Lets Take A Look...

Nigel Davies



We invite you to submit games to be considered by Nigel in this column. For all games
submitted, please provide the following information: (1) Names of both players; (2)
Ratings of both players; (3) When and where the game was played; (4) The time control
used in the game; and (5) Any other information you think would be helpful for us to
know. Please submit the games (in PGN or CBV format if possible) to:
nigeldavies@chesscafe.com. Who knows, perhaps you will see the game in an upcoming
column, as Nigel says to you, Lets take a look...
Underdogs and Favourites
If theres one cultural quality we have, its that we always see ourselves as an
underdog. Bill Gates
When I was first here, we had the advantages of the underdog. Now we have the
disadvantages of the overdog. Abba Eban
I never expect to lose. Even when Im the underdog, I still prepare a victory speech.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
The general consensus is that underdogs have a psychological advantage in competitive
fields. There may be a large slice of truth to this, people will tend to root for them and the
favourite may feel under pressure to win. Certainly Ive seen plenty of favourites make an
awful mess of the job of winning, the usual problem being that in their pursuit of victory
they forget about the need to play good moves. So they try a blustering demonstration in
the direction of their opponents king, avoid exchanges and play quickly if they miss
something. All of which leads itself to a severe decrease in playing strength, thus
increasing the chance of an upset.
The underdog, on the other hand, may feel he has little to lose and can play in a relatively
carefree fashion. They might feel that people are cheering them on and can blackmail
their opponents with drawish positions so as to force them to take risks. Underdogs may
not use all of their available tactics, but they certainly have many advantages.
So whats a poor favourite to do? Its been a long time since I was an underdog, and even
when Im playing some scary wunderkind I dont feel very much public support. Yet
favourites too have a number of tactics they can employ that may help even the odds, and
most of them are legal. Here are a few of them:
You can use your status as favourite to indulge in a certain amount of calculated
bluffing. Would grandmaster XYZ really offer this pawn without it being a deadly
trap? Or if hes playing such a rotten opening, surely he has a devastating
innovation in mind?
Try to play openings that were popular before your opponent was active in
tournament play. Hes far less likely to know them and may underestimate them
as well.
Assuming the underdog has been studying your games try to play something
thats off your usual script.
If the underdogs supporters are supplying him or her with crisps, chocolate and
fizzy drinks, bear in mind that the adrenaline high will wear off after a while and
produce a low. So take your time and steer the game towards quieter positions in
which adrenaline backed calculation is inappropriate. If you see him start to flake
out, sharpen it up again.
If the supporters are getting too close to the board or having too much contact
with their player, report them to the arbiter and throw in an accusation that you
think they might be using Fritz. Claim that the device is in his mothers handbag
or under garments, even chess prodigies dont like their mothers to be strip
searched.
If the underdog has a lucky mascot on the table, look for an opportunity to nudge
it onto the floor. By accident, of course.
If your opponent offers you a draw, pretend not to hear it rather than giving an
answer (unless your position is really bad of course).
If you have plenty of time on the clock, forget to press your clock after one of
your moves. If you are gently reminded then you may choose to spare the upstart
too much further cruelty. In any case it helps create the illusion that youre a
bumbling old fool whose time has passed.
If your opponent has more space, move your pieces slightly towards the back edge
of the squares so as to create the illusion that his space advantage is even greater.
If your opponent has the better game you might want to offer a draw in order to
raise his expectations. Try to look scared when you do so.
Use the post mortem to create more illusions and supply more misinformation.
For example, you might give the impression of having seen nothing during the
game, which can be reinforced if you actually say that you were lucky and he
deserved to win. Another idea is to announce that next time youll play a Kings
Gambit and with any luck hell spend three hours preparing for it.
Be very friendly. Theres more chance that youll be believed.
Only give the game away if youre hired to be the underdogs coach. Theres no
such thing as a free lunch.
In this months game we have an apparent mismatch between experienced Irish
International Suzanne Connolly and 13-year-old Steven Hanly, the latter being 260 points
lower rated. But when the game starts Connollys apparent reluctance to exchange pieces
soon lands her in hot water and then a knight gets trapped in the middle of the board.
Hanly,S (1754) - Connolly,S (2014)
Queens Pawn Game [D02]
Bunratty Masters 2007
1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 c6
There are times when I think that FIDE should just ban the Slav and Semi-Slav. The threat
to capture Whites pawn on c4 encourages a very concrete approach to the opening for
which nobody has any time.
Of course this could be nothing more than sour grapes on my part, as it has been a major
reason why I no longer enjoy playing 1 d4. In the 1980s and 90s you got far more Kings
Indians and Benonis. Yum yum.
3 e3
What a pleasure it is to see a young player adopting a solid opening, rather than going all
out in some sharp Sicilian. Most juniors will try to bamboozle their opponents with sharp
openings and tactics rather than play a chess game.
3Nf6 4 b3
4 c4 is a sharper move, transposing into a trendy line of the Slav Defence. Yet theres
nothing wrong with simple development.
4...Bg4 5 Be2 e6 6 Bb2 Bd6
I think theres a case for the more modest 6...Be7, one of the points being that if a white
knight lands on e5, it will be easier for Black to exchange it with one of his own knights.
7 Nbd2 0-0 8 0-0 Nbd7 9 Ne5 Bf5
And here the exchange of bishops on e2 would
have been simpler. Now White gets the chance to
cause some problems by advancing his kingside
pawns.
10 f4
It was also worth considering the immediate 10
g4, when 10...Bg6 11 Nxg6 hxg6 12 f4 looks
better for White than the game.
10...Be4?!
10...Ne4 is better, trying to establish the bishop on e4 by first exchanging knights. I sense
that Black might have wanted to avoid exchanges because she was the higher rated player,
but this should not stop someone from doing the right thing. The way the game goes,
Black must have regretted not exchanging that knight, as it later suffers a terrible fate.
11 g4!
A really awkward move for Black to meet, and the main problem with 10...Be4. But kudos
to young Hanly for having the courage to play this way.
11...Ne8 12 Nxe4 dxe4
Blacks pawn structure has been permanently discombobulated. It doesnt look like the
pawns are particularly weak, but often one finds that the damage caused impedes
flexibility and the possibility of forming effective plans. Such is the case here.
13 Qe1 Qe7 14 Nc4 f5
Supporting the e4-pawn, but giving White even more latitude on the kingside. Of course,
Blacks position may not be defensible unless theres also pressure to actually win the
game.
15 g5 Nb6 16 Nxd6
Adding the bishop-pair to Whites spatial and structural advantages.
16Qxd6 17 c4 Qd7 18 Qc3
The queen stares menacingly down the a1-h8
diagonal, though theres not really much doing
here at the moment. Probably White would do
better with an immediate h-pawn advance,
though this idea does occur to him in a few
moves time.
18...Rc8 19 Bh5
19 h4 is probably best here, too.
19...Na8 20 Rad1 Nac7 21 a4 Nd6 22 Be2 Rfd8
23 h4
Getting the right idea. With Whites kingside pawns well forward he is ready to set light to
Blacks kingside with a timely h5-h6 or g5-g6. Black meanwhile can do very little, which
is what happens when your pawns are discombobulated and your opponent has bishops.
23...a6 24 h5 Qf7 25 Kf2
A nice move, preparing to bring rooks over whilst defending e3.
25Kf8 26 Rh1 Nce8?
In the attempt to defend her kingside, Black
overlooks the fact that the knight on d6 (the one
that should have hopped onto e4 on move 10) has
no retreat. Or perhaps it was deliberate suicide,
given the state of Blacks game?
27 c5! 1-0
The knight on d6 has nowhere to go. A
remarkably mature game by young Hanly.
Recommended Reading
School for Scoundrels (1960 version with Terri Thomas)
Copyright 2007 Nigel Davies. All rights reserved.

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