10/16/2022 – Leinier Dominguez won his round-7 game in the U.S. Championship after only ten moves. The opening debacle prompted Jon Speelman to locate similar examples both in a book by Yakov Neishtadt and in the database of his own games. And he also remembered to give the solution of the proof game from last week!
ChessBase is a personal, stand-alone chess database that has become the standard throughout the world. Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it.
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
In 23 video lessons you will learn everything you need to know about the King's Gambit, the Vienna Game, the Italian, the Evans Gambit, the two-knight game, the Scottish, the Steinitz and Berlin defences, the Open Spanish or the exchange variation, Marsha
€29.90
Quick and dirty
[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]
The opening debacle in the U.S. Championship last week put me in mind of more of the same. When I was a kid, I had a small hardback book of opening traps with a lightish blue cover by Al Horowicz which I tried to find on my shelves but without success. I did locate it fairly quickly though on a site called AbeBooks.co.uk. And in fact it’s called New Traps in the Chess Opening (Faber & Faber 1966) and the dust cover is a slightly darker blue than it was in my mind’s eye.
I’m sure it’ll turn up eventually, but I did in my search find another rather more serious book of opening disasters, which I’ve been browsing through for today’s column: Win in the Opening by Yakov Neishtadt. It seemed churlish to use too much of his material, so I had a glance at my database of my own games and added a few of them too.
I put them all in the .pgn and have got them as diagrams to solve here (with the numbers corresponding to the games in the database). Of course, I did also remember to give the solution of the proof game I left you with last week. Well done for anybody who solved it or held out until now for the solution. It’s in the .pgn too, and if you’d like a fuller solution then please turn to column 128.
1. White to play
2. Black to play and mate
3. White to play
4. White to play
5. White to play. Can you see his idea and how Black can then avoid losing a piece? (Though he’d still be worse)
6. White to play. Is e5 a good idea?
7. Black to play
8. White to play. What screams out to be played now?
9...Nd6
keeps the advantage within bounds.10.Bxe4!It is possible to miss this
because it's anti-positional. Black resigned at once, though there was a a
previous game in which he struggled on with thwo pieces for a queen.10.Bxe4!Bxe410...Qxe411.Re111.Nc3Bxf311...Qc612.Nxe4Qxe413.Re112.Nxd5Bxd5!12...Bxd113.Nxe7+13.Bf4c614.Re1Bb415.Re3Rd816.Qg4Nd717.Bh6g617...Bf818.Bxg7!18.Qh4Re819.a3Rxe320.fxe3Bd621.e4Be622.Rf1Re823.h3Bc424.Rc1Bd325.Re1a526.Qg4f527.Qd1Bxe428.Qb3+Bd529.Rxe8+Kf730.Qe31-0 (30) Baklan,V (2617)-Law,N (2208)
Hoogeveen NED 20111–0
Many club players have their favourite pet opening variations which aren’t necessarily main lines. It’s important to know how to handle these variations as your opponent will likely know his systems well. In this DVD, GM Nicholas Pert provides a detailed Black repertoire against many of these Offbeat Opening choices.
Jonathan SpeelmanJonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.
This interactive video course of over 8 hours, provides an in-depth exploration of the Pirc Defence, a favoured opening for people looking to play for the win with the black pieces.
The course is designed to provide a deep yet practical repertoire for Black, balancing solid foundations with aggressive counterplay.
€39.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
The opening debacle in the U.S. Championship last week put me in mind of more of the same. When I was a kid, I had a small hardback book of opening traps with a lightish blue cover by Al Horowicz which I tried to find on my shelves but without success. I did locate it fairly quickly though on a site called AbeBooks.co.uk. And in fact it’s called New Traps in the Chess Opening (Faber & Faber 1966) and the dust cover is a slightly darker blue than it was in my mind’s eye. 
