As was before observed, he may also play 3. Q. to K. B's 3rd and P. to Q. R's 3rd; if the former, you immediately bring out your Q. Kt., and have then an opportunity of presently commencing a vigorous attack. If he play the latter, I do not think it advisable to take off the Q. Kt., as is generally done, because that leads infallibly to a game without advantage on either side; but I believe it better to withdraw the Bishop to Q. R's 4th, with the view to prevent as long as possible the safe advance of Black's Queen's Pawn. If he then drive your Bishop to Q. Kt.'s 3rd, it will be well posted, and his game be still a little embarrassed. 4. Q. to K. B's 3rd. 4. P. to Q. B's 3rd. Instead of so playing, he may move 4. P. to Q's 3rd, or 4. K. Kt. to B's 3rd, the result of which will be shown in Variation I.; he may also play, as advised by some authorities, 4. K. Kt. to K's 2nd, upon which the game is likely to be pursued as follows: 5. Castles. 6. B. to Q. R's 4th. 8. P. takes P. 9. P. to Q's 5th. You have an unquestionable 5. Castles. 6. P. to Q's 4th. 7. Q. B. to K. Kt.'s 5th. 8. B. takes K. Kt. 9. P. takes P. 10. Q. Kt. to B's 3rd. 4. K. Kt. to K's 2nd. 5. P. to Q. R's 3rd. 6. Castles. 7. P. takes P. 8. B. to Q. Kt.'s 3rd. 9. Q. Kt. to his sq. advantage from position. 5. K. Kt. to K's 2nd. 6. P. takes P. 7. Q. to K. Kt.'s 3rd. 8. Q. Kt. takes B. 9. B. to Q. Kt.'s Srd. 10. Castles. Your game is a little better developed. The defence in the above variation is that commended by Ponziani, who remarks that if White, at his 5th move, take Q. Kt. with B., Black answers with 5. Q. takes B., and if then White move 6. P. to Q's 4th, Black takes K. P. with Q. (ch.), and has the advantage. If at your 5th move you advance P. to Q's 4th, instead of Castling, the following variations seem to prove that Black would get the better game : 5. P. to Q's 4th. 6. P. to K's 5th. 5. P. takes P. 6. Q. to K. Kt.'s 3rd. (If he take the Pawn with his Kt., you gain a Piece by 7. Q. to K's 2ad.) 7. P. takes P. 8. Kt. takes Kt. 9. Q. B. to K's 3rd. 10. Q. B. takes B. 11. P. to K's 6th. 7. Kt. takes Q. P. 8. Q. to her Kt.'s 3rd. 9. B. takes Kt. 10. Q. takes K. B. 11. Q. to K. Kt.'s 4th. 12. P. takes K. B. P. (ch.) And you have a Pawn less, without any compensating advantage of position. If at the 7th move of this variation you play B. takes Q. Kt.. instead of 7. P..takes P., Black equally appears to come off with the superior game (e. g.) : 7. B. takes Q. Kt. 7. P. takes Q. B. P. He threatens now to play P. to Q. B's 7th next move. If you take the Pawn with Q. Kt., he may take your K. Kt. P. with his Q., or the Bishop with his Q. P., and in either case be the winner of a Pawn. If at this point he play 4. K. Kt. to B's 3rd, your best line of operation appears to be the following: 5. P. to Q's 4th. 6. P. to K's 5th. 7. Castles. 4. K. Kt. to B's 3rd. 5. P. takes P. 6. K. Kt. to K's 5th. 7. P. to Q's 4th. (If he take the Q. B. P. with Pawn, you win a Piece; and if he Castics, by taking Q. P. with Pawn, you will have an excellent game.) 8. P. takes P. (in passing) 8. K. Kt. takes Q. P. And you have an evident superiority. 5. P. to Q's 4th. 6. P. takes P. 7. K. to his 2nd. 5. P. takes P. 6. B. to Q Kt.'s 5th (ch.) 7. P. to Q's 4th At your 7th move you might also pay K. to B's sq., or inter. pose either Bishop or Q's Kt., and in any of these cases have a superior game. If Black, instead of his present move, should play 7. P. tc Q. R's 3rd, you must take his Kt. (ch.), and then play Q. to her-R's 4th, winning the Bishop. If he play 7. Q. B. to R's 4th, winning. Q's 2nd, you may also play 8. Q. to 8. Q. to her R's 4th. 8. P. takes K. P. 9. P. takes B. 10. Q. B. to Q's 2nd. 10. Q. takes P. (ch.) 11. Q. takes K. P. (ch.) ILLUSTRATIVE OF RUY LOPEZ'S KNIGHT'S GAME. The two following games, with notes, are from the Berlin * The present move is stronger, and affords a more lasting attack, than 9 K. Kt. to B's 3rd. Black may here play K. Kt. to his 3rd, which White would follow with 10. P. takes Q. B. P. 11. Q. Kt. to B's 3rd, with a superior game. 10. Q. or B. takes P. At this point, Jaenisch, vol. ii. p. 75, leaves the game, considering White's position as the better. The same move, 11. Q. to her 3rd, occura in the game which follows this; it affords the adversary, however, an opportunity to disentangle his game by playing P. to Q's 4th, and with cor 13. Q. takes P.* 13. Q. Kt. to B's 3rd. 15. Q. B. to K. B's 4th. 17. Kt. to Q's 4th. 19. Q. to her Kt.'s 4th 23. B. to K. Kt.'s 3rd. rect play would most likely lead to a drawn battle. A much stronger move, although it may not appear so theoretically, would be Q. to her R's 3rd; for in that case, Black could nct advance his P. to Q's 4th, as White would gain an advantage by answering with K. R. to Q's sq., which would give to Black a very confined position. Indeed it is not difficult to that after the move recommended, of Q. to her R's 3rd, Black's game affords no satisfactory defence for a length of time; and we must repeat that the playing K. B. to Q. B's 4th, by the second player, at his third move, is not to be commended. see, * If the Knight takes this Pawn, Black gains an advantage by Q. B. to K. B's 4th. + Instead of this move, White plays in the nex game Q. B. to K. Kt.'s 5th. To separate the Pawns on the Queen's side. § If the Rook take the Pawn, the Queen gives mate; and if, instead of playing the Bishop to K's 3rd, he were played to K. B's 4th, Black might exchange Bishops, and then support his Q. P. by moving B. to K's 3rd. A bold sacrifice to be ventured in an actual game. The only saving move, and one which at the same time imperils Black. **This is the best move. K. R. takes K. B. P. would perhaps have been good, but K. B. takes Kt. would have lost the game. (e. g.) 27. Q. to her B's 6th. 27. B. takes Kt. 28. K. to Kt.'s 2nd (best) 30. K. to R's 4th. 31. K. to R's 5th.* Interposing the Bishop would cost a Piece. 28. Q takes Q. P. (ch.) 29. Q. R. to B's 6th. † 33. Q. to K. B's 6th (ch.) 35. P. to K. B's 3rd. 36. P. to Q. R's 3rd. 37. R. takes R. 38. K. to B's 2nd. 39. K. to his 3rd. 40. K. to B's 4th. 41. K. to Kt.'s 4th. 47. P. to Q. R's 4th.** 28. K. to R's sq. 30. B. takes Kt. § 38. K. to Kt.'s 2nd. 42. B. to K. Kt.'s 3rd. 47. B. to K's sq. And the game was resigned as a drawn battle * Interposing the B. would lead to perpetual check. † Q. R. to B's 4th would also have been good, but the move in the text is more beautiful, as it involved a snare, into which Black fell, and enabled White to save the game. Black could not resist the temptation of winning the Rook for Bishop, and thus overlooked the perpetual check. The strongest move for him was Q. R. to Q's sq. § If the other Bishop takes the Rook, White gives perpetual check. We recommend the study of the terminating moves, which were extremely difficult for both parties They prove the possibility of positions occurring where two Pawns not even moved can draw the game against a Bishop. Black would have had a better chance of winning by not exchanging Rooks. ** Most important, because the Bishop might otherwise have prevented the Pawn advancing to compel the Black Pawn to take. + If Black does not take the Pawn, White would win. (?)_As it is, the game must be drawn, even if White had no Pawns, since the Pawn on R's file can never reach the 8th sq. |