By Lev Zilbermintz
Nowadays most over-the-board tournaments have been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. This has led to a boom in online chess. Sites such as Internet Chess Club, chess.com, lichess.org, playchess,com have all experienced an increase in volume and membership. Prestigious tournaments such as the World Open have been held online at the Internet Chess Club, lichess.org and chess.com. Players use Zoom cameras to show that they were not cheating. Even so, all games are checked for fair play before prizes are awarded.
Chess.com is a website that hosts email correspondence chess tournaments. In 2020, the computer has replaced the paper postcards that were common until the 1990s. In postal chess, the time limit is 3 days for 1 move. This means that players have plenty of time to look up games in databases, books or old magazines. In this way many moves repeat themselves in similar, but not identical, games. Thus, the result is that the better prepared player has an edge against his opponent. Nowhere is this more clear than in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Many variations have been analyzed in-depth, 12-14 moves deep. However, the further one goes, the fewer games with that particular variation. It gets to the point where one has to look at somewhat similar, yet crucially different, games for these moves. This is exactly what occurred in my correspondence game against grandmaster Evgeniy Sharapov of Ukraine.
WHITE: Lev Zilbermintz
BLACK: GM Evgeniy Sharapov
email correspondence,chess.com
December 21 - 25, 2020
3 days/ 1 move time control
BLACKMAR - DIEMER GAMBIT
Bogoljubow Defense
Studier Attack
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 g6 (Bogoljubow Defense)
6.Bc4 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.Qe1 (Studier Attack)
The alternative is 8.h3!?. It is called the Delayed Studier Attack, Orlov Attack, or Studier-Zilbermintz Attack. Another option is the Long Bogo: 8.Bf4, followed by 9.O-O, 10.Qd2, 11.Bh6.
8...Bg4
The idea is to trade off the Nf3, and counter-attack in the center. Frequently White uses Qh4-Bh6-Ng5 theme to crack Black defense. Hence the text move.
9.Qh4 Bxf3 10.Rxf3 Nc6
A key game to know is Helin-Aerni, 8th Gibtelecom Masters 1/26/2010. That game continued 10.Be3 Bxf3 11.Rxf3 Qd7 12.h3 Rad8 13.Rd1 Nb4 14.Bb3, and Black later won. The importance of the game lies in the moves 12.h3 Rad8 as well as 13...Nb4 14.Bb3. These can be adapted to 13...Na5 14.Bd3.
11.Ne2 Qd7
A second key game is Hall-Wells, London 1977. That game went 8.Qe1 Bg4 9.Qh4 Nc6 10.Ne2 Bxf3 11.Rxf3 Qd7 12.Bg5 Rad8 13.c3 Na5 14.Bd3 Rfe8 15.Raf1 Qc6 16.b4 Nc4 17.Kh1 Nb6 18.Rh3 +=, 1-0, 30. The importance of this game are the moves 10.Ne2 Bxf3 11.Rxf3 Qd7 12.c3 Na5 14.Bd3, which are seen in Zilbermintz-Sharapov.
Also see the game Theo Hommeles-Bosman, which went 8.Qe1 Nc6 9.Qh4 Bg4 10.Ne2 Bxf3 11.Rxf3 Na5 12.Bd3, with motifs as in the main game.
12.h3
Usually 12.Rh3 is played. I wanted to keep the black queen off g4. Besides, the move can transpose to certain lines of the Studier-Zilbermintz Attack.
12...Rad8
As in Helin-Aerni, Gibtelecom Masters 1/26/2010.
13.c3 Na5
14.Bd3 b6
The game Zilbermintz-WacoKid, Internet Chess Club 15/0 Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Thematic 12/24/2020 went 14...c5 15.Bh6 Nc6 16.Ng3! Bh6 17.Qh6 Ne8 18.Raf1 cxd4 19.Ne4?! and drawn in 30 moves. Thus, the rest of the main game is a repeat of the previous one. The only difference is that the main game had 14.Bd3 b6 15.Bh6 c5, while the Internet Chess Club game had the immediate 14...c5 15.Bh6 Nc6 16.Ng3 Bh6 17.Qh6.
15.Bh6 c5
16.Ng3 Bxh6
17.Qxh6 Ne8
18.Raf1 cxd4
As in Zilbermintz-WacoKid, ICC 15/0 BDG Thematic 12/24/2020.
19.Rf4 e6?
Here analyses focused on:
a) 20.Rxd4 Qe7 21.Rd8 Qd8 22.Bb5 Nf6;
b) 20.Rh4 f5 21.Rd4 Qe7 22.Rd8 Qd8;
c) 20.Bb5 Qb5 21.Rf7 Rf7 22.Rf7 Kf7 23.Qh7 Ng7 =++;
d) 20.Nh5 f5;
e) 20.Bxg6!!
It took awhile to figure out the variations. Then I noticed that 20.Bxg6!! wins the pawn and leaves Black without an adequate defense. Obviously 20...fxg6 loses to 21.Rxf8+ while 20...hxg6 21.Rh4! penetrates the flank and wins material or mates at some point.
20.Bxg6!!
The Ukrainian grandmaster resigned here. This was my first correspondence win over a grandmaster in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit!
