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Eisinger's pawn sacrifice in the Giuoco Piano is one of the least frequently seen gambit lines—and one of the most promising! It leads to slow positional pressure rather than a violent piece attack and may be neglected for this very reason. For the usual gambiteer wants to have his fun, and the careful positional player is loth to “invest” material. The following game from the Irish Championship, Dublin 1968, is not a true test of the line, since Black's 8th move has been known for many years to be inferior. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Bb6 This and the following move introduce the “strongpoint defence” in which Black counters all White's efforts to inveigle him into exd4. Compare the game against Euwe (No. 15). Usually the gambit is played without this move and this is better, because after White plays the QN to a3 he would threaten both Nc4 and Nb5. In the present game square b5 is already protected and the moves of the respective a-pawns help Black to get counterplay on the b-file. That the black KB loses all pawn protection is of less importance. The logical follow-up to the 6th move. Unless White blocks the opponent's development with this sacrifice, he should not have opened the diagonal of the black B. 8... cxd6? Black's game will be so constricted that he should exploit every opportunity to exchange pieces. 8... Qxd6! is the accepted move. With the two a-pawns on their original squares, a gme Ahues - Van der Bosch, Nauheim 1935, continued 7... Qxd6 8. Qxd6 cxd6 9. Na3 Nf6 10. Bd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Ke7 but in this line, too, White should first play 9. Ng5! 9. Ng5! Forcing the black N to unnatural squares and thus safeguarding the blockading position of the B bound to appear on d5, this move is much stronger than the immediate development of the QN. 9... Nh6 10. Bd5 Nc6 11. Na3 O-O 12. Nc4 Bc7 13. Nh3! Qf6 14. O-O Rb8 15. f4 Black has made virtually forced moves all the time and has had no time to disentangle his Q-side. Now White gains further time through the threat of 16. fxe5. Exchanging pawns before making his combination gives the white R an open file, which is of importance in the note to Black's 27th move. 17... axb5 18. Bg5 Qg4 19. Qd2! A combination introduced by a quiet move and continued with another quiet move. The only move to hold on to the piece for the time being—but not for long. 22... Kg6 is worse, e.g. 23. Rf3 Bd8 24. Bxc6! and the white Queen enters on d6. Or (22... Kg6 23. Rf3) 23... Ng8 24. Raf1 Nxf6 25. Rxf6+ Kg7 26. R1f5 Qh4 27. g3! Qxh3 (27... Qxf6 28. Rxf6 Kxf6 29. Qg5#) 28. Qg5+ Kh8 29. Rxf7 Bb6+ 30. Kh1 and wins. 23. Rf3 Bd8 24. Rg3+ Ng4 25. Bxd8 Nxd8 26. Qe2 Kh8 27. Rxg4 Qh6 Here I expected 27... Rxb2 28. Rg8+ Rxg8 29. Qxh5 Rgxg2+ 30. Kf1 Rxh2 but the combination is quite incorrect: 31. Qg5 Ne6 (if 31... Rxh3 32. Qxd8+ Kg7 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Kg1! ) 32. Qf6+ Kg8 33. Nf2 h5 (if Black gives the R's for Q+N, he loses the B afterwards) 34. Ra8! Rb1+ 35. Ke2 Rb2+ 36. Kd1 Rbxf2 (or 36... Rhxf2) 37. Rxc8+ Nf8 38. Bxf7+ Kh7 39. Bg8+! and mate in two. 28. Rf1 Now White simply masses his forces against the f-pawn. 28... Ne6 29. Qf2 Ba6 30. Rg3 Nc5 If 30... f6 31. Rf3 Kg7 32. Qa7. If now 31... f6 simplest is 32. Nxh7. 32. Nxf7+ Not as elegant as 32. Qxf7, but just as effective. 1-0 Annotator(s): Wolfgang Heidenfeld (see Source). Source(s): Irish Times, July 11, 1968 p. 12; BCM 1968 p. 223; Wolfgang Heidenfeld, Lacking the Master Touch (South African Chessplayer, 1970), game 48, pp. 107-08 (p. 107, p. 108). Event information: Tournament report. Download pgn. |
