|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Chessville
Advertise to Single insert:
|
Balogh Counter
Gambit
by
IM-CC Keith R Hayward
Part 1 - Introduction/Overview
In this final installment on the Balogh Counter Gambit, we will close up some loose ends and cover what I consider is Black's best approach to White's most challenging line. To follow these games on your monitor, open ChessTutor, then select the database from the drop down menu called "BaloghCounterGambitPartFive". 1 e4 d6 2 d4 This first game is interesting since the move order could have been 1 Nf3 f5 2 e4 d6!?, which would be a Lisitsin Gambit Declined. White's play was too passive and Black built up a strong attack fast. 2 Nf3 f5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 d3 e5 5 g3 Be7 6 Bg2 0-0 7 b3 Nc6 8 Bb2 Nd4 9 Nxd4 exd4 10 Ne2 c5 11 h3 fxe4 12 dxe4 d5 13 exd5 Nxd5 14 c3 Be6 15 0-0 Qd7 16 cxd4 Bxh3 17 Bxh3 Qxh3 18 Qd3 Rf5 19 Qe4 Raf8 20 Qe6+ Kh8 21 dxc5 Bxc5 22 Qd7 Qh6 23 Bd4 Rh5 0-1, Oaker,W - Hayward,K ICCF 4PATT6, 1984 This game shows …g6 is a key idea for Black in this defense. 2 f4 f5 3 Nc3 Nc6 4 Nf3 g6 5 exf5 Bxf5 6 Bc4 Nf6 7 0-0 Bg7 8 d3 d5 9 Bb5 0-0 10 Bxc6 bxc6 11 Ne5 Qd6 12 Qf3 Nd7 13 Nxd7 Bxd7 14 Bd2 e5 15 Qg3 Rf5 16 Rf2 Raf8 17 Raf1 Qe7 18 Ne2 exf4 19 Bxf4 Bxb2 20 d4 Ba3 21 Be5 Bd6 22 Rxf5 Rxf5 23 Rxf5 Bxf5 24 c3 Bxe5 25 dxe5 c5 26 Qe3 Be4 27 Ng3 Qxe5 28 Qxc5 Bd3 29 Nf1 Bxf1 30 Kxf1 Qf5+ 31 Ke2 Qe4+ 32 Kf2 Qc2+ 33 Kf3 Qd3+ 34 Kf2 Qd2+ 35 Kf3 Qd3+ ½-½, Tanaleon,J 2325 - Hayward,K 2295 Dallas TX, DCC, 1995 2...f5 3 Nc3
I think 3 Bc4 is well motivated in that it attacks the key weak squares in Black's position, e6 and f7, but the fact that White is almost forced to give up the king bishop with 4 Bxg8 ensures Black will have few heartaches. 3 Bc4 fxe4 4 Bxg8 Rxg8 5 Qh5+ g6 6 Qxh7 Be6 7 Nh3 Nc6 8 c3 Qd7 9 Nf4 Bf7 White withdrew =+ 0-1, Hamilton,W - Hayward,K 88RF2 APCT, 1993 White losses too many tempi for 3 Bd3?! to be affective. 3 Bd3 fxe4 4 Bxe4 Nf6 5 Bd3 g6 6 Nf3 Bg7 7 Bg5 0-0 8 0-0 Nc6 9 c4 Bg4 10 Be2 Qd7 11 Nc3 Rf7 12 h3 Bxh3 13 gxh3 Qxh3 14 Bf4 Nh5 15 Bh2 Nf4 16 Bxf4 Rxf4 17 Nh2 Nxd4 18 Bg4 Qh4 19 Nd5 Rf7 20 Qd3 Be5 21 Qh3 Bxh2+ 22 Kxh2 Rxf2+ 23 Rxf2 Qxf2+ 24 Qg2 Qh4+ 25 Bh3 Rf8 26 Rf1 Rxf1 27 Qxf1 c6 28 Nf4 e5 29 Ne6 Nxe6 30 Qf3 Nf4 31 Kg1 Nxh3+ 32 Kg2 Nf4+ 33 Kg1 g5 34 c5 d5 35 b4 g4 36 Qe3 g3 37 Qf3 Qh2+ 38 Kf1 g2+ 0-1, leti 1876 - drawyah 1846 Internet Chess Club, 1999 I am not sure who deserves credit for the notes in the following game. I think it is A. Gillam? The game is interesting since it involves two well-known players from the last century. 3 e5 dxe5 4 dxe5 Qxd1+ 5 Kxd1 e6 (5...Nc6 =) 6 Be3 (6 Bc4 Nc6 7 Nf3 Bc5 8 Ke2 Nge7 9 Rhe1 Ng6 10 Kf1 =) 6...Nd7 7 Nf3 Bc5 8 Bxc5 Nxc5 9 Nc3 Bd7? (9...Nh6 with ...Ng4 /...Nf7 =) 10 Bc4 c6 11 b4! +- Grunfeld - Wolf, 1914 White's 3 f3 is some strange attempt to transpose to a Saemisch type formation. As played the middlegame sort of looks like a Philidor Counter Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 f5). 3 f3 e5 4 dxe5 fxe4 5 f4 d5 6 c4 d4 7 Qe2 e3 8 Nf3 Bb4+ 9 Kd1 c5 10 g3 Nh6 11 b3 Ng4 12 Rg1 Nf2+ 0-1, Williams,J - Ackley, corr, 1981 3...Nf6 Black tries a ...Bf5 Caro-Kann approach in the next game, but the e6 and f7 squares are too weak for this approach to work affectively. 3...fxe4 4 Nxe4 Bf5 5 Ng3 Bg6 6 Nf3 e6 7 h4 h6 8 h5 Bf7 9 Bd3 Be7 10 Qe2 Qd7 11 Bd2 Nc6 12 d5 Nd8 13 Nd4 Bf6 14 Nxe6 Bxe6 15 0-0-0 Ne7 16 dxe6 Qxe6 17 Qxe6 Nxe6 18 Rhe1 Kf7 19 c3 Nc5 20 Bc2 Rhd8 21 b4 Nd7 22 Ne4 d5 23 Nxf6 Nxf6 24 Rh1 c5 25 bxc5 Rac8 26 Be3 Nd7 27 Rh3 Nxc5 28 g4 Ne6 29 Rf3+ Kg8 30 Bd4 Nc6 31 Kb2 Ncxd4 32 cxd4 Ng5 33 Re3 Rc7 34 f4 Nf7 35 Bb1 Kf8 ½-½, Knoek,J - Versteeg,H, NLD th corr, 1978 White gambits a pawn in Blackmar Diemer Gambit fashion. It is very dangerous for Black to accept the pawn, but Curt is a very strong master, he defends easily, and eventually makes the pawn tell. 3...fxe4 4 f3 exf3 5 Nxf3 Nf6 6 Bd3 Bg4 7 h3 Bh5 8 Bf5 Na6 9 Qd3 c6 10 a3 Qa5 11 Rb1 Bxf3 12 Qxf3 e5 13 b4 Qc7 14 Ne2 Be7 15 0-0 0-0 16 Qg3 Kh8 17 c4 g6 18 Bh6 Nh5 19 Qg4 Nf6 20 Qh4 Ng8 21 Bg5 Rxf5 22 Rxf5 gxf5 23 Ng3 Rf8 24 Nh5 Bxg5 25 Qxg5 exd4 26 Re1 Qf7 27 Re6 h6 28 Rxh6+ Nxh6 29 Qxh6+ Kg8 30 Qg5+ Kh7 31 Qh4 Nc7 32 Nf6+ Kg6 33 Nh5 Ne6 0-1, Cogdill,W Max - Brasket,C Golden Knights USCF corr, 1949 The following gambit is unsound. 3...e5 4 dxe5 fxe4 5 Nxe4 Qh4 6 Bd3 Bg4 7 Ne2 Nc6 8 Bg5 Qh5 9 f3 Bd7 10 Nf4 Qf7 11 exd6 cxd6 12 Qe2 Ne5 13 0-0 h6 14 Nxd6+ Bxd6 15 Bg6 hxg5 16 Bxf7+ Kxf7 17 Nd5 Nf6 18 Nxf6 gxf6 19 Qd2 Bc5+ 20 Kh1 Be6 21 Rad1 Kg6 22 Rfe1 Rh4 23 g3 Rd4 24 Qc3 Nxf3 25 Rxd4 Bxd4 26 Qxf3 Be5 27 Rd1 Rc8 28 c3 b5 29 Qb7 a6 30 Qxa6 Bg4 31 Re1 Re8 32 Qxb5 Re6 33 Kg2 Rd6 34 Qe8+ Kh6 35 h3 Rd2+ 36 Kg1 Bxh3 37 Qh8+ 1-0, Grote - Detter,P St Petersburg Russia, It, 1992 I like the idea of playing ...g6, but I think it is more solid after ..fxe4. 3...g6 4 Bd3 fxe4 5 Bxe4?! (White waist a valuable tempo, better is 5 Nxe4.) 5...Nf6 6 Bd3 Nc6 7 Nf3 Bg7 8 d5 Nb4 9 Bb5+ c6 10 dxc6 bxc6 11 Ba4 Bd7 12 a3 Na6 13 O-O Nc5 14 Re1 O-O 15 Qe2 Qc7 16 Be3 Nxa4 17 Nxa4 e5 18 c4 e4 19 Nd2 d5 20 h3 Rab8 21 Rab1 Nh5 22 Bc5 Nf4 23 Qe3 Rf7 24 Bxa7 Ra8 25 Bb6 Qb8 26 Nc3 Rf5 27 Ne2 Nd3 28 Rf1 Qf8 29 Ng3 Rf7 30 Bd4 Bh6 31 Qe2 Nf4 32 Qd1 Qc8 33 cxd5 Bxh3 34 Ndxe4 Bxg2 35 Nd6 Qh3 36 Nxf7 Kxf7 0-1, Jauhiainen - Hakola,J 1985 4 Bd3
This is my favorite game using the Balogh Counter Gambit. Not that the game is well played, improvements are to be had, but because of the unique rook maneuver, ...Rd5-b5-b3. A very pleasing slow motion attack. 4 Bc4 fxe4 5 Bg5 d5 6 Bxf6 dxc4 7 Be5 Bf5 8 Qe2 Nc6 9 0-0-0 e6 10 Nxe4 Qd5 11 f3 0-0-0 12 Nh3 Nb4 13 Nf4 Qc6 14 a3 Nd5 15 c3 Qa4 16 g4 Nxf4 17 Bxf4 Bg6 18 Rhe1 Rd5 19 h4 Bxa3 20 bxa3 Rb5 21 Bd6 Rb3 22 Bb4 a5 23 Nd6+ Kb8 24 Nxc4 axb4 0-1, Sawyer,E - Hayward,K 96K1 APCT, 1996 White misses some middlegame chances, falls into a devastating bind, and finally ends up in zugzwang. 4 e5 dxe5 5 dxe5 Qxd1+ 6 Nxd1 Ng4 7 f4 Nc6 8 h3 Nh6 9 Bd2 Bd7 10 Ne3 e6 11 Nf3 Nf7 12 h4 Bc5 13 Be2 a5 14 a3 Nd4 15 Nxd4 Bxd4 16 c3 Bc5 17 0-0-0 Bc6 18 Rh2 Ke7 19 g4 g6 20 h5 g5 21 gxf5 gxf4 22 f6+ Kf8 23 Ng4 f3 24 Bd3 Rg8 25 Nh6 Rg2 26 Nxf7 Kxf7 27 Rh4 Rd8 28 Bxh7 Rdxd2 29 Bg6+ Kf8 30 Rxd2 Be3 31 Rhd4 Rxd2 32 Rxd2 Ba4 33 Bd3 Bb3 34 Bf1 c6 35 Bd3 f2 36 Be2 b5 37 Bd3 Bc4 0-1, Buckley,D - Hayward,K 88RF2 APCT, 1995 I over-played my position in the following game, a common peril in BCG. 4 e5 dxe5 5 dxe5 Qxd1+ 6 Nxd1 Ng4 7 Bf4 Nc6 8 Nf3 g5 9 Nxg5 Ngxe5 10 Nc3 e6 11 Nb5 Bd6 12 Nxd6+ cxd6 13 0-0-0 Ke7 14 Bb5 Bd7 15 Rhe1 h6 16 Nf3 Nf7 17 Nh4 Kd8 18 Bxc6 bxc6 19 Bxd6 Nxd6 20 Rxd6 Kc7 21 Red1 Rh7 22 Ng6 Rg8 23 Ne5 Bc8 24 Rxc6+ Kb7 25 g3 h5 26 Rd4 h4 27 Rb4+ Ka8 28 Rxh4 Rxh4 29 gxh4 1-0, Houser,T - Hayward,K 96K1 APCT, 1996 White's 4 f3 is too passive to challenge Black. Black, left unchallenged, quickly gets a good game. Rather typical example of what Black can expect in the BCG with speed chess. 4 f3 Nc6 5 Bg5 e5 6 d5 Nd4 7 Nge2 Nxe2 8 Qxe2 a6 9 0-0-0 Be7 10 exf5 Bxf5 11 g4 Bd7 12 h4 b5 13 Bxf6 Bxf6 14 g5 Be7 15 Bh3 0-0 16 Bxd7 Qxd7 17 Ne4 c6 18 dxc6 Qxc6 19 Rdg1 Rac8 20 h5 d5 21 Nf6+ Bxf6 22 gxf6 Qxf6 23 h6 g6 24 Rg3 Rf7 25 Rhg1 Rfc7 26 Qd3 Rxc2+ 27 Kb1 R2c5 28 Rxg6+ hxg6 29 Rxg6+ Kh8 30 b4 Rc1+ 31 Kb2 R8c2+ 32 Kb3 Rc3+ 0-1, Rei 1975 - Drawyah 2155 FICS, 1997 First impulse would be to play 4...fxe4 against 4 Nf3, but White gets play with 5 Ng5. Janos proves that the passive looking 4...e6 gives Black an easy game. 4 Nf3 e6 5 Bg5 Be7 6 Qd2 h6 7 Bxf6 Bxf6 8 Bc4! Nc6 9 Nge2 e5 =, Wagner,A - Balogh,J corr 1928 Play in this game transposes back to positions that resemble a Staunton Gambit accepted. Black rightly declines White's gambit at move 5, continues with development, and gets a good position. 4 Bg5 fxe4 5 f3 Nc6 6 fxe4 e5 7 Bb5 exd4 8 Qxd4 Be7 9 Qc4 Bd7 10 Bxc6 bxc6 11 Nf3 Ng4 12 Bxe7 Qxe7 13 0-0 Ne3 14 Qb3 Nxf1 15 Rxf1 Qe6 16 Qb7 0-0 17 Qxc7 h6 18 Rd1 d5 19 exd5 cxd5 20 Nxd5 Rf7 21 Ne5 Rc8 22 Nf4 Rxc7 23 Nxe6 Bxe6 24 Nxf7 Kxf7 25 c3 Bxa2 26 Rd6 Rb7 27 b4 Rc7 28 Ra6 Bc4 29 Ra5 a6 30 Rf5+ Ke6 31 Rf3 Rf7 32 Re3+ Kd5 33 Re1 Bd3 34 h3 Kc4 35 Rc1 Rf1+ 36 Rxf1 Bxf1 37 Kxf1 Kxc3 38 Ke1 Kxb4 39 Kd2 Kb3 40 Kc1 Kc3 0-1, McClary,L 2145 - Hayward,K 2295 DCC Dallas TX, 1995 4...Nc6 I have left 4...Nc6 as the main line since this article is a follow-up to part 4. However, over time I have come to the conclusion 4...fxe4 is better. I think the next series of games with 4...fxe4 should be studied closely as a group. My chess buddy, Johnny Owens, helped me greatly in finding the best method for playing Black. We exchanged analysis and played some casual games to test our conclusions. In this game, which I play in straightforward positional style, Johnny proves Black is doing fine. 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nxe4 6 Bxe4 g6 7 Nf3 d5 8 Bd3 Bg7 9 0-0 Nc6 10 c3 0-0 11 Bg5 Qd6 12 h3 Bf5 13 Re1 Rae8 14 Re3 e5 15 dxe5 Nxe5 16 Nxe5 Rxe5 17 Rxe5 Bxe5 18 Bh6 Re8 19 Bxf5 gxf5 20 Qh5 Qg6 21 Qxg6+ hxg6 22 Rd1 c6 ½-½, Hayward,K - Owens,J Casual game 3 E-mail, 1998 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nxe4 6 Bxe4 g6 7 Nf3 d5 8 Bd3 Qd6 9 Ne5 Nc6 10 Nxc6 Qxc6 11 Qe2 Qf6 12 c3 Bg7 13 0-0 Bd7 14 Re1 0-0 15 f4 Rf7 16 Bd2 Re8 17 Qe5 Qc6 18 Qe2 Qd6 19 g3 b6 20 b4 c5 21 bxc5 bxc5 22 Be3 c4 23 Bc2 Qa3 24 Qd2 Rb8 25 Qc1 Qxc3 26 Bxg6 Bxd4 27 Bxf7+ Kxf7 28 Bxd4 Qxd4+ 29 Re3 Rb2 30 Qe1 Bg4 31 Kh1 Re2 32 Rxe2 Bf3+ 33 Rg2 Qb2 0-1, Van Rikxoort,D - Lens,J NLD th corr, 1978 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nxe4 6 Bxe4 g6 7 Nf3 d5 8 Bd3 Qd6 9 Ne5 Nc6 10 Bf4 Qb4+ 11 Qd2 Qxd2+ 12 Kxd2 Nxd4 13 Nxg6 hxg6 14 Be5 Rh4 15 Bxc7 Bf5 0-1, Besemer,G - Lens,J NLD th corr, 1978 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nxe4 6 Bxe4 g6 7 Nf3 d5 8 Bd3 Qd6 9 h3 Nc6 10 0-0 Bg7 11 c3 0-0 12 Be3 Bf5 13 Qd2 Bxh3 14 gxh3 Rxf3 15 Kg2 Raf8 16 Be2 R3f7 17 Rad1 Nd8 18 b3 Ne6 19 Rde1 Nf4+ 20 Bxf4 Rxf4 0-1, Borst,J - Lens,J NLD th corr, 1978 The previous games prove Black has little to fear from the positional approach. I think 7 Qf3 is the critical test of this ...g6 scheme. I am happy to report Black is doing fine here too. In fact, I was able to get an edge, I won a pawn, but I failed to find a win. 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nxe4 6 Bxe4 g6 7 Qf3 c6 8 Bg5 Nd7 9 Qe3 Bg7 10 0-0-0 Nf6 11 Bf3 Bf5 12 Ne2 h6 13 Bxf6 Bxf6 14 h4 Qa5 15 Kb1 0-0-0 16 g4 Bd7 17 Nf4 g5 18 Ne6 Bxe6 19 Qxe6+ Kb8 20 hxg5 hxg5 21 c3 d5 22 Rh5 Qc7 23 Rdh1 Rhf8 24 Rh7 Qd6 25 Qe3 e5 26 dxe5 Bxe5 27 R1h6 Bf6 28 Rh3 d4 29 cxd4 Bxd4 30 Qb3 Bb6 31 a3 Qe5 32 Qc2 Rd6 33 Be4 Bxf2 34 Bf5 Bb6 35 Qh2 Qxh2 36 Rxh2 Bd4 37 b4 a6 38 Kc2 Bf6 39 R2h3 Re8 40 Bd3 Re7 41 Rxe7 Bxe7 42 Rh7 Re6 43 Bf5 Re5 44 Kc3 Ka7 45 Kd4 Bf6 46 Kd3 a5 47 Rf7 Be7 48 Kd4 Re1 49 bxa5 Ka6 50 Bc8 Kxa5 51 Bxb7 Kb6 52 Bc8 Bxa3 53 Rb7+ Ka5 54 Ra7+ Kb4 ½-½, Rimlinger,P - Hayward,K EMN-A-15 APCT, 2000 White's 7 h4 is the most aggressive attempt to refute Black's play. Although Black does well in this game, I think Johnny's play in our casual game 1 below is stronger. 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nxe4 6 Bxe4 g6 7 h4 c6 8 Nh3 Bf5 9 Qf3 Qd7 10 Bxf5 Qxf5 11 Qxf5 gxf5 12 Nf4 Kd7 13 Nd3 Na6 14 b3 Bg7 15 Bb2 Rhg8 16 g3 c5 17 c3 cxd4 18 cxd4 Rac8 19 Kd1 Bf6 20 Rg1 Rg4 0-1, Knoek,J - Lens,J NLD th corr, 1978 White's 6 Ne2 is too passive to cause Black any issues. 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 g6 6 Ne2 Nxe4 7 Bxe4 d5 8 Bf3 Bg7 9 0-0 0-0 10 Ng3 Qd6 11 Re1 c6 12 Bg5 e5 13 c3 e4 14 Be2 h6 15 Be3 Be6 16 Qd2 Kh7 17 f3 exf3 18 Bxf3 Nd7 19 Rf1 Rf7 20 Be2 Raf8 21 Rxf7 Rxf7 22 Rf1 Rxf1+ 23 Bxf1 Nf6 24 Bf4 Qf8 25 Bd3 Ne4 26 Nxe4 dxe4 27 Bxe4 Bxa2 28 Bc2 Be6 29 Qe3 Qf7 30 Be5 Bf8 31 Qf2 Kg8 ½-½, Van Rikxoort,D - Borst,J NLD th corr, 1978 If Black could have found 29...Bxe1!, the BCG would have had a famous victim. 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 g6 6 Nxf6+ exf6 7 Qe2+ Qe7 8 Be3 Bg7 9 0-0-0 0-0 10 h4 f5 11 Bc4+ Kh8 12 Qd2 h5 13 Bg5 Qd7 14 Nf3 b5 15 Bb3 Bb7 16 Rhe1 Be4 17 Ng1 a5 18 a3 a4 19 Ba2 b4 20 Qxb4 Nc6 21 Qc4 d5 22 Qc5 Bxg2 23 f3 Ra5 24 Qc3 Rb5 25 Kb1 Rfb8 26 Bc1 Nxd4! 27 Rxd4 c5 28 Rxd5 Bxc3 29 Rxd7 Rxb2+? (29...Bxe1! -+) 30 Bxb2 Bxb2 31 Ree7 Bd4+ 32 Kc1 1-0, Bogoljubow - Langleben, Vilnius 1912 A strange game which re-emphasizes the BCG is high risk. 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 g6 6 Ng3 Bg4 7 f3 Be6 8 c3 c6 9 h4 Bf7 10 Nh3 Qc7 11 Ng5 Bg7 12 Nxf7 Kxf7 13 Qc2 Nbd7 14 h5 d5 15 hxg6+ Kf8 16 f4 h6 17 Qe2 Re8 18 Qe6 1-0, Van Rikxoort,D - Knoek,J NLD th corr, 1978 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 g6 6 Ng5 Bg7 7 c3 Nc6 8 Qc2 0-0 9 h4 e5 10 N5f3 exd4 11 Nxd4 Nxd4 12 cxd4 Qe7+ 13 Be3 Ng4 14 Bc4+ Kh8 15 Qe2 Nxe3 16 Qxe3 Qxe3+ 17 fxe3 Bf6 18 0-0-0 Bg4 19 Nf3 Rae8 20 Rde1 c5 21 d5 a6 22 e4 b5 23 Bd3 c4 24 Bc2 b4 25 Nd2 Bxb2+ 26 Kxb2 c3+ 27 Kb3 cxd2 28 Ra1 a5 29 a3 d1Q 30 Bxd1 Rxe4 31 axb4 Rxb4+ 0-1, Versteeg,H - Borst,J NLD th corr, 1978 I had already suspected ...g6 was a good idea for Black. Johnny and I exchanged emails discussing this idea. It did not take us long to set up some email games to test our ideas. In our first casual game Johnny convincingly proved ...g6 is a viable idea for Black. 4...fxe4 5 Nxe4 g6 6 h4 Nxe4 7 Bxe4 d5 8 Bd3 Bg7 9 h5 Qd6 10 Nf3 Nc6 11 hxg6 hxg6 12 Rxh8+ Bxh8 13 Be3 Bg4 14 c3 0-0-0 15 Qa4 Bxf3 16 gxf3 e5 17 dxe5 Nxe5 18 Be2 a6 19 0-0-0 Qe6 20 f4 Ng4 21 Kd2 Nxe3 22 fxe3 Kb8 23 Rg1 Bf6 24 Bd3 Rh8 25 Qb4 Rh2+ 26 Be2 Bg7 27 Rg3 Ka8 28 Qc5 c6 29 a4 Qe4 30 a5 Qb1 0-1, Hayward,K - Owens,J Causal game 1 E-mail, 1998 Black is too congested after 4...e6. 4...e6 5 Nf3 Be7 6 0-0 fxe4 7 Nxe4 Nbd7 8 Neg5 Nf8 9 Bd2 h6 10 Ne4 c5 11 dxc5 Nxe4 12 Bxe4 d5 13 Bd3 Bxc5 14 Ne5 h5 15 Ng6 Nxg6 16 Bxg6+ Kd7 17 Bc3 Qg5 18 Qd3 Kc6 19 Rae1 Bd6 20 f4 Qe7 21 Qf3 Bd7 22 f5 Rh6 23 f6 Qd8 24 Bf7 gxf6 25 Bxf6 Qc7 26 Bxe6 Bc5+ 27 Kh1 Qd6 28 Bxd7+ Qxd7 29 c4 Rf8 30 cxd5+ 1-0, Besemer,G - Versteeg,H NLD th corr, 1978 5 exf5!
An annoyingly strong move. Balogh himself advocated 4...Nc6, but because of this move (5 exf5) I think it might be safer for Black to play 4...fxe4!. Most of the remaining analysis and games are from Balogh himself. 5 d5 Ne5 6 Nf3 fxe4 7 Nxe4 Bg4 8 Nxf6+ exf6 9 Be2! Nxf3+ 10 Bxf3 Bd7! =, Kunert,F - Balogh,J corr 1927 5 d5 Ne5 6 Nf3 fxe4 7 Nxe5 exd3 8 Nd3+ e5 9 0-0 Be7, Winkler,A - Balogh,J corr, 1927, 10 f4 0-0! Balogh 5 d5 Ne5 6 exf5 Nxd3+ 7 Qxd3 Qd7 8 Nb5 Nxd5 (= Balogh) 9 Qxd5 c6 10 Nxd6+ cxd6 11 Qe4+ Qe7 12 Qxe7+ Bxe7 13 Bf4 Bxf5 14 0-0-0 d5 15 Re1 Kd7 16 Nf3 Raf8! =+, Macht,S - Balogh,J corr 1928 Black has nothing for fear from the passive 5 Nge2. 5 Nge2 fxe4 6 Bxe4 d5! 7 Bd3 e5 8 Bb5 e4 9 Bg5 Be7 10 Nf4 0-0 11 Bxf6 Bxf6 12 Ncxd5 Bxd4 =+, deVeer - Balogh,J corr 1927 5 Nge2 fxe4 6 Nxe4 e5 7 Nxf6+ Qxf6 8 d5 Ne7 9 Ng3 Nxd5! (9...Qf7 10 c4 =) 10 Bb5+ c6 11 Qxd5 Bd7 -+, Havasi,K- Balogh,J Haag 1928 Nor does Black have to worry about 5 Be3. Notice again ...g6 is a good idea for Black 5 Be3 g6 6 Qf3 e5 7 dxe5 Nxe5 8 Qe2 Nxd3+ 9 cxd3 Bg7 10 Nf3 O-O 11 O-O Kh8 12 Qc2 c6 13 Qb3 Qe7 14 Rfe1 Be6 15 Qa3 fxe4 16 dxe4 Ng4 17 Bg5 Qc7 18 Bh4 Ne5 19 Nxe5 Bxe5 20 Rac1 Qb6 21 Rc2 Rf7 22 Bg3 Raf8 23 Bxe5+ dxe5 24 Ree2 Bc4 25 Red2 Qe3 26 h3 Rxf2 27 Rxf2 Rxf2 28 Rxf2 Qe1+ 29 Kh2 Qxf2 30 Qe7 Qf4+ 31 Kg1 Qf1+ 32 Kh2 Qf4+ 33 Kg1 Qf1+ ½-½, Hudecz,V 2130 - Feher,A 2225 Tapolca Open Budapest HUN, 1999 5...Nxd4 6 g4 Nd7(!)
Balogh's exclamation mark and his own improvement over the following miniature. This game is one of Balogh's more published games, but objectively 6...h5 is too weakening to Black's kingside to be good. I should add that I have discussed the viability of the BCG with the famous (offbeat) opening theorist, Stefan Buecker. Stefan plans to publish an article on the BCG himself in his magazine Kaissiber. Anyway, Stefan suggested to me that 6...Qd7 followed by ...Qc6 was good for Black here. I am inclined to agree with Stefan, since I have doubts on how good 6...Nd7 is. I dislike moving pieces twice in the opening unprovoked. 6...h5?! 7 f3? hxg4 8 fxg4 Qd7! 9 h3?! (9 Be4; 9 Ne4) 9...Qc6 10 Rh2 Qc5 11 Bf4? e5 12 Bg5? Ne6! 0-1, Duhrssen,R - Balogh,J corr 1928 Of course, stupid is 6...h6? I did say the Balogh was high risk! 6...h6 7 Be3 c5 8 Bxd4 cxd4 9 Bb5+ Bd7 10 Bxd7+ Qxd7 11 Qxd4 e5 12 fxe6 Qxe6+ 13 Nge2 Be7 14 h3 0-0 15 0-0-0 b5 16 Rhe1 Qf7 17 Ng3 b4 18 Nf5 Rfe8 19 Qxb4 Bf8 20 Rxe8 Qxe8 21 Nxd6 1-0, McClintock,D 2425 - Hayward,K 2300 SW Class Chp Dallas TX, 1996 7 g5! Ne5 7...Ng4 8 f4! followed by h3 7...Ng8 8 f6! Bf5 9 Bxf5 Nxf5 10 Qd5 +- 8 Qh5+ g6 9 fxg6 Nxd3+ 10 cxd3 Bg7 11 gxh7+ Kf8 12 Qd1 Bf5 =+, Olland - Balogh,J corr, 1932
Fitting that we conclude our look at the BCG with analysis from Balogh. Although, I must confess I believe White will have some improvements in this final line. How good is the Balogh Counter Gambit? Certainly high risk, but I do think it is sound in the hands of an adventurous and creative player. I think BCG works great with speed chess, and good for an occasional over-the-board game. From there the issue is how much risk is one willing to take on to win. Regardless, the fun factor will always be high with the Balogh Counter Gambit! Good Chess!! Keith # # # Please provide me feedback on this article, and / or ideas for future opening article subjects. Remember, none of that main line theory! <smile> Good Chess!!
Keith
Hayward
Part 1 - Introduction/Overview Click here to
return to The Road Not Taken index. |
The
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
