May 22, 2013 Archive, Games, Hack Attack , blockade, Paul Botto, queening, Trompowsky Attack No Comments

The Tromp Made Easy

Paul Botto

[Site "Leeds University v Hull University"]   [Date "1980"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Botto,P."]  [Black "Longthorpe,C."]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "D00"]  [Annotator ",manleyj"]  [PlyCount "69"]  [EventDate "2013.05.22"]  [SourceDate "2013.05.22"]   1. d4 {White reveals his plan immediately - he would like to queen this pawn.}  Nf6 2. Bg5 $1 {Attacks a potential blockader and aims to control d8, the  queening square.} d5 $1 {Actively trying to defend against White's idea.} 3.  Bxf6 {Removing the defender of the blockading d-pawn.} exf6 4. e3 Bd6 5. c4  dxc4 $5 {Removing the blockader; but if 5...c6 6 cxd5 cxd5 and Black's d-pawn  is weak.} 6. Bxc4 O-O 7. Nc3 c5 {Threatening to eliminate the d-pawn, but  White easily bypasses this.} 8. d5 {One step closer.} a6 9. a4 Qc7 10. Nf3 Bg4  11. h3 Bf5 12. O-O Nd7 {Black is getting worried so he begins to pile up  blockaders in front of the pawn.} 13. Be2 Rfe8 14. Nd2 $1 {On its way to e4 or  c4 to remove the blockader.} Bg6 15. Nc4 f5 16. f4 Nb6 17. Nxd6 $1 Qxd6 18. a5  Nd7 {Now to make progress White must eliminate his weak a-pawn and also direct  Black's pieces from the d-file. So he pretends to attack on the kingside.} 19.  e4 $1 f6 20. exf5 Bxf5 21. Bd3 Bxd3 22. Qxd3 {Now White stands well. Black has  only one minor piece left to blockade with, has weakened his position slightly  and has little chance of counterplay. Objectively he should now sit tight and  await developments.} b5 $6 23. axb6 Qxb6 24. Kh1 Qxb2 $2 {This is a waste of  time, taking the queen away from the danger zone d6-d8 and allowing White to  get a rook into play to assist the advance of the d-pawn.} 25. Rab1 Qa3 26. Rb7  c4 {Black must get his queen back.} 27. Qxc4 Rac8 28. Rc7 Nb6 29. Qc6 Rxc7 {30  Qxe8+ also wins.} 30. Qxc7 Rc8 31. Qxb6 Qxc3 32. Qe6+ Kf8 33. Re1 Qc7 {Now  Black is powerless against the advance of the d-pawn. The mating threats are  purely diversionary.} 34. d6 $1 Qd8 35. d7 $1 {A fitting conclusion would have  been 35...Rb8 36 Qc6 Kf7 37 Re8+ when White completes the plan begun with 1 d4.}  1-0

Published in Kingpin 12 (Spring 1987)

Posted by Jon Manley

No Regrets: Boris Spassky at 60

November 27, 2007· 11 Comments

Lev Khariton The attractive countryside of Meudon is a 15-minute train ride from Paris. Here I came to interview Boris Spassky just three days before his 60th birthday. He reminiscences about his life, his chess career, his rivals and friends. Dear Grandmaster, I should…

Arimaa, Computers and the Future of Chess

February 6, 2015· 7 Comments

Andy Lewis A common Arimaa starting position Anyone for a variation on chess? Is chess played out? This concern has been voiced periodically over the history of the game, and the challenges has never been more profound: over-refinement of opening-theory; perfection of endgame technique;…

Sarah Hurst: 20 Questions

January 8, 2015· 7 Comments

Sarah Hurst was a regular contributor to CHESS magazine in the 1990s and also edited the British Chess Federation’s newsletter, ChessMoves. Her fine book Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld is now available on Kindle at a bargain price. Since 2002 she has been translating…

Buy all the back issues

March 4, 2020· 6 Comments

“a must-read for everyone who doesn’t take chess too seriously; it’s especially a must-read for everyone who does take chess seriously!” ChessVibes “. . . very, very entertaining . . . some of the back issues were classics and I have some of them at home ….

Boy George

April 9, 2024· No Comments

© Thomas family collection This is the earliest known photograph of George Thomas (later Sir George). It was taken in Southsea in September 1895 when George was 14 years old. A few weeks earlier he had been a spectator at the great Hastings tournament where…

The Mystery of the Chilled Chess Champ

September 11, 2023· No Comments

Ron Katz* The Carlsen/Niemann/Chess.com dust-up has recently been resolved, but not explained. This fictional explanation fills that gap… “According to this article,” Barb Silver said to her husband, Bernie, “Baby Boomers like us are responsible for inflation.” She was peering over the newspaper she held,…

It’s Really Him

April 23, 2023· No Comments

Nearly fifty years ago CHESS published this irate letter: CHESS (October 1973) It provoked a lively response: CHESS (November 1973) One reader sprang to Mr Lorley’s defence with knowing verve: CHESS (December 1973) Having made his point, Mr Lorley kept a dignified silence. No…

Steinitz the Great and Grumpy

April 10, 2023· No Comments

Adrian Harvey Steinitz in London A Chess Biography with 623 Games Tim Harding 421 pages | 84 photos | hardback | $75.00 Jefferson: McFarland, 2020 For three reasons this reviewer regards Steinitz as the greatest chess player of all time. In the first…

Jon Manley

June 4, 2024

You are very welcome. Andrew Soltis has some excellent material on Spassky's early years in his 'Tal, Petrosian, Spassky and…
→ Commenting on: No Regrets: Boris Spassky at 60

IchessU

May 24, 2024

Thanks for sharing this with us.
→ Commenting on: No Regrets: Boris Spassky at 60

S.B. Cohen

July 19, 2023

An incredibly long article about nothing.
→ Commenting on: Chess and Sex – The Survey

Blair

April 13, 2023

Then you simply don't know Mike Basman RIP
→ Commenting on: Confessions of a Crooked Chess Master – Part 2

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The Tromp Made Easy

Paul Botto

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