Norman van Lennep vs Ernst Varain (1894) Variation from the Norm

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Norman van Lennep vs Ernst Varain
"Variation from the Norm" (game of the day Mar-24-2009)
9th German Chess Congress (1894), Leipzig GER, Sep-13
Modern Defense: King Pawn Fianchetto (B06) · 1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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sac: 13.Qxh5	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

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Mar-24-09		wouldpusher: 10. ... ♘h5? and 12. ... f6? led to a really awkward K-side position.

Mar-24-09		parmetd: at least its a pretty final mate.

Mar-24-09		cheeseplayer: white knew how to end the game from 17.f5 and was counting on 17... eXf5 too! nice play! i must admit i liked how he played 13.Qxh5 and then hxg5 opening the h-file for the rook and the queen! just nice play! black knight jumping??? 4...Nf6 then 6... Ne8 then 9... Nf6 i felt as if he was nervous.. didnt want to attack..

Mar-24-09		An Englishman: Good Evening: Whilst Black's defense was so 19th Century (i.e., nonexistent), take note of White's excellent concept of deferring the move Nf3. He was able to advance his own plan of f2-f4 and a pawn storm while preventing any trouble from either ...Bg4 or ...Ng4. Then of course, Black saved him the trouble with ...Ne8?

Mar-24-09		YoungEd: I agree withe <cheeseplayer> that 17. f5 is a nice move. White wans to win with g6, but at move 17 that won't work because moving the Black queen can protect the h7 square after the bishop moves from g7. 17. f5 enables the subsequent ♘d5, which stops the Black queen from defending h7. Nice!

Mar-24-09		andymac: 23. Re8+ wins, but I don't see the mate. Is there a forced one here after 23. ... Kd7?

Mar-24-09		Dr. J: <YoungEd> If 17 g6(?) then not 17 ... Bf6? 18 e5, but rather 17 ... Rd8 giving the Black king an escape path. <andymac> 22 Rh8+ Ke7 23 f8/Q+ Bxf8 24 Rh7+ Kd8 25 Bg5+ Be7 26 Rh8+ Kd7* 27 Qe8+ Ke6 28 Qxe7# is the forced mate. (Side variations are easy.) The point of the maneuver is to keep the Black king from escaping via c6. * (or 26 ... Qg8 27 Qxg8+ Kd7 28 d5 mates next move.)

Mar-24-09		NewLine: This game is a mismatch. I prefer a match between players with the same level...

Mar-24-09		newzild: Great pun. Rubbish game, though. I really wish chessgames.com would give us quality games rather than just trying to be clever with puns.

Mar-24-09		Mulyahnto: <NewLine>,<newzild>, in a way true, but it has some nice tactics. Also, I would say the gross majority of Morphy's games are like this one, (uneven player strength, low quality play by one player), so I'm hesitant to criticize the selection on those criteria.

Mar-24-09		Mulyahnto: nice deflections on 17.f5 and 22.Rh8+

Mar-24-09		Mulyahnto: seems like 12...f6 is the decisive mistake. 12...h6 would have equalized. If 13. Qxh5 then 13...hxg5 14.hxg5 Re8. Or 13. Nf3, and white may have a slight positional advantage.

Mar-24-09		kevin86: I like this one. White's attack was strong!

Mar-24-09		Samagonka: There's something about this game that makes me dislike it. I think <NewLine> discovered it already.

Mar-24-09		Ghizza: <I really wish chessgames.com would give us quality games rather than just trying to be clever with puns.> I agree.

Mar-24-09		Once: Nice play by white, but black did rather roll over to have his tummy tickled. I really can't believe in 10...Nh5 voluntarily allowing white to open lines against his castled king. Having said that, I enjoyed the white sac of the Ng5 to open the h file. 17. f5 was also fun to allow the remaining knight into the game (although I think 17. g6 would also have won).

Mar-24-09		keracim: Very nice.

Mar-24-09		sneaky pete: <This game is a mismatch.> Maybe so, but 3 points in defence of Varain. In this game he tried (probably following Louis Paulsen) a system that came en vogue only more than half a century later and one shouldn't expect him to grasp at once all its requirements. If black misplays the Pirc or modern defence against an alert attacker, his game will always look horrible. Second, Varain had won a preliminary group, and tied with Van Lennep in the winner's group (their first game being drawn). This was the play off game, the winner of which would be rewarded with the master title. Third, a year earlier, at the 8th congress of the German chess federation, Varain had beaten no less than Jaques Mieses (soon in this theatre). From the same Leipzig 1894 Siegergruppe another game by Van Lennep that is a real mismatch. Black is M. Nauhaus. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bd7 6.Nc3 Nxd4 7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.Qxd4 Nf6 9.O-O Be7 10.b3 O-O 11.Bb2 Qc6 12.Nd5 Qd7 13.Rad1 Kh8 (preparing to secure g7) 14.Rd3 Rg8 15.Rf3 c5 16.Qd3 Nxd5 17.Qxd5 f6 18.Rh3 ... and now black sets the scene for a Monday puzzle with 18... Raf8 click for larger view

Mar-24-09		WhiteRook48: 22 Rh8+ brilliant!

Mar-24-09		soberknight: What a spectacular ending. White sacrifices the rook, then he can get a new queen and mate with the two queens.

Mar-24-09		Amarande: <soberknight> I never even thought of promoting that pawn! :) Much more elegant: 22 ... Bxh8 23 Qg8+ Ke7 24 Bg5+! and no matter which of the three ways Black chooses to get out of check, there follows 25 Qe8#, with no ugly promoted pieces! Of course, if 22 ... Ke7, then we need the pawn, apparently - 23 Bg5+ Bf6 24 f8Q+ and mate next move by Qfe8.

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