1.f4 d5 2.Nf3
Bg4
Several readers asked me to
analyze this move. Admittedly, it is my favorite choice as Black.
3.e3
I have experimented with the
artificial 3.Ne5?! Bf5 Simplest. 4.d3 e6 5.Nc3 Bd6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.e3 c6 8.Be2
h6 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.Qe1 Qc7 11.a4 Bh7 12.Bd1 0-0-0 13.Nd4 e5 14.Ndb5. I
became fixated on this sacrifice and I had to play it, an unwise decision
against a USCC champion. Better is 14.fxe5 Bxe5 but Black has
an edge. Hayward. 14...cxb5 15.Nxb5 Qb6 16.Bd2 Bc7 17.Ra3 Kb8
18.Rc3 Bd6 19.Rb3 Rde8 20.fxe5 Nxe5 21.Bc3 Qd8 22.Qg3 Bg6 23.Qf4 Ka8 24.Nxd6
Qxd6 25.a5 Re6 26.h3 Rhe8 27.Qa4 Qc6 28.Qa3 Qd6 29.Qa4 Ned7 30.Qb5 Qc6
31.Qb4 Rxe3 32.Bd4 R3e6 33.a6 b6 34.Bf3 Nc5 35.Ra3 Kb8 36.Qd2 Qd6 37.b4 Ncd7
38.c4 dxc4 39.dxc4 Ne4 40.Qb2 Ng3 41.c5 Qf4 0-1 K.Hayward - J.Edwards, APCT
1996.
3...Nd7
The principled move, playing for
the ...e5 break.
3...Nf6
4.Be2 (Since Black does not threaten ...e5 yet, White also has 4.b3
Nbd7 5.Bb2 e6 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 Bd6 8.Nc3 c6 9.g4 White seems to be
over-pressing. 9...h6 10.h4 h5 11.g5 Ng4 12.0-0-0 Qe7 13.e4 d4 14.Ne2 e5
15.f5 Ba3 16.Bh3 a5 17.Bxa3 Qxa3+ 18.Kb1 a4 19.Nc1 axb3 20.cxb3 Nc5 21.Bxg4
hxg4 22.Qg3 f6 23.gxf6 gxf6 24.Qxg4 Nd3 25.Qg6+ Kd8 26.Qxf6+ Kc7 27.Kc2 Nb4+
28.Kb1 Rhe8 29.Qf7+ Kb6 30.Rdg1 Nxa2 31.Kc2 Nb4+ 32.Kd1 Qxc1+ 33.Kxc1 Ra1+
34.Kb2 Ra2+ ½-½ T.Gelashvili (2535) - S.Skembris (2450), Lausanne 2001.)
4...e6 5.Ne5 Bxe2 6.Qxe2 Nbd7 7.0-0 c5 8.Nc3 a6 9.d3
Bd6 10.Nxd7 Nxd7 11.e4 d4 12.Nd1 0-0 13.Nf2 b5 14.Ng4 Qc7 15.e5 Be7 16.Bd2
Rac8 17.f5 exf5 18.Rxf5 c4 19.Raf1 cxd3 20.cxd3 Qc2 21.e6 Bb4 22.Rxf7 Bxd2
23.Qf3 Qc5 24.exd7 Rcd8 25.Rxf8+ 1-0 K.Hayward - M.Mitchell, Email 2006.
4.Be2
I have always liked this simple
developing move. Most opening books recommend 4.h3 for White.
This move has been used several times by the Bird's Opening hero, Henrik
Danielsen. His YouTube Polar Bear videos make a compelling case for
this approach. I find the move too loosening. 4...Bxf3 5.Qxf3
Ngf6 6.g4 e6 7.d3 Bb4+ 8.c3 Bd6 9.e4 dxe4 10.dxe4 e5 11.g5 Ng8 12.f5 h6
13.h4 Be7 14.Qh5 Nb6 15.Be3 Qd6 16.Na3 c6 17.Nc4 Nxc4 18.Bxc4 0-0-0 19.Rh2
Qc7 20.Bxf7 hxg5 21.Qxh8 Nh6 22.Qxg7 Ng4 23.f6 1-0 H.Danielsen (2512)
- T.Luther (2507), Schwerin 1999.
4...Bxf3!
4...e6
5.0-0 Bd6 With the early commitment of the king bishop, White
can play for the e4 break. 6.d3 Ngf6 7.Nc3 c6
8.e4 Bxf3 (8...Qb6+ 9.Kh1 0-0 10.e5 d4 11.Nb1 Bf5 12.exd6 Rad8 13.Na3
Qc5 14.Nc4 b5 15.b4 Qd5 16.Nce5 Qxd6 17.a4 Nb6 18.axb5 cxb5 19.Rxa7 Nc8
20.Ra5 Ne7 21.Rxb5 Qa6 22.Rc5 Qb6 23.Bd2 Qd6 24.Qe1 Rfe8 25.Rc4 Rc8 26.Rxd4
Qb8 27.c4 1-0 Drawyah (2155) - HomerS (2230), FICS 1997.)
9.Bxf3 d4 10.Ne2 e5 11.fxe5 Bxe5 12.Bf4
(Today I would play 12.c3 opening the game up for the bishop pair.)
12...0-0 13.Qe1 Qb6 14.b3 c5 15.Qh4 Qd6 16.Rf2 b5
17.Raf1 c4 18.Bg4 Nxg4 19.Qxg4 Bxf4 20.Nxf4 Ne5 21.Qg3 Rae8 22.dxc4 bxc4
23.Nd5 Re6 24.Rd1 cxb3 25.axb3 Qc5 26.h3 h6 27.Kh2 Kh8 28.Nf4 Ra6 29.Rfd2
Re8 30.Ne2 Nc6 31.Qc7 Ra5 32.Qxf7 Rxe4 33.Ng3 Re3 34.Rf1 Kh7 35.Qf5+ Qxf5
36.Nxf5 Rc3 37.Rf4 Rac5 38.Nxd4 ½-½ K.Hayward - J.Edwards, APCT 1995.
5.Bxf3 Ngf6
6.d4
On principle I think White should
stop Black from playing ...e5. However, White does have alternatives
here:
6.b3 e5 7.fxe5 Nxe5 8.Bb2 Bd6
9.Nc3 c6 10.Qe2 Qe7 11.0-0-0 0-0 12.d4 Nxf3 13.gxf3 Rfe8 14.Rde1 Bb4 15.Qd3
a5 16.Re2 a4 17.Nxa4 b5 18.Nc3 Bxc3 19.Qxc3 Rxa2 20.Qxc6 Rea8 21.Kd2 Qd8
22.Rb1 b4 23.Qb5 Rb8 24.Qd3 Rc8 25.Kc1 Ra7 26.Ra1 Rac7 27.Ra4 Qe7 28.Kb1 h6
29.e4 dxe4 30.fxe4 Re8 31.d5 Rd8 32.Qg3 Rcd7 33.Ra6 Nh5 34.Qf3 Qg5 35.Rg2
Qh4 36.Rg1 1-0 C.Depasquale (2302) - D.Hacche (2225), Melbourne 1999.
6.Nc3 Interesting move.
6...c6 (6...e6 with ...c5 was probably best.) 7.d4 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Bd2
0-0 10.Be1 b5 11.g4 b4 12.Ne2 Nb6 13.Ng3 Nc4 14.Qc1 c5 15.b3 Na3 16.c3 Qb6
17.g5 Nd7 18.cxb4 cxb4 19.Rf2 Rac8 20.Qb2 Rc7 21.h4 Rfc8 22.Bd1 Bf8 23.h5 a5
24.Qe2 Nc2 25.Bxc2 Rxc2 26.Qxc2 Rxc2 27.Rxc2 Qb5 28.Rd1 h6 ½-½ Maras (2202)
- Drawyah (2140), FICS standard game 2007.]
6...e6
6...g6 7.0-0 Bg7 8.c4 e6 (8...c6
9.Nc3 e6 transposes.) 9.Nc3 c6 10.b3 0-0 11.Bb2 Qc7 12.Qe2 Rfe8 13.Rac1 Rad8
14.g3 Nb6 15.Kh1 Nc8 16.c5 h5 17.h3 Kh7 18.g4 Rh8 19.gxh5 Kg8 20.hxg6 Rxh3+
21.Kg2 Rh6 22.Rh1 Rxg6+ 23.Kf2 Ne7 24.Rcg1 K.Hayward - M.Anderson,
Minneapolis MN 1984. White has a pleasant edge here, but the game
ended in a draw.
7.0-0
7...c6
A popular choice.
Alternatives include:
7...Be7 8.c4 c6 Too slow.
9.Nc3 0-0 10.Qe2 Re8 11.b3 Nf8 12.Bb2 Ng6 13.g3 Bf8 14.Rad1 Ne7 15.e4!
White's strong position soon becomes a strong attack. 15...g6 16.e5
Nd7 17.g4 Bg7 18.Bg2 Nc8 19.cxd5 exd5 20.f5 Qh4 21.Qf3 Nxe5 22.dxe5 Bxe5
23.Qh3 Qxh3 24.Bxh3 Bxc3 25.Bxc3 Re3 26.Rde1 Rxc3 27.Re8+ Kg7 28.f6+ Kh6
29.g5+ Kxg5 30.Rxc8 Rxc8 31.Bxc8 d4 32.Be6 d3 33.Bxf7 d2 34.b4 Rf3 35.h4+
1-0 K.Hayward - J.Campbell, APCT 1986.
7...Ne4 8.Nd2 (8.c4!?) 8...f5
9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Be2 (10.Bh5+!?) 10...Nf6 11.c4 c6 12.b3 Be7 13.Bb2 0-0 14.g4
Nxg4 15.Bxg4 fxg4 16.Qxg4 Rf6 17.Kh1 Rg6 18.Qe2 Qa5 19.a3 Bf6 20.Rg1 Rxg1+
21.Rxg1 Qf5 22.b4 h6 23.Qg2 Kh7 24.a4 Rg8 25.Qg4 g5 26.b5 Qxg4 27.Rxg4 h5
28.Rg2 gxf4 29.exf4 Rd8 30.Re2 Bxd4 31.Bc1 Bc5 32.Kg2 Rd4 33.bxc6 bxc6
34.Be3 Rxc4 35.Bxc5 Rxc5 36.Rxe4 Kg6 37.Rxe6+ Kf5 38.Re7 Ra5 39.Kg3 Rxa4
40.Re5+ Kg6 41.Rc5 Ra3+ 42.Kh4 Ra4 43.Rxc6+ Kf5 44.Kxh5 Kxf4 45.Rf6+ Ke5
46.Rf8 Rf4 47.Ra8 Rf5+ 48.Kg6 Rf6+ 49.Kg7 Rf4 50.Rxa7 Rg4+ 51.Kf7 Rh4 52.Ra2
Kf4 53.Kg6 Kg4 54.Rf2 Kh3 55.Kg5 Rg4+ 56.Kf5 Ra4 ½-½ K.Hayward (2280) -
T.Radermacher (2200), Minneapolis MN 1985.
7...c5 8.b3 Be7 9.Bb2 Qb6 10.Nd2
Rc8 11.c4 0-0 12.Qe2 Qa5 13.Kh1 h6 14.a3 Qb6 15.b4 cxb4 16.c5 Qa5 17.axb4
Qxb4 18.Rfb1 a6 19.Ba3 Qc3 20.Bb4? (20.Ra2! forces 20...Qa5
then 21.Rxb7 is winning for White. From here I drifted as White.)
20...Qc2 21.c6? Bxb4 22.cxd7 Qxd2 23.dxc8Q Rxc8 24.g4 Qxe2 25.Bxe2 a5 26.Rc1
Rxc1+ 27.Rxc1 Bd2! Black is winning, but I manage to pull off a nice
swindle. 28.Rc8+ Kh7 29.Bd3+ g6 30.Rc7 Kg8 31.f5 gxf5 32.gxf5 Bxe3
33.fxe6 fxe6 34.Rxb7 Bxd4 35.Kg2 Kf8 36.Bg6 Ng4 37.h3 Ne5 38.Bc2 Nf7 39.Bd1
Nd6 40.Rd7 Nc4 41.Bg4 a4 42.Bxe6 a3 43.Rxd5 a2 44.Rd8+ Ke7 45.Ra8 a1Q
46.Rxa1 Ne3+ 47.Kf3 Bxa1 48.Kxe3 Kxe6 49.h4 Bf6 50.Kf3 Bxh4 ½-½ K.Hayward -
D.North, APCT 1988.
8.b3 Qc7 9.Nd2
Interestingly enough, I have
gotten this position three times in correspondence games. White seems
to have a workable edge.
9...Be7
[9...0-0-0 10.Bb2 (10.c4!?)
10...h6 11.c4 g5 12.g3 gxf4 13.gxf4 Bd6 14.Qe2 Kb8 15.Kh1 Qa5 16.a3 Rdg8
17.b4 Qa4 18.c5 Bc7 19.Qd3 Ng4 20.Bd1 (20.Rae1! Rg6 21.Bd1 Qa6 22.Qxa6 bxa6
23.Bc2 is a better way to execute the game move idea.) 20...Qb5 21.Qxb5 cxb5
22.Bxg4 Rxg4 23.a4 bxa4 24.Rxa4 Rhg8 25.Rfa1 a6 26.b5 Rg2 27.Bc3 Re2 28.Nf1
Nf6 29.Be1 Ne4 30.Bg3 Nc3 31.b6 Bd8 32.R4a3 Nb5 33.Rb3 Kc8 34.Rab1 h5
35.R1b2 Rxb2 36.Rxb2 Na3 37.Nd2 Kd7 38.Be1 Kc6 39.Nb3 ½-½ K.Hayward -
L.Whiteside, APCT 1992.
10.Bb2 0-0-0
11.c4 h6
11...Kb8 12.Qe2 h6 13.e4 dxe4
14.Nxe4 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 Bf6 16.a4 Qb6 17.a5 Qc7 18.b4 Nf8 19.b5 cxb5 20.cxb5
Bxd4+ 21.Bxd4 Rxd4 22.b6 axb6 23.Rfc1 Qxf4 24.axb6 1-0 K.Hayward - S.Guerra,
APCT 1990.
12.f5!?
Rather typical of my overt style
back then. 12.Qe2 was the solid choice.
12...Bd6 13.h3
g5 14.fxe6 fxe6 15.e4 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Bh2+ 17.Kh1 Rdf8 18.d5! Nxe4 19.Bxe4
Rxf1+ 20.Qxf1 Rf8
21.dxe6!
White sacrifices the queen for a
strong attack.
21...Rxf1+
22.Rxf1 Qd6 23.Bf5 Kd8 24.exd7 Bf4 25.Re1 Kc7 26.Bg4 h5
Black returns the queen, hoping
to save the pawn down endgame.
27.Rd1 hxg4
28.Rxd6 Bxd6 29.Bf6 Kxd7 30.Bxg5 gxh3 31.gxh3 Ke6 32.Kg2 Kf5 33.Be3 b6?
33...a6 removing the last pawn
from the dark squares had to be tried.
34.Kf3 Be7
35.Bf2 Kg5 36.Ke4 Bd6 37.Be3+ Kh4 38.Kf5 Kxh3 39.Ke6 Bb4 40.Kd7 c5 41.Kc6
Kg2 42.Kb7 Kf3 43.Bg5 a5 44.Kxb6 Ke4 45.Be7 Kd4 46.Kb5 1-0 K.Hayward -
E.Seelhorst, APCT 1990.
