Wednesday, 28 November 2012

ACE OF TROMPS (Part 3)

This should have been posted last evening, but didn't manage it as too late back from a chess match!

Part 3 of Mike McNaughton's treatise on the Trompovsky

Black plays 2… d5

As a personal opinion, I did not particularly care for this move but am I being, perhaps, just a teeny weeny bit irrational?  Well, that wouldn’t be new for me!  The fact is, I would not care for the idea of Black playing the immediate 3. Bxf6.  I can’t think why, because results have tended to go in favour of Black. Anyway, I have given three games here.

The first involves a player some of you may know, David Ledger from Bedford (I like to draw local examples when I can!).  He started off badly, then clawed his way back into the game, and just as things started looking good, they went south and Nigel Povah, his opponent, finished off with some considerable panache.

Another game in this section will be from Anatoly Karpov, and this game is a gem, or at least I think so.  There are no pyrotechnics, just superb technique from a master of his craft.

And finally, Magnus Carlsen, no less, and we will be happy to let him be our guide.

White: Nigel Povah     Black: David Ledger
It says a lot for Dave that he managed to work up an attack from a very unpromising position.  I thought his mistake was trying to avoid a Q exchange; but heck, I’m a weaker player than Dave; I’ve no right to tell him what he should or shouldn’t do.

And now for Karpov.  I’m still kicking myself after 40 odd years for letting the opportunity pass me by for having him for a simul at what was then my club (Knotty Ash) and yes, there is indeed such a place, though you won’t find any gravy wells or jam butty mines there.  At the time Korchnoi looked the better bet.

Just enjoy this game.  His opponent, by the way, is no fool by any means, and a Trompovsky specialist.  Interestingly, he plays 3. e3 rather than Bxf6. Not that it did him any good!  And obviously we can assume that 3. Bxf6 held no fears for Karpov.

White: Sinisa Drazic     Black: Anatoly Karpov.
Our next game involves the prodigy Magnus Carlsen.  I don’t propose to give you the whole game; my general intention was to give you an idea of how he handles the opening.  And again, it’s a coherent plan which you can use in your own games.  Well, with Carlsen, it would be coherent, wouldn’t it?

White: Rune Djurhuus     Black: Magnus Carlsen


Black plays 2… c5

The Benoni type move … c5 is a challenging, combative reply to the Trompovsky and if White is not careful he can lose quickly.  White has, more or less, two main replies.  The first is what most players would play almost automatically after … c5; namely d5.

So let’s look at what happened in the game Rodriguez – Hort, Las Palmas, 1975. 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 c5 3. d5 Ne4 4. Bf4 Qb6 5. Qc1 g5 6. Bg3 Bg7 7. c3 Qh6 (threatening … Nxg3 when White is forced to re-take with the f pawn) 8. Bxb8 Rxb8 (what else for White? The rook recapture prepares the ground for a Q side attack). 9. Nxd2 Nxd2 10. Qd2 b5 11. Nf3 b4 12. Nxg5 bxc3 13. Qa6?? 14. Rc1 Qa3 15. e4 Rb1!! and Black won in another ten moves.

What would have been better for White? Oddly enough, retreating the Bishop to c1. Well, it does look ignominious but the loss of time is compensated by forcing the Black N to move again by f3.  Here is a short draw between two GMs; one is our old friend Julian Hodgson and the other Guyala Sax.

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 c5 4. d5 Qb6 5. Bc1 d6 6. f3 Nf6 7. e4 e6 8. c4 exd5 9. cxd5 g6 10. Ne2 Bg7 11. Na3 O-O 12. Nc4 Qc7 13. Nc3 a6 14. e4 Nbd7 15. Be2 Nb6 16. Na3 Bd7 17. O-O Nxa4 18. Nxa5 b5 19. Nc3 b4 20. Bd2 bxa3 21. Rxa3 Rab8. Draw agreed.

I chose the following little miniature involving a player I came across a few years ago in the National Club Championship in Aberystwyth.  Rudy van Kemenade plied most of his chess trade in Yorkshire but on this occasion I played his charming wife Julie, no mean player either.

White: Richard Freeman Black: Rudy van Kemenade.
1. d4 Nf5 2. Bg5 c5 3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. d5 Qb6 5. Qc1 f5 6. e3 Bg7 7. c3 Qg6 (e6 is the book move) 8. Nh3 e5 9. dxe6 fxe6 10. Nf4 Qf7 11. Be2 O-O 12. c4 Nc6 13. Nc3 Kh8 14. Qc2 a6 15. Na4 b5 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Nc5 Qe7 18. Nb3 Qb4 19. Qxb4 Nxb4 20. O-O Bxb2 21. Rab1 Rxa2 22. Bxb5. Draw agreed.

The final part of the ACE OF TROMPS will appear in a few days' time.



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