John Coriell Tries Tricky Latvian Gambit 3.exf5

Tricky openings are a double-edged sword. For about 10 years from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, I played many sharp gambits to trick or swindle people. Usually it worked like a charm. My rating generally went up as I won more than I lost. When playing White, my choice of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit was particularly effective. I defeated many class A players, experts and some masters. However as Black, playing risky chess can lead to the occasional ugly loss, especially if one does not play it accurately. The secret is to learn lessons from losses that become wins later in life.

In the Latvian Gambit Black usually has the option of playing ...f5xe4 fairly soon. That was prevented by John G. Coriell when he chose 3.exf5 in our game from the 10th US Correspondence Chess Championship in 1990. Unfortunately for me, I foolishly experimented with the 5...d5? line. Back then it seemed like just another playable option. Nowadays we know that it is not good. Black must play 5...Be7 or the standard 5...d6. This was another example of me losing a game a Latvian Gambit due to my poor play.

Coriell (1910) - Sawyer (2065), corr USCCC 10P05, 27.11.1990 begins 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Ne5 Nf6 5.Be2 d5? [The main line is 5...d6 6.Bh5+ Ke7 7.Nf7 Qe8+/-; but Black might do better with 5...Be7 6.Bh5+ Kf8+/=] 6.Bh5+ Ke7 7.Nf7 [7.d3!+-] 7...Qe8 8.Nc3 c6 [8...g6 9.Nxh8 gxh5 10.d3+-] 9.Nxh8 [9.d3!+-] 9...Qxh5 10.Qxh5 Nxh5 11.g4 Nf6 12.Rg1 Nbd7 13.f4 exf3? 14.d4 Ne4? 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Kf2 Kf6 17.Bf4?! [Correct is 17.Re1!+-] 17...c5? [Black might wiggle out with 17...g6! 18.Rae1 Kg7 19.fxg6 hxg6 20.Rxe4 Kxh8 21.Kxf3+/= and Black has a bishop and a knight for a rook and two pawns.] 18.Rae1 Nb6? 19.Be5+ 1-0

Copyright 2013 Tim Sawyer. Click here for my HOME PAGE. sawyerte@yahoo.com

Anthony Strumidlowski Braves BDG Bogoljubow

For four years before my Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Keybook was published, I played the BDG at almost every opportunity. One such game came vs Anthony Strumidlowski in 10th United States Correspondence Chess Championship in 1990. As I recall, you had to have a postal rating over 2000 to enter. All the players were pretty good, but only a few were of the top master quality such as Robin Smith, about whom I wrote earlier.

Anthony Strumidlowski and I contested a critical BDG Bogoljubow line known as the Studier Attack with 8.Qe1. Historically it has given me many beautiful White wins and draws vs computer chess engines. From a practical standpoint, it is very promising in the hands of experienced BDGers and in faster times controls. The BDG is a great blitz opening for a rating of 2000. However, computers rated 3000 analyzing deeply to the 30th move and beyond find only a half pawn compensation for White in the Studier Attack. If your opponents are grandmasters and if you do not play blitz, you need a different line vs the Bogoljubow. I analyzed other Studier games scheduled to appear throughout 2014.

After my 16th move, Black wrote to me that he was withdrawing from the event because "I simply cannot afford those $2.00 repeat moves!" Hey, I can't blame him. For those of us in the USA, the cost of the ICCF required registered mail was a real pain. In Europe, it was only a small addition to the cost of a postcard, but in America, it is maybe ten times the cost of regular mail. So, it was an easy win for me. In the USCF quirky correspondence rating system, I gained three rating points and he did not lose any points. Not to worry, many many times I got zero points in the USCF postal chess for a long and hard fought rated win, an unfair practice by the USCF in my opinion.

Sawyer (2169) - Strumidlowski (2180), corr USCCC 10P05, 20.07.1990 begins 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Qe1 Bg4 9.Qh4 Nc6 10.Be3 Bxf3 11.Rxf3 e5 12.d5 [In my original BDG Keybook I wrote that maybe White can play 12.Bg5 but later it became obvious that 12...Qxd4+! forces a queen swap. 13.Qxd4 exd4 14.Bxf6 Bxf6-/+ and Black is much better.] 12...Nd4 [12...Nb4? 13.Bg5+- Schiller] 13.Bxd4 exd4 14.Qxd4 Nd7 [14...Ne8=/+ Many moons ago this position was considered to lead to equal chances by Brinckmann and by Euwe. However after the White queen moves, Black's game should be more comfortable with the blockade 15...Nd6; another good idea is 14...c6=/+ Houdini, Rybka, Stockfish] 15.Qf4 Ne5 16.Rf2 [Mednis evaluated this position as equal about 50 years ago. Houdini believes Black is better with the bold attacking continuation 16...g5! 17.Qe4 f5!-/+. White could try 16.Rh3 Qd6=/+] 1-0

Copyright 2014 Tim Sawyer. Click here for my HOME PAGE. sawyerte@yahoo.com