DITO 4

An opening disaster caused by playing a sideline which an opponent was able to prepare for, taken from Barnes, N (ECF:146) 0.5 - 0.5 Kjenner, S (ECF:154) (2016).

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 is the Scotch Opening. 4...Qh4 is a sideline, but not a bad one. This was the move that White had expected Black to play.

5.Nb5 is not the most common reply but does give scope for Black to go wrong. The knight threatens to fork the king and rook by capturing on c7. 5...Bc5 replies with a stronger threat.

6.Qf3 is one way of protecting the f2 pawn and also sets a trap.

6...Ne5 looks strong as it threatens the white queen on f3 and so seems to be bringing another piece into the attack with tempo.

However, Ne5 was a serious error allowing White to win material.

7.Qf4! was the prepared trap. According to the computer the best option for Black is 7...Qxf2+ 8.Qxf2 Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2 and White has won a piece for a pawn. The game continuation was 7...Qxf4. White missed the best move here - 8.Nxc7+ as after 8...Kd8 9.Bxf4 the knight on c7 is safe as 9...Kxc7 10.Bxe5+ Kd8 11.Bxg7 and White has an even greater material advantage than if Black allows the knight to take the a8 rook.

White's preparation ran out on move 7 though and 8.Bxf4 Bd6 9.Nxd6 cxd6 leaves White much better (more than +2 according to the computer) but the advantage is not as clear cut as after 8.Nxc7+.

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Previous opening disasters: DITO 1, DITO 2, DITO 3

DITO 3

An opening disaster caused by not paying attention to the line being played and just playing "normal" moves for the opening without checking...

Today's DITO shows an example of a common idea against the Slav, or rather a common idea that is not often seen as Black doesn't normally allow it, taken from Forrester, A (ECF:134) 0 - 1 Barnes, N (ECF:146) (2016).

Nothing wrong with the first few moves 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Bxc4 4. e3

However, 4...Nf6 is dubious as Black is giving the pawn back and allowing White to develop freely at the same time. Nf6 is normally played in the Slav but this is not the right time, 4...b5 is best.

White's reply is obvious, but after 5. Bxc4 Black is just losing after playing another "normal" Slav move (5...Bf5).

White can now win material and get a better position, with a tactic that Black should be well aware of if they are playing this opening...

White is a pawn up, for no compensation, after just six moves and the rest (should be) simple. Black made things worse by playing 6...Qc8 7. Bxf7+ Kd8, which the computer evaluates as being nearly the equivalent of a piece down for Black.

DITO 2

The previous post in this occasional series was an example of forgetting opening preparation, today is an example of playing your normal line without paying sufficient attention to the move order being used by your opponent and is taken from the same tournament.

When playing the first game in your first tournament for nearly two decades it always helps if your opponent has a DITO...

Lines where Black plays an early ...d5 in the Symmetrical English are quite common as instead of trying to maintain symmetry Black tries to grab the initiative. 1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 leads to a fairly common position:

There are numerous possibilities after this e.g. 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nc7 is the Rubinstein System, a complex line often seen in grandmaster play.

Today's DITO shows an example of ...d5 being played too early in a Symmetrical English, taken from Barnes, N (ECF:146) - Burrows, J (ECF:164)(2014).

2.g3 is the 4th most common move in response to 1...c5; Nc3, Nf3 and d4 are the more frequently seen alternatives. The game continued in a normal manner 2...Nc6 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nc3

However, 4...d5? just throws a pawn away. The difference from the line shown at the top of the post is that White has played Bg2 instead of Nf3 and so d5 is attacked three times and only protected twice. Black has not noticed the move order difference and has lost a pawn. It is going to get worse though...

Black still hasn't noticed that the knight is not on f3 and played 5...Nxd5??

White is a piece up after just six moves and the rest (should be) simple.

DITO

DITO (Disaster In The Opening)

This is the first in an occasional series of posts about openings going badly wrong in the hands of experienced players (no beginners falling for Fool's Mate here). The guilty will be named. Today's example is Lamont, R (ECF: 169) - Barnes, N (ECF: 146)(2014).

To show that nobody is safe we will start with a DITO of my own at the 2014 Bury St Edmunds congress.

This was my first chess tournament for nearly 20 years and the first day had gone well (scoring 2 out of 3 against higher-grade opposition). The morning of the 2nd day didn't go quite to plan. I had stayed overnight in Bury St Edmunds - not realising that the church bell would ring every 15 minutes throughout the night (so I knew exactly what time it was when I couldn't sleep).

I was a bit groggy at the start of the day but was pleased to see my opponent go for a line that I (thought) I knew well.

On move 3 I played c5 entering a respectable line (though not the main line) against the Advanced Variation of the Caro-Kann.

White accepted the pawn (the first person to do against me since I had started playing chess again), which is the critical response to 3...c5, and after 4...e6 played 5.Be3 protecting the pawn.

So far, so normal. However, I now couldn't remember the continuation to play. At the back of my mind something was telling me to go with 5...Nh6

The idea is to swing the knight to f5 where it will attack the bishop on e3 and start to put pressure on White's weakened pawn structure in the centre. This is generally considered to be the best plan. But I couldn't remember if this was right or not. After a few minutes thought I was confident that I had worked out something a bit better than Nh6...

A temporary sacrifice of a bishop that will regain a pawn and leave Black with a decent position. After White captures the bishop the queen can come out with forking White's king and bishop.

But this overlooks the obvious...

Black has lost a piece and the rest is simple for White.