The Diamond Jubilee and the BDG

I don't watch that much television, but I did catch a bit of the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee over the weekend. My, my, no one does this sort of thing better than our British friends, and I love them for it. I don't think I've enjoyed an occasion on television as much since watching the night the Berliners tore down that wall. It would have been a joy to have attended either event.

As it happened, I once had the pleasure of seeing Queen Elizabeth in Berlin. It was at the end of her visit there in May of 1965. I watched the short departure ceremony from my second floor office window at Tempelhof Central Airport, overlooking the Queen's airplane parked just outside.

So, watching the London celebrations and remembering that day in Berlin warmed the old man's heart, and then I turned to Monday's TWIC and found, what else, a Blackmar-Diemer played at the Diamond Jubilee Premier. It would have been grand if the BDG had carried the day, but we take what we can.

May God save the Queen, and the BDG.

Maybe I'm jealous

Updated 26 March 2012 to correct the name of this variation from Pietrowsky to Pöhlmann. (Thanks, Jack) More later.

I try not to be, but maybe I am a little jealous. I'm talking about all those Jerome Gambiteers over at Rick Kennedy's blog. All those quick little knockouts. Sure some of them are Black wins, but still...
Worse yet, the BDG looks to be on its way to losing its title as the most disrespected opening in chess. But all we can do is fight on.

Sometimes a grandmaster...sometimes a BDG

Sometimes a grandmaster who normally wouldn't consider playing the white side of a Blackmar-Diemer plays one anyway--by transposition. We all have seen that.

Take for example the so-called Pöhlmann Defense to the BDG. After 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Black foregoes the usual 3...Nf6 for 3...f5, resulting in a position that is also reached in the Dutch Defense via 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 dxe4

GM Eric Lobron is inactive (on the chessboard) these days. At his peak in mid-1992 he had an ELO of 2625 and was 20th in the world. He twice won the German championships, in 1982 and 1984. Here's his BDG by other means.

Eric Lobron (2585) - Christian Bauer (2465)
Bundesliga, Germany 1996
BDG, Pöhlmann Defense from Dutch Defense

1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 dxe4 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. f3 a6 6. Qd2 Nc6 7. O-O-O e6 8. fxe4 fxe4 9. Nge2 Be7 10. g3 e5 11. dxe5 Qxd2+ 12. Rxd2 e3 13. Bxe3 Nxe5 14. Bf4 Bd6 15. Bg2 O-O 16. Nd5 Rb8 17. Nec3 Nh5 18. Ne7+ Bxe7 19. Bxe5 Bg5 20. Bd5+ Kh8 21. Bxc7 Ra8 22. Ne4 Bxd2+ 23. Kxd2 Bg4 24. Ng5 Rf2+ 25. Ke3 Raf8 26. h3 Bc8 27. g4 Rxc2 28. Bd6 Re8+ 29. Kd3 Nf6 30. Nf7+ Kg8 31. Nh6+ 1/2-1/2

Actually, that game was just an excuse to sneak in my own BDG with Lobron. The encounter is memorable to me, not just because my opponent went on to such great achievements within a few short years, but also because the game was my first tournament Blackmar-Diemer.

Tom Purser - Eric Lobron
Heidelberg, 1977
BDG, Teichmann Defense

1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. f3 exf3 5. Nxf3 Bg4 6. h3 Bh5 7. g4 Bg6 8. Bc4 e6 9. Ne5 Bb4 10. Bg5 Be4 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 h6 13. Bh4 Bd5 

14. Bd3

14. Bxd5 Qxd5 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Rxf6 Nd7 17. Nxd7 Qxd7 18. Qf3 would have been better, but I was probably afraid of the half-open g-file.

14... Nbd7 15. c4 Bc6 16. Qe1 Nxe5 17. Qxe5 Nxg4 18. Qxg7 Qxh4 19. Qxh8+ Ke7 20. Rxf7+ Kxf7 21. Rf1+ Nf6 22. Qh7+ Kf8 23. Qh8+ Kf7 24. Qh7+ Ke8

25. Bg6+?

25. Qg6+ Ke7 26. Qg7+ Kd6 27. Rxf6 Qxd4+ (27... Qxh3?? 28. c5+ Kd5 29. Rf5+ exf5 30. Qe5#) 28. Kf1 and Black would have had to work.

25... Kd8 26. Qh8+ Ne8 27. d5 Qg3+ 28. Kh1 Qxh3+ 29. Kg1 Qg3+ 30. Kh1 Qxg6 and 0-1 in a few more moves.

From the Dutch to the BDG

One chess blog that is high on my reading list is IM Mark Ginsburg's Personal Chess History. Yesterday, in a post about the Manhattan CC 1990 International he reviewed a game he won in round one of that tournament (Mark Ginsburg - Alexander Fishbein). It was a Dutch Defense which he called the "4. Bf4 gambit line," and began with 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4!? dxe4 (diagram) 4. Bf4. "Just another weird anti-Dutch gambit, not allowing 4. f3? e5!," noted Ginsburg.

After 3...dxe4

Blackmar-Diemer Gambit players will recognize this as a position that can also result from the normal BDG sequence 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 when Black plays to hold the e4 pawn with 3...f5. Diemer called this line in the BDG the Pöhlmann Defense, after one of his correspondence opponents. When I first began to play the BDG I thought this was a pretty lame defense--until I saw how strong players handled the same line in the Dutch. But if Black is a little careless, White can still get some quick wins. (When is that not true?) Here are a couple of examples. White is a Hungarian player who also plays the BDG now and then. Meszaros,Guyla - Weteschnik Kecskemet, 1994 Dutch Defense [A80} BDG, Pöhlmann Defense by transposition 1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.Bf4 e6 5.f3 Nf6 6.fxe4 fxe4 7.Bc4 Bb4?!

7...Bd6 Correct--Meszaros.

8.Nge2 0-0 9.0-0 Bxc3? 10.Nxc3 Nd5 11.Nxd5 exd5

12.Bxc7! Qg5

12...Rxf1+ was better.; 12...Qxc7?? 13.Bxd5+ Rf7 14.Qh5 (Or 14.Rxf7 )

13.Rxf8+ Kxf8 14.Qe2 Be6

14...dxc4? 15.Rf1+ Ke7 16.Qxe4+ Be6 17.Qxb7+-

15.Rf1+

15...Kg8?

15...Ke7 16.h4 Qh6 17.Bf4 Qg6 18.Bg5+

16.Qxe4! 1-0 Just for fun, another miniature: Meszaros,Guyla - Kriszany IM Bern, blitz, 1994 Dutch Defense [A80} BDG, Pöhlmann Defense by transposition 1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.Bf4 g6 5.Be5 Nf6 6.f3 Nbd7 7.Nb5! Nxe5 8.dxe5 Nd7 9.e6 Ne5 10.Qxd8+ Kxd8 11.0-0-0+ 1-0

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