Sunday, December 31, 2023

10 Favorite Chess Posts of 2023

Happy New Year, 2024! I posted 52 times in 2023. For 2024, I plan blog posts once a month with more detail on the first Sunday. I enjoy this blog, but most of my attention and effort must go into my books. I sell thousands of books yearly, while only a few people read this free blog. I plan to continue on a regular but slower schedule this year to spend more time writing new books. I feel truly blessed because of the many people who buy my books. Thank you! You help me pay my bills.

Here are my Top 10 Favorite Chess Blog posts for 2023. They tend to be the most popular. I wrote 52 chess posts in 2023. Thank you for reading my blog and buying my books. Enjoy!

See my book: CHESS SAMPLER: Excerpts from 100 of My Chess Books


1. Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Irons
Published January 29, 2023

2. Herrstrom Gambit Lev Zilbermintz
Published February 5, 2023

3. London Morris Countergambit
Published March 5, 2023

4. Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Arslanov
Published October 8, 2023

5. Blackmar-Diemer Pawn Returned
Published February 26, 2023
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Sunday, October 8, 2023

Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Arslanov

Shamil Arslanov outplays Olexandr Shevchuk with the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Black chose the flexible 5…Nbd7 variation that Shocron (a famous Bobby Fischer opponent) played against me in the final round of a tournament I won. He accused me of playing coffee house chess. It’s always fun to checkmate a master in tournament play. Below, Arslanov demonstrated a strong attack against an uncastled king.

Arslanov (2410) – Shevchuk, Olexandr (2093), Titled Tuesday, chess.com, 26.09.2023 begins 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 [6.Bg5 h6 7.Bf4 c6 8.Bc4 e6 9.0–0 Be7 10.Qe2 0–0 11.Qd2 Nb6 12.Bd3 Ne8 13.Bxh6 gxh6 14.Qxh6 f5 15.Ne4 fxe4 16.Qg6+ Ng7 17.Bxe4 Bf6 18.c3 Qc7 19.Ne5 Rf7 20.Qh7+ Kf8 21.Ng6+ Ke8 22.Qg8+ Kd7 23.Qxf7+ Kd6 24.Qxf6 Nd7 25.Qe7# 1–0 Sawyer - Shocron, Hershey PA 1991] 6...e6 [6...b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.0–0 c5 9.Qe2 Bxf3 10.Rxf3 cxd4 11.Nb5 Rc8 12.Nd6# 1–0 Sawyer - Black, Horsham PA 1988] 7.0–0 Bb4 [7...c5 8.Bg5 cxd4 9.Ne4 Be7 10.Qe1 Qb6 11.Qh4 h6 12.Rae1 Rf8 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.Ne5 Nd5 15.Qg3 Ne3 16.Qxg7 Nxf1 17.Rxf1 and 1–0 in 30. AndrewMartinIM - Sponz, Internet Chess Club 2011] 8.Qe1 [8.Bg5 c6 9.Kh1 Qc7 10.Qe1 h6 11.Qh4 and 1–0 in 37. Werl - Meyts, Bad Liebenzell 1996] 8...Nd5 [8...c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5+ 10.Kh1 0–0 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Qh4 b6 13.Rad1 Bb7 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Qxh7# 1–0 penullar - maykaruniawan, Chess.com 2012] 9.Qg3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Bxc3 11.Rb1 Nf6 12.Kh1 b6 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.Qxg7 Bxg2+
15.Qxg2 Bxd4 16.Bb5+ Kf8 17.Bh6+ [White soon wins the queen or king.] 1–0

Below are my Blackmar-Diemer Gambit ebook collections.
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Sunday, September 3, 2023

Vienna Game 2700 Performance

I played vs a 2000 rated bot in this Vienna Game. The Review after the game listed my performance at 2700, which is higher than I usually get. The summary read as follows:
"Black got the better of White in that game. Black played better than White in the opening. It was a well–fought middle game that Black got the better off. Both players had incredible precision in the end game."

See my book: CHESS SAMPLER: Excerpts from 100 of My Chess Books

Charles (2000) – Sawyer, Chess.com, 02.09.2023 begins 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Nc6 [An alternative is 3...d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nxc3 6.bxc3, but I did not want to extend the diagonal for White's g2 bishop.] 4.Bg2 Bc5 5.Nge2 [Or 5.Nf3 d6 6.d3 a6 7.0–0] 5...0–0 6.0–0 d6 7.d3 a6 8.Nd5 [More popular is 8.h3] 8...Nxd5 9.exd5 Ne7 10.d4 [10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Nf5 12.Qd2 Qg5 13.Rf3 Nh6 14.Nc3 f5 15.Raf1 Bd7 and ½–½ in 41. Finkel - Lukacs, Budapest 1993] 10...exd4 11.Nxd4 Nf5 12.Nb3 Bb6 13.Qh5 [13.Qd3 Qf6 14.Bd2 Bd7 15.c4 Rfe8 16.Bc3 Qg6 17.Rae1 Nh4 18.Qxg6 Nxg6 19.Bd4 Bxd4 20.Nxd4 Ne5 21.b3 b5 22.f4 Nd3 ½–½ Perez Mitjans - Korneev, Navalmoral de la Mata ESP 2011] 13...g6 [13...Qf6 leads to equal chances, but I wanted to force White's queen back. Also, g6 creates a hole for my bishop on g7.] 14.Qf3 Nd4 15.Nxd4 Bxd4 16.Qb3 b6 17.Be3 Bg7 18.Rae1 Bf5 19.Bd2 Qd7 20.h4 Rfe8 21.c4 a5 22.Bc3 Bd3 23.Bxg7 [White blunders away the Exchange. Correct is 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8 24.Rd1 with an equal game.] 23...Bxf1 24.Rxf1 Kxg7 25.Qf3 Qe7 26.Qc3+ Qe5 27.Qc1 Re7 28.a4 Rae8 29.Qd2 Qe2 30.Qc1 Qd3 31.Rd1
[Now I force trades into a winning endgame.] 31...Qxd1+ 32.Qxd1 Re1+ 33.Qxe1 Rxe1+ 34.Bf1 Rb1 35.Kg2 Rxb2 36.h5 Rb4 37.hxg6 hxg6 38.Be2 Rxa4 39.f4 Ra2 40.Kf3 a4 41.Bd3 a3 42.Be4 Rb2 43.c5 bxc5 44.Bxg6 fxg6 45.f5 a2 46.fxg6 a1Q 47.Kf4 [Black has a mate in four.] 47...Rf2+ 48.Kg4 Kxg6 49.Kh4 Qh8+ 50.Kg4 Qh5# 0–1


email: sawyerte@yahoo.com
Copyright 2011-2024
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Sunday, April 23, 2023

London System Attack Ding Liren

London System is as strong or weak as the players involved in the game. In this 2023 World Championship match Ding Liren outplays Ian Nepomniachtchi with a clash of plans. Black obtained a passed a-pawn which seemed destined to become a queen. But before that could happen, White weaved a mating net on the kingside.

Ding Liren (2788) – Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2795), WCh 2023 Astana KAZ, 16.04.2023 begins 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 [This is more dynamic than 4.c3 cxd4 5.cxd4, which transposes to a more drawish Slav Defense Exchange Variation.] 4...Nc6 5.Nbd2 cxd4 6.exd4 Bf5 [Both players develop the queenside bishop in a similar manner.] 7.c3 e6 8.Bb5 Bd6 9.Bxd6 Qxd6 10.0–0 0–0 11.Re1 h6 12.Ne5 Ne7 13.a4 a6 14.Bf1 Nd7 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.a5 Qc7 17.Qf3 Rfc8 18.Ra3 Bg6 19.Nb3 Nc6 20.Qg3 Qe7 21.h4 Re8 22.Nc5 e5 [Black attacks the pawn that defends White's knight.] 23.Rb3 Nxa5 24.Rxe5 Qf6 25.Ra3 Nc4 26.Bxc4 dxc4 27.h5 Bc2 28.Nxb7 [White has won a pawn.] 28...Qb6 29.Nd6 Rxe5 30.Qxe5 Qxb2 [Black regains the pawn and prepares to push the passed a-pawn.] 31.Ra5 Kh7 32.Rc5 Qc1+ 33.Kh2 f6 34.Qg3 a5 35.Nxc4 a4 36.Ne3 Bb1 [White takes deadly aim at mate on g7.] 37.Rc7 Rg8 38.Nd5 [The threat is 39.Nxf6+.] 38...Kh8 39.Ra7 a3 40.Ne7 Rf8 41.d5
[This pawn covers the escape square e6. Black is in a mating net.] 41...a2 42.Qc7 Kh7 43.Ng6 Rg8 44.Qf7 [The threat is 45.Qxg8+ Kxg8 46.Ra8+ Kf7 47.Rf8 mate] 1–0
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Sunday, April 2, 2023

French Defence Alapin Gambit

White has many options against the French Defence. Here I present an Alapin Gambit 3.Be3 between two high-rated chess engines. I assume the opening moves were pre-set since the same two opponents played a draw with colors reversed. Obviously, 3.Nc3, 3.Nd2, 3.e5, and 3.exd5 are all excellent choices, but 3.Be3 can be a fun gambit in blitz play. I first wrote a book on the Alapin French in 1995. Since then, I’ve written much about this gambit.

Stockfish dev15_20220302 (3612) – SlowChess Blitz 2.83 avx2 (3490), TCEC 22 Premier 2022 tcec-chess.com INT, 25.03.2022 begins 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Be3 Nf6 [Better is 3...dxe4 4.Nd2 Nf6 when White has 5.c3 (Alapin), 5.f3 (Diemer), or maybe 5.Ne2.] 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nf3 Qb6 8.Qc1 f6 9.Bd3 g5 10.exf6 Nxf6 11.0–0 Ng4 12.Nxg5 cxd4 13.cxd4 Bg7 14.Kh1 Nxe3 15.Qxe3 Bxd4 16.Qh3 Bxb2 17.Nc3 Bxc3 18.Rac1 Bf6 19.Qh5+ Kd8 20.f5 Bb2 21.Rb1 Qd4 22.Qe2 Kc7 [If 22...Qg7 23.Nxe6+ Bxe6 24.fxe6 favors White.] 23.Rxb2 exf5 24.Rc1 Qf6 25.Qd2 Re8 26.Nf3 a6 27.Rbb1 Ra7 28.Qc2 Bd7 29.Qb3 Rc8 30.a4 Kb8 31.Qxd5 Qe6 32.Qc5 Qe7 33.Qb6 Qd6 34.h3 Ka8 35.Bf1 Qc7 36.a5 Qg3 37.Rc3 Qg7 38.Rc5 Rg8 39.Rd1 h6 40.Rc2 Rb8 41.Bc4 Qe7 42.Bd5 f4 43.Rcc1 Rc8 44.Nd4 h5 45.Nxc6 bxc6 46.Rxc6 Bxc6 47.Bxc6+ Rxc6 48.Qxc6+ Rb7 49.Qxa6+ [White wins a pawn and soon wins another.]
49...Kb8 50.Qh6 Qe4 51.a6 Rb1 52.Qxh5 Rxd1+ 53.Qxd1 Ka7 54.Qf3 Qe1+ 55.Kh2 Kxa6 56.Qxf4 [Black resigns] 1–0


email: sawyerte@yahoo.com
Copyright 2011-2024
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Sunday, March 5, 2023

London Morris Countergambit

The London System has a gambit variation that I have studied from time to time in recent years. Morris Countergambit has been the subject of one of my Quick Chess Lessons. Sometimes this countergambit has similarities with the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.

Try my London Morris Gambit: Quick Chess Lessons book.

Kisic (2303) – Makaraci (2296), ECTCC Open 2023 Tornelo, 29.01.2023 begins 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 [Accelerated London System] 2...c5 [Steinitz Countergambit] 3.e4 [The Morris Countergambit] 3...dxe4 4.d5 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Qe2 Bg7 7.0–0–0 0–0 8.f3 [White employs Blackmar's idea.] 8...exf3 9.Nxf3 Na6 10.h3 Nh5 11.Be5 Bxe5 12.Qxe5 Qd6 13.Bxa6 bxa6 14.Ne4 Qxe5 15.Nxe5 Bf5 [Better is 15...Nf4 16.Rd2] 16.Nxc5 Rac8 17.g4 [If 17.Nc6 White is winning.] 17...Rxc5 [Or 17...Bxc2] 18.gxf5 Ng3 19.Rhe1 Rfc8 20.c4 Nxf5 21.b3 Kg7 22.Kb2 a5 23.Nc6 Rc7 24.Kc3 h5 25.a3 R5xc6 [25...Nd6] 26.dxc6 Rxc6 27.b4 axb4+ 28.axb4 g5 29.b5 Rc7 30.Kb4 g4 31.hxg4 hxg4 32.c5 Kf6 33.c6 g3 34.Rd7 [White's queenside pawns cannot be stopped.]
34...Rc8 35.Rxa7 g2 36.Kc5 Ng3 37.Raa1 e5 38.b6 [Black resigns] 1–0
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Sunday, February 26, 2023

Blackmar-Diemer Pawn Returned

Sometimes the best way to win is to let your opponent sacrifice pieces while you calmly defend all the threats. In this game between William Graif and Fernandez Siles, White offered to transpose into the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Black declined the pawn, probably with the hope of a counterattack. Black sacrificed material for a strong attack, but William Graif found good moves and kept the extra material.

Graif (2305) – Fernandez Siles (2220), Titled Tuesday, 31.01.2023, begins 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.f3 e3 [5...exf3 6.Nxf3 would transpose to a BDG.] 6.Bxe3 g6 7.Qd2 c6 8.0–0–0 Qa5 9.Kb1 Bg7 10.h4 h5 11.Bd3 b5 12.Nge2 b4 13.Ne4 Nd5 14.Bg5 Rb8 15.Ka1 [To avoid the nastiness of 15...Nc3+.] 15...Ba6 16.g4 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Rb6 18.gxh5 Rxh5 19.N4g3 Rxg5 [19...Rh8 leads to equal chances.] 20.hxg5
20...Nc3 [Desperation leaves Black down a rook. Better is 20...b3 21.cxb3 Nb4 22.Qb1 Ra6 23.Nc3] 21.bxc3 Ra6 22.Qc4 [I'm not sure that Black accounted for this defense of a2 when sacrificing the Exchange on g5.] 22...Nb6 23.Qb3 c5 24.Rh7 c4 25.Qb1 Kf8 26.cxb4 Qb5 27.c3 Nd5 28.Qb2 e5 29.Rxg7 Kxg7 30.dxe5 Ne3 31.Rh1 Qa4 32.Kb1 Nd1 33.Qc2 Qa3 34.Rxd1 [White is up two knights. Black resigns] 1–0
Below are my paperback versions.



email: sawyerte@yahoo.com
Copyright 2011-2024
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Sunday, February 5, 2023

Herrstrom Gambit Lev Zilbermintz

One of the best ways to defeat a grandmaster is to make threats. When you have Black, sometimes it's worth trying a gambit, especially if you know it.
Lev Zilbermintz sent me the following note:
“Happy New Year, Tim! Here is a game with the Herrstrom Gambit. I defeated a Grandmaster with it today on Internet Chess Club." Lev Zilbermintz

[Note: I'm not on Facebook at the moment. My email is below.]

See my Quick Chess Lesson collection of six Chess Gambits for Black.

Zuckertort (2143) – Zilbermintz (2130), Internet Chess Club, 01.01.2023 begins 1.Nf3 g5 2.Nxg5 e5 3.d4 h6 4.Nf3 e4 5.Nfd2 Nf6 6.e3 Rg8 7.c4 c6 8.Nc3 d5
9.f3 [White employs the Blackmar idea of f3. An alternative is 9.Qa4 which also favors White due to the extra pawn, but Black's open lines could prove dangerous.] 9...exf3 10.Qxf3 Bg4 11.Qf2 Nbd7 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.Bb5 a6 14.Bxd7+ Bxd7 15.0–0 Rg6 [Safer is 15...Be7 16.Nxd5 Bc6 17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Nf3] 16.Nxd5 Bg7 17.Ne4 Bh3 18.Ndxf6+ [If 18.Nexf6+ Kf8 19.b3 White is winning.] 18...Kf8 19.Nh7+ Kg8 20.Ng3 Be6 21.e4 Kxh7 [21...Qxd4!?] 22.d5 Bd7 23.Qxf7 Bb5 24.Rf2 Qb6 25.Nf5 Rf8 26.Qe7 Re8 27.Qh4 [If 27.Qa3 White keeps the advantage.] 27...Bd4 28.Nxd4 Qxd4 29.Bf4 Rxe4 30.g3 [30.Kh1=] 30...Re2 [Black is winning due to the pin on f2.] 31.Raf1 Re4 32.Rc1 Bd7 33.h3 Qxd5 34.Rd2 Rd4 [If 34...Qxd2 35.Bxd2 Rxh4 Black wins.] 35.Rxd4 Qxd4+ 36.Kh2 Qf2+ 37.Kh1 Qf3+ 38.Kg1 Bc6 39.Rxc6 Qxc6 40.Qe7+ Kg8 41.Qd8+ Kh7 42.Qe7+ Rg7 43.Qe2 Qc5+ 44.Kh2 Qe7 45.Qd3+ Rg6 46.Qd2 [46.h4=] 46...Re6 47.h4 Re2+ [Black wins the queen. White resigns] 0–1



email: sawyerte@yahoo.com
Copyright 2011-2024
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Sunday, January 29, 2023

Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Irons

I heard from Robert Irons, correspondence chess editor for the US Chess Federation's Chess Online website. He wrote, "I am writing to share a BDG game that I recently played in a correspondence tournament -- or rather I should say I played against the BDG. I have faced the gambit several times in my life, and before this game I had lost all but one, managing a draw in the other. I used Christoph Sheerer's book..."

Robert played great in this game. As White, I prefer 5.fxe4. After 5.Bc4, Black stands better. The BDG is a good blitz opening, but more difficult for correspondence play these days. When my BDG days were at their peak, there were no databases and only weak chess engines. Here's the game between Klaus Montermann and Robert Irons.

[Note: Facebook locked me out during a power outage. My email is below.]

For 6 gambits, see my Quick Chess Lesson collection Chess Gambits for Black.

Montermann - Irons, GER - USA 2022 ICCF, 12.10.2022 begins 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 c6 [This BDG position is reached about 3% of the time.]
5.Bc4 [More accurate is 5.fxe4 e5 6.dxe5 Qxd1+ 7.Nxd1 Nxe4 8.Nf3 with chances for both sides.] 5...exf3 6.Nxf3 Bf5 7.Ne5 [Another common variation is 7.0–0 e6 8.Ng5 Bg6 9.Ne2 where White has scored 49% in my database.] 7...e6 8.0–0 Bg6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.h3 Qb6 12.a4 a5 13.Be3 0–0–0 14.Ne2 Bd6 15.Rf3 g5 16.Bxg5 Ne5 17.Rc3 Rh5 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Rb3 Qa7 20.Bd3 f5 21.Kh1 Ng4 22.Qf1 Bc7 23.Re1 Kb8 24.c4 Rxd4 25.Nxd4 Qxd4 26.Re2 e5 [White resigns] 0–1
Below are my paperback versions.



email: sawyerte@yahoo.com
Copyright 2011-2024
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Sunday, January 22, 2023

Bird's Opening Stonewall Haines

Ray Haines transposed to the Bird’s Opening Stonewall Attack after 1.d4, 2.e3, and 4.f4. Black prematurely opened the center [16…e5]. White’s pieces were poised to assault the kingside. After some exchanges, Black had no defense. Ray Haines applied checkmate.

For 6 gambits, see my Quick Chess Lesson collection Chess Gambits for Black.

Haines – Bhavishya224 (1561), Live Chess Chess.com, 30.12.2022 begins 1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 d5 3.Bd3 Nc6 4.f4 Bg4 5.Nf3 e6 6.0–0 Bd6 7.c4 0–0 8.Nc3 Re8 9.c5 Be7 10.Qe1 [10.Bd2 would activate the bishop and connect the rooks.] 10...Bxf3 11.Rxf3 a6 12.Rh3 h6 13.Qe2 Qd7 14.g4 Nh7 15.Bd2 Bf6 16.g5 e5 [Better is to save the bishop with 16...Bd8] 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qh5 exd4 [This loses, although 18...Be7 19.dxe5 favors White.] 19.gxf6 dxc3 20.Bxc3 d4 21.fxg7
21...Kxg7 [This falls for a mate in two, but after 21...Re6 22.f5 White is winning.] 22.Qxh6+ Kg8 23.Qh8# White breaks through Black's defense on the kingside. 1–0



email: sawyerte@yahoo.com
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Sunday, January 15, 2023

Blackmar-Diemer Euwe Cavicchi

Francesco Cavicchi sent me this short win with the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit during the Christmas holiday.
Cavicchi added, "Who said Xmas is not a good time to kill the Euwe defense?"
In the end, White receives a precious gift on a8, leaving White ahead by a full queen.

For 6 gambits, see my Quick Chess Lesson collection Chess Gambits for Black.

Cavicchi (1931) – Javohir04 (1842), Blitz Arena lichess.org, 26.12.2022 begins 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 e6 [D00 Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted: Euwe Defense] 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Bd3 h6 8.Bxf6 [An alternative is 8.Bf4 hoping for co-operative play with 8...0–0 9.Qd2 aiming for 10.Bxh6.] 8...Bxf6 9.Ne4 Nc6 10.c3 b6 11.0–0 0–0 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6 13.Ne5
[White's double attack on f6 and c6 wins material.] 13...Nxe5 14.Rxf6 gxf6 15.dxe5 fxe5 16.Qh5 Kg7 17.Qxe5+ f6 18.Qe4 f5 19.Qxa8 [Black resigns] 1–0



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