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LCB, Issue #102 --, Try the Power of the Italian Game December 01, 2023 |
Try the Power of the Italian GameLapoc Chess Board, Issue #102 -- GOTM #72 learn and play online chess The Italian Game was once the darling of the Masters at elite level chess. In the early to mid-19th Century, at the height of the Romantic Era, this was a popular weapon in the arsenal. It was a vast complex of several major variations, each with many sub-variations and side-lines, all of them highly tactical as was the style of the day. Then Steinitz had a thought, introduced a little thing called positional chess and the Italian Game fell from grace and sank without trace. It seemed like that was that. In recent decades however the system has made something of a comeback albeit with a different look. A number of GMs have worked hard on it and while the old tactical variations have bitten the dust, they've been replaced by new positional ones. That's nice but let's relive the old Italian's former glory as a tactical opening. We go back to 1924 in Antwerp, where the players are Georges Koltanowski up against Arthur Dunkelblum. Try the Power of the Italian GameKoltanowski,Georges - Dunkelblum,Arthur [C55]GotM #72, Antwerp, 1924 [Connaughton, Ken] 1.e4 King's Pawn Game 1...e5 Open Game 2.Nf3 King's Knight Opening 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Italian Game 3...Bc5 (3...Nf6 is the main alternative) 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d4 White gambits a pawn for time and space. 5...exd4 6.e5 d5
7.exf6 (7.exd6 Qxd6 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 Nd8=/+) 7...dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 Qd5 10.Nc3
Taking advantage of the pins on the Black Queen and King. 10...Qf5 Both sides carry threats but White has a safer King. (10...dxc3?? 11.Qxd5+-) 11.Nce4 This central Knight becomes something of an octupus. 11...Bb4 12.c3 dxc3 13.bxc3 Ba5 14.g4
The center of the board is a tricky terrain for the Black pieces. The narrow corridors available to the Black Queen are fraught with danger. 14...Qg6 Inevitably she is forced to a corner from
where her power is practically nullified. 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.f7+ Kxf7?!
(16...Qxf7 was certainly a better choice.) 17.Ng5+ Kg8 The King makes it to the corner but his Rook is on h8 rather than f8. 18.Rxe6 Qd3 Black would like to exchange Queens. 19.Qe1 White would not. 19...Rf8 20.Re8 Qd7 21.Rxf8+ Kxf8 22.Ba3+
White's minor pieces are much stronger than their unfortunate counterparts. 22...Ne7 The defender in chess is always forced to become ever more passive, ever more cramped, while he with the initiative always naturally becomes ever more active, ever more mobile. The other inversely proportional phenomenon witnessed is the increasing harmony of the attacking pieces and the corresponding breakdown of connectivity between the defenders. More space increases the power of chess pieces exponentially, less space makes them a fraction of themselves. 23.Rd1!
Sacrificing the Knight and pawn in order to bring the Rook into the game. 23...Qxg4+ 24.Kf1 Qxg5 Black can pick off this Knight as it does not interfere with the imperative of defending e7. He will find
however the old truism that the Queen is a poor defender. 25.Rd5!
Offering a Rook sacrifice. 25...Qh4 26.Rh5!
And again. White is not interested in the a4-Bishop. His only mission is to divert the Queen from this diagonal and the defense of the hapless e7-Knight. 26...Qf6 27.Rf5!!
For the third time
the sacrifice is offered and this time it cannot be refused. Black resigns. (27.Rf5 Qxf5 28.Qxe7+ Kg8 29.Qe8+ Qf8 30.Qxf8#) 1-0 Koltanowski,Georges - Dunkelblum,Arthur [C55] P.S. If you do not have html based email software and you're using a text only system, you may find that the links are only partially highlighted and may not work. If this is the case, simply copy and paste the entire link into the browser and hit Enter. That should get you where you want to go. Comments, ideas, feedback? I'd be stoked to hear from you. Get in touch See you next month. Ken 
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