Annotated chess game: A whole new opening?

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ANNOTATED GAME

A whole new opening?
martindarcy (1433) vs. jerrold (1355)
Annotated by: black_cat_hamlet (1531)
Chess opening: Bishop's opening (C24), Berlin defence

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This was a game shown to me by Trafalgar teammate martindarcy, [also see my two annotated games against him - one loss and one draw] showing an interesting opening idea that he has been experimenting with. In the case of this team match, it works out spectacularly, resulting in White picking up a quick win

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6	All standard opening stuff - Both sides have advanced their King's Pawns, White has developed his bishop while Black has developed his knight.
	4 comments mariodag (1939) on 22-Feb-10: 2. Bc4 is not preffered that much.... black_cat_hamlet (1531) on 22-Feb-10: playable though - it's the Bishop's Opening ruachessnut2 (1200) on 23-Feb-10: Opening theory says bring out knights before bishops. 1st break with theory. goingdown (1200) on 27-Feb-10: It's perfectly playable, though - IMO, it's worthwhile playing occasionally if you want to ensure being the attacker.


3. g4	An unusual move, not found in the database at all! faced with something he's never seen before, what will Black do? From the advice I've seen in a few other annotations, the best thing to do is to play naturally... now, what's the position here...white made a weird pawn move....and that e-pawn's unguarded...
	4 comments ruachessnut2 (1200) on 22-Feb-10: Since you ask I would play 3...d5. Now I ask what would you play? bharryb (1189) on 23-Feb-10: Good counter, to typical Ng5 in lower rated matches. black_cat_hamlet (1531) on 23-Feb-10: yeah, I'm always dubious myself about early pawn captures myself dmaestro (1647) on 23-Feb-10: Not found because it is not very good for white.


3... Nxe4	Black grabs at the opportunity to take the free pawn.... but, White has a nifty little trick that wins back the pawn immediately... I have a feeling that if Black had not taken the pawn now, White would simply continue 4.g5, where Black either has to take the pawn of undevelop his knight (but this all depends on what Black moves instead of 3...Nxe4, though it would have to be a pawn move, as far as I can see e.g. c6 or g6)



4. Bxf7+	Here we go! Since this position is new to the database, I'll go ahead and name it... the 'Trafalgar/D'arcy opening' (well, that was what Martin named it :D) now, in this game Black captures the bishop, but what if he doesn't? after 4...Ke7, White has a couple of options, but the one I like the best is 5.Qe2, then Black might either accept the bishop (5...Kxf6 6.Qxe4) or retreat the knight (5...Nf6 6.Bb3)



4... Kxf7	Either way, Black loses his ability to castle. Now White will get the bishop back...
	2 comments blake78613 (1200) on 22-Feb-10: White will get a piece back, but Black will remain with the bishop pair. sccadams (1815) on 22-Feb-10: I like Nf6 for black. I think that leaves black a pawn to the good and white with bad kingside pawn structure.


5. Qf3+	like this! Now where will Black's king go...
	4 comments yacht_matsu (1759) on 22-Feb-10: IMHO Black's best move is Nf6 and leave King alone, tghis plays through to a right mess and no recovery or original pawn loss! martindarcy (1377) on 22-Feb-10: not so! as white pins knight with advancing pawn, king retreats ,pawn takes knight, queen d5...mate!. There are so many variations to the same end. Its all out attack....ask Harry!! black_cat_hamlet (1531) on 22-Feb-10: that would be if retreating to the g8 square, I'd presume ruachessnut2 (1200) on 23-Feb-10: Don't retreat! Attack! 5. Qf3+ Nf6 6. g5 e4 7. Qf4 Bd6 8. Qf5 g6 9. Qxf6 Qxf6 10. gxf6 Kxf6 Black has the 2 bishop advantage. White has the split pawns disadvantage. (f & h)


5... Kg8	? Definitely not the best square - but what about other options? Kg6 and Ke6 look dangerous for Black's knig, for sure. Ke7 isn't that good either, because Black will have to deal (in the very near future) with d4! with the threat of the king/queen skewer Bg5+. The best option for Black, then, would be returning to his original square, Ke8
	4 comments nuntar (1702) on 22-Feb-10: 5... Nf6 6. g5 Ke8 7. gxf6 Qxf6 is the refutation. Black's loss of castling ability won't matter with queens off, and certainly is insufficient compensation. martindarcy (1377) on 22-Feb-10: its a silly gambit! yes..... and many a fool has fallen for it, one way or another. I get the last laugh. black_cat_hamlet (1531) on 23-Feb-10: hmm...well, at least White stopped Black castling, that has to do something for the loss of the pawn EDIT; yes, but who says the exchange is forced? ((I'm sorry, I do appreciate your comment, but I feel compelled to defend this 'silly gambit' for as long as possible )) EDIT2; @ ruachessnut2, maybe you're right, but a) the difference isn't that great and b) the lower rated player could surprise you! ruachessnut2 (1200) on 24-Feb-10: Wining against lower rated players doesn't show your skill nor the value of the opening. It is expected that the higher rated player will win.


6. Qxe4	In this position, White threatens a mate in one, and Black will need to spend an extra tempo to prevent it. What if Black had played Ke8 instead? Black's response would probably be the natural Nc6, and then what would White do? what immediately leaps to my mind, looking at this, is 7.d4, an agressive attack on the pinned pawn. One line to answer to this is 7...Bd6 8.Bf4 Qe7, which would probably lead to a mass trade-off. Also possible [bearing in mind that Black doesn't want to lose a pawn] is 7...d6 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Nc3. [ok, just noticed Black has 7...Nxd4 8.Qxe5+ Qe7 9.Qxe7 Kxe7] At any rate, I think White's plan should not revolve around the pawn, but on quick development and queenside castling to secure the king (Black, of course, cannot do that) Now, back to this position... Options to stop mate would be h6 or Qe7...
	1 comment ruachessnut2 (1200) on 23-Feb-10: Attack! also stops mate. 6...d5 7. Qxe5 Nc6 attacking the queen again.


6... Nc6	?? but Black doesn't see the threat! Now the end comes swiftly...
	1 comment ruachessnut2 (1200) on 22-Feb-10: Better is 6...d5 7. Qxe5 Qe7 & the queens come off the board.


7. Qd5#	checkmate! martindarcy has been experimenting with this idea for quite awhile, and this is one of his more successful tries with his 'Trafalger/D'arcy opening. Any ideas, improvements or input that anyone has on this invented opening would be welcome :)
	5 comments bharryb (1189) on 23-Feb-10: What i like about this opening is thatthe middle game is pretty much forced to happen immediately. black_cat_hamlet (1531) on 23-Feb-10: um....what are you complaining about chessnut? The Scandinavian Defence (e4, d5) brings teh queen out, and the queen moves twice, but its considered a perfectly legit opening (plus, it worked for White here, doesn't it?) ruachessnut2 (1200) on 23-Feb-10: " Don't move a piece twice & don't bring the queen out early, said Lasker. He was world champ for 25 years. You moved the queen 3 times in 7 moves. The purpose of the opening is to bring the pieces out & get a good middle game. Note to x-machine: I'm not complaining. I'm pointing out why this is not a good opening. 1. f4 e6 2. g4 Qh4# Is Black a great player because he mated in 2? No! He mated because White is a bad player. Note to bharryb: The middle happens after the pieces are developed. Look at the position. Each side has only 1 piece off the back rank. pawnhood12 (1278) on 22-Mar-10: It doesn't matter whether you move a piece more than once in the opening. If your opponent is unsuspecting of a checkmate, then take the opportunity! martindarcy (1377) on 06-Apr-11: LOL!!!! and thanks x.machine for arguing the rights and wrongs...to b honest,its more of a 'blitz' chess opener,and it has served me well when playing at speed.