Grob’s Attack

The intended title of this was to be “The Grob Opening.” That was prior to researching the opening, and the man responsible for the opening, Henri Grob. “Henri Grob (4 June 1904 – 5? July[1] 1974) was a Swiss chess player, artist and painter. He pioneered eccentric chess openings, such as 1.g4 (book Angriff g2–g4, Zurich 1942), sometimes known as Grob’s Attack. He was awarded the title of International Master in 1950 at its inauguration.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Grob)

Henri Grob vs. Willem Muhring (Hastings, 1947-48)

The fact is that Henri intended to move the f-pawn two squares but grabbed the g-pawn by mistake after being slapped on the back by a friend. OK, I made that up, but it’s as plausible as any other reason for how the opening came to be, is it not? Prior to writing I did a not so extensive search of Grob and his opening. The most amazing thing learned was what was not found; not one game featuring Henry Grob playing his opening could be located in the 365Chess.com Big Database! I kid you not. There are 24 games featuring the Grob played by GM Michael Basman,

Chess master has no defence against £300,000 VAT bill | Money | The …
thetimes.co.uk

and it should surprise no one that there are two games featuring GM Timur Gareyev,

one a loss to Jan Krzysztof Duda

Jan-Krzysztof Duda wygrał w szachy z Magnusem Carlsenem. Wiemy, jak …
tech.wp.pl

at the 2018 World Rapid, featuring the “Romford counter-gambit,” which is a new one to this writer, and another against Marat Makarov

The chess games of Marat Anatolyevich Makarov
chessgames.com

at the same tournament, a game won by Timur. After losing Makarov had to be restrained from jumping out of a window. OK, I made that one up, too, but who could have blamed him? How would you like to be the Grandmaster known for losing to the Grob? Players have jumped for less reason…

Mark Hyland (1875) vs Josef Behrends (UNR)
9th Cherry Blossom Classic round 7
A00 Grob’s attack

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 c6 4. Qb3 Bc8 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Bxd5 e6 7. Bg2 Nc6 8. Nf3 Nf6 9. d3 Bc5 10. Qc4 Bf8 11. Nc3 g6 12. Bg5 Bg7 13. h4 h5 14. Ne4 Qa5+ 15. b4 Nxb4 16. Nd6+ Ke7 17. Bd2 Nfd5 18. Rb1 Kxd6 19. Rxb4 Qc5 20. Qb3 Kd7 21. Rc4 Qb6 22. Qa4+ Ke7 23. Qa3+ Qd6 24. Rc7+ Bd7 25. Rxd7+ Kxd7 26. Qxd6+ Kxd6 27. e4 Nc7 28. Ng5 Ke7 29. Bb4+ Ke8 30. Ke2 f6 31. Nf3 Kf7 32. e5 Nd5 33. Bd2 Bh6 34. Rb1 b6 35. exf6 Bxd2 36. Kxd2 Rac8 37. d4 Kxf6 38. Bf1 Ne7 39. Bd3 Nf5 40. Rg1 Rhd8 41. a4 Ra8 42. Ke2 Nxd4+ 43. Nxd4 Rxd4 44. Rxg6+ Kf7 45. Rh6 Rxh4 46. Rh7+ Kg8 47. a5 b5 48. a6 b4 49. Ke3 Rh3+ 50. f3 Rf8 51. Rxa7 Rfxf3+ 52. Ke4 Rxd3 53. Rb7 Ra3 54. a7 Ra4 55. Ke5 Rha3 0-1
   https://lichess.org/broadcast/9th-cherry-blossom-classic-open/round-7/C0xOZSJz

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 c6 4. Qb3 Bc8 5. cxd5 cxd5 (Komodo, Fritz, and Deep Fritz, and his bro, Deep Freezer, all play 5…Nf6) 6. Bxd5 e6 7. Bg2 (All three programs will play 7 Bxb7, as in the game below)

Stefan Grasser (1504) vs Marcello Grande (1350)
Event: Mittelfranken-ch
Site: Germany Date: ??/??/1999
Round: 3
ECO: A00 Grob, Fritz gambit
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 c6 4.Qb3 Bc8 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Bxd5 e6 7.Bxb7 Bxb7 8.Qxb7 Nd7 9.Nc3 Bc5 10.Nb5 Rc8 11.Nxa7 Rc7 12.Qg2 Bxa7 13.Qxg7 Qf6 14.Qxf6 Ngxf6 15.d3 Rg8 16.Nh3 Bb6 17.Rg1 Rxg1+ 18.Nxg1 Ng4 19.Nh3 Ba5+ 20.Bd2 Bb6 21.Bf4 e5 22.Bg3 f6 23.a4 Ba5+ 24.Kd1 Nb6 25.Ng1 Nd5 26.e3 Nb4 27.h3 Nh6 28.Ra3 Nf5 29.Ne2 Nc2 30.Rc3 Bxc3 31.Nxc3 Nxg3 ½-½
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?back=1&gid=789213&m=9

Timur Gareyev (2569) vs Marat Makarov (2505)
Event: World Rapid 2018
Site: St Petersburg RUS Date: 12/26/2018
Round: 4.63
ECO: A00 Grob’s attack
1.g4 e5 2.Bg2 d5 3.c4 d4 4.b4 c6 5.Qb3 Be6 6.h3 Nd7 7.Nf3 a5 8.Ba3 b5 9.bxa5 bxc4 10.Qc2 Qxa5 11.Bxf8 Kxf8 12.O-O f6 13.e3 d3 14.Qd1 Ne7 15.Nc3 Kf7 16.Nh4 Nc5 17.f4 e4 18.f5 Bd5 19.g5 fxg5 20.f6 gxh4 21.Qh5+ Ng6 22.Nxd5 Ne6 23.Bxe4 cxd5 24.Bxd5 Qa6 25.Rab1 Ra7 26.Qf5 Re8 27.Rb4 Qd6 28.Rb5 1-0
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?gid=4162007

Timur Gareyev (2569) vs Jan Krzysztof Duda (2738)
Event: World Rapid 2018
Site: St Petersburg RUS Date: 12/27/2018
Round: 6.34
ECO: A00 Grob, Romford counter-gambit
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 d4 4.Bxb7 Nd7 5.Bxa8 Qxa8 6.f3 e5 7.d3 f5 8.Qa4 Bh5 9.Na3 c6 10.Bd2 Ngf6 11.O-O-O Be7 12.Bb4 c5 13.Ba5 O-O 14.Nh3 e4 15.Nf4 Bf7 16.fxe4 fxe4 17.Rhg1 Ne5 18.Bc7 Ng6 19.Qa6 Kh8 20.Nb5 Nxf4 21.Bxf4 Bh5 22.Qe6 Qd8 23.Nxa7 Re8 24.Nc6 Qb6 25.Nxd4 Qa5 26.Rxg7 Bd8 27.Re7 Bxe7 28.Nc6 Qxa2 29.Be5 Qa1+ 30.Kd2 e3+ 31.Ke1 Qa8 32.b4 Rg8 33.Bxf6+ Bxf6 34.Qxf6+ Rg7 35.Ra1 Qxc6 36.Qf8+ Rg8 37.Qf1 cxb4 38.Kd1 Qd6 39.Kc2 Qd4 40.Ra6 Bxe2 41.Qxe2 Qc3+ 0-1
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?gid=4162181

After winning the first game the surprise factor was obviously gone with the wind…

Before viewing the video a disclaimer. Please keep in mind the fact that I have watched each and every video published on this blog, including this one:

Leningrad Dutch Wins 2019 US Chess Championship!

When four time US Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura

absolutely, positively had to win with the black pieces in the final round of the 2019 US Championship he played the Leningrad Dutch

against Jeffrey Xiong

and won in style. Since Fabiano Caruana,

the world co-champion of classical Chess according to World Rapid Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen,

could only draw with the 2018 US Chess champion Sam Shankland

in the last round, and newcomer Lenier Dominguez Perez

managed to draw a won game versus tournament clown Timur Gareyev,

included only because he won the US Open, which is not and has not been an elite tournament for many years, Hikaru Nakamura, by winning became a five time winner of what he called, “…a super event, almost.” The inclusion of Timur the clown and Varuzhan Akobian,

a “fan favorite” at the St. Louis Chess Club we were informed by GM Maurice Ashley, made the event “almost” a super event. It is time the people in the heartland stop with the gimmicks and include only the best players on merit in the US Chess championship.

I have spent many hours this decade watching the broadcast via computer of the US Chess championships. The broadcasts have gotten better each year and now can be considered “World Class.” Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan,

Maurice Ashley,

and “Woman” Grandmaster (inferior to “Grandmaster” as she is only a Life Master according to the USCF), Jennifer Shahade

do an excellent job of covering the US Chess championships. The manager of the old Atlanta Chess Center, aka the “House of Pain,” David Spinks was fond of saying “You gotta pull for SOMEBODY, man!” He found it difficult to believe anyone could watch anything, like Baseball or Golf, and not “pull” for someone, anyone, to win. I will admit to “pulling” for Bobby Fischer

to beat Boris Spassky

in 1972 World Chess championship, which he did, but now simply enjoy watching the event unfold. Every round is a different story, a story told well by Yaz, Maurice and Jen. But when Hikaru Nakamura moved his f-pawn two squares in reply to his opponent’s move of 1 d4 I unashamedly admit I began to “pull” for Hikaru to win the game and the championship. I was riveted to the screen for many hours this afternoon as the last round unfolded.

One of the best things about traveling to San Antonio in 1972 was being able to watch some of the best Chess players in the world, such as former World Champion Tigran Petrosian

and future WC Anatoly Karpov,

make their moves. I also remember the flair with which Paul Keres

made his moves. All of the players made what can only be called “deliberate” type moves as they paused to think before moving. IM Boris Kogan gave anyone who would listen the advice to take at least a minute before making a move because your opponent’s move has changed the game.

Lenier Dominguez Perez took all of eleven seconds to make his ill-fated twenty sixth move. If he had stopped to cogitate in lieu of making a predetermined move he might be at this moment preparing to face Nakamura in a quick play playoff tomorrow. I’m glad he moved too quickly, frankly, because I loathe and detest quick playoffs to decide a champion. Classical type Chess is completely different from quick play hebe jebe Chess. Wesley So obviously lacks something I will call “fire.” He took no time, literally, to make his game losing blunder at move thirty. Maybe someone will ask them why and report it in one of the many Chess magazines published these days.

What can one say about Jennifer Yu

other than she has obviously elevated her game to a world class level. She is young and very pretty so the world is her oyster. It was a pleasure to watch her demolish the competition this year. Often when a player has the tournament won he will lost the last round. Jennifer crowned her crown by winning her last round game, which was impressive.

The quote of the tournament goes to Maurice Ashley, who said, “When you’re busted, you’re busted.”

Best interview of this years championships:

Jeffery Xiong (2663) – Hikaru Nakamura (2746)

US Chess Championship 2019 round 11

1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. d5 Na5 9. b3 c5 10. Bb2 a6 11. Ng5 Rb8 12. Qd3 Qe8 13. Nd1 b5 14. Qd2 Nb7 15. Ne3 Nd8 16. Nh3 Bd7 17. Rad1 b4 18. Qc2 a5 19. Nf4 a4 20. h4 Ra8 21. Qb1 Ra6 22. Bf3 Qf7 23. Neg2 Ng4 24. Bxg4 fxg4 25. e4 Bxb2 26. Qxb2 Qg7 27. Qxg7+ Kxg7 28. e5 Bf5 29. exd6 exd6 30. Rfe1 Nf7 31. Re7 Kf6 32. Rb7 axb3 33. axb3 Rfa8 34. Ne3 Ra1 35. Kf1 Ne5 36. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 37. Ke2 Nf3 38. Nxf5 Kxf5 39. Ke3 Re1+ 40. Kd3 Ne5+ 41. Kd2 Ra1 42. Ne6 h6 43. Rb6 Ra3 44. Kc2 Ra2+ 45. Kd1 Nd3 46. Rxd6 Nxf2+ 47. Ke1 Nd3+ 48. Kd1 Ke4 49. Nc7 Nf2+ 50. Ke1 Kd3 51. Rxg6 Ne4 52. Kf1 Nxg3+ 53. Kg1 Ne2+ 54. Kh1 Ke3 55. Rf6 Ra1+ 56. Kg2 Rg1+ 57. Kh2 g3+ 58. Kh3 Rh1+ 0-1

1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nc3 Nc6 (Stockfish 181218 at depth 50 considers 7…c6 the best move. The game move has been my move of choice)

8. d5 Na5 (An older version of SF plays this but the newer versions prefer 8…Ne5, the only move I played because as a general rule I do not like moving my knight to the rim, where it is dim, much preferring to move it toward the middle of the board)

9. b3 c5 (9…a6, a move yet to be played, is the move preferred by Stockfish at the CBDB, while Houdini plays 9…Ne4)

10. Bb2 (SF 10 shows 10 Bd2 best followed by 10 Rb1 and Qc2) a6 11. Ng5 TN (SF has 11 Rb1 best, while Komodo shows 11 e3, a move yet to be played, but Houdini shows 11 Qd3 best and it has been the most often played move. There is a reason why the game move has not been seen in practice)

Torbjorn Ringdal Hansen (2469) vs Andres Rodriguez Vila (2536)

40th Olympiad Open 08/30/2012

1.Nf3 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c4 O-O 6.Nc3 d6 7.d4 Nc6 8.d5 Na5 9.b3 c5 10.Qc2 a6 11.Bb2 Rb8 12.Rae1 b5 13.Nd1 bxc4 14.bxc4 Bh6 15.e3 Ne4 16.Ba1 Rb4 17.Nd2 Nxd2 18.Qxd2 Rf7 19.Nb2 Bg7 20.Nd3 Nxc4 21.Qc2 Na3 22.Qc1 Ra4 23.Bxg7 Rxg7 24.Nb2 Ra5 25.e4 Nb5 26.a4 Nd4 27.e5 Bd7 28.exd6 exd6 29.Nc4 Rxa4 30.Nxd6 Qb6 31.Ne8 Rf7 32.d6 Bc6 33.Qh6 Qd8 34.Bxc6 Nxc6 35.Nc7 Re4 36.f3 Re5 37.Qd2 Rxe1 38.Rxe1 Nd4 39.Qf4 g5 40.Qe3 f4 41.Qe7 Nxf3+ 42.Kh1 Qf8 43.Qxf8+ Rxf8 44.Re7 Nd4 45.gxf4 gxf4 46.d7 Nc6 47.Re8 Nd8 48.Nxa6 c4 49.Re4 c3 ½-½

Z. Ilincic (2465) vs D. Sharma (2344)

Kecskemet Caissa GM 02

1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. d5 Na5 9. b3 c5 10. Bb2 a6 11. Rb1 Rb8 12. Ba1 Bd7 13. Qd3 b5 14. h3 bxc4 15. bxc4 Rb4 16. Nd2 Qc7 17. Kh2 Rfb8 18. f4 Rxb1 19. Rxb1 Rxb1 20. Qxb1 Qb7 21. Qxb7 Nxb7 22. e3 Na5 1/2-1/2

The headline, Bearded men look angrier than clean-shaven types when they are angry made me think of Hikaru Nakamura:

I could not help but wonder if the beard had anything to do with his play in this tournament?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6867435/Australian-scientists-say-bearded-men-look-angrier-clean-shaven-types.html

GM Timur Gareyev Lost In Space

The headline reads:

Delhi GM Open 2018: Walkover Shocker for the fourth-seed
Jan 11, 2018

“The games had begun, the top seeds were comfortably seated on their boards. For the professional star players, it was yet another day at work. 14-year-old Koustav Chatterjee, rated 2288, was the only player waiting anxiously for his opponent. American Timur Gareyev GM,

rated 2605, had ‘left’ the official car and had not reached the venue. He had decided that he will come to the venue on his own. The clock was ticking and the walkover time-limit of 30 minutes was fast approaching.
Timur Gareyev did reach the venue, but not on time. He was three minutes late. The chief arbiter Vasanth BH decided to award the point to the young Koustov Chatterjee.”
http://www.chessdom.com/delhi-gm-open-2018-walkover-shocker-for-the-fourth-seed/

The article reminded me of the time a few Chess players were talking about favorite sci-fi TV shows. After naming the original Star Trek

as my favorite, one self-proclaimed ‘legendary’ Georgia player named his.

Upon hearing the name of the show Dubious Dave erupted with, “That’s the difference between you two. Bacon boldly goes where no man has gone before while you (the legendary one) are Lost In Space!” This brought howls of laughter. The legendary one pouted all evening…

I met GM Timur Gareyev

at the 2012 Land of the Sky Chess tournament in the beautiful city of Asheville, in the Great State of North Carolina. It was hours before the first round and I had been talking with the organizer, Wilder Wadford, when Timur came up to speak with Wilder. He noticed the book held in my hand asking if he could look at it.

I gave him the book, he talked with Wilder, then turned abruptly and walked away. I followed, yelled, “Hey you,” or some such, and he turned to gaze at me. After catching up with him I said, “You have my book, sir.” Timur looked flummoxed before saying, “I would like to read it.”
“Who are you?” I inquired. It was then I learned his name. As he was returning the book I said, “It is customary to ask before taking off with someone’s book.” He said, “Yes, of course you are right,” before turning to walk away. Since I had finished reading the book I decided to let him read it, for which he was grateful. Later I noticed Timur sitting in the spectator section reading the book while playing on board one. Someone mentioned later that he had gotten into what looked like trouble against NM Richard Francisco, from my home state of Georgia, while reading the book, before extricating himself from difficulties. Timur went on to tie for first with GM Sergey Kudrin. I enjoyed the conversation we had after the tournament ended, as I have always derived enjoyment from getting into the mind of a top level Chess player. Timur walks to the beat of a different drummer, and I mean that in the best way possible. I liked him immensely. Nothing against “normal” people (whatever “normal” is), but they are not as interesting as we who are, shall we say, “slightly skewed.”

For those of you who do not know, Timur is known as the Blindfold King, and has the website to prove it. (http://www.blindfoldking.com/) One finds this applicable quote at the site: “I close my eyes so I can see.” – Paul Gauguin

Timur and I have something else in common; our brains have been studied. His brain was “loaned” to science before setting the blindfold Chess record.

Inside the brain of the man who would be ‘Blindfold King’ of chess

Next month, Timur Gareyev will play nearly 50 opponents at once – blindfolded. Can neuroscientists reveal how he performs such incredible mental feats?

I urge you to read the article: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/03/inside-the-brain-of-the-man-who-would-be-blindfold-king-of-chess-timur-gareyev

Standard memory tests showed nothing exceptional. However, brain scans suggest that Gareyev’s visual network is more highly connected to other brain parts than usual Photograph: Jesse Rissman

The scans also found much greater than average communication between parts of Gareyev’s brain that make up what is called the frontoparietal control network – used in almost every complex task Photograph: Jesse Rissman

I have participated in several brain studies at places such as the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, and the Veterans Administration. All of these studies involved the memory. My brain:

These studies give one a new way of looking at yourself. Examples:

DC Invaded By Dutch!

In addition to the Leningrad Dutch Kazim Gulamali played in round four this game was also played:
Yury Shulman (2568) – Viktor Laznicka (2679)
World Open 2014, rd. 4
1.c4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.b3 Bg7 5.Bb2 d6 6.d4 O-O 7.Bg2 c6 8.O-O Na6 9.Nbd2 e5 10.dxe5 Nd7 11.Ba3 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Bxe5 13.Qc2 Bxa1 14.Rxa1 Qe7 15.Rd1 Be6 16.Bb2 h6 17.Qc3 Kh7 18.b4 Rad8 19.Nf3 c5 20.a3 d5 21.cxd5 Bxd5 22.b5 Nc7 23.Qa5 Be4 24.Rc1 Ne6 25.Qxa7 Ra8 26.Qb6 Rfd8 27.Be5 Rd5 28.Bf4 g5 29.Be3 Rd6 30.Bxc5 Nxc5 31.Qxc5 Rd1+ 32.Bf1 Qxc5 33.Rxc5 Rxa3 0-1

There was a dearth of games on Monroi both during and after the fifth round games, and the CCA page only shows four games, so I have no idea how often the Dutch Defence was unsheathed, but today’s sixth round saw THREE Dutch Defense games on the top boards. The 2014 World Open has seen a virtual cornucopia of f5! With two wins and three draws thus far, I would have to say the Dutch is more than holding its own!

Timur Gareyev (2640) – Andrey Gorovets (2446)
World Open 2014, rd. 6
1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 a6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.O-O Nc6 9.Ne2 Qe7 (9…Nb4 10. a3 Nxd3 11. cxd3 Bd7 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Qd2 O-O 14. Rxc5 Rxc5 15. Bd6 Rc8 16. Bxf8 Qxf8 17. Rc1 b6 18. Ne5 Rxc1+ 19. Qxc1 Qc8 20. Qxc8+ Bxc8 21. Nd4 a5 22. f4 Kf8 23. Kf2 Ke7 24. h3 Nd7 25. Ndf3 Nc5 26. Ke1 Bd7 27. Kd2 Be8 28. b4 axb4 29. axb4 Nb7 30. g4 fxg4 31. hxg4 Nd6 32. Nd4 h6 33. Ke2 Kf6 34. Ndf3 g5 35. fxg5+ hxg5 36. Kd2 Ba4 37. Ke2 Bb5 1/2-1/2, Varuzhan Akobian – Gata Kamsky, 2014 US Championship) 10.Ned4 O-O 11.c4 Bd7 12.a3 Bd6 13.Bg3 Bxg3 14.hxg3 Kh8 15.cxd5 Nxd5 16.e4 Nxd4 17.Nxd4 Qf6 18.Bc2 fxe4 19.Bxe4 Rad8 20.Bxd5 Bc8 21.Be4 Rxd4 22.Qc2 g6 23.Rad1 e5 24.Rfe1 Qd6 25.Rxd4 exd4 26.Bd3 Bd7 27.Qd2 Kg7 28.Qg5 Re8 1/2-1/2

Denys Shmelov (2393) – Alex Shimanov (2644)
World Open 2014, rd. 6
1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nc3 d6 6.d5 c6 7.Nh3 e5 8.dxe6 Bxe6 9.Qb3 Qe7 10.Ng5 Bc8 11.O-O h6 (11…Na6 12. Rd1 Nd7 13. Qc2 O-O 14. Nf3 Ne5 15. b3 Nc5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. Bh6 Re8 18. Qd2 Be6 19. Rac1 a5 20. Bg5 Qf8 21. Be3 Rad8 22. Bd4 f4 23. Qb2 Bf5 24. Qa3 Ra8 25. Bf3 h5 26. Na4 Ne6 27. Bxe5 dxe5 28. Qxf8+ Nxf8 29. gxf4 exf4 30. Nc5 Rab8 31. a3 Re7 32. Rd4 g5 33. Bxh5 b6 34. Nd3 Ne6 35. Rd6 Rd8 36. Rxd8+ Nxd8 37. c5 b5 38. b4 axb4 39. Nxb4 g4 40. Rd1 Rd7 41. Rxd7 Bxd7 42. Nd3 Nb7 43. Nxf4 Nxc5 44. Ng6 Kg7 45. Ne5 Kf6 46. Nxd7+ Nxd7 47. Bxg4 Ne5 48. Bf3 Ke6 49. h4 c5 50. Kf1 Nc4 51. h5 Nxa3 52. Bd5+ Kf6 53. e4 c4 54. h6 Kg6 55. e5 c3 56. Ke2 b4 57. e6 Nb5 58. e7 Nd6 59. Bc6 Kxh6 60. e8=Q Nxe8 61. Bxe8 Kg5 62. Ba4 Kf4 63. Bc2 Ke5 64. Ke3 Kd5 65. Bb3+ Ke5 66. f4+ 1-0, Yuri Drozdovskij (2509) – Friso Nijboer (2571), Cappelle la Grande, 2006) 12.Nf3 Na6 13.Rd1 Nc5 14.Qc2 O-O 15.Rb1 a5 16.Bf4 Rd8 17.Na4 Nxa4 18.Qxa4 Be6 19.Nd4 Bf7 20.Qc2 d5 21.c5 Ne4 22.Bxe4 Qxe4 23.Qc3 g5 24.Bd6 Re8 25.Rbc1 Bg6 26.Rd2 f4 27.Rf1 Kh7 28.gxf4 gxf4 29.f3 Qe3 30.Qxe3 fxe3 31.Rdd1 a4 32.Kh1 Rg8 33.Rg1 Bf6 34.Bf4 a3 35.b3 Rae8 36.Bd6 h5 37.Bg3 Be7 38.Rc1 Bf6 39.Rcd1 Bd8 40.Be1 Bc7 41.Bg3 Ba5 42.Be1 Bc7 43.Bg3 Bd8 44.Be1 Rgf8 45.Bg3 Rf7 46.Rc1 Ba5 47.Be1 Bxe1 48.Rgxe1 Rf4 49.Red1 Bf5 50.Nxf5 Rxf5 51.Rd4 Kg6 52.Rb4 Re7 53.Ra4 Kf6 54.Rxa3 d4 55.b4 Ke5 56.Rd3 Rg7 57.Rcd1 Rf4 58.h3 Rg8 59.a3 h4 60.Kh2 Rg3 61.Re1 Rf7 62.Red1 Rfg7 63.Rxd4 Rg2 64.Kh1 Rxe2 65.Re4 Kf5 66.Rd8 Re1 67.Kh2 Re2 68.Kh1 Rg3 69.Rf8 Kg5 70.Rg8 Kf6 71.Rge8 Rxh3 72.Kg1 Rg3 73.Kh1 Rh3 74.Kg1 Re1 75.Kg2 Rhh1 76.R8e6 1/2-1/2

The following game features 11…Nbd7 in lieu of 11…h6 or Na6 as above.

Oms Pallisse, Josep (2498) – Menvielle Laccourreye, Augusto (2254)
74th ch-ESP Absoluto 2009

1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 d6 6. d5 c6 7. Nh3 e5 8. dxe6 Bxe6 9. Qb3 Qe7 10. Ng5 Bc8 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Rd1 h6 13. Nf3 Nc5 14. Qc2 Be6 15. b3 O-O 16. Bb2 Rad8 17. Nd4 Bf7 18. e3 Nce4 19. Rac1 Rfe8 20. Re1 d5 21. cxd5 Bxd5 22. Nxd5 cxd5 23. f3 Ng5 24. Qc5 Qxc5 25. Rxc5 Ne6 26. Nxe6 Rxe6 27. Bd4 Ne8 28. Bxg7 Kxg7 29. Kf2 Rd7 30. Rec1 d4 31. exd4 Rxd4 32. R1c2 Red6 33. Bf1 Rd2+ 34. Ke3 Rxc2 35. Rxc2 Kf6 36. Rc8 Re6+ 37. Kd4 Nd6 38. Rc1 f4 39. g4 Nf7 40. Bc4 Rd6+ 41. Ke4 Rc6 42. Rc2 g5 43. Bd3 Re6+ 44. Kd4 Rd6+ 45. Kc3 Rc6+ 46. Kb4 Rb6+ 47. Ka5 Rd6 48. Be4 Rd7 49. Kb4 Rd4+ 50. Kc3 Rd7 51. Re2 Ne5 52. Rd2 Rxd2 53. Kxd2 Ke6 54. Kc3 b6 55. Kd4 Kd6 56. Ba8 Ke6 57. Bb7 Ng6 58. b4 Nh4 59. Be4 Ng2 60. a4 Ne3 61. Bd3 Kd6 62. Be4 a5 63. bxa5 bxa5 64. Bd3 Nd1 65. Bb5 Ne3 66. Ke4 Ke6 67. Bd3 Kd6 68. h4 gxh4 69. Kxf4 Nd5+ 70. Ke4 Nc3+ 71. Kd4 h3 72. Bf1 h2 73. Bg2 Nxa4 74. f4 Nc5 75. f5 Nd7 76. Ke3 a4 77. Kd4 Nf6 0-1

Aleksandr Lenderman (2600) – Viktor Laznicka (2679)
World Open 2014, rd. 6
1.c4 f5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bf4 Bg7 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Qb3 c6 (Nh5 8. Ng5 Nf8 9. c5 h6 10. Qf7+ Kd7 11. cxd6 hxg5 12. dxc7 1-0, Hans Hermesmann (2300) – Bernhard Juergens (2066) Hamburg Ani Cup 2004) 8.c5 d5 9.h3 Ne4 10.Be2 e5 11.Bh2 O-O 12.Rc1 Qe7 13.Rc2 exd4 14.exd4 Ng5 15.O-O f4 16.Nxd5 Nxf3 17.Bxf3 cxd5 18.Re2 Qh4 19.Qxd5 Kh8 20.Qd6 g5 21.Re7 Nf6 22.Bxb7 Bxb7 23.Rxb7 Rad8 24.Qe7 Qh6 25.c6 Nd5 26.Qc5 Qe6 27.Qxa7 Rg8 28.Qc5 g4 29.c7 Rc8 30.hxg4 Bf8 31.Qc2 Rxg4 32.Rb8 Rg7 33.Rxc8 Qxc8 34.Qe4 Rd7 35.Qf5 Nxc7 36.Bxf4 Nd5 37.Be5 Bg7 38.Re1 Qd8 39.Re4 Ne7 40.Bxg7 Kxg7 41.Qe5 Kg8 42.Qe6 Kg7 43.Qe5 Kg8 44.Qe6 Kg7 45.Qe5 1/2-1/2

Paul Keres showed the way to play Nbd7 back before my day!

Tamm, P. – Keres, Paul
A81 EST training 1935
1. Nf3 f5 2. d4 Nf6 3. g3 d6 4. Bg2 Nbd7 5. Ng5 Nb6 6. O-O g6 7. Re1 Bg7 8. c3 O-O 9. e4 fxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 e5 12. dxe5 Bxe5 13. Bh6 Bg7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Qd4+ Qf6 16. Qxf6+ Kxf6 17. Nd2 c6 18. Bg2 d5 19. f4 Na4 20. c4 Be6 21. b3 Nc5 22. cxd5 Bxd5 23. Ne4+ Bxe4 24. Bxe4 Rad8 25. Rac1 Nxe4 26. Rxe4 Rd2 27. a4 Rfd8 28. Rce1 Rb2 29. Re6+ Kg7 30. Re7+ Kh6 31. R1e2 Rxe2 32. Rxe2 Rd1+ 33. Kg2 Rb1 34. Re3 Rb2+ 35. Kh3 b6 36. g4 Kg7 37. Kg3 c5 38. h3 Kf6 39. g5+ Kf7 40. Kf3 Rc2 41. Kg4 c4 42. bxc4 Rxc4 43. Ra3 Ke6 44. h4 Kd6 45. Ra1 Kc5 46. h5 gxh5+ 47. Kf5 h4 48. Rh1 Rxa4 49. Rxh4 Ra1 50. Rxh7 b5 51. g6 b4 52. g7 Rg1 53. Kf6 b3 54. Rh5+ Kc6 55. Rg5 Rxg5 56. fxg5 b2 57. g8=Q b1=Q 58. Qc8+ Kd6 59. Qe6+ Kc7 60. Qe7+ Kb6 1/2-1/2