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

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
Copyright 2011-2024

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



email: sawyerte@yahoo.com
Copyright 2011-2024

Sunday, January 1, 2023

10 Favorite Chess Posts of 2022

Happy New Year, 2023! I plan to post once a week in 2023 on Sundays. 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 2022. They tend to be the most popular. I wrote 83 chess posts in 2022. Thank you for reading my blog and buying my books. Enjoy!

Published January 5, 2022

Published February 12, 2022

Published February 27, 2022

Published January 25, 2022

Published February 18, 2022

Published March 30, 2022

Published August 6, 2022

Published September 21, 2022

Published March 12, 2022

Tim Sawyer Chess Blog Posts by Year
2011 - 174
2012 - 580
2013 - 366
2014 - 365
2015 - 287
2016 - 333
2017 - 192
2018 - 349
2019 - 366
2020 - 248
2021 - 83
2022 - 85
Total Blog Posts 2011-2020 = 3428




email: sawyerte@yahoo.com
Copyright 2011-2023