Who’ s afraid of the black pieces?
annotations were very recent, so it is unlikely that anyone else had found, or at least widely published, my discovery.
If I was to tell you that I have a defence for Black which has scored 69 % for me in all games, I guess that you would ask:
What is it? Across how many games has that 69 % been scored? What is the general strength of your opponents in those games? Would you recommend it for me?
Let’ s take the questions one at a time.
The defence is the Latvian Gambit, 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 f5.
I started playing it in 1988, and played it in odd games up to 1996, by which point I had played it eight times in league chess and once in a rapidplay tournament, and had scored five wins, two draws and one loss. Since 1999 I played it more regularly and my overall score was Played 35 Won 16 Drawn 16 Lost 3. Not bad, hey?
I played it against a cross-section of my opponents, but it is fair to say that many of them tended to be weaker than me. The Latvian helped me to achieve the healthy plus score that I needed to maintain my grade. Compare that with my average over the same period of 62 % with Black and 65 % with White.
Would I recommend it for others? Clearly, we should choose openings which suit our style, so I would not recommend it for everyone. On the other hand, we can all learn lessons from my success with it.
The Latvian has a reputation as being both 4
In the coming months, I shall reveal several more new discoveries that I have made, some of them in very famous games.
K K K K K
Who’ s afraid of the black pieces?
tactically and positionally suspect. That reputation is fairly well deserved, but only if White knows his stuff and plays accurately. When it is sprung on an unsuspecting opponent, its aggressiveness can occasion a surprisingly muted response. Weak players with little or no book knowledge are often reduced to 3 d3?, which simply hands the initiative to Black. Players who know little about the Latvian shy away from the most critical lines because they don’ t want to be the victim in a game like the one below.
White: Mark Hindle Black: Dave LeMoir Fakenham, 2001
Lemonade
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 f5 3 Bc4 fxe4 4 Nxe5 d5
4... Qg5 leads to a win for White with best play, but can anyone reel it off without any preparation? I prefer the move played, although I’ m pretty sure that Black should not gain enough compensation for the exchange and pawn sacrificed. Over the board, it’ s not so simple for White, and I have scored three wins and one draw in this line.
5 Qh5 + g6 6 Nxg6 hxg6 7 Qxh8 Kf7 8 Qd4 Be6 9 Bb3 Nc6 10 Qe3 Bh6 11 f4 Nge7 12 0 – 0 Nf5 13 Qe1!
Mark Hindle has been playing it all by ear for some time now. I was aware of 13 Qf2, when the queen can become vulnerable on the g1-a7 diagonal. Now I, too, was on my own. The reply 13... Qd6 is given by Kosten in The Latvian Gambit Lives!, but my move also has its points.