the game Morphy-Lowenthal, London 1858 continued 6...Nf6 7.O-O d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.Bxd7+ Qxd7 11.Re1 Bd6 12.Nc3 e4 13.Bg5 Ng4 14.Qxd5 Bxh2+ 15.Kh1 Qxd5 16.Nxd5 O-O 17.f3 exf3 18.gxf3 Ne5 19.Re3 f6 20.Kxh2 Rad8 21.Rxe5 fxg5 22.Kg3,
and 1-0 in 29 moves.
According to Lowenthal, after 6.Bc4, "Black has not a good position at this juncture and perhaps his best method of averting White's attack would be to play 6...Ba6."
In ECO, Uhlmann gives 6...Ba6 7.Qd3 =. This is what I played against Steve Stoyko (USCF 2384) in October 1994 at the Manhattan Chess Club. But after 7...Bxc4 8.Qxc4 Nf6 9.O-O Be7 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Bg5 Rb8 12.b3 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Rad1 Be7 15.Rfe1 Qc8 16.Re3 Rb4 17.Qe2 d6 18.Rg3 Qe6 19.Qe3 Rb7 20.Qf3 Rd8 21.Qd3 Rbd7 22.Qa6 d5,
Black was better and 0-1 in 43 moves.
In home analysis, I discovered 7.Nd2 (a move which Ernest Labate of the Westfield Chess Club says he found independently at about the same time) with the idea that White's knight, not queen, belongs on c4.
My first chance to play 7.Nd2 came against Stoyko in April 1995 at the Westfield Grand Prix. Rather than allow 7...Bxc4 8.Nxc4, Black retreated with 7...Bb7. Play continued 8.Qf3 Qf6 9.Qb3 Bc8 10.Nf3 h6 11.Be3 Ne7 12.O-O-O Ng6 13.h4 Nf4 14.Bxf7+! Kd8 15.Ng5! Bd6 16.Bc4 Rb8 17.Nf7+ Qxf7 18.Bxf7 Rxb3 19.Bxb3,
and 1-0 in 61 moves.
A few weeks later, at the Somerset NJ quads in June, my opponent John Fincken (USCF 2000) played 7...Bxc4 8.Nxc4 Qc7 9.O-O Nf6 10.Qe2 Be7 11.Bg5 O-O 12.Rad1 Rab8 13.b3 Rfe8.
Now, instead of my 14.f4?! which allowed 14...Nxe4 15.Bxe7 Rxe7 16.Qxe4 d5 and drawn in 57 moves, White's correct plan was 14.Bxf6 followed by 15.Ne3 and 16.c4 and tripling on the d-file with advantage.
At the Eastern Masters tournament on Memorial Day weekend in 1995, Pierre Moulin (USCF 2464) went back to Lowenthal's original 6...Nf6 against me. After 7.O-O, he continued with 7...Be7, considered by Uhlmann and by Sergeant to be Black's best move. Uhlmann condemns 7...Nxe4? 8.Re1 d5 9.Rxe4 as winning for White. Here Steinitz disagrees, giving 9...f6 10.Bxd5 cxd5 11.Re1 after which Black has a superior game.
Sergeant begs to differ with Steinitz's evaluation, claiming that 10.Re1 (instead of 10.Bxd5) dxc4 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qf3 Bb7 13.Nd2 or 12...Qd6 13.Nd2 Qe6 (13...Ba6 14.Ne4) 14.Nxc4 Qxc4 15.Qxf6 "puts quite a different complexion on affairs."
In his 1993 book Paul Morphy and the Evolution of Chess Theory, Macon Shibut writes: "That's been the final word until now. Certainly 10.Re1 improved Steinitz's original analysis. But it's still not so simple. Suppose Black doesn't labor to hold all his pawns?"
Rather than Sergeant's 12...Bb7 or 12...Qd6, Shibut prefers 12...Be6 13.Qxc6+ Kf7, concluding that "Now Black's bishop pair and superior development predominate. To sum up, 12...Be6 appears to rehabilitate Steinitz's 9...f6 suggestion."
Showing that this is truly an opening forum, I will argue that in Shibut's line White will quickly complete his development with Nc3, Be3, Rad1, and f4. Here Black's weak queenside pawns and uncastled king give White good attacking chances that at least match Black's advantage of the two bishops.
My game against Moulin proceeded with 8.Qe2 O-O 9.Nc3 Qb6 10.b3 Bb7 11.Rd1 Rad8 12.Bg5 Rfe8 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Qh5 g6 15.Qf3 d5 16.Na4 Qa5 17.Qxf6 dxc4 18.Rxd8 Qxd8 19.Qxd8 Rxd8 20.Nc5 Bc8 21.Kf1 Rd2 22.Rc1 Kf8 23.Ke1 Rd6 24.Rd1 Rxd1+ 25.Kxd1 cxb3 26.axb3 with clear advantage to White.
Black held on to draw in 61 moves.
{This article originally appeared in the July-August 1995 issue of Atlantic Chess News}
