Chessville Opening Instruction - Storm Clouds Over Africa – The Zaire - by Clyde Nakamura - The Search for Dragons and Mythical Chess Openings

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Storm Clouds Over Africa – The Zaire
by Clyde Nakamura

The Search for Dragons
& Mythical Chess Openings

As I listen to the song “Africa” by the German instrumental group called CUSCO, I am reminded of the chess opening called the Zaire. Zaire is the former name of a country in central Africa called the “Democratic Republic of Congo” and it crosses the equator in the north-central region. It is the third largest country in Africa and is bordered with the Central African Republic to the north, Sudan to the northeast, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the east, Zambia to the south and southeast, Angola to the southwest, and Angola and the Congo Republic to the west.

The opening known as The Zaire can be played from both the White side or the Black side. Basically to play the Zaire you move both your knights out and move both of them back to their original squares. You can move one knight out and retreat it and then move the other knight out also retreat it or you can move both knights out and retreat each knight one at a time. You are actually spotting your opponent 4 moves. Some players are actually insulted if you play the Zaire against them.

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Ng8 4.Bc4 Nb8

Possible starting position
from the black side.

My friend National Master Reynolds Takata plays the Zaire on a regular basis in blitz games and had learned to play the Zaire from a visiting chess player some 15 years ago. I do not know the origins for this opening. And I do not have a definite sequence of opening moves to crack the Zaire. The Zaire is difficult to defeat because there are no pawn structure weaknesses since all the pieces and pawns are still on their original starting squares. My chess student Fred has said that it can be defeated by a bishop sacrifice on the f7 or f2 square. But I have not seen the actual moves to this line.

In late 1997, I was on the Internet Chess Club and played a player called Fleetfoot a blitz game at game-5-minutes. I played Black and my opponent plays his two knights out and then proceeded to play his two knights back to their original squares. Hmmn, this is very strange - I have seen this before. My friend National Master Reynolds Takata plays this opening in blitz games. It is called the Zaire. You can play it as Black or as White. In either case you move your two knights out and then move your two knights back to their original squares. This is really a 4-move handicap.

The strange thing about this opening is that the player that plays this opening does not have any pawn weaknesses. And really it is not easy to crack. I still have not found a forced checkmate or any kind of overwhelming attack against it. And the really disgusting thing about this opening is that if you lose to it, you feel like a real fool. By playing this opening against someone else, it is like saying I can spot you four moves and still beat you.

Anyway I started to get into trouble in this game. First he tied up my pawns so they could not move and then he proceeded to have favorable exchanges. And I eventually ran into a knight fork which threatened mate but won a piece. Then my opponent started to tell me "you really played well". This is strange my opponent is making fun of me. Hmnn, this sounds very familiar. I asked my opponent "Reynolds is that really you?" He said yes. Listed below is that game.

Fleetfoot (2326) – Evilone (2080) Internet Chess Club 12/29/97 Game 5 minutes

1.Nf3 d5 2.Nc3 d4 3.Nb1 c5 4.Ng1 {Zaire} Nc6 5.d3 e5 6.e4 f5 7.Nd2 Nf6 8.exf5 Bxf5 9.Be2 Be7 10.Bf3 O-O 11.Ne2 Bd6 12.Ng3 Be6 13.O-O Nd5 14.Bxd5 Bxd5 15.Nde4 b6 16.Qh5 Qc7 17.a3 a5 18.Bd2 Bf7 19.Qe2 Bg6 20.Rae1 Rae8 21.Qg4 Nd8 22.h4 Bf7 (22...Bxe4 23.Nxe4 c4 24.h5 Nb7 25.h6 g6 26.Bg5 cxd3 27.cxd3 Nc5 28.Rc1 a4 29.Rc4 Be7 30.Nxc5 bxc5 31.Qe6+ Kh8 32.Bxe7 Rxe7 33.Qd5 {+/- 1.14 Deep Fritz 8}) 23.Nf5 Bg6 24.Nfxd6 Re7 25.h5 Be8 26.Nf5 Rd7 27.Ng5 Kh8 28.f4 Nc6 {? a horrendous error, now White plays Ne6 & forks my Q & R winning the R} 29.Ne6 Qb7 30.Nxf8 Rc7 31.fxe5 {+- 17.74 Deep Fritz 8} 1-0

Position after 28…Nc6

Hossa is a very strong chess program and the following two games played by Hossa shows how to defeat the Zaire played from the Black side.

Hossa (2595) – Elli (2009) ICS rated bullet match 11/20/2000

1. d4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nb8 3. e4 Nf6 4. e5 Ng8 {Zaire} 5. Nc3 e6 6. d5 exd5 7. Nxd5 c6 8. Bg5 Qa5+ 9. Nc3 h6 10. Be3 Bb4 11. Qd2 Ne7 12. Bc4 O-O 13. O-O Nf5 14. a3 Be7 (14... Bxc3 15. bxc3 Na6 16. Bf4 Nc5 17. Rfe1 Qa4 18. Bd3 Nxd3 19. cxd3 Re8 20. Re4 Qa5 21. Qb2 Re6 22. Nd4 Nxd4 23. Rxd4 Rb8 24. Bg3 b5 25. a4 c5 26. Rd5 b4 27. cxb4 Rxb4 28. Qc2 Rc6 29. Qd1 Rd4 30. Rxd4 cxd4 31. h3 {= Deep Fritz 8}) 15. Nd5 Qd8 (15... Qxd2 16. Nxe7+ Nxe7 17. Nxd2 b6 18. Rfe1 Ba6 19. Rad1 Nf5 20. g4 Nxe3 21. Rxe3 Bxc4 22. Nxc4 f6 23. Nd6 fxe5 24. Rxe5 c5 25. Re7 Nc6 26. Re4 Nd4 27. c3 Rf6 28. Re8+ Rxe8 29. Nxe8 Nf3+ 30. Kg2 Rf8 31. Nd6 Ne5 32. h3 Rf3 33. Nc8 Rf8 34. Nxa7 c4 35. Rd4 Nd3 36. Kg3 Nxb2 37. f3 Rd8 38. Nb5 {+/- 1.09 Deep Fritz 8}) 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Bf4 Nh4 18. Nxh4 Qxh4 19. Bd3 Na6 20. Bxa6 bxa6 21. Be3 (21. Bg3 Qh5 22. Rad1 Re8 23. Qd3 Re6 24. f4 d5 25. exd6 Bd7 26. f5 Rf6 27. Qxa6 Rxf5 28. Qb7 Rd8 29. b4 Qe2 30. Rfe1 Qg4 31. Qxa7 Rd5 32. Rxd5 cxd5 33. b5 h5 34. Qa5 Rb8 35. b6 h4 36. Bf2 Bc6 37. h3 Qd7 38. Qc5 Rd8 39. Re7 Qxd6 40. Qxd6 Rxd6 41. Bxh4 Rg6 42. Bf2 d4 43. g3 Rg5 44. Rc7 Be4 45. b7 Bxb7 46. Rxb7 Ra5 47. Bxd4 {+- 8.77 Deep Fritz 8}) 21... Bb7 22. Qxd7 Rab8

Position after move 22…Rab8

23.Bxa7

23.Bc5 Rfd8 24.Qc7 Qg4 25.Bxa7 Rdc8 26.Qd6 Ra8 27.Qc5 Rd8 28.h3 Qf5 29.Rad1 Rxd1 30.Rxd1 Re8 31.Re1 Qg6 32.b4 Bc8 33.Kh2 {+- 2.40 Deep Fritz 8}

23...Rfd8 24.Qc7 c5 25.Bxb8 Qg5 26.Qxb7

[+- 12.77] It is over; Black is down too much material.

1-0

Hossa (2617) – Elli (1904) ICS rated bullet match 11/19/2000

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 Nb8 3.d4 Nf6 4.e5 Ng8 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.d5 Nb8 {Zaire} 7.Bc4 d6 8.e6 f6 9.b4 g6 10.Nd4 Bg7 11.Nf5 Kf8 12.Nxg7 Kxg7 13.O-O Nh6 (13...c6 14.Qf3 cxd5 15.Bxd5 Na6 16.a3 Nc7 17.Re1 Rb8 18.Be3 b6 19.Qh3 h5 20.Bc4 Nh6 21.Nb5 Nxb5 22.Bxb5 Qc7 23.Bd3 Ng4 24.Bd4 Ne5 25.f4 Nxd3 26.cxd3 Qb7 27.Rac1 Qd5 28.Re4 Ba6 29.Rc7 Rb7 30.Rc3 Rbb8 31.a4 Rbc8 32.b5 {= Deep Fritz 8}) 14.b5 Qe8 15.Qd2 Nf5 [diagram] ? an error, this drops the Black N. Black had to play 15...Ng8. 16.g4 Nh4 17.Qh6+ Kg8 18.Qxh4 Qf8 19.Bh6 Qe8 20.Ne4 c6 21.Qxf6 {if 21...exf6 22.Nxf6+ mate} 1-0

Position after move 15…Nf5

Michael S. Bushill (2060) – Stephen J. Willetts Kidlington 6/3/01

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng8 3. d4 Nc6 4. Nf3 {Zaire} Nb8 5. Bc4 d5 (5... e6 6. d5 Ne7 7. Nc3 exd5 8. Nxd5 Nbc6 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 b5 11. Bxb5 Rb8 12. c4 a6 13. Ba4 Nb4 14. e6 c6 15. Nd4 cxd5 16. O-O Qb6 17. c5 Qa7 18. Qh5 g6 19. Qe5 Rh7 20. exd7+ Bxd7 21. c6 g5 22. cxd7+ Kd8 23. Bg3 Bg7 24. Qxb8+ Qxb8 25. Bxb8 {+- 7.88 }) 6. exd6 Qxd6 7. O-O h6 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. Nb5 Qg6 {? this drops the Black R at a8 } (9... Qb6 10. Bxf7+ Kd8 11. Qd3 Bxf3 12. Bf4 Na6 13. Qxf3 Qxb5 14. a4 Qa5 15. Bd2 Qxd2 (15... Qb6 16. Bxg8 Rxg8 17. Qd5+ Qd6 18. Qxg8 Kd7 {+- 4.62}) 16. Qd5+ Kc8 17. Be6+ Kb8 18. Qd8#) 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxa8 Qc6 12. Ne5 Bxd1 13. Nxc6+ Nxc6 14. Rxd1 g5 15. f4 Bg7 16. c3 Nf6 17. d5 Nb8 18. fxg5 hxg5 19. d6 e6 20. Bxg5 Rh5 21. Bxf6+ Bxf6 22. Nc7 {+- 9.77 Deep Fritz 8 & Nakamura - it is clearly lost for Black. White is ahead too much material.} Rc5 23. Bxe6 Nc6 24. Bxf7 Ne5 25. Ne6+ Kd7 26. Nxc5+ Kc6 27. Ne4 Bd8 28. Rd4 Nd7 29. Rad1 b6 30. Be8 a5 31. a4 Bh4 32. g3 Bd8 33. Kh1 1-0

Butterli – GodofThunder (1911) Friendly Game Playchess.com 5 min. 6/3/07

1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nb8 4. d4 {Zaire (2 N's out & 2 N's retreat)} Ng8 5. Bf4 d6 6. Qd2 g6 7. h4 h5 {I had to prevent the h5 pawn push} 8. Ng5 e6 9. O-O-O Be7 10. f3 a5 {the plan was to sink the a pawn to a3 to weaken the White Queenside castled position} 11. Qe3 Bd7 12. e5 d5 {Black has to play to lock out White's attack.} 13. Be2 a4 14. a3 Na6 15. g4 hxg4 16. fxg4 c5 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Qg3 Qe7 19. Nb5 Bxb5 20. Bxb5+ Kf8 {I believe it was safer for my K on the Kingside.} 21. h5 gxh5 22. gxh5 Nh6 {now the N at h6 has a strong post on f5} 23. Qd3 Nf5 24. Nf3 Nc7 (24... Qc7 {I missed this move, the moved played cause me all kinds of problems}) 25. Bg5 f6 26. Bxf6 Qh7 {now I drop the exchange} 27. Bxh8 Qxh8 28. Ng5 Ke7 29. h6 Qxe5 30. Kb1 Qe3 {I needed to trade Queens to shut down White's kingside attack} 31. Qxe3 Bxe3 32. Nf3 Nxb5 33. h7 {force otherwise the pawn queens} Rh8 34. Ne5 Kf6 35. Nd7+ Ke7 36. Ne5 Kf6 37. Nd7+ Kf7 38. Ne5+ Kg7 {38 sec - 2:00 min -+ 2.41 Deep Fritz 8} 0-1

Butterli – GodofThunder (1911) Friendly Game Playchess.com 5 min. 6/3/07

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.d4 Ng8 4.Nf3 Nb8 {Zaire (2 N's move out and back)} 5.Bc4 e6 6.Be3 c6 7.e5 d5 8.exd6 Bxd6 9.Qe2 Nf6 10.O-O-O {Hmnn interesting White has achieved full development} O-O 11.Ne5 Nbd7 12.f4 Nb6 13.Bd3 {White is setting up for a kingside attack.} Nbd5 14.g4 {I believe this is an error, now White just weakened his queenside castled position} (14.Bd2 Nxc3 15.Bxc3 Nd5 16.Bd2 f6 17.Qh5 g6 18.Bxg6 Qe7 19.Be4 fxe5 20.fxe5 Bb4 21.c3 Ba5 {+- 2.18 Deep Fritz 8}) 14...Nxc3 15.bxc3 Qa5 16.Kd2 (16.Nc4 Qxc3 17.Nxd6 Qa3+ 18.Kb1 Qxd6 {-/+ 0.86 Deep Fritz 8}) 16...Nd5 {that pawn at c3 is really weak} 17.Ke1 Qxc3+ 18.Kf2 c5 19.Nf3 Nxe3 20.Qxe3 cxd4 21.Qe4 (21.Qxd4 Bc5 {-+ 9.69 the White Q drops}) 21...g6 {forced since White threatens checkmate with Qxh7+} 22.g5 Bd7 23.h4 Bc6 24.Qe2 Rae8 25.Rdg1 Bxf4 26.h5 e5 27 hxg6 fxg6 28.Be4

Position after move 28.Be4

?? a horrible blunder that loses. 28...Be3+ 29. Kg2 Bxe4 {1:04 min- 2:36 min} 0-1

Planina Musica – GodofThunder Playchess.com Friendly Game 5 min. 6/3/07

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Ng8 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 Nb8 {Zaire} 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 {need to guard the f7 square} 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bxe7 Nxe7 9.exd6 cxd6 10.O-O O-O 11.Re1 d5 12.Bd3 {it is still not easy for Black because the kingside is still wide open for an attack} Nbc6 13.Bxh7+ {the classic B x rook pawn sac, I have seen this position many times} Kxh7 14.Ng5+ Kg6 15.Qg4 f5 16.Qg3 f4 17.Qg4 e5 18.Ne6+ Kf6 19.Qxg7+ (19.dxe5+ Kf7 20.Nxd8+ Rxd8 21.Qxf4+ Kg8 {+- 8.86 Deep Fritz 8 my opponent missed this line which should win}) 19...Kxe6 20.Rxe5+ Nxe5 21.Qxe5+ Kf7 22.Qh5+ Kg7 23.Re1 Rf5 24.Qg4+ Ng6 25.Na4 Qg5 {-+ 7.64 its seems Black has consolidated his game and is now actually won} 26.Qf3 Bd7 27.Nc5 Qd8 (27...Bc6 28.Ne6+ {+- 1.77 yes I saw this nasty N fork}) 28.Re6 b6 29.Qg4 Rg5 30.Qh3

Position after 30.Qh3

30...bxc5 31. Rxg6+ Rxg6 32. Qc3 c4 33. g3 fxg3 34. fxg3 Qe7 35. Qf3 Rf8 36. Qxd5 Bc6 {Black controls the a8 to h8 diagonal} 37. Qe5+ Qxe5 38. dxe5 Re8 39. h4 Rxe5 40. h5 Rxg3+ 41. Kf2 Rh3 42. h6+ Rxh6 43. b3 cxb3 44. axb3 Rh3 45. b4 Rc3 46. b5 Rxb5 47. Ke2 Rxc2+ 48. Kd3 Ra2 49. Kc4 Ra4+ 50. Kc3 Rh5 51. Kb3 Rh3+ 52. Kb2 Bd5 53. Kb1 Ra2 54. Kc1 Rh1# {23 sec - 1:12 min} 0-1

Chessnick (1773) – DarthMusashi (1954) Playchess.com Game 5 min. 7/15/07

1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Ng8 4. c4 Nb8 {Zaire} 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bd3 d6 7. O-O Na6 (7... Nf6 8. e5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 Be7 (9... Qxd4 10. Nxf7 Kxf7 11. Bg6+ hxg6 12. Qxd4 {+- 4.14 and the Black Q drops}) 10. Be3 Nbd7 11. Qe2 O-O 12. Rad1 c6 13. f4 Qa5 14. a3 Rd8 15. Qe1 Qb6 16. b4 Qc7 17. Qh4 Nf8 18. Qh3 a5 19. Rb1 N8d7 20. Rf3 g6 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Bxe4 Nf8 23. c5 axb4 24. axb4 Ra2 25. Qh6 Bf6 {+/- 1.09}) 8. Bg5 f6 9. Be3 {The setup I have is the small center, very similar to a Sicilian Defense. It is possible to transpose into a Sicilian later on.} c5 10. Nh4 Nb4 11. Bb1 {to prevent the Qh5+} g6 12. f4 cxd4 13. Bxd4 Nc6 14. Be3 Bg7 15. f5 g5 16. Qh5+ Ke7 17. Nf3 Bd7 {I am always aware that the White N at c3 can eventually move to the square d5 to cause me problems later on.} 18. a3 a6 {to prevent Nb5 attacking my weak pawn at d6} 19. Bc2 Qc7 20. Rad1 Rd8 {further stengthening my position} 21. Rd2 Be8 22. Qh3 Bf7 23. Ba4 h5 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Nd4 g4 26. Qh4 e5 27. Ne6 Bxe6 28. fxe6 Kxe6 29. h3 gxh3 30. Qxh3+ Ke7 31. Qf3 Qd7 32. Na4 Rb8 {to prevent Nb6} 33. b4 Qg4 34. Qf2 h4 {time +- 1.09 Deep Fritz 8} 0-1

Parakiting (1811) – DarthMusashi (1945) Playchess.com Game 5 min. 7/15/07

1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Ng8 4. Bc4 Nb8 {Zaire} 5. O-O e6 6. d4 d6 7. Re1 c6 8. d5 b5 (8... Nf6 9. Ng5 cxd5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. exd5 e5 12. Nge4 Be7 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Bd3 O-O 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Qh5 f5 17. Ng5 Bxg5 18. Bxg5 Qc7 19. Rac1 Be8 20. Qh4 h6 21. Bd2 Nd7 22. c4 f4 23. Qg4 a5 24. g3 Nc5 25. Bc2 fxg3 26. Qxg3 Rf6 27. f4 exf4 28. Bxf4 Bh5 29. Be3 Raf8 30. h3 Nd7 31. Be4 Ne5 32. c5 dxc5 33. Rf1 b6 34. Rxf6 Rxf6 35. Rf1 Qf7 36. Rxf6 Qxf6 37. Bf4 Nd7 {-/+ 0.79 Deep Fritz 8}) 9. Bb3 b4 10. Na4 cxd5 11. exd5 e5

Position after move 11…e5

12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.Rxe5+ Be7 14.d6 Nc6 15.Re1 Kf8 (15...Nf6 16.Bg5 Be6 17.Nc5 Qxd6 18.Qxd6 Bxd6 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Rxe6+ Kd7 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Rd1 Kc7 23.Rdxd6 Na5 24.Ba4 Rad8 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Kf1 {+- 3.81 Deep Fritz 8}) 16.dxe7+ Ngxe7 17.Qf3 f6 18.Bf4 Bf5 19.Rad1 Qc8 20.h3 (20.Bd6 Ne5 21.Qf4 Qd7 22.Nc5 Qxd6 23.Rxd6 Nf7 24.Rxe7 Bg6 25.Rxf6 Kxe7 26.Re6+ Kd8 27.Na6 Nd6 28.Qxd6+ Kc8 29.Qc7#) 20...h6 21.Bd6 a5 (21...Ne5 22.Bxe5 fxe5 23.Rxe5 g6 24.Rxe7 Kxe7 25.Qd5 Qe6 26.Qb7+ Kf6 27.Bxe6 Bxe6 28.Qf3+ Bf5 29.Qc6+ Be6 30.Nc5 Rhe8 31.Rd7 Rad8 32.Rxd8 Rxd8 33.Qxe6+ Kg7 34.Qe7+ Kg8 35.Ne6 Rd1+ 36.Kh2 Rh1+ 37.Kxh1 a5 38. Qg7#) 22.Nb6 Qb7 23.Nxa8 Qxa8 24.Qxf5 h5 25.Qe6 Ke8 26.Bxe7 Nxe7 27.Qxe7# 1-0

Pinrel (1932) – DarthMusashi (1942) Playchess.com Game 5 min. 7/15/07

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bg5 Ng8 4.e3 Nb8 {the start of the Zaire, 2 knights come out and 2 knights retreat to their original squares} 5.Bd3 g6 6.Nbd2 Bg7 7.c3 Nf6 8.e4 d6 9.h3 O-O 10.O-O c6 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.Qe3 Nbd7 13.Bh6 e5 14.Bxg7 {the standard exchange of bishops in a fianchetto position} Kxg7 15.Rac1 Nh5 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Rfd1 b6 18.Bf1 Nc5 19.Nc4 f6 {to double guard the e pawn} 20.b4 Nb7 {to prevent White's N from posting at d6 } 21.a4 Be6 22.Rc2 b5 23.axb5 cxb5 24.Ncd2 a6 {forced, I had to guard the b pawn} 25.c4 bxc4 26.Nxc4 Rac8 27.Rdc1 Qf7 28.Nb6 Rxc2 29.Rxc2 a5 30.bxa5 Nxa5 31.Qa3 Nb7 32.Qa7 Re8 33.Bb5 Re7 {I needed to guard the 7th rank} 34.Qa8 Nd6 35.Bf1 Nf4 36.Rc6 Nb7 (36...Nxe4 37.Qa4 Bd5 38.Nxd5 Qxd5 39.Rc8 Qb7 40.Qc4 Rf7 41.Qc2 Rd7 42.Rc6 Nd5 43.Rc4 Nd6 44.Rc5 Rc7 45.Rxc7+ Qxc7 46.Qd3 Qc5 {-/+ 1.26 Deep Fritz 8}) 37.Rxe6 Qxe6 38.Bc4 Qxb6 39.Qg8+ Kh6 40.Qf8+ Rg7 41.h4 Qc7 42.g4 Nd6 43.Qxf6 Qe7 44.g5+ Kh5 45.Qxe5 Qxe5 46.Nxe5 Nxc4 47.Nxc4 Nxf4

Position after move 47…Nxf4

Here I lost on time
with a slit second to go
in a totally won position.
1-0

I did an analysis of the Zaire played from the White side and had concluded that Black only gets a slight advantage, maybe not enough to win. See that analysis below:

Analysis White Zaire – Nakamura & Deep Fritz8 7/20/07

1.Nf3 Nc6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Ng1 Bc5 4.Nb1 Nf6 (4...Nf6 5.d3 Bxf2+ (5...O-O 6.e3 d5 7.Nf3 e4 8.d4 Bd6 9.Ng1 Ne7 10.Ne2 Ng6 11.h3 b6 12.Nd2 Be6 13.c4 {a reverse French Defense} dxc4 14.Qc2 c5 15.Nxc4 Be7 16.Ne5 cxd4 17.Nxg6 Bb4+ 18.Bd2 d3 19.Qc1 Rc8 20.Bxb4 Rxc1+ 21.Rxc1 hxg6 22.Nd4 Bxa2 23.b3 Nd5 24.Bd2 (24.Bxf8 Qxf8 25.Rc4 Qa3 26.Bxd3 exd3 27.Rc8+ Kh7 28.Nf3 Qa5+ 29.Kf1 g5 30.Rc6 f6 31.Kg1 d2 32.Kh2 Bxb3 33.Rd6 d1=Q 34.Rxd1 Bxd1 35.Nd4 {-+ 17.81}) 24...Qe7 {-+ 4.21}) 6.Kxf2 Ng4+ 7.Ke1 {+/- 0.95}) (4...Bxf2+ 5.Kxf2 Qf6+ 6.Ke1 d5 7.Nc3 Be6 8.d3 O-O-O 9.e4 Nge7 10.Nf3 Nd4 11.Be2 Ng6 12.g3 Nxe2 13.Qxe2 Bg4 14.Kf2 d4 15.Nd5 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Qxf3+ 17.Kxf3 c6 18.Ne3 dxe3 19.Bxe3 a6 {+/= 0.49}) 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 e4 7.d4 exf3 8.dxc5 fxg2 9.Bxg2 Qe7 10.Bd2 Qxc5 11.Bc3 Qe7 {=/+ 0.35 Black is slightly better with only 2 pawn islands vs 3 for White.}

Position after move 11…Qe7

The following analysis shows that the Zaire played from the black side leads to a large advantage for White. See analysis below:

Analysis Black Zaire Nakamura & Deep Fritz 8 7/19/07

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Ng8 4.Bc4 Nb8 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ne5+ Ke8 (6...Ke6 {the Black K had to play to e8 otherwise Black gets checkmated} 7.Qg4+ Kd6 (7...Kxe5 8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.Qd5#) 8.Nf7+ Kc6 9.Qe2 a6 10.Nxd8+ Kb6 11.Qe3+ c5 12.Nd5+ Kb5 (12...Ka7 13.Qxc5+ b6 14.Qxb6#) 13.a4+ Ka5 14.Qc3#) 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 Nf6 (8...hxg6 9.Qxg6#) 9.Qh4 Rg8 10.Nxf8 Kxf8 11.e5 (11.d4 Rg4 12.Qh6+ Kg8 13.e5 Ne8 14.Be3 d5 15.h3 Rg6 16.Qh4 Ng7 {= Deep Fritz 8 and Black is okay}) 11...Ne8 12.d4 d5 13.Qxh7 (13.Bh6+ Ng7 14.O-O-O Ke8 15.Bxg7 Rxg7 16.Qh6 Kf7 17.Rd3 c6 18.e6+ Kg8 19.Ne2 Rg6 20.Rg3 Qf8 21.Qe3 Rg7 22.Nf4 Na6 23.Re1 Nc7 24.Qe5 Rxg3 25.hxg3 Ne8 26.Qg5+ Qg7 27.Qh4 Qf6 28.Qg4+ Qg7 29.Qf3 {+/= 0.81 Deep Fritz 8}) 13...Ng7 14.Bh6 c6 15.O-O-O Kf7 16.Rhe1 Qf8 17.Re3 Bf5 18.Rf3 e6 19.g4 Rh8 20.Qxg7+ Qxg7 21.Bxg7 Rh7 22.gxf5 Rxg7 23.f6 Rh7 {+- 6.82 Deep Fritz 8

Position after 23…Rh7

CONCLUSION

The Zaire is a very troubled chess opening because some players are actually insulted by playing the Zaire. One player that I played on the chess server Playchess.com resigned after I had moved my second knight back to its original square. Takata has played the Zaire once in a tournament game against a class-A player and actually won with it. His opponent is said to have never played tournament chess after that loss.

I do not believe that the Zaire is totally sound because Takata’s Zaire was dismantled by International Master Nikolay Minev in a simul exhibition at the University of Hawaii some 15 years ago. Takata has declined to show me that game. I do not recommend playing the Zaire against an International Master or a Grandmaster in a tournament game because you will surely lose. Still the Zaire is a fun opening to play in blitz games. Eric Schiller was also playing it in blitz chess games after losing to Takata’s Zaire. I recently played some unrated and rated games on Playchess.com. It is a good way to test your defensive skills in chess because you have to find the right moves over the board, otherwise you could get quickly squished.

My analysis of the Zaire played from the White side shows that Black only gets a slight advantage, probably not enough to win. The analysis of the Zaire played from the Black side shows that White obtains a very large advantage. This I believe this is enough to win for White.

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