Opening Lanes

Opening Lanes is based in large part on readers' questions. Do you have a question about a particular opening line? Baffled by a branch of the Benoni or Budapest? Submit your questions (with you full name and country of residence please) and perhaps Gary will reply in his next Chess Cafe column...

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Scotch and Ice Opening Lanes

Gary Lane
The Scotch has been given a new lease of life with Kasparov playing it with success, and that has encouraged a lot of imitators. There has been a lot of debate about the complicated main lines but when the opening originally became popular in 1826 the refutation seemed to be 4Qh4 and some think it is still deadly. You have to be ice cool to move the queen so early in the opening with the expectation of winning a pawn. He who dares wins!

Thankfully, Antero Harju, from Finland just happens to ask a question about The Steinitz variation What is the best way for Black in the Scotch Opening: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4 Qh4!? George Arndt, USA echoed this request.
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The idea of bringing the queen out early against the Scotch always surprises juniors and casual players who have been taught to keep the queen safe at the opening stage of the game. An attempt by White not to lose the epawn is prone to serious problems due to the danger of becoming involved in a defensive mess. Degurnay Aldama-Blas Lugo Capablanca Memorial Matanzas 1992

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1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4 Qh4 It looks ridiculous to attack the e-pawn and hope for success but a number of notable players have toyed with the line. Indeed, grandmaster Lev Gutman has done a lot to promote the idea with various books and articles. There will still be a lot of people who will think that this is a relatively new idea having never studied the opening. However, the following quote reveals a lot "The move 4 Nxd4, I believe to have been censured without good cause, and that it may be made with perfect security. The chief objection advanced against it, is the counter move 4...Qh4, a manoeuvre which is certainly highly ingenious, and has been approved by ever writer of eminence from the time of its introduction. But, which I have the temerity to think has been somewhat overestimated". The opinion of Kasparov or Kramnik? Well, not quite but the wise words of English champion Howard Staunton writing in the The Chess-Player's Handbook in 1847! 5 Qd3 An obvious way of defending the pawn and in this case White is rated 2380 so it has to be taken seriously. 5 Bd3?? is the classic beginner's move when 5Nxd4 causes much embarrassment. Alternatively, 5 Nf3 is known as the Fraser Variation with White giving up the pawn without a struggle relying on rapid development aided by chasing the black queen 5Qxe4+ 6 Be2 Nf6 (6Qe7!? is a good idea to hide the queen from danger having won the pawn 7 00 Nf6 8 Re1 Qd8 9 Nc3 Be7 gives Black the superior practical chances.) 7 00 Be7 8 Bb5 00 9
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Nc3 (I suspect White was banking on 9 Re1 followed by taking c6 and e7 to win material but it does not work after the simple 9Qd5! when 10 Bxc6 dxc6 11 Qxd5 (11 Rxe7?? Qxd1+) 11Nxd5 12 c4 Nb4 13 Rxe7 Nc2 is good for Black.) 9Qg6 10 Bd3 Qh5 11 Nb5 Bd8 (not pretty but an effective measure to hang on to the extra pawn) 12 Bg5 a6 13 Bxf6 axb5 14 Bxd8 Rxd8 15 Re1 d6 16 Qe2 Bg4 17 Bxb5? Bxf3 18 gxf3 and White resigned before 18...Nd4 could appear on the board, 01 F.Prada Rubin-A.Sorin, Oviedo 1992. 5Nf6 6 Nd2 Or 6 Nb5 Bc5 7 g3 Qh5 8 Nxc7+? (8 Be2 is a better choice although 8Qg6 makes sure that the complications favour Black according to Gutman.) 8Kd8 9 Nxa8 Ng4 is excellent for Black. 6Ng4 7 g3 Qf6 8 f3 Others: 8 N2f3 Nxd4 9 Nxd4 Nxf2 10 Qe3 Nxh1 ends the game as a contest; 8 N4f3 Bc5 (8Nb4 9 Qc4 Qb6 is also winning) 9 Bg2 Bxf2+ 10 Ke2 d6 11 Nc4 Be6 12 Rf1 Nd4+ 13 Nxd4 Qxd4 with a winning position, H.Pedersen-J.Furhoff, Copenhagen 1995. 8Nb4! A neat move, which tips the game hugely in Black's favour. Or 8Nge5 9 Qe3 Nxd4 10 Qxd4 Nxf3+ 11 Nxf3 Qxf3 12 Qe5+ Be7 13 Rg1 and now 13d5 was tried in the game W.Zwick-H.Kaplan, German Team Championship 1997 with equal chances but 13d6! maintains Black's edge upon 14 Qxg7 Qxe4+ 15 Be2 Rf8 when White is struggling to make up for his pawn deficit. 9 Qc3 If 9 Qb3 then 9Qxd4 10 fxg4 d5! leaves White with an awful position. For example: 11 exd5 Bxg4 12 Bc4 Bc5 a killer move 13 Rf1 Nxc2+ 14 Qxc2 Qe3+ 15 Be2 Qxe2 mate. 9Qxd4 10 Qxd4 Nxc2+ 11 Kd1 Nxd4 12 fxg4 It is
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time to take stock of the situation after the brief flurry of activity. Basically, White is a pawn down in an ending with no compensation. 12d5!? A great idea to put White's pawns under pressure. 13 h3 Be6 14 Bg2 000 15 e5 h5 16 gxh5 Rxh5 17 Nf3 Nxf3 18 Bxf3 Rxh3 Another white pawn bites the dust. The game concluded: 19 Rxh3 Bxh3 20 g4 Bf1 21 Bf4 Bc4 22 b3 Bd3 23 Kd2 Bg6 24 Rc1 c6 25 g5 Bf5 26 a4 Bb4+ 27 Ke2 d4 28 Bd2 Ba3 29 Ra1 Bb2 30 Rh1 d3+ 31 Kf2 Bxe5 32 a5 a6 33 Re1 Bd4+ 34 Kg3 Kd7 35 b4 Re8 36 Rc1 Be5+ 37 Kf2 Rh8 38 b5 Rh2+ 39 Ke3 axb5 40 a6 bxa6 41 Bxc6+ Ke7 42 Bb4+ Bd6 01 It is clear that 4Qh4 can be a dangerous weapon and White needs to be careful handling the situation. Then again, even schoolboys can beat highly rated players of the Black pieces if they know what to do in the opening. It also helps to understand that White, aged 12, is the youngest grandmaster in the world! Sergey Karjakin-Vasily Malinin Sudak 2002 1 e4 Nc6 2 d4 e5 3 Nf3 exd4 4 Nxd4 Qh4 5 Nc3 This is probably the best reply, which protects the epawn and get son with the job of developing. 5Bb4 6 Be2 White is content to let the e-pawn fall because Black will have to exchange his bishop opening more lines. 6Nf6!? Perhaps 6Bxc3+ 7 bxc3 Nf6 should be considered as a safer approach. 7 00 Bxc3 8 Nf5! White starts to chase the queen and Black has the unpleasant task of trying to wriggle out
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of a strong attack. Or 8 bxc3 Nxd4 9 cxd4 Nxe4 10 Bd3 d5 11 Ba3 Be6 intending to castle on the queenside allows the black king to escape to safety. 8Qxe4 9 Bd3 Qg4 10 f3 Qa4 10Qb4 11 bxc3 Qxc3 12 Nxg7+ Kd8 13 Rb1 gave White the advantage in S.Prudnikova-J.Bokan, Herceg Novi 2001. 11 bxc3 00? A natural move but it turns out to be a decisive mistake. 11Kf8 is the correct move to protect the g7 pawn when 12 Qe1 d6 13 Nxg7 Kxg7 14 Qg3+ Kf8 15 Bh6+ Ke7 16 Rae1+ Be6 17 Rxe6+ Kxe6 18 Re1+ Ne5! and Black should survive the complications, M.Mueller-K.Schiffer, German Team Championship 1997. 12 Nxg7! The famous thing about a child prodigy is that they usually know their openings and White jumps at the chance to pounce on a mistake. 12Kxg7 13 Bh6+ Kxh6 Malinin accepts the challenge and consequently inevitably walks into the chess hall of fame for losing in brilliant style. 13Kh8 The evidence that this spectacular line has been known for some is revealed by the game Z.Vukovic-D.Mozetic, Banja Vrucica 1991, which continued 14 Bxf8 d6 15 Qd2 Qh4 16 Bh6 Ng8 17 Bg5 Qa4 18 c4 Qa5 19 Qf4 Ne5 20 Bf6+ Nxf6 21 Qxf6+ Kg8 22 Qg5+ 10. If 13Kg8 then the continuation 14 Qd2 Qh4 15 Bg5 Qh5 16 Bxf6 is fantastic for White. 14 Qd2+ Kh5 14Kg7 is no better after 15 Qg5+ Kh8 16 Qxf6+ Kg8 17 Qg5+ Kh8 18 Qh6 and Black resigns.15 g4+ Nxg4 16 fxg4+ Qxg4+ 17 Kh1 d6 18 Rf6

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The net closes on the black king with the immediate threat of mate on h6. 18Qg5 19 Be2+ Bg4 20 Bxg4+ 10 Randy Wheeless, from Charlotte, NC, USA wrote I ran across an interesting variation on the C3 Sicilian, 1e4 c5 2 c3 d5 3 exd5 Qxd5 4 d4 Nc6 5 dxc5 Qxd1+ 6 Kxd1. White loses the ability to castle. But it seems like Black has a hard time ever winning that pawn back. If White can get his pieces sorted out, doesn't he have an advantage -- at least a good shot at a draw? For Black, should he trade queens, or just re-capture the pawn with the queen on move 5? I like your idea to avoid the main lines and play something a little bit different. Of course, it is not a style suitable for everyone because an early exchange of queens will limit the tactical opportunities available. Then again, if you can win a pawn in the opening and keep it for the rest of the game then it has to be good news. Ryabov-Gennady Galuzin Capital of Siberia Open Novosibirsk 2002 1 e4 c5 2 c3 d5 3 exd5 Qxd5 4 d4 Nc6 5 dxc5

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A slightly unusual move but a good way to avoid the main lines. 5 Nf3 is also possible with the sample line 5cxd4 6 cxd4 e5 7 Nc3 Bb4 8 Bd2 Bxc3 9 Bxc3 e4 10 Ne5 giving White a slight plus. 5Qxd1+ Black enters the ending despite the pawn deficit in the hope that the white king on d1 will be awkwardly placed. 5Qxc5 wins back the pawn but White's idea is to carry on developing when the black queen can be harassed. 6 Na3 e5 7 Nb5 Qe7 8 b3 b6? 9 Ba3! Qb7 (9Qd7 10 Qxd7+ Kxd7 11 Bxf8 wins) 10 Bd6 intending Nc7+ should prompt Black to give up. 6 Kxd1 e5 7 b4 a5! Black has to quickly undermine the queenside pawns before White can consolidate by bring out the rest of his pieces. 8 Bb5 Bd7 9 Bxc6 This is an attempted improvement on a fairly well know game which is usually quoted in books on the C3. [9 Nf3 f6 10 Bd2 Nge7 11 Re1 axb4 12 cxb4 Nd5 13 Bxc6 (13 Re4 might be worth testing when 13Bf5 14 Rc4 Bd3 15 Bxc6+ bxc6 16 Rc1 leaves White a pawn up but his pieces lack harmony) 13Bxc6 14 Kc1 Kf7 15 a3 b6! 16 Rxe5! (16 cxb6 Nxb4 17 Re3 Nd5 is better for Black) 16Nxb4?! (16bxc5! 17 b5 Bd6! 18 Rh5 g6! 19 Rh4 Bxb5 leaves Black on top) 17 Ng5+! Kg6 (17fxg5! 18 Bxb4 bxc5 19 Bxc5 Ra5 20 Bd4 Rxe5 21 Bxe5 Bc5 22 Nd2 gives Black an edge due to the influential pair of bishops) 18 Re6 Nd3+ 19 Kc2 Ne5 20 Nc3 with better chances for White, E.SveshnikovN.Rashkovsky, Moscow. 9Bxc6 10 Nf3 e4 It is not clear how Black should proceed. For instance: 10Bxf3+ 11 gxf3 000+ 12 Kc2 Ne7 intending ...Nc6 to put pressure on the b4 pawn is worth investigating. 11 Nd4 Ba4+ 12 Ke2 axb4 13 cxb4
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b6 14 cxb6 000 If 14Bxb4 then 15 Bf4 threatening b6-b7 is deadly. 15 Be3 Bxb4 16 Rc1+ Kb7 17 Nc3 Bd7 Or 17Bxc3 18 Rxc3 Nf6 19 Rc7+ is excellent for White. 18 Nxe4 Nf6 19 Rc7+ Kb8 19Kxb6 allows White to have all the fun after 20 Ne6+ Ka5 21 Ra7+ Kb5 22 Nc7+ Kc4 23 Rc1+ Bc3 24 Rxc3+ Kb4 25 Bc5 mate. 20 Nxf6 gxf6 21 Rxd7! A nice way to finish the game. 21Rxd7 22 Nc6+ Kb7 23 Nxb4 Rg8 24 a4 Rg4 25 Nd3 10 My name is Abie Weiler from a village called BneiZion near the small town of Kfar-Saba which can be considered a suburb of Tel-Aviv, Israel. I like to play the Queenss Gambit Declined when I have the black pieces and I feel fine with the classical line when I break in the center with the thematic ...e5. But I completely lose my confidence when White chooses to play the exchange variation. Although the thematic ...e5 still exists, white smoothly sweeps in with a deadly king side attack. I add two of my games and I would love if you can elaborate on the ideas and strategy for Black and White in positions that arise from this sequence of moves. The games were played on the Internet against an opponent by the name of dralmil. It is sometimes not necessary to be too critical of games played on the internet because unlike over-theboard games it is easy to be distracted. For example: my own five-minute games are often ruined when half-way through the game I decide to leave the computer and go and make a cup of tea before ending up in frantic time-trouble. I had a look at the two games and found a theme in as much as a direct attack on your kingside produced weaknesses. However, I have a couple of ideas about how you can improve your play to end up a winner.

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Dralmil-Abie Weiler Internet 2002 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 cxd5 exd5 5 e3 This line is considered rather quiet for White who is content just to get his pieces out before looking for a middlegame plan. 5 Bg5 to pin the knight is considered the main line and 5 Qc2 also happens occasionally. 5Bd6 6 Bd3 Or 6 Nc3 c6 7 Bd3 Bg4 8 00 Nbd7 9 Re1 00 10 Bd2 Qc7 11 g3 (there is no need for White to volunteer to weaken his pawn barrier; 11 h3 is reasonable when 11Bh5 12 Rc1 threatening Nb5 offers equal chances) 11b5 (11Rae8! intending ...Ne4 looks good news for Black) 12 a3 a5 13 Rc1 Qb8 gave Black a plus due to his superior pawn structure, H.Weiss-J.Becker, Leimen 2001. 600 7 00 c6 8 Nc3 Nbd7 Or 8Bg4!? 9 e4 dxe4 10 Nxe4 Nxe4 11 Bxe4 Re8 12 Re1 Nd7 with a slight edge to Black due to the weakness of the isolated d-pawn. 9 e4 It makes sense to bring the dark-squared bishop into the game but this should have been done on move 5. Now the big difference is that White ends up with an isolated dpawn. 9dxe4 10 Nxe4 Nxe4 11 Bxe4 Nf6 12 Bc2 Bg4 13 Qd3 White has some vague threats against h7 but it should be harmless with accurate play. 13Bc7?! Weiler is beginning to go astray because he wants to copy
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Whites attacking plan by preparing ...Qd6. I think 13...Bh5 is the correct move, ready to play ...Bg6 in a crisis and I managed to track down a game, which should be an inspiration: 14 Qb3 Qb6 15 Nh4? Qxd4 16 Nf5 Qe5 17 Nxd6 Qxd6 18 Qh3 Bg6 at last the bishop retreats to kill off all threats against the h7 pawn 19 Bb3 Rfe8 20 Rd1? Qxd1+! 01 J.Gurrutxaga Telleria-M.Navarro Perez, Castelldefels 2001. 14 Bg5 h6?? We have all played moves like this on the internet! Instead, 14g6 is necessary although White retains the initiative due to the weak dark squares on the kingside. 15 Bxf6 Qxf6 16 Qh7 mate 10 The next game played on the internet shows Black putting up a much better fight but in the opening the worry is still checkmate on h7. Dralmil-Abie Weiler Internet 2002 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Be7 4 e3 00 5 Bd3 d5 6 cxd5 This releases the tension in the centre and the position soon becomes similar to the previous game, except Black's bishop is on the defensive square e7. Or 6 Nc3 b6 7 cxd5 exd5 8 Bd2 Bb7 9 Qc2 c5 10 00 Nc6 11 a3 (if 11 Rac1 then Black is happy to exchange off the potentially attacking bishop on d3 with 11Nb4 12 Qb1 Nxd3 13 Qxd3) 11h6 12 Rac1 led to equal chances in A.Najjar-G.Li, Dubai 2002.; 6 00 dxc4 7 Bxc4 a6 8 Qe2 c5 9 dxc5 Nc6 10 a3 Bxc5 11 b4 Bd6 12 Bb2 e5 13 e4 Bg4 offers equal chances although White eventually won in V.Malaniuk-J.Campos, Oviedo 1993. 6exd5 7 00
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c6 A reliable reply. In the game M.MchedlishviliM.Narciso Dublan, Leon 2001, Black played a little bit more energetically with 7c5. That game went: 8 dxc5 Bxc5 9 a3 (White wishes to advance the b-pawn as a way of preparing to fianchetto the dark squared bishop) 9Bd6 10 b4 a5 11 bxa5 Nc6 12 Bb2 Rxa5 13 Nbd2 with roughly equal chances; 7Be6 8 Nc3 c6 (a solid set-up by Black) 9 h3 Qd7 10 Re1 h6 11 e4 with equality, M.Schwarz-B.Beilfuss, Recklinghausen 2000. 8 Nc3 Nbd7 9 e4 dxe4 10 Nxe4 Re8 11 Nxf6+ Nxf6 12 Bc2 12g6?! The quick mate in the previous game has understandably made him nervous and he takes steps to avoid another calamity on the b1h7 diagonal. A look at my comments to the previous games will indicate that I believe 12Bg4 is the best move here with the idea of meeting 13 Qd3 with 13Bh5 heading for the g6 square to cancel out the threat against h7. 13 Bh6 Bf8 14 Bg5 Or 14 Bxf8 Kxf8 15 Qd2 Kg7 16 Rfe1 is about equal because although White has an isolated d-pawn it is currently doing some good by potentially being able to support a knight on e5. 14Bg4 15 Qd3 Bf5 16 Qd2 Bxc2 This game must be considered an improvement because after 16 move Black has not been checkmated! Indeed, he has a slight edge in the position. 17 Qxc2 Bg7 18 Rad1 Qd5!

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Weiler rightly stops any chance of advancing his dpawn and at the same time hands his queen a dominating role in the centre of the board. 19 Ne5 Nd7 If 19Qxa2?! then 20 Nc4 Qa6 21 Bd2! is a clever way of preparing to trap the black queen with 22 Ra1 Qb5 and Ra5, which leaves White in control. 20 f4 f6 I think 20Nb6! is one way of trying to win because when White avoids the pawn fork with 21 Bh4 then 21Qxa2 is strong because White is no longer able to block the escape route with Nc4. 21 Nxd7 fxg5 22 Ne5 gxf4 23 Rxf4 Bxe5?! A little bit more patience is needed before Black tries to win a pawn. 23Rad8! is a sensible improvement to bring another piece into the action maintaining Black's initiative against the d-pawn. 24 dxe5 Qxe5 25 Qc4+ Re6 25Qe6 is met by 26 Rd7 and suddenly a pawn deficit will not be much of a problem due to the active rook. 26 Rdf1 Qe3+ 27 Kh1 Rae8 28 h3 White avoids the possibility of back rank mate. 28Kh8 29 Rf7 R6e7 30 R7f3 Qe5 31 Qh4 Qxb2 32 Qh6 Qg7?? A typical mistake on the internet. Instead 32Rg8 saves the day after 33 Rf7 Rxf7 34 Rxf7 Qa1+ 35 Kh2 Qe5+ 36 Kh1 Qa1+ leads to a perpetual check. 33 Rf8+ 10

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Any more interesting ideas played on the Internet? If the answer is yes, then send them to me!
Copyright 2002 Gary Lane. All Rights Reserved. This column is available in Chess Cafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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