Monday 16 November 2009

The Sokolsky

Having just finished an article on 1.b4 for Australian Correspondence Chess Quarterly, I've come to the conclusion I'm not a big fan of the opening. Possibly it is because it is one of the few off-beat openings I haven't tried, but to me White just doesn't get enough out of it. Staking a claim on the queenside is a little premature, given that the centre is yet to be contested.
However it does have its devotees so here is a game where White manages to grab more than a fair share of the centre by gambiting two pawns and quickly crushing Black.

Zylla,Johannes (2267) - Yeung,Chun Keung (1642) [A00]
WSTT/3/06/Semifinal 1 - Sokolsky Openin ICCF, 25.04.2008

1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 f6 3.e4 Bxb4 4.Bc4 Ne7 5.f4 A line suggested by Bobby Fischer. 5...exf4 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.a3 Bd6 8.Nf3 [RR 8.d4 c5 9.Nd2 Nc6 10.Nb3 Nxd4 11.Nxd4 cxd4 12.Bxd4 Qc7 13.Bb3 Be5 14.Bxe5 fxe5 15.Qe2 Qc3+ 0-1 Hasler,U (1993)-Coelho,W/ICCF Email 2000] 8...Qe7 9.0-0 Kd8 10.d4N [RR 10.Nc3 c6 (RR 10...Ne5 11.Ba2 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Be5 13.Rad1 Nc6 14.Kh1 Nd4 15.Qd3 c6 16.Nd5 cxd5 0-1 Simmelink,J-Engbersen,J/corr 1991) 11.d4 Bc7 12.Rad1 d6 13.e5 Nd7 14.exd6 Qxd6 15.Rfe1 Qf8 16.Kh1 f5 17.d5 c5 18.Ng5 Nde5 19.Ba2 Bd7 20.d6 Bxd6 21.Nb5 Bxb5 22.Bxe5 Kc8 23.Bxd6 Qf6 24.Bf7 Rd8 Bonte-Yperen,B/NLD/C/BV83/79 1983/1-0] 10...c6 11.Bd3 aiming to win a piece with e5. 11...Qe8 12.e5 fxe5 13.Nbd2! exd4 14.Bxd4 Qf7 15.Bc4 [15.Nc4 was even stronger. 15...Bc7 16.Bxg6+-] 15...Qf8 16.Ng5 b5 17.Nf7+ Kc7 18.a4! Ba6 19.axb5 cxb5 20.Rxa6! Nxa6 21.Ne4 bxc4 22.Qa5+ 1-0

3 comments:

Paul said...

I play the Sokolsky and I like it. I have IM Lapshun's book on the opening which is a good introduction to it.

Unknown said...

Well, among very many other things, the idea is Tartakower's, not Fischer's.

Anonymous said...

poor my game (by Yeung Chun Keung)