Yet, sometimes, the gift is not accepted. Consider the following game.
Wall, Bill - Guest9273483
PlayChess.com, 2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kf8
As Herman Melville's character Bartleby, the scrivener, said, "I would prefer not to."
I was surprised to see 312 games with this position in The Database. I was even more surprised to see that White scores only 56%. Still, that is an improvement over the results for the main line 4...Kxf7 - 14,373 games in The Database, where White scores 46%.
At the same time, it is useful to point out Bill Wall's statistics on the matter: for 4...Kxf7, Bill has 509 games, scoring 92%. It only gets better for 4...Kf8, with 6 games and White scoring 100%.
5.Bb3 Nf6
In this position we must imagine that Black is the gambiteer, and that he has given up a pawn for a slight lead in development (a somewhat larger lead, if we consider his King to be developed).
6.Nc3 Nd4
Instead of the principled 6...d6, planning to develop his light square Bishop, Black decides to be a bit tricky, no doubt planning to answer 7.Nxe5 with 7...Qe7. Bill is not interested, though, and simply safeguards his King.
7.O-O Nxb3 8.axb3 d5
You have to admire Black's confidence - open lines for his pieces, attack the center. Still, he did not get much for his first "sacrificed" pawn, and he does not get much for this next one, either.
9.exd5 Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.g4 Bg6 12.Nxe5
12...Be8
The alternative, winning back a pawn, was not attractive: 12...Bd4 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.Kg2 Bxc3 15.dxc3 Qxd5+ 16.Qxd5 Nxd5 White would be up a couple of pawns, have a Bishop for a Knight, and have pawn majorities on both sides.
13.d4 Bb4 14.g5 Nxd5 15.Qf3+ Black resigned
Black's Knight is attacked twice and defended only once; it wil perish.
No comments:
Post a Comment