Chess Research - the story never ends

[Hans Jung]

Nice King's Gambit miniature against Geoff McKay. Did he meet and play young Hikaru Nakamura in North Bay that year, by any chance?

[Hans Jung]

Quite the game against Dr. Green.

[Frank Dixon]

Notes to FM Hans Jung:
1) Thanks for the kind words on my game with Dr. Green; I was proud of this game, although White had some potentially strong middlegame possibilities which were 'unheard melodies!'. He was a brilliant man, father of a high school classmate of mine (one year ahead), Ward Green, who was no less brilliant himself!
2) Yes, Geoff did meet, and lose to, the nine-year-old Hikaru Nakamura, at the 1999 North Bay International. Geoff told me it was a very humbling experience for him!
Cheers,Frank

[Frank Dixon]

Here is a ten-year-old Master game for which the score sheet was scrambled. I spent quite some time on it, before solving it, and it is published here for the first time. An example of the very common [K|K] CASCLA!

NM Ryan Lo (2190), McGill University 'A' -- NM Christopher Knox (2311), University of Toronto 'A'
Kingston 2016, played Jan. 10
Canadian University Team Championship, rd. 4 of 5
Time control: G/90' + 30"
Org: Queen's University Chess Club, and Canadian University Chess League
TD: Tyler Longo; Assistant TD: NTD Frank Dixon
Nimzo-Indian, Gligoric system, Bronstein variation, E55
CASCLA: [K-,7|K'+,4]
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 Nbd7 9.Qc2!?
[This is a very rare move, as per 365chess.com. Of the 967 games from this database after Black's 8th move, of some four million available, there are only three with 9.Qc2; the main move is 9.Qe2, with 451 examples!]
9...a6 10.a3 Ba5 11.Bd2 b5 12.Ba2 Bb6 13.Rac1 Bb7
[This is where the score sheet started to have problems. What is recorded there is flat-out incorrect, and indeed sometimes impossible. It's something of an art and science skill to work out the correct sequence, and, as I have found, sometimes not doable!]
14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.Bb1 Nb3! 16.Rcd1
[If 16.Qxb3 Bxf3! 17.gxf3 Qxd2, where Black is better.]
16...Nxd2 17.Qxd2 Qe7
[Black, with the two bishops in an open position, is better here. White used over half an hour on his 17th move, and over an hour from moves 11-19. He had just 11 minutes left (plus the increment) after his 19th move to finish the game, while Black was managing his own clock very well.]
18.e4 g6 19.e5 Nd5 20.Nxd5 Bxd5 21.Qf4 f6 22.Rxd5?!
[This is dubious; White was down near two minutes left on his clock, and worse, in a sharp position.]
22...exd5 23.Qh4 Rac8! 24.exf6 Qxf6
[White was down to less than one minute left, and blunders, to lose.]
25.Qh6 Rc4! 26.Ba2 Rc2 27.Rd1 Rxb2 28.Rxd5? Rxa2, 0-1.

[Frank Dixon]

Here is an example CASCLA with NEITHER side castling!

Tony Pierre (1973 USCF) -- Frank Dixon (1894 CFC)
Philadelphia 1988, played Nov. 26
National Chess Congress, U2000, Rd. 2 of 6
Org: Continental Chess Association
Head Arbiter: IA / FM Bill Goichberg
Sicilian, Najdorf, Poison Pawn, B97
CASCLA: [N-|N+]
Time controls: 30/90', 20/60', SD/60'
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

[This tournament was one of a series of large Opens in that era, organized by IA Goichberg and the CCA. The most famous was the World Open, with 1,500 players, multiple sections, and large prizes.]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3
[This variation was played in a key game for Canadian chess history! GM Kevin Spraggett defeated GM Andrew Sokolov with white in it, G5 of their 1988 Saint John Candidates match!! Kevin eventually won the match in overtime, and I was there to see it!]
10.f5 Nc6 11.fxe6 fxe6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Ne4 Be7 (3,3)
[Both sides know this sub-variation well, with little time used on the clock.]
16.Be2 h5 17.Rb3 Qa4 18.Nc3
[This may have been a new move at the time. Batsford Chess Openings II, by World Champion GM Gary Kasparov and GM Raymond Keene, the best single-volume openings guide available then, had 18.c4 f5 unclear; and 18.Nxf6+ Bxf6 19.c4 Bh4+ 20.g3 Be7 21.O-O h4 22.Qd3 Qa5 23.Bh5+ Rxh5 24.Qg6+ Kd8 25.Qxh5 Qc5+ 26.Kh1 e4 unclear, from Martinez -- Novikov, Mendoza 1985.]
18...Qh4+ 19.g3 Qd4 (25,23) 20.Bd3 f5 21.Ne2 Qd5 22.Rf1 h4 23.Nc3 Qa5 (53,43) 24.a3 hxg3 25.hxg3 e4 (60,60)
[Black is clearly better here.]
26.Bc4 Qe5 27.Qg2 Rg8 28.Na4 Qa5+ 29.Nc3 Bd7 30.Ke2 Qc5 (89,75)
[The first time control.]
31.Rb4 Qe5 32.Rb3 Rxg3! 33.Qh1 Rxc3 34.Qh5+ Kd8 35.Rg1 Kc7 36.Rxc3 Qxc3 37.Bb3 Rh8 38.Qf7 Rh2+, 0-1. (119,94)
[I had played this line, popularized by GM Bobby Fischer, with success, but on the advice of IMC Drew Lamb Stoll, with whom I played a correspondence training match 1987-89, I gave it up soon afterwards. IMC Stoll, while praising my play in this game, also drew my attention to a chapter by GM Bent Larsen, from the book 'How to Open a Chess Game', published in the 1970s, which warned against this variation, and other long theoretical sharp lines, for OTB play. In any case, the popularity of 6.Bg5 faded, in favor of 6.Be3 around this time.]

[Frank Dixon]

Here is a 20-year-old game between two of Canada's top players, which had scoresheet problems, now solved. Double Kingside castling. Enjoy!!

IM Deen Hergott (2475), (Ottawa, bd. 1) -- IM Igor Zugic (2524), (Toronto, bd. 1)
Kingston 2005, played Sept. 10
Four Cities Matches, rd. 3 of 3
Time control: G/60'
Org: Chess 'N Math Association, and Queen's University Chess Club
TD: IA Larry Bevand
Assistant TD: NTD Frank Dixon
English, A13
CASCLA: [K'-,6|K+,8]
Notes by Frank Dixon

[This was the board one game in the final round, with four boards per side; Montreal and Quebec City were also contesting, with four all-Master teams. Larry summoned everyone to Kingston, where the QUCC obtained a no-charge playing site for the matches, played all in one day in late summer, to mark the 20th anniversary of CMA (founded in Montreal in 1985). Both players in this game had scored at least one GM norm at this juncture.]
1.Nf3 e6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 f5 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.O-O Bb4 7.a3
[There are 100 games at 365chess.com after Black's sixth move, but only one other game with 7.a3. This was NM Ivo Vukovic 0-1 NM Udo Kaeser, Budapest 1996.]
7...Bxc3 8.bxc3 O-O 9.a4
[And this is new.]
9...a5 10.c5 bxc5 11.Ba3 Na6! 12.Rb1 Bd5 13.d3 d6 14.Qd2 Qd7 15.Rb5!? Nb4!
[Adventurous play from Black, aiming to trap the R/b5.]
16.cxb4 axb4 17.Bxb4 Rxa4! 18.Rxc5 dxc5 19.Bxc5 Rfa8 20.Ne5 Qb5 21.Bxd5 Nxd5 22.Rc1 Ra1! 23.Bd4 Rxc1+ 24.Qxc1 Qa4 25.Nc6 h6
[So Black emerges with a clear Exchange up. But White's position is essentially solid, and Black has some targets, so conversion to a win will be difficult.]
26.e4 dxe4 27.dxe4 Nb4 28.Nxb4 Qxb4 29.Qc6 Rf8 30.Qxe6+ Kh7 31.Qe5 Rf7 32.Qe6 Qe7
[White now has a pawn for the Exchange, with lots of activity.]
33.Qc6 Rf3 34.Kg2 Rd3 35.Be3 Rd6 36.Qc2 Kh8 37.Bd4 Rd7 38.Qc6 Qf7 39.h4 Re7 40.Qa8+ Kh7 41.Qc6 Qg6 42.Qc4 c6 43.e5 h5, 0-1.
[A surprising finale, but the Ottawa team, at this juncture, had already clinched the tournament victory!! Deen could have likely held the draw, if need be, but the matches were not to be CFC rated, by prior agreement, so no rating points were at stake. Deen resigned here. All the players and organizers then advanced to one of Kingston's finest restaurants, where Larry treated everyone to a delicious meal!! Trips home followed. A wonderful day!!]

[Frank Dixon]

Opposite-sides castling, this time with White first on the Kingside, then Black on the Queenside; Black wins.

Wolfgang Mueller (1950) -- Frank Dixon (1780)
Calgary 1983, played Sept. 12
Calgary Chess Club rapid, rd. 3
Organizer / TD: John Schleinich
Time control: G/30'
CASCLA: [K'-,10|Q+,15]
Blumenfeld Gambit, E10
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5
[This is the Blumenfeld Gambit, named for Dr. Benjamin Blumenfeld (1884-1947), a Russian Master, from the late Czarist / early Bolshevik period. A lawyer by profession, graduate of the University of Berlin, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Akiba Rubinstein, behind only Georg Salwe, in the 4th Russian Championship of 1906, with several more strong results up to the 1920s. He also wrote some important articles on calculation in chess, and defended his doctorate in psychology on cognition in chess in 1945, at age 61! This work was one of the pioneering efforts of academic chess research. The opening variation has aspects in common with the Benko Gambit and Modern Benoni. Alexander Alekhine played the line several times as Black, and it has seen something of a revival in recent years. Still believed better for White; there are nonetheless some unclear and unexplored lines in it.]
5.Bg5 exd5 6.cxd5 d6 7.e4 a6 8.a4 b4 9.Be2 Be7 10.O-O Nbd7
[Seemingly new, as per 365chess.com. Another Canadian game from two years later, Ray Stone -- Igor Ivanov, Canadian Championship, Edmonton 1985, saw the sharp 10...Nxe4!?, and was eventually drawn after a very lively middlegame.]
11.Nbd2 Qc7 12.Qc2 a5 13.Nc4 Ba6 14.Rfe1 Bxc4!? 15.Bxc4 O-O-O!? (12,5)
[We have an unbalanced position, with Black giving White the two bishops, and having opened inviting lines into his own castled position. Certainly risky, but I planned to try to defend as best I could, while aiming to counterattack on the Kingside.]
16.Rad1 h6 17.Bh4 g5 18.Bg3 Ng4 19.h3 Nge5 20.Nxe5 Nxe5 21.Ba6+ Kb8 22.Qe2 Ka7 23.Bb5 Rdg8 (17,11) 24.Rc1 h5 25.Rc2 g4 26.h4 Rg6 27.Rec1 Rhg8 28.b3 Qb6
[Black is developing some dangerous possibilities on the Kingside.]
29.Rd2 Bxh4!? (22,17) 30.Bxh4 Nf3+! 31.Kh1 Nxh4 32.Rg1 Qd8 33.Bc6 Nf3! (25,20) 34.g3
[White was facing potential mate in certain other lines!]
34...Nxd2 35.Qxd2 h4 36.Qe2 Qe7 37.Qb5 Qc7 38.Re1 hxg3 39.fxg3 Rb8 40.Qe2 Rh8+ 41.Kg2 f6! (27,23) 42.Rg1 Qe7 43.Re1 Qh7! 44.Qb5
[Both players figured: It's mate, or be mated!]
44...Qh2+ 45.Kf1 Qh1+ 46.Ke2 Qf3+ 47.Kd2 Rh2+ 48.Kc1 Qc3+, 0-1. (29,27)
[Shows some of the potential of lesser-played variations!]

[Frank Dixon]

In the CASCLA formulation, double Kingside castling [K|K] is by far the most common pattern. Nowhere near as common is double Queenside castling [Q|Q]; I have found that it is in fact quite rare. Some lines of the Caro-Kann and Sicilian have a fair number of games with it. Here is one in the French, with White castling long first, and winning.

Frank Dixon (1940) -- WFM Hazel Smith (2078)
Brantford 2004, played May 16
Ontario Open, Open section, rd. 2 of 6
Organizers: Ontario Chess Association, SWOCL, Brantford Chess Club
Head arbiter: Christopher Mallon (now FA)
Time controls: 40/120' +30"; SD/60' + 30"
French, Burn / Rubinstein, C10
CASCLA: [Q'+,10|Q-,11]
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

[This was an excellent tournament, with a large, well-lit site, a great turnout, and lots of strong players, including GMs Dmitry Tyomkin and Sergei Kudrin. I played up a section, in the Open, and met five Masters in six rounds!]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.Bd3 b6 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.O-O-O Qe7 11.h4 O-O-O (17,31)
[Black sets up a sturdy defensive system, as both sides castle long. One very famous and important game in a similar line was Andor Lilienthal 1-0 Igor Bondarevsky, 12th Soviet Championship, Moscow 1940, final round. Black led the tournament, with White a full point behind as his nearest challenger. Black had won an earlier game against White in a similar French system, only a few months before. But this time, Black got into an overly passive position, and lost to excellent play, leaving the two tied for the title; there was no playoff.]
12.Kb1 Kb8 13.g4 g6 14.g5 Bg7 15.Rhe1 Rhe8 16.c3 e5 17.Qc2! Qf8 18.Qa4 exd4 19.cxd4! f5 (28,53)
[White has more space and freedom of action, with Black struggling for full equality. This game is a fairly rare French example where Black does not aim for the ...c7-c5 counter.]
20.Ned2 Qd6 21.Ba6 Bxa6 22.Qxa6 Qf4 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.Qb5! Qd6 (41,78)
[Now White's knight-pair will pressure Black's Queen in the center, eventually creating a clear advantage, with Black lacking counterplay, and with White exploiting Black's weak light squares and weak back rank.]
25.Nc4! Qe6 26.Re1! Qf7?
[Black had to try the unappealing 26...Qxe1+ 27.Nxe1 Rxe1+, 28.Kc2, to stay in the game, where White is still much better. Now it will be over quickly.]
27.Rxe8+ Qxe8 28.Nfe5! Bxe5 29.Nxe5 Kc8 30.Qa6+ Kb8 31.Nc6+, 1-0. (52,115)

[Frank Dixon]

Here is an example of the [Q-|N+] CASCL; that is, White castles Queenside, Black does not castle, and wins.

NM Jean-Francois Wen (2200) -- Frank Dixon (2000)
Kingston 1991, played August 3
Kingston Summer Rapid, Group A, rd. 3 of 3
Org: Kingston CC and Queen's University CC
TD: Frank Dixon
Time control: G/30'
Black Knights' Tango, E20
CASCLA: [Q-,15|N+]
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4 d5
[This is a line in the Black Knights' Tango which I have played many times. In it, Black allows White to play 4.e2-e4, usually considered a blunder in these sorts of positions. Then, Black counters with ...d7-d5, setting up a different type of central structure from the usual Queen's Pawn openings. This leads to a range of new positions, and I have scored quite well with it. Of course, White can also play other moves than 4.e4 (for example, I have faced 4.Bg5, 4.a3, 4.e3, 4.d5, and 4.g3. Other games had also previously reached this position, but not usually in this move order, I have learned in recent years. IM Tom O'Donnell told me he thought my move order was superior to that often played by IM Georgy Orlov, who has published two books on the line. Tom, normally a 1.e4 player, graciously consented to play a simul game in this variation, but not quite with the same four moves as here! He won a nice game! My debut published game with the line was Peter Bokhout 0-1 Dixon, Ontario Open, Kingston 2003, which I annotated deeply for the 'Chess Canada Echecs' magazine in 2004, and led to Editor FM Hans Jung successfully taking up this line himself!]
5.Bg5 Bb4 6.e5 h6
[This is somewhat similar to the main line of the McCutcheon variation of the French, which saw its debut published game Wilhelm Steinitz 0-1 Captain McCutcheon, New York simul 1885. Here we have added in c2-c4 for White and ...Nb8-c6 for Black. This favors -- WHO!?]
7.Bh4
[A major alternative is 7.exf6, which I have also faced, with success; again, somewhat akin to an offbeat McCutcheon French line.]
7...g5 8.Bg3 Ne4 9.Nge2 f5 10.f3 Nxg3 11.Nxg3 dxc4 12.a3 Ba5 13.Bxc4 Qxd4 14.Qxd4 c5 15.O-O-O c5 (9,6)
[So Black has snapped the d-pawn, but White has edges in space and development, with his King castled, in a middlegame without Queens.]
16.Nh5 Kf7 17.Nb5 Nxb5 18.Bxb5 Bc7 19.Rhe1 Kg6 20.g4 a6 21.Ba4 b5 22.Bb3 Ra7 23.Ng3 Rf8 (16,11) 24.gxf5+ exf5 25.e6 Bf4+!
[A key zwishenzug, gaining a tempo, and allowing Black to defend with his R/a7 against the dangerous passed e-pawn. The game turns on this! JF said later that he had missed this idea.]
26.Kb1 Re7! 27.Nf1 c4! (22,16) 28.Bc2 Rxe6 29.h3 Rfe8 30.Rxe6+ Rxe6 31.Rd8 Bb7 32.Bd1 Kf7 (27,22)
[Black has a clear advantage in this endgame, two pawns up, with majorities on both wings. With both players starting to run short of time, Black has to guard against threats from White's active rook, before he can start a winning plan.]
33.Rd7+ Re7 34.Rd8 a5! 35.Kc2 b4 36.Rh8 Kg7 37.Rd8 b3+! 38.Kb1 g4! (28,25)
[The key idea: Black sacrifices a Kingside pawn to bring his light-squared bishop to greater activity. He will aim to exploit White's weak back rank and uncoordinated forces.]
39.hxg4 fxg4 40.fxg4 Be4+! 41.Ka1 Bc2! 42.Rd4 Re1!, 0-1. (29,26)
[This was a confidence-boosting win with the new variation, over a strong player.]

[Frank Dixon]

I have a dandy game, for the [Q-|N+] CASCLA!! Game score courtesy of Montreal's Hugh Brodie.

GM Robert Fischer (~2700) -- Ignas Zalys
Montreal simul, Feb. 1964, 56 boards
King's Bishop's Gambit, C33
CASCLA: [Q-,13|N+]
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4
[Fischer favored this variation ahead of the far more popular 3.Nf3. He played two tournament games in the 1960s with this line, winning both. He also met the line 2...Nf6 from IM Bob Wade, and won that as well. Fischer was taking a long break from tournament play, and embarking on a long 1964 North American tour, having just won the USA Championship 1963-64 with a perfect 11-0-0 score. Despite qualifying, he would decline to participate as a USA representative in the forthcoming 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal, citing Soviet collusion from the 1962 Candidates Tournament, in a world-famous article published later in 1962 in 'Sports Illustrated' magazine. FIDE would modify the Candidates format for the next cycle, into a series of matches involving the top eight challengers for 1965. Did Fischer's advocacy impact FIDE's choice? One would have to think so!!]
3...Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bb3 d5 6.exd5 cxd5 7.d4 Bd6 8.Nge2 f3!?
[Not covered in the 1981 second edition of ECO volume C! This is surely a fascinating try, worthy of further study. Black returns the gambit pawn, while creating some Kingside threats of his own. The site 365chess.com has eight examples with 8...f3!?, all after 1964, with White scoring well. The exhibition game Short -- Kasparov, London 1993 (played after their PCA title match had ended early, greatly in Kasparov's favor) saw Black play 8...Nc6 here; White won. A more recent super-GM game Ivanchuk -- Giri, Beijing rapid 2013, had 9.gxf3 O-O, and White won.]
9.gxf3 Nh5!? 10.Be3 Bb4 11.a3 Ba5 12.Qd3 a6 13.O-O-O Be6 14.Ng3 Nxg3 15.hxg3 h6 16.f4 Bxc3 17.Qxc3 Nd7
[Black seems at least equal here. Leaving his King in the center doesn't seem to be hurting him.]
18.g4 Bxg4 19.Rdg1 Nf6 20.Bf2 Ne4! 21.Qb4 Qd7 22.Bh4 a5 23.Qe1 f5 24.Kb1 b5!
[Mr. Zalys is acquitting himself very well against the world-class GM conducting White!]
25.Rg3 h5! 26.Bg5 Kf7 27.Re3 Rhe8
[I think Black is clearly better here. White lacks both coordinated activity and targets.]
28.c3 Ra6! 29.Bc2 Rae6 30.Ka1? Nxg5, 0-1.
[GM Fischer scored +48 =3 -5.]