Friday, March 2, 2007

Losing by the Book

The first diagram comes from page 123 of The Chess Opening for You by Larry Evans. The game is Evans-Grefe, U.S. Championship 1974.


Evans played 13.Bd2, writing: "Less accurate is 13.Be3 fxg4 14.fxg4 Qd7 15.g5 Ng4 16.Rxf8+ Bxf8 17.Bd2 Nxh2 18.Kxh2 Qh3+, with at least a draw by perpetual". However, 18.Kxh2 is second-rate. After the best move 18.Nf2!, Black has a lost game.

The second diagram can be found on page 75 of Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack by Miles and Moskow.


It arises after the opening moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.h4 Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.O-O-O Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.h5 Nxh5 15.g4 Nf6 16.Nde2 Qa5 17.Bh6 Bxh6 18.Qxh6 Rfc8 19.Rd3 Be6 20.g5 Nh5 21.Ng3 Qe5 22.Nxh5 gxh5 23.Qxh5 Qg7 24.f4 b5 (a suggestion to which the authors give an exclamation point, calling the position unclear).

But the position is clearly in White's favor following 25.f5. Now 25...Bd7 26.Kb1 b4 (26...e6 27.f6 Qg6 28.Rdh3) 27.Nd5 Rxc2 28.f6 is bad for Black. Even worse is 25...b4 26.Rdh3! bxc3 27.Qxh7+ Qxh7 28.Rxh7 cxb2+ 29.Kb1 when Black can not prevent Rh8+ and R1h7#.

{This article originally appeared in Atlantic Chess News in 1986}