By any means necessary: a BDG

Updated 15 Apr 2012 to add the note at move 19. Thanks, Richard.

It seems that many players--well, at least some-- who are quick to disparage the Blackmar-Diemer are at the same time prone to go to some lengths to avoid playing into one, although the late GM Larry Evans once wrote that the best way to refute a gambit is to accept it.

However, I can understand this attitude. It makes perfect sense. Why waste time studying defenses when the gambit is so bad? And why take even the marginal chance of suffering the embarrassment, the ignominy,  of losing to it?

Consequently, BDG lovers often go to extremes to sneak in a BDG. And others probably slip into one perhaps without even realizing it. I have no way of knowing which was the case with this recent game. I've posted several times earlier about this. After you play through this game you can check those posts here.

Okay, It's a Trompowsky, but it quacks like a BDG

Years ago I enjoyed searching for games where masters who probably would never intentionally play a Blackmar-Diemer in a "serious" game nevertheless sometimes found themselves playing a typical Blackmar-Diemer position. Such a case can develop in the Trompowsky, after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 d5 4.f3 Nf6 5.e4 dxe4 6.Nc3 exf3 7.Nxf3. White is up a tempo over the BDG, having the move Bf4 in hand. (Is that a feature or a bug? Does f4 turn out to be a good spot for that bishop?).

In an old (Jan-Feb1994) issue of BDG World I published such a game, Hodgson - Panchenco, Bern 1994, calling it a transposition from the Opocensky Opening to the BDG--to which several readers took exception. As I wrote at the time, I make no claim to expertise on opening names outside the Blackmar-Diemer, but relied on Hooper and Whyld in The Oxford Companion to Chess, 2nd ed. They call 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 the Opocensky Opening in their Index of Named Openings and Variations (Appendix 1). However, in their text we find an entry for the Trompowsky Opening, which is equated to the Opocensky Opening. I quote: "The one-time Brazilian champion Octavio Siqueiro F. Trompowsky (1897-1984) tried it in the 1930s and 1940s, at about the same time as Opocensky." 


Not that it matters much, but it appears that Trompowsky has carried the day, or perhaps there has been further refinement since I quit paying attention. But I digress. One of these creatures was sighted in TWIC a couple of weeks ago. I give it here with a few other examples of the species (or should I say the mutation?).


(Use the pull-down menu above the diagram to select additional games.) 

Kasparov Plays a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (sorta)

My previous post mentioned a line in the Trompowsky Attack that can transpose into a (near) Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. That got me to thinking about this line, so I took a look at such games that might have been played since I last examined it years ago. This little goody turned up. I never thought I'd find a game where Kasparov played a BDG, even if it was in a simul, even if it was only an "enhanced" BDG—that is, a transposition that gives White a move up over the normal BDG. But here it is:

Kasparov,Garry (2817) - Carneiro,Marco Paulo
Sao Paulo 450th anniversary  simultaneous
Sao Paulo, 21.08.2004
Trompowsky to BDG Teichmann Defense [A45]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 d5 4.f3 Nf6 5.e4 dxe4 6.Nc3 exf3 7.Nxf3 Bg4

The Teichmann Defense to the BDG, but with the Bishop developed to f4 representing the extra tempo gained in the transposition from the Trompowsky.

8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 c6 10.0-0-0 e6 11.Bc4

11...Nbd7?

11...Be7 would blunt the forthcoming 12.d5

12.d5 cxd5 13.Nxd5

13...Nxd5

13...exd5 is better: 14.Rhe1+ Be7 15.Bxd5 0-0 16.Bxb7 Bc5=

14.Bxd5

14...a5??

14...exd5 is still better: 15.Rhe1+ Be7 16.Bd6+- and play might go 16...Ne5 17.Bxe5 0-0 18.Rxd5 Bg5+ 19.Kb1 Qb6 20.Bxg7 Rae8 (20...Rfe8 21.Rf1; 20...Kxg7 21.Rxg5+) 21.Red1]

15.Bxb7 Ra7 16.Rxd7 Qf6 17.Rhd1 Be7 18.Rxe7+ Qxe7 19.Qc6+ Kf8 20.Bd6 g6 21.Bxe7+ Kxe7 22.Qc5+ Kf6 23.Qxa7 Rf8 24.Qd4+ e5 25.Qd6+ Kg7 26.Qxe5+ Kg8 27.Qf6 h5 28.Bd5 Kh7 29.Bxf7 1-0.

A Grandmaster Plays a New BDG

If you're a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit fan it's always interesting—well maybe even a bit exciting—to come across a new BDG played by a grandmaster, even a little-known one. Here's one played a few weeks ago in a Russian tournament. White is a Ukrainian grandmaster. Black is a Russian FIDE master.

White plays a rare line in the Teichmann Defense, loses the initiative at move 19, and struggles to hang on to a draw in an endgame where Black had winning chances. 

Kislinsky,A (2501) - Slugin,S (2425)
Zvenigorodskaya Open A
Zvenigorod RUS (5), 27.09.2008
BDG, Teichmann Defense

1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.e4 dxe4 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Bf4 e6 9.Ne5

This line, with Bf4, is quite rare in the Blackmar-Diemer. The position is more likely to occur in a line in the Trompowsky, after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 d5 4.f3 Nf6 5.e4 dxe4 6.Nc3 exf3 7.Nxf3 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.g4 Bg6 10.Ne5 e6, reaching the above position, but with an important difference: Black has lost a tempo with an extra Knight move. It's now White's move. One such game continued 11.Qf3 c6 12.0-0-0 Be7 13.h4 Nd5 14.h5 Nxf4 15.hxg6 fxg6 16.Nf7 Kxf7 17.Qxf4+ Ke8 18.Qe4 Bg5+ 19.Kb1 Qe7 20.Bc4 Kd7 21.Rde1 e5 22.dxe5 Kc7 23.e6 Na6 24.Qe5+ Kc8 25.Bxa6 bxa6 26.Rd1 Bf6 27.Qa5 Qb7 28.Rd7 Qb6 29.Qxb6 axb6 30.Ne4 Be5 31.Ng5 Re8 32.Rhd1 h5 33.Nf7 Bc7 34.Rxc7+ Kxc7 35.Rd7+ Kb8 36.Nd6 Ra7 37.Nxe8 hxg4 38.Rd8+ Kb7 39.Nd6+ Kc7 40.Rd7+ Kb8 41.Rxa7 1-0, Indbryn-Royset, NOR-chT Tromsoe,1998

9...Nd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Kf2 Nc6 12.Bg2 Qxd4+ 13.Qxd4+/- Nxd4 14.c3 Nb5

14...Bc5!? 15.cxd4 Bxd4+ 16.Kg3 0-0-0+/-

15.Bxb7+- Bc5+ 16.Kf3 Rb8 17.Bc6+ Ke7 18.a4 Nd6 

19.Nd7?

The game turns here. Better is 19.b4 Bxb4 20.Nxg6+ hxg6 21.cxb4 Rxb4 22.Rac1+/-

19...Be4+ 20.Bxe4 Kxd7 21.b4 Nxe4 22.Kxe4 Bd6 23.Rhd1 Ke7 24.Be3 a6 25.Kd3 f6 26.Kc4 h5 27.g5 f5 28.Bd4 e5 29.Re1 Ke6 30.Ra2 e4 31.Bxg7 Rhg8 32.Bf6 Be5 33.b5 Bxf6-+ 

34.gxf6 Kxf6 35.Kc5 Rge8 36.c4 Re6 37.Rd2 axb5 38.cxb5 f4 39.Rd4 Kf5 40.Rd7 e3 41.Rf7+ Ke4 42.Rf1 

42...Re5+

Black should win with 42...e2 43.R7xf4+ Kd3-+

43.Kc4 e2 44.R7xf4+ Ke3 45.R4f3+ Kd2 46.Rd3+ Kc2 47.Rc3+ Kb2 48.Re1

48...Rbe8

48...Rd8 49.Rcc1 Re4+ 50.Kc5 Rxa4-+

49.Rcc1-/+ Re3 50.a5 Rxh3 51.a6 Ra3 52.Kb4 Re4+ 53.Kc5 Re6 54.Rc4 Rf3 55.Kd5 Re7 56.a7 Ra3 57.Re4 Rxe4 58.Kxe4 Kc3 59.Rxe2 Kc4 60.Rc2+ Kxb5 61.Rxc7 Kb6 62.Rh7 Rxa7 1/2-1/2