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How to Play Black

against the
Staunton Gambit

by

National Master
Eric Schiller
and

Senior Master
BHI Colias

Chess Digest, Inc.


1993
Copyright 1993 by Eric Schiller and Bill Colias

All rights reserved under Pan American & International Copyright


conventions.

ISBN: 0-87568-236-7

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Published by Chess Digest, Inc., 1601 Tantor, Dallas, Texas, 75229.

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Manuscript completed 22January 1993.


Revisions completed 30 March 1993.

Cover: Elaine Smith


Proofreading: Sid Pickard
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Contents

Introduction . . . ......... . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . ........ . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1. White plays 3.Nd2 .......................................................... 5

2. White plays an immediate 3.f3 ........................................ 9

3. 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g4?!............................................................ 16

4. 4.f3 (Except for main line 4...d5 5.fxe4 dxe4 6.Bg6)........ 22

5. 4.f3 Main Line with 4...d5 5. fxe4 dxe4 6.Bg5................. 31

6. 4.Bg5 (Introduction) .................................................... 52

7. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.Bc4 ........................................................... 57

8. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.Bxf6 .......................................................... 60

9. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.Nh3 .......................................................... 68

10. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.Bb5........................................................... 71

11. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.[3.............................................................. 75

12. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5 (Introduction)................................ 87

13. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5 6.Qd4 Nf7 ...................................... 95

14. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5 6.Qd4 Nf7 7.Bxf6 ...........................115

15. 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5 6.Qd4 Nf7 7.Bxf6 exf6 8.Nxe4 .........129

Index of Games ...........................................................142


4 Introduction

Introduction

The Dutch Defense (l.d4 f5) has enjoyed renewed


popularity in recent years, particularly at the level of
international tournament competitition. It has always had a big
following in amateur play. For some reason, lower rated players
have had an irrational fear of the Staunton Gambit (2.e4), and
this has discouraged use of the Dutch. Ken Smith asked us to
write this book to dispel this needless anxiety and give
confidence to players of the Black side.

As we were examining the lines given in the standard


reference works, we started to worry ourselves. The Staunton
Gambit was not easy to refute. Many of the recommended
remedies were flawed, and there were a number of hidden
reefs with sharp edges that were ready to tear apart Black's
position in the face of the slightest error. Happily, we managed
to find a whole set of lines that do stand up to theoretical
scrutiny, and feel confident that the variations presented in this
book will lead to excellent play for Black.

Eric Schiller
Bill Colias
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 5

Chapter 1: White plays 3.Nd2

We begin with the least known variation of the Staunton


Gambit, and will methodically work through all of White's
options before reaching the main line in our final chapter. These
early deviations should not be ignored, as they do crop up from
time to time, especially in amateur games.

This awkward looking move was practiced by American


players in the fifties. The key idea is that the knight on d2 can
reach e5 via c4. However this takes time and when playing a
gambit, time is of the utmost importance.

3 .. Nf6 4.g4 d5 S .gS Nfd7 6.f3 eS 7.fxe4


.
6 Chapter 1

7 ... Qxg5
While not a bad move the queen does lose time after
8.Ngf3 , which is why we recommend playing 7 ... Be7. For
example: 8.h4 0-0 9.Ngf3 exd4 lO.exdS Nb6. This position is
better for Black because of his lead in development and the
exposed nature of White's king.

8 . Ngf3 QhS 9. exd5


White gets carried away with pawn-grabbing when he
should be concentrating on getting his king to safety with 9. Bg2
followed by castling.

9 ... B d6
9...Be7 is another move with the idea of taking advantage of
the weakened el-h4 diagonal with 1 0 ... Bh4+.

10.Ne4 0-0 l l . Bg2 Qg4 1 2 . Qe2 Bb4+ 13.c3 exd4


1 4 . Nxd4
On 1 4.cxb4 d3 1S.h3 Qg6 1 6.Nh4 dxe2 1 7.Nxg6 hxg6 the
weaknesses cancel each other out leading to play with equal
chances.

1 4 ... Qh4+ l S . Kdl


1S.Nf2 Qxd4 1 6. cxb4 Qxb4+ is winning for Black thanks to
his extra pawn and the exposed nature of White's king.

1 5 ... Be7
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 7

The first battle has ended with Black on top since White's
king is trapped in the center.

1 6 . Ng3
16. Ne6 Ne5 would only create problems for White since
17.Nxf8 could be answered by 17 ... Bg4 winning the White
queen.

1 6 ... Nc5 17. Nf3 Qa4+ 18.b3 Qd7


18 ... Nxb3 19.axb3 Qxal 20. Qxe7 allows White chances,
having two pieces for the rook.

1 9 . Kc2 Bf6 20. Ba3 Nba6 2 l . Nd4 Qf7

Even though material is even, the precarious position of


White's king gives Black a winning advantage.

22 N e 4 Re B
.

22 ...Nxe4 is met by 23 .Bxe4.

23.Rhfl

23.Bxc5 Nxc5 24.Nxf6+ gxf6 when White's position would


collapse on the light squares, for example 25.Qd2 Qg6+ 26.Kb2
Nd3+.

23 ... Qg6
8 Chapter 1

This move puts more pressure on the pinned knight.

24. Rae l Bh3 2 5 . Rxf6


25.Bxh3 allows Rxe4.

25 ... Qxg2 2 6 . Rf4

26.Qxg2 Bxg2 wins material for Black because the knight is


pinned on the e-file.

2 6 ... Rxe4
The beginning o f a combination wi th the idea o f exploiting
White's queen being tied down to the second rank.

27.Rxe4 Nxe4 28. Qxg2 Bxg2 29.Re2 Bhl 30.Rel


Nf2 3 1 . Ne6
31.c4 fails t o Be4+ 32.Kd2 Bg6.

3 1 . . . Bxd5 Q-1 .
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 9

Chapter 2 : White plays


an immediate 3.f3

Gambits usually involve rapid development of pieces, but


sometimes early pawn moves are used to create a favorable
position in the center. Since the advance of the f-pawn is part of
White's overall strategy, why not play it right away? The answer
is that Black is able to counter immediately in the center.

S c h w e i g e r -Ta r t a k o w e r
Budapest, 1 9 2 1
1 . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3.f3 d 5 4.c4
The idea behind this move is for White to dismantle Black's
strong . central position while gaining time for his pieces to
develop in the event Black plays 4 ...dxc4 5.Bxc4. The solution
for Black is to reinforce his center pawn at d5.

4.Nc3 is the move theory reccommends as best which will


transpose into the main lines after 4... Nf6 5.fxe4 dxe4 6.Bg5.

4 ... e6 S . Nc3 Nf6 6.Bg5 Be7


Or 6 ... Bb4 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ (7...Nc6, not parting with the two
bishops so easily, makes more sense.) 8.bxc3 exf3 9.Nxf3 0-0
IO.Bd3 Nc6 l l . Qc2 h6 12.Bf4 Bd7 13. 0-0 Be8 14.Ne5 Qe7
when White's more active pieces compensate for the sacrificed
pawn.

7 . Qd2 0-0 8. 0-0-0 Nc6 9. Nh3 eS


10 Chapter 2

Through this central break Black guarantees himself of active


piece play.

1 0. dxe5 Nxe5 l l . Bf4 Ng6 1 2 . g3 exf3 1 3. cxd5 Bd6


1 4 . Bxd6 Qxd6
14 cxd6 is possible, since Black's weakness at d6 is fu lly
...

compensated by the opened c-file and outpost for his knights at


e5.

1 5 . Ng5 BfS

In this dynamic position we favor Black because of his extra


pawn and the exposed position of White's king.

1 6. Bd3 Ng4
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 11

Black's threat of 17 ... Bxd3 18.Qxd3 Nf2 allows him to bring


his rook onto the fifth rank to engage in combat against White's
d-pawn.

1 7 .Bxf5 Rxf5 1 8 . Ne6 c6

Given that he is a pawn up while striking in the center, it is


no wonder that the resulting tactics turn out in Black's favor.

19. Qd4 Nf6 20.g4 Re5 2l Rhel cxd5 22.Rxe5 Nxe5


.

23.g5 Nc6
White always seems to be just a move behind.

24. Qh4 Nd7 25.g6


25. Nf4 d4 would simply leave Black two pawns ahead.

25 ... Qxe6 26.Qxh7+ Kf8 27 . Qh8+ Qg8 28. Qh3 Nf6


2 9 . Qxf3
On 29.Nxd5 NxdS 30.Qd7 Rd8 3 l . Qxb7 Qe6 Black's two
extra pieces give him a winning advantage.

29 ... d4 30. Ne4 Qd5 3 1 . Qa3+ Kg8 32. Nd6


White resigned since he is a piece down and his g-pawn will
be lost after 32 ... Qg5 +.

D e M e y - O'K e l l y
Brussels, 1 935
12 Chapter 2

l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3.f3 d5 4.fxe4 dxe4 5.Be3


Although this move does protect the d-pawn, playing
defensively after sacrificing a pawn is certainly not in the spirit
of the Staunton Gambit.

5.Nc3 Nf6 6. Bg5 would transpose back into the main lines.

5 ... Nf6 6 . c4

6 ... e 5 !
Thanks to White's innoucous play Black is able to take the
initiative.

7 . Nc3 exd4 8.Qxd4 Qxd4 9 . Bxd4 Be7


Black has a clear advantage since his extra pawn at e4 keeps
White's kingside pieces away from the center.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 13

1 0 . 0-0-0
10. Bxf6 Bxf6 l l . Nxe4 Bxb2 and Black would retain his
pawn advantage while acquiring the two bishops.

l O...BfS l l .Bxf6 Bxf6 1 2 . Nxe4?

A miscalculation that costs White a piece due to his backward


development. His game was lost anyway because of Black's
extra center pawn.

1 2 ... Bxe4 1 3 . Re l Bg5 + 14. Kdl 0-0


14 Chapter 2

White resigned since he will remain a piece behind after


1 5 .Rxe4 Rxfl + 16.Ke2 Rf8.

P i n k e r t o n -To z e r
Dublin, 1 991
1 .d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3.f3 d5 4.fxe4 dxe4 5 . Bc4
This is a more aggressive move than 5.Be3 of De May­
O'Kelly but it is not any more effective.

5 ...Nf6 6. Ne2 eS
This central thrust equal izes because the pawn cannot be
safely captured.

7 . c3
7 . dxe5 is poor because of 7 . . . Qxd l + 8 . Kxdl Ng4 9. Rfl
NxeS .

7 ... N c 6
Black puts more pressure on the center, which is th e main
theme of the game.

8 . 0-0 Bg4 9.Be3 Bd6 l O. Qel


Breaking the pin a n d intending to involve the queen in a
kingside attack.

1 0 ... Qe7 1 1 . Qh4 Bxe2 1 2 .Bxe2 0-0


Black's development more than compensates for the bishop
pair.

1 3 . Nd2 exd4 1 4. cxd4 Nb4


Black has the initiative.

1 5 .Bg5 Nc2 1 6.Bc4+ Kh8 1 7 . Rac1 Nxd4


The initiative has been converted into a material advantage.

1 8 . Rcel Bc5
Black regains the initiative with this move.

1 9 . Kh1 QeS 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 2 1 . Rxe4


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 15

Now the fireworks begin.

2 1 ... Qd5!! 22.Bd3 Rxfl + 23. Bxfl NfS 24.Qel Rf8


Black has an extra pawn and a more effective attack.

2 S . B c4

Now Tozer creates an elegant final combination.

2 5 ... Ng3+ 2 6. hxg3 QxgS 27. Rh4 h 6 28.Bd3 Bd6


29. Qe4 g6 30.Qxg6 Rfl +
White resigned.
16 Chapter 3

Chapter 3 : 3.Nc3 Nf6 4 .g4?!

Pe l ber - v a n Hee ren


D, 1 984

l . d4 fS 2.e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.g4


Tartakower's move is a rash attempt to bust Black's defense.
It doesn't work.

4. . . h 6 5 . h4
This move has enjoyed a small degree of success recently
but Black has more than adequate resources. The move really
does not have any immediate threat since 6.g5 would leave
White's rook hanging after 6 ... hxg5 7.hxg5 Rxhl .

s ... ds
A strong centralizing move with an immediate threat on
White's g-pawn.

6 . Bh3 Nc6!
This is the key move. Black must contest the central dark
squares.

7.Bf4 g5 8 . Be5
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 17

Or 8.hxg5 hxgS 9.Bxg5 Bxg4 10.Qd2 Qd7 ll.Bxg4 Qxg4


12.Rxh8 Qxgl+ 13.Ke2 Qxal (13 ... Nxd4+ 14.Qxd4 QxgS)
14.Bxf6 0-0-0.

8 ... Be6 9.hxg5 hxg5 1 0 . f3 exf3 1 1 . Nxf3


White has a very weak g-pawn. Black's extra pawn is not
useful-yet-but it is still an extra pawn! The pin on the h-file is
important, and Black exploits it right away.

1 1 ... Bxg4 1 2. Bg2 Rxhl + 1 3. Bxhl e 6

Black is clearly better here.

14. Qd3 Ne4


An important move, which makes it difficult for White to
take advantage of the weakness of Black's kingside.

1 5 . Nxe 4 dxe4 1 6.Qxe4 Bf5 17.Qe3 g4


Black's extra pawn is now a monster on the kingside, instead
of a weakness on e7.

1 8 . Nh2 Nxe5 19.Qxe5 Qh4+ 20.Kfl


Or 20.Ke2 Bd6 21.Qb5+ Ke7.

2 0 ... Bd6 2 1 . Qb5+ Ke7 22. Qxb7 Rf8 23. Ke2 Qxh2+
2 4 . Qg2
24.Bg2 Rb8 25.Qxb8 Qxg2+ 26.Kdl Bxc2+ 27.Kcl Bf4+#.
18 Chapter 3

2 4 ... Qxg2+ 25.Bxg2 Bxc2 26.Rgl g3 27.Rfl Rxfl


28.Kxfl Bf4 29. Ke2 Kd6 30.b4 eS 3 1 . dxe5+ Kxe5
3 2 .Ke l Be4 Oi.

K a r a yi a nts - P te cz k a
Dortmund, 1992
l .d4 f5 2 .e 4 fxe 4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.g4 h6 5.h4
S.f3 d S gives Black nothing to worry about, as the following
games demonstrate:

a) 6.h3 Nc6 7.Be3 eS 8.dxeS NxeS 9.f4 Nf7 10.Qd2 c6


11.Nge2 Bb4 12.a3 BaS 13.0-0-0 Qe7 14.Nd4 Bd7 1S . Nb3
Bb6 16.Be2 Nd6 17.Na4 Bxe3 18.Qxe3 b6 19.Nc3 0-0-0
20.Ba6+ Kb8 21.Qd4 Bc8 22.Bxc8 Rxc8 23.fS Nc4 24.Rhe1
Rhe8 2S . Nd2 Nxd2 26.Rxd2 QcS 27.Qxc5 bxcS 28.Na4 Nd7
29.c4 ReS 30.Nc3 Nf6 31.Rde2 Rce8 32.Rg1 d4 33.Na4 e3
34.Kc2 Ne4 3S .b3 Nf2 36.Nb2 Nxh3 37.Rfl Nf2 38.Nd3 Nxd3
39.Kxd3 Re4 40.f6 Rxg4 41.f7 Rf8 42.b4 g5 43.Rh1 Rf4 44. bxc5
R8xf7 45. Rxh6 Kc7 46.Rd6 g4 47 . Rh2 Rd7 48.Rhh6 Rxd6
49.cxd6+ Kb6 50.d7 Rf8 51.Rd6 Rd8 S 2.Rxd4 g3 53. Kxe3 g2
S4.Rg4 Rxd7 SS.Rxg2 Kc5 56.Rc2 aS 0-1, Bronstein-Gurevich,
Moscow 1V, 1987.

b) 6.Bg2 c5 7.fxe4 cxd4 8. NxdS Nc6 9.Nh3 e6 10.0-0


exd5 11. exdS NxdS 12.Qd3 Nce7 13.Nf4 Nxf4 14.Bxf4 Qb6
15. a4 Qg6 16.Be4 Qxg4+ 17.Bg3 Bd7 18.Bxb7 Rb8 19.Bf3 QgS
20.Rae1 Kd8 2l.Kh1 Rb6 22.ReS NfS 23.Rd5 Bd6 24.Bxd6 Rxd6
25.Rxd6 Nxd6 26.Qxd4 Qf6 27. Qxa7 Nc8 28. Qa5+ Qb6
29.Qe5 Rf8 30. Qxg7 Qf6 31.Qxf6+ Rxf6 32. b3 Kc7 33.Kg1 Bh3
34.Rf2 Re6 3S.Be2 Rg6+ 36.Khl Nd6 37.Bd3 Rg7 38. c4 Bc8
39.h4 Rg4 40.c5 0-1, Conquest-Malaniuk, Espergaerde, 1992.

5 . . . d5 6 . Bh3 hS!?
This alternative move takes the sting out of White's intended
g5 by taking control of the g4 square.

7.g5 Ng4 8.f3 exf3 9 . Qxf3 e5


Black gains some much-needed space.
How co play Black against the Staunton Gambit 19

l O.NxdS Nc6 l l . Ne2 Be6


l l .. Bd6!? is an interesting alternative.
.

1 2 . Ne3 Nxd4 1 3 . Nxd4 Qxd4

1 4 . Qxb7
Now Black goes into a sacri ficial orgy which leads to a quick
loss.

1 4 ... B b 4 +
1 4... Nxe3 is obviously beLtcr, a n d shows that Bl ack's
posi tion is not nearly a s bad as its re putatio n.

a) 1S.Bxe3 Qxe3+ 16.Kdl (16.Kfl I3c4+ 17.Kg2 Qd2+


18.Kg3 I3d5) 16 ... Rd8+.

b) 1S.I3xe6 Qdl+ 16.Kf2 Ngti+ 17.Bxg4 I3c5+ 18.Be3 Qd2+


19.Kfl Qxe3 20.Qxa8+ (20.Qc6+ Kf8 21.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 22.Bxf3
Rd8 23.Hd1 Ke7) 20 ... Kc7 21.Qf3 I\f8 22.Kg2 Rxf3 23.I3xf3
Qf2+.

c) 1S.Qxa8+ Kf7 16.Bxc6+ Kxe6 17.Qe8+ Be7 18.Qxh8


Nxc2+ 19.Ke2 Qc4+ 20.Kf2 Qxhl (20 ...Bc5+ 21.Kg3 Qg4+
22.Kh2 Qxh4+ 23.Kg2 Qf2+ 24.Kh3 Qf3+ 25.Kh2 Qf2+)
21.Qc8+ Kd6 22.Qa6+ c6 23.Qd3+ Kc7 24.Qxc2 Qh2 -+.
20 Chapter 3

1 5 . c3 Bxc3+ 1 6.bxc3 Qxc3+ 17.Bd2 Qxa l + 1 8 . Ke2


Qxa2 1 9 .Qxa8+ Kd7 20.Qxh8 Qa6+ 2 1 . Ke l 1-Q.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 21

Chapter 4: 4 .f3
(Except for 4 ...d5 5.fxe4 dxe4 6.Bg5)

Teic hmann-Mieses
Teplitz-Schoenau, 192 2

l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.f3


This was regarded as White's strongest continuation for a
long time. White's idea is to remove Black's e-pawn which will
open up the center and further the development of his kingside.
However because of 4.. d5, 4.f3 is hardly played anymore.

4 d5
...

A strong move with the idea o f securing the center while


preparing to develop his light squared bishop.

4 . exf3 is a mistake since Black gives up control of the f3


..

square which allows White's knight to enter the game.

5 . Bg 5
This position gives White plenty o f compensation for the
pawn because of his lead in development and Black's weakened
kingside.
22 Chapter 4

5 Nc6 6 . Bxf6
...

A weak move. Giving up the two bishops in order to try and


recapture the gambit pawn is certainly not in the spirit of the
Staunton Gambit. Transposing to normal lines with 6.fxe4 would
have been wiser.

6 exf6 7.fxe4 dxe4 8 . d5 NeS 9. Nxe4


...

White has regained his pawn. But this took time and has
allowed Black to take over the initiative.

9 ... Qe7
How to play Black against the Stauncon Gambit 23

Black takes advantage of White's king and knight on the


open e-file.

1 0 .Qe2 Bg4
Developing with gain of tempo on the White queen.

l l . Nf3 Bxf3 1 2 .gxf3 fS


This starts a combination which should net Black a pawn.

1 3 . f4
13.Nc3 Nxf3+ and I31ack has a winning position due to his
extra pawn.

13 .. Ng6 1 4 . Ng3 Nxf4 1 S . Qxe7+ 13xe7


.

This natural looking capture is a mistake which allows White


to save his d-pawn.

Correct was 15... Kxe7 The idea behind this move becomes
clear after 16.Nxf5+ Kf6. 13lack's king attacks the knight while
coming to the defense of his g-pawn. This allows Black to win
the d-pawn after 17.Ng3 (17.Ne3 would be worse because of
17... Bc5 allowing Black to develop with an attack on the White
knight.) 17 ... Re8+ 18.Kd2 Nxd5 and Black's extra pawn gives
him all the chances.

1 6 . Nxf5
24 Chapter 4

The point of Black's previous mistake: the knight threatens to


take the g-pawn with check.

1 6 ... Bb4+ 17.c3 0-0 1 8 . Ng3 Rae8+ 19. Kd2 Bc5


2 0 . Bc4 Kh8 2 1 . Rae1
White has saved his d-pawn and, with the coming
exchanges, has managed to keep the balance.

2 1 ... Rd8 22.b4 Bf2


22 ... Nxd5 23.bxc5 Nb6+ 24.Bd3 Nc4+ 25.Kc2 would allow
White to keep his extra piece, although some technical
difficulties would remain after 25 ...Na3+ 26.Kb3 Rxd3 27.Kxa3
Rxc3+ 28.Kb2 Rxc5 29.Re2.

2 3 . Re7
The activity o f White's rook on the 7th keeps the balance.

23 ... Nxd5 24. Bxd5 RxdS + 2 5 . Kc2 Bxg3


25 ...Rc8 26.Rfl Bxg3 27. hxg3 Rg5 28.Rxc7 would turn the
tables to White's advantage on account of Black's weak back
rank.

2 6 . hxg3 RdfS
Played with the idea of challanging the White rook on the
7th with R5f7.

27. Rxc7 R5f7


Draw agreed due to the even rook and pawn ending which
would result after 28.Rxf7 Rxf7.

M ars a 1 e k - F 1 o r i a n
Czechoslovakia Championship, 1956
1 . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 dS S.fxe4 dxe4
6 . B c4
Black has two interesting ideas. One is to play for a quick e5
and the other is for Black to continue his development with Nc6
with active piece play against White's exposed d-pawn.

6 ... Nc6
How co play Black against the Staunton Gambit 25

The alternative is 6 ... e5 7.dxe5 Qxd1+ 8.Nxd1 Ng4 9.Bf4.


Although most theoreticians evaluate this position as equal, we
think White has an advantage since White is ahead in
development while Black's knight on g4 will eventually be
pushed back by pawn h3.

7 . d5
7.Nge2 e5 (7 ...Bf5 8.0-0 Qd7 9.Bg5 e6 transposes back
into the main line, and that is is what we recommend for Black.)
8.Bg5 Nxd4 (8 ... exd4 9.Nxe4 Bb4+ 10. c3 dxc3 l l .N4xc3
Qxd1+ 12.Rxd1 Ne4 and Black has the advantage due to his
extra pawn.) 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Qel Bxe2 11.Nxe2 Qd6 12.Rd1
Qc5 13.Nxd4 Qxc4 14.Nf5 Rd8 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Qh4 Rxd1
17.Rxd1 Qf7 18.Qxe4 Qg6 19.Qd3 Bc5+ 20.Kh1 Rg8 21.Qd7+
Kf8 22.Qd8+ 1-0, Maroja-Padevsky, Virovitica, 1976.

7 ..Ne5 8.Bb3 Nf7 9.Nge2 g6 10.Ng3 Nd6 l l . BgS


.

11.Qd4 Nf5 12.Qe5 Bg7 13.Ncxe4 Nh5 and Black has


succeeded in trapping the White queen.

l l ... Bg7 1 2 . Qd2 0-0 1 3 . 0-0-0


As in most cases with castling on opposite wings, the strategy
is to attack as quickly as possible.

1 3 . a5
. .

Black can claim an advantage in this position since he is the


26 Chapter 4

first to start an attack on the enemy king.

1 4 . a4 Bd7 1 5 . h4 Qe8
This is a good square for the queen since it serves the duel
purpose of preparing for pawn b5 while hindering the advance
of White's pawn to h5.

1 6 . Rde l Bf5 1 7 .h5 Rf7 1 8. Nce2


Black's control of the center makes it difficult for the White
pieces to cross quickly from one side of the board to the other.

1 8 b5!
...

If followed up correctly this is the quickest way to get at the


White king.

1 9 .Nd4
19.axb5 a4 20.Ba2 Qxb5 21.Nd4 Qb6 is better for Black.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 27

1 9 Nc4
...

A n inaccuracy. Black's main concern should b e the


disruption of White's castled position. This would be
accomplished with 19 . bxa4.
. .

19 .. bxa4 20.Ba2 a3 which rips White's pawn cover away


.

from the king would have been much more accurate than the
game continuation. White has little chance of surviving long, for
example 2l.b3 a4 and the opening of the a-file combined with
Black's two pawn advantage would quickly bring an end to
White's position.

20. Bxc4 bxc4 21 . Nb5 c6


The sacrifice of the exchange is the only way to keep open
lines to White's king.

2 2 . Nxf5
22.Nc7 Qb8 23.Nxa8 Nxd5 24.c3 Qxa8 is perfectly
playable for Black since the material is equal.

22 ... gxf5 23. dxc6


A wise decision by White which keeps the queenside
closed.

23 ... Qxc6 24.h6 Bh8 25.Rdl Ng4 26. Qd7 Qxd7


27 . Rxd7 e6
28 Chapter 4

Black has transposed into a winning ending with a material


advantage and passed center pawns.

2 8 . Rhdl Bf6 29.Bxf6 Rxf6 30. Nd6 Rxh6 3 1 . Nxc4


Rh2 32.Rgl Ra6 33.b3 Nf6 34. Rb7 NdS
The repositioning of the knight at dS will help the advance
of the Black pawns which quickly decides the game.

35. Kd2 hS
With the idea of making a safe haven for Black's king on h7.

36. Rb5 f4 37.Ke l Kh7 38.Nxa5 f3!


A multipurpose move which creates a passed pawn while
activating Black's rook on h2.

39.Nc4 Nf4 40.Rb7+ Kh6 4l .gxf3 Rxc2


This zwischenzug threatens 42...Nd3+ or 42 ... exf3.

42. Rd7 Nd3+ 43. Kdl


43.Kfl Rf2+ leads to mate.

43 . . . Rcl + D- 1 .

N o g u e i r a s - B arb e r o
Lugano, 1987
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 d5 5.fxe4 dxe4
6 . Bf4
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 29

This move was successful in its debut game.

6 ... Bf5 7 . Bb5+ c6 8 .Bc4 e6 9.Nge2 Nbd7 1 0.0-0


Nb6 l l . Bb3 NbdS 1 2 .Ng3 Nxf4 1 3. Rxf4 Qc7
1 4 .Nce2

S o far, Black has played well and has a n excellent game.


Now he blunders.

1 4 ... g6?
14... Bd6 runs into 15.Rxf5 (15.Bxe6 Bxf4 16.Bxf5 0-0
17.Bxe4 Nxe4 18.Nxe4 Bxh2+ 19.Kh l ) 15 ... exf5 16.Nxf5
0-0-0 17.Be6+ so 14...Qd7 is probably best.
30 Chapter 4

1 5 . Bxe6 Bd6 1 6 . Rxf5 gxf5 1 7 . Nxf5


The Black king is stranded in the center.

1 7 ... Bxh2+ 1 8 . Kh 1 Ng4 19.Qe1 e3


Or 19 ...Bd6 20.Qh4 h5 21.Nxd6+ Qxd6 22.Bxg4.

20.g3
The bishop is trapped, and Black i s lost.

20 ... h5 2 1 . Qc3 Qh7 2 2 . d5 Rf8 23. Ned4 Rd8 24. dxc6


Qc7 2 5 . Nb5 Qb6 26. Bd7+ Rxd7 27. cxd7+ Kxd7
28. Qg7+ Kc6 29. Nbd4+ Kd5 30 . Qxf8 Qc7 3 1 . Qg8+
Ke4 32. Qe6+ Ne5 3 3 . Re1 1 -o.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 31

Chapter 5: 4.f3 Main Line


4 . . . d5 S. fxe4 dxe4 6 . Bg5

White will succeed i n doubling Black's e-pawns. However,


as numerous games have shown, Black's pawn on e4 can be
sufficiently defended.

S dxe4 6 . Bg5
...
32 Chapter 5

P l a ye d with the idea of stopping Black from striking in the


center with e5.

6 B f5
...

Black wastes no time in corning to the defense of his e­


pawn.

7.Qe2

A mistake since White's idea of giving up the pawn was to


get a lead in devloprnent. As played, the White queen is simply
in the way of White's kingside pieces.

7 ... Nc6
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 33

Abandoning the d-file has left the pawn at d4 without


sufficient support. But White is wise to ignore the pawn for the
moment.

7 ... Qxd4 Would be a mistake: 8.Qb5+ Bd7 9.Qxb7 and


Black has serious problems on his light squares for example
9 ... Bc6 10.Bb5 Qd7 ll.Qxa8 Bxa8 12.Bxd7+ Nbxd7.

8.Bxf6 exf6 9.0-0-0 Bd6 1 0. Nxe4 0-0


Black has given back the pawn in exchange for a lead in
development.

l l . Nxd6
White is playing with fire since the opening of the c-file will
put pressure on his king's position.

ll.Qf3 Qd7 12.Bc4+ Kh8 13.Ne2 is a better alternative for


White. Black is still a little better: he has two bishops and a move
in hand which gives him a greater choice of plans from which to
choose.

l l ... cxd6 1 2. Qf2 QaS

A strong move which not only defends the bishop on f5 but


also puts pressure on White's queenside.

1 3.Bc4+ Kh8 1 4.Ne2 Nb4


34 Chapter 5

Because of Black's lead in development he is the first to start


an attack.

1 5 . Bb3 Rac8
Black stands much better. His superior development
translates into a direct attack on the White king.

1 6.Nc3 Bg6
A subtle move with the idea of advancing the queenside
pawns later. Such a pawn advance isn't possible now since
Black's queen is the only protector of his light squared bishop.

1 7 . Rhfl b5 1 8 . Rd2

This move allows Black a surprising tactic based on White's


king remaining on the c-file. But even after the correct 18.Kbl
Black would retain a winning position with his queenside
initiative.

1 8 ... Nd3+
This surprising check takes full advantage of White's king
having remained on the opened c-file.

1 9 . Rxd3
19.cxd3 b4 and Black regains his piece with a winning
advantage because of the exposed position of White's king.

1 9 . Bxd3 2 0 . Rdl b4
. .
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 35

Perhaps this move is a bit ambitious since in the following


sequence Black gives up a pawn. Safer was 20 ...Bg6.

2 1 . Rxd3 bxc3 2 2 . Kb l
Black has a winning position because of his material
advantage.

2 2 ... Rfe8
22 ... cxb2, creating weaknesses on the dark squares near
White's king should have been preferred.

2 3 . bxc3 Rxc3
A surprising decision by Black since his queen and rook will
be pinned on the el-a5 diagonal.

24. Qd2 Rxb3+


24 ... Rec8 25.Kb2 and the pin on the el-aS diagonal gives
White back his lost material.

2 5 . cxb3
This capture weakens White's 2nd rank. But there was no
choice since 25.axb3 would be met by Rel+ 26.Kb2 Qal #.

25 ... Qf5
Black not only pins the White rook but threatens to win
White's queen with 26 ...Qfl+ 27.Kc2 (27.Qcl drops the rook to
27...Qxd3+) 27 ... Re2 pinning White's queen to the king.

26.Kb2 Qfl
With the threat of 27...Re2, winning White's queen.

27.Re3 Rxe3 28. Qxe3 Qxg2+ 29.Ka3 h6 30.Qe6


Qc6
Black's extra pawn gives him excellent winning chances.
But the threat of perpetual check, inherent in queen and pawn
endings, could provide technical problems.

31 .h4 h5 32.Qf7 Qe4 33.Qf8+


33.Qxh5+ Kg8 34.d5 fS and Black regains his pawn while
establishing two passed pawns in the process. For example
36 Chapter 5

35.Qdl (35.Qg6 QxdS and Black also has a winning advantage


because of his two passed pawns on the d and f files. ) 35... Qxh4
and Black has a winning advantage due to his two passed pawns
on the f- and g-files.

33 . "Kh7 34 . Qxd6 Qxh4


Black's three passed pawns prove to be stronger than White's
lonely d-pawn.

35.d5 Qe4 36. Qc5 Qe5 37 .b4 h4 38.d6 h3 39. Qc2+


f5 40.d7 h2 4t.d8Q h l Q
Although both sides have two queens, Black is winning,
since his king is better protected with his extra pawn.

42 .Qc4 Qhe4 43 . Qdg8+ Kh6 44.Qa6+ KgS 4 S . Qxa7


White has achieved material equality. However, this is at the
expense of a king left exposed to a mating attack.

4S ... Qc3+ 46. Qb3


Forced since 46.Ka4 allows Black to mate with either queen
playing 46 ... Qxb4.

46 ... Qexb4+ Oi.

Zu r a k h o v-Korc h n o i
Minsk, 1952
l .d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 d5 5.Bg5 Bf5
6.fxe4 dxe4 7.Bc4
At first glance this appears to be a good developing move.
However, it has the drawback of doing nothing to pressure
Black's e-pawn. Black will get a very good game if he just keeps
mounting pressure against the White d-pawn.

7 ... Nc6
A good devloping move which threatens the White d-pawn.

8.Nge2 Qd7 9.0-0 e6


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 37

9 ...e6 is multi-purpose move which protects the ligh t


squared bishop and strengthens Black's control of the center,
while preparing to develop the dark squared bishop.

9 ...e5 is a mistake which allows White a pretty combination


based on the weakening of the d5 square: 10.Bxf6 gx:f6 l l .Nd5
Bg7 12.Rxf5 Qxf5 13.Nxc7+ Ke7 14.Nxa8 Rxa8 15.d5 and
Black's exposed king and broken pawn structure gave White a
winning advantage in Furman-Lutikov, USSR, 1950.

1 0 . d5
White wants to get rid of the weakened d-pawn. However,
since this move only encourages Black to develop with a gain of
tempo it is not to be recommended.

1 0 ... exd5 l l . Nxd5 0-0-0


38 Chapter 5

Black is able to keep the advantage by giving back the pawn


while finishing his development.

1 2 . Nxf6 Bc5+
The dark squared bishop enters the game with a gain of
tempo at the expense of the White king.

1 3 . Khl Qxdl 1 4 . Raxdl Rxdl 1 5 . Rxdl gxf6 1 6. Bxf6


Rf8
Black stands better because of passed e-pawn.

1 7 . Rfl
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 39

A mistake since White's rook voluntarily walks into the pin


on the f-file. 17.Bg7 Rd8 18.Rxd8+ Kxd8 19.c3 and Black would
stand a little better with his passed e-pawn and more active
king.

1 7 ... Bg6
17 ...Rxf6 would allow White to win material after the
forcing 18.Rxf5 Rxf5 19.Be6+ Kd8 20.Bxf5. White wins either
the e- or h-pawns.

1 8. Ng3 Nb4
Black is building up a queenside initiative since White's
pieces are preoccupied with the pinning of his rook on the f-file.

19.c3 Nd3
Threatening to win the dark squared bishop with 20 .... Nf2+
and 21 ...Rxf6.

20. Bd4 Rxfl + 21 .Nxf1 Bxd4 22.cxd4 Nxb2


Black has a winning advantage having won a pawn while
maintaining his passed e-pawn.

2 3.Be2 Kd7 24.Kg1 Nd3 25.Bxd3 exd3 26.Kf2 Kc6


27. Ke3 Kb5 28.g4 Kb4 29.h4 h6 30.h5 Bh7 3 1 . Kf4
Kc3 32.Ke5 d2 33. Nxd2 Kxd2 34. Kf6 Ke3 35 . Kg7
Bb1 36 . Kxh6 Kf4 37.g5 Bxa2 38. Kg6 Bf7+ 39. Kh6
Kg4 40 .g6 Bd5 o-1 .

Le mp e r e o r - V e r l e d e n s
H olland, 1 982
1.d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4 .f3 d5 5.fxe4 dxe4
6 . Bg5 Bf5 7.Bc4 Nc6 8 . Nge2 Qd7 9.0-0 e6 1 0 . Qe1
40 Chapter 5

The idea behind this move is to prepare for pawn d5 by


clearing the dl square for the White rook.

1 0 0-0-0 l l . Rdl
...

White follows through with his idea and i s now prepared to


advance the d-pawn to d5.

l l . . Na5
.

This move combats White's plan of advancing the d-pawn by


gaining a tempo on the light squared bishop.

1 2 . Bb 5
12.Bb3 would eventually allow Black to gain the advantage
of the two bishops with ...Nxb3. The immediate response should
be 12. .. Be7 since White's light squared bishop isn't going
anywhere, and Black can afford to finish developing before
taking on b3. 12 ... Qc6 is also reasonable.

1 2 ... c6
While this move attacks White's light squared bishop, it
serves the more important function of gaining control of the d5
square.

13.Ba4 Nc4
This is a strong move which brings Black's worst placed
piece back into the game.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 41

13 ...Bd6 is an untested suggestion by Taimanov. The idea is


to battle the White knight for control of the g3 square.

1 4 . Bb 3
For 14.d5 Bc5+ 15.Khl Be3 16.dxc6 Qc7 see the game
Schulz-Will, presented below.

1 4 ... Nxb 2 !
Black's knight maneuver has gained him a two pawn
advantage.

l S . Rb l

Recently this move has even been suggested b y the


theoreticians as good for White. We think after seeing this game
that evaluation will change.

1 5 . Nd3
..

Black is able to take advantage of his light squared bishop on


the bl -h7 diagonal.

1 6 . cxd3
16.Qd2 is met by 16... Nb4.

1 6 ... exd3 17.Nf4


17.Ng3 Qxd4+ 18.Be3 d2 leaves Black with a winning
material advantage, for example 19.Qf2 (19.Bxd4 dxelQ
42 Chapter 5

20.Rbxel Rxd4) 19... Qxc3.

17 ... Qxd4+ 1 8 . Kh l d2 19.Bxe6+


19.Qg3 Bxbl 20.Bxe6+ Kb8 21.Nfe2+ Bd6 22.Nxd4 Bxg3
23.Nxc6+ bxc6 24.Rxbl + Ka8 25. hxg3 Rhe8 is a transpostion to
the game continuation.

1 9 ... Kb8 2 0 . Qg3 Bxbl

�.
t ,�. '!!'
� �
._.

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,

���
,. . �
�.� '!!'
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� �
� :t�B
r�� - �
-
-
��
r�
��
:t
• :t·��-
. ;I . 7

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• �R
a !.Z.J � � � rg�
ft- �!1 - ft �111
B_.i.- -§-�
2 1 .Nfe 2 +
21.Rxbl would allow Black a mating combination based on
White's weakened back rank: 21. . . d1Q+ 22.Rxdl Qxdl +
23.Nxdl Rxdl + 24.Qel Rxel#.

2 1 . .. Bd6 2 2 . Nxd4
22.Qh3 Qd3 23.Rxbl would once again allow Black to take
advantage of White's weakened back rank with 23 ... Qxbl +
24.Nxbl dlQ+ 25.Ngl Bc5.

2 2 ...Bxg3 23.Nxc6+ bxc6 24. Rxb l + Ka8 2 S . hxg3


Rhe8
Black's strong passed d-pawn ensures a winning material
advantage.

26. Bf5 Re l + 27 . Kh2 Rxbl 28.Bxbl dlQ 29.Nxdl


Ng4+ 30.Kh3 Rxdl 3 1 . Kxg4 Rxbl
White resigned.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 43

S c h u l z -W i l l e
D, 1957

1 . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 d5 5.fxe4 dxe4


6.Bg5 Bf5 7. Bc4 Nc6 8 . Nge2 Qd7 9. 0-0 e6 10.Qe1
0-0-0 1 1 . Rd1 Na5 1 2 . Bb5 c6 13.Ba4 Nc4 1 4.d5
Although this move is consistent with White's previous play,
Black's pieces are well placed to meet the challange.

1 4 ... Bc5 + 1 5 . Kh 1 Be3 1 6 . dxc6 Qc7 1 7 .Bxf6


17.cxb7+ Kb8 18.Bxf6 gxf6 would transpose to the game
continuation.

1 7 ...gxf6 1 8 . cxb7+ Kb8 1 9 . Nd5?


An oversight which costs White material and the game,
though a good alternative which covers the b2 pawn is hard to
find.

1 9 ... exd5 2 0 . Rxf5 Nxb2


This is the move White overlooked. It gives Black a winning
material advantage.

2 1 . Bb3 Nxd1 22.Qxdl d4 23. Rxf6 Rhf8 24. Re6 d3


White resigned.

M u l l e r- R a u
D, 1 957
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 dS 5.fxe4 dx e4
6.Bg5 Bf5 7.Bc4 Nc6 8 . Nge2 Qd7 9. 0-0 e6 1 0 . Qe1
10.Bxf6 gxf6 ll.a3 Na5 12.Ba2 0-0-0 13. b4 Nc6 14. d5
Qe7 15.Nf4 e5 16.Nh5 Nd4 17.Nb5 Nxb5 18.Rxf5 Nc3 19. Qg4
Qd7 20.Nxf6 Qb5 21.Rxe5+ Kb8 22.Re8 Rxe8 23. Nxe8 Qxe8
24.Bb3 Rg8 0-1, Plath-Gerloff, o, 1989.

1 0 . . 0-0-0 l l . Rdl
.
44 Chapter 5

ll.BbS is possible, to which Black might reply ll... h6!?.

l l .. NaS 1 2 . BbS c6 1 3 . Ba4 Nc4 1 4 . dS


.

This aggressive central advance only unleashes the energy


of the Black pieces.

1 4 ... B c 5 +
The bishop develops with a gain of tempo. This is not a good
sign for White.

1 5 . Khl Nxb2

This move leads to a forcing sequence in which Black stands


better.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 45

1 6 . Rb l
16.dxc6 would allow Black t o take advantage of White's
back rank with the incredible 16 ... Qxdl 17.Nxdl (17.cxb7+
Kxb7 transposes to the same position.) 17...Rxdl 18.cxb7+ Kxb7
and amazingly White has no way to save his queen while
protecting his back rank: 19.Qxdl (19.Qa5 Rxfl + 20.Ngl Rxgl +
mates.) 19... Nxdl 20.Rxdl with an advantage to Black thanks to
his extra pawn.

1 6 ... Nxa4 17. Nxa4 QxdS


For the moment Black has a three pawn advantage.

1 8 . Qa5
18.Bxf6, exchanging off the dark squared bishop would
give Black the critical e3 square for example 18...gxf6 19. Qa5
Be3 with a clear advantage to Black.

1 8 ... Bd4 19. Qb4 b6 20. Rfdl

This leads to another series of forced moves only this time


with mass exchanges.

20.Bxf6 is White's best move since the Black knight is a key


factor in White's defeat. 20. .. gxf6 (20 ... Bxf6 21.Nxb6+ axb6
22.Qxb6 c5 23.Nf4) 21.Rfdl Bc5 22.Rxd5 Bxb4 23.Rxd8+ Rxd8
24.Rxb4 Rdl + 25.Ngl e3 26.Nc3 Rd2 (26 ... Rcl may also be
strong.) and Black stands better since he can pick up a fourth
46 Chapter 5

pawn for the piece while maintaining threats of promoting his e­


pawn. For example:

a) 2 7.Nge2 Rxc2 when both knights are tied down to each


others defense. On 27 ...Bxc2 a cute helpmate is 28.Kgl Bd3
29.Kfl Bxe2+ 3 0.Nxe2 Rdl #.

b) 27.Rb2 and now:


bl) 27 ...Bxc2 28.Nge2 Bd3 29.Rxd2 exd2 30.Nf4 Bc2
but 28.Nf3! was found by Steven Hansen. It halts the
advance of Black's e-pawn after 28 ... e2 29.Kgl when
Black has no good continuation. For example: 29...Rdl+
3 0.Kf2 is good for White since Black is unable to guard his
e-pawn.
b2) 27 ...Rxc2 28.Rxc2 Bxc2 In this position one
realizes how slow the knights are when confronted with
advancing pawns. Black wants to advance his two
queenside pawns with b5 and a5. One possible
continuation is 29.Nge2 eS. This variation gives Black
excellent winning chances since his pawns dominate the
knights which will be unable to stop their advance.

c) 27.Rc4 Rxc2 28.Rxc6+ Kb7 29.Rc4 Bd3 wins material for


Black.

20 ... Bc5 2 1 . Rxd5


21.Qel is the only other move which does something about
White's queen while protecting the back rank. However, this is
no good as 21...Qc4 gives a winning material advantage to
Black.

21 ... Bxb4 22 . Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Rxb4 Rdl + 24 . Ngl


How co play Black againsc che Sc.auncon Gambic 47

This ending i s very interesting since Black has three pawns


for the piece. Black is better here because White's pieces are not
in a position to stop the e-pawn's promotion.

24 ... Nd5 25.Rb2 h6


Well played! Black is able to drive the bishop off of the cl­
h6 diagonal thus giving his passed e-pawn a clear go ahead.

26. Bh4 bS
This move will leave n o doubt: White's knight can never
reach c3 and halt the e-pawns advance.

27. Nc5 e3 28.h3 g5


28... e2 is also good immediately.

29.Bg3 e2 30 . c4 Nf4 31 . Kh2 e l Q 32.Bxel Rxel


33.cxb5 Rbl
Since Black is ahead in material, he forces the exchange of
rooks.

34 . Rxbl
Otherwise Black would take the pawn on b5.

34 ... Bxbl 35 .g3 Nd3 36.Nxe6 cxbS 37. a3 Net


38 .Nd4 Bd3 39. Ngf3 Nxf3+ 40. Nxf3 Kc7
Black's extra pawn on the queenside quickly decides the
48 Chapter 5

issue.

41 .Ne5 Bc4 42 .Ng4 aS 43.Ne3 Kb6 44. Kg2 KcS


4S .Nc2 Bd3 46.Ne3 Kd4 Q-1.
G u l k o - Gu r e v i c h ,M
USSR Championship, 1985
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 d5 5.fxe4 dxe4
6.Bg5 Bf5 7.Nge2 e6 8.Ng3 Be7 9. Qd2
9.Bxf6 is a mistake. White will be unable to take advantage
of Black's e-pawn due to the coming pressure on his own d­
pawn. After ... Bxf6 Black stands much better due to his extra
pawn and pressure on White's d-pawn.

9 ... h 6
A good move which strengthens Black's e-pawn by driving
the bishop off of the f6 knight.

1 0 . Be 3
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 ll.Rdl Bg4 12.Be2 (12.Ral Bg5 13.Qf2 e3
14.Qgl Qxd4 is winning for Black because of his two pawn
advantage and the exposed position of White's king.) and now
12... Bg5 traps the White queen.

1 0 Nbd7
...

This position is better for Black due to his extra pawn and
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 49

White's inability to gain a lead in development.

l l . Be2 Nb6 1 2. 0-0 Qd7


Black could bypass the coming tactics by covering his h5
square with 12...Bg6 and Black would stand better since White
has no play for the sacrificed pawn.

1 3 . Nh5 Rg8
Although this is not a bad move the rook would be more
active on f8 after 13 .0-0. However Black's king will no doubt
..

be safer on the queenside due to his pawns having remained on


their original squares. Still Black's pieces are well placed for any
sacrifice that may be attempted. For example, 14.Nxg7 Kxg7
15.Bxh6+ Kh7 16.Qg5 (16.Bxf8 Rxf8 with a winning position for
Black since his two pieces control more squares than his lost
rook.) 16. . . Rg8 17. Qh4 Rg6 18.Bf8+ (18.Bg5+ Kg7 19.Bh5 Rh8
and Black is able to take advantage of the pin on the h-file since
20.Bxg6 Rxh4 21.Bxf5 exf5 22. Bxh4 Qxd4+ is clearly winning
for Black.) 18. . . Kg8 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 is winning for Black.

1 4. Nxf6+ Bxf6 1 5 . Bh5+!


This provokes g6, weakening the Black pawn structure.

1 5 ... g6 1 6 . Be2
Black must play carefully since White is threatening to win
material with g4 and Rxf6 or Nxe4 and Rxf6.
so Chapter 5

1 6 ... Qg7

1 7 . Bxh6
Although White temporarily wins back his pawn, Black's
major pieces will use the opened h-file to launch an attack
against the White king.

17 .g4 is no big deal because White has to reckon with


Black's pressure on the g-file for example: 17 ... 0-0-0 and now
either 18.gxf5 gxf5+ 19.Khl (19.Kf2 Bh4+) 19. . . Qg2+ or
18.Radl h5.

1 7 ... Bxd 4+ 1 8 . Khl


This zwischenzug retains Black's material advantage.

1 8 ... Qh8 19.Bf4 0-0-0 2 0 . Nb5 e5 2 1 . Be3 a6


22. Nc3 Rg7
With the idea of lifting the rook over to attack White's king
on the h-file.

23.Rf2 Rh7 2 4. g3 Qe8 25.Bfl Qc6 26.Qe2 Nd7


A very pretty idea. The knight is heading to g4 where it will
dominate White's dark squares and, in particular, the h2 square.

27. Ndl Nf6 28.c3 Bg 4 29. Rxf6


29.Qel Bf3+ 30.Kgl (30.Rxf3 exf3 31. cxd4 f2+ 32.Bg2
fxelQ+) 30 ...Bb6 31.Bxb6 Qxb6 is winning for Black.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 51

29 ... Bxe2 30.Rxc6

30 ... Bf3 +
Another zwischenzug, which leaves Black with a winning
material advantage.

3 l . Kgl Bxe3+ 3 2 . Nxe3 bxc6 33.Bxa6+ Kb8 34. Rfl


Rd2 3 S . Rf2 Rxf2 36.Kxf2 Rxh2+
White resigned.

M a e n p a a - V a rj o n e n
D, 1 973
l . d 4 fS 2 . e 4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 dS 5.fxe 4 dxe4
6 .Bg5 BfS 7. Bc4 e6
Play might transpose back into the main line, but in this
game White plays more ambitiously and gets slapped.

8 . d 5 exdS 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 l O. NxdS QeS l l . Qe2


White wants to play Nf3 with tempo.

l l ... Nd7 12 . 0-0-0 0-0-0 13. Qe3 BcS 14. Qb3 c6


1 5 . Nb4 Nb6 1 6 . Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Ne2
Finally the knight enters the game, having been kept at
home by the pawn at e4. But the other knight is trapped!

17 ... aS 1 8 . Nxc6 bxc6 19. Ba6+ Kc7 2 0 . Rfl Be6 Oi.


52 Chapter 6

Chapter 6: 4 . Bg5 (Introduction)

Moore-P is che imer


US Open, 1961

l . d4 fS 2.e4 fxe4 3 .Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5


This natural developing move was favored by the originator
of this gambit-Howard Staunton. White's idea is to regain his
pawn while maintaining an advantage in the center with 5.Bxf6
6.Nxe4.

4 Nc6
...

A thematic counterattack against White's d-pawn which


thwarts White's plan of winning back his sacrificed pawn, while
preparing for a possible counter attack in the center with pawn
e5.

S . f4
This move takes away the eS square from Black's knight.
White's idea is to play pawn dS.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 53

5.Bxf6 would fail to win back the sacrificed pawn: 5. . . exf6


6.Nxe4 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nxd4 with a winning material advantage for
Black.

s ... d s
This simple move stops White's intended d5 while gaining a
protected passed e-pawn.

6 . Bxf6
This combination allows White to restore the material
advantage by winning the Black d-pawn.

6 .. exf6 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxd5 BfS


.

Black can claim an advantage in this position thanks to his


two bishops and passed e-pawn.

9. Qb5 Qd7 l O.dS


Or 10.Qxb7 Rb8.

1 0 ... Nd8 1 1 . Qxd7+ Kxd7 1 2 .Bb5+ Kd6

am � oo �s
��t�� m m t
m � ��t m
-dft
• �
� ··f�
.&. �8� .

-�--
4l- r� 4l- • B 4l- r�
����- -���
�� m � �§
An interesting idea in which Black will be able to drive back
White's minor pieces with his pawns by playing a6, b5, and b4.

12...c6 13. dxc6+ bxc6 14.0-0-0+ Kc7 is good for Black.


He has two bishops, a passed e-pawn, and control of d5.

1 3 . 0-0-0 Bh6 14.Nge2 a6


54 Chapter 6

1 5 . g4
15. Ba4 bS 1 6.Bb3 b4 1 7.Na4 Bg4 1 8.Rhel Bxe2 1 9. Rxe2
Bxf4+ 20.Kbl fS and Black has the advantage with his extra
pawn.

1 5 ... Bxg4 1 6. Nxe4+ Ke7 17.Bd3 Bxe2 1 8 . Bxe2


B xf4 +
This position is better for Black but some technical problems
may arise due to his backward development.

1 9 . Kbl Nf7 20.Nc5 BeS


Nicely played! Black combines defense (closing the e-file)
while creating threats against White's b-pawn in the event of
21.Nxb7.

2 1 . Bf3
21.Nxb7 Rhb8 22.Nc5 Rxb2+ 23.Kcl Rxa2 is winning for
Black due to his two pawn advantage.

2 1 ... Nd6 22. Rhel Kf7 23.Re2 h5 24.c3 Rae8


Black has consolidated his position while maintaining his
extra pawn.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 55

2 S . Kc2 Re7 26.b3 aS 27.Rgl NbS 28.Nxb7 Nxc3


29. Reg2 Bd4 30. Ral Re3 31 . Rd2 NbS 32.Rfl BeS
33. Rd3 Nd4+ 34. Kd2 Rxf3 3S . Rdxf3 Nxf3+ 36. Rxf3

36 ... a4
Before advancing his pawns on the kingside, Black first puts
an end to any idea White might have of gaining his own passed
pawn.

3 7 . h3
37.bxa4 Rb8 38.Nc5 Rb2+ 39.Ke3 Rxh2 40.Rf2? Bd4+.

37 ... axb3 38. axb3 gS 39. NcS g4 40.hxg4 hxg4


56 Chapter 6

4 1 . Rfl Rd8
White resigned because his pieces will be unable to save his
d-pawn or stop Black's passed pawns from promoting.
How co play Black against the Sta unton Gambit 57

Chapter 7 : 4 . Bg5 Nc6 S .Bc4

S c h r e i b e r-H e r m a n n
D, 1 953
l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4 . Bg5 Nc6 5 .Bc4

For some reason this move is not seen very often.

s ... e 6
5 ...d 5 6.Bxf6 dxc4 7.Be5 is better for White on account of
his pawn structure. While Black's extra pawn cannot be held due
to his weaknesses at c4 and e4.

6.d5 Ne5 7.Bb3 exdS 8 . Nxd5


8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Qh5+ Ng6 10.Nxd5 Bd6 intends to take the
f4 square away from White's knight, which would put more
pressure on Black's pinned knight at g6. Play can continue
ll.Nh3 c6 12.Ndf4 Bxf4 13 .Nxf4 Ke7 and now:

a) 14.Nxg6+ hxg6 15. Qxg6 d5 16. Qg7+ Kd6 17. 0-0-0


Rg8. The authors do not agree on this position. Defensive­
minded Schiller likes Black's long term prospects; aggressive
58 Chapter 7

Colias thinks Black won't live that long. 18.Qh6 is probably best
(18.Qh7 Qe8 19.Rhel f5 20.£3 Qg6 21.Qxg6+ Rxg6 22. fxe4
fxe4 23.Rxe4 Rxg2 24.Re8 Rxh2 2S. Rfl b6 26.Rff8 Kc7 27.c3
Rhl+ 28.Bdl Bg4 29.Rxa8 Rxd1+ 30. Kc2 Kb7 31.Rab8+ Kc7)
and Black then plays 18... Qe7.

b) 14.0-0-0 d5 1S .Nxd5+ cxd5 16.Bxd5 Qc7 17 .Bxe4


Qf4+ 18.Kb1 NeS and White's material loss is balanced by the
exposed nature of Black's king. Baumann-Herrmann, 0 , 1957.

8 ... c6 9. Bxf6 Qa5+ 1 0. Qd2


lO.Kfl cxdS (10 ...Qa6+ ll.Ne2 gxf6 12.Nc7+ or 10 ... gxf6
ll.QhS+ Kd8 12.Nxf6) ll. Bxe5 is an alternative.

1 0 ... Qxd2 + l l . Kxd2 gxf6 1 2 . Nxf6+ Kd8 1 3 . Nxe4 d5


14. Ng3 Bh6+ 1 5. Ke l
1S. Kd1 Ng4 16.Nh3 Rf8.

1 5 ... Re8 1 6 . N l e2

The White bishop remains locked out of the game and the
king is stuck in the center.

1 6 ... a5! 1 7 . a4 b6 1 8 . Rdl Ba6 19.f3 Ra7 20. Kf2 Rf7


Black's domination of the open files is very impressive.

21 .h3
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 59

Here Black explodes the position with combinations.

2 1 . .. Be3+! ! 2 2 . Kxe3 Nxf3+ 23. Kf2 Nd4+ 24. Kgl


Nxe2 + 2 5 . Kh2
2S.Nxe2 is met by Rxe2.

2 5 ... Nxg3
25 ...Rg7 26. Nxe2 Rxe2 27.Rhgl Kc7 28.Rd4 (28.Rdfl Kd6
29.Rf6+ KcS) cS 29.Rxd5 Bb7.

2 6 . Kxg3 Rg8+ 27 . Kh2 Rfg7 28 . Rhgl ? !


28. Rd2 Rg3 29. Rel is a bit better.

28 ... Rg3 29.c3 Bd3 30.c4? Be4 3 1 . Rd2 Rxb3 D-1 .


60 Chapter S

Chapter 8 : 4 .Bg5 Nc6 5.Bxf6

This move has the serious drawback of parting with the two
bishops with no compensation in return.

S j o b e rg-Vi d m a r
Goteborg, 1 909
l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3 . Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nc6 S .Bxf6 ex:f6

6 . d5
6.Nxe4 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nxd4 leaves Black a clear pawn ahead.

6 ... Ne5 7. Nxe4 f5! 8 . Ng3 d6 9. Qe2


This move temporarily prevents Black from the fianchetto of
his dark squared bishop but at the price of retarding White's
kingside development.

9 . . Be7 1 0.f4 Ng6 1 l . Nh3 0-0 1 2 . 0-0-0 Bd7


.

1 3 . Qf2 cS
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 61

Black has a big advantage thanks to his two bishops and


queenside space advantage not to mention Whit e's
uncoordinated pieces.

14.Bd3 Qa5 1 5 . Kbl b5 t 6 . c3?


This move is a mistake as it creates a lever for Black to open
up White's queenside. 16.Qd2 would be met by 16. . .Qa4.

t 6 ... c 4 1 7 . Bc2 b4
Played with the idea of opening up the b-file with a direct
attack on the White king.

1 8 . cxb4 Qxb4 19. Qd2 Qb7


62 Chapter 8

This is the correct response. As a general rule it is easier to


attack with queens on the board.

2 0 . Rh e l Rab8
Black wastes no time before mounting pressure on White's
king.

2 1 . b3 aS 2 2 . Re3 a4
For all practical purposes the game is over since White will
have no defense to the opening of the a-file.

2 3 . Nh5 axb3 24. axb3 Rf7 2 5 . Qd4 Qa6

This move obeys the rule, " one should attack where one's
opponent is weakest". In this position it will be easier for Black
to break through on the uncontested a-file.

2 6 . Kc l Bd8
Played with the immediate threat to win the exchange with
27...Bb6. In reality, the bishop is played over to the queenside
to join in the king hunt.

27. Rc3 Qa3+ 2 8 . Kbl


28.Kd2 runs into BaS.

2 8 ... cxb3
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 63

28 ...Ra8, playing for mate rather than first pursuing a


material advantage would backfire after 29.Rxc4 when White's
queen covers the al square.

29. Bxb3 Rxb3+ 30. Rxb3 Qxb3+ 31 . Kc l Ba4


White resigned.

} u m e k- L e c h tyn s ky
Czechoslovakia, 1 967
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5 . Bxf6 exf6
6 . d5

6 ... N e 5
The knight i s very strong on this central square.

7 Qd4 d6 8. Qxe4 f5 9.Qe3 Be7


.

Black has a fine game.

1 0 . Bb 5 + Kf7
An interesting decision. Black intends to castle by hand with
Re8 and Kg8. The idea is to gain an initiative on the queenside
at the expense of White's light squared bishop starting with
pawn a6.

10 . c6, opening up the position for Black's bishops was also


..
64 Chapter 8

possible. For example l l . dxc6 bxc6 12.f4 cxb5 13.fxe5 0-0


where the opening up of the position would certainly favor
Black due to his two bishops.

10 . Bd7 was also possible.


..

1 1 . 0-0-0 a6

This move is played in order to drive White's bishop off of


e8 thus making way for Black's king rook.

1 2 . Be 2 ReS 13.f4 Bf6


Black has won control over the e-file as a result of White's
queen being misplaced.

1 4 Qh3
.

14.fxe5?? Bg5 and Black wins.

1 4 .. Ng6 1 5 .Bh5 Qe7


.

Played with the idea of going into a superior ending with


Qe3 + .

1 6 . Nge2 Qe3+ 17. Qxe3 Rxe3 1 8 . Kd2 Re7 19. Ncl


Bd7 20. Rdel Rae8 2 1 . Nd3 c5 22.Rxe7+ Rxe7
2 3 . R e l bS
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 65

Black has the better ending thanks to his two bishops and
queenside initiative.

24. Rxe7+ Kxe7 2 5 . Bxg6


This move, parting with White's only bishop , should have
cost him the game since the advantage of doubling Black's
pawns can be easily corrected by playing ...gS .

25.g3 would have been better, with a goal of keeping the


position closed. However Black would retain an advantage due
to his two bishops and queenside initiative while White's
kingside pawns may be in danger to Black's dark squared
bishop.

2 5 ... hxg6 2 6 . b3
White's main problem with having the two knights is that
they have no outposts in the center and thus they will always be
less active than Black's two bishops.

2 6 ... b4
Perhaps Black should take time to rid himself of his only
weakness the doubled g-pawns by playing pawn gS.

27. Ndl Bc8!


Black's idea is to redeploy the bishop to b7 where it will
exert maximum pressure on White's d-pawn.
66 Chapter 8

28.c4 bxc3+ 29. Nxc3 Bb7 30.b4

3 0 ... cxb4
A miscalculation. Black misjudges the strength of White's a­
pawn.

A better plan w as 30 ... Bxc3+! 3 I .Kxc3 BxdS. The difference


between this position and the games is the fact that White will
not acquire a passed a-pawn. 3 2 . bxc5 Bxg2 33 .cxd6+ Kxd6
34.Ne5 KdS 35.Nxg6 Ke4 and Black wins.

3 1 . Nxb4 Bxc3+ 32 . Kxc3 aS 33. Nc6+ Kd7


33 ... Bxc6 34.dxc6 Kd8 35.Kd4 Kc7 36.Kd5 a4 37.a3 and
Black loses because he has run out of waiting moves because of
his doubled g-pawns.

34. Nxa5 Bxd5 35 . a3


The correct decision since White, by retaining his a-pawn,
will have a weapon of his own.

If 3 5 . g3 then 35 . . . Bxa2 and White loses. His knight will be


unable to enter the game without being exchanged off by the
light squared bishop.

35 ... Bxg2 36. Kd4 g5 37.fxg5 f4 38. Nc4 Ke6 39. h4


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 67

g6 40.a4 Kf5 4 1 . Nxd6+ Kg4 42 .a5 Kxh4 43. Ne4


Kg4 44. a6 Kf5 45. Nd6+ Kxg5 46. Ne4+ KfS 47. Nd6+
Kg4 48. Ne4 Drawn.
68 Chapter 9

Chapter 9 : 4 . Bg5 Nc6 5 .Nh3

S h ti r o v-Ch e r e m s i n
USSR, 1965
l .d4 fS 2.e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 S. Nh3?!
The idea is for White to castle as quickly as possible. But this
move has little to reccommend itself since the opening of the
c8-h3 diagonal will give Black an easy game.

5 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7.0-0 e6?


...

·-,.L��- ��
�r�
. � t r��
�t -
7�
-� •
�A"� t
� 7

� � t �:;a!.
-�- �t. �
- - - �
-
·� �t•
� r� � � •
m � m m�
� r� � - �� ..::. ��
p� .!1. � �� .!1. ��
.!1.
�-t=;
,��.- •-�� � i@'
g . t:::. ��
Closing the c8-h3 diagonal means that Black will be unable
to punish White's drunken knight move on his fifth turn.

7 ...dS! is the correct move, after which Black has nothing to


worry about. For example: 8. Bxf6 (8.Bb3 Bxh3 9.gxh3) 8 . . . exf6
9. Bxd5 Bxh3 10.gxh3 fS is much better for Black due to the
exposed nature of White's king.

8 . d5
The opening up of the center favors White due to his lead in
development.

8 ... N e 5
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 69

8 ...exd5 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 1 0 . Qxd5 is similiar to the game


continuation.

9 .Bb3 exdS 1 0 . Bxf6 Bxf6 1 1 .Qxd5


White has a winning attack since Black's king is stuck in the
center.

1 1 ... c6 1 2 . Qd6!

Black's king is kept in the center while his queenside pieces


have been locked out of the game.

1 2.Qxe4? would allow Black a second chance of opening


the cS-h3 diagonal : 1 2 . . . d5 1 3 .Qe2 Bxh3 1 4 . gxh3 0-0 would
turn the tables in Black's favor due to White's dismantled
kingside.

1 2 ... Nf7
1 2 ... Qe7 1 3 . Nxe4 Qxd6 1 4 . Nxd6+ Kf8 was better than the
game continuation, but still not appealing.

1 3. Bxf7+ Kxf7 1 4. Nxe4 Qe7 1 5 . Rfel Kg7


1 5 ... Qxd6 16.Nxd6+ Kg7 17.c3 leaves Black in a bind.

1 6 . Re3 ReB
An oversight, although Black's position was lost anyway.

1 7 . Nxf6
70 Chapter 9

Black resigned since the loss of material is unavoidable. For


example 17 . . . Qxd6 1 8 . Nxe8+ Kf7 19.Nxd6+.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 71

Chapter 1 0 : 4.Bg5 Nc6 S . BbS

B r e y e r-Va j d a
Vienna, 1 92 1
l .d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.Bb5
This move accelerates White's development, bu t on the
other hand the bishop is exposed at b5 and can be kicked
around by Black's pawns.

5 . . a6
.

Played with the idea of gaining the bishop pair or winning a


tempo.

6 . Ba4
6. Bxc6 bxc6 7.Qe2 e 6 8.Nxe4 Be7 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 1 0 . Nf3
0-0 with an advantage to Bl ack due to his two bishops and
central pawns. An interesting point of Black's central majority is
that it takes away the squares that the enemy knights rna y use
for an outpost in the center.

6 b5 7. Bb3 Na5
...

A major theme in the Staunton Gambit is for Black to acquire


72 Chapter 10

the two bishops and 7 ...NaS works directly toward that goal.

8 .Bxf6 exf6 9.Qh5+ g6 1 0.Bf7+

A pretty combination which gains White the exchange.


However this maneuver is not without its drawbacks, in
particular the misplacement of the White queen.

1 0 Kxf7 l l .Qd5 + Kg7 1 2 .Qxa8 Bb4


...

White has a material advantage of rook versus bishop and


pawn . However a closer look at the position reveals that Black's
pieces will enter the fight before either of the rooks thus giving
Black the initiative.

1 3 . Kfl
Not 1 3 . Qxe4 Re8 but 1 3 . Nge2 Qe7 , with the idea of
trapping White's queen via 14 ... Bb7 and IS ... Ra8, is possible. For
example: 14 .d5 (1 4.a3 Bb7 1 5 . Qa7 Ra8 16.Qxa8 Bxa8 1 7 .axb4
Qxb4 would give a winning advantage to Black.) 14 . . . Bb7
1 5 .Qa7 BcS 16.d6 cxd6 17.Nd5 Qe5 traps the White queen.

1 3 .. c6
.

Played with the idea o f winning White's queen after


1 4 ... Qb6 and 15 ... Bb7.

1 4. Qb8 d6 1 5 .d5
Hoping to carve an escape route for his queen after 15 ...cxd5
1 6 . Qa7 + .
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 73

1 5 Bxc3 1 6 . bxc3 cS!


...

The White queen has been trapped on the queenside. Black


only needs to clear his queen and bishop off of the back rank in
order for Black's rook to capture the enemy queen.

1 7 . a4
17.Qa7+ Bb7 1 8.a4 Qc7 19.axb5 Ra8 wou ld lead to a
winning material advantage for Black.

1 7 ... Qd7 1 8 . axb5 Bb7 1 9. Qxh8+


O r 19.Qa7 Ra8 20.Qb6 Nc4.

19 . Kxh8 20.Rxa5 axbS 2 1 . c4 bxc4 2 2 . Ne2 Bxd5


. .

Although White has two rooks for the queen, Black's three
extra pawns give him a winning advantage.

23. Nf4 Be6


23 ... Bf7 comes into consideration.

24.h4 Bf7 2 5 . h5 gxhS 2 6 . Rh3


Played with the idea of catching the Black king in a mating
net with 27. Rg3 .

26 ... Kg7! 27.Ke2 Qf5 2 8 . Rg3+ Bg6 29. Ra7+ Kh6


30. Nxg6 hxg6
White's uncoordinated rooks prove to be no match for
74 Chapter 1 0

Black's queen and four extra pawns.

3 1 . c3 h4 32.Re3 Qg4+ 33.Kfl Qdl + 34. Re l Qd3+


and Black eventually won.
How co play Black against che Staunton Gambit 75

Chapter 1 1 : 4 . Bg5 Nc6 S .f3

We return to a theme we examined earlier-the offer of an


exchange of pawns in the center. In this case Black can react
strongly by advancing the pawn to eS.

Ci fu e n tes-S c hm I ttd i e 1
Bad Worishofen, 1 992
l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nc6 S.f3 eS 6 . d5
Capturing at eS make no sense: 6.dxe5 NxeS 7 . fxe4 Bb4
8 . Qd4 Qe7 9. Bxf6 Bxc 3 + 1 0 . Qxc3 Qxf6 1 1 . 0-0-0 0-0
1 2 . Bc4+ Nxc4 13 .Qxc4+ Qt7 14.Qxt7+ Rxt7 1 5 .Nf3 b6 16 . Rhel
Bb7 1 7 . Rd3 Re8 18.Rde3 h6 19.c4 Rf4 20.Nd2 Rh4 2 1 .h3 Rf4
2 2 . R l e 2 a S 2 3 . Rf3 Rxf3 24.gxf3 Rf8 2 5 . Kc 2 Rf4 26 . Rg 2 h5
27 . Kd3 d6 28. Ke3 Rh4 29. Nbl Rxh3 30.Nc3 Rh l 3 1 .Nb5 Rcl
32 .b3 a4 3 3 . Nxc7 axb3 34.axb3 Rc3+ 3 5 . Kf4 Kt7 36. Nb5 Rd3
37. Rg5 g6 38.b4 Kf6 3 9 . Rg3 Bc6 40. Nc7 Rd4 4 1 . b5 Bb7
42.Ne8+ Kf7 43 .Nc7 Rxc4 44 .Na6 Bxa6 4 5 . bxa6 Ra4 46. Rg5
Rxa6 47 .Rd5 Ke6 48.Rg5 Kf6 49.Rd5 bS SO. RxbS Ra3 S l . RdS
g5+ 5 2 . Kg3 Ra6 5 3 . Rf5 + Kg6 5 4 . Rd5 Kh6 5 5 . Rd3 Drawn,
Saether-Agdestein, Stavanger, 1989.

6 ... Nd4 7 . Nxe4 Be7


76 Chapter 1 1

An examination of the following diagram shows that White's


opening strategy can already be described as a failure. Black has
superior development, and has exchanged a flank pawn for a
central pawn. This helps to explain the somewhat desperate
nature of White's play in this game.

8 . d6
The idea behind this pawn sacrifice is to double Black's d­
pawns thus shutting out the queenside pieces. However it has
the drawback of giving Black a formidable pawn center.

8 ... cxd6 9.Bxf6 gxf6 1 0 . Ne2 d5


10 . Nxe2 would only help to develop White's pieces after
..

l l . Bxe2 when Black's queenside has little hope of entering the


game any time soon .

l l . Nxd4 dxe4
l l ... exd4 1 2 .Ng3 with a winning position for White due to
Black's scattered pawn structure.

1 2 . Nf5 Qb6 13.Qd5 Qxb2


Black has good chances in this position, sitting on a two
pawn advantage. White's attacking chances are slight due to
Black's central pawns and two bishops.

1 4 . Bc4
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 77

1 4 ... Bb 4+
This is a good move si nce mack's main concern is with the
safety of king rather than the win of material with 1 4 ... Qxa l + :
1 5 . Kf2 Q x h l 1 6 . Qf7+ Kd8 1 7 . Qxe7+ Kc7 18. Qd6+ Kd8
19. Qxf6+ Kc7 20.Qxe5+ and now not 20 ... Kd8 2 1 . Qxh8+ Kc7
2 2 . Qe5+ Kd8 23 . Nd6 wins for White due to the threat of
24 .Nf7# (For example 23 ... e 3 + 24 .Kg3 Qel + 2 5 . Kh3 Kc7
26 . Qc5 + Kd8 27. Nf7 + Ke8 28 . Qe5+ Kf8 29. Qh8+ Ke7
30. Qd8#.) while 20 ... Kb6 fa ils to 2 1 .Qd6+ Ka5 22.Qa5+ with
mate to follow.

1 5 . Kf2 Qxc2+ 1 6 . Kg3 Kd8


The Black king is actually safer on d8 than e8 since White's
pieces are eyeing the f7 square.

1 7 . Rh d l
Or 17.Ne3 Qd2.

1 7 ... exf3
With the discovered attack on White's knight and g-pawn
Black is able to take control of the g-file.

1 8 Ne3 Qg6+ 19. Kxf3 ReS


.
78 Chapter 1 1

With both kings exposed to attack Black has excellent


winning chances thanks to his three extra pawns.

2 0 . Rabl e4+ 2 1 . Ke2 Re5


A strong move which aims at transposing to an ending
through the exchange of queens.

2 2 . Qg 8 +
O r 22.Qd4 Bc5 23 . Qd2 Bxe3 24.Qxe3 Qxg2+.

22 ...Qxg8 23.Bxg8 Bc5 24. Bxh7 b6


Black's two extra pawns give him a winning endgame
advantage.

2 5 . Ng4 Ba6+ 26.Ke l Re7 27.Bf5


27 .Nxf6 Bd3 28.Rbcl Bb4+ 29.Kf2 Rf7 wins the knight.

2 7 ... Bd3
Black's bishops prove a formidable force since White soon
parts with the exchange.

2 8 . Rb c l
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 79

· - t� . .a - -
��rr� R t �S -
�T� R ��rr� R
- ��� -JtU
- - t -4JR
R R
ft - - R � ft r
.���>

- ��§'� § W

z
�- - a -
Not 28.Ral Bd4 29.Racl Bb2. So 28.Rb2 i s the only move to
avoid immediate material loss. Still, Black's two extra pawns and
dominating bishops give him a winning advantage after
28 . . . Bd4 .

2 8 ... Ba3
This move wins the exchange and so puts a n end to any
further resistance White might have offered.

29.h4
O r 29.Rc3 Bb4.

29 ... Bxcl 30.Rxcl Rg7 3l . Kd2 Ke7 32.Ke3 Rh8


33.g3 bS 34. Rc7 Kd8 3 5 . Rxa7 RhS 36.Bxd7 ReS
37.Nxf6 Rxg3+ 38. Kd4 Rc4+ 39. Ke5 e3 40. Ke6 e2
0-1 .

V o rj o n e n-Ta ta i
D , 1 966

l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5 .f3 eS


Si nce taking on f3 wou ld only accelerate Whi te's
development, Black is correct to strike back in the center and, in
particular, on the dark squares.

6 . d5 Nd4 7. Nxe4
Chapter 1 1

1 r,,. .. Ur7 H. NJ&c2 with the idea of eliminating Black's


I. I IIMhl or d-1 IN un untcstctl ldca from Hans Kmoch.

7 ... Uc7 8 . 8xf6 Bxf6 9.g4

This premature advance only succeeds in weakening White's


kingside.

9.c3 NfS I O.Qd2 0-0 would only be slightly better for


Black with his two bishops and better pawn structure.

9 ... Bh4+ 1 0 . Ng3 c6


Played with the idea of opening up the center for the two
bishops while, more importantly, giving the knight a safe retreat
at bS .

l l . c3 Nb5 1 2 . Qd3
1 2 . Bxb5 cxbS would give Black a clear advantage because
of his two bishops and eventual play against White's f3 pawn.

1 2 ... d6 13. 0-0-0


This is the lesser of the two evils for White since his kingside
is obviously much more exposed than Black's.

13 ... Qa5 1 4 . Kbl 0-0


White's position is in a state of disarray, especially on the
dark squares.
How co play Black against the Staunton Gambit 81

l S . NfS BxfS 1 6 .gxf5 Qb6

Black's better pawn structure and lead in development give


him a decisive advantage.

1 7 . Ne2 cS
Black wants to gain space on the queenside and take control
of the d4 square for his knight in the event White plays c4.

1 8 . Ng3 a6
White's main problems in this position are his discoordinated
pieces and weakened pawn structure.

1 9 . c4 Nd4 20. Qe4 Q d8 2 l .Bd3 Bf6


Black has achieved a total bind on the dark squares and is
ready to launch the final assault on the queenside starting with
b5 .

2 2 . Nh5 b S 23.Rdgl Ra7


A multipurpose move which defends Black's kingside while
it prepares for the doubling of the major pieces on the
queenside.

24. h4 Rb7 2 S . f4 bxc4


The opening up of the b-file signals the final onslaught is
near.
82 Chapter 1 1

2 6 . Bxc4 exf4
When one side is attacking with opposite colored bishops on
the board the defending bishop will be unable to challange its
counterpart.

2 7 . Nxf4
27 .Nxf6+ Qxf6 is winning for Black. Black has good knight
versus White's bad bishop; Black has pressure on the b-file; and
White's f-pawn is indefensible: 28. Qxf4 Ne2 wins material for
Black due to the mate threat on b2.

27 ... Rb4!
A strong move with the idea of backing the rook u p with
the queen (which would not be the case had Black played
27 ... Qb6).

2 8 . b3 Qb6 29. Ne6 Rxc4 30. Qd3 Nc2 31 . Kcl Ne3+


32. Kd2 Rc2+ 33. Qxc2
White resigned due to the loss of material which would
follow on 33 ... Nxc2.

Ragoz in-Nilss on
Europe, 1958
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3 . Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nc6 5 . f3
White proceeds in true gambit style hoping to gain a lead in
development in the event that Black plays S ...exf3 .

5 ... e 5
The logical follow u p to S ... Nc6. Black strikes back i n the
center with the idea of taking control over the dark squares.

S ... exf3 6. Nxf3 would give White a lead in development


with plenty of compensation for the gambit pawn. White would
have excellent chances down the open f-file.

6 . d5
6. dxe5 NxeS 7 . Qd4 (7 .fxe4 d6 8 . Nf3 Bg4) 7 ... d6 8.Nxe4
Be7 and Black's centralized pieces give him good chances of an
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 83

advantage.

6 ... Nd4 7 . Nxe4 Be7 8 .Bxf6 Bxf6 9.Bd3 0-0 1 0 . Ne2


Bh4 + !

This move will ensure some initiative for Black due to his
bishop pair.

l l . N2g3 d6 1 2 . c3 Nf5 1 3 . Qd2 c6!


Black wishes to open up the center for his two bishops.

1 4 . Bc4 b5 1 5 . Bb3 cS

· -�� �sv�
r��
.
� �
/ m
- �
-

-�
r��
�t
. 7

� �r..L�
• � � • � •

• t �r� �
� .!1 �r� �­
��-
- -�- �
u
-� � r.ill
�� u � �R
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.!1 �� �g� •
- / ,_
M,
-
� � �r�
� .!1 �� - /

�'H � m
.t:j;: � �� � U�
� -H
Black can claim an advanatage in this position due to his two
bishops, more active pieces, and queenside space advantage.
84 Chapter 1 1

1 6.0-0 a S 17.Nxf5 BxfS 1 8. Bc2 Ra7


The idea behind this move is to lift the rook over to the f-file
with Raf7.

1 9 . g3?
This i s a weak move which only creates further targets on
the White kingside in particular the f3 pawn.

1 9 . Nf2, while conceeding that Black has the initiative,


would not have created further weaknesses in White's position.

1 9 . . Bf6 2 0 . Kg2 Qd7 2 1 . Nf2?!


.

2 1 .Nxf6+ Rxf6 22.Bxf5 QxfS and Black has strong play on


the f-file. Nonetheless, this position for White is better than the
game continuation.

2 1 ... g6 2 2 . Be4 Bg7


White's main problem in this posttton is his l ack of
counterplay. He can only sit and wait until Black finds a way to
break through.

2 3 . Rael Qe8 24.g4

As so often happens, White grows tired of doing nothing and


lashes out. But this move only creates further weaknesses and
the rest is simply a matter of technique.
How to play Black against che Staunton Gambit 85

2 4 ... B d7
24 ... Bc8 would be more precise.

2 5 . Bc2 Qd8
A good multipurpose move as the queen will guard the d­
pawn while looking for an opening on White's kingside.

26. Ne4 Bc8 27.Rhl Rafi


The doubling of the rooks on the f-file will help to tie down
White's pieces to the defense of the f-pawn.

28.Bdl Rf4 29.h4 h5 30.g5 c4


The idea behind this move is to prevent White from
protecting his d-pawn with b3 and c4.

3 1 . Ng3? Bb7 32 . Be2 Qd7 33. Rdl Qfi


The queen is a formidable force on f7 which simultaneously
attacks White's two weakest squares at d5 and f3 .

34. Rh3 Bc8 35.Rhhl

35 ... e4
With all of White's pieces tied down to the defense of his
pawns this central break puts an end to all resistance.

3 6 . fxe4
36. Nxe4 Rxe4 37.fxe4 Qf2#.
86 Chapter 1 1

36 . . . Rf2 +
White resigned due to the forced mate: 37 .Kgl Rg2 +
38.Kxg2 Qf2#.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 87

Chapter 1 2 : 4 . Bg5 Nc6 5 . d5 Ne5


(Introduction)

We have finally reached the variation which best deserves


designation as the main line of the Staunton Gambit. In this and
the next chapter we will consider some minor deviations from
the most popular continuation.

A l z a te-Ni l s s o n
Havana Olympiad, 1 966
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5
6 . Bxf6 ? !

Parting with the bishop pair this early only hands Black the
initiative.

6 . . exf6 7 . Nxe4
.

White has succeeded in winning back his pawn but it is


Black to play who quickly turns the move at hand into a
powerful initiative.

7 fS
...

Black wastes no time in driving White's knight away from


88 Chapter 1 2

the center.

8 . Ng3 g6
Played with the idea of putting the dark squared bishop on
the h8-a 1 diagonal.

9 . Qe 2 Qe7 1 0. 0-0-0 Ng4


With no central outposts for the White knights , Black
welcomes the coming ending with the exchange of queens
since his two bishops will rule the board.

l l . Nh 3
l l . Qxe7 + Bxe7 wou l d only assist Black with his
development.

l l ... Bh6+ 1 2 . Kbl Qxe2 13.Bxe2

� --�� �s
� t �r�
r�� �t- • �
-t
m m mt�
m m tt m t m
m m m�m
� � � �� /:"\
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� r� � �A���
.!J. �� .!J. �
� .!J.
� �r� �
mw�§m m §
1 3 ... d6
Black has the better ending because of the bishop pair and
White's misplaced knights.

14.Rhel 0-0 1 5 . Nfl


1 5 . Bb5 a6 16.Ba4 b5 1 7 . Bb3 Bb7 18.Re7 Rf7 19.Rdel Kf8
20.Rxf7+ Kxf7 with an ending similiar to the game. Note that
Black can't take the h-pawn since pawn f3 wou ld trap the
knight.

1 5 ... Bd7 16.f3 Nf6 17 . Bc4


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 89

Not only are the White knights kept away from the center,
but his light squared bishop cannot find an open diagonal either.

17 ... RaeB 1 8. Bb3 b5

- - -�-��
���
� r�.a;� �;.� • • •• :t
�� "�:
� :a: �w
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. 2.
m :a: m ft m :t m
m m m
-.Am m tt mfJ
4> r� � � a
.!.!. �� .!.!. �
. � �
a

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.�
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BW�§ ��4JB
This moves gains space on the queenside while cutting off
White's d-pawn from the pack.

19. Nf2 Rxe l 20.Rxe l ReB 2 1 . Rxe8+ Bxe8 22.Ndl


aS
Black is threatening to trap the bishop with 23 ...a4 .

2 3 . a3
Forced since 23.c3 would drop the d-pawn after 23 ... a4
24. Bc2 Nxd5 .

2 3 ... B f7
This is precisely what Black played for when isolatingWhite's
d-pawn with 18 ... b5 .

24. Nc3 b4 2 5 . Nb5 Nxd5 26. axb4 axb4 27. Bxd5


Bxd5 28. Nxc7 Bc4
Black has a winning game with two bishops against knights
in an open position. White's main problem is that his lonely
knight will be unable to defend the kingside pawns.

29. Ng3
90 Chapter 1 2

29 ... b3
Before proceeding to the kingside Black gets rid of his only
attackable weakness-the advanced b-pawn.

30.cxb3 Bxb3 31 . Nb5 Bf4 32. Nd4 Bc4 33. Kc2 Kf7
33 ... Bxg3 34.hxg3 Bfl-winning a pawn immediately-is
not advised since 35.b4 Bxg2 is met by 36.b5 when White's b­
pawn is a formidable force.

34. Kc3 Ba6


Black is winning because of his bishop pair, so White offers a
pawn in the hope of gaining counterplay. Otherwise Black will
advance the h-pawn to h4.

3 5 . Nge2
35 .b4 runs into Be5 , with a formidable pin o n the White
knight.

35 ... Bxh2 36.g3 g5 37. Kd2 f4 38.g4 Kg6 39.Kel h5


40. Kf2 h4 4 1 . Nf5 Bg3 + 42. Nexg3 fxg3+ 43. Kg2 Kf6
44. Nxd6 Ke5 45 . Ne4 Kf4 46. Nd2 Be2 47.b3 Bxf3+
4 8 . Kg l
48.Nxf3 h3 + 49.Kxh3 Kxf3 50.b4 g 2 and Black wins.

48 ... h3 49.Nfl g2 5 0 . Nh2 Kg3 5 1 . b4 Bd5 52.b5 Be4


53.b6 Bb7 <H. .
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 91

H o l m e s-M ie s e s
Liverpool, 1 923
l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 S . dS NeS
6 . f4

6 ... exf3
6 ...N f7 i s generally recommended, but leads to compli­
cations : 7 . Qd4 g6 8 . Nxe4 Bg7 9. 0-0-0 0-0 1 0 . Nf3
( l O . Nxf6+?! exf6 l l . Bh4 g5! worked out well for Black in
Reicher-Alexandrescu, Romania, 1962.) 10 . . . Nd6 l l .Nxf6+ Bxf6
1 2 . Bxf6 exf6 oo .

7. Nxf3 Nf7 8 .Bd3 eS 9. 0-0 Be7 1 0.Bxf6 Bxf6


1 1 . Ne4 0-0 1 2 . c4 d6
92 Chapter 1 2

Black stands much better in this position due to his extra


pawn and two bishops while White has no hope of mating the
well guarded Black king.

13. Qc2 g6 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 1 5 . Nd2 Qg7


1 5 ... Qe7 1 6 . Bxg6 hxg6 17. Qxg6+ Kh8 18.QhS + Kg7 19.Rf3
would give White a winning attack.

1 6 . Rf2 Bd7 1 7 . Rafl


The doubling of rooks will only result in simplification due
to the open f-file. Still , it is hard to suggest a better plan for
White.

17 ... Nh6 1 8 . Ne4 NfS 19.Qd2 Kh8 20.g4 Nh6


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 93

Black takes n o chances in posting his knight o n d 4 away


from his king since his extra pawn combined with White's
weakened kingside is a big enough advantage to win.

2 1 . h3 Rxf2 22. Qxf2 Qe7


This move takes away the g5 square from White's knight.
22 ... Kg8 with the idea of 23 ... Rf8 was also possible.

2 3 . Nf6?
This move is a mistake since it allows Black a winning pin on
the f-file. Nevertheless, alternative moves for White would not
have changed the outcome of the game.

23.Qf6+ Qxf6 24.Nxf6 Ba4 25.b3 Be8 26.g5 Ng8 27.Nxe8


Rxe8 28.Rf7 Ne7 with 29 ... Kg8 yields a winning position for
Black thanks to his extra pawn .

23 ... Rf8 24. Qh4


94 Chapter 1 2

24 ... Nf5 !
Perhaps White overlooked this move which interrupts the
communication betweeen White's rook and knight.

2 5 . Bxf5 Rxf6 26.Qxf6+


26. Bxd7 drops the queen to 26 . . . Rxfl + 27.Kxfl Qxh4.

26 ... Qxf6 27. Bxd7 Qg5 2 8 . Be6 e4 29. Kg2 Qd2+


3 0 . Rf2

30 e3!
...

White resigned since he will be unable to stop the Black


pawn from promoting. For example 3 1 .Rxd2 exd2 3 2 . Kf2 d i Q .
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 95

Chapter 1 3 : 4 .Bg5 Nc6 S . dS NeS


6.Qd4 Nf7

This is the normal continuation. Now White usually captures


on f6 and then at e4, and we will examine those lines in the
remaining chapters. Here we will concentrate on several
alternative moves.

Uhlmann-Kau d e r
East German Championship, 1953
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 S.dS Ne5
6 . Qd4 Nf7 7. Bf4
This move loses time with the bishop and so is not
recommended .

7 ... d6
Consistent. Black plans o n playing . . . eS which will either
gain more time be attacking White's dark squared bishop or give
him control of the center by knocking out White's d-pawn .

8.Nxe4 e5 9. dxe6 Bxe6 1 0 . 0-0-0


1 0 . Nxf6+ is better than the game since White exchanges
knights on his next move while losing time with his queen.
10. . . Qxf6 l l .Qxf6 gxf6 and Black is ok.

1 0 ...Be7 l l . N.xf6+ Bxf6 1 2 . Qe4 Qe7


With the pin broken, Black is now relatively secure.

1 3. Bb5+ Bd7 14.Bxd7+ Kxd7 1 5 . Qa4+ Kc8 t 6 . Nf3


Qd7 1 7 . Qb3
This position looks much better for White, because the Ra8 is
in exile, but it may get into the game via a rook lift, and White
has no clear targets and no pawn levers.
17.Qc4 is met by 17 . . . Re8.
96 Chapter 1.3

1 7 ... a 5 ! 1 8 . Be3 a4 19. Qd5 c6


..
19 . Ra6!? is a less risky plan. Black would have an
acceptable game here.

20. Qd3 Qe6 2 l . Kbl RaS


Black has the initiative.

-�� m ��
g ....
� ... g
� g• ���r..&;�
� .&. ...

.
...
� .... �
r�
7

� �
� �
-.� � . .?. - � �
-
�s m m m
tm m m m
B
� r.r�f-'.� t57 00"ZJM•
� r� �
.!1. �� .!1. .
. 7
-


r� � r�
�.� .!1. �.�
/ 7

-��§m m§
22. Bd4 NeS 23.Bxe5 dxeS 24. Qe4 a 3 2 S . b3 RdS
26.Rxd5 cxdS 27.Qa4 Kb8 28. Re l Qd6 29. Rdl ReS
30.c4 d4 3l . Nd2 d3! 32.b4 Qd4 33. Qxa3 e4 <rl .

R o s i n -J a h r
Bundesliga, 1 980
l .d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 S.dS NeS
6 . Qd4
This move appears to gain a tempo as White is attacking the
knight on e5 while preparing to castle queenside. The
disadvantage is that the knight is chased to f7 where Black gains
his tempo back attacking the bishop on g5.

6 ... Nf7 7.h4


How to play Black against the Sta unton Gambit 97

7 ... g 6
7 . Nxg5? This move would play right into White's hands
. .

after 8. hxg5 Ng8. This position is winning for White due to his
lead in development and the exposed nature of Black's king.

8 . Bxf6 exf6 9. Nxe4 Bg7 1 0 . Qb4


This attempt to keep Black from castling only assists in
Black's development.

1 0 f5 l l . Ng3 a5 1 2 . Qa3
...

Black has the advantage since White's pieces have been


pushed over to the side of the board.

1 2 d6 1 3 . Bb5+ c6!
...

A pawn sacrifice which allows Black's pieces to take a lead


in development.
98 Chapter 13

1 4 . dxc6 0-0 1 5 . Nl e2
1 5 .cxb7 Bxb7 16.f3 Qb6 with a winning initiative for Black,
as White's king is stuck in the center.

1 S ... bxc6 1 6 . Bxc6 Rb8


Black's active pieces combined with White's king remaining
in the center fully compensates for the sacrificed pawn.

1 7 . c3 Qb6 1 8 . Qa4 Ba6

�s B �s��
B B -�� :t
... � . · ·� � r� •
..li,J.&�.&:� • :t • •
�r.a;
�� • B • :t B

�-
g. • B • ��
�r.!..!.:
� �r.!..!.:
� �� �� �r.v.
tz.J
� �r�
n. � • r..... r�
-"Ll� � n.
�. ­
.t::S�:
�'H � <�
� '0'� �
•a 'H
Very nicely played! Black completes his development
instead of grabbing the pawn on b2. Black will win more
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 99

material because White's king is in the center.

1 9 . 0-0
Removing the king from the center but at the cost of
material-as Black's further play shows.

1 9 ...f4 2 0 . Nxf4 Bxfl 2 1 . Rxfl Be5 2 2 . Nd5 Qxb2


Al though Black has won the exchange for a pawn the real
strength of his position is the control of the dark squares.

23. Ne4 Nh6 24. Qc4 Kh8 25.f4 Bg7 26. Nxd6 NfS
27. Nxf5 Rxf5 28.g4

�- - - �
- - - � �t
-,d - :t -
�� _4J_ l!_
-t¥'� �� ft �ft1
- � - -
��
.!!. i.W� �
� �
� � �
• �
� • - 'H �
� ��
2 8 ... Rff8
Although it appears that White is attacking, in reality he is
only creating weaknesses in front of his king.

29.f5 gxf5 30.gxf5 Rg8


This move takes control of the g-file which leads to a
winning attack on the White king.

3 1 . Khl Be5 32. Nf4


Forced because of the mate threats on the g2 and h2 squares
respectively.

32 ... Rg4 3 3 . Bg2 Rxh4+ 34. Kgl Qb6+ 3 5 . Rf2 Rxf4


36. Qe6
1 00 Chapter 1.3

White resigned since Black has a forced mate: 36 . . . Qxf2+


37.Kh2 (37.Kh l Rh4+ 38.Bh3 Rxh3#) 37 . . . Rh4#.

Krato c h v i l-K o s i n a
D, 1973
1 . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5
6.Qd4 Nf7 7.f4
While this move does protect the dark squared bishop on g5 ,
White is really hoping that Black takes the pawn with 7 ... exf3 .

7 g6
...

7 . . .exf3 8.Nxf3 and White has a winning initiative because of


his lead in development.

8.Bxf6 exf6 9. Nxe4


9.Qxe4+ Qe7 1 0 . Qxe7+ Bxe7 and Black has the better
ending due to his two bishops.

9 ... Bg7 1 0. 0-0-0 0-0 l l .f5

--�� ����
�ti t �ti t - � 1] t
• u
• • r�..&:��t U •
B B ft B tt m
U
• �M'-"'•
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JJ..� JJ.
7�B�
-
� �
B .¢:l. �f'�
� JJ. . ��

.
� � �-
;.� � ��� � �� � �
Played with the idea of stopping Black from taking control of
the al-h8 diagonal with l l ...f5. However, the move l l . f5 is too
committal . It seriously weakens the cl-h6 diagonal while giving
Black an outpost for his knight at e5.

l l . Qd2 would have been better, although Black has a fine


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 101

position and the two bishops.

l l ... d 6
l l . gxf5 1 2. Ng3 a n d White has a winning position since
..

Black suffers a broken pawn structure on the kingside.

1 2. Ng3 c 5 1 3 . dxc6?

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. � CH �- � �� �
��� M'

This move is a mistake since Black is the only one who will
benefit from the opening of lines on the queenside.

1 3 ... bxc6 1 4 . Bc4 d5 1 5 . Bd3 Ne5


Black has a winning position: he has open lines to the White
king, the two bishops, and an outpost for his knight in the
center.

1 6 . Nf3 Qa5 1 7 . Kbl Rd8 1 8.fxg6 hxg6 1 9 . Nxe5 fxe5


20. Qh4 Rd6! 2 1 . Qg5
2 1 . Qe7 Re6 2 2 . Qg5 Rb8 with play similiar to the game
continuation.

21 ... Rb8 2 2 . Bc4


1 02 Chapter 13

��D �d
���� - - �00�
- :t �S - :t

�- � -� :t �
� � ;,�
. 7. �
-� - -
- - - ?J. "-
�-

ft �r�� ft -
. , �� - � ft �� �
� . ,

�d§ - - §
2 2 ... Rxb 2 + ! !
A thematic sacrifice which sweeps away White's pawn cover
and leads to a winning attack on the dark squares. It's important
to know that with bishops of opposite colors on the board the
defending side can offer no resistance.

2 3 . Kcl
2 3 . Kxb2, accepting the rook leads to a mating attack for
Black. For example 23 . . . e4+ 24 . Kc l (24 .c3 Qxc3+ 2 5 . Kb l
Qb2+#.) Qa3 + 25.Kd2 Qc3+ 26.Ke2. Notice how every White
move has been forced since Black has control of the dark
squares. 26 ... Qxc4 + 27 . Kf2 Bd4 + 2 8 . Ke l (28.Rxd4 Qxd4 +
29.Kel e3) 28 . . . Qb4 + 29.Rd2 (29. Kfl Ba6+ 30.Ne2 Rf6+ is
winning for Black due to his new found material advantage.)
29 . . . e3 .

23 ... Qc3 24 . Rd2 e4


White resigned since he has no good answer to Black's
threat of 25 ... Rbl + followed by 26 ... Qb2 #.

P o t t e r -J e z e k
D , 1 960

l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 S.dS NeS


6 . Qd4 Nf7 7 . Bh4 g5
How co play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 03

An idea of Smagin's designed to gain time and space, which


far outweighs the weakening of Black's kingside.

8 . Bg3 Bg7
Black's previous 7 ... gS enables the dark squared bishop to
take control of the h8-a 1 diagonal .

9 . 0-0-0 c6!
This is a strong move which challanges White's last center
pawn while making an opening for the Black queen.

1 0 . Nxe4
1 0 . d6 also results in an inferior ending for White after
10 . . . Qb6 l l . Nxe4 Qxd4 1 2. Rxd4 Nh5 1 3 . Rd l Nxg3 1 4 . hxg3
( 1 4 . Nxg3 would drop White's d-pawn.) 1 4 . . . exd6 I S . Nxd6+
Nxd6 1 6 .Rxd6 Ke7 17 .Rdl dS and this is a good ending for
Black with the bishop pair and better pawn structure.

1 0 ... Q b6
The exchange of queens will take away White's attacking
chances while enhancing Black's control of the center.

l l . Nxf6+ Bxf6 1 2 . Qxb6 axb6 1 3 . Kb l d6 1 4 . a3 RaS


1 5 . dxc6 bxc6
1 04 Chapter 1.3

Black's two center pawns give him a clear space advantage.

1 6 . Nf3 0-0 17.Be2 bS


Played with the idea of opening up the a-file with a future
pawn b4.

1 8 . Nd4 Bd7 19.f3 Rfa8 20.c3 NeS 21 . h4 h6 2 2 . hxg5


hxgS 2 3 . Kc l
White's main problem is that Black's two center pawns keep
his pieces inactive.

2 3 ... c 5
This move drives away White's only centralized piece.

24. Nc2 Rc8


Played with the idea of opening up the queenside with
pawn b4.

25.Bel Ra7 26. Ne3 b4 27. axb4 Ba4


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 05

2 8 . bxc5
The sensitive nature of his king's position leaves White no
choice.

28.Rd2 Bb3 and White finds his king in a mating net.

28 ... Bxdl 29. Nxdl Ral + 30. Kc2 RxcS?


We condemn this move since White now has a passed b­
pawn. However, Black's material advantage of the exchange still
gives him a winning position.

30 ...dxc5 is winning for Black who has a material advanatage


with no counterplay for White.

3 1 . Bf2 ReS 32.Rh3 Nc4 33.Rg3 Kf7 34. Rg4 Ne5


3 5 . Rg3 Ng6 36.Be3 Nf4 37 . Bxf4 gxf4 38. Rg4 eS
This move locks Black's bishop out of play. Better was
38 ... Be5 .

39.g3 fxg3 40. Rxg3 dS 41 . Bd3 Rh8 42.Rg2 BgS


1 06 Chapcer 13

43. Rxg5 Rh2+ 44 . Be2 Kf6 4 5 . Rg8 Rxe2+ 46. Kd3


Rh2 47.Ne3 Rxb2 48. Nxd5+ Kf7 49. Rg5 Rdl +
50. Kc4 Re2 S l .KcS Rd3 5 2 . Kd6 Rxf3 Drawn.

M atsu kevic h-Ch erepkov


USSR, 1 963
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5
6 . Qd4 Nf7 7 . Bh4 g5
An idea of Smagin's designed to gain time and space at the
expense of White's bishop and queen which will be challenged
by Black's dark squared bishop.

8.Bg3 Bg7 9. 0-0-0 c6!


Black aims to remove White's last center pawn.

1 0 . d6 Qb6 l l . Nxe4 Qxd4 1 2 . Rxd4


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 07

1 2 ... N h 5 !
With this move Black is able to gain the advantage of the
two bishops while maintainig an advantage in the center.

1 3 . Rdl Nxg3 14. hxg3 exd6 1 5 . c4


An interesting decision with the idea of achieving a bind on
Black's queenside.

1 5 ... b 5
1 08 Chapter 13

Although material is equal , Black's two bishops and central


control give him a comfortable advantage.

1 8.f4 gxf4
This is inaccurate since Black only straightens out White's
doubled g-pawns.

19.gxf4 Nd6 20.Bd3 h6 2 1 . Nge2 a6 22.b6 Rb8


23. Na4 NbS
23 ...Nf5 threatening to penetrate on e3 while making way
for pawn d6 seems more active.

24.g4 d6 25.f5 Bd7 26. Nf4 Nd4 27.b3 aS 28. Rh3


Kf7 29. Rdhl Rh8 30.Kdl Rhg8 3 1 . Ba6 Bf8 32 . Ng6
Rxg6 33.fxg6+ Kxg6 34 .Rg3 Ne6 35.Bd3+ Kg7
3 6 . B f5
Black resigned.

K a te to v-S i m a g i n
Prague vs . Moscow, 1 946
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5
6 . Qd4 Nf7 7.Bh4 gS 8.Bg3 Bg7 9. Nxe4 0-0
9 ..c6 is also possible, and leads into variations with 9. 0-0-0
.

if White castles.

1 0 . 0-0-0 c6
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 09

1 1 . Nxf6+ exf6
Here White must choose between advancing the h-pawn
and advancing the f-pawn.

1 2 .h4 fS 1 3. Qd3 QaS 14.a3 g4


Black stands better because he has a queenside initiative,
while White has difficulty developing his pieces a nd countering
the impressive power of the Bg7 on the long diagonal.

l S. QxfS d6 t6.Qe4 Qb6


The initative is worth more than the pawn .

17.Qb4 Qxb4 1 8 . axb4 cxdS 1 9 . Ne2


110 Chapter 1.3

19.Rxd5 Be6 20.Rdl Be5.

1 9 ... a5 20. Nc3 axb4 21 . Nxd5


White has a strong outpost for the knight, but nothing else.

2 1 ...b3! 22.cxb3 Kh8 23. Bd3 Be6 24.Be4 Ra2


24 ... Bh6+ 25.Bf4 Bxd5 26. Bxh6 Rfc8+ 27. Bc2 Bxb3 28 .Rd2
Ra l #.

2 5 . Nc3
Forced .

25 ... Rc8 26 . Kb1 RaS?


26 ... Ra7 would have saved a crucial tempo: 27 . Bxd6 Bxb3
28.Bc2 Bxc2+ (28 ... Ra l + 29.Kxal Bxc2 30.Rcl Ra8+ 3 1 .Na2 Bb3
3 2 . Ba 3 Rxa3 33 .Rc8+ Nd8 3 4 . Rxd8+ Bg8) 29 . Kxc2 Bxc3
30.bxc3 Ra2+ 3 1 .Kb3 Rxf2=

27.b4 Ra7 28.Bd5 BfS+ 29.Be4

mmm m �
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29 ... Rxc3
A fine move which secures a long-term advantage.

30. Bxf5 Rb3 3 1 . Rd2 Rxb4


3 l ...Be5 is met by 3 2 . Be6.

3 2 . Rc l Ra8
How co play Black against the Staunton Gambit 111

3 2 ... Be5 33.Rc8+ Kg7 3 4 . Bxe5 + Nxe5 (34 ... dxe5 35 .Rd7 Kf6
36.Bxh7) 35 .Rxd6 Nc4 36.Rc7+ .

33.Rc8+ Rxc8 34.Bxc8 h5 35.Be6 Nd8 36. Bf5 Nf7


37.Be6 Nd8 38.Bxd6

� � � �
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-t- - �
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-�- - -
The pawn is gone, but simplification cannot be avoided.

3 8 ... Rd4
38 ... Rxb2+ 39.Rxb2 Bxb2 40. Bxg4.

39. Rxd4 Bxd4 40. Bf5


40.f3 Nxe6.

40 ... Kg7
40 ... Bxf2 4 1 . Bg6.

4 1 . Bg3 Nf7
White is a pawn ahead, but his pieces are patheticly placed.

42.f3 gxf3 43.gxf3 NeS 44. Be4


44 . Bxe 5 + BxeS 4 5 . Bc8 b6 46.Kc 2 Bg3 4 7 . Kd3 Bxh4
48.Ke4 = .

4 4 ...b 6 4S . Kc2 Ng6 46.b4 Bf6 47.Bxg6 Kxg6


4 8 . Kd3?
48 . b5 ! Kf5 49. Kd3 Bd8 50.Kd4 Ke6 5 1 . Ke4 gives White
112 Chapter 13

serious winning chances.

48 ... b5 49. Ke4 Bc3 50.Bd6 Bel 5 1 . Kd5 Bxh4


52.Ke6 Bf6 53.f4 h4 54.f5+ Kg5
Now White makes a pair of major errors.

5 5 . Bh 2 ?
5 5 . Be5 = .

55 ... h 3 56. Bc7?


56. Bd6 = .

56 ... Bc3 57. Bd8+ Kg4 58.Bc7 Bxb4 59.f6 Kg5 60.f7
Kg6 6 1 . Kd5 Bf8 Q-1 .

P e n n d o r f- R o s c h e r
D , 1 989

l .d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5 . d5 Ne5


6. Qd4 Nf7 7 . Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Bg7 9. Nxe4 0-0
1 0 0 0 0 c6 l l . Nxf6+ exf6 1 2.f4
. - -

m m£� �s•B
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�� 'H
1 2 ...f5 1 3 . Qf2 Qb6 14. Qxb6 axb6
Black has a reasonable game. The only problem is his bad
bishop at c8, and he does not attend to this quickly enough.

1 5 . a3 gxf4
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 13

15 ... Ra5 would clarify the situation in the center and White
would probably have to allow the Bc8 into the game. 16. Bc4
(16. Nf3 g4 or 16.dxc6 dxc6 1 7 . fxg5 f4 1 8. Bxf4 Nxg5 with
counterplay.) 16. . . gxf4 17. Bxf4 Ra4.

1 6 . Bxf4 Bh6 17. Bxh6 Nxh6 1 8.h3


The knight must be kept out of g4.

18 ... Nf7 1 9 . Nf3 d6


This pawn will be weak, but the bishop had to get into the
game somehow.

20. Bc4 b5 21 . Be2 Bd7 22.dxc6 bxc6

Black's game is a little shaky, but he is not much worse.

23. Nd4 Rab8 24. Rhfl Ne5 25.Nf3 Nxf3 26. Rxf3 d5
Black's bishop is passive , but he can obtain counterplay on
the e-file.

27. Bd3 Rbe8 28. Rdfl ReS


This is a horrible position for a rook. 28 ... Kg7 29. Bxf5 Bxf5
30.Rxf5 Rxf5 3 1 . Rxf5 Re2 32 . Rg5+ Kf6 3 3 . Rg4 would offer
better resistance.

29.g4 cS 30.Bxf5 BxfS 31 . Rxf5 RfxfS 32. Rxf5 Re4


114 Chapter 13

32 ...Rxf5 3 3 .gxf5 Kg7 34 .b3 Kf6 3 S . a4 bxa4 36.bxa4 KxfS


37.a5.

33. Rxd5 1 -0.


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 115

Chapter 1 4 : 4 . Bg5 Nc6 S . dS NeS


6 . Qd4 Nf7 7 . Bxf6

P e its c h ev a ju rge n s-Glek


Dortmund, 1 992
l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4 . Bg5 Nc6 S.dS NeS
6. Qd4 Nf7 7. Bxf6 exf6
7 . . . gxf6 is also playable. 8. Qxe4 c6 9.0-0-0 Qc7 1 0.g3
QeS 1 1 . Qd3 d6 1 2. £4 QhS 1 3 .dxc6 bxc6 1 4 . Qc4 Bd7 1 5 . Bg2
Rc8 16. Nf3 eS 1 7 . Rhe 1 Be7 18.Kb l dS 1 9.Qa6 0-0 20.Qxa7
Rfd8 2 l .g4 Qxg4 22.fxe5 fxeS 23. Nxe5 NxeS 24.Rxe5 Bd6
2S .Re2 Kh8 26. Bh3 Ra8 27. Qxa8 Rxa8 28. Bxg4 Bxg4 29.Rdel
Bxe2 30.Rxe2 Kg7 3 1 .a3 Rf8 32 .a4 Bb4 3 3 . Re6 Rf6 34.Rxf6 Kxf6
3S .Ne2 KeS 36.c3 Bd6 3 7 . Kc2 Ke4 38. b4 Bxh 2 39.a5 Bc7
40.Nd4 hS 4 l .Nxc6 h4 42.b5 h3 43 .b6 Bf4 44.a6 h2 45.a7 h 1 Q
46.Nb4 Qa l 47. Kb3 BeS 48.Na2 Qb1+ 49.Ka3 Bd6+ SO. Nb4
Bxb4+ S l .cxb4 Kd4 0-1 , Reefschlager-Heidrich, Bundesl iga,
1 986.

8 . Qxe4+

Moving a piece twice in the opening violates good opening


116 Chapter 1 4

strategy. Black can now exchange queens, and enjoy the luxury
of a bishop pair.

8 ... Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Bxe7 1 0 . 0-0-0 a6 1 1 . Nf3


Black prepares to play on the queenside, where the lack of
queens will not make the attack any less effective.

1 1 ... Nd6 1 2 .Bd3 bS 1 3 . Rhe1 Kf7 1 4 . Re3 Bb7


1 5 . Rde1 Bf8!
1 5 ... Rhe8 16.Bxh7 g6 1 7 . Bxg6+! Kxg6 18.Rxe7 ± .

1 6 . a3 g6 1 7 . Kb1
White must avoid the cl -h6 diagonal!

1 7 ... Nc8
The knight temporarily retreats to the home rank in order to
provide a way for the dark-squared bishop to operate on the
queenside.

1 8.Be4 Bc5 19.R3e2 Nd6

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-i�11 :t B�� :t
:1 •
� ��. � r�.a;�
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' 7 � l:::l �� .!1. ��
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-�� �� m
White is clearly in trouble, and has no counterplay.

20. Nd2 Rhe8 2 1 . f4 Bd4 22. Bf3 Rxe2 23.Rxe2 Re8


24. Rxe8 Kxe8
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 17

With the rooks gone, the advantage of the bishop pair and
superior pawn structure are all Black needs.

2 5 . Nce4 Nxe4 26.Nxe4 f5 27. Ng3


27 . Nd 2 Be3 was obviously no alternative. But now the
knight is out of play.

2 7 ... B c 8
A strange-looking move, but White had a threat. 2 7 ... h5
28 .d6! Bxf3 29. gxf3 cxd6 30 . Ne2 and the win will not be
simple , despite the extra pawn, because the knight is in an ideal
defensive position.

28.Ne2 Bg7
The problem here is that the pawn at d5 is very weak. Black
can bring the king to d6, and then return the bishop to b7 . So
the knight gallops around the board in frustration.

29. Ncl Ke7 30. Nb3 Kd6 31 . Na5 Bd4!


Once the knight is dislodged from a 5 , the light-squared
bishop can be returned to b7 and the d-pawn falls.

32 .b4 Be3 33 . c4
3 3.g3 Bgl 34.h3 Bh2 35 .g4 Bxf4.

33 ... Bxf4 34.g3


1 18 Chapter 1 4

34.c5 + Ke5 35 .Nb3 Bxh2.

34 ...Be3 35 . Kc2 Bg1 36.h3 KeS 37. Kd3 Bf2 38.g4


Forced, but now the king gets in.

38 ... Kf4 39.Be2 fxg4 40.hxg4 Bb6 4 1 . cxb5 axbS


42 . Kc3 d6 43.Bxb5 Bxg4
The kingside pawns are unstoppable.

44. Bd3 hS 45.Bxg6 h4 46. Nc4 h3 47. Nd2 Be2!


48. Be4 Be3
Black will capture on d2 and then play Bf3 thus assuring his
pawns promotion. So White resigned.

M is i u ga-M a l a n i u k
Wisla, 1 992
l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 S . dS NeS
6 . Qd4 Nf7 7. Bxf6 exf6 8 . Qxe4+ Qe7 9. Nf3
White refrains from exchanging queens immediately, but the
queens can be forced off the board.

9 .. .f5 1 0 . Qxe7+ Bxe7 l l . Bd3 g6


Black has a solid position and the bishop pair.

1 2 . 0-0-0 0-0 1 3 . Rhel Bf6


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 19

1 4 . Nb5
The start of a n ineffective journey.

1 4 ... c6 1 5 . Nc7 Rb8 1 6. Ne8 Bd8!

The knight is now trapped!

1 7 . d6 b5
Black wants to gain space on the queenside.

1 8 . b4 aS! 1 9 . c3 NgS
The threat is Ne6, cutting off the knight at e8.

20. Nxg5 Bxg5+ 2 1 . Kb2 Bb7 22.Nc7


1 20 Chapter 1 4

White's last move was forced, but the knight is still trapped
in its new home.

2 7 ... d 5 !
This creates a board with two bad bishops. But Black will
have an extra pawn soon enough.

28.Re7 Kg8 29. Rdel Rf7 30.Re8+ Kg7! 3 1 . Rxc8


Bxc8 32.Rcl Rxc7 33.Bxd5
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 21

White gets the pawn back, but the bishop is awkwardly


placed.

33 ... Bd7 34.f4


The only try, since otherwise Black will advance the f-pawn
with a much better endgame, e.g. 34.Bb3 f4 35 .Rel Kf6.

34 ... Kf6 3 5 . Bf3 Rc8 36.a4

A very rash move. White might have limited the damage


with 36.Rel Be6 37.a3 Bd5 38. Bxd5 cxd5 39.Rd l .

3 6 ... bxa4 37 . Ka3 Ke7 3 8 . Rc5


122 Chapter 1 4

38.Kxa4 cS+ 39.Kb3 Be6+.

38 ...Kd6 39. Kxa4 Re8 40.Kb3 Rel 4 1 . Kb2 h6


42. Ra5 g5 43. Ra6 Kc7 44. Ra7+ Kc8 4 5 . Ra6
4S .Ra8+ Kb7 46.Rh8 g4 wins the bishop.

4S ...Re6 46.fxg5 hxgS 47. h3 Kc7 48. Kc3 Re8


49.Kd4 Rb8 SO. Kc3 Kd6 S l . RaS Re81 52. Kd4 Rel
5 3 . Ra6
With the idea o f bS.

53 ... Rbl 54. Kc3 KeS 5 5 . Ra7 Be6 56.Be2 Rb3+


57. Kc2 Rxb4 58.g3 Bd5 59. Rg7 Kf6 60. Rd7 Ra4
6 1 . Rd6+ Ke5 6 2 . Rg6 Ra2+ 63 . Kdl Kd4!
White resigned. Further resistance would have been futile:
64.Rxg5 Bb3 + 6S .Kel Ke3.

A logical move, but Black has nothing to fear. The dark­


squared bishop quickly takes up a promising post at eS.

8 f5
...
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 123

Black intends to hold onto the e-pawn only temporarily. In


so doing he gains time to establish his dark squared bishop on
the a 1-h8 diagonal .

9.f3 Bd6!

White's center begins to crumble, and the bishop pair


remains a solid asset for Black.

1 3 . exf5 Bf4+ 1 4 . Kb l Ne5 1 5 . Nxe5


1 5 . Qe4 BxfS 16. Qxf4 Bxc2+ 17 .Kxc2 Rxf4 is winning for
Black.

1 S ... Bxf5 1 6 . Qf3 Bxe5


The Black bishops are a formidable force anchored in the
center.

1 7 . B d3
Forced since Black was threatening to win White's queen
with 17 ... Bxc2+ .

1 7 ... Bd7 1 8.Qe4 g6 19.g3 Bh3


1 24 Chapter 1 4

B y taking control of the h3-fl diagonal Black has won


control of the f-file.

20.Qe3 Bxc3 2 1 .bxc3 Qf6


White's shattered pawn structure coupled with Black's
control of the open files give Black a winning initiative.

22.Be4 Rae8 23.Qd4 ReS 24.Rd2 Qe7 25.Bg2 Bxg2


2 6 . Rxg2

A new weakness has appeared in White's position namely


his back rank.

2 6 ... Rel + 27 . Rxe l Qxe l + 28.Kb2 Rfl 29. Rd2 b5


30.c4 Qbl+
White resigned since his king is caught i n a mating net. For
example 3 1 .Kc3 Rf3+ 3 2 . Rd3 b4+ 33.Kd2 Rfl 34.Qe3 Qdl#.

To rre-M i es e s
Baden Baden , 1925
l . d4 fS 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 S.dS NeS
6.Qd4 Nf7 7 .Bxf6 exf6 8. 0-0-0 fS 9.f3 Qg5+?
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 25

This move is a mistake since White will be able to gain


valuable time by attacking Black's exposed queen. Better is an
immediate 9 . Bd6.
..

l O . Kbl B d6 l l . Nh3 Qf6


Black acknowledges his previous mistake in losing time and
so to limit the damage seeks salvage in an ending.

1 2.Qxf6 gxf6 1 3.fxe4 fxe4 14. Nxe4


White's initiative has carried over to an early endgame.

1 4 ... Be5 1 5 . g3
Played with the idea of bringing his knight to the f4 square.

1 5 ... d6 1 6 . Bb5+ Bd7


A mistake since the light squared bishop is attacking the
knight on h3 and White cannot, as in the game continuation,
quickly pile up on the weakened f-pawn . 1 6 ... Ke7 is a much
better continuation.

1 7 . Bxd7+ Kxd7 1 8 . Rhfl


White stands better due to his initiative on the f-file.

1 8 ... Ke7 1 9. Rdel


This move threatens to win a pawn with 20.Nxf6.

1 9 ... Nh6
1 26 Chapcer 1 4

m m m m ����
T
� �t� �{f� t�� m t
' ,

m T � �
� � ��{f� � � .

m ft ���
m -�- m
m m m �����
ft�
� � ft-
. ;, � m �
0 ��
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2 0 . Nf4
Although White could win a pawn with 20.Nxf6, he seeks a
bigger advantage by activating his knight. However, this allows
Black drawing chances by going into a rook and pawn ending.

20 .Nxf6 Raf8 2 1 . Ne4 Rxfl 22. Rxfl Ng4 2 3 . Nhg5 Nxh2


24.Rf7+ Kd8 25.Ne6+ Kc8 26.Rxc7+ Kb8 27.Rd7 is better than
the game continuation since White's pieces are much more
active than in the actual game.

20 ...f5 2 1 . Nc5 Ng4 2 2 . h3 Nf6 23. Nfd3


23 .Ncd3 Ne4 allows Black to block the e-file.

23 ... Nxd5 24. Nxe5 dxe5 2 5 . Rxe5+ Kd6 26. Rfxf5


Thus White has won a pawn while increasing the activity of
his rooks.

26 ... Kxc5 27. Rxd5+ Kb6 28.b3 Rae8


This move is a mistake as it allows White to double his rooks
on the 7th. Better was 28 ... Rad8, e.g. 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30.Rf7 h5
3 l .Rf5 Rg8 32.Rxh5 Rxg3 offered Black decent drawing chances
due to the limited material left on the board.
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 27

29.Rf6+ c6 30. Rd7 hS 31 . Rff7 Rb8


This position offers White good winning chances due to the
passive positions of Black's rooks.

32 . Rg7 Rhd8
32 ... Rhg8 33 .Rxb7+ Rxb7 34.Rxg8 is winning for White with
his two pawn advantage.

3 3 . Rdf7
33.Rxd8 Rxd8 34 .Rg5 Rdl + 3 5 .Kb2 Rgl 36.Kc3 with the
idea of walking the king over to f3.

33 ...Rd5 34. h4 aS 35. Kb2 Ka6 36. Rg5 RxgS 37.hxg5


Re8
37 ...Rg8 i s met by38 . Rf5 .

38.Rh7 Re3 39.g4 Rg3


39 ... hxg4 40.Rh4 g3 4 1 .Rg4 .

40.gxh5 Rxg5 4t .h6 Rg3 42. Rg7 Rh3 43.h7 b5


44. Kcl Kb6 4S.Kd2 Kc5 46. a3 b4 47 . a4 Kd4
48. Rd7 + Ke5
48 ... Ke4 49. Ke2 Rh2+ 50.Kfl Kf3 5 1 . Rf7+ Kg3 would have
offered stiffer resistance.
1 28 Chapter 1 4

49. Ke2 Ke6 50. Ra7 KdS 5 1 .Rxa5 + Kd4 52.Ra7 Kc3
53.a5 Kxc2 S4.a6 1-0 .
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 29

Chapter 1 5 : 4 . Bg5 Nc6 5 . d5 Ne5


6 . Q d4 Nf7 7 . Bxf6 exf6 8 . Nxe4

Fenoglio-M aderna
Mar del Plata, 1 942
l .d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 S .dS Ne5
6 . Qd4 Nf7 7 . Bxf6 exf6 8 . Nxe4 Be7
Many players on the White side will be expecting 8 f5 , but
...

this solid alternative gives Black a decent game with less risk,
and that is why we choose it as our recommended defense
against the Staunton Gambit.

9 . Nf3

A quiet move which allows Black to solve the opening


problems.

9 .. 0-0 1 0. g4
.

This is an attempt to exploit the fact that Black has not played
f7-f5 .

1 0 ... d6 l l . Rgl NeS


1 30 Chapter 1 5

Again this solid ou tpost provides an anchor for Black's


defense.

1 2 . Ned2 Qd7 1 3 . h3 c6 1 4 . 0-0-0

1 4 ... B d 8 !
A fine move , which allows the queen to lead the defense
along the second rank and gives the bishop access to a more
useful position on the queenside.

1 5 . Rg2 Kh8 1 6 . Nh4 Bb6 17. Qe4 Qf7 1 8 . dxc6

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�� ....
�. �,. ...
��� � r� r� m
� .!1 �� �� •
. . ,.

.� /

� � ��. � . �

- -�- ft �
B B B B ft
� r� � �R r� 'H' �
. " ....
-
.!1 �� .!1 tz..J �� � •
� . /

� ��� � CH' �� ��
Now Black has a strong zwischenzug.

1 8 ... d5 1 9. Qa4 Nxc6 2 0 . f4 Bd7


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 131

Black stands better. The bishop pair i s powerful and the


central isolated pawn cramps White's game.

2 1 . Qa3 Rac8 22.Qg3 Rfe8


Black's rooks control the open files.

23.Rel Nb4 24. c3

24 ... d4! 2 5 . Rxe8+ Bxe8 2 6 . c4 Bc6 27 . Re2 Nxa2+


28.Kbl Nb4 29. Nf5 Bc5 30. Ne4 Qxc4
White is busted.

3 1 . b3 Bxe4+ 32.Rxe4 Qc2+ <H .

T a l -j o h a n n e s s e n
Stockholm, 1 96 1
l . d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6
A thematic counter attack against White's d-pawn which
thwarts White's plan of winning back his sacrificed pawn while
preparing for a possible counter attack in the center with pawn
e5.

5 . d5
Played with the idea of gaining time and space by attacking
the Black knight. However as many games have shown Black
has counterplay against White's advanced center. Nothiog is
1 32 Chapter 15

achieved by 5. Bxf6 exf6 6.Nxe4 Qe7 7 .Qe2 Nxd4.

S .. NeS 6.Qd4 Nf7 7.Bxf6 exf6 8 .Nxe4


.

White has managed to regain his pawn while Black has


gained the bishop pair.

8 ... Be7 9. 0-0-0 0-0 1 0 . d6?!

This is much too optimistic. White's idea is to shut in Black's


queenside pieces while launching an attack on the kingside:
1 0 . f4 d6 1 l . Nf3 c5 1 2 . Qd2 Bg4 1 3 . Be2 f5 1 4 . Ng3 Qd7 1 5 . h3
Bxf3 1 6 . Bxf3 Bh4 17.Ne2 Rae8 18.g3 Bf6 19.Rhe1 Re7 20.Nc3
Rfe8 2 1 . Re6 Nd8 2 2 . g4 Bxc3 2 3 . Qxc3 Qa4 24.Qe3 Nxe6
25 .dxe6 fxg4 26.hxg4 Qxa 2 27 .b3 Qa 1 + 28. Kd2 Qa5+ 29.Ke2
c4 30.f5 cxb3 3 1 .cxb3 Qe5 3 2 . Qxe5 dxe5 3 3 . Bd5 g6 34 . Ke3 h5
35 .Rg1 Kh7 36.f6 Rxe6 37.f7 R6e7 38.fxe8Q Rxe8 39 .g5 Rf8
40. Bxb7 Rf4 4 1 .Bc8 Rb4 42. Be6 a5 43 . Ra 1 Rb5 44 . Ke4 Kg7
45 . Bd5 Rc5 46.Kxe5 Rc3 47.Rxa5 Re3+ 48. Kd6 Rg3 49. Bc4 h4
50.Ra7+ Kh8 5 1 .b4 RxgS 5 2 . Bd5 h3 53.Ra 1 1 -0, Els-Buecker,
Bundesliga, 1990.

1 0 ... Bxd6 l l . Nxd6 Nxd6 1 2 . Nf3 Kh8 13 . Qd5 Nf7


1 4 . Bd3 d6 1 S . Qe4
White is pawn down with no compensation since Black's
kingside can be easily defended.

l S . fS
..
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 33

Black has repulsed the attack and has an extra pawn. Only
the superior skill of a World Champion kept White from losing
this game.

15 ...g6? is a mistake, since without a dark squared bishop


White gets attacking chances with 16.h4.

1 6.Qd4 NgS?!
16 ... Be6 with the idea of cS!?.

1 7 . Nxg5 Qxg5+ 1 B.f4 Qf6


18 ... Qxg2 1 9.Rhgl is winning for White with a mate threat
on g7.

19. Qxf6 Rxf6 2 0 . Rhe l Be6 2 1 . Rd2 Kg8


21 ... h5 22.Rde2 Re8 23 . Bc4.

2 2 . g4 Bf7 23. Re7 fxg4 24. Rxc7


White now has a lot of counterplay.

24 ... Rxf4 2 5 . Rxb7 hS 26.Bb5 a6 27. Bc6 ReB


28. Rxd6 Rfl + 29. Kd2 Rf2 + 30. Ke3 Rxh2 3 1 . Be4
ReB 32. Rdd7 Rxe4+ 33 . Kxe4 Rf2 34. Ke3 Rf3+
3 5 . Ke2 Rf6 36. Re7 h4 37 . Rb4 Bd5 3B. Ke3 h3
39.Rxg4 h2 40. Rexg7+ KfB Drawn.
1 34 Chapter 1 5

T r o e g e r- T a l
Germany vs. USSR, 1 960
l . d4 f5 2 .e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5 . d5 Ne5
6.Qd4 Nf7 7.Bxf6 exf6 8. Nxe4 Be7 9.0-0-0 0-0

This position looks about even , but experience has shown


that Black can easily obtain a superior position due to the power
of his two bishops.

1 0 . g4
Without a lead in development White's attempted attack is
easily turned back. The rash 10.d6 is also rapidly repulsed, as
we saw in the previous game. Better was to develop normally
with 1 0.Nf3 .

10.Nf3 d6 l l .Kbl is a safer alternative. Black shou ld now


"pinch" the center by advancing both c- and f-pawns. l l ... c5
1 2.Qd2 f5 1 3 . Ng3 Ng5! 1 4 . Nxg5 (Otherwise the knight leaps to
e4.) 14 ... Bxg5 1 5 .f4 Bf6. This position was reached in Schuster­
johannessen , Bergendaal , 1960. Black has the better prospects
in the long ru n , thanks to the bishop pair and potential
queenside play.

1 0 ... d6 l l .h3 cS
With this tempo move Black is able to take over the
initiative by launching a queenside attack.
How co play Black against che Srauncon Gambic 1 35

1 2 . dxc6

This move is a mistake since the opening of the b-file can


only be used by the Black pieces. 1 2.Qd2 is an alternative.

1 2 ... bxc6 1 3 . Ng3


A horrible move played with the idea of trying to win a
pawn with 14.Qe4 . Better was to develop with 1 3 .Nf3 although
Black would retain the advantage due to his two bishops, open
b-file and mobile pawn center.

1 3 ... Qa5 1 4 . Qe4


Consistant with White's previous lack luster play. However,
this move does nothing to protect the White king. Better was
1 4 . Bc4 .

1 4 Ne5
...

This centralizing move protects the c-pawn while blocking


the queen from taking the bishop.

1 5 .f4 d5
Thus Black is able to open the a3-f8 diagonal with a winning
attack which becomes apparent after the foiling moves.

1 6.Qel
This is the best White can do since his queen is unable to
protect his a-pawn.
1 36 Chapter 1 5

1 6 Qxa2
...

1 9 . Ke 2
19.c3 Qxb2+ 20.Ke3 BcS+ and now:

a) 2 l . Kf3 fxeS+ 22.Nf5 BxfS 23.gxf5 RxfS + 24 .Kg4 (24 .Kg3


Bf2+) 24 ... Rf4+ 25.Kh5 g6+ 26. Kh6 Bf8+ 27 .Kg5 Be7+ 28.Kh6
Rh4+ wins White's queen while keeping White's king cut off
from the defense of his pieces .
How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 1 37

b) 21 . Rd4 fxe5 leaves Black with material advantage while


keeping White's king in the center.

1 9 ... Qxb2 20.Rd2


20.Qf2 Qxc2+ 2 1 . Ke3 (21 .Kf3 fxe5 + 22.Nf5 Bxf5 23 . Kg2
Qxf2+ 24 .Kxf2 Bxg4+ 25 . Kg2 Bxd l ) 2 1 . . . Bc5+ is good for
Black.

20 ... Qxe5 + 2 1 . Kdl Q a t +


White resigned since he will lose his queen after 22.Ke2
ReS+ 23 . Kf3 Qxe l .

R a d c h e n ko-S koto r e n ko
Ukraine, 1 978
l .d4 f5 2 . e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 5 . d5 Ne5
6 . Qd4 Nf7 7. Bxf6 exf6 8 . Nxe4 Be7 9 . 0-0-0 0-0
1 0 .g4
10.Ng3 d 6 l l . Nh3 c5 1 2 . Qc3 g6 13 .Nf4 Ne5 and Black's
outposted knight on e5 ensures him of strong play in the center
and on the queenside. 1 4 . Ne6 Bxe6 1 5 . dxe6 d5 16.f4 d4! and
Black stood better in Hesse-Kolbaek, Ybbs, 1968.

1 0 ... d6 l l . Ng3

This move is a slight improvement over the Troger-Tal game


since White does not lose a full tempo with pawn h3. However,
138 Chapter 1 5

the move played does move the knight away from the center
which allows Black to take over the initiative.

l l cs 1 2 . Qe4
...

1 2.dxc6 bxc6 is winning for Black due to direct attack


which will follow on the opened b-file.

1 2 ... Re8 1 3. Bd3 fS


Nicley timed since any capture on fS will lose White's queen
to 14 ... Bg5 + .

1 4 . Qg2 fxg4 1 S.f4


Evidently played to keep the Black knight off of the eS
square; it is hard to suggest anything better since Black's two
bishops and coming queenside attack give Black a winning
position anyway.

l S ... QaS 1 6 . Kbl b5 17. Qe4 g6 1 8.f5 c4 19.fxg6 NeS


Black has correctly calculated that his king will be perfectly
safe on h8 since White has no dark squared bishop in which to
further his attack.

Black's missing pawn is fully compensated for the bishop


pair, outposted knight on eS, and queenside initiative.

2 2 . h3 Bf6
How to play Black against the Sta unton Gambit 1 39

This is a good move which gains time for the attack at the
White queen's expense due to the threat of 23 ... Nd3 and the
discovered attack on the e-file.

2 3 . Qf4
2 3 . Nh5 Nd3 24 . Qg6 Bxb2 25. cxd3 Qb4 is winning for
Black due to the threat of 26 ... Bc3+ followed by 27 ... Qb2 #.

23 ... Rf8 24. hxg4 Nd3


The first wave of a very deep sacrifice the aim of which is to
expose White's king for the Black pieces.

2 5 . cxd3 Bxb2 26. Qxd6


The idea behind this move is to keep the Black queen off of
the b4 square. 26.Qd2 Bc3 27.Qc2 Qb4+ 28.Kcl Qa3+ 29.Kbl
b4 is winning for Black since White is defenseless against the
dual threats of 30 ... Ba4 or 30 ... Ba4 with a mating attack for Black.

26 ... Rf6 27. Qe7


White desperately attempts to keep the Black queen from
facing off on White's king by staying on the b4 square.
However, a new avenue for the attack is now present namely
the doubling of the major pieces on the a-file.

27 ... Ra6 2 8 . a3 Bf6


It is critical for the Black king's defense that the bishop
maintains control of the h8-al diagonal: 28 ...Bxa3 29. Qe5 + Rf6
30. Qxf6# .

29. Qb4 Qxb4+ 30.axb4


The exchange of queens does not ease Black's attack.

30 ... cxd3
1 40 Chapter 1 5

This move carrries the deadly threat of 3 l ...Ra l #.

3 1 . Kc l
a) 3 1 .Bxd3 Rc8 and White has no defense to the threat of
32 ... Ra l#.

b) 3 1 .Rxd3 Rc8 also wins for Black due to the threatened


32 ... Ra l#.

31 ... Ra2 32. Rxd3


3 2 .Bxd3 Rc8+ 33.Kbl Ra l # .

32 ... Rc8+ 33. Kdl Ra l + 34. Kd2 Bg5+ 35.Re3 Ra2+


36. Kd3 Ra3+ 37. Kd4 Bxe3+ 38 . Ke5
Black has managed to keep the king hunt in progress while
obtaining his lost material .

3 8 ... R a 6
With the threat o f 3 9 . . .Re8#.

39. Ke4 ReB+ 40. Kf3 Rf6+ 4 1 . Kg2 Rf2 + 42. Kh3 Bf4
Black's attack has forced the White pieces to huddle
cowardly in a l ittle corner of the board.

43.Rh2 Rxh2+ 44. Kxh2 Re3 45 .Bf3 Rb3


How to play Black against the Staunton Gambit 141

Black's idea is to create a passed pawn on the queenside


since White's pieces are all tied down on the opposite wing.

46. Kg2 Rxb4 47. Ne4 Bxg4 48.Ne2 Rxe4 49.Bxg4


Rc4 50.Kf3 BeS 5 1 .Be6 Rh4 52.Bg8 Rb4
White resigned since he is defenseless against the advance
of Black's a-pawn.

Wel l , that's it! Now you don't have to worry about the
Staunton Gambit anymore.
142 Index of Games

Index of Games

Alzate-Nilsson 87 Muller-Rau 43
Bisguier-Bronstein 5 Nogueiras-Barbero 28
Breyer-Vajda 7 1 Peitscheva Jurgens-Glek 1 1 5
Cifuentes-Schmittdiel 75 Penndorf-Roscher 1 1 2
Conquest-Malaniuk 18 Pinkerton-Tozer 14
De Mey-O'Kelly 1 1 Plath-Gerloff 43
Els-Buecker 1 3 2 Potter-Jezek 102
Felber-van Heeren 16 Radchenko-Skotorenko 1 37
Fenoglio-Maderna 1 29 Ragozin-Nilsson 82
Furman-Lutikov 37 Reefschlager-Heidrich 1 1 5
Gulko-Gurevich,M 48 Rosin-Jahr %
Hesse-Kolbaek 1 37 Schreiber-Hermann 57
Jumek-Lechtynsky 63 Schulz-Wille 43
Karayianis-Pieczka 18 Schuster-Johannessen 1 34
Katetov-Simagin 108 Schweiger-Tartakower 9
Kenez-Borisenko 1 22 Shtirov-Cheremsin 68
Kratochvil-Kosina 100 Sjoberg-Vidmar 60
Lasker-Alekhine 31 Tal-Johannessen 1 3 1
Lempereor-Verledens 39 Teichmann-Mieses 2 1
Maenpaa-Varjonen 5 1 Torre-Mieses 1 24
Maroja-Padevsky 25 Troeger-Tal 1 34
Marsalek-Florian 24 Uhlmann-Kauder 95
Matsukevich-Cherepkov 1 06 Vorjonen-Tatai 79
Misiuga-Malaniuk 1 18 Zurakhov-Korchnoi 36
Moore-Fischeimer 5 2
NOTES

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