As an experiment, this year’s main themed Selected Openings Tournament will be webserver only. The popular Gambit and Counter-Gambit tournaments will remain Postal or Email.
Selected Main Theme Opening- Portsmouth Gambit 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.b4
I make no apologies for this being chosen as the main theme, even though it was a choice in last year’s Gambit Tournament. Quite a lot of attention has been given to this opening on the internet in the past year, and there is now a web site devoted to the opening. Some of you may care to check out: Portsmouth Gambit BCCA member Fred Clough needs to be congratulated for bringing the Gambit to the mainstream Chess world. Please try out this “off-beat” variation that is now becoming quite popular.
Gambit tournament: The following will be the available choices:-
1. Kucharkowski – Meybohm Gambit 1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 Bxb4 3.f4
Hands up those of you who have heard of this one? No hands raised? I thought not! I discovered this whilst reading the excellent “Opening Lanes “ articles on the internet (to be found at www.ChessCafe.com) This wacky Gambit in a well known Sokolsky main line is worth a try .A sample line….
1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 Bxb4 3.f4 exf4 4.Bxg7 Qxh4+ 5.g3 fxg3 is white lost already? 6.Bg2 !! gxh2+ 7.Kf1 hxg1=Q+ 8.Kxg1 A wonderful position has occurred…that has actually been seen on numerous occasions before (somewhat surprisingly) . Lots of fun for Black and White.
2. Ghulam Khassim Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.d4
Continuing with this year’s theme of choosing Gambits that no one will have ever heard of. I’m not sure White can get away with this piece offering….but it certainly leads to a wild position . After 5…gxf3 6.Qxf3 Black has to be very careful of potential fireworks on the f-file.
3. Tennison Gambit 1.Nf3 d5 2.e4
Now I grant you that this looks a little weird. It is a very provocative move aimed at unsettling Black from the off. However, it should not be dismissed as weak. For example after 2…dxe4 3.Ng5 Nf6 4.Bc4 e6 5.Nc3 White should be able to recover the pawn if he wishes. However, he may look to create some poetry by an all out kingside assault.
4. Ryder Gambit 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3
As there is no Ryder Cup for us all to enjoy in 2011 the Golfers amongst you will have to make do with this. White aggressively develops the Queen early on in proceedings. Do not be concerned if Black continues taking material with 5….Qxd4 as 6.Be3 scores remarkably well in practice.
Counter -Gambit tournament:
Whilst thinking of ideas for this season I was struck by a thought: what exactly is a “Counter Gambit”? Does there have to be a Gambit offered by one player before the 2nd player can offer a Counter Gambit? A good example is the Latvian Gambit which goes 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5. Should that be a Gambit or a Counter Gambit ? Rightly or wrongly, I have gone down the route of “Gambits are offered by White and Counter Gambits are offered by Black”. I hope everyone is comfortable with this. Perhaps these two separate tournaments should be merged anyway to avoid confusion. We would need a new name…something like “Caveman Tournament” perhaps? But I digress….
1. Romford Counter Gambit 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 d4 !?
A personal favourite of mine. It is extremely rare to encounter the Grob attack (1.g4 ) at CC , but if you do , this is a fun way to get White on the back foot. The point is that after 4.Bxb7 Nd7 5.Bxa8 Qxa8 Black may be the Exchange down but White is cramped and struggles to develop.
2. Woodseats Variation 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 c6 4.dxc6 e5
Black offers 2 pawns! This is named after the club that a Sheffield player whom I know belongs to. I believe he currently is the only man brave (or silly) enough to try it. The point is that after (for example) 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 c6 4.dxc6 e5 5.dxe5 Qxd1+ 6.Kxd1 Ng4 the knight fork is awkward for white with his King being misplaced on d1. You will be fortunate if you find any analysis of this line anywhere, so you are on your own (though for a small fee I can give you the address of the player who invented it!)
3. Albin Counter Gambit 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5
I’ve run out of off-beat ideas, so here we have a mainstream line that has been around for ages. The move is apparently known as “X Rated” in many chess circles! If White takes the e pawn, the black d pawn moves to d4 and is an effective wedge splitting the white position into two. There is a lot of information readily available, so this may not be to everyone’s taste. However I’m sure there are new ideas to be found.
4. Blumenfeld Gambit 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5
In April whilst trying to think of themes for this season, I noted that the great Victor Korchnoi celebrated his 80th birthday! He is an inspiration to all us older players. I looked for some recent Gambit games of his, and I stumbled across the following gem that he played in the final round of Gibraltar 2011 Korchnoi v Pons
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5 5.dxe6 fxe6 6.cxb5 d5 7.Bg5 Qa5+ 8.Qd2 Qb6 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.e3 Nd7 11.Nc3 f5 12.a4 Nf6 13.Be2 Bd6 14.0-0 Bd7 15.Rfd1 Ke7 16.a5 Qc7 17.h3 Rhg8 18.Nh4 Rab8 19.Kh1 Be5 20.Qc2 d4 21.Na4 dxe3 22.b6 Bxa4 23.Rxa4 axb6 24.f4! Bxf4 25.Nxf5+! (Wonderful stuff) exf5 26.Qxf5 Be5? (Qc6 was better) 27.Bc4 Rg6 28.axb6 Rxb6?? And now poor Victor throws away not only a fine win but the Brilliancy prize…. 29.Rda1?? (29.Ra7!! Wins. 29…Qxa7 30.Qxe5+ Kf8 31.Rd8+ Kg7 32.Rg8+ Kh6 33.Qf4+ and mate soon follows.) 29…Kf8 30.Bd5 e2 31.Qf2 Bd4 32.Qxe2 Nxd5 33.Ra8+ Kg7 34.Qf3 Kh6 35.R1a7 Qf4 0-1 A very exciting game none the less. Why not give the Blumenfeld a try?
Entries for these Tournaments must be received by 1st September,the Web-Server Fee is £5.00, the Gambit Fee is £2.00 The Tournament Director is: Dave Grobler
2010/11 Tournaments – please use the link below for details
2010/11 Results