Italian Game Anti-Fried Liver Defense (Part 1)

Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Welton Vaz sends us a Chess.com link to an enjoyable discussion on the play of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 – known on this site as the "Semi-Italian Opening" (after Euwe) – as a way of avoiding the Fried Liver Attack 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7

Although one of the Chess.com posters complained about 3...h6 "I hate when players play this as it is an insult to the Italian" there was no suggestion on the website, either in the discussion or the related 21 games given, that White could return the "insult" of 3...h6 by transposing to the Jerome Gambit with, say, 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+.

Of course Welton sent one of his games where he provided that "insult" – which we will see in "Italian Game Anti-Fried Liver Defense (Part 2)".

By the way, Grandmaster Boris Alterman has a 6-part series on the Fried Liver Attack on his website, along with instruction on a whole list of gambits, including the Danish, Evans, Max Lange and Morra.

I note that Alterman has two books forthcoming, one on gambits with White and one on gambits with Black. Of the first, he writes

The Alterman Gambit Guide: White Gambits is both an opening book and an instructive manual. Sharpen your tactics and learn to play dynamic attacking chess while studying the most entertaining gambits. Lines covered include:Evans Gambit, Panov Attack, Morra Gambit, Philidor, Danish Gambit, Urusov Gambit, Morphy Attack, Cochrane Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Fried Liver Attack and Milner-Barry Gambit

For those who like their liver fried, there is also a book by NM Dan Heisman on The Computer Analyzes the Fried Liver / Lolli.

Half-way There

I seem to be playing against the Blackburne Shilling Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4) a lot, lately. I'm not sure why – probably just coincidence. I'm still giving it the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) treatment, though.

perrypawnpusher - mbranimir
blitz 12 0, FICS, 2009

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4

4. Bxf7+ Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Ke8

6.Qh5+ g6 7. Nxg6

Black usually plays 7...hxg6 here, although I've also faced 7...Nf6. My opponent now plays an interesting and logical move, first seen in perrypawnpusher - Iourotors, blitz FICS, 2009 (0-1, 37).

7...Nxc2+

This takes the Black Knight out of range of the White Queen. If, instead, 7...hxg6 then 8.Qxg6+ Ke7 9.Qg5+ Ke8 10.Qe5+ Qe7 11.Qxd4 Bg7 when White has 4 pawns for his sacrificed piece, in an unclear position.

8. Kd1 Nxa1

Sometimes half of a good plan turns out to be a bad plan after all. The proper move instead of the text was 8... hxg6, when everything is pretty unclear. Of course, White would always have 9.Qxg6+ Ke7 10. Qg5+ Ke8 11. Qg6+ etc, forcing the draw; or he could try 10.Kxc2 or 10.d3.

Certainly this line bears further investigation – but not today.

9. Nxh8+ Ke7 10. Qe5 checkmate

Tired

Lately my chess play has been sub-par, especially when playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) and related openings. I'm thinking not so much of my game against CorH, which was a decent affair, but of another loss that I'm still coming to terms with – and of the following game. Perhaps I've just been a bit tired lately.

perrypawnpusher -tiagorom
blitz 14 0, FICS, 2009

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ g6

As Blackburne played almost 125 years ago.

7. Qxe5 Nf6

Okay, not exactly like Blackburne. Blackburne played 7...d6 and got a complicated game and a crushing victory. Whistler played 7...Qe7 and got the same.

I've been here before, and quite possibly my opponent has not.

8. Qxc5 d6 9. Qd4

An experiment I probably won't repeat.

Previously: 9.Qe3
a) 9...Re8 10.d3 Kg7 11.0-0 d5 12.Qh6+ Kg8 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nc3 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Qf6 16.Bd2 Qg7 17.Rae1 Rxe1 18.Rxe1 Qxh6 19.Bxh6 Bf5 20.Re7 Rc8 21.Bf4 Kf8 22.Rxc7 Rxc7 23.Bxc7 Ke7 24.Kf1 Kd7 25.Be5 Kc6 26.Bd4 a6 27.c4 b5 28.cxb5+ axb5 29.a3 Be6 30.Ke2 Bd5 31.g3 Ba2 32.c3 Kd5 33.Ke3 Bb1 34.Bg7 Ba2 35.f4 Bb1 36.h3 Bc2 37.g4 Ke6 38.Ke4 Kf7 39.Bd4 h6 40.f5 g5 41.Kf3 Bxd3 42.Kg3 Be2 43.h4 Bd1 44.hxg5 hxg5 45.Be3 Kf6 46.Bb6 Ke5 47.Bd8 Ke4 48.Bxg5 Kd3 49.Bf6 Kc4 50.g5 Kb3 51.g6 Bh5 52.Kf4 Kxa3 53.Kg5 Bd1 54.Kh6 Bb3 55.Kg7 b4 56.cxb4 Kxb4 57.Kf8 Kc5 58.Be7+ Kd5 59.f6 Ke5 60.g7 Kf5 61.g8Q Bxg8 62.Kxg8 Kg6 63.f7 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz FICS, 2005;
b) 9...Qe7 10.d3 Be6 11.0-0 b6 12.Nc3 Rae8 13.f4 Ng4 14.Qf3 h5 15.f5 gxf5 16.exf5 Bd7 17.Bd2 Nf6 18.Rae1 Qf8 19.Rxe8 Qxe8 20.Re1 Qd8 21.Bg5 Rg8 22.Bxf6 Qxf6 23.Qd5+ Kg7 24.Qf3 Rf8 25.Qg3+ Kh8 26.Qe3 Qxf5 27.Qd4+ Rf6 White forfeited on time, perrypawnpusher - MsD, blitz FICS, 2007;
c) 9...Be6 10.0-0 Rf8 11.Nc3 Kg7 12.d3 c5 13.f4 Ng4 14.Qg3 Rc8 15.f5 gxf5 16.h3 f4 17.Bxf4 Rxf4 18.Rxf4 Qg5 19.Rxg4 Bxg4 20.Qxg4 Qxg4 21.hxg4 Kg6 22.Rf1 Rh8 23.Rf5 a6 24.Nd5 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic Chessworld, 2008;

9...c5 10.Qd3 Re8

Black has been avoiding grabbing a pawn  ...Nf6xe4 (to be answered by 0-0) perhaps because he didn't see it. 

11.f3 d5 12.Nc3 dxe4 13.Qxd8 exf3+

This is a tactical oversight that should lose a Rook to the simple 14.Qxe8+. My response was a blunder – so much so that my opponent spent some time trying to figure it out, as he had seen his own error, as often sadly happens, right after playing it.

14.Kf2 Rxd8 15.gxf3

Sadly, my advantage is now just one paltry pawn, which could now be minimized further by the accurate 15...c4.

There was nothing left to do but try to make something of the pawn.

15...Bf5 16.d3 Re8 17.Bg5 a6 18.Ne4 Bxe4 19.fxe4 c4

20.Rhf1 Kg7 21.Bxf6+ Kxf6 22.Kg3+

Probably 22.Ke3+ was a bit better.

22...Kg7 23.Rf2 b5 24.Raf1 Rad8

25.Rf7+ Kh8 26.R1f3 h5 27.Ra7 Ra8 28.Rxa8 Rxa8 29.d4

The win is pretty straight-forward now.

29...Kg7 30.e5 Rf8 31.Rxf8 Kxf8 32.Kf4 Kf7 33.Kg5 a5 34.d5

34...b4 35.b3 c3 36.h4 Kg7 37.e6 Kf8 38.Kxg6 Ke7 39.Kxh5 Kd6 40.Kg6 Kxd5 41.e7 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: Probably Had Nothing To Do With It

Unlike yesterday's game (see "Inspired by the Jerome Gambit: A True Story"), today's game likely had nothing to do with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+). I present it because it's a fun, quick game – and it has that "evil" move 4.Bxf7+.


Pazderic, Nickola - Hosford, Michael
Washington Invitational, 2009
notes by Pazderic, from the June 2009 issue of Northwest Chess

I arrived at my table awake just enough to notice that Michael seemed a bit edgy,perhaps because he woke up to two losses and last place after two rounds. I thought I would try to unbalance the game immediately to cross him up. How does one do this? Well, I suppose most chess players who followed Fischer would agree:

1.e4!

Michael didn't think too long and replied:

1...Nc6!?

I was a bit relieved; for I was bleary eyed and, thus, not so sure I could handle one of the trickier black defenses any better than my opponent. (Is not, as Lasker said, "the threat stronger than the execution"?—of course, one must still be able to execute...)

I thought for a couple of seconds and rejected 2. d4, knowing Black would be very happy to advance d5 or e5 and either develop his king bishop early or maneuver his knight (after 3. d5) to g6 via e7—when he could test my center with f6 and c5. I also considered 2. Nc3, when White invites Black into a classical set up. In any case,
the Nimzowitsch defense is a little passive and, thus, a little dubious. To provoke the opponent into advancing too far too fast is one goal of this defense. I thought I might catch Black off guard if I reversed the strategy by playing:

2.Bb5

With this move, White invites Black to advance his pawns against the bishop but without any claim to the center, as in the Ruy Lopez. I also thought that should Black venture 2....d5, I could always chop the knight and play my queen to the weakened white squares via e2 for a slight edge. 2...e5 leads to the Ruy Lopez, and I doubted that any Nimzowitsch player would want that. 2...Nf6 is given by my chess engine as the main line; I'm sure I would have attempted 3. Nc3 in reply.

2...Nd4

Bam! The question is put to the bishop immediately. But also instantly I began to scheme of ways to push his knight back into weird positions with a timely c3. The first choice was the natural 3.Ba4, and after 3....b5, I thought White could try at once 4.c3! Then I had a brain wave, reasoning "If I play Bc4 and Black plays the audacious 3...b5, I can probably sac the bishop on f7." That seemed even more off kilter than the solid 3. Ba4, 4. c3 plan. So,

3.Bc4 b5   

Michael played this quickly and, as I thought, audaciously. I didn't really calculate much at this point. I simply saw that black must capture, expose his king to check via h5, and either put his king on f6 or open up his white squares (and the juicy targets on a8 and d4) with a dreary g6. So, merrily I played

4.Bxf7+

At this point Michael said something, which I do not recall, and tipped over his king. In disbelief, I quickly wrote 1-0 on my score sheet, turned and handed it to Fred Kleist, the Tournament Director, and left the commotion.three times; each time White won in 40-55 moves, as I recall. But in practical play, this is no guarantee.



Michael should not have resigned, as he told me the next day. The best plan is to play 5...g6 and to force White to take on d4 or a8 after 6. Qd5+. White has material, but Black can generate some counterplay against the queen. I had my engine play the position

I'm not really proud of this game. But I did use a little counter-psychology, as expressible within the 64 squares, to take advantage of a perceived temporary weakness in my opponent's psychologicalarmor. I am not sure that this is a good way to play generally, but it worked in this case.

Inspired by the Jerome Gambit: A True Story

I found the following game on the ChessKnot.com website, annotated by the winner. I've added a few notes, but mostly I'll let the game and the player of the White pieces speak for themselves.

csxrook  - bru39
Annotated by: csxrook
Chess opening: King's pawn game (C50)
GameKnot

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

I saved this game because it was an experimental game that worked, 5.b4 was the first time I ever implemented a successful gambit on the spur of the moment and linked it together to win this blitz game in under 60 seconds.

This move seemed a bit peculiar to me as it was preempting my dark-squared bishop from sitting at g5 w/o even knowing if I had planned to fianchetto it to b2. Plus it neglected development of the pieces.

4.Nc3 Nge7

Poor move, IMO, as it blocks in the bishop & queen, prolonging development & castling.

5.b4

Noticing a familiar setup and lack of developed pieces, I offer the pawn to draw the knight away from protecting e5, with a certain surprise awaiting.

5....Nxb4

He takes!

6.Bxf7+

Combined with a sacrifice I learned from the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+), except now there's no pesky knight covering the e5 pawn!

6...Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Ke8

7...Kg8 would have held out longer 

[After 7...Kg8 Black has the usual beginning Jerome Gambit advantage, whereas after the text, he is busted. - Rick]

8.Qh5+

[I hate to interrupt the Jerome Gambit flow here, but the quickest kill was 8.Qf3 first then: 8...Nf5 9.Qh5+ Ke7 10.Nd5+ Kd6 and Black loses his Queen to 11.Nf7+ - Rick]


8...g6 9.Nxg6 Nxc2+

[Tempting, but Black should instead reinforce g6 with 9...Rg8 so that after 10.Nh4+ he can block with 10...Ng6, for example: 11.Nxg6 Qg5 12.Qxg5 hxg5 - Rick]


10.Kf1

I moved away from the knight in hopes of sacrificing the inactive rook for another critical tempo.

10...Nxg6

mate in 2...

11.Qxg6+ Ke7

stalemated king

12.Nd5

Mate

Another Miniature from Brazil

I was pleased to grab another Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game from Welton Vaz's "Chess, Science Fiction and Peace" blog. See also: "Xadrez, Ficção Cientifíca e Paz" and "Teach / Learn"

Ghandybh  - DVBLTTN 

Online Chess, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

The adventure begins!

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6

7.Qf5+

An earlier game of Welton's went 7.f4 g6 8.Qxe5+ Kf7 9.Qxh8 Qh4+ 10.g3 Qh6 11.Qc3 b6 12.d4 Be7 13.Qc4+ Kf8 14.0-0 c5 15.f5 Qe3+ 16.Bxe3 Black resigned, Ghandybh - duboak, Chess.com 2009

7...Kd6 8.f4 g6

Not a common move, and not a good one, either. Refutations look like 8...Qh4+ or 8...Qf6, not just kicking the White Queen in the shins.

9.Qxe5+ Kc6 10.Qxh8

Yes!

In a previous game I went chasing after butterflies, and caught nothing but a half point: 10.Qd5+ Kb6 11.Nc3 c6 12.Na4+ Kc7 13.Qe5+ Bd6 14.Qxh8 Qh4+ 15.g3 Qg4 16.Qxg8 Qf3 17.Rf1 Qxe4+ 18.Kd1 b5 19.Nc3 Qd4 20.Qxh7 Bb4 21.Qxg6 d6 22.Qd3 Bg4+ 23.Ne2 Qxd3 24.cxd3 Re8 25.Re1 c5 26.a3 Ba5 27.b4 cxb4 28.axb4 Bb6 29.Bb2 Bf2 30.d4 Bxe1 31.Kxe1 Rxe2+ 32.Kf1 Rxd2 33.Bc3 Rxh2 34.Rxa7+ Kb6 35.Rf7 Bh3+ 36.Kg1 Rg2+ 37.Kh1 Rxg3 38.Rf6 Rxc3 39.Rxd6+ Kc7 40.Rd5 Kc6 41.Rh5 Bg4 42.Rg5 Bf3+ 43.Kh2 Bd5 44.f5 Rc4 45.Rg6+ Kc7 46.Rg7+ Kd6 47.Rg6+ Kd7 48.Rg7+ Kd6 49.Rg6+ Ke7 50.Rb6 Rxb4 51.Kg3 Rxd4 52.Rxb5 Kf6 53.Kf2 Kxf5 54.Ke3 Re4+ 55.Kd3 Re5 56.Kd4 Re4+ 57.Kxd5 Re5+ 58.Kc4 Rxb5 59.Kxb5 draw, perrypawnpusher - spontex, FICS, 2009

10...Qh4+ 11.g3 Qh3

White's move is more aggressive than duobak's Qh6 (above), because he plans to infiltrate the Kingside with his Queen. The problem is that Black's Kingside will fall apart faster.

12.Qxg8 Qg2 13.Qd5+ Kb6 14.Rf1

If Black's unsafe King isn't his undoing, being a Rook down will eventually finish him off.

14...Qxh2 15.Qb3+ Kc6 16.Na3 d5 17.Qb5+ Black resigned, as he is going to lose another piece (17...Kd6 18.e5+ followed by 19.Qxc5).

I can't believe I missed this...

I just bumped into Chess Chat, which bills itself as "Australia's Premier Chess Forum." The following series of exchanges is both entertaining and educational.


Ausknight
March 7, 2009
"How to defend against this Ruy Lopez Variation?"

At the moment I'm opening with the Ruy Lopez and whilst I personally use the classic line of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc5, I've come across other white players online opening with the following instead : 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc5

It's a slight variation which puts immediate pressure the following turn with either sacrificing the Bishop with Bxf7+ (forcing the king to take and removing a castle from the equation - Is this actually worth the trade in material?) or threatening the potentially potent follow up with Nh5 (which leads to a nasty Nxf8).

Question is, how do you defend against this variation?

Cheers


Jono
March 7, 2009

I'm not sure what you're asking. 3. Bc4 can be answered well by 3... Bc5 or Nf6.


Zwischenzug
March 7, 2009

Actually, this opening is the Italian game. Anyway, sacking the bishop for a pawn so early in the game is a bad idea for white. Sure black can't castle but he can survive. 3...Nf6 or 3...Bc5 would be normal for black here.


The Snail King
March 7, 2009

As Jono (edit: and Zwischenzug) said, there are a couple of good moves.

I invariably play 3...Bc5 in that position, because when playing 3...Nf6 Black needs to know the theory after White's 4.Ng5 (Fried Liver Attack, IIRC) and for beginners that's not an easy line to play. With 3...Bc5 the diagonal from Black's Qd8 to the g5 square is not blocked, preventing the immediate 4.Ng5 by White.


 Rincewind
March 7, 2009

I haven't been an e4 or e5 player for several years but the line you give is not considered the Ruy Lopez. It is called both the Giuoco Piano (quiet game) and Italian Opening. There are many lines but generally the Bishop sac is not working just yet and Black normally plays 3...Bc5.

If 4.Bxf7 Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6! seems hair raising but black is better thanks to the material (although his king is exposed and so he has to be careful).

The usual lines after 3...Bc5 are either 4.b4 called the Evan's Gambit (which can be accepted) or the mainline 4.c3 Nf6 where White will usually play 5.d3 or d4. But things are pretty solid now since the knight on f6 defends the queen checking squares the Bxf7+ move is unlikely to cause any problems for a while.


Ausknight
March 7, 2009

Omg there's a line called the Fried Liver Attack?

That alone makes chess worth playing IMHO! HAHAHAHAHAAHA! LOVE IT!

Okay, so if my opponent pulls the pin and goes for Bxf7+ I just take back with the king? What then? It kind of leaves me a little exposed which as a beginner worries me a bit. Can I swing across the Rook from h8 to f8 and swing the king back in behind? With no pawn protecting on f7, I just feel like no matter what I do I'm dangerously exposed.

I guess I need more theory research on this line, or just learn a better response from the classic Ruy Lopez from white.

I have to admit I'm in the VERY early stages of learning opening lines, so a lot of what I see at the moment I mostly respond with tactical positioning with no theory behind me. I always worry about this because there's a lot of traps for the beginner in many opening lines and it's lead to more than one loss for me.

At present I generally only open with the Ruy Lopez as white and to be quite honest, respond with rubbish when playing as black. Looks like I need to stick my head into a few books and start a decent education on openings!


The Snail King
March 7, 2009

If you have a high-bandwidth internet connection, a lot of these openings are covered on YouTube (at least in a brief overview, including some of the usual traps to watch out for).

Beyond that, I can recommend the book series called "Starting Out ..." (e.g. Starting Out: Ruy Lopez) which can be purchased from all good chess retailers and/or Amazon Books. I have about a dozen of them and they give me at least a rudimentary understanding of the themes and usual plans for the major variations of each opening/defence.

There's also a good website (www.chessgames.com) that has an openings explorer. I am a member there, which allows me to delve into openings/games and see how "normal" most of the moves are in any position.

If you get really serious, ChessBase or Chess Assistant (I have the latter) gives you more than 3M games which are indexed by opening lines.


Ausknight
March 7, 2009

That's fantastic, thanks for the info!

I've just become a member of the ICC as well, is this sort of stuff covered there at all?


Jono
March 7, 2009

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5?! [5... Na5 gives Black a strong initiative for a P] 6. Nxf7 [the "Fried Liver"] [6. d4 first is probably even stronger] 6... Kxf7 7. Qf3+ Ke6 and a difficult game for Black

Okay, so if my opponent pulls the pin and goes for Bxf7+ I just take back with the king? What then? It kind of leaves me a little exposed which as a beginner worries me a bit. Can I swing across the Rook from h8 to f8 and swing the king back in behind?

Yes, that's called artificial castling or castling by hand.

With no pawn protecting on f7, I just feel like no matter what I do I'm dangerously exposed.

But exposed to what? White's just blown an attacking piece permanently for just minor temporary discomfort.

NB: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Ng5?! 0-0 6. Nxf7? Rxf7 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 is exceedingly bad play for White, because B+N will prove much stronger in the middlegame than the R+P which have little to do as yet.

I guess I need more theory research on this line, or just learn a better response from the classic Ruy Lopez from white.

Yes, the Ruy is a good opening for White to last a lifetime, unlike the Italian, and should guarantee an advantage against rubbishy Black lines.


Ausknight
May 7, 2009

Thank you so much for your help there Jono!

That Fried Liver Attack is something I've seen before actually (I just didn't know it had a name), although it was more of an accident than anything when I come across it

I personally don't like sacrificing material for positional advantage unless it leads to an overwhelmingly strong position (that's obvious as well).

As a beginner, the trade off for position is something that goes against our basic playing ethos. Before we have experience and knowledge of opening lines in our repertoire, we usually play hope chess and simple tactical play, of which one of the main priorities is maintaining a material advantage at all times.

So when the other noobies I play on ICC start throwing 'free' material at me in such a fashion, I start to wonder if the trade off in material for position early on like that is really worth it and these guys are ahead of me in thinking, or if they're simply trying too hard for a quick kill and fall on their swords? Sometimes, I can't see a tactical blunder like this for a well disguised trap, which is why I'm usually cautious about it.

It would seem that despite my initial confusion, my suspicions are correct - these early game spite checks more or less are just a ?? move.

On opening lines for black though, I've been checking out some of the easier defensive lines from the Sicilian (Najdorf variation) which seem a little safer, although they might be a little advanced for where I am now as it's a lot more moves. Still, it feels more comfortable a response to an e4 opening from white than e5. (As an aside, I really like the tutorials by Jrobichess, nicely presented for a beginner I've found)

The biggest problem I find with learning my opening lines at the moment is that because I play against a lot of new players at my level, they have virtually no concept of opening theory at all and play any old rubbish to get the action going as soon as possible, so more often than not I have to abandon playing classical opening lines a few moves in simply to defend something I'm not expecting that's throwing early pressure on.


The Snail King
March 8, 2009

Pre-empting Jono's reply perhaps, but the reason that there are tried-and-true opening lines is that the other lines don't work very well. So when someone goes "out of book lines" take a little time to try to work out why. There is a reasonable chance that its either a blunder or an inferior line, so if you can find the right follow-up move you will get an advantage. But I agree that its tough trying to figure that out when you haven't built up your own mental opening library of experience to draw on.


The Snail King
March 8, 2009

I thought I would give a little example of what I mean. In a game I am playing online at the moment: 1.e4 c5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxc5 Nxe4

I'm Black. I normally don't play the Sicilian, and I had never faced 2.Qh5 before. I don't know the theory, but I suspect its not played very often and the reason for that is that it is inferior (premature development of the queen exposes it to attack, "normal" 2nd moves by White are 2.Nf3, 2.Nc3, 2.c3, 2.Bb5 and so on). So I chose 2...Nf6 which develops a piece with tempo (Queen must move). After 3.Qxc5 Nxe4 the queen must move again. Most places it goes, I will follow up with 4...d5 and I have achieved a number of goals:

-- one of the main ideas of the Sicilian is that Black exchanges his c-pawn for a centre pawn, giving him a central pawn majority ... and I will have achieved something similar, exchanging my c-pawn for the (I think, very important!) e4-pawn.
-- White has been running around with his queen and has still not developed a minor piece
-- my d5-pawn gives me occupation/control of the centre and the opportunity for a later e5 pawn thrust to open lines

Now of course the stronger players here will no doubt expose my shallow thinking and give me 3 reasons why White is better(!), and if so I will take my medicine like a man, but I hope that little explanation gives you an idea of how to approach tackling an unexpected move in the opening.


Boris
March 8, 2009

Best way to avoid Bxf7 sacs is 1...e6.


Rincewind
March 8, 2009

Now of course the stronger players here will no doubt expose my shallow thinking and give me 3 reasons why White is better(!), and if so I will take my medicine like a man, but I hope that little explanation gives you an idea of how to approach tackling an unexpected move in the opening

I'm not that much of a stronger player than you and I don't think White is any better than Black in that line but by the same token I don't think Black has any huge advantage either (after 4.Qe3 say). However, rather than letting white take the c-pawn with the queen you could have defended it with some useful move like e6 or d6 and then get a tempo on his queen later with Nf6. For example after 1.e4 c5 2.Qh5 d6 3.Bc4 e6, and White's queen just looks plain silly. There is no way for White to get an attack on f7 and you are threatening to play Nf6 winning a tempo whenever you please.


Jono
March 8, 2009

Best way to avoid Bxf7 sacs is 1...e6

Why would you want to avoid an early Christmas gift? E.g. from an early age, I loved people trying the Double Muzio against me.


Jono
March 8, 2009

I think the lines suggested by Snail King and Rincewind are both sensible and good for Black. In SK's line, I might play 4. Qe3 Nf6 to advance the e-pawn with preparation. 4... d5 is not bad though, and should be compared with the exchange Caro Kann: 1.e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4

1.e4 c5 2. Qh5 Nf6 3. Qxc5 Nxe4 4. Qe3 d5 5. d4 Nc6 6. Bd3 Nf6 [6... Nd6 is probably even better, with ideas of ... Bf5 as well as supporting the minority attack better] 7. c3

In the game of GO, this sort of analysis, reversing move orders and making comparisons with known positions, is called Tewari. Comparing the above, we see that White's game is different from the genuine opening by having the Q misplaced on e3 instead of the B well developed on f4.


Mephistopheles
March 23, 2009

I'll happily venture it against anyone around my strength (i.e. not terribly strong) and, if I could be bothered learning the theory, I'd probably give it a crack against just about anyone.

Why would you want to avoid an early Christmas gift? E.g. from an early age, I loved people trying the Double Muzio against me.

As I understand it, White is generally regarded as OK-ish in the line. Mind you, my books o' King's Gambit theory might be out of date at around 8 years old.

Hardly relevant any more, as I play the King's Bishop's Gambit these days anyway. No chance of Philidor or Hanstein dullness.


 Useless Patzer
March 23, 2009

Thanks for this thread- very informative. The openings are my weakness and I need all the help I can get in learning theory, which is not so easy now I'm in my late 30's.


Igor Goldenberg
March 26, 2009

IMHO, learning the opening nowadays is much easier then it used to be with all the info available (I agree that separating seeds from weeds is still a difficult part, though).


The Snail King
March 26, 2009

Incidentally, here's how my 1.e4 c5 2.Qh5 game turned out ... I'm black ... in the end I decided against the d5 follow-up and played a bit more conservatively ... and my opponent gradually gifted me several pieces: 1.e4 c5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxc5 Nxe4 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Bb5 a6 6.Ba4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.O-O O-O 9.Bb3 Nc6 10.a3 d5 11.d3 Re8 12.Qd2 Bg4 13.Ng5 h6 14.h3 Bh5 15.Nc3 Qd7 16.Na4 Rad8 17.Nc5 Qc8 18.c3 hxg5 19.Qxg5 Nh7 20.Qd2 g5 21.d4 Bg6 22.Nd3 Na5 23.Bd1 Nc4 24.Qe2 e5 25.Qg4 Qxg4 26.Bxg4 Bxd3 27.Re1 e4 28.Bf5 Bf6 29.b3 Nd6 30.Bg4 Nf8 31.Bd2 Ne6 32.a4 Rd7 33.b4 Nc4 34.Bc1 Bd8 35.a5 Kg7 36.g3 Kg6 37.f3 f5 38.fxe4 fxg4 39.exd5 Rxd5 40.hxg4 Nc7 41.Rxe8 Nxe8 42.Ra2 Nf6 0-1


Useless Patzer
March 26, 2009

The young American GM Hikaru Nakamura is a bit of a fan of 2 Q-h5, but it can sometimes rebound on him....


Boris
March 26, 2009

I believe Smerdon may also have played it, or that might have been 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5, or then again I could be completely wrong.


Igor Goldenberg
March 30, 2009

In 1994 Rogers played Qh5 against Djuric (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 c6 3.Qh5)


Gunner Duggan
March 30, 2009

IN 1972, aged 6, I might have played 2.Qh5 against my father. Then again, I might not.


Igor Goldenberg
April 2, 2009

Where you also a GM at that time?


Gunnar Dugan
April 2, 2009

Yes, a Gunner Mini!


Nicholas D-C
April 23, 2009

Go to www.chessgames.com, use the opening explorer, and look up some games on the lines you have trouble with. This is a useful tool for learning an opening better.


Sheroff
May 2, 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ is called the Jerome Gambit, and is unsound. A remember a nice brevity which from memory continued ...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 (Black can attack too!) 9.0-0 Nf6 10.c3 Ng4 11.h3 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 Bf5 13.Qxa8 Qxh3+! 14.gxh3 Bxe4#. I think that's right - I'm just dragging that one out of my brain without a board while I'm sitting here.

If you're new to 3.Bc4, then ...Bc5 is probably a safer answer than ...Nf6, which can lead to a lot of tricky lines for the Guioco Piano newbie...

Good luck! 


Juno
May 2, 2009

Pretty good memory then! Yes, Blackburne won this one


Sheroff
May 4, 2009

Thanks Jono -

Yes, keeping useless games from yesteryear and obscure traps in my head is what I do best...

If only I knew how to play rook and pawn endgames as well...