077. Errata

White: verdi - all-play-all tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2022

No matter how careful you are, errors always slip through. In my book:

Typographical / input errors
So far I've found two incorrect diagrams, an erroneous reference, and a misquote.
– P207 (Two Knights): in the first diagram, the h-pawn should be on h3.
– P251 (Ulvestad): in the first diagram, there should be a pawn on f3. (I must have tweaked the diagrams in the font and then failed to proof them properly.)
– P285 (Jaenisch): line “D2” should be “E2”.
– P307 (Jaenisch): the final word of the first Swiercz quote should be “piece” not “pawn”.
(I guess I had the word “pawn” stuck in my head.)

Transpositional errors
It seems I didn't quite get all the multitudinous transpositions down.
– P95 (Wagenbach): 5 Qe2 d6 6 Nc3 c6 7 d4 g5 is indeed “another main line”, but one Black needs to avoid. Instead, 6...Nc6 is correct, when 7 d4 g5 8 e5 is line E33.
– P129 (Wagenbach): 7...Bg7 does not run “the risk of landing in an inferior 7 e5 line (E33) after 8 e5”, because 8...Nc6! then transposes to my main line E33 again.

Analytical errors
These remain to be seen or shown. However, I have – of necessity – found a small refinement in one variation:
– P240 (Two Knights): At the end of note e) with 20 Bxe6,

I've now discarded 28...Rb8 in favour of 28...g6. There's no urgency to put the rook on b8, especially as the tempo could cost Black in the event of a timely Rc8 by White, swapping the rooks off. Having been forced (by an opponent) to look at this position in more depth, the way to defend is as follows:

Put the queenside pawns on a3 and b4 with the rook in support. The problem then for White, with just one light square between the a-pawn and promotion, is how to remove both pawns. It will require all three pieces: king and rook to capture a protected b-pawn, with the bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal to halt the a-pawn. In response Black can aim to create another passed pawn with ...h5-h4, ...g5-g4 and ...h4-h3 (to overload the bishop), while the king heads for the centre to eliminate the d-pawn. No white pawns on the board means a draw. Another, not insignificant, factor is that, if the white d-pawn is removed and rooks exchanged, even a single black h-pawn can scupper any win, since ...h4-h3 and g2xh3 will leave White with the wrong bishop for the remaining rook's pawn.

This all played out satisfactorily in the game below. Note that the king goes to f8, rather than g7 (on move 31), to avoid ideas of Rc7 and Be6. And later (move 38), that taking on f7 doesn't get White anywhere: 38 Bxf7 g5 39 Bc4 g4 or 38 Rxf7+ Ke5 39 Bc4 Ra8 are both fine for Black.

066. Can I Still Draw?

White: afms - all-play-all tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2018

Perhaps the most important question to ask about provocative openings is whether, should your opponent find (or know) good moves, you'll still be able to draw. An affirmative answer means you can essay that opening with confidence, ready to conduct a difficult defence if required or, more frequently, have your fun when it isn't. An answer to the contrary means you're essentially playing Hope Chess. In that case you'll need both to fake confidence and be prepared even so to take the occasional hit.

Colours are naturally a factor. As White you have considerable leeway to play suboptimally while remaining within the drawing zone, supposing you regard a draw as a satisfactory result. As Black a draw is theoretically theoretically acceptable, but the margins are tighter. A couple of inferior moves, especially in an open position, can mean you're losing right off the bat. I don't like to lose.

And yet I do like quarrelsome openings, particularly as Black. Here's a case in point: the Two Knights Defence with 4 d3. White refuses the confrontation posed by 3...Nf6 and simply defends the e-pawn, aiming for a slower, more positional game. Okay, we can go along with that, aiming to equalize after 4...Bc5, 4...Be7, or even 4...h6, all of which I've played on numerous occasions.

On the other hand, if you eventually end up wondering why you're bothering, you might be tempted just to push 4...d5. It's the sort of move you want to make with one finger. That's what I think of your opening. Pah.

Of course, breaking in the centre is very thematic. The downside to doing so so soon is that the e5-pawn is left exposed. And if White is unphased by your aggression and goes and takes it off, what then? Then we must show we can still draw.



From the diagram: 9...Bxf2+! 10 Kxf2 Qh4+ 11 Kf1 (11 Kg1?? Qd4+ is a not completely obvious trap) 11...Qf6+ 12 Qf3 Qxe5 13 Bxd5 c6, followed by 14...Qxh2, leads to an obscure non-Italian middlegame with rook and pawn vs. bishop and knight. Yes, the minor pieces ought to favour White at this stage – certainly Stockfish thinks so. Nonetheless, my score is P5 W1 D4 L0. Lost nil. It's not always easy, but it seems Black can still draw. The game below is a typical example.

At the finish, 33...Kh7 34 Bf6 Rexf6 35 Nxf6+ Rxf6 36 Rxh4+ Kg7 37 Rh3 Rg6 38 Kf1 c5 39 Ke2 f5 40 Kf3 Rb6 was one way to reach a drawn ending.