4 or Rf2-d2 or NxBd6 ....; I don't see how Black can hold onto his a & c Ps in any of those variations.} 23. Qb7xc7 {Black's position is untenable from here on, in my opinion. Double and triple attacks against d7 are imminent, e.g, Rf2-d2, Bd3-b5, etc., with a R sac on d7 and so on. Black's extra piece, namely the KB, is useless, since it is of the wrong color to help in the defense of d7, and impedes the Black K from castling into safety.} Nd6xe4 24. Bd3xe4 {At last the d-file has been cleared. There is no stopping the R stampede now.} Bf8e7 25. Rd1xd7 {Black is defenseless. It is interesting to see how misplaced the Black Q is, unable to assist in the defense of the Black K and no threat to the White K (despite her proximity).} Rd8xd7 26. Be4c6 {White wins back his lost piece and gains two Ps in the process. After ... 0-0; QxR, White has an ambitious passer. Moreover, the Black B cannot hold both the weak pawns at a7 & e5; at least one of them is bound to fall. 1-0}
