Welcome to the first installment of Bruce Till's Openings Club! I want to thank you all for being patient while I decided on a format and ironed out some glitches.
As for the replaying of the games themselves, I deceided to give a regular text version of the games (and any notes) so you can print the game and play it out with a regular chess set.
The first opening we will cover in the Club is a line for White against the Pirc Defence (1.e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3. In the first installment, we will cover the line where Black plays 5. O-O. The move against this line is 6. e5! The first game is Till- Rosenhouse.
1. e4 g6
2. d4 Bg7
3. f4 d6
Black adopts the move order of the Modern Defense, where Black delays the development of the king knight. Sometimes you might see 3...c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. e5 Bg4 6. Be2 h5 7. O-O Nh6 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 Nf5 when Black hopes to control the white squares and limit White's white-squared bishop and perhaps exploit the weakness of the g3 square. This is very different line from the normal Pirc and requires a different strategy to meet it. In this game, Black tranposes into a normal Pirc.
4. Nf3 Nf6
5. Nc3 O-O
The normal starting position of the Austrian Attack vs. the Pirc. Black's other main move here is 5...c5. This will be examined later.
6. e5
This is the move I always play. I was introduced to this line by master Ed Babinski at a lecture in a public library in Princeton, NJ. There were about 15 of us there and we did not know the topic ahead of time. Ed surprised us by handing out a mimeographed (not Xeroxed) outline of the moves he showed us. It was a very detailed 6-page outline, with sub-variations going from A and B, down to A1, B2, Ab1, Bb2, etc. And it was all free!
According to "The Complete Pirc" by GM John Nunn, "This [move] cannot be recommended because Black appears to have little difficulty holding the balance." Maybe his GM friends have "little difficulty", but my opponents sure do!
6. ..... dxe5
Sometimes Black plays 6...Nfd7, which, according to Nunn, "...leads to great tactical complications." This will be covered later.
7. dxe5
At first sight, this appears to be a mistake, allowing Black to trade queens and making the White king move. We shall see, however, this is not bad for White and actually tricks Black into thinking he is doing well for a few moves. This is the perfect kind of opening. After a few moves, it becomes clear that White is in control. The point of this recapture is to make it difficult to find a good square for Black's king knight. After 7. fxe5, Black could simply play 7...Nd5.
7. ..... Qxd1
8. Kxd1
This is where things get interesting. Black has a choice of 5 moves here. According to Nunn's book, "8....Nh5 has emerged as Black's best move." I have never had a single opponent play that move in this position. I looked in an online database (www.chesslive.de), and out of 289 master-level games that started from this position, 1% played 8...Nd7 (which loses to 9. Nd5), 1% played 8...Ne8 (which obviously blocks in Black's rook), 25% played 8....Nh5, 30% played 8....Ng4, and 42% played 8....Rd8 check. In my experience, I have only seen 8...Ng4 and 8...Rd8, the two most popular moves in the database also. As nearly as I can tell, the main advantage of 8...Nh5 is keeping the knight out of the way of the other pieces. In Nunn's main line, the knight never moves again, until it is captured by a bishop 11 moves later, when the players agreed to a draw. As for the more popular moves, Nunn claims they "...have not been refuted, but White tends to maintain a slight advantage." So let me get this straight: 6. e5 cannot be recommended for White because Black ends up either equal or losing? Sounds like a good move for White to me!
Anyway, let's look at the most popular move for Black.
8. ..... Rd8
9. Ke1
White can play 9. Bd3, which looks like a reasonable developing move, but the White king: A) needs to get off of the d-file because his rooks need to be on the only open file on the board, and B) will be useful for defending the g-pawn against a Black fianchetto (...b6 & ...Bb7). Besides, the bishop will be put to better use on another square.
9. ..... Nd5
10. Nxd5 Rxd5
11. Bc4
This is the best square for the bishop. It points at f7.
11. ..... Rd8
11...Rc5, attacking the bishop, loses, as in Till-Gwyn.
12. Ng5
Hitting f7 twice and forcing 12...e6, which locks in Black's other bishop.
12. ..... e6
13. Be3
Preparing to move a rook to d1.
13. ..... b6
Trying to activate his bishop.
14. Kf2
Guarding the g-pawn if Black plays 14...Bb7, as well as connecting the rooks.
14. ..... Ba6
Black decides to get rid of the bishop. Most players play 14...Bb7.
15. Bxa6 Nxa6
16. a3
Played with the idea of restricting the moves of the knight. This is a recurring theme in this line, using White's pawns to restrict Black's movement.
16. ..... Bf8
Redeploying the bishop, as it has no future on g7. In some lines, Black protects his pawn on e6 and plays ...f6, trying to attack White's center. But after e5xf6, the pawn on e6 becomes really weak.
17. Ne4
This is a key move for White in this line. The knight can go to f6 or e6 as the position warrants.
17. ..... Bc5
18. b4
Attacking the bishop and contolling c5 (restricting Black's knight some more).
18. ..... Bd4
19. c3 Bxe3
20. Kxe3
Now Black's dark squares around the king are weak (the dark-squared bishop is gone and the pawns are all on white), the Black knight has almost no moves, the White knight is perfectly placed, and the White king is fully activated for the endgame (and it prevents a rook intrusion to d3). White's game is easy to play, while Black is struggling to come up with ideas.
20. ..... Kf8
21. g4
Gaining more space and following the rule of pushing pawns on the side where you are superior (White's king, knight, and rook are all on the kingside).
21. ..... h6
A mistake. Perhaps Black was afraid of g5-Rg1-Rg3-Rh3-Nf6. But now White can open the h-file and this pawn will be a target.
22. h4 Ke7
23. h5 gxh5
24. Rxh5 c5
Black gives up on the h-pawn. White now has lots of good ideas he can try. Rxh6-Nd6-Rh7 is one. White tries another.
25. f5
White is thinking of f6, ...Kf8, Rxh6 and Rh8 mate.
25. ..... exf5
26. gxf5 cxb4
27. axb4
Attacking the knight with the rook on a1, gaining a tempo.
27. ..... Nc7
28. c4
I'm cupping my ear so I can hear you say "Restricting the knight".
28. ..... Rh8
Finally defending the h-pawn, but giving up the d-file.
29. Rd1
Grabbing the file.
29. ..... Ne8
Running out of useful ideas.
30. f6 Kf8
If 30...Ke6, I hope you can see that Black will get mated either by Kf4-Rh3-Rhd3-Rd6 or Nf4 (via Nc3-Ne2-Nf4, for example), or Nd6-Nxe8-Rd6.
31. Rd7
Rooks belong on open files and then on the seventh rank. One idea is Ng5 (the h-pawn is pinned to the rook), hitting f7 twice.
31. ..... Kg8
32. e6
Hitting f7 twice. If 32....fxe6 33. f7 check wins the knight.
32. ..... Rh7
33. e7
Black Resigns. There is no defence to 34. Rd8 and queening the e-pawn.
In this game, notice how White had a general plan and how Black had no good plans at his disposal. White just restricted Black's pieces with pawn moves and just advanced his pawns backed up by his well-placed pieces. This is the beauty of this opening. It looks harmless, but it is easy to play and gives you a great position and good endgame chances.
In order to show how using a different deployment of pieces for White is not as effective, here is a game (Till-Clark) I played before I learned the above move order.
1. e4 d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. f4 Bg7
5. Nf3 O-O
6. e5 dxe5
7. dxe5 Qxd1
8. Kxd1 Rd8
9. Bd3
Notice how the plausible move pins the bishop to the king, thus, it can't attack the rook when it gets to d5, so White has to unpin it with Bd2. All of this is very slow and inefficient, giving Black time to develop easily.
9. ..... Nd5
10. Nxd5 Rxd5
11. Bd2 Bg4
12. Ke2 Nc6
13. Be4 Nd4
14. Ke3 Nf5
15. Kf2 Bxf3
16. Bxd5 Bxd5
Black now has two pieces for rook, an advantage for him.
17. Bb4 a5
18. Rhd1 e6
19. Bc3 Bf8
20. g3 Bc5
Redeploying the blocked-in bishop from g7.
21. Ke1 b5
22. b3 Ne3
23. Rd2 Ng2
24. Kf1 Ne3
25. Ke2 Nf5
26. a3 Kg7
27. Rdd1 Ne3
28. Rd2 Nf5
Apparently Black is playing for a draw instead of a win. Ideally, he would trade off a pair or rooks (to minimize any mate threats in the endgame by White doubling rooks on the eighth rank (see Till-Gwyn), then try to trade off the White bishop (for the knight, if possible), and use the two remaing minor pieces and king to attack Whites pawns.
29. Bb2 Rd8
30. Rad1 Ne3
31. Rc1 Bf3
Winning a the exchange, which, combined with having two pieces for a rook, leaves Black a piece ahead.
32. Kxf3 Rxd2
33. Bc3 Rxh2
34. Bxa5 c6
35. c4 Bxa3
36. cxb5 Bxc1
37. b6
White latches on to his only hope, getting a new queen.
37. ..... Rb2
38. b4 Nc4
39. b7 Rb3
40. Ke2 Nxa5
41. b8=Q Ba3
Even with a new queen, White is still losing to Black's two minors and a rook.
42. Qd8
Hoping for a perpetual check.
42. ..... Bxb4
43. Qf6 Kg8
44. Kf2 Bc5
45. Kg2 Rb2
46. Kh3 Nc4
And Black inexplicably offered a draw here, which White gratefully accepted. As long as he can play ...Bf8, it would be hard for White to stop the c-pawn or get a perpetual check. I guess Black was thinking draw all along.
As I noted in the first game (Till-Rosenhouse), after 11. Bc4, Black must play 11...Rd8, since the superficially active 11....Rc5 just loses. Here, a master gets a little too casual. Till-Gwyn
1. e4
This game is against a strong NJ master.
1. ..... d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. f4 Bg7
5. Nf3 O-O
The standard position of the Austrian Attack.
6. e5
My favorite move.
6. ..... dxe5
7. dxe5 Qxd1
8. Kxd1 Rd8
9. Ke1 Nd5
10. Nxd5 Rxd5
11. Bc4 Rc5
Whoa! I knew this was a losing move, but no one had actually tried it in a game against me. And this was a master! Was I mistaken?
12. Bb3 Bf5
13. Be3 Rc6
14. Nd4
Gwyn said I should have played 14. Bd5, since 14....Rxc2 allows 15. Bxb7, winning a rook. He's right.
14. ..... Ra6
15. Bc4 Ra5
16. b4 Ra3
17. Bb3
This is not so great for Black either.
17. ..... c6
18. Nxf5 gxf5
19. Rd1 Na6
20. Rd7
Rook to the open d-file and then to the seventh.
20. ..... Nxb4
21. Bc5 a5
22. c3
I thought I was just winning a piece, but Black is resourceful.
22. ..... a4
23. Bxb4 axb3
24. Bxa3 bxa2
All of a sudden, Black is queening with a rook right behind it. White is a rook ahead, but not for long.
25. Bb2 a1=Q
26. Bxa1 Rxa1
27. Rd1
Lucky I had that move.
27. ..... Ra3
28. Rd8 Bf8
29. Kd2
Now I'm OK again, and up the exchange. I just need to activate my other rook.
29. ..... Ra2
30. Ke3 e6
31. Rb8 b6
A trap. If 32. Rxb6 then 32....Bc5 check winning the rook.
32. h4 Kg7
Unpinning the bishop.
33. h5
Threatening 34. h6 forcing the king back into the pin to save the bishop.
33. ..... Bc5
34. Kf3 h6
White was threatening 35. h6 Kg6 Rg8 mate.
35. Rd1 Rc2
36. Rdd8 Rxc3
37. Ke2 Re3
38. Kd1
Black Resigns. There is no way to stop mate. So 11....Rc5 just loses.
Here is a game with the recommended 8...Nh5. Thorsteinsson-Steil Antoni
1. e4 d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. f4 Bg7
5. Nf3 O-O
6. e5 dxe5
7. dxe5 Qxd1+
8. Kxd1 Nh5
9. Bc4 c6
10. Ke2 Bg4
11. Kf2 Nd7
12. Re1 Nb6
13. Bb3 Bxf3
14. Kxf3 Bh8
15. Be3 Ng7
16. Rad1
It doesn't appear as though the theorectically reccomended 8....Nh5 ha s resulted in optimum development for Black. Check out the bishop and knight keeping the king warm.
16. ..... Rfd8
17. g4 Ne6
18. Bxe6 fxe6
19. Bxb6 axb6
20. g5 h6
21. h4 hxg5
22. hxg5
Black Resigns because he is effectively a piece down, since the bishop will never get into the game, unless Black sacrifices it for a pawn. I don't think we need to worry about 8...Nh5.
Next is an example of 8...Ne8. The opening went fine for White, but I think he started to go wrong with 22. bxc5. Just 22. Ne2 followed by Ng3, h4-h5, Rg1 or Rh1 would have been a better plan.
Till-Brandt
1. e4 d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. f4 Bg7
5. Nf3 O-O
6. e5 dxe5
7. dxe5 Qxd1
8. Kxd1 Rd8
9. Ke1 Ne8
10. Bc4 e6
11. Be3 b6
12. a3 Bb7
13. Kf2 Nc6
14. Rhd1 Ne7
15. Bb5 Nc6
16. Ne2 a6
17. Ba4 Bf8
18. b4 Ng7
19. g4 Be7
20. Ned4 Na7
21. c3 c5
22. bxc5 Bxc5
23. Bc2 Rac8
24. a4 Ne8
25. Ng5 Nc7
26. Be4 Nd5
27. Rd3 Nc6
28. Bxd5 exd5
29. e6 f6
30. Nf7 Re8
31. f5 Ne5
32. Nh6 Kg7
33. Rdd1 g5
34. Nf7 Bxd4
35. Bxd4 Nxf7
36. exf7 Kxf7
37. Rab1 Bc6
38. Rxb6 Bxa4
39. Rxf6 Kg8
40. Re1 Rxe1
41. Kxe1 Re8
42. Kd2 Bb5
43. Be3 Bc4
44. h3 Ra8
45. Rd6 1/2-1/2
Here is one more game with the main line 5....O-O 6. e5. Till- DiLillo
1. e4 d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. f4 Bg7
5. Nf3 O-O
6. e5 dxe5
7. dxe5 Qxd1
8. Kxd1 Rd8
9. Ke1 Nd5
10. Nxd5 Rxd5
11. Bc4 Rd8
12. Ng5
This is a key pair of moves, 11. Bc4 and 12. Ng5. Together, they attack f7 and force 12...e6, which locks in Black's queen bishop.
12. ..... e6
13. Be3 b6
Black is forced to spend more time trying to develop this bishop.
14. Kf2
Defending g2 against Black's ...Bb7 and getting off the back rank to let the rooks out.
14. ..... Bb7
15. Rhd1 Nc6
16. c3
Restricting the knight.
16. ..... Rxd1
17. Rxd1 Rd8
18. Rxd8 Nxd8
White has better squares for his minor pieces than Black does.
19. g4 h6
20. Nf3 Nc6
21. h4 Ne7
22. Nd4 Bd5
23. Bxd5 Nxd5
24. Bd2 g5
25. fxg5 hxg5
26. Bxg5 Bxe5
The position is nearly equal here, but White can win a pawn.
27. Nc6 Bf6
28. Kf3 Bxg5
29. hxg5
I let Black double my pawns because I was entranced with the idea of trapping his knight in the middle of the board. Notice how it now has no squares to go to. White is threatening 30. c4 winning the knight.
29. ..... a5
30. Ke4 Kg7
31. a3
Threatening 32. c4 again.
31. ..... b5
32. Nxa5 Kg6
33. c4 bxc4
34. Nxc4
Now White has a passed a-pawn, but he losing the kingside pawns in return.
34. ..... Kxg5
35. a4 Kxg4
36. Ne5 Kg5
37. Nxf7 Kf6
38. Ne5 Ke7
39. Nc4 Nb4
40. Kd4 Na6
41. a5 Kd7
42. Ne5 Kd6
43. Nd3 c5
44. Kc4 e5
It's looking like a draw now, with each knight stopping a passed pawn. But then I got an idea..... (like I always say, don't resign or agree to a draw until you run out of ideas).
45. Nxe5 Kxe5
46. Kb5
Figuring the knight would move and I would get the c-pawn and have some winning chances with the two passed pawns and no losing chances against a lone knight, even if I lost both of them. But......
46. ..... Kd6
...he lets the knight go, thinking he sees some kind of king-and-pawn drawn endgame.
47. Kxa6 Kc6
If White's b-pawn were already on b3, this might have been good for a draw: 48. Ka7 Kb5 49. a6 Kb4 50. Kb7 Kxb3 51. a7 c4 52. a8=Q c3 53. Qa1 Kc2 54. Kc6 Kd2 55. Kc5 c2 Draw.
48. b3
But this extra tempo makes all the difference. Now the Black king must give way and White queens or wins the c-pawn. Black takes a third route.
48. ..... c4
49. bxc4 Kc7
50. Kb5 Kb7
51. c5
Black Resigns. He should have kept the knight. It would have been difficult, but he would have had a chance, unlike the line he picked.
Next we look at games where Black plays 6...Nfd7 (rather than 6....dxe5) in response to 6. e5. The first game brutally illustrates the power of this line. (Zrzawy-Sejkora)
1. e4 d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. f4 Bg7
5. Nf3 O-O
6. e5 Nfd7
7. h4
White aims to open the h-file quickly while Black's pieces are somewhat tangled up.
7. ..... c5
Black in turn tries to undermine White's center, attacking the base of the pawn chain, d4, as well as hitting e5 3 times. White must act quickly or his temporary advantage will evaporate.
8. h5 cxd4
9. hxg6
Sacrificing the knight on c3 in order to gain time for the attack on the king. White needs to get in a punch at the Black king to keep his attack going and anyone not involved in that effort (like the knight on c3) is expendable.
9. ..... hxg6
Black decides to defend his king a little first. We will examine the obvious 9...dxc3 in the next game. However, White has accomplished his objective of opening the h-file, so he decides he can spend a move to save the knight and activate his queen.
10. Qxd4 dxe5
11. fxe5 Nxe5
Offering a queen trade to lessen White's attack.
12. Qh4
Why trade queens when you can move it and threaten mate in one on h7?
12. ..... Nxf3+
13. gxf3 Re8
Giving the king an escape square, but he'll need more than one to get away.
14. Qh7+ Kf8
No mate, so Black is safe and a pawn up, right?
15. Bh6
Wrong! Black Resigns. If 15....Bxh6 16. Qh8 mate. If 15...e6 (or 15...e5) 16. Qxg7+ Ke7 17. Bg5+ wins the queen (on top of the bishop). On anything else, 16. Qxg7 is mate.
Now we will see what happens if Black takes the knight. (Davies-Franklin)
1. e4 g6
2. d4 Bg7
3. Nc3 d6
4. f4 Nf6
5. Nf3 O-O
6. e5 Nfd7
7. h4 c5
8. h5 cxd4
9. hxg6 dxc3
Black dares White to show what he gets for the knight. White is happy to oblige.
10. gxf7+ Rxf7
11. Bc4 cxb2
Instead of the strange-looking, but more prudent 11....e6, Black uses his last opportunity of not being in check to gobble some more material. Enjoy!
12. Bxf7+ Kxf7
13. Ng5+ Kf8
14. Nxh7+ Kg8
If 14...Ke8 15. Qh5 is mate. If 14...Kf7 15. Ng5+ will tranpose back into the game.
15. Qd5+ Kh8
16. Ng5+ Bh6
17. Rxh6+ Kg7
18. Qf7+
Black Resigns, since 18...Kxh6 19. Qh7 is mate. Maybe 11....e6 is better after all. At least Black was doing pretty well on the queenside.
Even the current US Champion Hikaru Nakamura crushes GM's with this line. I will present the notes from Ljubomir Kavalek's chess column in the 3-28-05 edition of the Washington Post.
In a dramatic fashion, Nakamura downed the top-rated grandmaster, Ilya Smirin of Israel, in a mere 22 moves. The game, featuring one of the sharpest variations of the Austrian attack in the Pirc defense, is theoretically important.
Nakamura-Smirin
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.e5 Nfd7 7.h4! (An idea of the legendary David Bronstein, who explained it with one word: "Attack!" White does not care about his center being destroyed as long as he can open the h-file for his heavy pieces.) 7 . . . c5 8.h5! cxd4 9.hxg6!? (Some theoreticians call this sharp knight sacrifice a mistake, but Nakamura does not seem to be impressed. In the inaugural game at the 1958 Munich olympiad against Fiorentino Palmiotto, Bronstein played 9.Qxd4, hoping to swing his queen to the h-file after 9 . . . dxe5 10.Qf2 and now the safest is 10 . . . e4. Otherwise white's attack can succeed quickly, for example the game Stein-Liberzon, from the 1965 Soviet championship in Yerevan, continued 10 . . . e6 11.hxg6 fxg6 12.Qg3 exf4 13.Bxf4 Qa5 14.Bd2 Nf6 15.Bc4 Nc6 16.0-0-0 Qc5 17.Qh4 Nh5 18.Ne4 Qb6 19.c3 Na5 20.Be2 h6 21.g4 Nf4 22.Bxf4 Rxf4 23.Rd8+ Rf8 24.Nf6+ Kh8 25.Qxh6+! and black resigned because of 25 . . . Bxh6+ 26.Rxh6+ Kg7 27.Rh7+ Kxf6 28.Rxf8 mate.) 9 . . . dxc3 10.gxf7+ Rxf7 11.Bc4! (Against Stuart Conquest in Reykjavik 1996, Bronstein chose the less accurate 11.Ng5? and after 11 . . . cxb2 12.Bxb2 Qa5+ 13.c3 Nxe5! 14.Qb3 Qc5 15.Be2 Qe3 16.Bc1 Qg3+ 17.Kd1 Bg4 18.Re1 Qd3+ 19.Bd2 Nc4 had to resign.) 11 . . . Nf8 (The alternative 11 . . . e6 seems better with the idea of answering both 12.Bxe6 and 12.Ng5 with 12 . . . Nxe5!)
12.Ng5! (Going for more. White already has a draw with 12.Bxf7+ as was demonstrated in the game Nadyrhanov-Tseshkovsky, Krasnodar 1999. After 12 . . . Kxf7 13.Ng5+ Kg8 [13 . . . Ke8 14.Qh5+ Kd7 14.Qf7! is worse for black.]14.Qh5 h6 15.Qf7+ Kh8 16.Qb3 Qa5 17.Nf7+ Kh7 18.Ng5+ Kh8 19.Nf7+ Kh7 20.Ng5+ white had a perpetual check.) 12 . . . e6 13.Nxf7 cxb2?! (An unsuccessful attempt to improve on the main defense 13 . . . Kxf7 14.Qh5+ Kg8 15.Bd3 and now after 15 . . . Nbd7? 16.Bxh7+ Nxh7 17.Qxh7+ Kf8 18.Qh8+! Bxh8 19.Rxh8+ Ke7 20.exd6+ wins for white. Black has to play 15 . . . h6!? with the idea 16.Rh3 dxe5 17.Rg3 e4 18.f5 Qc7!, attacking the rook and winning a tempo for defense, for example 19.Qh4 exd3 20.Bxh6 Qe5+ wins.
What did Nakamura have in mind after 15 . . . h6? I suspect that he planned 16.Rh4!? and after 16 . . . dxe5 17.Rg4 when it is hard for black to organize his defense. For example, on either 17 . . . Nc6 or 17 . . . Qc7 18.fxe5 leaves white on top and after 17 . . . e4 18.f5! exf5 [On 18 . . . exd3 19.Rxg7+ Kxg7 20.Bxh6+ wins.] 19.Rxg7+! Kxg7 20.Bxh6+ Kg8 21.0-0-0! [the point!] Be6 [21 . . . exd3 22.Rxd3 wins.] 22.Bc4! cxb2+ 23.Kb1 Qf6 [After 23 . . . Qxd1+ 24.Qxd1 Bxc4 25.Qd4, threatening 26.Qg7 mate, wins.] 24.Bxe6+ Nxe6 25.Qe8+ Nf8 [or 25 . . . Kh7 26.Rh1!] 26.Bxf8 Qf7 27.Qc8 Nd7 28.Qxa8 Nxf8 29.Qxa7 white should win.)
14.Bxb2 Qa5+ (Smirin tries to prevent the long castling because after 14 . . . Kxf7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 white has 16.0-0-0 with a decisive pressure.) 15.Kf1 Kxf7 16.Qh5+ Kg8 (White wins either after 16 . . . Ke7 17.exd6+; or after 16 . . . Ng6 17.f5!) 17.Bd3 Qb4 18.Rb1! Bd7 (Taking the pawn 18 . . . Qxf4+ loses because it opens lines on the black king, for example 19.Ke2 h6 20.Rbf1 Qg5 21.Qf7+ Kh8 22.Bc1 Qxe5+ 23.Kd1 and white has all five pieces aiming at the black king and should win quickly.) 19.c4 (Cutting off the black queen from the kingside.) 19 . . . Qd2 (On 19 . . . h6 comes 20.Rh3, followed by 21.Rg3, white's attack can't be stopped. And after 19 . . . Nc6 20.Rh3 Ne7 21.exd6 Bxb2 22.Bxh7+ Kg7 23.Rg3+ wins.) 20.Bxh7+ Nxh7 21.Qxh7+ Kf8 22.Rh4 (There is no good defense to 23.Rg4.) Black resigned.
The last two games my make you wonder if there is some alternative to 10....Rxf7. There is.
1. d4 Nf6
2. Nc3 g6
3. e4 d6
4. f4 Bg7
5. Nf3 O-O
6. e5 Nfd7
7. h4 c5
8. h5 cxd4
9. hxg6 dxc3
10. gxf7+
Having seen what happens after 10...Rxf7, you might wonder why Black doesn't just play 10...Kh8. Here's why.
10. ..... Kh8
11. Rxh7+ Kxh7
12. Ng5+ Kg6
If 12...Kh8 12. Qh5+ Bh6 13. Qxh6 mate.
13. Qd3+
Black Resigns. If 13....Kh6 14. Qh7 mate. If 13....Kh5 14. Qh3+ Kg6 15. Qh7 mate. Kind of makes 10...Rxf7 look like a pretty good idea now. How would you like to pull that on some master in a tournament?
