Revisiting the French

Position after 10 ... f6

Paul Dargan and I were discussing openings the other day, and briefly exchanged a few thoughts on French Defence.

The French has a reputation as a solid but un-adventurous defence, and I must admit that when I played it as a junior the games typically fitted that description. I would win by exchanging off pieces down the c-file and gradually exploiting weaknesses in White's pawn structure. As my opponents got better and this simplistic approach stopped working, I dropped the French from my repertoire and sought adventure in the Sicilian.

However, in reality, the French, and in particular the Winawer variation, can lead to some very dynamic and unbalanced positions where wild attacks rage. This game played in 1977 Candidates final match is a perfect illustration.

Boris Spassky - Viktor Korchnoi, Game 4, Candidates 1977
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Bd7 8. Nf3 Qa5 9. Bd2 Nbc6 10. Be2 f6

Here's where the fun really begins. Black had been getting into difficulties with 10 ... c4, so in the mid 70's Korchnoi started adopting the double edged 10 ... f6.

11. c4 Qc7 12. exf6 gxf6 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. c3 O-O-O 15. O-O Rhg8 16. Re1 e5 17. c4 Bh3



18. Bf1 Nb6 19. d5 Nxc4! 20. dxc6 Qxc6 21. g3 Bxf1 22. Rxf1 e4 23. Qb3 Qd5 24. Rac1 Nxd2

Here, 24... Ne5 looks strong and is Fritz's recommendation. After 25. Rxc5+ Qxc5 26. Rc1 Nxf3+ 27. Kg2 Qxc1 28. Bxc1, Fritz considers Black is better, although both Keene and Timman consider White's co-ordinated Queen and Bishop give him the upper hand.

25. Nxd2 Qxd2 26. Rxc5+ Kb8 27. Rb1 Rg7 28. Rb5 Rdd7 29. Qe6 e3 30. fxe3 Rge7 31. Qg8+ Rd8 32. Qb3 Rdd7 33. Qg8+ Rd8 34. Qb3 1/2 - 1/2

Check out Jan Timman's excellent 'Art of Chess Analysis'for a thorough study of this game.

Bent Larsen vs. Boris Spassky, 1970

In today's post about the Nimzo-Larsen Opening, I mentioned the spectacular performance by Boris Spassky where he routed Bent Larsen, one of the world's strongest chess players. Spassky, playing Black, sacrificed a knight and a rook to decisively queen a pawn and win in just 17 moves.

Our scan, taken from Cafferty's book "Spassky's 100 Best Games", gives detailed analysis of the game, which was played in 1970 Rest of the World vs. USSR match.

For those who prefer to just bash through the moves:

Bent Larsen - Boris Spassky, Rest of World vs. USSR 1970
1 b3 e5; 2 Bb2 Nc6; 3 c4 Nf6; 4 Nf3 e4; 5 Nd4 Bc5; 6 Nxc6 dc; 7 e3 Bf5; 8 Qc2 Qe7; 9 Be2 0-0-0; 10 f4? Ng4!; 11 g3 h5; 12 h3 h4!; 13 hg hg; 14 Rg1 Rh1!!; 15 Rxh1 g2; 16 Rf1 Qh4+; 17 Kd1 gf=Q+ 0-1

How not to play the Scandanavian Defence

A few weeks ago I was asked if I would suggest some lines for Black in the Scandanavian Defence following 1 e4 d5; 2 ed Nf6. It's still on the back boiler, but I couldn't resist showing this example I discovered of "how not to play the Scandanavian Defence".

The game was played at the Havana Olympiad in 1966 in the match between the USSR and Monaco. The first round of the Olympiad can throw up some terrible mis-matches, as witnessed in this encounter between future World Champion Boris Spassky and Mr Weiss from Monaco:

Boris Spassky - Weiss, Havana Olympiad 1966
1 e4 d5; 2 ed Nf6; 3 Bb5+ Bd7; 4 Bc4 Bf5; 5 Nc3 Nbd7; 6 d3 Nb6; 7 Qf3 Nxc4; 8 dc Bxc2; 9 Bf4

"From this point I stopped trying to guess my opponent's moves and I probably behaved somewhat tactlessly - I tried to sit at the board for as little time as possible" Boris Spassky

9 ... a6?; 10 Nge2 h6??; 11 0-0 Qc8; 12 Nd4 Bh7; 13 Rfe1 Rb8?; 14 h3 g5??; 15 Bxc7 Qxc7; 16 Qxf6 Rg8; 17 d6 Qd7; 18 Rxe7+ Bxe7; 19 Re1 Bg6; 20 Rxe7+ Kd8 and then Black resigned 1-0

You can find this, and 99 of Spassky's best games, in "Spassky's 100 Best Games" by Bernard Cafferty which has recently been re-released:

The search for heroic chess failures

Chris Wardle's "Haymarket" post set me thinking about heroic chess failures, those chess players who have achieved a Eurovision style 'null point'. Taimanov and Larsen made a good stab at it in the '71 candidates, but don't really qualify because their opponent was Bobby Fischer on a hot streak.

I consulted my bible on all matters relating to chess statistics (the 2 dozen or so tournament tables in 'Korchnoi's 400 Best Games') and was bitterly disappointed to find the closest contender, Cuellar at the '73 Interzonal, had managed a princely 3 draws out of 18 games; definitely failure, but not heroically bad.

I then remembered I was making up the rules in this game, and could change them with impunity, so I switched tack to heroic blunders. One game sprung to mind immediately, Short marching his king up the board in a 'won ending' and setting up a self mate in the only way possible; fortunately, Streatham and Brixton have already written about this and a host of horrors: "The Worst Move On The Board". In fairness to Short one of his other king marches, against Timman, has gone down amongst the great manoeuvres of chess history.

One thing the S&B site talked about was the difficulty in spotting pieces moving backwards (in Short's case the killer was a Bishop returning to c8 to deliver mate) which made me smile and remember a conversation with Bronstein; David was buzzing with excitement, as he enthused about a position where a Queen had returned to d1 to deliver a knockout blow, and how even some of the very strongest players had failed to spot it.

In a possibly unbeatable bid for worst game by a World Champion, I present:
Viktor Korchnoi - Boris Spassky, Leningard 1948
1 e4 c5; 2 Nf3 d6; 3 d4 cd; 4 Nd4 Nf6; 5 Nc3 g6; 6 f4 Bg4; 7 Bb5+ Nbd7; 8 Bd7+ Qd7; 9 Qd3 e5; 10 Nf3 Bf3; 11 Qf3 Qg4; 12 Nd5 1-0