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| From | Message | Posted by jstevens1 nsa-hitachi.com
7/31/2008 15:41:58 Play online chess | Subject: The Latvian Gambit
Message: Hi everyone, Ion and I decided to run through the Latvian Gambit. I played the black pieces and lost in a game An Expert Lesson in Concentration of Forces. You will find this game in the public annotations gallery.
I will be interested to hear your views on the Latvian.
Cheers and bye for now.
Joanne
| Posted by ionadowman nsa-hitachi.com
8/01/2008 03:02:54 Play online chess | The Latvian has long ...
Message: ... been one of my favorite openings - ever since reading Harry Golombek's assessment: "as unsound as it is violent". But that's just my contrary nature.
It is, however, a very risky line to adopt against a "booked" player. Against one who hasn't seen it before, it can be lethal. Keene and Levy had this to say: "If White puts a foot wrong he can easily find himself battered to a premature death."
They recommended the approach I took in the ionadowman vs jstevens1 game - a line much analysed by Paul Keres.
However, I suspect Harry Golombek's recommendation 3.Nxf5 is the wiser and safer choice. Several years ago I played Black in the 3.Bc4 line and, yep, White went wrong, and, yep, got battered to a premature death.
On the other hand, I tried it against a strong player in a club game in Auckland in the early 70's and this time I forgot the theory and got axed. I think the game might have been published in a North Shore journal of some sort...
Although I have a fondness for the opening, I haven't played it often, and not at all on GK (except this one time from the White side).
Cheers,
Ion
| Posted by marinvukusic nsa-hitachi.com
8/01/2008 05:40:56 Play online chess | Lets put it like this
Message: If you play it in OTB, you are likely to get published in a journal :)
I like the Golombek's quote!
I started looking at 3.Bc4 when I was first trying to create a repertoire, but eventually settled on 3.ef5 as the primary choice (it is actually not a bad move, but is less popular than 3.Ne5). ——— One Coach, Many Young Chess Champions — In the last five years, two Americans have won world youth chess championships: Daniel Naroditsky, who took the under-12 title in 2007, and Steven Zierk, the under-18 champion last year. Both are from Northern California, and at one point or another, they both had the same coach, Michael Aigner. They are not the only chess champions who have been trained by Aigner. Others include Gregory Young, who tied for first in the 2008 United States Junior Championship, and Yian Liou, who tied for first in the United States Cadet Championship (for players under 16) last year. He has also coached Saratoga High School to six straight California chess titles. Aigner, 36, is a master, and ...
Posted by chessnovice nsa-hitachi.com
8/01/2008 08:59:34 Play online chess | ...
Message: Like most openings, I only know the Latvian very loosely from the book. Ion made a good and interesting point that the Latvian is one of the rare instances of an unusual "out-of-book" type of opening that's been pretty well covered in the books. The opening rarely fails to make the position an interesting one, but my preference towards unstudied lines has led me to not enjoy playing the Latvian Gambit very often. ——— Solving Bobby Fischer (book review) — In the summer of 1972, the world’s attention was directed toward Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, to watch a championship chess match. Called “the Match of the Century,” the contest between the Russian chess champion, Boris Spassky, and the American challenger, Bobby Fischer, attracted that attention because of its cold war implications. But people were also fascinated by the mercurial Fischer — a prototypical genius whose incessant demands and unpredictability were more associated with the behavior of a diva than with what one expects from a master of a demanding game of logic. Fischer won the chess match in brilliant style, setting off a wave of enthusiasm for ...
Posted by bogg nsa-hitachi.com
8/05/2008 11:43:41 Play online chess | ionadowman
Message: One of my favorite chess stories centers on a Latvian Gambit game. Many years ago a strong master, Andrew Karklins if memory serves, happened into an Omaha chess tournament. He decided to have a little fun and play the Latvian Gambit against a Lincoln 'B' player, I guess figuring it didn't matter much what he played. The 'B' player blew him off the board. The master failed to consider that the Latvian Gambit Magazine was published out of Lincoln and that the 'B' player in question was a close friend of the publisher.
OOPS!
CTCampbell ——— Vasily Ivanchuk and Nigel Short produce memorable finish in Gibraltar — Gibraltar, backed by Tradewise Insurance, is the world's strongest open chess event next to Moscow Aeroflot. Its latest edition produced a memorable race as Vasily Ivanchuk and Nigel Short finished clear of the field with 9 and 8.5/10. The Ukrainian won their individual game, both had very high rating performances and Ivanchuk jumped to No5 in the world. Tradewise Gibraltar overlaps with the great Dutch chess event at Wijk and Zee and its dates are close to Aeroflot, yet it continues to gain in popularity due to the Rock's benign January climate, its high prizes and its efficient and friendly organisers. Its awards for women start with £10,000 for first, more than the winning man receives at ...
Posted by ionadowman nsa-hitachi.com
8/05/2008 13:30:16 Play online chess | bogg ...
Message: ... I recall a vaguely similar story from an Olympiad sometime in the 1970s or 80s- except that the roles were reversed in more ways than one. In the match against South Africa (I think it was) Larry Evens had White; his opponent played a Latvian.
Mr Evans went a bit wrong and found himself faced with a tremendous attack. When Mikhail Tal got wind of the situation and started hovering around the board - no doubt with the view of publishing a tactical brilliancy pulled off by an amateur against a GM - it looked all up with White. But Black began to go wrong. The quick win became a not-so-quick win, then a draw, then a loss. The GM escaped with the full point!
No fairy tales there. then.
Cheers,
Ion ——— King Tut in Chess Puzzles — King Tutankhamun, or simply King Tut, is the most famous Egyptian pharaoh. He was called the boy-king since he was only nine-years-old when his 10-year reign began in 1,333 B.C. He died at the age of 19 and his tomb, undisturbed for 3,245 years, was well-preserved when it was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. King Tut's golden burial mask became the symbol of ancient Egypt. But how did he make it into chess? Protecting a king is vital in every chess game and pawns are best suited to do the job. When the pawns surround the king in chess problems and studies, we see some beautiful and astonishing creations. Entombing the king became a popular theme among chess composers ...
Posted by loreta nsa-hitachi.com
8/07/2008 03:57:51 Play online chess | I gave up
Message: I found GK when I was searching some information about Latvian... Here, at beginning I've played a few games using that opening.... Later I gave up with it. Main reason - 3. Nxe5 is quite strong and "booked" opponent creates difficulties to Black too often.
Anyway, I've still tried it for next couple years in rapid games (blitz) - and it's a good surprise weapon for unprepared opponent. ——— Iranian Claims Chess Record — To the intense rivalry between Israel and Iran add another facet: the game of chess. In a literal game of one-upmanship, an Iranian chess grandmaster played 614 people simultaneously on Tuesday and Wednesday at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran in an attempt to break a world record set by an Israeli chess grandmaster last October. According to a report in Agence France-Presse, the Iranian, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, 28, won 590 games, lost 8 and drew 16 in an exhibition that took 25 hours. The Israeli grandmaster, Alik Gershon, 30, played 523 games over 19 hours, beating 454, losing 11 and drawing 58. Mr. Gershon broke the previous record set by ...
Posted by lighttotheright nsa-hitachi.com
8/07/2008 11:10:54 Play online chess |
Message: I would never play it on GK. But yes, it is a good surprise weapon in blitz. The Danish gambit is another opening that it good in blitz but not on GK.
| Posted by grundnorm nsa-hitachi.com
11/17/2008 10:53:25 Play online chess | On the contrary
Message: I have played the Latvian on GK a number of times and have a winning record with it (including a win against a 1900+ opponent). Of course this is merely anecdotal support, but I will continue to use it for now.
Please see my annotated game 'I don't care for refutation - the Latvian gambit.' in the public list.
Cheers
Samie
| Posted by blake78613 nsa-hitachi.com
11/17/2008 11:50:58 Play online chess |
Message: The Danish Gambit is sound, Black can draw against it if he knows his stuff. But that is probably ultimately true of any opening.
The Latvian is considered unsound; but if I were facing it over the board I would play 3 Nxe3 and try for superior development, rather than trying to refute it.
| Posted by ionadowman nsa-hitachi.com
11/17/2008 12:16:55 Play online chess | grundnorm...
Message: ...a crushing miniature. For mine, very reminscent of a club game many years ago... (A game I have posted before maybe?)
White: ZS Black: Self; Wellington, March 1979.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 fxe4 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.d4 Qxg2
So far, so book. Now, it's worthwhile knowing what to do against White's next move...
6.Rf1? d5! 7.Bxd5 Nf6 8.Bf7+ Ke7 9.Bh5 Bh3 10.Be2 Nbd7
11.Nxd7 Kxd7 12.f3 Qxh2 13.Rf2 Qg1+ 14.Bf1 Re8
White's position makes a peculiar impression!
w
15.f4 e3 16.Rf3 e2 17.Qxe2 Bb4+ 18.c3 Rxe2+ 19.Kxe2 Bxf1+
20.Rxf1 Re8+ 21.Kd2 Qxf1 22.Kc2 Re2+ 23.Kb3 Qxc1 0-1.
White could, of course, have resigned any time after the diagram position.
| Posted by blake78613 nsa-hitachi.com
11/17/2008 15:45:11 Play online chess |
Message: It's interesting that Keene and Levy in early editions of "An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player" claimed that by following Kere's analysis, White could be certain of a winning position; but when they updated the book in 1994 they recommended 3 Nxe5.
| Posted by grundnorm nsa-hitachi.com
11/17/2008 16:45:01 Play online chess | ionadowman
Message: That game made me smile, with the e pawn really over achieving! And another comatose Q-side.
| Posted by schnarre nsa-hitachi.com
11/18/2008 00:44:41 Play online chess |
Message: Kon Grivainis has written a good deal on the Latvian Gambit over the years (alas, I haven't been able to get my hands on enough). With careful handling, Black gets at least a fighting game every time! Despite scorn from many circles, it accumulates points even now.
My own assessment of the opening is that it is not so much unsound as it is unforgiving. One mistake from either player & it's curtains! This all or nothing nature allows for some exciting, indeed beautiful, games!
| Posted by ionadowman nsa-hitachi.com
11/18/2008 01:41:09 Play online chess | I recall on a different thread...
Message: ... commenting on a near disaster Larry Evens had on the White side of a Latvian at some Olympiad or other in the '70s, I think. I'm pretty sure, now that I see it, that your pal Grivainis was on the White side of that game. Unfortunately, having got Evans on the ropes, Grivainis couldn't quite find the knockout blow, gradually lost the thread missed or declined to take divers drawing options, and eventually lost.
I have an early copy of Keene and Levy book mentioned by blake78613 and indeed it was as fulsome as stated. However, I was aware it wasn't quite as comprehensive as it might have been. There might well be a rather dark cloud hanging over the 3.Bc4 line these days.
| Posted by ionadowman nsa-hitachi.com
11/18/2008 20:59:12 Play online chess | Oops -
Message: Grivainis had the Black pieces. Of course he did... I'll be confusing light from reft next. At any rate blake78613 has posted the game on the annotated games list if you want to play through the moves. Evans went in for the "King's Gambit Reversed" line, and got himself into really hot water...
| Posted by ketchuplover nsa-hitachi.com
11/19/2008 06:55:13 Play online chess |
Message: That is one wild opening.
| Posted by ccmcacollister nsa-hitachi.com
11/19/2008 23:01:38 Play online chess | Ion / Schnarre . . .
Message: Isn't Kon Grivainis a quite highly rated Postal Chess player ...? Or once was, if retired now?
Brings to mind the game of Fischer with Berliner. Trying to recall if it was also he who played
Penrose from England!? Of course, Fischer himself, and Keres were at one time Postal Chess
players as well. And Fischer apparently thought highly enough of Corr. play to remark what a
great instructor of Chess was WC (of postal play) Purdy, from Australia.
Believe I will start a thread on players that have gone both ways . . .
| Posted by schnarre nsa-hitachi.com
11/20/2008 15:06:37 Play online chess | Yes
Message: Among Grivainis' works is 'The Latvian Gambit Made Easy'--though not an very in-depth work, it was easy reading. I still want to get his original book on that opening. He analyzed practically every avenue of it.
I've not seen him in the tournament circuit for some time though, so I'm not sure if he's retired or not.
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