Lagenheinicke DefenseD00

Alburt L.
Tal M.

Baku (7)
1972


1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 dxe4 4. f3 c6!? White now has many options, none of which offer any advantage: 5. Bg5 5. fxe4 e5 6. Nf3 exd4 7. Qxd4 (7. Nxd4 Bb4 8. Bc4 O-O) 7... Qxd4 8. Nxd4 Bb4 9. Bd3 O-O= 5. Be3?! exf3 The passively placed bishop on e3 makes this capture even more attractive than usual. 6. Nxf3 (6. Qxf3 Bg4 7. Qg3 e6 8. Be2 Bd6 9. Qh4 Bxe2 10. Ngxe2 Nd5 and once again black has consolidated his extra pawn.) 6... Bg4 7. Bc4 e6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe1 Bxf3 10. Rxf3 Bd6 Black is clearly better, with a possible follow up being Nb6-d5 with the further Qc7 and 0-0-0 in the offing. 5. Bf4 Qa5 (5... exf3!?) 6. Bc4 Nbd7 intending e5. Now back to the main game. 5. Nxe4 Nxe4 6. fxe4 e5 7. Nf3 exd4 8. Qxd4 Qxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 Black is slightly better. 5... Nbd7! 6. fxe4 e5 7. dxe5 7. d5 Bc5 7. Nf3 exd4 8. Nxd4 Bb4 9. Nf5 O-O 10. Bd3 Ne5 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. O-O Bxf5 13. Rxf5 Qe7 Schiller-Ligterink 1986 are both good for black. 7... Qa5 8. exf6?! 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. exf6 (9. e6 fxe6 10. Bc4 (10. Qg4?! Ne5 11. Qh5+ Ke7 intending Nd3+ winning the queen.) 10... Bb4 11. Nge2 Ne5 12. Bb3 Bd7 intending 0-0-0 with an excellent game.) 9... Nxf6 10. Qd4 Bg7 11. O-O-O O-O 12. Nge2 Be6 intending Rd8 with a good game. 8. Nf3 Nxe4 9. Bd2 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 Bb4 11. O-O-O O-O 12. a3 Bxc3 13. Qxc3 Qxc3 14. bxc3 8... Qxg5 9. fxg7 Bxg7 10. Qd2 Alternatively, 10. Nf3 Qe3+ 11. Be2 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qxc3+ 13. Nd2 Ne5 14. O-O Be6 15. Nf3 Rd8 16. Qe1 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 Qxe1 18. Rfxe1 Rd2 19. Re2 Rxe2 20. Bxe2 Ke7 21. Kf2 Rg8 22. h4 Kd6 and black was on the verge of victory in Elina-Chiburdanidze USSR 1976. 10... Qxd2+ Black's initiative persists into the endgame, in particular his unopposed dark squared bishop raking the open board and white's exposed king more than compensate black for his pawn minus. 11. Kxd2 Nc5 12. Bd3 Be6 13. Nf3 O-O-O 14. Ke2 b5 15. a3 a5 16. h3 Rhe8 17. Rhd1 f5! The rest of the game is a testament to the power of the bishop pair on an open board. Enjoy! 18. e5 Nd7 19. Re1 Bxe5 20. Kf2 Bf6 21. Re3 Nc5 22. Rae1 Kd7 23. Nxb5 f4 24. Re5 Nxd3+ 25. cxd3 cxb5 26. Rxb5 Rb8 27. Ne5+ Kd6 28. Rxa5 Bh4+ 0-1 [Kevin Denny]

Game(s) in PGN