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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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Mystery game #35: Slightly quirky opening, then superb Black play upsets IM!
Mystery game #35: Slightly quirky opening, then superb Black play upsets IM!
Here is the text of an interesting game. You can discuss the game, guess as to players' strengths, identities, setting, time controls, era, etc. I will provide details in a few days. Enjoy!!
IM Lawrence Day (2450) -- Santo D'Agostino (1657), Kingston simul 1979. Played 1979-10-24. Approx. 30 players. Sponsored by Norman Hart, Director, Queen's University Student Centre.
I played in this event as well, and drew my game fairly quickly, so was very interested to see how my good friend and classmate Santo would do; I hovered nearby!! He was somewhat stronger than me.
Santo scored the the only win over IM Day, in superb style! IM Day told us he often used simuls to experiment with different openings, and we saw that in action.
Santo often played the Modern Defence in that era, and he gets into an unusual line here, with a kingside fianchetto, light-squared chain of pawns on e6, d5, and c6; light-squared bishop outside the chain, and exchanged early for the f3 Knight. Seems a perfectly reasonable way to play, which has hardly been explored. The game proceeds in interesting fashion, but with nothing really standing out, up to 25.Qa5!?, setting off a complex tactical spree by both players. IM Day gives up the exchange, for three connected passed pawns on the queenside, as well as some kingside chances. Santo plays fantastic chess for the next ten moves. Black accepts the material offered, meets the tactical threats, and then carves up White's queenside passers, with his own queen's activity. He has a clear advantage after 35...Qxc3, and plays very accurately to bring home the win, to a good round of applause from those who stayed to the end!
At nearly 800 rating points separating the two players, this is one of the bigger upsets I have seen, even if it is in a simul!!! Santo got his rating over 2000 a few years later, and won the Queen's University title a few months after this event. He completed his PhD, and has developed an academic career, without any tournament chess activity for many years now.
Lawrence was in the middle of a very successful competitive run, from 1978 to 1982; he scored many excellent results both in Canada and in international events, with creative play drawing admirers around the chess world!
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