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Old Lines

IM Malcolm Pein
October 21, 2023

ONE way to beat younger players is to play openings that went out of fashion before they were born.
Bill Hartston defeated me in my debut game at the British Championships in 1980 with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bd2?!.
Bill got no advantage from the opening, but I burned up some time trying to remember, unsuccessfully, what to do.
I needn’t have bothered, as he said afterwards, “No one has played this since before you were born”.
Gregory Kaidanov recently led the US Senior team to victory at the World Senior Team Championships and scored the crucial win against England that effectively decided the medals.
Here he demolishes Jorden Van Foreest, ranked world number 32, with an old line.

G Kaidanov – J Van Foreest
Qatar Masters Open, Doha
Slav Meran

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Be7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 b4 9.Ne4 Nbd7 10.Nxf6+ Nxf6 11.e4 Bb7 12.0–0 0–0 13.e5 Nd7 14.Be4
(White’s objective is to delay or, ideally, prevent c6–c5 entirely and then target the c6-pawn and c5-square)

14...Qb6? (14...Rb8! followed by c6–c5 is playable)
15.Bg5! Bxg5 (15...Rfe8 16.Bxe7 Rxe7 17.Rc1! is better than 17.Qc2 h6 Polugaevsky – Mednis, Riga Interzonal 1979 and 16.Rc1! is also good for White because if 16...Rac8 17.Bxe7 Rxe7 18.Qd2 c5 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 20.dxc5 Nxc5 21.Rxc5!)

6.Bxh7+! Kxh7 17.Nxg5+ Kg6 18.Qg4 f5 19.Qg3 Qxd4
(19...c5 20.Rad1 wins. After 20.dxc5 Qc6 21.Nxe6+ White somehow failed to win in A Williams – J Cooper, Welsh Championship 1982)
20.Ne4+ Kh7 (If 20...Kf7 21.Rad1)
21.Qh4+ Kg6 22.Qg5+ Kf7

White to play and win: