There may be a pamphlet out there that I have not seen. How else to account for the coincidence that in the space of roughly one year I encountered it three times against candidate masters or better? And these players ranged from central Jersey, to the Midwest, and to Manhattan.
Candidate master Sid Kaplan of Neptune has played it against me. I was fortunate to win that game.
Another candidate master Ed Nash, from one of the Midwest states, tried it on me at the 1986 US Open. This game also ended in victory for White, which pleased me all the more since Ed Nash holds the distinction of having defeated Bobby Fischer in a game from the 1956 US Amateur Championship in Asbury Park.
Finally, most recently, grandmaster Andy Soltis hit me with it in the 1987 Marshall Chess Club Championship, not only winning with it but avenging my draw against him a year earlier (from a different opening).
They say you learn more from your defeats, and this game was no exception. Soltis and I spent a half-hour in post mortem analysis. No definite conclusions were reached, but many of the variation's possibilities surfaced. Much of what follows is strictly my home analysis.
Game One
Jim West (USCF 2307) - Sid Kaplan (USCF 2100), Bayonne 1986
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4
This is the sharpest way to proceed.
4...Qa5 5.Bd3 e5 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.f5
Shutting in the opposing queen bishop is positionally strong for White, provided that he can survive Black's tactics along the g1-a7 diagonal.
7...Nbd7
Either 7...Bc5 or 7...b5!? seems stronger.
8.Nf3 Be7 9.O-O O-O 10.Kh1 Rd8 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.Bc4
White would have done better to prepare this move by 12.a4.
12...b5 13.Bb3 Nc5 14.Ng5 Nxb3 15.axb3 h6 16.Nf3 b4 17.Nd1 a5 18.Nf2 Ba6 19.Nd3 Nd7 20.Be3 Nc5 21.f6!
This move took Black by surprise.
21...gxf6 22.Bxc5 Bxc5 23.Nh4 Bf8 24.Qg4+ Kh8 25.Rxf6 Bxd3 26.cxd3 Rd6 27.Raf1 Qd7
28.Qxd7 Rxd7 29.Rxf7 Rxf7 30.Rxf7 Kg8 31.Rf1 a4 32.bxa4 Rxa4 33.g4 Ra2 34.Rb1 Bc5 35.Nf3 Bd4
36.Nxd4 exd4 37.Kg2 Kf7 38.Kf3 Ke6 39.h4 c5 40.g5 h5 41.Kf4 b3 42.e5 Kd5 43.g6 c4 44.g7 Ra8
45.dxc4+ Kxc4 46.Rg1 Rg8 47.e6 Kd3 48.Ke5 Kc2 49.Rg2+ Kc1 50.Kxd4 Kb1 51.Ke5, Black resigns.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Game Two
Jim West (USCF 2248) - Ed Nash (USCF 2017), US Open 1986
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 Qa5 5.Bd3 e5 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.f5 Bc5 8.Bd2
I am gambiting a pawn, figuring that after 8...Bxg1 9.Rxg1 Qb6 10.Rf1 (but not 10.Ne2? Ng4!) Qxb2 11.Rb1 Qa3 12.Rf3 my lead in development would compensate me for it.
8...Qb6
My opponent is daring me to play 9.Na4 Bf2+ 10.Ke2 Qd4 11.c3 Qd6 12.Nh3 Ng4.
9.Nh3 Be3 10.Bxe3 Qxe3+ 11.Qe2 Qxe2+ 12.Kxe2 b6
Black makes sure he can exchange his problem bishop.
13.Nf2 Ba6 14.Rad1 Ke7 15.Rd2 Rd8 16.Rhd1 Ne8 17.a4 Nc7 18.b4!
White has a small positional advantage.
18...Bxd3+ 19.Nxd3 f6 20.b5 Rd4 21.Nc1 c5 22.Nb3 Rxd2+ 23.Rxd2 Nd7 24.Kd3 Rd8 25.Kc4 Ra8 26.Nd5+ Nxd5 27.Kxd5!
On 27.Rxd5, Black has time for 27...a6!.
27...Rc8 28.Kc4 Ra8 29.a5 Rc8 30.a6 g6 31.g4 Rg8 32.Rd3
Now 32...gxf5 33.gxf5 Rg2 can be met by 34.Rh3.
32...Rc8 33.Nd2 Nf8 34.Nb1 Nd7 35.Nc3 Nf8 36.Nd5+ Kf7 37.h4 gxf5 38.gxf5 Nd7 39.h5 h6 40.Rd1 Nf8 41.Rg1 Rd8 42.Rg3 Rb8 43.Rd3 Nd7?
Although this is a mistake, Black had no good moves. A rook move such as 43...Rc8 would allow 44.Nxb6! axb6 45.Rd6 Rb8 46.Rxb6!.
44.Nb4! Nf8 45.Nc6 Ra8 46.Rd8 Rxd8 47.Nxd8+ Ke7 48.Nc6+ Kd7 49.Nxa7 Kc7 50.Nc6 Nh7 51.Kd5 Ng5 52.Ne7 Nh3 53.Ke6 Nf4+ 54.Kxf6 Nxh5+ 55.Kxe5, Black resigns.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Game Three
Jim West (USCF 2316) - GM Andy Soltis (USCF 2523), Marshall Chess Club Championship 1987
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 Qa5 5.Bd3 e5 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.f5 b5!?
8.Bd2?!
After the game, Soltis criticized this move because after 8...b4 9.Nb1, the misplaced bishop on d2 makes it more difficult for White's queen knight to hop to c4. The way the game progressed, my queen knight got to c4 anyway, but it took a little longer. Soltis suggested 8.Nf3 b4 9.Nb1 Bc5 10.Nxe5 with wild play. For instance, 10...Bd4 11.Nc4 Qc5 12.Qb3 (but not 12.Qe2 O-O! when 13...Bxf5 is really a threat) a5 (to answer 13.Nbd2 with 13...a4). But it is not clear to me that Black has anything to show for the pawn after 13.Be3. E.g., 13...O-O (13...a4!?) 14.Nbd2 a4 15.Bxd4 Qxd4 16.Qe3 Qxe3+ 17.Nxe3 Re8 18.O-O Ba6 19.Nd1.
8...b4 9.Nce2 Qb6 10.Ng3 Bc5 11.Nh3 O-O 12.Qe2 Nbd7 13.Nf1 Rd8 14.Ne3 Bd4 15.Nc4 Qb8 16.g4?
This is too ambitious. White should be thinking about castling. Queenside castling looks risky because of ...a5 and ...a4, but perhaps 16.Nf2 followed by 17.O-O and 18.Kh1. Afterwards Soltis said that he would have answered 16.Na5 with 16...Qc7 17.Bxb4 Bxb2, maintaining that the opening of the b-file favors Black after 18.Rb1 Bd4 19.Nc4 Nb6 20.Ba5 Ba6.
16...Nc5 17.g5 Nfd7 18.Nf2 Ba6 19.f6?
This loses a pawn.
19...Nxd3+ 20.cxd3 Nc5! 21.Ne3 Bxe3!
Of course, Black must not allow the knight to move to f5.
22.Qxe3 Nxd3+ 23.Nxd3 Rxd3 24.Qc5 Rd4 25.Qxc6 Bb7 26.Qc5 Rxe4+ 27.Kf2 Qd8 28.Rhd1
White now falls victim to a scintillating light-square attack.
28...Qd7!
There is no defense.
29.Be3 Qf5+ 30.Ke2 Ba6+ 31.Kd2 Rc4 32.Qd5 Rc2+, White resigns.
No draw this time!
*{When this article originally appeared in Atlantic Chess News in 1987, the name of Czech international master Josef Pribyl had not yet been associated with this opening system, involving an early ...Qa5, which he pioneered. It was not until a year later, when it became all the rage at the 1988 US Closed Championship, that the Pribyl Defense came into its own.}
