MARK RUBERY CHESS
A lot of chess players around the world are linked through the social network that has become a fabric of our society. Besides connecting with friends it can be a useful tool in sharing ideas on openings, as was shown on the Facebook homepage of Andrew Martin. The English IM posted the following question:
’Can anyone recommend a good line against specifically, the Pirc?
The answer ‘ any variation’ will not be appreciated.’
This enquiry elicited a flood of responses from GMs and amateurs alike:
‘There is a nice trap not often mentioned: 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 Nf3 Bg7 5 h3 0-0 6 Be3 Nbd7?! 7 e5 dxe5 8 dxe5 Ne8 9 Bc4 e6? 10 Bg5 that has given me many easy wins.’ (Keith Hayward)
‘4.Bg5 if they have lots of time to study. But the big problem with the Pirc, as with many non-classical openings, is that Black needs to play very well. (GM Davies)
‘Lakdawala’s repertoire book likes the Byrne system 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bg5. It is easy to play and very aggressive.’ (Eric Schiller)
‘The system with Nc3, f3 and Be3 seems to be very popular.’ (GM Hertneck)
‘The Holmov attack, always good in blitz. 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. Qe2 Nc6 6. e5 Nd7 (6… Nxd4 7. exf6 Nxe2 8. fxg7 is supposed to be good for black but who wants to play that in blitz?) 7. Nf3 dxe5!? 8. Bxf7+ “Of course”. But this sacrifice does not win!… Kxf7 9. Qc4+ e6 10. Ng5+ Ke8 11. Nxe6 Qf6?? The saving resource for Black is: 11… Nb6 12. Nxg7+ Kf8 13. Ne6+ Bxe6 14. Qxe6 Qh4!! defending against the threat of Bh6 mate and keeping equal chances! The text loses horribly. (IM Ginsburg)
‘Depending on the level of player - I use the Polgar-Smirin game as the model for most students up to and through intermediate... that is the Austrian with 6.Be3 but 6.e5 can be solidly played against 5...c5 or 5...0-0’(John MacArthur)
Here is the above-mentioned game that shows the queen of chess in savage form.
Polgar,Judit (2656) - Smirin,Ilia (2677) [B09]
Istanbul ol (Men) Istanbul (8) 2000
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be3 b6 7.Qd2 c5?! (Such was the impact of this game that the developing …Bb7 is the preferred move) 8.0–0–0 cxd4 9.Bxd4! (Polgar wants to eliminate Black’s knight on f6 and the storm the kingside)…Nc6 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.h4 Bg4 12.h5 Bxh5 13.Rxh5! gxh5 14.Qd5 Rc8 15.Qxh5 Bg7 (15…Bxc3 16 Ng5) 16.e5! Qe8 17.Qh3 h6 18.Bd3 Nb4 19.Be4 e6 20.f5 Rxc3 21.f6! Qb5 22.Qg3 1–0 (Since after the checks run out Black will be mated)
Today we feature a classic study that involves the theme of underpromotion.