The Bryntse Gambit: A queen sacrifice

by Jonathan Speelman
5/5/2019 – This week JON SPEELMAN marvels at an obscure queen sacrifice in the opening (on move six!) that USA expert Dana Mackenzie used to ensnare two titled players in over-the-board tournament games! Send in your own games! Jon can always use more material from readers. If your games are selected for the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account!

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The Grand Prix Attack is one of White’s most enterprising weapons against the Sicilian Defence, and a favourite among club players and Grandmasters alike. This is an opening that must be treated with both caution and respect. Over the past few years Grandmaster Gawain Jones, arguably the world’s leading expert on the variation, has used the Grand Prix Attack to defeat a number of world class opponents, which demonstrates that underestimating its potential can cause casualties even at the highest level. This DVD will provide you with a comprehensive repertoire that explores all of Black’s ideas against the Grand Prix set up.

Speelman's Agony #97

This week's pair of games both feature an extremely poisonous and very little-known gambit (I'd certainly never heard of it before) in the Grand Prix Attack against the Sicilian: The  Bryntse Gambit.

They were played eight years apart by Dana Mackenzie a science and mathematics writer in his early sixties against two formidable opponents, IM David Pruess and Grandmaster Sergey Kudrin. In the first, he won while in the second he rather Agonisingly agreed a draw in a position which turned out to be clearly winning. He writes:

The two games I am submitting for the Agony/Ecstasy column both feature the same opening variation, the Bryntse Gambit. After 1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5 3.♘f3!? de 4.♘g5 ♞f6 5.♗c4 ♝g4?! 6.♕xg4!! White sacrifices his queen on move six — getting just two pieces and a pawn as compensation! Nevertheless, he obtains a nearly perpetual bind on the position.

 
Bryntse Gambit
Position after 5...Bg4

Try it for yourself (play 6.♕xg4) against the engine on the diagram above!

The first game, played in 2006 against IM David Pruess, was my lifetime masterpiece. The game was the subject of a spirited post-mortem session including GM Victor Mikhalevski, GM Jesse Kraai, and IM Emory Tate, all of whom had watched the game. Jesse even said, “This is the greatest game ever played!” which of course was an overstatement but made me feel pretty good. The game has appeared in Chess Life, Informant, and Game of the Day on chessgames.com, so it definitely has gotten some publicity. But I would love to show it to your readers as well!

Mackenzie vs Kraai

Mackenzie facing Kraai | Photo: Frank Brown / Dana Mackenzie Facebook page

Eight years later I got my chance to play a sequel. That game, my Agony game against GM Sergey Kudrin, has not been published anywhere to my knowledge, so your readers will be the first to see it. It could have been even better than the Pruess game, because I managed to get a won position against a grandmaster this time, which would have been my first win ever against a GM. But at a critical moment, Kudrin offered me a draw. To my shame, I accepted his offer, because a draw guaranteed me a substantial prize in the tournament (first place under 2300). I felt by no means certain of my ability to win the endgame, and I didn’t want to blow the prize money by making a blunder. However, postgame analysis showed that I had virtually a forced win in the final position, so my caution was completely unjustified.

MackenzieI’m sending you these games because I hope your readers will be as fascinated by this opening variation as I am! It is virtually nonexistent in opening books and offers rich scope for imagination. I would be thrilled if some IM or GM would see this and actually try the queen sacrifice as White. It would be especially exciting to see a human GM play it against a strong computer program like Stockfish or AlphaZero, because I think the human would have a chance to prevail. Computers do not understand this opening. Until then, I will have to be satisfied with torturing my home computer, as well as the occasional IM or GM!

Professionally, I am a freelance mathematics and science writer. Perhaps I can put in a plug for my most recent book (co-written with Judea Pearl), The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect. It was published in 2018, and it was named as one of the top science books of 2018 by National Public Radio’s Science Friday program. I live in Santa Cruz, California, with my wife, our dog Daisy, our cat Max, and an ever-changing crew of foster kittens.”

Dana has annotated both games excellently in detail and I've added just a few comments of my own as JS. They're both wonderful games and I hope that readers enjoy them as much as I did.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5 Usually White plays 2. Nc3 before 3. f4, and this move by Black is supposed to be the reason why. However, I had a secret variation planned. 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Ng5 White is playing a Budapest Gambit a tempo ahead. Is the extra tempo spent on f2-f4 helpful or harmful? Nf6 5.Bc4 Bg4?!
The psychology of this move is fascinating. In the post-mortem, someone asked David if he saw the queen sac coming, and why he had walked into it? He said that, "I refuse to be intimidated into playing a move that's not the best, just because my opponent might get a few threats." 5...e6 is much safer. White continues 6.Nc3 and wins back his pawn. JS Personally, I would play e6 instantly in a blitz game and almost certainly after some thought at longer time limits too. I love playing with two pieces for a queen and White's long-term advantages make the gambit line very difficult and very possibly dispiriting to play as Black. In contrast, after 5...e6 Black gets a perfectly pleasant position with a nice safe king and good chances of playing for the advantage later. Indeed the possibility of Black refusing it looks to me like the main downside of the gambit. 6.Qxg4‼ A queen sac on move six! I had been playing this move against the computer for two years. It is a fantastic anti-computer variation, because computers can never understand White's compensation. White gets ongoing pressure that typically lasts 30, 40, 50 moves -- beyond any computer's threshold. But this was my first "serious" game against a human in this line. I believe that I am the first person ever to play this queen sac in an OTB game. However, I later discovered that it had been played several times in the 1960s by a former Swedish correspondence champion, Arne Bryntse, and therefore should be known as the Bryntse Gambit. Nxg4 7.Bxf7+ Kd7 8.Be6+ Kc6 8...Ke8 9.Bf7+ would draw; clearly Black will not go for this if he "refuses to be intimidated." 8...Kc7 9.Bxg4 Qe8 10.Ne6+ is a variation I have played a few times against the computer, but is mostly unexplored. 9.Bxg4 e6 An important trap is 9...e5 10.Nf7 Qh4+ JS 10...Qe8! 11.Nxe5+ 11.Nxh8 exf4 11...Kc7 12.Nc3 Bd6 is a pretty sensible way for Black to play if he insists on taking the queen. 11.g3 Qxg4?? 12.Nxe5+ This is how my first tournament game with the Bryntse Gambit went (Mackenzie - Drayton Harrison, Reno 2006). My opponent grabbed the bishop to take it on move 11, then he saw the fork. By the touch-move rule he had to play 11. ... Qxg4, but he sat there with the bishop in his hand for five minutes before finally completing the move. He resigned immediately after 12. Nxe5+. 10.Nc3 Na6 11.a3! GM Jesse Kraai, who was watching the game, was particularly impressed by this slow move. You might expect White, after sacrificing his queen, to try a blazing attack. But actually the strategy I had perfected against the computer was a slow, "creeping" strategy, in which White's more-numerous pieces keep Black's position tied up in knots. JS a3 seems completely normal to me. The whole point is that White is playing chess and claims that his two pieces and pawn or two are worth the queen so it makes sesne to stop Nb4 Bd6 After this move I had used only 2 minutes, while David had used more than an hour. He was somewhat unlucky that Fritz 9 (my sparring partner at the time) usually chose the same plan -- 9. ... e6, 10. ... Na6, 11. ... Bd6 -- so I was well prepared. 12.0-0 Nc7 12...Bxf4 13.Nxe6 Bxh2+ 14.Kxh2 Qh4+ 15.Bh3 g5 16.d4! g4 17.d5+ Every king move allows White to escape, for example Kd7 18.Bg5 Qh5 19.Nxe4 This line is a beautiful example of the kind of piece coordination White is looking for. 13.Ncxe4 Qe7 14.Nxd6 Qxd6 15.d3
In my games against the computer, I had developed five principles for playing this variation: 1) Coordinate my pieces (the line we just saw is a good example). 2) Keep files closed as long as possible. This is necessary because Black has a 3-2 majority in straight-moving pieces. My advantage lies in diagonals for the bishops and squares for the knight. 3) Trade a knight for bishop if possible. This gives White two unopposed bishops, a huge advantage. Two bishops plus two pawns are very nearly full compensation for a Q. Note that my last move accomplished this part of the strategy. 4) Do not cash in too early. Black will often try to give back an exchange to relieve the pressure, but if White agrees too early his advantage will dissipate. 5) Keep Black's queen under lock and key. JS Interestingly my engine, Houdini, is perfectly happy with White by now. 15...Raf8 16.Bf3+ 16.Be3 would violate principles 3 and 5: it gives away one of my two bishops, and allows Black's queen to start running rampage after Nd5 17.Rae1 Nxe3 18.Rxe3 Qd4 19.Rfe1 Qxb2 16...Kd7 17.c3 GM Victor Mikhalevski, who watched the game, wanted me to play 17. Bxb7 here. However, this violates principle 4: "Do not cash in too early." Instead I played 17. c3, in accordance with principle 5: "Keep Black's queen under lock and key." Nd5 18.g3 As before I am in no hurry, and play a simple defensive move to keep lines closed. h6 19.Ne4 Qc7 20.b4! cxb4? In my opinion, this is Black's only significant mistake after move 5. He should play 20. ... b6. The text move opens some lines, but in a really good way for White. 21.axb4 b6 21...Nxc3 22.Nc5+ 22.Bd2 Rf7 23.c4 The "creeping forward" strategy begins. Black's pieces struggle to find safe squares. Nf6 24.Bc3 Ke7 24...Nxe4 25.Bxe4 and White's bishops dominate the board. With no open files, Black's rooks are almost useless. 25.Be5 Qd7 26.Nd6 Rd8
26...Qxd6 27.Bxd6+ Kxd6 28.Ra6 will win a second pawn after R1a1 and c5+. 27.Nxf7?! Oh, no! I violated principle 4, "Don't cash in too soon!" Better was 27. b5, continuing to build my advantage. There is no hurry to win Black's pitiful rook. Kxf7 28.d4 Kg6 David said that he felt as if his position was lost after move 24 and he was now just playing to confuse me. A better way to confuse the issue might have been 28. ... b5. 29.g4 Rc8 30.c5 Qb5 30...Nd5 31.Be4+ Kf7 32.f5 31.Rxa7 Qd3 31...Qxb4? 32.Be4+ Nxe4 33.Rxg7# would be a picturesque conclusion. 32.h4 h5 33.g5 Ne8 The most attractive finish would have been 33...Ng4 when White wins with the beautiful sweeper-sealer 34.f5+! This dual-purpose move seals the square f5 so that Rxg7 mate is threatened. It also opens the diagonal of the bishop on e5 so that it defends g3 -- an important point after. Kh7 34...Kxf5 35.Be2+ 35.Rxg7+ Kh8 36.Bxg4 hxg4 37.Rg6+ Kh7 38.Rh6+ Kg8 39.fxe6 Qe3+ 40.Rf2 34.Kg2 b5 35.Re1 Mate is threatened, so Black has to give up his queen. Kf5
36.Be4+ JS It seems a little sad to cash in this way and indeed Rf8 was totally winning though White does have to be a little careful. 36.Rf7+ Kg6 37.Rf8 Nd6 38.Bxd6 Not 38.cxd6? Rc2+ 39.Kg3? Rc3 and Black wins! 38...Rxf8 and either Be4+ or simply Bxf8 36...Qxe4+ 37.Rxe4 Thirty-one moves after sacrificing my queen, I win it back, with interest. Kxe4 38.Ra5 Nc7 39.Bxg7 Kxf4 40.Be5+ Kg4 41.g6 Kxh4 42.g7 Rg8 43.Ra7 43.Bxc7? Rxg7+ 43...Nd5 44.Rf7 Ne3+ 45.Kf3 Ng4 46.c6
JS What a lovely game! The queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard but only effective if she has something to attack. Here Dana defended all of his pieces and left her looking singularly useless. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mackenzie,D2116Pruess,D24611–02006B21Western States Open
Mackenzie,D2164Kudrin,S2608½–½2014B21Western States Open

Click or tap the second game in the list below the board to switch games

To avoid them or to play them, you have to know them. In two Volumes we see gambits such as Frankenstein-Dracula Gambit, the Cochrane Gambit, the Belgrade Gambit, the King's Gambit, Marshall Gambit, the Scotch Gambit, the Jänisch Gambit and many more.

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Jonathan 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.

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wjkrol wjkrol 5/16/2019 06:02
Thanks for this article. I played a lot of correspondence games with this gambit.
Many of them are located in the <www.ChessBase Live Database - wjkrol> with a rather positive balance. From this database it appears that both Mr Bryntse and I played this gambit a few years earlier than Mr Mackenzie.
celeje celeje 5/12/2019 11:02
@ JuventusLION: Can't you just call the arbiter over?
Masquer Masquer 5/12/2019 08:09
Beautiful games and article! Thanks++
JuventusLION JuventusLION 5/6/2019 11:58
Psilocybin, let me put it this way...if he sat like that in front of me at the level we play (I play in Open sections of most tournaments as well) than I would politely ask him to sit properly or...punch his smug face out! :-) I'm not even kidding; I think he lacks respect and like a fellow commentator wrote we would never let a child during a tournament game to sit like this...why a supposedly mature man who seems far from lacking any common sense. The auto-praising and auto-promotion of himself over and over just seems to justify my point even more. Oh and there is a huge psychological study in body language and his way of sitting is an attempt to intimidate and I repeat I would ask him politely to sit properly and if he is as smart as he claims to be he would. Ok I'm done talking of this but if you think it's respectful to "sit" like this at a chess tournament (or anywhere for that matter unless your a child diagnosed with ADD) we will have to agree to disagree.
psamant psamant 5/6/2019 02:57
Wow... what beautiful games! The queen sacrifice is stunning. I will try it out sometime
Frits Fritschy Frits Fritschy 5/6/2019 01:16
The same queen sacrifice has been played in a game Prorok (2105) - Nagy (2266) in Hungary, 2009 (1-0, 36). I wonder whether Prorok got the same idea independently. By the way, I don't know what it says about Mr. Mackenzie's character, but kids would risk getting pulled by the ears for using a chair like that...
psilocybin psilocybin 5/6/2019 04:02
Could you please explain what facets of his character could be surmised by his sitting posture? Would love to know, thanks.
JuventusLION JuventusLION 5/6/2019 03:42
Just love to hear a show-off rambling on...Ok the games were great bravo but to sit like that on a chair shows your character sir... But hey, we are so happy for you and your pets!
macauley macauley 5/5/2019 02:20
@Keshava - Exception. As Dr. Peter Venkman would say, "actually it's more of a guideline than a rule".
KevinC KevinC 5/5/2019 01:50
This was maybe the best CB article I have ever read. That was SO cool! Thank you.
Jack Nayer Jack Nayer 5/5/2019 12:44
Very interesting. Great!
Keshava Keshava 5/5/2019 12:37
So are the submission rules going to be different going forward or are you just making an exception for this gentleman? re: "Send one success story (Ecstasy) and one loss (Agony)."
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