The From's Gambit 2

Wednesday evening, December 7th, a truncated round was played at the Albany Area Chess Club. Not playing were; Howard, Lack, and Alowitz. Three games took place; Gordon Magat defeated Tim Wright, Peter Henner won over Chris Caravaty and Cory Northrup and Jason Denham fought to a draw.

Updating the standings in the AACC contest with the elimination of Ahkil Kamma’s games:

1 Magat 4 - 1

2 Howard 2 ½ 1 ½

3 Henner 2 - 1

4 Alowitz 2 -2

5&6 Lack 1 ½ - 1 ½

5&6 Northrup 1 ½ - ½

7 Wright 1 ½ - 2 ½

8&9 Denham 1 - 3

8&9 Caravaty 1 - 3

The games among Magat, Howard and Henner are still to be played and will have a significant effect on the final standings. Mr. Magat has a pretty good lead. With a little luck and some good chess he has maybe the best chances to win the title this year. His closest competitors will do all they can to prevent that no doubt.

In my last post there was a great deal of material on historic games in the From’s. There will be far less background material this time mostly because this pair; Henner and Wright take the game out of theory quickly.

Henner, Peter - Wright, Tim [A02]

AACC Championship Guilderland, NY, 30.11.2011

1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Nc3 0–0 6.d4!?,..

A committal move. It takes control of a piece of the center but leaves behind some holes. Safer is 6 e3.

6..., h6 7.g3 Bg4 8.Bg2 c6!?

This is not a position found in theory. Rybka says White is maybe a bit better than expected for having the first move, but it is not a lot. Rather than the last move, Black could have played 8..., Nc6; when Rybka sees Black nearly equal. He has gained a tempo or two for the pawn. After the text White is catching up in development. To repeat from the last post; Black has to strive for maximum activity and tension, he has, after all, given up a pawn.

9.Qd3 Na6 10.a3 Re8 11.Bf4?!,..

White here is seduced by the same devil as was Caravaty; opposite side castling. In general castling on different sides of the board raise the tension in the position and set the stage for sacrificial attacks. White has a pawn in the bag. Why does White want to set up a rich tactical environment? Consolidation should be the order of the day for him.

11..., Bxf4 12.gxf4 Qd6?

Black has the right idea, he just picks the wrong piece with which to attack f4. Here 12..., Nh5 13 Qd2 Bxf3 14 Bxf3 Qh4+ 15 Kd1 Nxf4; recovers the pawn, and Black has more than equalized. White now obtains a significant advantage.

13.Ne5 Nc7 14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 Be6 16.0–0–0?!,..

A moment where Aagaard’s unforced thinking could have been invoked. The assumption that castling is always good, or necessary before undertaking attacking operations influences Mr. Henner. White could have gotten his full due with 16 Rg1, then if 16..., Rad8 17 Qg3, just about forces 17..., Qf1; and then castling for White achieves a smooth development with good chances to continue the attack.

16..., Red8 17.Rhg1 Ne8

Black was given the time to clear e8 for this Knight. Now it is true White is still a lot better, however Black has been able to craft a defense.

18.f5 Bd5 19.Bxd5 cxd5 20.Qg3 Qf6?!

Better is 20..., f6; it makes for a sturdier bulwark. Had Black played so there might have been a chance to make something out of the half open c-file.

21.Ng4?!,..

Just shifting the King to b1 avoids the check coming.

21..., Qg5+

Black now forces off the Queens reducing the heat in the direct attack. This is a sensible and practical decision. Black still has the pawn deficit to deal with in the ending, but there are always chances in endings with the Rooks on to craft a draw.

22.Kb1 h5 23.Ne5 Qxg3 24.Rxg3 Nd6?

The Knight was doing good duty on e8. Moving him away a beat too soon leads to troubles.

25.Rdg1 Nxf5 26.Rg5,..

Either Mr. Wright undervalued this lateral attack, or he misevaluated the ensuing positions.

26... f6 27.Rxf5 fxe5 28.Rxe5 Re8 29.Rgg5 h4

The White Rooks are very actively posted, so much so it is hard to see Black not trading off a pair soon.

30.Kc1 Rad8 31.Kd2,..

The e-pawn is now secured and Black has to get rid of a pair of Rooks lest all his forward pawns are plundered.

31..., Rxe5 32.Rxe5 g6 33.Ke3?!,..

White has a very good position. The choice here is how to proceed. White can bring his King forward, he can put the Rook on the seventh, or the e-pawn can be advanced. I would prefer going to the seventh rank with the Rook. That is where the Rook belongs. Perhaps Peter was motivated by the wish to keep the Black Rook from getting any activity. The game shows the Black rook can find something active to do because the White King can not support his Q-side pawns. It turns out this activity is not enough to offset the advantage White has.

Here is a sample line with the Rook on the seventh; 33 Re7 Rf8 34 Rxb7 Rf2 35 h3 Rh2 36 Rb3, then the White Rook will shift to e3 or f3 and the Q-side pawns can’t be stopped because the White Rook cuts off the Black King. This seems to me to be a less worrisome way to exploit the advantage than the game continuation. Of course, it really is a question of style, and there are many ways to finish.

33... Kf7 34.Kf4,..

White has his sights set on the h-pawn. With no direct defense possible, Black tries to make something useful out of his Rook.

34..., Kf6

It may be better to play 34..., Rd6; first. Getting some freedom for the Rook along the sixth rank offers a glimmer of hope. Play might continue; 35 Kg4 Rc6 36 c3 Rb6 37 b4 Rc6 38 Rxd5 Rxc6 39 Rd7+ Ke6 40 Rxb7 Rxa3 41 e4 Re3 42 Kf4 Re2 43 Rxa7 g5+!? 44 Kf3? Rxh2; and Black has some slim hopes of finding a draw. However, if White plays better he has a won game after 44 Kxg5, leading to White having two widely separate passed pawns, a standard winning position.

35.Kg4 Rd6 36.Kxh4 Rb6 37.Rxd5 Rxb2 38.Rc5 Ra2 39.Rc3,..

White has pocketed a second pawn. It is now a matter of getting the central passers rolling. The White Rook and King are excellent convoys for the pawns. It will not make much difference to the outcome if one, or even two of the laggard White pawns are captured, the d & e-pawns will carry the day.

39..., a6 40.e4 Ra1 41.Kg3 Rg1+ 42.Kf2 Rd1 43.Rf3+ Ke6 44.Ke3 Re1+ 45.Kd3 b5 46.Rg3 Kf6 47.e5+ Kg7 48.Re3 Rd1+ 49.Ke4 Rd2 50.Kd5 Kg8 51.Rc3 Rxh2 52.Ke6 g5 53.d5 g4 54.d6 Rh6+ 55.Kf5 Rh5+ 56.Kf6 Rh6+ 57.Kg5 Rh3 58.Rc8+ 1–0

And so, two From’s Gambits side-by-side came to grief on this evening. The fault in both cases can be laid to two causes; this gambit is not quite sound, and if you mean to play the Gambit, understanding the need to increase the tension while getting the maximum activity for your pieces is crucial. The From’s is a gamble, even more so than the King’s Gambit. At every turn, Black has to weigh up the choices and must go for that which is most active. To repeat Jon Leisner’s dictum; to play the From’s you must be aggressive and accurate.

More soon.