until recently it has become fashionable

again, mainly thanks to the efforts of

Nigel Short and Alexey Fedorov.

KING'S GAMBIT

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King's Gambit Declined

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KING'S GAMBIT.
1. e4 e5 2. f4
The King's gambit was
White's favorite weapon in XIX century:
great masters of the past strove for
quick
attacks
and
tactical
complications, therefore the King's
gambit suited them. A strategic idea of

King's Gambit Declined.

2... Bc5

this opening is perfectly clear: after

e5xf4 White gets an opportunity to create
the pawn
center with d2-d4,
aggressively mobilizing his forces.

leads to solid positional struggle.

Rejecting the pawn offer, Black intends
to fortify his center.
3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4
Nf6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. d3 Nbd7 7. f5!
A

Black's extra pawn on f4 may become a

target for an attack, and if White
manages to remove it, he will be able to
develop his initiative along the f-file.
Surely, on the other hand, the King's
gambit is a risky opening, because

typical plan: White seizes space and

prepares a kingside pawn advance. 7...
c6 8. a3 b5
[8... d5!?]
9. Ba2 a5 10. Qe2 Qb6 11. Ng5 a4 12.
Nd1 d5 13. c3 Ba6 14. Qf3 de?

here, unlike in the Queen's gambit, White

weakens his own kingside to a great
extent. After the World War I chess

(xa2-g8)
[14... Rad8]
15. de Rad8 16. g4! Qc7 17. Nxf7! Rxf7
18. g5 Nd5 19. ed Nb6 20. d6 Qxd6 21.
g6!
[21. Qh5 Qxd1+! 22. Qxd1 Rxd1+ 23.
Kxd1 Nd5]

fashion changed and tastes of the

leading players shifted to solid positional
play, therefore
the King's gambit
became a rare guest in the strong
tournaments. In the middle of XX century
it was revived by such great players as
Paul Keres, David Bronstein, and Boris
Spassky. Nevertheless, it was not
particularly popular

A reliable continuation which

21... hg 22. Bxf7+ Kxf7 23. fg+ Kxg6 24.

Be3! Bxe3 25. Nxe3 Qd2+ 26. Kf1 b4+
27. Kg1 Be2 28. Qf5+ Kh6 29. Qh3+ Kg6
30. Qf5+ Kh6 31. Qxe5 Rd7 32. h4 Qxb2

over last decades

1

33. Re1 Bd3 34. Ng4+ Kg6 35. Qg5+ [...]

1:0,Rubinstein - Marco, Hague 1921
[35... Kf7 36. Ne5+I;

[23... Bc5 24. Rxa1 c6 25. Bf4+ Ka7

26. Nc7 Qd4 27. Qxc5+ Qxc5 28. Be3
Qxe3+ 29. Kxe3;

35... Kh7 36. Qh5+ Kg8 37. Re8#]

23... Bg5+ 24. Bxg5 Qxg5+ 25. Qxg5

Nb3+ 26. ab Rxg5 27. Rf7I]
24. Nxb4 Qd4 25. Nc2 Nxc2 26. Kxc2
Rg6 27. Bd2 Rd6 28. Rf3 Qa4+ 29. Kc1
Qxa2 30. Bc3 Rc6
[30... b5!? 31. e5! Rc6 32. Rf6 Rxc3+
33. bc Qa1+ 34. Kd2 Qb2+ 35. Ke3
Qxc3]

Chigorin M. - Pillsbury H. (Hastings

(England),1895)

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31. Qxh7 b5 32. Qe7 Qb3 33. Kd2 a5 34.

Rf5 Kb7
[34... b4 35. Rb5+ Ka7 36. Bd4+ Ka6
37. Rc5! Chigorin]
35. Rc5 Raa6 36. g5 Rxc5 37. Qxc5 Rc6
38. Qd5 Qa4 39. g6 b4 40. g7 bc+ 41. bc
Qa1 42. g8Q Qxc3+ 43. Ke2 Qc2+ 44.
Kf3 Qd1+ 45. Kg3 Qg1+ 46. Kh4 Qf2+
47. Kh5 Qf3+ 48. Qg4 Qf6 49. Qgf5 Qh6+
50. Kg4 Qg7+ 51. Qg5 1:0,Chigorin Pillsbury, Hastings 1895

5... Nc6 On c6 the knight is more active

than on d7; in particular, it has an option
of jumping to d4. 6. d3 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3
8. Qxf3 Nd4 9. Qg3!!
A brilliant move
which allows White to fight for an
initiative. 9... Nxc2+
[9... Nh5 10. Qg4 g6 11. Kd1!]
10. Kd1 Nxa1 11. Qxg7 Kd7!
[11... Rf8 12. fe de 13. Bg5 Be7 14.
Rf1]

Rubinstein A. - Hromadka K. (Ostrava (Czech

Republic),1923)

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12. fe! de 13. Rf1 The opened f-file is

an important resource of White's attack.
13... Be7 14. Qxf7
[14. Bg5! Nh5 (14... Rg8 15. Qxf7
Rxg5 16. Qe6+ Ke8 17. Rxf6 Rg7 18.
Qxe5) 15. Qxf7 Qe8 16. Qf5+ Kd8
17. Qxe5]
14... Kc8 15. Bg5 Rf8 16. Qe6+ Kb8 17.
Bh6 Re8 18. Qxe5 Nd7 19. Qh5! Nb6 20.
Bd5 a6 21. Kd2 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Rg8 23.

9... Qe7 10. fe de 11. Kd1! A common

situation in the King's gambit: the white
king takes an active part in the game,

g4 Bb4+

defending the c2-pawn. White is better

2

thanks to his bishop pair and possession

of the f-file. 11... c6 ( b7-b5)
[11... O-O-O 12. Rf1 Rhg8 13. Be3
Kb8 14. Nd5 Qd6 15. c3 Nc6 16. Kc2

[10. Qg3? Nh5! 11. Qg4 Nxf4 12. Qxf4

Nxc2+ 13. Kd1 Ne3+]
10... c6 11. Qd2 b5
[11... d5!? 12. ed O-O]
12. Bb3 Nh5! 13. Rf1 Qh4+ 14. Kd1 O-O
15. Ne2 Nxf4 16. Qxf4 Qh5 17. Qg4 Qh6
18. Nxd4 Bxd4 19. c3 Bf6 20. Kc2 a5 21.

Bxe3 17. Nxe3]

12. a4! Rg8 13. Rf1 h6 14. Ne2 O-O-O
15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. c3 Bb6 17. a5! Bc7
18. Be3 Kb8 19. Kc2- Ka8 20. Rf3!

a4 Rab8 22. Qf4 Qh5 23. Qg4 Qh6 24.

Qf4 Bg5 25. Qg4 Bf6 26. Qf4 Qh5 27.
Qg4 Qh6 :,Mieses - Spielmann,
Baden-Baden 1925

Nd5! 21. Bg1!

[21. ed cd! 22. Ba2 e4 23. Bf4 ef 24.
Bxc7 Rc8]
21... Nf4 22. Qf2 Bb8 23. g3! Nxh3 24.
Rxf7 Qd6 25. Qb6!! Rd7
[25... ab 26. ab+ Ba7 27. Rxa7+ Kb8
28. Rfxb7+ Kc8 29. Ba6I]

Alekhin A. - Tenner O. (Cologne (Germany),1911)

26. Bc5! Rxf7 27. Bxd6 Rf2+ 28. Qxf2

Nxf2
29.
Bc5
1:0,Rubinstein
Hromadka, Ostrava 1923

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Mieses J. - Spielmann R. (Baden-Baden

(Germany),1925)

7. Na4!
A standard method of
exchanging Black's active bishop; with a
move permutation this position also
occurs in the Vienna game. 7... ef
[7... a6 8. Nxc5 dc 9. O-O Qe7 10. h3

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Bxf3 11. Qxf3 O-O 12. Be3 ef 13. Qxf4

Ne5 14. Bb3 Rae8 15. Qf2 Nfd7 16.
Rad1 b6 17. c3- Alekhine Teichmann, Berlin 1921]
8. Nxc5 dc 9. Bxf4 Nh5 10. Be3 Ne5 11.
Nxe5!!
An ancient combination
invented by de Legal is performed by

8... ef! As a rule, opening up is in favor

of a player with a bishop pair, but in this
particular case Black manages to force
White to return his queen to d1, which will
give Black a development advantage.
9. Bxf4
[9. Qxf4 Ne5! 10. Rf1 O-O!]

Alekhine. 11... Bxd1 12. Bxf7+ Ke7 13.

Bxc5+ Kf6 14. O-O+! Kxe5 15. Rf5#
1:0,Alekhin - Tenner, Cologne 1911

9... Nd4 10. Qd1

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Balashov Y. - Matanovic A. (Skopje/Krusevo/Ohrid

(Yugoslavia),1970)

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7... Bb6 The most reliable reply. Black

hopes that his counterplay in the center
will compensate for the white bishop
pair. 8. Nxb6

7... Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nd4 9. Qd1 b5

An
attempt to refute the 3-4 maneuver
by force fails due to a tactical objection.

[8. c3 ef 9. Nxb6 ab 10. Bxf4 O-O 11.

h3 Nh5! 12. Be3 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Qh4+
14. Bf2 Qg5 15. d4 Na5 16. h4 Qh6

10. Bxf7+!!
[10. Nxc5 bc 11. Na4 cd=]
10... Kxf7 11. Nxc5 dc 12. fe Nd7 13. c3
Ne6 14. O-O+ Ke8 15. d4 The mobile
pawn center and the insecure black

17. Be3 Qg6 18. Bd3 Rae8 19. O-O-O

Qg3! Jonkman - A.Mikhalevski, Tel
Aviv 2000]
8... ab 9. c3 O-O 10. O-O ef 11. Bxf4 d5!

king's position give White

better
chances. 15... cd 16. cd Qe7 17. Be3
Rf8 18. d5 Rxf1+ 19. Qxf1 Nd8 20. e6
Nf6 21. Rc1 Nxe4 22. Qxb5+ c6 23.

This standard counterplay in the center

is especially strong with the white bishop
standing on c4.
[11... Nh5!? 12. Be3 Ne5 13. Bb3

Rxc6! Kf8 24. Rc1 Kg8 25. Rc7! Qd6

[25... Qxc7 26. Qe8#]
26. Qe8+ Qf8 27. Rxg7+! [...]
1:0,Balashov
Matanovic,
Skopje/Krusevo/Ohrid 1970
[27... Kxg7 28. Bh6+ Kxh6 29. Qxf8+

Kh8 f5! Arizmendi - Jonkman,

Reykjavik 2000]
12. ed Nxd5 13. Qd2 Bxf3 14. Rxf3 Na5!
Neutralizing White's pressure along the
2-g8 diagonal.
15. Be5 f6 16. Raf1
Re8 17. Bg3 Nxc4 18. dc Ne3 19. Qxd8
Raxd8 20. Bxc7 Nxf1 21. Bxd8 Nxh2 22.
Kxh2 Rxd8 23. Rf5 Rc8 24. Rb5 Rc6 25.
c5 Rxc5 26. Rxb6 Rc7 27. a4 :,David

Kg5 30. e7I]

- Mikhalevski, Berlin 1997

David A. - Mikhalevski V. (Berlin (Germany),1997)

David A. - Sturua Z. (Berlin (Germany),1997)

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6... a6 Vacating the a7-square, Black

keeps his bishop from being exchanged,

6... Be6!
Theory considers this move
the most reliable. Black tries to
immediately neutralize the opponent's
pressure along the 2-g8 diagonal. 7.

but Black's lack of developments allows

White to gain the initiative. 7. fe!
[7. f5 Na5 8. a3 Nxc4 9. dc h6 10. Qd3

Bb5
[A promising for Black position arises
after 7. Bxe6 fe 8. fe de , and the black

O-O 11. h3? Bxf5! Nikolaevsky Faibisovich, USSR 1975;

7. Rf1 ef! 8. Bxf4 Na5 9. Bg5 Nxc4 10.

doubled pawns are an advantage

rather than a disadvantage because
they control the important central
squares.]
7... a6!
[7... Bd7?! 8. Na4! Nd4 9. Nxc5 dc 10.
Bc4! b5 11. Bb3 Nxb3 12. ab ef 13.
Bxf4 h6 14. Qd2 O-O 15. O-O Be6 16.

dc h6 11. Bh4 Be6 12. Qd3 Rg8! 13.

O-O-O g5 14. Bf2 Bxf2 15. Rxf2 g4 16.
Nd4 Nd7! Bangiev - Malaniuk,
Tallinn 1986]
7... de 8. Bg5!
The most energetic
move: pinning the knight, White is going
to exert pressure along the f-file. 8...
h6 9. Bh4 Qd6 10. Rf1! Bb4 11. Nd2 g5

Ra6!
Spielmann - Selezniev,
Merano 1924]
8. Bxc6+ bc 9. Qe2 ef!
This pawn
exchange is very strong here.

12. Bg3 O-O 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5

Bxd2+ 15. Qxd2 Ne7 16. Bb3 Kg7 17.
O-O-O! c5 18. Rxf7+! Rxf7 19. Bxf7
Kxf7 20. Rf1+ Kg6 21. Qf2 Qe6 22. Qf8!

[9... O-O?! 10. fe de 11. Nxe5 Re8 12.

Be3 Qd6 13. Nf3 Bxe3 14. Qxe3 Qb4
15. O-O! Qxb2 16. Qc5! Qb6 17. Na4
Spielmann
Tartakower,
Baden-Baden 1914]

Nc6 23. Qh8 Ra7 24. Rf8 Bd7 25. h4! (

h5I) 1:0,David - Sturua, Berlin 1997

Spielmann R. - Tarrasch S. (Pistyan (Czech

10. Bxf4 Qb8! 11. Nd1 O-O 12. c3 Re8

13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Nxe3 Ng4! 15. b3 f5!
16. Nxg4 fe 17. Nh6+! gh 18. de Bf5 19.

Republic),1922)

O-O Bxe4 20. Nd4 c5 21. Qg4+ Bg6

22. Nf5 h5 23. Qc4+ Kh8 24. Nh4 Rg8
25. Rae1 Qd8 26. Nxg6+ Rxg6
:,Spielmann - Tarrasch, Pistyan
5

1922

Republic),1908)

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Fedorov A. - Norri J. (Pula (Croatia),1997)

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4... Nc6!?

An interesting idea: Black

9. f5!
A typical plan which was
examined earlier in the Rubinstein Marco game. White seizes space and

intends to develop his g8-knight to e7,

which will probably give him some extra
possibilities. 5. Bb5
[5. Bc4 Bg4 6. Na4 ef 7. Nxc5 dc 8. d3

prepares a kingside pawn advance, and

this is his only chance to fight for the
initiative. The position becomes closed,

Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Ne5 10. Qxf4 Nxc4 11. dc

Ne7 12. Be3 Ng6 13. Qf5 b6 14. O-O
O-O 15. Rad1 Qc8= Forster -

so Black can hope to neutralize activity

of the white bishop pair.
9... Bd7 10.
Qe2
[10. Bg5 Qb8 11. Na4 Ba7 12. Bxf6?!

Smyslov, Zurich 1998]

5... Bg4!
[5... Bd7 6. d3 Nf6 7. Na4! Nd4 8.
Nxc5 dc 9. Nxd4 ed 10. Bxd7+ Nxd7

gf 13. Qd2 Rg8 leads White to

nowhere.]
10... Qb8 11. Nd1! Qb5 12. c3 a5 13.
Be3 Bc8 14. O-O Ba6 15. c4! Qb6 16.

11. O-O Spassky - Haik, Paris

1983]
6. d3 Nge7!
[6... Nf6 7. Na4 Bb6 8. Nxb6 ab 9.
O-O O-O 10. c3 Chigorin - Salwe,
Karlsbad 1907]

Kh1 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 Nd7 18. g4! Despite

the fact that the white king is on the
kingside, the current pawn structure
dictates that White must advance his
pawns here. 18... f6 19. g5 O-O-O 20.

7. h3
[7. Na4 O-O 8. c3 ef 9. Bxf4 f5!
Jonkman - Garcia G., Hoogeveen
1998]
7... Bxf3 8. Qxf3 O-O 9. f5?!
[9. Bxc6=]
9... Nd4 10. Qg3 Nxb5 11. Nxb5

Rg1 Nc5 21. gf gf 22. Rg7(xf6) d5?!

23. ed Rhe8 24. Rd1 e4 25. de Nxe4 26.
Nd4! cd 27. Ne6 d4 28. Nd5! Rxd5 29.
Qxe4 Bxc4 30. Rc1 Bxa2 31. Nxc7!
1:0,Fedorov - Norri, Pula 1997

[11. Bh6? Ng6 12. fg fg!;

11. f6?! Ng6 12. fg Kxg7 13. Nxb5 f5!]
11... f6 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Qxe3 d5! The
d6-d5 blow is an efficient method of

Alapin S. - Rubinstein A. (Prague (Czech

counterplay here. 14. O-O?!

[14. Qf2! c6 15. Nc3]
14... c6 15. Na3 Qb6! 16. Qxb6 ab 17. c3

compensated by his bishop pair and

pressure along the b- and d- files. 9.

Rfd8 (x3,a,d) 18. Rf2 Rd7 19.

Nc2 Rad8 20. Re1 de 21. de Nc8 22.
Rfe2 b5 23. Na1 Nb6 24. Nb3 Na4 25.
Kf2 c5 26. Rc2 g6 27. fg hg 28. Nc1 c4

heading to the central d4-outpost via c6.

11. Be3 Rb8 12. Bxc5 Qxc5 13. Nd1 f6
14. Qf2 Qxf2+ 15. Kxf2 c5
The black
doubled c-pawns efficiently control the

29. Ke3 Kf7 30. Rf1 Rd1 31. Rxd1 Rxd1

32. Ke2 Rd8 33. Ke3 Nc5 34. b3 Ke6 35.
bc bc 36. Rb2 Rd1 37. Rb6+ Kd7 38.
Ne2 Kc7 39. Rb4 Rd3+ 40. Kf2 Nxe4+

central squares. 16. b3 Nc6= 17. Ne3

Be6 18. Rhf1 Ke7 19. Nd2 Rhd8 20. Kg1
Nd4 21. Rf2 Rb6 22. Raf1 Ra6 23. a4
Rad6 24. g4 Nxc2!? 25. Nxc2 Rxd3 26.

41. Ke1 Nd6 42. Ra4 Kc6 43. Ra8 Kd5

44. h4 Nf5 45. Rf8 Ne3 46. Rg8 Nxg2+
47. Kf2 Nxh4 48. Rd8+ Ke4 49. Ng3+ Kf4
50. Ne2+ Kg4 51. Rc8 Rf3+ 0:1,Alapin -

Nf3 Bxb3 27. Re2 Bxa4 28. Ne3 Bd1 29.

Nxd1 Rxd1 30. Ra2 c4 31. Rxa7 R8d3 32.
Rxd1 Rxd1+ 33. Kf2 Kd6 34. Ke2 Rh1 35.
h4 c3 36. Ra2 Kc5 37. Kd3 Rh3 38. Rf2

Rubinstein, Prague 1908

Kb4 39. Kc2 Kc4 40. g5 Rh1 41. gf gf 42.

Nh2 Re1 43. Nf1 Rxe4 44. Rxf6 Re2+ 45.
Kd1 Ra2 46. Rf7 :,Yakovich Shabanov, Kursk 1987

h3 Bd7 10. Qe2 Ne7!

Yakovich Y. - Shabanov Y. (Kursk (Russia),1987)

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The knight is

Bronstein D. - Panov V. (Moscow (Russia),1947)

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6. fe
[6. Na4 Nge7! 7. Nxc5 dc 8. fe O-O 9.
O-O Nd4=]
6... de 7. Bxc6+ bc 8. d3
[8. Qe2 Ne7 9. h3 Bxf3?! 10. Qxf3 O-O
11. g4 Ng6 12. Ne2 Qe7 13. d3 Nh4
14. Qg3 Rab8 15. b3 Rbd8 16. Bd2

4. c3!? White intends to seize the center

with d2-d4, exploiting the c5-bishop to
win a tempo. 4... Bg4 5. fe
[5. h3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 Nc6 7. b4! Bb6 8.

Bb6 17. O-O-O a5 18. a4 Qa3+ 19.

Kb1 Ng6 20. Bc1 Qb4 21. h4
Gunsberg - Mieses, Hastings 1895]
8... Qd6 Blacks's pawn weaknesses are

Na3! Nf6 9. b5 Ne7 10. fe de 11. Nc4

Ng6 12. Nxb6 ab 13. Bc4 Ra4 14.
d3- Spassky - Martinez Garcia,
Oviedo 1991]
7

5... de 6. Qa4+! Bd7 7. Qc2 Nc6 8. b4!

Bd6 9. Bc4 Nf6 10. d3
The flexible
mobile pawn chain and harmoniously

Rxd2]
8. b4! Bb6 9. Qb3 Nh6
[9... Nf6? 10. b5 Na5 11. Bf7+ Ke7 12.

deployed pieces secure White a clear

advantage. 10... Qe7 11. O-O O-O-O?!
[11... O-O]
12. a4 a5 13. b5 Nb8 14. Nbd2 Bg4

Ba3+I]
10. O-O White managed to detain the
enemy king in the center, and a direct
attack is coming soon.
10... fe 11.

15. Nb3 b6 16. Be3 Nbd7 17. Rae1 Be6

18. Bxe6 Qxe6 19. Kh1 Qe7 20. Nbd2!
Ng4 21. Bg1 h5 22. Nc4 g5 23. Nxd6+ cd
[23... Qxd6 24. Nd2]

Bg5!
[11. Ng5 d3+ 12. Kh1 Ne5 13. Nf7 Rf8
14. Bxh6 Nxc4 15. Qxc4 Qe7]
11... Qd6 12. Na3! Bf5

24. Nd2! f6 25. Nc4 Kb7 26. Bxb6! Nxb6

27. Nxa5+ Kc7 28. Nc6 Qe6 29. a5 Nd7
30. b6+ Kb7 31. a6+ Kxb6 32. Rb1+
1:0,Bronstein - Panov, Moscow 1947

[12... dc+ 13. Kh1 Qxb4 14. Rae1!]

13. Nh4 Bg6 14. Rae1 d3+ 15. Kh1 d2
16. Re2 e3 17. Nb5 Qe5 18. Bf4
[18. Nf3! Qe4 19. Bd5]
18... Qe4 19. Nxc7+ Bxc7! 20. Rxe3 Bxf4
21. Rxe4+ Bxe4 22. Rxf4 O-O-O 23.
Rf1 Rhe8 24. Rd1 Bd5 25. Nf3 Bxf3 26.
gf Re1+ 27. Kg2 Rxd1 28. Qxd1 Ne5 29.
Be6+ Kb8 30. c4 b5 31. cb g5 32. Bb3
Nd3 33. Qa1 Nf4+ 34. Kf1 Re8 35. Qd4

Fuderer A. - Rabar B. (Zagreb (Croatia),1953)

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Re1+ 36. Kf2 Re2+ 37. Kf1 Re1+ 38. Kf2

Re2+ :,Fuderer - Rabar, Zagreb
1953

Gallagher J. - Costa J. (Biel (Switzerland),1990)

4... f5

A sharp reply by which Black is

trying to prove that due to 2-3 White is

behind in development. 5. fe

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[5. d4 ed 6. cd fe 7. dc ef 8. Qxf3]
5... de
[5... fe 6. Qa4+!]
6. d4 ed 7. Bc4! In a gambit style which
is quite in the spirit of the opening. 7...
Nc6
[7... Nf6!? 8. e5 Ne4 9. cd Bb4+ 10.
Bd2 Nxd2 11. Nbxd2 Nd7 12. Qb3

7... fe!? 8. Ng5 Nf6

[8... e3 9. Bf7+! Kf8 10. Bxg8 Qxg5

Qe7 13. O-O-O Nb6 14. a3 Bxd2+ 15.

11. O-O+ Bf5 12. cd!I]

8

9. Nf7 Qe7 10. Nxh8 White is a rook up,

but his king is in danger. Theory
considered this position as better for

4... Nf6
Black intends to quickly and
harmoniously develop his pieces, but
White is allowed to create the pawn

White, but some recent games will

maybe force to re-estimate this line.
10... Nc6
[10... d3 11. Bg5 Bg4!? (11... Bf2+

center. 5. d4 ed 6. cd Bb6 7. Nc3 Bg4

8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 Keeping piece
pressure on the white pawn center. 10.
Be3 Re8 11. Qd3?

12. Kxf2 Qc5+ 13. Be3 Qxc4 14. h3

Be6 15. Nd2 Qd5 16. g4 Nc6 17. c4
Qd7 18. g5 Bg4 19. Qf1 Be2 20.
Qg2I Stolz - Spielmann, Stockholm

[11. e5 de 12. fe Bxf3! 13. Bxf3 Nxd4!]

11... Nxe4! 12. Nxe4 Bf5 13. Nfg5 d5 14.
Qb3
Bxe4
0:1,Hoyos-Millan
Bisguier, New York 1991

(m) 1932) 12. Qxg4 Nxg4 13. Bxe7

Bf2+ 14. Kf1 Kxe7 15. h3 Ne3+ 16.
Kxf2 Nxc4 17. Re1 e3+ 18. Rxe3+
Nxe3 19. Kxe3 Nc6 20. Kxd3 Rd8+ 21.
Ke2 Rxh8 1/2:1/2 Westerinen - Norri,

Suttles D. - Addison W. (New York (USA),1965)

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Finland (ch) Helsinki 1992]

11. Bg5 Ne5 12. cd
[12. Bxf6 gf 13. Qh5+ Kf8 14. Qh6+
Qg7 15. Qxg7+ Kxg7 16. Bd5 e3
Zoister - Costa, Suhr 1992]
12... Bg4 13. Qa4+ Bd7 14. Qb3 Bxd4
15. Nc3 Nd3+ 16. Bxd3 ed+ 17. Kf1

8. e5!
White does not wait until Black
will attack his pawn center with the
pieces. He delays castling, thus saving a
tempo, and advances his central pawns
right off. 8... de 9. fe Nd5 10. Bg5! f6

O-O-O 18. Nf7 Rf8 19. Qc4 Bb6 20. Ne4

Rxf7 21. Nd6+ Qxd6 22. Qxf7 Qc5 23.
Bh4 Qf5+ 24. Ke1 Qe4+ 25. Kd2 Ba5+
0:1,Gallagher - Costa, Biel 1990

11. Bc4 c6 12. ef gf 13. Bh6 Re8+ 14.

Kf2 The white king is in safety, while the

Hoyos-Millan L. - Bisguier A. (New York

black king shelter is destroyed; this

determines White's advantage.
14...
Kh8 15. Re1 Be6 16. Qd2 Nd7 17. Bxd5
Bxd5 18. Nxd5 cd 19. Rxe8+ Qxe8 20.
Re1 Qf7 21. Qf4 Rg8 22. g4 Qg6 23. Re7

(USA),1991)

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Rd8 24. h4 Qc2+ 25. Kg1 Qc7 26. Qf5

Qg3+ 27. Kh1 Qh3+ 28. Nh2 1:0,Suttles
- Addison, New York 1965

/(+4?07@
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Rossetto H. - Maderna C. (Mar del Plata

(Argentina),1944)

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9... c5! Inasmuch as the dark-squared

bishops have been exchanged, Black is
trying to undermine the white pawn
center
on
the
dark
squares.

6... Bb4+ Exchanging the dark-squared

bishops, Black wins a tempo to complete
his development.
7. Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.

Undoubtedly, this looks more logical

than the d6-d5 thrust.
[9... Nc6 10. O-O Nb4!? 11. Bb1 c5!

Nbxd2 O-O 9. Bd3 Bg4 10. O-O Nc6 11.

Otherwise White's fortified
Qb3 d5
pawn center will also secure him a large
advantage. 12. e5 Ne4 13. Rad1! Nxd2
14. Rxd2 Rb8

12. a3 Nc6 13. d5 Ne7 14. a4 b6 15.

Nc4 Ba6 16. Nfd2 Ng6 J.Polgar Djuric, Adelaide 1988]
10. d5 Qe7!
Creating dangerous

[14... Bxf3 15. Rxf3 Nxd4 16. Bxh7+

Kxh7 17. Rxd4]
15. Bb1
The mobile pawn phalanx is
very dangerous and allows White to

threats along the e-file. 11. Qe2

[11. O-O Nxd5! 12. ed Qe3+ 13. Kh1
Qxd3]
11... Re8! 12. O-O Nxd5 13. ed Qxe2 14.

launch an attack on the kingside. 15...

Ne7 16. Ng5! g6 17. Qg3! Qd7 18. Qh4
h5 19. h3 Bf5 20. g4! Bxb1 21. Rxb1 f6
22. Nf3 fe 23. Nxe5 Qd6 24. gh Nf5 25.
Qg5 Qe7 26. Qxe7 Nxe7 27. Nd7I
1:0,Rossetto - Maderna, Mar del Plata

Bxe2 Rxe2 15. Rae1 Rxe1 16.

Rxe1(xd6) Nd7 17. Ne4
[17. Re8+ Nf8 18. Nc4 b6 19. Nxd6
Bb7!]
17... b6 18. Nxd6 Nf6 19. Ng5 Ba6 20.
Ngxf7 Nxd5 21. g3 Rf8 22. Re5 Nb4 23.
Re7 Nxa2 24. Rxa7 Nb4 25. Ng5 Bc8 26.
Rc7 Bg4 27. h3 Nd5 28. Rb7 Bc8 29.
Nxc8 Rxc8 30. Ne6 g6 31. Ng5 Re8 32.

1944

Rd7 Nb4 33. Nxh7 Re3 34. Nf6+ Kf8

:,Westerinen - Lejlic, Gausdal 1996

Westerinen H. - Lejlic S. (Gausdal (Norway),1996)

Polgar J. - Sharif M. (Brussels (Belgium),1987)

10

35. g4 Kg6 36. Nd4 Ra6 37. Rf5 Bd6 38.

h5+ Kf7 39. Rb5 Ra7 40. Rd5 Be7 41.
Rd7 Ke8 42. Rc7 Kd8 43. Ne6+ 1:0,J.

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Polgar - Sharif, Brussels 1987

Berthelot Y. - Flear G. (Pau (France),1988)

5... Bb6 Black does not want to cede

space in the center with e5xd4 and offers

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a pawn sacrifice.
6. fe de 7. Nxe5
O-O! 8. Bg5! An improvement over
8.4 played previously.
[8. Bc4 Qe8 9. Qf3 c5 10. Bg5 (10.
Be3 cd 11. cd Nc6 12. Nxc6 Qxc6)
10... cd 11. Bxf6 gf 12. Ng4 Bxg4 13.

8... Qe8!
Avoiding both the pin along
the h4-d8 diagonal and a queen

Qxg4+ Kh8 Rellstab - Ahues, Bad

Nauheim 1936]
8... c5 9. dc! Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 Bxc5
[10... Nxe4 11. cb! Nf2+ 12. Ke1 Nxh1

exchange, Black develops his initiative.

9. Qf3
[9. Bd3 Nxe4! 10. Bxe4 f6 11. Qd3 fe
12. Nd2 Qh5 13. Nf3 Nc6 14. d5 Bg4

13. Bc4 Nd7 14. Nxd7 Bxd7 15. Nd2

h6 16. Be3 Bc6 17. Kf1 Rfe8 18. Bd4
ab 19. Kg1 Westerinen - Kaabi,
Manila (ol) 1992]

15. h4 Nd8 16. O-O-O Nf7 17. Rde1

Rae8 18. Qc2 Nd6 19. Nh2 1/2:1/2
Salmensuu - Molander, Finland (ch)
1996]
9... Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxe4! 11. Nxf8
Nxg5+ 12. Qe2 Bg4! 13. Qe5 Qxe5+ 14.

11. Bxf6 gf 12. Nf3 f5 13. Bd3 fe 14.

Bxe4 Nd7?!
[14... Nc6 15. Nbd2 Be6 16. Kc2]
15. Bf5! Depriving Black of his bishop

de Re8 15. Bd3 Rxe5+ 16. Kd2 Ne4+ 17.

Bxe4 Rxe4 18. Re1 Rxe1 19. Kxe1

pair, after which his compensation for a

sacrificed pawn is insufficient.
15...
Nf6 16. Bxc8 Raxc8 17. Nbd2 Ng4 18.
Kc2 Rfe8
[18... Ne3+ 19. Kb3 Nxg2 20.

Kxf8- 20. Nd2 c6 21. Nb3 Be6 22.

Kd2 Bd5 23. g3 g6 24. Re1 f5=
:,Berthelot - Flear, Pau 1988

Rhg1I]
19. g3 Re2 20. Rae1 Rg2 21. Kb1 Rc6
22. Ne4 Rb6 23. b4 Be7 24. h3 Nf2 25.
Nxf2 Rxf2 26. Rhf1 Rxf1 27. Rxf1 a5 28.

Tartakower S. - Schlechter C. (St. Petersburg

(Russia),1909)

a3 ab 29. ab Rh6 30. h4 Rg6 31. Nd4 Bf8

32. Nf5 Re6 33. Kc2I f6 34. Kd3 Kf7
11

23. Rf1 Qxf1+ 24. Bxf1 Nd7 25. Bd3 Nf8

26. cd Bf7 27. Qf3 Ne6 28. Be3 Rb8 29.
g4 g5 30. Qf6 Bf8 31. Bh7+ Kxh7 32.

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Qxf7+ 1:0,Tartakower - Schlechter, St.

Petersburg 1909

Variation with 2...f6

5. fe!? de 6. Nxe5
With this move
permutation White hopes to limit Black's

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choice, but now

Black gets an
opportunity of retreating his bishop to
d6. 6... O-O
[6... Qe7 7. d4 Bd6 8. Bf4 Nbd7 9.
Nxd7 Qxe4+ 10. Qe2 Bxd7 11. Bxd6
cd 12. Nd2 Qxe2+ 13. Bxe2 O-O-O
14. O-O Ree - Smejkal, Wijk aan Zee
1975]
7. d4 Bd6!? 8. Nf3 Nxe4 9. Bd3 White
relies on two factors: the bishop pair

Variation with 2... f6.

2... Nf6!?
A rare, yet not bad move
introduced by Osip Bernstein.
3. fe
Nxe4 4. Nf3 Ng5!
This maneuver

firing the black kingside and pressure

along the f-file. 9... Re8
[9... Nf6!? 10. O-O c5 Keres;
9... Bf5!? 10. O-O Bg6 11. Qc2 Re8

prepares a transition to the endgame in

which White's advantage is rather small.
[4... d5!? 5. d3 Nc5 6. d4 Ne4 (6...
Ne6 7. c4 c6 8. Nc3 Be7 9. Be3 O-O
10. Qd2) 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9.
c4 c6 10. Qc2 f5]

12. Nbd2 Nf6 13. Bxg6 hg 14. Nc4

Nc6 15. Bg5 Qd7= Day - Bisguier,
Lone Pine 1979]
10. O-O h6?!

5. d4 Nxf3+ 6. Qxf3 Qh4+ 7. Qf2 Qxf2+ 8.

Kxf2 Nc6 9. c3!

[10... Nd7]
11. Nbd2 Nf6 12. Nc4 c5 13. Nfe5 cd
[13... Be6 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15. Bxh6]
14. Nxf7!! Kxf7 15. Qh5+ Kg8 16. Rxf6!
Re1+ 17. Rf1 Rxf1+ 18. Bxf1 Bf8 19.

[9. Be3 d6 10. ed Bxd6 11. Nc3 Bf5

12. Rc1 a6= Bronstein - Bernstein,
Paris (Match "France-USSR") 1954]
9... d6 10. ed Bxd6
In the endgame
White is slightly better thanks to his

Bxh6! Qf6
[19... gh 20. Qg6+ Bg7 21. Re1 Bd7
22. Nd6 b5 23. Bd3 Qg5 24. Re8+
Bxe8 25. Qxe8+ Bf8 26. Qf7+ Kh8 27.

pawns on c3 and d4, which restrict the

opponent's minor pieces. 11. Nd2 Be6
12. Ne4 Be7 13. Ng5 Bxg5 14. Bxg5-

Qh7#]
20. Bg5 Qf5 21. Nd6! Bxd6 22. Bc4+ Be6

h6 15. Bh4
12

Nxe4 O-O 9. Bxc6 bc 10. d3 Re8

11. Bd2 Nxe4 12. de Bf5! 13. e5 Qb6 14.
O-O-O Bd4! 15. c3 Rab8 16. b3 Red8!
17. Nf3

[15. Be3!?]
15... g5! 16. Bg3 O-O-O 17. Bb5 f5 18.
Bxc6! bc 19. Be5 Rhg8 20. h4! g4
21. h5!(xh6) g3+!! 22. Bxg3 Rg4 23.
Rh4 Rdg8 24. Rxg4 Rxg4 25. Re1 Kd7
26. Re5 f4 27. Bh2 Rh4 28. Bg1 Bd5?
[28... Bxa2=]

[17. cd Qxd4 1]
17... Qxb3!! 18. ab Rxb3 19. Be1 Be3+!
20.
Qxe3
Rb1#
0:1,Rosanes
-

29. g3! Rg4?

[29... Rh3]
30. Bh2 f3
[30... fg+ 31. Bxg3 Bxa2 32. Ra5 Bd5

Anderssen, Breslau 1863

Chepukaitis G. - Spassky B. (Minsk (Belarus),1952)

33. Rxa7I]
31. b3 a6 32. c4 Rxd4 33. cd Rd2+ 34.
Kxf3 Rxh2 35. dc+ Kxc6 36. Re6+ Kd7
37. Rxh6 Rxa2 38. Rg6 1:0,Fischer -

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Wade, Vinkovci 1968

Falkbeer Counterattack

4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bc4 Bc5 6. Nge2 White is

going to support his extra pawn on d5

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and prepares to evacuate his king to the

queenside. 6... O-O 7. d4! ed 8. Qxd3
Re8
[8... Ng4!? 9. Qf3 Re8 10. h3 Ne3 11.
Bxe3 Rxe3 12. Qf1 Spassky Tumurbator, 1960]

Falkbeer Counterattack.

9. h3 a6!
Provoking White's response
which weakens a future residence of the

2... d5 3. ed e4!?
Declining White's
pawn offer, Black sacrifices a pawn in
response with the idea of advancing his
pawn to e4, which will hamper
opponent's kingside development.
4.

white king.
[9... Nh5 10. Qf3 Qh4+ 11. Kd1 g6 12.
Bd2 Nd7 13. g4 Ng7 14. Ne4
Chigorin - Marshall, Karlsbad 1907]
10. a4 Qe7 11. Bd2 c6! 12. dc Nxc6

Bb5+ c6 5. dc Nxc6 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Qe2

Bc5!
Rapid piece development is the
main slogan in open positions, therefore
Black sacrifices the second pawn. 8.

The weakness of the b4-square gives

Black compensation for the sacrificed
pawn in the following complicated fight.
13. O-O-O Nb4 14. Qf3 b5!? 15. Qxa8
13

[20... Kf7 21. Qh7+ Ke6 22. Qg8+ Ke7

bc 16. Qf3 Bf5 17. Rhe1 Qd7 18. Ng3

Bxc2 19. Rxe8+ Nxe8 20. Nce4 Qxa4 21.
Bxb4 Bxb4 22. Rd8 Bd3 23. Rxd3 cd 24.

(22... Ke5 23. Qd5#) 23. Qe8#]

Qxd3 (xc1) Qc6+ 25. Kb1 g6 26. Qd8

Kf8 27. Qd4 Bd6 28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Qxh7
Bxf4 30. Qh4+ g5 31. Nxg5? Qc1+ 32.
Ka2 Bxg5 33. Qb4+ Kd7 34. Qa4+ Qc6
35. Qg4+ Qe6+ 0:1,Chepukaitis
Spassky, Minsk 1952

Bronstein D. - Szabo L. (Budapest (Hungary),1949)

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Murey J. - Nikitin A. (URS,1971)

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4... Nf6! Fighting for the initiative, Black

does not hurry to re-establish material
equality.
5. Qe2 Qxd5?!
This

The best move. Striving to

erroneous move leads to a difficult for

Black endgame by force. 6. Nc3 Bb4 7.
Bd2 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Bg4 9. de! Bxe2
[9... Qxe4 10. Qxe4+ Nxe4 11. Bxg7

remove the dangerous e4-pawn right off,

White
allows his opponent to
re-establish material equality. 4... ed?!
[4... Qxd5 will be examined later.]
5. Bxd3 Qxd5
Black has regained a
pawn, but now he is far behind in

Rg8 12. Be5 Nc6 13. Bd3 Reti Tarrasch, Goteborg 1920]
10. ed Bxf1 11. Kxf1 Nxd5 12. Bxg7 Rg8
13. Re1+ Kd7 14. Rd1
[14. Be5!? f6 15. c4! fe 16. Rd1 c6 17.
cd Rf8 18. Nf3 Rxf4 19. Ke2

development. 6. Nc3! Qe6+

[6... Qxg2? 7. Be4I]

Ehlvest - Handoko, Bali 1999]

14... Kc6 15. Bd4 Nxf4 16. Nf3 Nd7

7. Nge2 Nh6 8. f5!

Having a
development advantage, one should
strive to open up a game, even at the
cost of material losses.
8... Nxf5 9.
O-O Ne3 10. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 11. Kh1

insecure black king's position and the

black pawn weaknesses secure White an
advantage in the endgame. 17. g3 Ne6
18. Be3
[18. Kf2 Ng5 19. Nxg5 Rxg5 20. Rhe1

Bd6 12. Nf4 O-O 13. Qh5! g6 14. Nxg6!

fg 15. Bxg6 hg 16. Qxg6+ Kh8 17. Nd5!
Rxf1+ 18. Rxf1 Qe2 19. Qh6+ Kg8 20.
Nf6+ [...] 1:0,Murey - Nikitin, URS 1971

Nf8 21. Re7 Rf5+ 22. Ke3 Reti Spielmann, Stockholm 1919]
18... b6 19. Kg2 Rae8 20. Rhf1 f5 21.

4. d3!

An

Nh4 Ng7 22. Bd4 Re2+ 23. Rf2 Rxf2+ 24.

14

Kxf2 Ne8 25. Re1 Nd6 26. Re7 Nf8 27.

Be5 Ng6 28. Bxd6 Nxe7
[28... Kxd6 29. Rxh7 Nxh4 30.

Nf6 15. Bd3 Nxe4! 16. Bxe4 f6 17. h3 fe

18. hg ef 19. O-O-O Rxe4 20. Bxb4
Rxd1+ 21. Kxd1 Bxb4 22. Nb1 h6 23.

Rxh4I]
29. Bxe7I Kd5 30. Kf3 Ke6 31. Bb4
Rd8 32. Ke2 Kf6 33. Bc3+ Kg5 34. h3
Re8+ 35. Kf2 Rd8 36. Nf3+ Kh5 37. Nd4

Nd2 Bxd2 24. Kxd2 Re3 0:1,Gebauer

- Sera, Varna 1962

Kg6 38. Ne6 Rd1 39. Nxc7 Rc1 40. Kf3

Rxc2 41. Nb5 a6 42. Nc7 a5 43. a4 Rc1
44. Nd5 Rf1+ 45. Kg2 1:0,Bronstein Szabo, Budapest 1949

Schulten J. - Morphy P. (New York (USA),1857)

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Gebauer P. - Sera J. (Varna (Bulgaria),1962)

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5. Nc3 Bb4!

This pin of the c3-knight is

an important means of fighting for the

e4-squaure.
6. Bd2 e3!?
Quite in
Morphy's style: the second pawn is
sacrificed in order to open up the central

5... Bg4!
The strongest move which
gives Black compensation for a
sacrificed pawn. 6. Nf3
[6. Qe3 Nxd5 7. Qxe4+ Be7]
6... Qxd5

files. In XX century the black players

preferred quieter moves, for example:
[6... O-O 7. Nxe4 Re8 8. Bxb4 Nxe4 9.
de Rxe4+ 10. Be2 Rxb4 11. Nf3 Rxf4
12. Qd2 Qd6 13. O-O-O Nd7 14. Nd4
a6 15. g3 Rf6 16. Rhe1 Ne5 17. Bh5

[6... Bxf3? 7. gf e3 8. Bxe3 Nxd5 9.

Bd4+ Be7 10. Rg1! Nxf4 11. Qe4 Ne6

Bd7 18. Qe2 Re8 1/2:1/2 Spassky Bronstein, Moscow 1971]

12. Bxg7 Rg8 13. Bd4 Rxg1 14.

Bxg1]
7. Nbd2 Nc6!
[7... Bxf3 8. gf e3 9. Ne4 Be7 10. Bxe3
O-O 11. Bh3 0-0]

7. Bxe3 O-O 8. Bd2 Bxc3 9. bc Re8+ 10.

Be2 Bg4
[10... Nxd5!? 11. Nf3 Qf6 12. c4 Nxf4
13. Bxf4 Qxf4 14. Qd2 Qxd2+ 15.
Kxd2 Nc6 16. Rab1 b6= Inkiov - Tatai,

8. de Qh5 9. Qb5?!
[9. e5 Nd5 10. Nb3 O-O-O]
9... O-O-O 10. Qxh5 Nxh5 11. Nc4 Nb4!

Pamporovo 1982]
11. c4?
[11. Kf2 Bxe2 12. Nxe2 Qxd5 13. Re1

12. Na3 Bc5 13. Bd2 Rhe8 14. Ne5

Nc6 14. Kg1 Qc5+! 15. d4 Qd5;

15

11. h3! Furman]

11... c6! 12. dc Nxc6 13. Kf1 Rxe2! 14.
Nxe2 Nd4 15. Qb1 Bxe2+ 16. Kf2

[10... Bb6 11. Ng5 Qe7 12. Bd2]

11. Qxe4 g6
[11... f5 12. Qe2]

Ng4+ 17. Kg1 Nf3+! 18. gf Qd4+ 19. Kg2

Qf2+ 20. Kh3 Qxf3+ 21. Kh4 Nh6
0:1,Schulten - Morphy, New York 1857

12. b4! Be7 13. Bb2 Bf6

[13... Nc6 14. O-O-O Nxb4 15. Bc4
Qf5 16. Ng4! Qxe4 (16... Qxg4 17.
Qe5!) 17. Nh6#]
14. O-O-O Nc6
[14... Qxa2 15. h4 (15. Bc4 Qa4 16.
Bb3 Qe8 17. h4) 15... Qe6 16. h5]
15. h4 h5

Keres P. - Petrov V. (Moscow (Russia),1940)

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[15... Nxe5!? 16. fe Bg7 17. h5 Qg4!]

16. g4! Bxe5
[16... hg 17. h5;
16... Nxe5? 17. fe]
17. fe Qxg4 18. Qe3 Nxb4
[18... Be6 19. Rdg1I;
18... Qe6 19. Qh6 Nxe5 20. Rde1I]
19. e6! Nd5

5. Nd2 White attacks the key e4-square

and avoids a pin along the a5-e1
diagonal. 5... ed
[5... e3 6. Nc4 Nxd5 7. Qf3! Be7 8.

[19... Nxd3+ 20. cd fe 21. Rdf1! Rf5

22. Rhg1 Kf7 23. Rxg4 Rxf1+ 24. Kc2
hg 25. Qe5!I;
19... Bxe6 20. Qh6 Nxd3+ 21. cd f6

Nxe3]
6. Bxd3 Qxd5
[6... Nxd5! 7. Qf3 (7. Ne4 Nb4! 8.
Bb5+ c6 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Ba4 Bf5
11. Ng5 Ke8 12. Kd1 f6 13. N5f3 N8a6
14. a3 Rd8+ 15. Bd2 Nd5 16. Ke2 Nc5

22. Rhg1I]
20. ef+ Rxf7
[20... Kh7 21. Bxg6+! Qxg6 22. Rxd5
Bg4 23. Rg5 Qxf7 24. Rg7+I]
21. Bc4 c6 22. Rxd5 Qxc4 23. Qe8+
1:0,Keres - Petrov, Moscow 1940

17. Bb3 Nxb3 18. cb Bd6 19. g3 Kf7

Castaldi - Trifunovic, Hilversum (zt)
1947; 7. Qe2+ Qe7!) 7... Nc6 8. a3
Bc5 9. Ne2 O-O 10. Nb3 Be7 (10...
Bb6 11. c4!) 11. O-O=]
7. Ngf3 Bc5?!
[7... Nc6 8. Qe2+ Be7 9. O-O O-O 10.

Steinsapir Y. - Estrin Y. (Moscow (Russia),1949)

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Nb3 Bg4]
8. Qe2+! Qe6
[8... Be6? 9. f5]
9. Ne5! O-O 10. Ne4 Nxe4
16

5... Bf5!? An interesting move with the

idea of positional piece sacrifice. 6. de
Nxe4 7. Qe2 Bb4!

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[7... Qxd5? 8. g4!I;

7... Qe7 8. Ngf3 Nd7 9. Nb3 O-O-O
10. Be3 Qb4+ 11. c3 Qa4 12. Qb5]
8. c3 O-O 9. Nxe4
[9. cb? Re8]
9... Re8 10. cb Rxe4 11. Be3 Qe7 12. Kf2
Nd7 13. Qh5?!
[13. Re1 Nf6 14. h3 Re8;

5. de! This considered to be the main

line. White removes the strong e4-pawn,
and later he will try to exploit a pin along
the e-file. 5... Nxe4 6. Nf3 Bc5 7. Qe2!

13. Qd2! Re8 14. Bd4 Nf6 15. Nf3

Radchenko]
13... g6 14. Qg5 Qxb4! 15. Re1 Qxb2+
[15... h6 16. Qh4 g5 17. Qxh6 gf 18.
Qg5+ Bg6 19. Nf3 fe+ 20. Rxe3
Qxb2+]
16. Re2 Qc3 17. g4 Rae8 18. gf Rxe3 19.
fg Nf6! 20. Kg2

Bf5!
[7... Bf2+? 8. Kd1 f5 9. Nfd2 Bh4 10.
Nxe4 fe 11. Qxe4+ Kf7 12. Bd2 Bf6
13. Nc3I Alapin - A.Romanovsky,
St. Petersburg 1905;
7... f5 8. Be3! Qxd5 9. Bxc5 Qxc5 10.
Nc3]

[20. gf+? Kxf7;

20. gh+? Kh8 21. Qf5 Ne4+ 22. Kg2
Rg3+!]
20... hg 21. f5 Rxe2+ 22. Nxe2 Qe5 23.

8. g4?
A
huge lag in
to disaster.
[10. Qg2

Kg1 Ne4 24. Qf4 Qxd5 25. fg fg 26. Bg2

Qc5+ 27. Kf1 Rf8 28. Bxe4 Rxf4+ 29.
Nxf4 Qc4+ 30. Bd3 Qxf4+ 31. Ke2 c5 32.
Bxg6 Qg4+ 33. Kf2 Qxg6 34. Rg1 Qxg1+

Qxf5]
10... Nf2 11. Ne5 Nxh1 12. Bxh1 Nd7!
[12... f6 13. d6!]
13. Nc3 f6 14. Ne4

35. Kxg1 Kg7 36. a4 b6 37. Kf2 a6 38.

Ke3 b5 39. a5 Kf6 40. Ke4 c4
0:1,Steinsapir - Estrin, Moscow 1949

[14. Bd2 fe 15. O-O-O ef 16. Qc4

Bd6]
14... fe 15. Nxc5 Nxc5 16. fe Qh4+ 17.
Kf1 Rf8! 18. Kg1
[18. Qf3 Qc4+ 19. Kg1 Qxc2]

Spielmann R. - Tarrasch S. (Ostrava (Czech

18... Qd4+ 19. Be3 Qxe5 20. Re1 Nd7

21. Qc4 Kh8 22. Be4 Rae8 23. Bd4 Qf4
24. Re2 Nf6 25. Bxf6 gf 26. h3 Rg8+

Republic),1923)

win of a piece at the cost of

development will lead White
8... O-O! 9. gf Re8 10. Bg2
Qxd5! 11. Be2 Nc6 12. Nc3

0:1,Spielmann - Tarrasch, Ostrava 1923

17

(Poland),1976)

Bronstein D. - Tal M. (Riga (Latvia),1968)

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8. Nc3!
White skillfully combines his
development with pressure on the

9... Bxe3

This is another way to

e4-knight. 8... Qe7 9. Be3!

[9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10. c4 c6!]
9... Nxc3 10. Bxc5 Nxe2 11. Bxe7 Nxf4

transpose to the endgame with material

equality.
10. Qxe3 Nxc3 11. Qxe7+
Kxe7 12. bc Bxc2
[12... Be4 13. Ng5 Bxd5 14. O-O-O

12. Ba3!
In the endgame two strong
bishops and the uncastled black king
secure White a strong initiative.
[12. Bg5 Nxd5 13. O-O-O Be6 14. Bc4

Be6 15. Nxe6 fe 16. Bc4 Rf8 17. Rhe1

Rf6 18. f5 Krnic - Cortlever, Wijk aan
Zee 1972]
13. Kd2
simplifications
Black equality;
often White

c6 15. Bxd5 cd 16. c4 Na6 17. cd

Rc8+ 18. Kb1 Bf5+ 19. Ka1 f6 20. Bf4
Bg4 Jonkman - Onischuk, Hamburg
1992]

In the King's gambit,

not always guarantee
on the contrary, rather
makes use of his

development lead and gains an enduring

endgame initiative. 13... Ba4
[13... Bg6 14. Re1+ Kd8 15. Nd4
Wheatcroft - Keres, Margate 1939]
14. Re1+ Kd6
[14... Kd8 15. Re4 Be8 16. Bc4]

12... Nd7 13. O-O-O Be4

[13... O-O-O 14. Rd4! Ng6 15. g4!I]
14. Ng5! Bxd5 15. g3! Bxh1 16. gf c5
17. Bc4 Bc6 18. Nxf7 b5 19. Nd6+ Ke7
20. Nxb5 Rhf8 21. Nd4 Bg2 22. Ne6 Rf5
23. Rg1 Be4 24. Nc7 Rd8 25. Rxg7+ Kf6

15. Ng5! Kxd5? 16. Re4! Be8 17. Rd4+

Kc6 18. Be2 Nd7 19. Bf3+ Kb6 20. Rb1+

26. Rf7+ Kg6 27. Re7 Nf6 28. Ne6 Rc8

29. b3 Rh5 30. Ng5 Bd5 31. Bd3+ Kh6

Ka5 21. Rxb7 h6 22. Rxc7 Rb8 23. Nxf7

Bxf7 24. Rcxd7 1:0,Bronstein - Vaisman,
Sandomier 1976

32. Bb2 c4 33. Bf5 c3 34. Bxc8 cb+ 35.

Kxb2 Rxh2 36. Rxa7 Rf2 37. Ra4 Kg6 38.
Rd4 h5 39. a4 h4 40. a5 Bg2 41. a6 Nh5
42. Bb7 Nxf4 43. Rxf4 1:0,Bronstein Tal, Riga 1968

Variation with 2... d5 3. ed ef

Bronstein D. - Vaisman V. (Sandomier

18

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Variation with 2... d5 3. ed ef.

4... Nf6
Attacking the d5-pawn right
away.
[4... Qxd5? 5. Nc3]
5. Bb5+

3... ef
Unlike the Falkbeer
counterattack,
Black
immediately
regains a pawn, striving for quick piece

[5. c4 c6! 6. d4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 cd 8.

Bxf4 O-O 9. Be2 dc=]
5... c6!
[5... Bd7 6. Qe2+ Be7 7. d6! cd 8. d4
O-O 9. Nc3 Re8 10. Bxd7 Nbxd7 11.
O-O Qb6 12. a4!]
6. dc bc In order not to waste time in

development. 4. Nf3 Bd6 Black holds

the f4-pawn which restricts White's
activity on the kingside. On the other
hand, the survived pawn on d5 secures
White a spatial advantage in the center.
5. Nc3 Ne7
[5... Nf6 6. Bc4 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8.

the open position. 7. Bc4 Nd5!?

[7... Bd6 8. Qe2+! Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7
10. d4]
8. d4 Bd6 9. O-O O-O
Black's pawn

d4 Nb6 9. Bb3 Bg4 10. Qd3 5]

6. d4 O-O 7. Bd3 Nd7 8. O-O h6?!
[8... Nf6! 9. Ne5 Nexd5 10. Nxd5
Nxd5 11. Qh5 g6 12. Qh6 Qf6=

weaknesses are compensated by his

good piece play. White can hardly use
his queenside pawn majority; at the
same time the black pawn mass on the

Spassky]
9. Ne4 Nxd5 10. c4 Ne3 11. Bxe3 fe 12.
c5! Be7 13. Bc2!b1-h7 Re8 14.
Qd3 e2 15. Nd6!! Nf8 16. Nxf7! efQ+ 17.

kingside is ready to advance. 10. Nc3

Nxc3 11. bc Bg4 12. Qd3 Nd7 13. g3?!
[13. Bd2 1]
13... Nb6!
[13... fg 14. Ng5!]

Rxf1 Bf5 18. Qxf5 Qd7 19. Qf4 Bf6 20.

N3e5 Qe7 21. Bb3 Bxe5 22. Nxe5+ Kh7
23. Qe4+ 1:0,Spassky - Bronstein,
Leningrad 1960

14. Bb3?!
[14. Bxf4 Bxf4 15. gf Nxc4 16. Qxc4
Qd5 17. Qxd5 cd 18. Ne5 Bf5]

Bronstein D. - Botvinnik M. (Moscow (Russia),1952)

14... c5! 15. c4

[15. dc Bxc5+ 16. Kh1 Qc8! 17. Bxf4
Qc6;
15. Bxf4 Bxf4 16. gf Bxf3 17. Rxf3
19

Qc7]
15... Qf6 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. de Qxe5 18.
Bxf4 Qh5(xb3) 19. Rfe1 Rfe8 20. a4

Nxc4 30. Rd7 1:0,Spassky - Sakharov,

Leningrad 1960

Be2 21. Qc3 Nd7 22. a5 Nf6 23. Ba4 Re6

24. Kg2 Ne4 25. Qa3 g5 0:1,Bronstein Botvinnik, Moscow 1952

Illescas C. - Smyslov V. (Sevilla (Spain),1987)

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Spassky B. - Sakharov Y. (Leningrad (Russia),1960)

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7... Bd6 8. Qe2+! Qe7

Furman
suggested
a
[Semen
surprising 8... Kf8!? , avoiding the
endgame.]

9. Nc3!
[9. Re1+ Be6 10. Nd4?! Qb6!]
9... Be6
[9... O-O 10. Nxd5 cd 11. Bxd5 Bc5+

9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. O-O The endgame

that has arisen is good for White thanks
to his better pawn structure; at the same
time the black kingside pawn majority is

12. d4 Qxd5 13. dc Qxc5+ 14. Kh1]

10. Ne4!
This energetic knight
maneuver into the center casts doubt on
Botvinnik's idea of 7...d5. 10... Be7
[10... Bc7 11. Bb3 O-O 12. d4 Nd7 13.
c4 Ne3 14. Bxe3 fe 15. Nfg5 Nf6 16.

not dangerous without queens on the

board. 10... Be6 11. Bxe6
[11. Re1!? Nbd7 12. d4 Rhe8 13.
Bxe6 fe 14. Nbd2 h6 15. Nc4
Bhend - Barcza, Zurich 1959]
11... fe 12. d4 Nbd7 13. Nbd2 c5!

Nxf6+ gf 17. Nxe6 fe 18. c5 Kh8 Tal Haubt, 1960]

Black manages to get rid of his main

weakness on time, equalizing easily.

11. Bb3 O-O 12. d4 Nd7 13. Qe2 g5?!

14. c4 N5b6 15. h4! Undermining the
black pawn chain on the kingside, which
is a typical method in the King's gambit.
15... h6 16. hg hg 17. Nfxg5! Bxg5 18.

14. Nc4 cd 15. Nxd6 Kxd6 16. Nxd4 e5

17. Nf5+ Ke6 18. Nxg7+ Kf7 19. Nf5 Ke6
20. Ng7+ Kf7 21. Nf5 Ke6 22. Nh4 Rac8
23. c3 Nc5 24. Bxf4!? ef 25. Rxf4 Nd3
26. Ra4 Rc6 27. b3 Rd8 28. c4 a6 29.

Bxf4 Bf6 19. Rad1 Bf5 20. Be5 Bxe4

21. Qxe4 Bxe5 22. de Qg5 23. Rf5 Qg7
24. Qf4 Rfe8 25. Rg5 Nxe5 26. Rxg7+

Nf3 Ke7 30. h3 Re6 31. Ra5 Nf4 32. Rf1

Ne2+ 33. Kh2 h6 34. Re1 Rdd6 35. b4
Nd7 36. a4 Nc3 37. Rxe6+ Rxe6 38. Nd4

Kxg7 27. Rd6 Ng6 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Bc2

Re4 39. Nf5+ Ke6 40. Nxh6 Rxc4 41.

20

Rxa6+ Kd5 42. Nf7 Ne4 43. Ra7 Nef6 44.

b5 Rb4 45. Ra6 Ne4 46. h4 Ndc5 47. Rg6
Ne6 48. Rg4 :,Illescas - Smyslov,

Nc5 Re3 28. Qd2 Rae8 0:1,Hartston Spassky, Hastings 1966

Sevilla 1987
Shulman Y. - Yemelin V. (St. Petersburg
(Russia),1994)
Hartston W. - Spassky B. (Hastings (England),1966)

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6... Nxc6
Although Black does not
create himself a weak pawn on c6, he

9. Ng5 Another way to win a pawn, but

here too, Black obtains comfortable play
thanks to his active pieces. 9... O-O!

should not underestimate the white

mobile pawn phalanx in the center. 7.
d4 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Intending to win a pawn
right off, though a solid approach would

In the open positions quick development

is the main factor.
[9... Qe7 10. Nxe6 fe 11. O-O]
10. Nxe6 fe 11. Bxc6 bc 12. O-O

have given more:

[8. O-O O-O 9. c4 (9. Nbd2 Bg4 10.
Nc4 Bxf3! 11. Rxf3 Bc5 12. Bxc6
Qxd4+ 13. Qxd4 Bxd4+ 14. Kf1 bc 15.
Bxf4 Nd5= Renet - Van der Sterren,
Budel 1987) 9... Bg4 10. Nc3 Ne7 11.

[12. Qxe6+ Kh8 13. O-O f3! 14. Rxf3

Re8]
12... Nd5!?
[12... Qc7 13. Nd2 (13. Qxe6+ Kh8 14.
Nd2 Rae8) 13... e5! 14. de Bxe5 15.
Nf3 Bd6 16. Bd2 Rae8 17. Qc4+

h3 Bh5 12. c5 Bc7 13. Bc4 b6! 14. b4

a5! 15. ba bc 16. dc Qc8

Kh8=]
13. Qxe6+ Kh8 14. Nc3 f3! 15. Nxd5

Riemersma - I.Ibragimov, Hania 1993]

8... Be6 9. Ne5?!
[9. c4 O-O 10. d5? Bg4]
9... O-O! 10. Bxc6 bc 11. Bxf4 Nd5! 12.
Bg3 f6 13. Nf3 Bxg3+ 14. hg Re8

cd 16. Rxf3 Re8! 17. Qh3 Re1+ 18. Rf1

Rxf1+ 19. Kxf1 Qf6+ 20. Kg1 Qxd4+ 21.
Be3 Qxb2 22. Rf1 Qxc2 23. Rc1 Qe2 24.
Bxa7 Re8 25. Bd4 Be5 :,Shulman Yemelin, St. Petersburg 1994

15. Kf2 Bf5 16. Qc4 Kh8 17. Nc3 Ne3 18.
Qc5 Ng4+ 19. Kg1 Qd7 20. Rf1 Bxc2 21.
Rh4 Ne3 22. Rc1 g5 23. Rh6 Bg6 24.

Hector J. - Ziatdinov R. (Antwerpen

Na4 Ng4 25. Rh3 Qe6 26. Qc3 Qxa2 27.

(Belgium),1994)

21

Fedorov A. - Svidler P. (Elista (Russia),1998)

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5. Bc4 A seemingly innocent, yet nasty

move to meet. White completes his

6... Be7 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c4 Nf6 9. d4 Bg4

development, intending to advance his

central pawns, capturing the f4-pawn
under some favorable circumstances.
5... Nxd5 6. O-O Be6
Delaying his

[9... c5!? 10. Kh1 Bg4 11. dc Qxd1 12.

Bxd1 Bxc5 13. Bxf4 Ne4 14. Ng5 Nf2+
15. Rxf2 Bxd1 16. Rd2 Bg4 17. Nc3
Nc6 18. h3 Be6 19. Nxe6 fe 20. Bd6

kingside development, Black takes

control of the c4-square, intending to
prevent the white pawn advance in the
center. 7. Bb3! Be7 8. c4 Nb6 9. d4!
Sacrificing a pawn for the initiative. 9...
Nxc4 10. Bxf4 c6
[10... O-O!? 11. Qe2 b5 12. Nc3 a6

Bxd6 21. Rxd6 e5 22. Ne4 Rf4 23. Re1

Rd8 1/2:1/2 Arnason - Balashov,
Malta (ol) 1980]
10. Bxf4 Nc6!
Black has allowed his
opponent to advance the pawns in the
center with an intention to attack the
white center with the pieces.
11. Be3

13. a4 Nc6 14. ab Nxd4 15. Nxd4

Qxd4+ 16. Kh1 Rab8 17. Rxa6 Bd6
Hebden - Geller, Moscow 1986]
11. Qe2 b5 12. a4! a6 13. ab cb 14.
Nc3 Nc6
[14... O-O 15. Nxb5]

Bxf3! 12. gf
[12. Rxf3 Ng4]
12... Re8 13. Qd2 Nh5 14. d5?!
[14. Nc3=]
14... Ne5 15. c5 b6! Restricting mobility
of the white pawn chain, Black

15. Rad1 Bd5 16. Ne5 N6xe5

[16... O-O 17. Nxc6 Bxc6 18. d5 Bc5+

emphasizes weakness of the

dark
squares in the opponent's camp. 16. d6

19. Kh1]
17. Bxe5 f6
[17... O-O 18. Bc7!I]
18. Rxf6! Nxe5 19. Nxd5 gf 20. de
Kf8 21. Kh1 Rc8 22. Nxf6 Qa5 23. Qh5

[16. c6 Bc5! 17. Bxc5 bc 18. Nc3

Qh4]
16... cd 17. cb ab 18. Nc3 Nf6 19.
Rad1 Rc8 20. Qg2 Nc4 21. Bd4 Bf8 22.
Rd3 d5 23. Kh1 Ne5 24. Re3 Bc5 25.

Rc4 24. Qe8+ 1:0,Hector - Ziatdinov,

Antwerpen 1994

Rxe5 Bxd4 26. Rg5 g6 27. Nxd5 Rc5 28.

f4 Ne4 29. h4 Kh8 30. Nb4 Nxg5 31. fg
Rf5 32. Nc6 Qd6 0:1,Fedorov - Svidler,
Elista 1998
22

/(+47,?0
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Fedorov A. - Jussupow A. (Batumi (Georgia),1999)

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8... Be7! Avoiding the endgame, Black

hopes to neutralize opponent's
development lead step by step, which is
possible thanks to absence of

6. Bxd5!?
A very subtle approach: at
the cost of exchanging his active bishop
White wins a tempo for development.

weaknesses in his camp. 9. Bxf4 O-O

10. O-O Bf5!
[10... c6 11. Qd3! Be6 12. Ne4 Bf5 13.

6... Qxd5 7. Nc3 Qd8 8. d4 Bd6 9. Qe2+!

Qe7
[9... Kf8 10. Nd5]
10. Qxe7+ Kxe7 11. Bxf4! Bxf4 12. Nd5+
Kf8?!

Rae1 Nd7 14. Nf6+ Bxf6 15. Qxf5

Smirin - B.Lalic, New York 2000]
11. Qd2 c6 12. Kh1?!
[12. Rae1 Nd7 13. d5 cd 14. Nxd5

[12... Kd8]
13. Nxf4 Black's insecure king position
and lack of development promise White
an enduring advantage in the endgame.

Bc5+ 15. Be3 Bxe3+ 16. Rxe3 Be6=;

12. Rad1 Nd7 13. d5 cd 14. Nxd5
Bc5+ 15. Be3 Be6 16. Bxc5 Nxc5 17.
c4 Ne4 18. Qb4 Bxd5 19. cd Nd6=]

13... Nd7 14. O-O Nf6 15. Ne5 a5 16.

c4 Ra6 17. d5 h5 18. h3 h4 19. Rae1 Bf5
20. Ne2 Rh5
[20... Bc8 21. Nd4 d5]
21. g4!I Bxg4
[21... hg 22. Nxg3 Rg5 23. Rxf5 Rxg3+

12... Bb4!
Attacking the white center
with the pieces. 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Qxc3
Qd5 15. Qd2?!
[15. Rae1 Nd7 16. Re7 Rae8 17.
Rfe1]
15... Nd7 16. b3 b5! 17. Rac1
Nb6(xd5,e4) 18. Rfe1 Rfe8 19. Ne5 f6
20. c4 bc 21. bc Qe6 22. Nf3 Qf7 23. d5
[23. Qc3 Rxe1+ 24. Nxe1 Be6]

24. Kh2I]
22. Nxg4 Nxg4 23. hg Rg6 24. b3 Rxg4+
25. Kh2 a4 26. Nc3 ab 27. ab c6 28. d6
Rd4 29. Nd5 Rd2+ 30. Kh1 1:0,Fedorov Jussupow, Batumi 1999

23... cd 24. Nd4?

[24. c5 Nc4 25. Qc3 Bd7]
24... Nxc4! 25. Rxc4 Rxe1+ 26. Qxe1
Re8 27. Qa5 dc 28. Nxf5 Qe6 29. Bd2
Qe5 30. Qxe5 Rxe5 31. Nd4 Re4 32. Nf3
g5! 33. h3 h5 34. Kg1 g4 35. hg hg
36. Nh4 Rd4 37. Bb4 Rd1+ 38. Kf2 Rc1

Fedorov A. - Svidler P. (Smolensk (Russia),2000)

23

39. Ke3 c3 40. Nf5 a5 41. Bxa5 c2 42.

Nd4 Re1+ 0:1,Fedorov - Svidler,
Smolensk 2000

Rhf1 Rdg8 21. Nxe6! fe 22. Bh5! Nf5 23.

Bf7 Kd7 24. Bxg8 Rxg8 25. Rf4I
1:0,Byrne - Guimard, New York 1951

Variation with 3...f6 4.e5 h5

Fedorov A. - Yemelin V. (St. Petersburg

(Russia),1996)

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Variation with 3.. f6 4. e5 h5.

5... d6!
Black's only way to obtain
counterplay is to undermine the

3... Nf6
[In contrast to the variation with 3... d5
4. ed Nf6 , the black knight is moved
to a shaky position on the edge. The
price for this decentralization is high

e5-pawn.
6. Qe2!
With the idea of
stabilizing the pawn structure in the
center.
[6. Bc4 Nc6 7. O-O de 8. Re1 Be7 9.

enough: Black supports his advanced

f4-pawn, slowing
down White's
kingside initiative.]
4. e5 Nh5 5. d4 d5?! Fixing the center,
Black gives his opponent all chances for
a kingside attack
thanks to the

Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 g6 11. Nc3

O-O]
6... d5!
A flexible reaction to the
opponent's last move; with the awkward
e2-queen
and
delayed f1-bishop,
Black's response is highly appropriate.

advanced e5-pawn. 6. Be2 g5!?

[6... Bg4 7. O-O Nc6 8. c3 g6 9. Ne1

[6... de 7. Nxe5! Qh4+ 8. g3]

7. c4! Exploiting the h5-knight's lateral

Bxe2 10. Qxe2 Qe7 11. Qb5!? O-O-O

12. Nd3 Keres]
7. Nxg5 Qxg5 8. Bxh5 Qh4+
[8... Qxg2 9. Qf3 Qxf3 10. Bxf3 c6 11.
Bxf4]

stance, White begins to fight for the

center. 7... Be6 8. cd Bxd5 9. Bd2 Nc6
10. Nc3 Bb4 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. O-O-O!
Qxa2
[12... O-O-O 13. Qc4 Bxd2+ 14. Rxd2

9. Kf1 Be6 10. Bf3 Nc6 11. Nc3 O-O-O

12. Ne2 Bh6 13. g3! Qe7 14. Bxf4 Bxf4
15. Nxf4 Qb4 16. c3 Qxb2 17. Qc1!

Qxc4+ 15. Bxc4 f6 16. Be6+ Kb8 17.

Bg4 g6 18. Bxh5]
13. d5! Bxd2+
[13... Qa1+ 14. Kc2 Qa4+ 15. Kb1

Qxc1+ 18. Rxc1 Ne7 19. Ke2 c6 20.

24

Ne7 16. Qb5+ Qxb5 17. Bxb5+ c6 18.

Bxb4]
14. Nxd2 Qxd5 15. Qxh5 O-O-O!?

3... Be7 An ancient move. Black does

not give the opponent a target for

[15... Qxe5 16. Qxe5+ Nxe5 17. Re1

f6 18. Nf3 O-O-O 19. Nxe5 fe 20. Rxe5
Rhe8 21. Rxe8 Rxe8 22. Bd3]
16. Bc4 Qc5 17. Kb1 Rxd2 18. Rxd2

immediate activity as it is in the variation

with 3...f6; he also intends to deprive
the white king of castling after the
bishop check on h4. 4. Bc4 Bh4+ 5. Kf1

Qxc4 19. Qg4+ Qe6

[19... Kb8!? 20. Qxg7 Qe4+ 21. Kc1
Re8]
20. Qxg7 Qf5+

Rather often in the King's gambit White

neglects castling because his king is in
safety in the center thanks to White's
superiority here. Furthermore, the black

[20... Qg6+ 21. Qxg6 hg 22. Re1]

21. Ka1 Qxe5 22. Qxe5 Nxe5 23. Rf1
Ng6 24. Rd5! h5
[24... Rg8!?]

bishop's position at h4 is very shaky;

hence, later on Black will have to spent
time due to this circumstance. 5... d5!
[5... d6 6. d4 Be7 7. Bxf4 Nf6 8. Nbd2

25. Rf5 Rh7 26. Rd1 h4 27. h3 c6 28.

Rd4! Kc7 29. Kb1 Rg7 30. Kc1 b5 31.

c6 9. Bd3]
6. ed!?
[6. Bxd5 Nf6 7. Nc3 Nxd5 8. Nxd5 f5
9. Nxh4 Qxh4 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxa8

b4! Kb6 32. Rd7 Nh8

[32... a5 33. ba+ Kxa5 34. Rdxf7 Rxf7
35. Rxf7]
33. Rxf4 Rxg2 34. Re4! a5
[34... Ng6 35. Rxf7 a5 36. Rf6]
35. Re8 ab

fe 12. Qe1 Qh5]

6... Bg4 7. d4 Ne7 8. Nc3 Ng6 9. Qe2+
Be7
[9... Qe7
10. Qxe7+ Bxe7 11.

[35... Ng6 36. Rb8+ Ka6 37. Ra8+ Kb6

38. ba+ Kc5 39. Rxf7I]
36. Rxh8 b3 37. Rd3 1:0,Fedorov Yemelin, St. Petersburg 1996

Ne5]
10. h4! h5 11. Qe4! Nd7? 12. d6! cd 13.
Ng5 1:0,Fedorov - Nielsen, Mariehamn
1997

Variation with 3... e7

Keres P. - Alatortsev V. (Moscow (Russia),1950)

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Variation with 3... e7.

4... Nf6!
25

Black is not tempted with an

Bxe6 fe 11. h3 Nh6 12. Bxf4 Nf5!=

opportunity of the bishop check on h4;

instead, he quickly develops his pieces
and prepares the d7-d5 advance which is
especially efficient with the white bishop
standing on c4. 5. e5 Ng4 6. O-O Nc6
7. d4 d5! 8. ed
[8. Be2 Ne3 9. Bxe3 fe]
8... Bxd6 9. Nc3

Kholmov, Moscow 1961)]

7... Bxd6 8. Qe2+ Qe7
[8... Kf8!? 9. O-O Nc6]
9. Qxe7+ Bxe7?!

[9. Qe1+ Ne7 10. h3! Nh6 11. Ne5 g5

12. h4! f6 13. hg fg]
9... O-O 10. Ne2 Ne3! 11. Bxe3 fe 12.
a3?!

[9... Kxe7 10. Nd5+ Kd8 11. d4 Re8+=

Keres]
10. d4 Here too, the endgame is better
for White thanks to his development

[12. Qd3!?]
12... Qf6! 13. Qd3
[13. Ne5! Qh6 14. Rxf7! Rxf7! 15. Nxf7
Qxh2+ 16. Kf1 Be6! 17. Bxe6 Rf8

advantage. 10... Bd6?!

[10... Ne3 11. Bxe3 fe 12. Nd5]
11. Ne4! Nd7 12. Nxd6+ cd 13.
Bxf4-(xd6) Nb6 14. Bd3 d5 15. O-O

Alatortsev]
13... Qh6! 14. Rae1 Bg4 15. h3 Bh5!
16. Nc3 Rae8 17. Nd5 e2! 18. Rf2
[18. Rxe2 Rxe2 19. Qxe2 Nxd4!]
18... Bg3 19. c3 Na5 20. Rexe2 Bxf2+

O-O 16. b3 Nf6 17. Rae1 Bg4 18. Re7

Nbd7 19. Be5! b6 20. Bxf6! Nxf6 21. Ne5

(12... Nc6 13. Ne3 O-O-O 14. c3 Rhf8

15. Bxh6 gh 16. Rd1 Bronstein -

21. Rxf2 Nxc4 22. Qxc4 c6 23. Nb4 Bxf3

24. Rxf3 Qc1+ 25. Kh2 Qxb2
0:1,Keres - Alatortsev, Moscow 1950

Be6 22. Ba6 Bc8 23. Bb5 a6 24. Bc6

Rb8 25. Nxf7! Bg4
[25... Rxf7 26. Bxd5 Nxd5 27.
Re8+I]
26. Rxf6 1:0,Bronstein - Lemoine,
Munich 1958

Bronstein D. - Lemoine C. (Munich

Morozevich A. - Piket J. (Internet,2000)

(Germany),1958)

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7. ed Qxd6!
White avoids a queen
exchange because in the King's gambit
the endgame is usually unpleasant for
him due to his lag in development. 8. d4

6. Nc3 d6!
Undermining the white
e5-pawn. 7. ed
[7. d4 de 8. de Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Be6 10.
26

[8. Qe2 O-O 9. d4 Nc6 10. Nd5 Ne3

11. Bxe3 fe 12. Qxe3 Re8 13. O-O
Gallagher - E.Vladimirov, Hastings

de 12. Qxe4+ Qe7 13. g3 Qxe4 14.

Nxe4 Be7 15. Re1 Nd7 16. h4Spassky
- Hermann,
Germany

1990]
8... O-O 9. O-O c6 10. Ne4 Qg6 11. Bd3
Bf5 12. Qe2 Ne3! An important detail:
Black manages to exchange White's

(Bundesliga) 1985;
5... d5 6. Nxd5 Nf6 7. Nxf6+ Qxf6 8.
d4 Bg4 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. c3 O-O-O 11.
Qxf4 Qe6 12. Ke3! Short - Piket,

dangerous dark-squared bishop.

13.
Bxe3 Bxe4!?
[13... fe 14. Qxe3 Nd7=]
14. Bxf4 Bxd3 15. cd Bf6 16. Ne5 Bxe5

Madrid 1997]
6. d4 Nf6 7. Bxf4 d5 8. Nxd5 Nxd5 9. ed
Qxd5 10. Kf2 Qd8 11. Bc4 O-O 12.
Re1 Bg4 13. Bb3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3

17. de Nd7= 18. Rf3 Rae8 19. d4 Qe6 20.

Rg3 f5 21. Qh5 Rf7 22. b3 Nb6 23. Rf1
Nd5 24. Bh6 Ree7 25. Bg5 Re8
:,Morozevich - Piket, Internet 2000

Qxd4+ 15. Kf1- Nc6 16. Rad1

Qxb2 17. Rd7 Qf6 18. Bxc7 Qxf3+ 19. gf
Bb4 20. Re4 Ba5 21. Bd6 Rad8 22.
Bxf7+ Kh8 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. c4Bc3 25. c5 g6 26. Bd5 Na5 27. Re7 b6
28. Rxa7 bc 29. Ra8 Rxa8 30. Bxa8 Nc4
31. Bxc5I 1:0,Balashov - Agzamov,
Moscow 1983

Balashov Y. - Agzamov G. (Moscow (Russia),1983)

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4.

Nc3

Delaying

the

Spassky B. - Najdorf M. (Varna (Bulgaria),1962)

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bishop

development to c4, White decreases the

efficiency of
Black's d6-d5 central
counterblow. 4... Bh4+ 5. Ke2! While
the bishop is standing on f1, the king's
journey to the center looks very unusual,
but White's superiority in the center in
combination with a shaky position of the

4... Nf6 Black is not tempted with the

bishop check at b4, which leaves him
behind in development.
5. d4 d5! 6.
Bd3!
In this particular case White is

h4-bishop justify this approach.

5...
Be7
[5... c6 6. d4 d5 7. Bxf4 Bg4 8. Qd3

prepared for the d7-d5 counterblow.

[6. e5 Ne4 7. Bxf4 (7. Bd3 f5!=) 7... c5
8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7=]

Ne7 9. Kd2 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Ng6 11. Be3

6... de 7. Nxe4 Nxe4 8. Bxe4 Bd6 9. O-O

27

Nd7?!
[9... O-O 10. Ne5 (10. Qd3 h6 11. c4
c5!) 10... Bxe5 11. de Qxd1 12.

[9. Qd3!? 0-0-0]

9... O-O 10. Qd3 Nc6 11. ed cd?! Black
hopes that the d6-pawn will cover an

Rxd1 Nc6 13. Bxf4 Be6]

10. Qd3
[10. c4 c6 11. Bc2 O-O 12. Ne1 Qh4
13. Qf3 g5 14. Qd3 Nf6 15. Nf3 Qh5

important e5-square. Alas, his last move

has weakened another central square,
d5.
[11... Bxd6 12. Ne4 Be7 13. Qxe3]

16. Bd2 Bg4 17. Rae1 Rad8 18. Bc3

Balashov - Rozentalis, Minsk 1983]
10... h6 11. c4! c5 12. b4!
Suddenly
White grabs the initiative on the

12. Rae1 Bg4 13. Rxe3 Kh8 14. Nd5!

Bg5 15. Nxg5 Qxg5 16. Rg3! Qh5 17.
Ne3 Bd7 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Rxf5 Qh4 20.
c3 Qe7 21. Re3 Qd7 22. Ref3 Nd8 23.

queenside. 12... cd
[12... cb 13. c5 Bc7 14. c6 bc 15.
Bxc6 Rb8 16. Re1+I]
13. c5 Be7 14. Bxf4 O-O 15. Nxd4 Nf6

Qe4 g6 24. Qh4! Rg8

[24... gf 25. Qf6+ Kg8 26. Rg3#]
25. Rxf7! 1:0,Spassky - Kholmov,
Moscow 1964

16. Rae1
[16. Rad1!]
16... a5! 17. a3 ab 18. ab Ra4! 19. Qc3
Nxe4 20. Rxe4 Bf6 21. Bd6 Re8 22. Ref4

System with 3... g5

Bxd4+ 23. Qxd4 Be6 24. Be5 Qxd4+ 25.

Rxd4 Ra2 26. Rf2 Ra1+ 27. Rf1
:,Spassky - Najdorf, Varna 1962

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Spassky B. - Kholmov R. (Moscow (Russia),1964)

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System with 3... g5.

3... g5!

A bold move, leading to

An energetic move: at the cost of

hair-raising complications which are the

core of the King's gambit. Let us quote
Botvinnik: "Theory prefers 3...g5, as it
was played long ago, after which
boundless complications arise". 4. Bc4

the c1-bishop's exchange forced by the

black f6-g4-e3 maneuver, White
quickly develops his pieces. 5... Ng4 6.

g4!?
A hazardous continuation.
Pursuing the material gains, Black gives
his opponent a huge development

d4 Ne3 7. Bxe3 fe 8. Bc4 d6 9. O-O

advantage. All in all, in this XIX century's

5. e5

28

tabiya, theory has not answered the

question if White's attack compensates
for his material losses. 5. O-O!
[5. Ne5 Qh4+ 6. Kf1 Nc6 7. Nxf7 Bc5
8. Qe1 g3 9. Nxh8 Bf2 10. Qd1

/(+@7@?0
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Nf6]
5... gf 6. Qxf3 Qf6 7. e5! As soon as
possible White opens up the files in the
center. 7... Qxe5 8. d3
[8. Bxf7+!? Kxf7 9. d4 Qxd4+ 10. Be3
Qf6 11. Bxf4]
8... Bh6 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Bd2 c6?!
[10... O-O 11. Rae1 Qc5+ 12. Kh1

10... Nbc6 11. Rae1 Qf5 12. Nd5 Kd8 13.

Bc3
[13. Qe2 Qe6 14. Qf3 Qf5 15. Qe2
Qe6 16. Qh5 Qg6 17. Qe2 1/2:1/2

Ng6? (12... Nbc6) 13. Ne4 Qc6 14.

Qh5 Kg7 (14... Bg7 15. Ng5 h6 16.
Nxf7 Rxf7 17. Re8+ Bf8 18. Rxf4I)
15. Bc3+ f6 16. Nxf6 Rxf6 17. Re7+!
Kf8 18. Qxh6+ Kxe7 19. Qg7+ Ke8 20.

Minic - V.Sokolov, Yugoslavia (ch)

Zagreb 1961]
13... Re8
[13... Rg8 14. Rxe7 Nxe7 15. Bf6 Re8
16. g4 Qg6 17. Qe2 Bf8 18. g5 d6 19.
Nxf4 Qf5 20. h3 h6 21. Bxf7 hg 22.
Ng6 Qxh3 23. Nxf8 Qg3+ 24. Kh1

Bxf6I]
11. Rae1 Qc5+ 12. Kh1 d5 13. Bxd5!
[13. Qh5 Qd6 14. Bxd5! cd 15. Nxd5
Nbc6 16. Bc3 Bd7 17. Rxe7+ Nxe7 18.

Qh3+= Bilguer;
13... Rf8!? 14. g4 (14. Nxe7 Nxe7 15.
Re5 Qg6 16. Rfe1 Nc6 17. Qe2 Nxe5
18. Qxe5 Bg5 19. Bxf7 d6!) 14...

Re1 Bf8 19. Bb4 Qh6 20. Qe5 Bc6 21.

Bxe7 Bxd5 22. Bf6+ Be6 23. Qb5# 1:0
Zukertort - Anderssen, Breslau 1865]
13... cd 14. Nxd5 Be6 15. Nf6+ Kd8 16.

Qg6 15. h4 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 f6 17. Qe2

Ne5! 18. g5 Bxg5 Panov]
14. Bf6!
[14. Nf6 Rf8 15. g4 Qg6 16. h4 d5

Qxb7 Nec6 17. Rxf4! Bc8 18. Rd4+!

Nxd4
[18... Qxd4 19. Ba5+! Nxa5 20. Qe7#]
19. Ba5+! Qxa5 20. Qe7# 1:0,Zukertort Anderssen, Breslau 1865

(16... d6 17. g5 Bg7 18. Qxf4

Anderssen - Zukertort, Breslau 1865)
17. Bxd5 Bxg4;
14. Qe2 Qe6 15. Qf3 Qf5=]
14... Bg5 15. g4! Qg6 16. Bxg5 Qxg5 17.
h4! Qxh4 18. Qxf4 d6 19. Nf6 Ne5?
[19... Rf8! 20. d4!? Panov (20. Re2
Bf5! 21. gf Qxf6 A.Rabinovic)]

Chigorin M. - Davydov D. (St. Petersburg

(Russia),1874)

20. Rxe5! de 21. Qxe5 Bxg4 22. Qd4+

Kc8 23. Be6+!! Kb8 24. Nd7+ Kc8 25.
Nc5+ Kb8 26. Na6+! ba 27. Qb4#
1:0,Chigorin - Davydov, St. Petersburg
29

1874

/(+47,'0
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Jonkman H. - Godena M. (Cannes (France),1993)

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4... Nc6
Today Black rarely choses
such unclear lines as 4...g4, preferring to
develop his pieces. 5. O-O d6 6. d4
Bg7 7. c3 h6!
Black fortifies his

This game demonstrates modern

methods of defense when a defender is
ready to give back his extra material in

kingside pawn chain which restricts the

opponent's pieces and can serve as a
base for a future counterattack. 8. g3!

order to repel an enemy attack.

A typical thrust, undermining the black

pawn chain. 8... g4
[8... Bh3!? 9. gf Bxf1 10. Qxf1 gf 11.
Bxf4 Qf6 12. Bg3 O-O-O 13. Nbd2

11... Qc5+ 12. Kh1 Nd4!

[12... Kd8 13. Bxf4 Nd4 14. Qf2 Bxf4
15. Qxf4 Ne6 16. Qf6 Re8 17. Nd5
Maroczy - Tartakower,1920;
12... O-O 13. Bxf4 Bg7 14. Be3

Nge7 14. Qh3+ Kb8 15. Rf1

Spielmann - Gruenfeld, Karlsbad
1923]
9. Nh4 f3 10. Nd2 Bf6 11. Ndxf3!? This

Qa5!]
13. Qh3 d5! 14. Qxh6 Be6! 0-0-0
[14... dc 15. Qf6 Rg8 16. Nd5! Be6 17.
Bb4!I]

piece sacrifice, which destroys the black

pawn phalanx and opens files for an
attack, is White's standard device in this
line. 11... gf 12. Qxf3 Rh7?!

15. b4 Qc6 16. b5 Qc5 17. Na4 Qa3 18.

Bb3 f3! 19. Qf6 Rg8 20. g3 Nxb5 21.
Rxf3 O-O-O 22. Bg5 Rde8 23. Rfe3 Rg6
24. Qf4 Qd6 25. Re5 Nc6 26. R5e3 Qxf4
27. Bxf4 b6! 0:1,Jonkman - Godena,

[12... Bh3 13. Rf2 Qd7 14. e5 de 15.

de Nxe5 16. Qxb7 Rd8 17. Rd2 Qg4
18. Rxd8+ Bxd8 19. Bb5+ Nd7 20. Nf3
Ngf6 Gruenfeld]
13. Ng6! Rg7 14. Nf4 Bg4 15. Qg2

Cannes 1993

Bg5 16. h3 Bd7

[16... Bxf4 17. Bxf4 (17. gf? Qh4!)
17... Bd7 18. Rae1]

Spielmann R. - Gruenfeld E. (Teplits/Shoenau

(Germany),1922)

17. Nh5 Rh7 18. e5! de 19. Qe4 f5 20.

Rxf5! Bxf5 21. Qxf5 Re7
[21... Qd7 22. Be6]
22. Bxg5 hg 23. Rf1! Qd6
30

[23... Nh6 24. Nf6+ Kf8 25. Qxg5I]

24. Bxg8 ed 25. Qf8+ Kd7 26. Qxa8 Qc5
27. Nf6+ Kd6 28. Qf8 Qe5 29. Kg2 d3 30.

Rf5 Bxf5 18. Qxf5 Qxf5 19. ef Rd1+

[19... e4! 20. Nd2 Bg5 21. Nb3 Rd7]
20. Kf2 Ne7 21. Bg5! Rd6 22. Bxf6 Rxf6

Rf2 Qe1 31. Qh6 1:0,Spielmann Gruenfeld, Teplits/Shoenau 1922

23. g4 h5 24. h3 hg 25. hg Nxf5! 26. gf

Rxf5 27. Re1 Rh3 28. Bd5 c6 29. Be4 Rf4
30. Kg2 Rh5 31. Bc2 Rg4+ 32. Kf2 f6
:,Spassky - Ornstein, Nice 1974

Spassky B. - Ornstein A. (Nice (France),1974)

Bronstein D. - Dubinin P. (Leningrad (Russia),1947)

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10. Nd2

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Preparing a piece sacrifice on

f3, which will destroy Black's kingside

pawn chain.
[10. Qb3 Qd7! 11. Nd2 Na5 12. Qc2
Nxc4 13. Nxc4 Ne7 14. Ne3 Qc6

4. h4!
Before Black has fortified his
pawn chain with h7-h6, White is
undermining it.
4... g4 5. Ne5!
The

Kaplan - Karpov,1969;
10. Bf4!? Bf6 11. Nd2 Bxh4 12. gh
Qxh4 13. e5 Keres]
10... Bf6
[10... Nf6!? 11. Nf5 Bxf5 12. ef O-O
13. Bd3 d5 14. h3 h5 15. hg hg 16.

active e5-knigt creates numerous

threats. 5... h5?! This natural move
leaves Black behind in development. 6.
Bc4 Rh7 7. d4 Bh6
[7... d6 8. Bxf7+ Rxf7 9. Nxf7 Kxf7 10.
Bxf4]

Nxf3 gf 17. Qxf3 Ne4! 18. Bxe4 de 19.

Qxe4 Nxd4! 20. f6! (20. cd Qxd4+ 21.

8. Nc3 Nc6 9. Nxf7! Rxf7 10. Bxf7+ Kxf7

11. Bxf4! Bxf4 12. O-O Qxh4 13.

Qxd4 Bxd4+) 20... Bxf6 21. Qg4+

Bg7 22. Bh6 Ne6 23. Rae1 Qd7 24.
Bxg7 f5 25. Qc4=]
11. Ndxf3
[11. Qb3!? Bxh4 12. Bxf7+ Kf8 13.

Rxf4+ Kg7 14. Qd2 d6 15. Raf1 Nd8 16.

Nd5 Bd7 17. e5! de 18. de Bc6 19. e6!
Bxd5 20. Rf7+! Nxf7 21. Rxf7+ Kh8 22.
Qc3+ Nf6 23. Rxf6 Qxf6 24. Qxf6+ Kh7
25. Qf5+ 1:0,Bronstein - Dubinin,

Bh5! Qe7 14. Nxf3! gf 15. gh

Glazkov]
11... gf 12. Qxf3 Bh3! 13. Qh5 Qd7 14.

Leningrad 1947

Rf4 O-O-O 15. Nf3 Ne5! 16. de de 17.

Byrne R. - Keres P. (Moscow (Russia),1955)

31

Bb6+ 45. Kd2 f6 46. Bd6 Ba5 47. Bf4

Be4 48. Bd6 Bd3 49. Bf4 Bb4 50. Be3 h4
51. gh g3 52. h5 g2 53. h6 f5 54. Bf2 f4

/(+47,'0
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55. Bg1 Ba5 56. Bh2 Bb6 57. h7 Bxh7

58. Ke2 g1Q 59. Bxg1 Bxg1 60. Nd5 Bd4
61. Nxf4 c3 62. Nd3 Bxd3+ 63. Kxd3 Kb6
64. Kc2 Ka5 65. Kb3 Be5 66. Kc2 Kxa4
0:1,Byrne - Keres, Moscow 1955

5... Nf6! Quick mobilization is the main

law in open positions. Developing his

Spassky B. - Fischer R. (Mar del Plata

bishop, Black prepares to meet 4

with the thematic d7-d5 counterblow.
6. Bc4 d5! 7. ed Bg7
[From g7 the bishop will defend the

(Argentina),1960)

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black kingside and keep pressure

along the long diagonal; another
possible continuation is 7... Bd6 8. d4
(8. O-O!? Bxe5 9. Re1 Qe7 10. c3!)
8... Nh5]
8. d4 Nh5 9. O-O Qxh4 10. Qe1 Qxe1 11.
Rxe1 O-O 12. Nc3 Nd7

6. d4

[12... c5!? 13. dc5 Nd7 Keres]

13. Nb5 c6 14. Nc7?!
[14. dc Nxe5 15. cb Bxb7 16. de Rac8
17. Nd6 Rc5]
14... cd! 15. Nxa8?!
[15. Bxd5! Rb8 16. c3 Nxe5 17. de

development to c4, but now his knight is

chased away from e5. 6... d6 7. Nd3
Nxe4 8. Bxf4 Black is a pawn up, but
his kingside is weakened; in particular,
White possesses the f4-square.
8...
Bg7 9. Nc3

Kh8 18. Bd2 Bf5 19. c4 b4-d6]

15... dc- 16. Bd2 Nxe5 17. de Bf5

[9. c3! O-O 10. Nd2 Re8 11. Nxe4

Rxe4+ 12. Kf2 Qf6 13. g3 Bh6 14.

18. Nc7 Bxc2 19. Rac1 Bd3 20. Nd5 b5

21. Bxf4 Rd8 22. Ne7+ Kf8 23. Bg5 Re8
24. Nc6 Ng3 25. Rcd1 Re6 26. Nxa7
Bxe5 27. Nxb5 Ne2+ 28. Rxe2 Bxe2 29.
Rd8+ Re8 30. Rxe8+ Kxe8 31. Kf2 Bd3

Qd2 g2 (14. Bg2? Rxf4+! 15. gf

Bxf4)]
9... Nxc3 10. bc c5 11. Be2 cd 12. O-O
Nc6
[12... Qxh4 13. g3!;

32. Nc3 Kd7 33. Ke3 Bh2 34. Bf4 Bg1+

35. Kd2 h5 36. g3 Bf2 37. Nd1 Bd4 38.
Nc3 Kc6 39. b4 Bf6 40. b5+ Kb7 41. a4

12... dc 13. Bxg4 Bd4+ 14. Nf2;

12... h5 13. Bg5! f6 14. Bd2 f5 15.
Bg5 Bf6 16. Nf4!]

Bd8 42. Nd5 Be4 43. Nc3 Bf3 44. Ke3

White abstains from the bishop's

13. Bxg4 O-O 14. Bxc8 Rxc8 15. Qg4 f5

32

[15... Kh8! Fischer]

16. Qg3 dc 17. Rae1 Kh8
[17... Qd7 18. Bxd6 Rfe8]

transition to a slightly better endgame is

one of White's favorite weapons! 13...
Bg7 14. Rhf1 Ne7 15. Rae1 h5 16. Bd1!

18. Kh1 Rg8 19. Bxd6 Bf8 20. Be5+!

Nxe5 21. Qxe5+ Rg7 22. Rxf5 Qxh4+ 23.
Kg1 Qg4 24. Rf2 Be7 25. Re4! Qg5
26. Qd4 Rf8 27. Re5! Rd8 28. Qe4 Qh4

Kd7 17. Bb3 Raf8 18. Bg5! f6 19.

Bf4(xe6) Bg6 20. Be6+ Kd8 21. d5 Bf7
22. c4 Ng6 23. g3 Bxe6 24. Rxe6 Ne5 25.
Bxe5 fe 26. Rxf8+ Bxf8 27. Nf2 Be7 28.

29. Rf4! 1:0,Spassky - Fischer, Mar del

Plata 1960

Ne4(xe7) Ke8 29. b4 Kd7 30. Rg6 c6

31. Rg7 Rf8 32. Rh7 cd 33. cd Rf5 34. a4
a6 35. b5 ab 36. ab Kd8 37. b6 Kd7 38.
Ke2 Rf3 39. Rxh5 Rb3 40. Rh7 Rxb6 41.

Hellers F. - Ernst T. (Uppsala (Sweden),1985)

Nf6+ Kd8 42. Nxg4 Rb2+ 43. Kf3 b5 44.

h5 Rb3+ 45. Kg2 Rb2+ 46. Kh3 Rb1 47.
h6 Bf8 48. Rh8 Ke7 49. h7 Bg7 50. Rg8
Rh1+ 51. Nh2 Kf7 52. h8Q Bxh8 53.

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Rxh8 Rd1 54. Rb8 Rxd5 55. Kg4I

1:0,Hellers - Ernst, Uppsala 1985

Short N. - Shirov A. (Las Vegas (USA),1999)

8... Qe7 9. Qe2

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[9. Be2!? Nc6 10. c3 Bg7 11. Nd2 Bf5

12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. O-O Qxh4 14. Bxg4
O-O 15. Nf2 Bg6 16. Qd2 Qd8 17. Bg5
f6 18. Bh4 Gallagher - Marciano,
France (ch) 2000]
9... Bf5
[9... Bg7 10. c3 h5 11. Nd2 Nxd2 12.
Kxd2 Qxe2+ 13. Bxe2 Bf5 14.

5... d6

Black does not wait until White

Rhf1 Nd7 15. Nb4 Nf6 16. Bb5+ Bd7

17. Rae1+ Kd8 18. Bg5 1:0 Stolz Saemisch, Swinemunde 1932]
10. Nd2 Nc6 11. c3 Nxd2 12. Kxd2
Qxe2+ 13. Bxe2
In the endgame

will play d2-d4, obtaining an opportunity

to meet d7-d6 with 5-d3xf4. Instead,
he attacks the knight right away, forcing
White to capture on g4, which will lead to
a position with mutual weaknesses on

White has a perfect compensation for a

pawn thanks to his pressure along the eand f-files. We have seen many times

the kingside.
6. Nxg4 Nf6 7. Nxf6+
Qxf6 8. Nc3 Nc6
[8... c6 9. Be2! (9. Qf3 Rg8 10. Qf2

that in the sharp

King's gambit,

Bg4 11. d3 Bh6 12. Ne2 Nd7 13. Nxf4

33

O-O-O 14. g3 Qe5 15. Bg2 f5 Nunn

- Timman, Amsterdam 1995) 9... Rg8
10. Bf3 Bh6 11. d4]

Rxe1]
10... Bg4!
[10... Nxe4? 11. Nd5 Qd8 12. Qe2 f5

9. Bb5!
[9. Nd5 Qg6 10. d3 Qg3+ 11. Kd2
Be6! 12. Nxc7+ Kd7 13. Nxe6 1/2:1/2
Barle - Pavasovic, Ljubljana 1997]

13. Qh5+I;
10... Nc6 11. Bxf4]
11. Be2 Bxe2 12. Qxe2 Nc6 13. Bxf4?
[13. Nxf4 Nxd4 14. Qd3( fd5) Bxf4

9... a6 10. Bxc6+ bc 11. Qf3 Rg8 12. d3

Bh6 13. Qf2 Rb8! 14. Ne2 Rxb2! 15.
Bxb2 Qxb2 16. O-O Qxc2 17. Rac1
Qxa2 18. Nd4 Qxf2+ 19. Kxf2 f3 20. Rxc6

15. Bxf4 Nc6 16. O-O]

13... Nxd4 14. Qf2 Nxe4! 15. Nxe4
Qxe4+ 16. Kd1 O-O-O! 17. Bxh6 Rxg2
18. Qf1 Nxc2 19. Rc1 Qg4+ 0:1,Planinec

fg 21. Rg1 Kd8 22. Nf5 Bxf5 23. ef Rg4

24. Rc4 Rxc4 25. dc Ke7 26. Kf3 Kf6 27.
Kg4 Bd2 28. Rxg2 Bb4 29. Kf4 a5 30.
Rg8 a4 31. Rc8 d5 32. cd h5 33. Ke4 Bd6

- Korchnoi, Moscow 1975

Fedorov A. - Timoshenko G. (Romania,1998)

34. Ra8 a3 35. Re8 Be5 36. Ra8 Bd6

:,Short - Shirov, Las Vegas 1999

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Planinec A. - Korchnoi V. (Moscow (Russia),1975)

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13. e5! With this bold move White grabs

the initiative. 13... de
[13... Nxd4? 14. efI]
14. de Ng4 15. Nd5! Qd7 16. Nf6+ Nxf6

White avoids simplifications,

17. ef+ Kf8 18. O-O! It turns out that the

white king is in more safety than its black

hoping that Black will hardly be able to

protect the
f4-pawn because the
f6-square is inaccessible for the black
queen. 7... Rg8 8. d4 Bh6 9. Nc3 Qe7
10. Nd3!

counterpart. 18... Rg4 19. Nxf4 Kg8 20.

Ne6! Rxh4
[20... Qxe6 21. Qxe6 fe 22. Bxh6I]
21. Qf2 Rg4 22. Nc5! Qd5 23. Bxh6 Qh5
24. Qe3I 1:0,Fedorov - Timoshenko,

7. Nf2!?

[10. Bc4?! Nc6! (10... Rxg2 11. Bxf4!

Bxf4 12. Qf3) 11. O-O Ng4 12.
Nxg4 Bxg4 13. Qe1 Nxd4 14. Nd5 Bf3!

Romania 1998

15. Nxe7 Rxg2+ 16. Kh1 Re2+ 17. Kg1

Planinec A. - Gligoric S. (Ljubljana/Portoroz

34

7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Nge2

[8. Bb5 a6]

(Slovenia),1977)

8... f3! 9. Nf4!

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[9. gf gf 10. Nf4 Bg4]

9... f2+!!
[9... fg 10. Bxg2]
10. Kxf2 g3+!! 11. Kxg3 Nf6(xg3)
12. Be2 Rg8+ 13. Kf2 Ng4+ 14. Bxg4
Bxg4 15. Qd3 Bg7! 16. Be3 Qd7 17.
Nce2 O-O-O 18. Ng3 f5! 19. Nxf5 Rdf8
20. Nxg7 Qxg7 21. Ke1

3... d6!? Robert Fischer considered this

move to be the best objection to the

[21. g3 Bh5! 22. Rhg1 Qg4!]

21... Nb4! 22. Qc3 Qe7! 23. Qxb4 Rxf4!
[23... Qxe4 24. Qb3! xg8]
24. Kd2
[24. e5 Re4 25. Kd2 Bh5 26. Rag1

King's gambit. The idea is to deprive the

white knight of the e5-square, which is
revealed in the following line:
[3... g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5!]
4. d4
[After 4. Bc4 h6 5. d4 g5 6. O-O Bg7
7. c3 Nc6 the game transposes to a

Rg3]
24... Qxe4 25. Rag1
[ 25. Rhg1]

favorable for Black line that was

examined earlier.]
4... g5 5. h4! g4 6. Ng1!
[6. Ng5?! f6! (6... h6 7. Nxf7) 7. Nh3

25... Bf5 26. Qb3 Rg3 27. Rh2 Rf2+! [...]

0:1,Planinec
Gligoric,
Ljubljana/Portoroz 1977
[28. Bxf2 Rxb3 29. ab Qxc2+ 30. Ke3

gh 8. Qh5+ Kd7]
6... Bh6!
[6... Qf6 7. Nc3 Ne7 8. Nge2 Bh6 9.
Qd2! Bd7 10. g3 Nbc6 11. gf O-O-O
12. Bg2 Qg7 13. d5 Ne5 14. Qe3 Kb8
15. Qf2 Planinec - Portisch,

Qd3+ 31. Kf4 Qe4+ 32. Kg5 Qg4+ 33.

Kf6 Qg6+ 34. Ke7 Qg7+ 35. Ke8
Bg6#]

Ljubljana 1973;
6... f5 7. Nc3 Nf6 8. Bxf4 fe 9. d5!
A.Fedorov - I.Ibragimov, Katrineholm
1999;

Short N. - Akopian V. (Madrid (Spain),1997)

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6... Nf6 7. Bxf4 Nxe4 8. Bd3 f5 9. Ne2

Bg7 10. Bxe4 fe 11. Bg5 Bf6 12. Nbc3
Bxg5 13. hg Qxg5 14. Nxe4 Qe3 15.
Nf6+ Kd8 16. Qd2 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2
Nc6 18. Raf1 Hebden - Psakhis,
Moscow 1986]
7. Ne2!
35

With this move permutation

White forces Black to develop his queen

to f6. 7... Qf6
[7... f3 8. Ng3! Bxc1 9. Qxc1 f2+ 10.
Ke2 Qf6 11. c3 b6 12. Qg5 Ba6+ 13.
Ke3 h5 14. Qxf6 Nxf6 15. Bxa6 Nxa6
16. Rf1 Barle - Piber, Ljubljana
1999]
8. Nbc3 c6 9. g3! A standard thrust that
undermines the black kingside pawn
chain. 9... fg
[9... f3 10. Nf4 Qe7 11. Kf2 Nd7 12.
Bc4 b5 13. Bxb5! Bxf4 14. Bxf4 cb 15.
Nxb5 Day - Morovic, Buenos
Aires (ol) 1978]
10. Nxg3 Bxc1 11. Rxc1 Qh6
[11... Qf4!? 12. Nce2 Qe3 13. c4 Ne7
14. Rc3 Qh6 15. Bg2 O-O 16. O-O
Ng6 17. Rf6 Qxh4 18. Rxd6 c5
A.Fedorov - Pinter, Pula (European
team ch) 1997]
12. Bd3
[12. Bg2 Ne7 13. Qd2 Qxd2+ 14. Kxd2
Nd7 15. Rcf1 Nb6 16. b3 Be6 17.
Nce2 d5! 18. e5 O-O-O 19. h5 Rdg8
20. Nf4 Rg5= A.Fedorov - Kharitonov,
Moscow 1995]
12... Qe3+ 13. Nce2 Ne7 14. Qd2 Qxd2+
15. Kxd2 d5 16. Rce1 Be6 17. Nf4
O-O 18. ed Nxd5 19. Nxe6 fe 20. Rxe6
Nd7 21. Nf5 Kh8 22. Rf1 Rae8 23. Rxe8
Rxe8 24. c4 N5f6 25. Ng3 c5 26. d5 Kg7
27. Nf5+ Kh8 28. Nd6 Rf8 29. Re1 g3 30.
Bf5 Nb6 31. b3 Ne8 32. Nxb7 Ng7 33.
Bh3 Rf4 34. Nxc5 Rxh4 35. Bg2 Rh2 36.
Re2 Nf5 37. Be4 Nd6 38. Bf3 Rh6 39.
Ne6 Rf6 40. Bg2 Nd7 41. c5 Nf7 42. d6
Nfe5 43. Bd5 Rf5 44. c6 Nb6 45. Bg2 Rf2
46. Rxf2 gf 47. Ke2 1:0,Short - Akopian,
Madrid 1997
36

King's Gambit Declined

Alapin S. - Janowski D. (Prague (Czech

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Republic),1908) [30]

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King's Gambit Declined.

2... Bc5

A reliable continuation which

leads to solid positional struggle.

Rejecting the pawn offer, Black intends
3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4
to fortify his center.
Nf6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. d3 Nbd7 7. f5!
A
typical plan: White seizes space and

Conquest S. - Smejkal J. (Deutschland,1996) [40]

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prepares a kingside pawn advance. 7...

c6 8. a3 b5
[8... d5!?]
9. Ba2 a5 10. Qe2 Qb6 11. Ng5 a4 12.
Nd1 d5 13. c3 Ba6 14. Qf3 de?
(xa2-g8)
[14... Rad8]
15. de Rad8 16. g4! Qc7 17. Nxf7! Rxf7
18. g5 Nd5 19. ed Nb6 20. d6 Qxd6 21.
g6!

Tartakower S. - Schlechter C. (St. Petersburg

(Russia),1909) [60]

[21. Qh5 Qxd1+! 22. Qxd1 Rxd1+ 23.

Kxd1 Nd5]
21... hg 22. Bxf7+ Kxf7 23. fg+ Kxg6 24.
Be3! Bxe3 25. Nxe3 Qd2+ 26. Kf1 b4+
27. Kg1 Be2 28. Qf5+ Kh6 29. Qh3+ Kg6
30. Qf5+ Kh6 31. Qxe5 Rd7 32. h4 Qxb2

/(+4/@7@
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33. Re1 Bd3 34. Ng4+ Kg6 35. Qg5+ [...]

1:0,Rubinstein - Marco, Hague 1921
[35... Kf7 36. Ne5+A;
35... Kh7 36. Qh5+ Kg8 37. Re8#]
1

2... d5 3. ed e4!?
Declining White's
pawn offer, Black sacrifices a pawn in
response with the idea of advancing his

Rubinstein A. - Marco G. (Hague

(Netherlands),1921) [70]

pawn to e4, which will hamper

opponent's kingside development.
4.
Bb5+ c6 5. dc Nxc6 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Qe2
Bc5!
Rapid piece development is the

?@?0?07@
@?@'@#$#
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@#,?$!&?
#@?@!@?@
"?"?@1@?
)"?@?@!"
.?*%6?@-

main slogan in open positions, therefore

Black sacrifices the second pawn. 8.
Nxe4 O-O 9. Bxc6 bc 10. d3 Re8
11. Bd2 Nxe4 12. de Bf5! 13. e5 Qb6 14.
O-O-O Bd4! 15. c3 Rab8 16. b3 Red8!
17. Nf3
[17. cd Qxd4 1]
17... Qxb3!! 18. ab Rxb3 19. Be1 Be3+!
0:1,Rosanes
20.
Qxe3
Rb1#

Fedorov A. - Giorgadze G. (Krasnodar,1997) [70]

Anderssen, Breslau 1863

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Alekhin A. - Tarrasch S. (St. Petersburg

(Russia),1914) [40]

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Falkbeer Counterattack

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Khohlov I. - Simon (corr.,1985) [40]

Falkbeer Counterattack.

/(?@?@?0
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Variation with 2... d5 3. ed ef.

3... ef
counterattack,

Spielmann R. - Tarrasch S. (Ostrava (Czech

Republic),1923) [60]

Unlike the Falkbeer

Black
immediately

regains a pawn, striving for quick piece

development. 4. Nf3 Bd6 Black holds
the f4-pawn which restricts White's

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activity on the kingside. On the other

hand, the survived pawn on d5 secures
White a spatial advantage in the center.
5. Nc3 Ne7
[5... Nf6 6. Bc4 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8.
d4 Nb6 9. Bb3 Bg4 10. Qd3 5]
6. d4 O-O 7. Bd3 Nd7 8. O-O h6?!
[8... Nf6! 9. Ne5 Nexd5 10. Nxd5
Nxd5 11. Qh5 g6 12. Qh6 Qf6=
Spassky]
9. Ne4 Nxd5 10. c4 Ne3 11. Bxe3 fe 12.
c5! Be7 13. Bc2!b1-h7 Re8 14.

Kadrev Z. - Popov V. (Bulgaria (ch),1959) [80]

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Qd3 e2 15. Nd6!! Nf8 16. Nxf7! efQ+ 17.

Rxf1 Bf5 18. Qxf5 Qd7 19. Qf4 Bf6 20.
N3e5 Qe7 21. Bb3 Bxe5 22. Nxe5+ Kh7
23. Qe4+ 1:0,Spassky - Bronstein,
Leningrad 1960

Tartakower S. - Capablanca J. (New York

(USA),1924) [50]
Variation with 2... d5 3. ed ef

enough: Black supports his advanced

f4-pawn, slowing
down White's
kingside initiative.]

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4. e5 Nh5 5. d4 d5?! Fixing the center,

Black gives his opponent all chances for
a kingside attack
thanks to the
advanced e5-pawn. 6. Be2 g5!?
[6... Bg4 7. O-O Nc6 8. c3 g6 9. Ne1
Bxe2 10. Qxe2 Qe7 11. Qb5!? O-O-O
12. Nd3 Keres]
7. Nxg5 Qxg5 8. Bxh5 Qh4+

Bronstein D. - Zaitsev I. (USSR,1969) [60]

[8... Qxg2 9. Qf3 Qxf3 10. Bxf3 c6 11.

Bxf4]
9. Kf1 Be6 10. Bf3 Nc6 11. Nc3 O-O-O
12. Ne2 Bh6 13. g3! Qe7 14. Bxf4 Bxf4

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15. Nxf4 Qb4 16. c3 Qxb2 17. Qc1!

Qxc1+ 18. Rxc1 Ne7 19. Ke2 c6 20.
Rhf1 Rdg8 21. Nxe6! fe 22. Bh5! Nf5 23.
Bf7 Kd7 24. Bxg8 Rxg8 25. Rf4A
1:0,Byrne - Guimard, New York 1951

Spielmann R. - Bogoljubow E. (Carlsbad (Czech

Variation with 3...f6 4.e5 h5

Republic),1923) [20]

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Variation with 3.. f6 4. e5 h5.

3... Nf6
[In contrast to the variation with 3... d5
4. ed Nf6 , the black knight is moved
to a shaky position on the edge. The

Spielmann R. - Reti R. (,1912) [70]

price for this decentralization is high

4

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Variation with 3... e7.

3... Be7 An ancient move. Black does
not give the opponent a target for

Filipowicz A. - Gabrys Z. (Poland,1960) [70]

immediate activity as it is in the variation

with 3...f6; he also intends to deprive
the white king of castling after the
bishop check on h4. 4. Bc4 Bh4+ 5. Kf1
Rather often in the King's gambit White
neglects castling because his king is in
safety in the center thanks to White's

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superiority here. Furthermore, the black

bishop's position at h4 is very shaky;
hence, later on Black will have to spent
time due to this circumstance. 5... d5!

Morozevich A. - Anand V. (Moscow (Russia),1995)

[80]

[5... d6 6. d4 Be7 7. Bxf4 Nf6 8. Nbd2

c6 9. Bd3]
6. ed!?
[6. Bxd5 Nf6 7. Nc3 Nxd5 8. Nxd5 f5

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9. Nxh4 Qxh4 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxa8

fe 12. Qe1 Qh5]
6... Bg4 7. d4 Ne7 8. Nc3 Ng6 9. Qe2+
Be7
[9... Qe7
10. Qxe7+ Bxe7 11.
Ne5]
10. h4! h5 11. Qe4! Nd7? 12. d6! cd 13.
Ng5 1:0,Fedorov - Nielsen, Mariehamn
1997

Variation with 3... e7

Illescas C. - Fernandez G. (Las Palmas,1987) [20]

5

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System with 3... g5.

3... g5!
A bold move, leading to
hair-raising complications which are the

Riemersma L. - Sokolov I. (Nederland,1995) [40]

core of the King's gambit. Let us quote

Botvinnik: "Theory prefers 3...g5, as it
was played long ago, after which
boundless complications arise". 4. Bc4
g4!?
A hazardous continuation.
Pursuing the material gains, Black gives
his opponent a huge development

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advantage. All in all, in this XIX century's

tabiya, theory has not answered the
question if White's attack compensates
for his material losses. 5. O-O!
[5. Ne5 Qh4+ 6. Kf1 Nc6 7. Nxf7 Bc5
8. Qe1 g3 9. Nxh8 Bf2 10. Qd1
Nf6]
5... gf 6. Qxf3 Qf6 7. e5! As soon as

Filipowicz A. - Tarnowski A. (Poland,1962) [90]

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possible White opens up the files in the

center. 7... Qxe5 8. d3
[8. Bxf7+!? Kxf7 9. d4 Qxd4+ 10. Be3
Qf6 11. Bxf4]
8... Bh6 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Bd2 c6?!
[10... O-O 11. Rae1 Qc5+ 12. Kh1
Ng6? (12... Nbc6) 13. Ne4 Qc6 14.
Qh5 Kg7 (14... Bg7 15. Ng5 h6 16.
Nxf7 Rxf7 17. Re8+ Bf8 18. Rxf4A)
15. Bc3+ f6 16. Nxf6 Rxf6 17. Re7+!
Kf8 18. Qxh6+ Kxe7 19. Qg7+ Ke8 20.
Bxf6A]

System with 3... g5

11. Rae1 Qc5+ 12. Kh1 d5 13. Bxd5!

[13. Qh5 Qd6 14. Bxd5! cd 15. Nxd5
Nbc6 16. Bc3 Bd7 17. Rxe7+ Nxe7 18.

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Re1 Bf8 19. Bb4 Qh6 20. Qe5 Bc6 21.

Bxe7 Bxd5 22. Bf6+ Be6 23. Qb5# 1:0
Zukertort - Anderssen, Breslau 1865]
13... cd 14. Nxd5 Be6 15. Nf6+ Kd8 16.
Qxb7 Nec6 17. Rxf4! Bc8 18. Rd4+!
Nxd4
[18... Qxd4 19. Ba5+! Nxa5 20. Qe7#]
19. Ba5+! Qxa5 20. Qe7# 1:0,Zukertort Anderssen, Breslau 1865

Chigorin M. - Rivier A. (Paris (France),1883) [30]

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Kieseritzky L. - Calvi I. (,1847) [20]

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Petrovic V. - Vujosevic V. (Jugoslavija,1995) [40]

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Staunton H. - NN (,1850) [30]

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Fedorov A. - Notkin M. (Sankt-Peterburg,1996) [40]

MacDonnell G. - Bird H. (,1875) [30]

7

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Chigorin M. - NN (St. Petersburg (Russia),1876)

[50]

Chigorin M. - Zibin I. (St. Petersburg (Russia),1902)

[70]

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Bronstein D. - Dubinin P. (,1947) [70]

Smirnov - Tikhonov (USSR,1954) [70]

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Rosanes J. - Anderssen A. (,1863) [70]

Matsuura E. - van Riemsdijk H. (Brasil (ch),1995)

[90]

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