This article was written by James S. Baumlin, SPBCC President in 1998 and is an action game...time control 30/G. It also represents Jim's fondness for the King's Gambit.
The Chess Challenge Claims Its First Victim 1998
"The new Chess Challenge system promised, among other salutary effects, increased opportunities for lower-rated club players to be paired against higher-rated opponents. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Clark Guo challenged yours truly, still an expert--though barely, after last Friday--and the current Springfield Park Board Chess Club President to an action game following last week's lesson for advanced players (on tactics of king and pawn end-games, which I had the privilege, and pleasure, to conduct). More than an underestimation of my opponent's abilities, fatigue may have contributed to the loss, but I make no excuses. Congratulations, Clark!
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4 4. Kf1 Bc5? 5. d4 Bb6 6. Nf3 Qd8?! 7. Ne5? Nh6 8. c3 d6 9. Nf3 Bg4 10. Bf4 Qf6! 11. Bg5? Qg5! 12. Nbd2?? Bf3 13. Nf3 Qf4 14. Qa4 c6 15. Re1 0-0 16. h3 Nd7 17. Kf2 Qf6 18. Rhf1 Qd8 19. Kg1 Nf6 20. Qc2 d5 21. exd5 cxd5 22. Bd3 Kh8 23. Ne5 Bc7 24. g4 g5 25. Qd2 Be5 26. Qg5 Bd4 27. cxd4 Nhg8 28. Qf5 Qd7! 29. Qf4 Ne4 30. h4? Rae8 31. g5 f6! 32. Bxe4 fxg5 33. Qf8 Rf8 34. Rf8 dxe4 35. Re4 gxh4 36. Ree8? Qg4 37. Kh2 Qg7 38. Rg8? Qg8 39. Rg8 Kg8 40. Kh3 Kf7 41. Kh4 Ke6 42. Kg5 Kd5 0-1
Chess viewer link Copy and paste game score into viewer to play through the game.
Baumlin, J. - Guo, C.
KGA, King's Bishop's Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc4!? Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Bc5? 5. d4 Bb6 6. Nf3 Qd8?!
More thematic is 6...Qh5. White's next, however, is an overreaction; better is 7. Bf5, with a lead in development.
7. Ne5? Nh6 8. c3
The necessity of this defensive move reveals the folly of 7. Ne5. White rejected 8. Bf5 (recommended afterwards by Clark) because of the pin 8...Qf6! 9. Qf3 Bd4 10. Nd3 Bb2 11. Nb2 Qb2 12. Bh6 gh 13. Qf7+ Kd8, when white's rook cannot be saved. White briefly considered 14. c3 (closing the a1/h8 diagonal and enabling 15. Qf6+), but finally chucked the whole variation as too speculative. Here, then, White succumbed to a constraint peculiar to action chess: with a mere thirty minutes for the entire game, one must decide how much time to devote to tactics, and how much time to positional or defensive play. White chose to save his time.
8...d6 9. Nf3 Bg4 10. Bf4 Qf6! 11. Bg5?
White intended to answer 11...Qg6 with 12. Qd2, when Black is ill-advised to go pawn-grabbing: 12...Qe4 13. Bh6 gh 14. Kf2! threatening 15. Re1 (if 13....Bf3 instead, 14. Kf2 again creates multiple threats). White also calculated that 11..Bf3 12. Bf6 Bd1 13. Bg7 would win back a piece, leaving White a pawn ahead. But White did not calculate Black's next, which came as a shock.
11...Qg5!
Does this really win Black a piece?! Here White sighed inwardly, calmed himself and thought, "Well, now I'll have to win by a trick or on time, having hung a piece to my esteemed junior colleague." Had he looked, he would have seen 12. Qa4+ Bd7 13. Qd7+ Nd7 14. Ng5, maintaining material equality (and a slight positional plus, given his central control). But he did not look before touching the knight, initiating his next blunderous move. For the rest of the game, White tries to build up a kingside attack--which Black effectively spoils.
12. Nbd2?? Bf3 13. Nf3 Qf4 14. Qa4+ c6 15. Re1 00 16. h3 Nd7 17. Kf2 Qf6 18. Rhf1 Qd1 19. Kg1 Nf6
20. Qc2 d5 21. ed cd 22. Bd3 Kh8 23. Ne5 Bc7 24. g4 g5 25. Qd2 Be5 26. Qg5
Seeking complications at all costs. Black parries efficiently.
26...Bd4+ 27. cd Nhg8 28. Qf5 Qd7!
Excellent defense! Black offers the exchange of queens, which--if accepted--would kill White's initiative.
29. Qf4 Ne4 30. h4?
This is a costly error in strategy, since Black is running short of time and White's kingside is becoming increasingly weakened. White should simply play 30. Be4 and wait for Black to prove that he can win. After Black's 31st move, White must accept further simplifications.
30...Rae8 31. g5 f6! 32. Bxe4 fxg5 33. Qf8 Rf8 34. Rf8 de 35. Re4 gh 36. Ree8?
Black knows how to win a king and pawn endgame--indeed, club members (Clark included) had just studied such positions an hour ago!--so exchanging pieces must be wrong. Since Black had less than five minutes left on the clock, White should have held firm, leaving the rook on e4 and forcing Black to come out of his defensive shell. (Of course, White should still lose.) Instead of Black's next, 36...Qd4+ would be even more forcing.
36...Qg4+ 37. Kh2 Qg7 38. Rg8+?
No! With Black's clock running down, White transposes to a king and pawn endgame too soon. 38. d5 would at least force Black to take the initiative with some pieces still on the board.
38...Qg8 39. Rg8 Kg8 40. Kh3 Kf7 41. Kh4 Ke6 42. Ke5 Kd5
Though the game went on for several more moves, White did not force his opponent to prove he could queen and mate: when White resigned, Black still had about 90 seconds on his clock, and certainly deserved the full point.