Polish:Orangutan:Sokolsky:Hunt Opening
1.b4
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Polish Opening also called as Orangutan Opening whose most famous use was by Tartakower against Maroczy in the New York 1924 Chess tournament on March 21, 1924. This opening seems to have been suggested by an orangutan named “Susan” and hence the name. The polish opening involves white to attack forth black along the flanks with white preventing black’s immediate centralisation of the knight to c6. This opening is opposed to the general rule for centralisation of the pieces with white developing the queen side flank attack.
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The below are the openings discussed in the next portions:
6.Schiffler-Sokolsky:Tartakower Gambit
11.Karniewski:Tubingen variation
12. My Views
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1.Birmingham Gambit
1.b4 c5
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Birmingham Gambit is with black responding to white’s flank attack with sacrificing a pawn initially but later on in the game black may try to play for activity or white may give back the pawn for some advantage or neutralize the advantage. If white tries to hold onto the pawn for a longer duration of time then black may in turn have activity which might prove fatal in the long term.
Below is a sample game:
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1.b4 c5 2.bxc5 e5 3.e3 Bxc5
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A standard position that occurs normally in the Birmingham gambit.
4.c4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Nge2 0-0 7.Nd5 d6 8.Nec3 Be6 9.Be2 Bxd5 10.cxd5 Ne7 11.Qb3 Qa5 12.Rb1 Rab8 13.a4
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Further clamping the black’s queen side with a4 preventing further pawn storm immediately.
a6 14.0-0 Rfc8 15.Bc4 Nd7 16.d3 f5 17.Bd2 Qd8 18.Qd1 Bb6 19.Ne2 Kh8 20.Ba2 Nf6 21.Ng3 g6 22.Bb3 Ba5 23.e4 f4 24.Ne2 Bb6 25.Kh1 g5 26.f3 Ng6 27.d4 exd4 28.Bc1 d3 29.Qxd3 Ne5 30.Qd1 Nfd7 31.g3 fxg3 32.Nxg3 Qf6 33.Nf5 Rf8 34.Ba2 Qg6 35.Rb2 h6 36.Rg2 Qh5 37.f4 Qxd1 38.Rxd1 Nf7 39.Bb2+ Kh7 40.Bb1 Rbe8 41.h4 Rg8 42.hxg5 hxg5 43.Rh2+ Kg6 44.Rdd2 Nf6 45.Ne7+
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Creating a sacrifice temporarily to gain an additional piece in the next few moves.
Kg7 46.Nxg8 Rxg8 47.Rdg2 Be3 48.e5 dxe5 49.fxe5
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And the strong pawns overpower black.
2.Schuhler Gambit
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1.b4 c6
2.Bb2 a5
3.b5 cxb5
4.e4……
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In the Schuhler’s gambit, white tries to divert the pawn from the center towards the edge which is actually the opposite of the rule that pawns should always join forces to come towards the center. White also centraliseshis pawns as a compensation to the lost pawn. The knight develops on the d2 square on to c4 if black tries to save his b5 pawn thus making white’s center strong and black has to play on that weakness for the pawn. Below is the game
1.b4 c6 2.Bb2 a5 3.b5 cxb5 4.e4 b4 5.a3 bxa3 6.Nxa3
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The gambit pawn is compensated by lead in development and the additional pawn is nowhere near to advance till the endgame is reached.
.....d6 7.d4 e6 8.Bd3 Nf6 9.Ne2 Be7 10.0-0 Nc6 11.Kh1 Nb4 12.Bb5+ Bd7 13.c3 Bxb5 14.Nxb5 Nc6 15.Ng3 0-0 16.c4 Nb4 17.d5 exd5 18.exd5 Qd7 19.Ra3 Nbxd5 20.Rf3 Nb6 21.Qd4 Na4 22.Ba1 Nc5 23.Nf5 Ne6 24.Qh4 Rfe8
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A beginning of a downhill for black with an unexpected sac incoming.
25.Nxe7+ Qxe7 26.Rxf6 gxf6 27.Bxf6 Qd7 28.f4 Nf8 29.Qg5+
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And the checkmate is inevitable.
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3.Myers Variation
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1.b4 d5
2.Bb2 c6
3.a4
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Myer’s variation involves white expanding on the queen side with black solidifying the center squares. With this variation, black has to play solid and develop his pieces similar to the standard queen’s gambit opening. White banks on the maintaining of pressure on the c pawn and also on creating of a b open file for white. Black tries to play solid and as per the attack by white proceed further. Below is the game
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1.b4 d5 2.Bb2 c6 3.a4 Bg4 4.Nf3 Nd7 5.h3 Bxf3 6.exf3 e6 7.Be2 Ngf6 8.b5
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Black is solid but white tries to weaken the queen side by trying to create a pawn break.
......c5 9.d4 c4 10.0-0 Bd6 11.Nd2 0-0 12.c3 a6 13.Ba3 Bxa3 14.Rxa3 axb5 15.Qa1 Qa5 16.Rb1 bxa4 17.Rxb7 Nb6 18.Qb2 Ra6 19.Bd1 Ne8 20.f4 Nd6 21.Rc7 Nb5
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A blundering move until which an advantage was on the black’s side.
22.Rc5 Nxa3 23.Rxa5 Rxa5 24.Qxa3 Rb8 25.Nf3 Nc8 26.Ne5 Rb1 27.Nd7 Rxd1+ 28.Kh2 h5 29.Qf8+ Kh7 30.Qxf7 Kh8 31.Qxh5+ Kg8 32.Qe8+ Kh7 33.Nf8+ Kh8 34.Nxe6+ Kh7 35.g4 a3 36.Ng5+ Kh6 37.Qh5#
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And a fearsome checkmate!!
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4.Bugayev Attack
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1.b4 e5
2.a3
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Bugayev’s attack is a kind of flank attack for white white bishop eyeing the e pawn. White may proceed on to play along the queen side. Below is the game which demonstrates the Bugayev attack.
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1.b4 e5 2.a3 d5 3.Bb2 Bd6 4.Nf3 Qe7 5.e3 Nf6 6.d4 e4 7.Nfd2 c6 8.c4 0-0 9.Nc3 a6 10.Be2 b5 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.g4 Be6 13.Nb3 Nbd7 14.h4 Nb6 15.g5
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White is banking on the pawn storm to create an attack on the black king with just 3 pieces to create a success of pawn’s attack.
......Nfd7 16.Nc5 f5 17.gxf6 Qxf6 18.Kd2 Nc4+ 19.Bxc4 bxc4 20.Rf1 Qf7 21.Qa4 Bh3 22.Nxd7 Bxd7 23.Qa5 Be6 24.Qb6 Qd7 25.Qa5 Qb7 26.Rae1 Rf3 27.Re2 Raf8 28.Rg1 Bc7 29.Qc5 R3f6 30.Qe7 R8f7 31.Qe8+ Rf8 32.Qe7 R8f7 33.Qe8+ Rf8
Critical Moment!! White denies draw and pays dearly in the next few moves
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34.Qh5 Bd6 35.Rg5 g6 36.Qh6 R8f7 37.Rg2 Bf8 38.Qg5 Rf5 39.Qd8 Rd7 40.Qa5 Be7 41.h5 Bd8 42.Qa4 Rxh5 43.Qd1 Rd6 44.Na4 Qf7 45.Re1 Bh3 46.Qxh5 Bxg2 47.Qe5 Bc7 48.Qg5 Rf6 49.Nc3 Rxf2+ 50.Kc1 Bf1 51.Nxd5 Bd3 52.Ne7+ Kf8 53.Qc5 Qxe7
Black is already a piece up!!
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54.Qc6 Rc2+ 55.Kb1 Re2+ 56.Ka2 Rxe1 57.Qa8+ Kf7 58.Qh8 Bb1+ 59.Ka1 Bc2+ 60.Bc1 Rxc1+ 61.Kb2 Rh1 62.Kxc2 Qh4 63.d5 Qf2+ 64.Kc3 Qxe3+
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And it’s all over.
5.Wolferts Gambit
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1.b4 e5
2.Bb2 c5
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In the Wolfert’s gambit, white creates an active play in the queenside and black creates a pawn sacrifice on e5. If e5 pawn is captured then activity is what black will be having as a compensation. If you would want an example of how the gambit can lead to in a game.
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6.Schiffler-Sokolsky:Tartakower Gambit
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1.b4 e5
2.Bb2 f6
3.e4 Bxb4
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In contrasting to the openings seen above, here white has let go of the b4 pawn which allows white to gain an immediate tempi and counter at the center and there may also be a weakening of the kingside for black player. Moreover there might be a safety concern for black king and might lead to dangerous situation as f7 pawn is already pushed and black has to play such an opening cautiously. Below is an example of the game played in this opening:
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1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 f6 3.e4 Bxb4 4.Bc4 Qe7 5.Nc3 c6 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qh4 d6 8.f4 Be6 9.Bb3 Nd7 10.Nge2 0-0-0 11.0-0 h5 12.Kh1 g5 13.fxg5 fxg5 14.Qf2 Kb8 15.d4 Ngf6 16.Bxe6 Qxe6 17.a3 Ba5 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.Qf5 Qc4 20.Rad1 Rhf8 21.Qxg5 Ng4 22.Qxh5 Nf2+
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White allows for this exchange which leads to a minus position for white.
23.Rxf2 Rxf2 24.h3 Qg8 25.Rg1 Qg7 26.Nd1 Rf7 27.Ne3 Rf2 28.Ng4 Rh8 29.Qxh8+ Qxh8 30.Nxf2 Bb6
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A compensation but the position still quite complex.
31.Rd1 Bxf2 32.Rxd7 Kc8 33.Rf7 Bb6 34.Rf5 Qh4 35.Bc3 Qxe4 36.Rxe5
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Black has a path to victory which is missed in the position and repetition leads to a draw.
....Qxc2 37.h4 Bc7 38.Re8+ Kd7 39.Re3 Bb6 40.Re5 Bc7
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7.Brinckmann Variation
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1.b4 e5
2. Bb2 f6
3.e4 Bxb4
4. Bc4 Nc6
5.f4 Qe7
6.f5 g6
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Brinckmann variation is an extension of the tartakower gambit where black is looking for maintaining the extra pawn that has been captured and exchange the further advanced white’s f pawn. This opening has been played much in the top level.
8.Bucker defense
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1.b4 Na6
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Once b4 is played by white black has an opportunity to play Na6 as he may find the knight better placed on c5 square. This is similar to the Alekhine defense where the knight is and can be pushed around repeatedly from one square to another. The provoking of pawn moves create a lot of open area for the opponent to attack your king. Hence the knight on a6 provokes the pawn moves and the pawn move provocation can be seen in the below game:
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1.b4 Na6 2.b5 Nc5 3.d4 Ne6 4.e4 c5 5.d5 Nc7 6.c4 d6 7.Bd3 e5 8.dxe6 Nxe6 9.Bb2 Be7 10.Nc3 Bf6 11.Nge2 Ne7 12.0-0 Nd4 13.Nf4 g6 14.Kh1 Ne6 15.Nfe2 0-0 16.f4 Ng7 17.e5 dxe5 18.Ne4 Nef5 19.Nxf6+ Qxf6 20.fxe5 Qh4 21.Rf3 Be6 22.Qc2 Rfd8 23.Be4 Rd7 24.Raf1 Rad8 25.Bc1 b6 26.Rf4 Qe7 27.Qa4 Nd4 28.Nc3 Bf5 29.Bxf5 Ndxf5 30.Nd5 Qxe5 31.Re4 Qa1
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Black tries to hold on to the f6 square from the knight fork.
32.Rfe1 Ne6
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Another critical moment when the queen gets trapped for bishop and rook in the next move
33.Bg5 Nxg5 34.Rxa1 Nxe4 35.Re1 Nf2+ 36.Kg1 Nd3 37.Re4 Nb2 38.Qc2 Nxc4 39.Nf6+ Kg7 40.Nxd7
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9.Grigorian Variation
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1.b4 Nc6
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The grigorian variation, the knight is placed on the c6 square unlike a6 square which occurs in the bucker defense. Here too the knight can be pushed around the area of the board and has to be defended well by white failing which the pawn moves made might backfire.
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10.Polish Spike Opening
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1.b4 Nf6
2.Bb2 g6
3.g4
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Black counters the b4 played by white with fianchettoing the bishop on the kingside. The position creates an interesting setup with white challenging the black’ pinned knight with the move g4. This may not be that vital threat but it surely generates exchanges of the dangerous b2 bishop. The sample game demonstrating the polish spike is as below:
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1.b4 Nf6 2.Bb2 g6 3.g4 h6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.h4 d6 6.g5 hxg5 7.hxg5 Rxh1 8.Bxh1 Nh5 9.Bxg7 Nxg7 10.f4 e5 11.e3 Qe7 12.Qe2 Nc6 13.Nc3 Be6 14.Qb5 Rc8 15.Nge2 exf4 16.Nxf4 Nf5 17.Qxb7 Nd8
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Black looses his kingside pawns.
18.Qg2 c6 19.Ne4 Qb7 20.Nf6+ Ke7 21.a3 Qb5 22.Qh2 Qe5 23.Kf2 Nb7 24.Rb1 Ba2 25.Re1 Ng7 26.Rg1 Ne8 27.d4 Qb5 28.Qh7 Nxf6 29.Nxg6+
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A misplayed counter equalizing the position.
.....Kd8 30.gxf6 Qf5+ 31.Bf3 Qxc2+ 32.Kg3 Qxg6+ 33.Qxg6 fxg6 34.b5 Na5 35.bxc6 Nxc6 36.Rh1 Kc7 37.Rc1 d5 38.Kf4 Kd6 39.Kg5 Re8 40.Bg4 Bc4 41.Rh1 Nd8 42.Rh7 Ne6+
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Completely equalizing the position
43.Bxe6 Kxe6 44.Rxa7 Bd3 45.Rc7
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Giving an opportunity for black to convert to win
......Rh8 46.Re7+ Kd6 47.Kf4 Rh4+ 48.Kg3 Re4
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49.Re5 Rxe5 50.dxe5+ Ke6 51.Kf4 Bb5 52.Kg5 Be8 53.Kf4 Ba4 54.Kg5 Be8 55.Kf4 Kf7 56.Kg5 Bd7 57.Kf4 Ba4 58.Kg5 Bc2 59.Kh6 Ba4 60.Kg5 Be8 61.Kf4
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The last mistake by white which gives a chance to win
......Ke6 62.Kg5 Kxe5 63.a4 Ke6 64.a5 Kf7 65.a6 Bc6 66.a7 Ba8
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11.Karniewski:Tubingen variation
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1.b4 Nh6
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Karniewski opening white developing knight to h6 square but does not contain much of the top rated games played in this opening.
The Birmingham gambit might create an opportunity for the white player to create a rather interesting play in the centre. Sometimes also creating a minority attack on the black’s queen side majority while white enjoys the center pawn majority. If you like to play this opening with a weak rook pawn which might sometime lead to a minority attack, then this opening might be suitable for you to play.
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In the schuhler gambit, black has a pawn majority on the queen side and white enjoys a pawn storm at the center. If you are willing to play for compensations and acticity as white then this surely helps you to gain a stable position. Unless you reach the endgame black does not have a comfortable edge with the gained pawn.
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Myers variation does not pose much of dangerous threat for the black player as black is very solid while playing in his position and there is not much of an imbalance in the position. This opening can be got into once you are into positional play of the game which occurs majorly on the queenside as white is trying to create more gameplay on the queen side.
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Bugayev attack involves white playing purely based on the bishops present on the flanks. White should try not to close those diagonals with it’s own pawns as it leads to inactivity of it’s own pieces and hence need to maintain the pressure at the centre. White might also be able to play a stable game sometimes even without a castled king.
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Unlike the Bugayev attack, Wolfert’s gambit involves black sacrificing the pawns for activity and a lead in development. White has the flexibility to either allow black to get a lead in development or give away the majority pawns on the queen side over the majority present at the center. This opening gives you the flexibility to implement such a thought in to the game.
In the tartakower gambit, white tries to take control of the center and grabs more space in the center as a compensation. There is a slight weakness on the black’s king as a result of the pawn push to f6 which has created f7 hole and can be tried to be taken advantage of. So this is going to be a slight opportunity for white and advantage can be taken similar to evans gambit opening which practically requires a lot of experience to defend the position.
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Bucker Defense involves white chasing the black knight around so any slight mistake with playing such complex positions might be uncomfortable for white. If black succeeds in playing around the game positionally black might be able to just hold along with the position.
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Grigorian variation involves the knight play in the center, similar to bucker defense white might have an option to push around the knight on the board and this might seem quite scary for black but the players having practice of playing the Alekhine defense opening comfortable even playing this variation of the polish defense.
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Polish spike opening can be played against players who try fianchettoing their bishop on the king side and exchange such a bishop with which the activity of a black player might be reduced. Moreover black might be forced to not castle on the kingside in such an opening as the attack may loom fast on the black king if castled on the kingside. White’s king might just stay at the center and attack black along the flanks. This opening might prove handy if played in a no castling chess variant.
