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The Pin Is Mightier


Than The Sword Sometimes, even class-level players need to know theory beyond


the first dozen moves. By GM LEV ALBURT


I WAS SO IMPRESSED, EVEN MOVED, BY this article (yes, this article!) by Charles Anthony, which might be subtitled Chess Teachers of America: Horowitz, Reinfeld, Korn, that I let most of his words stay, even the title. Writes Charles (my further comments are in italics): The game that I am submitting for your


consideration was played in the final round of the 1982 Queen of Hearts tournament in the historic city of Montgomery, Alabama. I had begun playing rated tournaments less than a year before, having played in only four previous tournaments. My results had been modest, with a record of 12 wins, nine losses, and three draws. Yet I found myself in the fifth round of the Amateur section with four wins, needing only a draw for a clear first place finish in a field of 40 competitors. I faced the prospect of having to at least draw with the black pieces. I had won two previous rounds with the Sicilian Dragon, one of the few openings that I had studied very much. My wife had given me a copy of I.A. Horowitz and Fred Reinfeld’s book, How To Think Ahead In Chess for our first Christmas together in 1979. They recom mended the Dragon against e4, and I thought the name “Dragon” was cool, so I played it. But I had not yet played it against the Yugoslav Attack.


SICILIAN DEFENSE, DRAGON VARIATION (B76) Darryl O. Freeman (1620) Charles H. Anthony (1637)


1982 Queen of Hearts—Amateur Section


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 (see diagram top of next column) 6. ... Bg7


The attractive 6. ... Ng4 loses to 7. Bb5+. 7. f3 White stops ... Nf6-g4 and sets up the Yugoslav 18 March 2016 | Chess Life


viewed both 12. Bd4 and 12. Nxd5 as leading to equality).


10. ... bxc6 11. exd5


Attack. 7. ... 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6


11. ... cxd5 Because of White’s unusual move order (10. Nxc6


rather than 10. cxd5), Black’s has an interesting alternative, 11. ... Qa5. But 11. ... cxd5 is also good, and was well known to Charles.


12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 Qc7!


9. 0-0-0 The alternative is 9. Bc4, preventing ... d6-d5.


9. ... d5! In I.A. Horowitz’s 1964 book Chess Openings:


Theory and Practice, this line is the only one that I could find that gives Black the advantage. [Perhaps equality—L.A.] Fortunately, we had studied this line for the first time the previous evening. At first glance, White appears to win a pawn.


10. Nxc6 Usually White captures here with 10. exd5 Nxd5


and only then 11. Nxc6 bxc6. Today’s theory, including de Firmian’s MCO-15, recommends here 12. Bd4, with chances for a small edge, and views 12. Nxd5 as leading to equality (then-theory, 1983,


Does Black not see his hanging rook? Horowitz gives 14. Qxa8 Bf5 15. Qxf8+ Kxf8 16. Rd2 h5 and offers the opinion that Black’s queen is stronger than White’s two rooks [and a pawn—L.A.] in view of Black’s attacking chances. And he’s right! A position worth studying.


14. Rd3?


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