10.Qf2 or 10.Qf4 in Gunderam's line

As a follow up from last post on Gerhart Gunderam's line 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.g4 Bg6 8.Qf3 c6 9.g5 Bh5 (diagram), I am checking now whether 10.Qf2 or 10.Qf4 is the better choice.

Previoulsy, I believed 10.Qf2 was the better move  - it leads to a forced game after 10...Ng4 11.Nxg4 Bxg4 12.Bd3. But now, after analysis, I believe black is better after the simple 12...Be7 13.0-0 Bf5 14.d5 g6 and white has less than nothing for the sacrificed pawn.

So let's have a look to 10.Qf4, when black has two responses : 10...Nd5 and 10...Nd7. Let's first check out 10.Qf4 Nd5 11.Qh4 (diagram)

a/ 11...g6 12.Qf2
...a1/ 12...Qe7 13.Ne4 Nd7 14.Nxd7 Qxd7 15.c4 (+=)
...a2/ 12...Qc7 13.Nxd5 (+)
...a3/ 12...f5 13.gxf6 Qxf6 14.Qxf6 Nxf6 15.Bh3 (+=)

b/ 11...Bg6 12.Nxg6 fxg6 13.Qe4 

...b1/ 13...Be7 14.Bh3 (=)

...b2/ 13...Nxc3 14.Qxe6+ Qe7 15.Qxe7 Bxe7 16.bxc3 (+=)

...b3/ 13...Bb4 14.Qxe6+ Qe7 15.Qxe7+ (+=)

...b4/ 13...Nc7 14.Bh3 (+=)

...b5/ 13...Qd7 14.Bh3 (+=)

c/ 11...Nxc3 12.bxc3 

...c1/ 12...g6 13.Qf2 (+=)

...c2/ 12...Bg6 13.Nxg6 fxg6 14.Bh3 (+)

The second line 10.Qf4 Nfd7 11.Be2 Nxe5 12.Bxh5 Ng6 13.Qf2 (diagram) is far more complicated for the attacker ( to be noted is that white also has 13.Bxg6 hxg6 14.Rf1 with equal play )

Black's most promising defense is 13...Bb4 14.Bxg6 Bxc3+ 15.bxc3 hxg6 16.0-0 Qe7 17.Rab1 and white has to prove he has some compensation.

Summary. Both 10.Qf2 or 10.Qf4 do not win by force, but then again, didn't Gunderam predict that already ?

A man with a mission

In column "A subtle difference" we looked at the subtle difference between the Teichmann and Gunderam lines. A small difference indeed, but with important consequences. We learned that, in the Gunderam, white should refrain from the normal "Teichmann" continuation 12.00 and choose 12.Rf1 (diagram) instead in the position occuring after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.g4 Bg6 8.Qf3 c6 9.g5 Nd5 10.Bd3 Qc7 11.Bxg6 hxg6.

It seems to me that black's only reply is 12...Bb4 13.Bd2 00 14.Nxd5 Bxd2 15.Kxd2 cxd5 16.Nxg6 (diagram)

All of these moves seem to be forced for black, so let's look at the above position :

a/ 16...Nc6 17.Nxf8 Nxd4 18.Qd3
...a1/ 18...Qxh2+ 19.Kd1 (=)
...a2/ 18...Nf5 19.Nxe6 (+=)

b/ 16...Rc8 17.Ne5
...b1/ 17...Qxc2+ 18.Ke3 Qf5 19.Qxf5 exf5 20.Rxf5 (=)
...b2/ 17...Nc6 18.Qxf7+ Qxf7 19.Nxf7 Nxd4 20.c3 (=)

c/ 16...Re8 17.Ne5 Nc6 18.Qxf7+ Qxf7 19.Nxf7
...c1/ 19...Re7 20.g6 Nxd5 21.Rae1 (+=)
...c2/ 19...Rf8 20.g6 Nxd5 21.Rae1 (+=)
...c3/ 19...Nxd5 20.Rae1 (+=)

Seems like interesting positions for players with a mission !

A subtle difference

In my earlier blog "Can you believe your eyes", I discovered that the line  1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qf3 c6 10.g5 Nd5 11.Bd3 (diagram) is winning for white.

But, nearly the same position can occur through the Gunderam defense also, eg  1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.g4 Bg6 8.Qf3 c6 9.g5 Nd5 10.Bd3 (diagram). Now this position is different from its Teichmann cousin by just the placement of the h-pawn.

Question. Is black also lost in this Gunderam line ( you would assume so, since the position is the same, no ) ? Answer. No ! Black has an equal game after 10...Qc7 11.Bxg6 hxg6. If white continues 12.00 as in the Teichmann variation, black has 12...Bd6 (diagram).

In the Teichmann line ( with the pawn on h3 ), white now has the basic combination 14.Qxf7+ Qxf7 15.Nxf7 and the bishop falls as both bishop and rook are attacked. But in the Gunderam, this is not possible as the bishop has an intermediate check on h2, saving the bishop from its aggressor, eg 13.Qxf7+ Qxf7 14.Nxf7 Bxh2+. Black then even ends up with the better game !


So 12.00 is not recommend and white should choose the alternative 12.Rf1 ( with an equal game after 12...Bb4 )


So we see that, at least in this line, the Teichmann offers more chances for white than the related Gunderam lines. Expert knowledge is obviously required to deal with this !

A real refutation - help needed.

In our  search for the refutation of the Blackmar Diemer, we come to a line that will surprise many as the defender deliberately plays an anti-positional move, blocking his centre.

In the Gunderam defense, black may surprise the attacker after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 c6 7.g4 and now, insteading of retreating to g6, black plays the anti-positional move 7...Be6 (diagram)

In my book "Attack with the Blackmar Diemer", I had suggested 8.Bc4, but this seems not optimal now, as black can get rid of his badly placed bishop and free his game after 8...Bxc4 9.Nxc4, eg 9...b5 10.Ne5 b4 11.Na4 and white's position resembles that of a complete beginner.

But what are the alternatives ? Let's look at 8.g5. Black has two reasonable replies : 8...Nd5 and 8...Nfd7.

a/ 8...Nd5 9.Ne4 (diagram)

Doesn't look good for white, does it ? Black has simple killer moves, such as Nd7 or g6 to develop quickly


b/ 8...Nfd7 9.Nd3 (diagram)

A strange position occurs. It looks like white's game is that of a complete beginner, with black also not doing very well... One thing is for sure - black has made less committing moves than white ! Na6 and g6 seem once again simple development moves that give black the advantage.


So dear BDG friends, how do you assess this line ? Scheerer had called 7...Be6 the main line, and his analysis confirmed that the lines are "quite solid for black, and it is difficult to find a clear way for the advantage for White here.". I would go even further and use the "R" word !

The Blackmar Diemer forces the opponent to make mistakes.

I said it before, the Blackmar Diemer gambit forces your opponent to make mistakes. Playing our beloved gambit against a perfect opponent is difficult, but humans tend to react strangely when faced with the fierce attacking lines. And then they make mistakes. Why ? I dont know - I am not into chess psychology...

That's what happenened yesterday to me into my game in the Belgian league. I had to win as our team was avoiding to be transfered to a lower league. Luckily my young ( and promising ) opponent was not immune to chess psychology.

Guido De Bouver - Sander Devriendt
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5
The Gunderam defense.

6.Ne5 Nbd7
Black challenges the knight on e5 immediately.

7.Qf3 e6 8.Qxb7 Bd6 ( diagram )
Ah, chess psychology at work. Black realizes he should develop quickly, but doesnt see the hole at c6. 8...Rb8 or 8...Nxe5 ( see my earlier blog ) are correct.

9.Nc6 Qc8 10.Qxc8
Ah, now I make a mistake also. 10.Ba6 would win, but luckily black is so impressed with my play that he makes a second, decisive mistake.

10...Rxc8 11.Ba6

Now 11...Nb8 would have equalised, but the continuation 11...Nb8 12.Bxc8 Nxc6 13.00 Nxd4 14.Bf4 is hard to see across the board.

11...Ra8 12.Bb7 00 13.Bxa8 Rxa8 14.00 Bxc2 15.Bf4

And I went on to win in 45 moves.

Question. In what opening is the game decided in the first 10 moves ?
Answer. The one and only Blackmar Diemer.

Look who is talking now.

Black has a great counterattack in the Gunderam defense, starting after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.g4 Ne4!

White has nothing other than accepting black's counterattack with 8.gxf5 Qh4+ 9.Ke2

Now we all know that 9...Qf2+ is insufficient after 10.Kd3 Nc5 11.Kc4 (++). Also, 9...f6 allows for 10.Nf3 Qf2+ 11.Kd3 Nc5+ 12.Kc4 (+)

That brings us to the only black ninth move that is not simply loosing : 9...Nc6. Black has a great double attack lateron.

9...Nc6 10.Nxc6 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Qe4+
The "pointe" of the black attack – a great triple attack.

12.Kf2 Qxh1 13.Na5
The starting point of our analysis. White has a bishop and knight for the rook and a pawn. In addition, white's pawns on f5 and h2 are loose. But white can emerge with a small advantage after careful play.

a/ 13...Qxh2+ 14.Bg2
...a1/ 14...Qh4+ 15.Kf1 (+=)
...a2/ 14...Bd6 15.Nxb7 (+=)
...a3/ 14...Be7 15.Qh1 (+=)
...a4/ 14...Rb8 15.Qh1 (+=)

b/ 13...000 14.fxe6 fxe6 15.Qf3 Qxf3 16.Kxf3 (+=)

c/ 13...Qd5 14.Nc4
...c1/ 14...Qxf5+ 15.Kg1 (+=)
...c2/ 14...Bd6 15.Nxd6+ (+=)
...c3/ 14...Be7 15.Qf3 (+=)
...c4/ 14...000 15.fxe6 (+)

Now it seems to me that the majority of these positions is quite unclear to me, even if Houdini gives white a small advantage. But white surely has to play decent chess as to deal with black's material advantage. White's advantage lies in the exposed position of the black queen, but still, the material imbalance ( rook against two pieces ) leads to a difficult game for both players.

Still, it is black who took the initiative and dictates the game from move 7 onwards - a feeling most gambiteers will not like that much.

So sad.

The Gunderam defense is often a hard nut to crack for the attacker. I found this last weekend during an online blitz game, where I failed to find the correct continuation.

I was confident when my opponent deviated from the normal Gunderam defense 6...e6 7.g4 and 6...c6 7.g4 by playing the "inferior" 6...Nbd7, attacking my knight on e5 right away. My book "Attack with the Blackmar Diemer" had listed the line as (+=), however, but now it seems this might have been more than a bit too optimistic.

1.d4 d5 e 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7
This is where things start. "Normal" black moves are 6...e6 and 6...c6

7.Qf3 e6
Other black moves are clearly inferior. 7...g6 is punished by 8.Qxb7 (+=) whilst 7...Bg6 8.Qxb7 is even worse.

8.Qxb7 Nxe5

a/ 8...Rb8 9.Qxa7 ( diagram ) is an alternative

...a1/ 9...Bc5 10.dxc5 Nxe5 11.Bb5+ (+=)
...a2/ 9...c5 10.Nb5 (+=)
...a3/ 9...Bb4 10.Nc6 (+)
...a4/ 9...Be4 10.Nxd7 (+=)
...a5/ 9...Ne4 10.Nxd7 (+)
...a6/ 9...Be7 10.Nc6 (++)
...a7/ 9...Bd6 10.Nc6 (+)
...a8/ 9...Ra8 10.Qb7
......a8a/ 10...Rb8 11.Qf3 (=)
......a8b/ 10...Nxe5 11.dxe5 (=)
...a9/ 9...Nxe5 transposes below

9.dxe5
The starting point of our analysis. White optically looks better, but that is not the case.

b/ 9...Rb8 10.Bb5+ Nd7 11.Qxa7 ( diagram )
Also possible is 11. Bxd7+ Kxe7 12.Qxa7 but 12...Qh4+ 13.g3 Qc4 gives black an equal game as the rook on b8 cant be taken

...b1/ 11...Ra8 12.Qd4 (+=)
...b2/ 11...Bb4 12.Bxd7 Kxd7 13.00 (+-)
...b3/ 11...Rxb5 12.Nxb5
......b3a/ 12...Bc5 A killer move 13.Nxc7+ ( 13.Qxc7 is not possible because of 13...Qh4+ )
.........b3a1/ 13...Kf8 14.Qa8 Qxa8 15.Nxa8 Be4 16.Nc7 Bxg2 17.Rf1 Bxf1 18.Kxf1 (=)
.........b3a2/ 13...Ke7 14.Qa5 (+=)
......b3b/ 12...Qh4+ 13.Qf2 Qb4+ 14.Nc3 Bc5 15.Qf4 (=)
......b3c/ 12...Bb4+ 13.c3 Bc5 14.Nxc7+ Kf8 15.Qa8 (=)

c/ 9...Nd5 10.Qc6+ (++)

d/ 9...Nd7 10.Bb5+ Rb8 transposing to the line (b) above

The alternative continuation in line (b) 10.Qc6 Rb8 11.Bb5 Rb6 12.Qf3 does also not offer anything for the attacker, since 12...Rxb5 13.Nxb5 Nxe5 is equal.

So it seems the "inferior" 6...Nbd7 in the Gunderam defense gives black an equal game, provided the defender finds the killer moves 11...Rxb5 12.Nxb5 Bc5.

It is so sad to realise Blackmar Diemer gambit does not always lead to a forced win...

New exciting Belka-Neumeyer line

I was playing in the Belgian interclub competition yesterday in Gent ( the city in Belgium where Diemer played several tournaments ) and faced a tough Gunderam defense. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the correct continuation.

De Bouver - Van Den Bossche, 23-OCT-2011
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.g4 Be4 8.Nxf7 !!

The start of the hugely complex Belka-Neumeyer line.

8...Kxf7 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Qf3+ Nf6 11.Qxb7

It is widely known that the Belka-Neumeyer line is incorrect against correct play, but here my opponent played something new, a line that did not appear in my book, so it must be inferior, I said to myself, right ...?

Now my opponent played surprisingly 11...Nxg4 !!
The purpose of this move is to give room for the queen check on h4.

12.Qf3+ Nf6 13.Qxa8 Nd5 !!
A second surprise. Black could have played this move already on move 11, so black effectively won the g4 pawn for a tempo.

I now played 14.Be2 (?? - 14.h4 should have won) but came under heavy fire after 14...Qh4+ 15.Kd1 Qxd4+ 16.Bd3 Be7 17.Rf1+ Bf6 18.Qb7. The game eventually ended in a draw, which was a very lucky result for me, since I was completely outplayed by black.

But how should white proceed after 11...Nxg4 or 11...Nd5 ?

After 11...Nxg4, I believe the right move is 12.Qxa8 (diagram), since 12.Qf3+ Nf6 13.Qxa8 allows for 13...Qxd4 with a small black advantage.

a/ 12...Qh4+ 13.Kd2
...a1/ 13...Qf2+ 14.Kc3
......a1a/ 14...Bc5 15.a4 (+=)
......a1b/ 14...Nd7 15.Qc6 (+-)
......a1c/ 14...Na6 15.Kb3 (+-)
......a1d/ 14...Qe1+ 15.Bd2 Bb4+ 16.Kb3 Qxd2 17.Qf3+ (+-)
......a1e/ 14...c5 15.Qxb8 (+-)
...a2/ 13...Nf2 14.Qf3+ (+-)

b/ 12...Qxd4 13.Qf3+ Nf6 14.Be2 (+=)

The other option 11...Nd5 12.Qxa8 is better for black :

c/ 12...Qh4+ 13.Kd1 Qxg4+ 14.Be2 Qxd4+ (=), transposing in the game I played

d/ 12...Bb4+ 13.c3 Qh4+ 14.Kd1 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Qf2 16.Bd2 (=)

Still, I have to note that this Belka-Neumeyer line is quite dubious, since it is actually refuted. The simple 8.Nxe4 Nxe4 9.Qf3 is probably a much better continuation for the attacker.