KEG: This 12th round game was the prequel to the thrilling 14th round draw between Halprin and Pillsbury, which is excellently described and discussed in the introduction to Munich 1900 by <Phony Benoni> Going into the 12th round, Pillsbury and Maroczy trailed Schlechter by a half-point. Schlechter and Maroczy were held to draws in this round, so by winning Pillsbury moved into a tie for first. Pillsbury--playing the Berlin Defense-- unveiled an innovation on move nine against the unusual 6. dxe5 variation. Wolf failed to find the best retort. By contrast, Halprin in Round 14 had been primed by Maroczy and was ready with a counter-innovation. 1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nf6
The Berlin Defense, a popular choice at Munich 1900. 4. 0-0 Nxe4
5. d4 Nd6
A standard positions in the Berlin Defense:
 click for larger view6. BxN as played by Kasparov in his 2000 match against Kramnik, is "normal." As Phony Benoni points out, Maroczy played 6. BxN against Pillsbury at Munich 1900 and managed to draw after Pillsbury had obtained the better game. Since Pillsbury was obviously well-prepared to meet 6. BxN, Wolf tried what Phony Benoni calls "a more complicated line." 6. dxe5
"Amusing" -- (MCO-13).
"This seeming sacrifice, in which the piece is recovered almost at once, is the idea of a German amateur L'Hermet of Magdebur...[it] gives White no tangible advantage." (Sergeant/Watts in their book on Pillsbury). While the text is indeed cute, the more usual 6. BxN seems better. Notably, Kasparov in his 2000 match--who was trying to find a way to crack Kramnik's Berlin Defense--never once played this variation, sticking with 6. BxN. 6... NxB
7. a4
Tartakower-Du Mont in their commentary condemn 7. c4 because of 7...d6, but this line is not significantly worse than the text. The "amusing" aspect of this variation is that while Black is temporarily up a piece, his Knight on b5 is trapped. 7... d6
As Tartakower-Du Mont correctly note, neither 7...Nbd4 nor 7...Nd6 are improvements on the text. MCO-13 claims that 7...Nbd4 yields equal chances. 8. e6
"The exploits begin. Far more prosaic would be the continuation: 8. axN Nxe5 9. Re1 (9. Qd5 is a good and perhaps superior move) Be7 10. NxN dxN 11. QxQ+ KxQ 12. Rxe5 Bd6 with an even game." (Tartakower--Du Mont). 8. e6, 8. axN, and 8. Bg5 are all reasonable choices. 8... fxe6
As Tartakower-Du Mont further note, Black obtains no advantage with 8...Bxe6 9. axN Ne5 10. Nd4 Bd7 (10...Be7 may be slightly better). 9. axN
The position was now:
 click for larger viewWhite has compensation for the lost pawn: he has castled, has an open a-file on which to operate, and Black has to decide what to do with his threatened c6 Knight. 9... Ne7?!
"This appears to be an innovation by Pillsbury; previously 9...Nb8 was played." (Phony Benoni). The text is an improvement on 9...Nb8. The main alternative is 9...Nb4. 10. Nc3
"Calmly proceeding with his development. Another continuation could be 10. Bg5 Qd7." (Tartakower-Du Mont). The text looks best. It is not clear that White has fully adequate compensation for the pawn after 10. Bg5 h6. 10... Ng6
"Hoffer claimed that 10...Nf5 was better and would even make the defense sound." (Sergeant-Watts) Both the text and 10...Nf5 are decent choices. In either case, White has reasonable compensation for the pawn (10...Nf5 11. Nd4). 11. Ng5
"An expedition with far-reaching consequences. The sequel can be looked upon as a beautiful problem evolved in practical play." (Tartakower-Du Mont). All very romantic. But 11. Qd4 looks best and seems to give White at least equal chances. 11... Be7
12. Qh5
12. f4 and 12. Qg4 were interesting and arguably better options. 12... BxN
13. BxB Qd7
This left:
 click for larger viewAs I will discuss in my next post on this game, from here the fireworks began both here and in Pillsbury's 14th round game. |