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1. d4
An extremely interesting opening move. I considered only
1. f4 and 1. g4 prior to beginning the second round. I was
so convinced of this move's power, however, that I essayed
1. d4 in my game against Geissler. The primary point of
the move is to defend the king from mate so as to threaten
g4, Bxb7, Bxa8. In addition, the move guards against the
opponent's g5, Bxb2, Bxa1, and "slows" the pace of the
game so that the flashpoint of this position occurs on
white's 7.
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2. d5 g5
Black counters symmetrically. The only viable
alternatives are 2. c5 cxd4 and 2. c5 g5. The first
is suspect because of 3. c3 cxd4 Rxc8+. The second
is more enterprising, as white continues with 3. g4
Bxb7 Bxa8, and black counters with Bxd4 Bxb2 Bxa1 and
some other move. In both cases, white seems to be
much better; I think the series played is the best one.
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3. g4 Na3 c3 ?!
Moving pawns forward only one square is seldom very good
in progressive chess. Every time I move a pawn only one
square forward it is for a specific reason. Here there is
no good reason other than to preserve white's queen. White
will find that the c3 pawn hampers his king development
later. 3. c4 cxd5 Nc3 is probably a better try. Black
should be able to at least draw after the series played in
the game.
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4. Na6 c5 f5 Kd7 ?
A losing series. This is an attempt at a swarm, where
black threatens mates in so many ways that white has no
good continuation. If he tries to eat black's queen or
any large amount of material, he gets mated. If he spends
all his moves getting his king safe, then black's swarming
pieces are all poised to eat tons of material on the six.
The danger in initiating a swarm is that if your opponent
can find one good series that can eat material, as happens
here, chances are you will lose. A much better try would
be 4. Nd6 Kd7 f(h)5 f(h)xg4, where black is at least
drawing.
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5. Rc2 Nf3 Nxg5 Nxh7 Nxf8+ !
A nice series. I had looked at Nxf8+ as a harassing check
possibility, but I had dismissed it with the thought that
white had no 5th move that could save him from mate. Rc2,
however, guards against all the threats, and black finds
himself hopelessly lost.
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6. Kc7 Nb4 Nxc2 Nxa1 Nc2 Nxa3
The queen must be removed, and this is the only
series to attempt to survive. I would rather have
played 6. Kc7 Nb4 Nxc2 Nxa3 Nc2 Nxa1, where the a1
knight is harder to remove than on a3, but the
problem with this series is 7. Bxd5 Bxg8 Kd2 Kd3
Kc4 Kxc5 Ne6+ !, winning immediately.
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7. bxa3 Be4 Bxf5 Bxc8 Bxb7 Bxa8 Kc2
A knockout, reducing black to two pieces. I play
one more series that attempts a swindle.
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8. Be6 Be5 Bxg4 Bxh2 Bxe2 Bxg1 Bxf1 Bxf2
Objectively, 8. Be6-g4-e2-f1 Bd4-f2-g1-h2 gains more
material, but it is an easier series to refute. There
are some swindling chances in the series played, although
white really has to fall asleep to allow them.
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9. Bxd5 Bf7 Bxe8 Bb5 Bxf1 d5 c4 Kb3 Ne6+
Having had my entire army decimated but for a lone
helpless bishop, I do the only sensible thing,
namely...
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10. Resigns
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