A Tartajubow Treat

    Yesterday was a harrowing one owing to rain, flooding, severe weather alerts and power outages, but we were mercifully blessed to have been spared all but an incessant drizzle. I spent some time playing on Chess Hotel. 

    I like the site because you sign in with a guest name and then choose your time limit or click on the list of available games and start playing. The strength of the players is usually in the low to medium range. 

    There does not seem to be a lot of engine users and some players demonstrate bad etiquette by abandoning the game when they are losing. If they do, you receive a notice and the win. 

    Chat is available, but it’s rarely used. If it is it it’s mostly profanity laced insults that arr quite amusing. 

  In any case, it’s been a while since I have treated readers to one of my games, so here is one that was played yesterday. I played the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.

   In the gambit white intends (after 1.e4 d5 2.d4) to follow up with f3 intending to obtains a tempo and a half-open f-file in return for a P. White;s hope is that he can achieve rapid development and active posting with a resulting in a quick attack. 

    The G\gambit was originally named after Armand Blackmar (1820-1888) who was born in Vermon. Along with his brother Henry they invented the gambit. The brothers owned a music publishing company that was originally based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, and later Augusta, Georgia. The company became the most successful publisher of music of the Confederacy during Civil War. Armand was best known for the patriotic songs he wrote. Bonnie Blue Flag

    The gambit is considered aggressive, but its soundness is debatable. Back in the old days (i.e. pre-engine) when we played correspondence chess on post cards there were a few amateurs who specialized in it. GM Boris Avrukh wrote that the gambit "may not be fully correct" but cautioned that he "was surprised at just how potent white's initiative could become.” For us amateurs it’s worth a try! 

[Event "Chess Hotel G10"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Anonymous"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] {D00: Blackmar-Diemer Gambit} 1. e4 d5 {I have run into this defense quite often online. In my day this was called the Center Counter Defense, but today it's known as the Scandanavian Defense. The general idea is to prevent white from controlling the center with Ps and thereby forcing an open game. In my database white scores very well...44 percent.} 2. d4 {Preferring to play on my own turf.} dxe4 {Of course black cna transpose into the French (2...e6) or the Car-Kan (2.c6), but that rarely happens.} 3. f3 exf3 {Black can decline the gambit with either 3,,,Nf6 or 3...e5 nut I have never had that happen!} 4. Nxf3 Nf6 5. Bc4 e6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Nc3 c6 8. O-O {One thing about this gambit is that both sides can usually play routine developing moves with little book knowledge required.} (8. Qe2 O-O 9. O-O-O Nd5 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 11. Ng5 Nd5 12. Qh5 {Ivanov, O-Panamski,S Sofia 2008. Wgite's attack looks more dangerous than it is and in the game black (who actually stands slightly better) was able to score the win.}) 8... O-O 9. Qe2 Nbd7 10. Rad1 Re8 11. Bb3 {Not bad by any means, but I played it because I could not think of anything that looked constructive. Stockfish likes 11.Ne5, but perhaps 11.Bd3 with an eye on h7 was a better practical choice.} Nd5 12. Ne4 {Hoping to get a N on g5 if black plays 12...Bxg5} Nf8 {Black is transferring the N to g6 to defend his K, but the maneuver is too slow. 12...f6! disrupts white's plans.} 13. c4 {This drives the N back with a gain of time and maybe prepares the way for d5,} Nf6 { This retreat is not the best.} (13... Bxg5 14. Nfxg5 f5 15. cxd5 fxe4 (15... exd5 16. Qh5 g6 17. Qh6 Rxe4 18. Nxe4 fxe4 {with a difficult material imbalance. Black has a B+N+2Ps vs a R, but the chances are about equal. A Shootout from this position resulted in white scoring +1 -1 =3.}) 16. Qh5 h6 17. Nf7 Qb6 18. Nxh6+ gxh6 19. Qf7+ Kh8 20. Rf6 {mates in 3}) 14. Bc2 {Aiming at h7, but black has adequate defensive resources against a K-side attack'} ( 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Ne5 Ng6 16. Bc2 Qe7 17. Qh5 Bxe5 18. Ng5 h6 19. Nxf7 Bxh2+ 20. Qxh2 Nh4 21. Ne5 {White has a decisive advantage.}) 14... Nxe4 $1 $15 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Qxe4 f6 {Preventing Ne5} 17. Rfe1 Bd7 18. h4 {The engine says that 18.c5 remains equal, but I was hoping for a K0side attack.} Qf7 19. Kf2 { Already thinking about a sacrifice on g5, the idea of this move is to get a R on the potentially open h-file. In reality it's just that...hope} b6 20. Rh1 e5 {This attempt to take advantage of the position of white's Q looks reasonable, nbut iy's not the most active plan.} (20... Qe7 21. h5 h6 {and white's plans are stymied and black has a solid position.}) 21. dxe5 fxe5 22. Kg1 {This allows the N to move.} Ng6 {[%mdl 8192] In his anxiety to defend against white's threatened attack. black makes a fatal mistake. For a reason that soon becomes clear he had to play 22...Rad8 which defends the B.} 23. Ng5 {This is what I.A. Horowitz used to call a scokdoilager, a powerful blow.} Qf4 {Black hopes that exchanging Qs will lessen white's attack, but he has failed to notice the B on d7 is undefended.} (23... Qe7 {This defends the B, but it doesn't matter. White can win as follows.} 24. c5 {The Q wants to go to c4} Rf8 25. Qc4+ Kh8 26. Bxg6 Rf4 (26... hxg6 27. h5 {mates.} Qxc5+ 28. Qxc5 bxc5 29. hxg6+ Bh3 30. Rxh3+ Kg8 31. Rd7 Rf1+ 32. Kxf1 Rf8+ 33. Nf7 Rxf7+ 34. gxf7+ Kf8 35. Rh8#) 27. Be4 h6 28. g3 Rff8 {and white has won a piece.}) 24. Qxf4 { Black realized the B on d7 was lost so he resigned.} 1-0