A London Opening Bomb, In Morphy Style
𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐨𝐦𝐛, 𝐈𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞
While working with a student, I discovered a sophisticated opening bomb in the London System, which I'd like to share with you.
Our position arises after 𝟏.𝐝𝟒 𝐝𝟓 𝟐.𝐍𝐟𝟑 𝐍𝐟𝟔 𝟑.𝐁𝐟𝟒 𝐜𝟓 𝟒.𝐞𝟑 𝐍𝐜𝟔 𝟓.𝐍𝐛𝐝𝟐 𝐍𝐡𝟓!? 𝟔.𝐁𝐞𝟓!? 𝐟𝟔?! 𝟕.𝐜𝟒!!:
But first, we'd like to understand the previous moves.
But first, we'd like to understand the previous moves.
The first subtlety is Grandmasters (with the notable exception of GM Le Tuan Minh) no longer play the old main line of 5.c3. 5...Qb6! forces a concession to defend the b2-pawn, as 6.Qb3 c4 7.Qxb6 axb6 gives Black a clear plan of ...b5-b4 to break the White pawn chain, but 7.Qc2 Bf5! 8.Qc1 Nh5! is also preferable for Black.
Le plays 6.Qc2! instead (and even beat Carlsen with this in a 2023 bullet game), hoping for the 6...Bf5? 7.dxc5! Trap. But if Black prefers 6...g6 or 6...Nh5! instead, he will comfortably equalise.
The difference after 𝟓.𝐍𝐛𝐝𝟐 is that 5...Qb6 can now be met by 6.dxc5 Qxb2 7.Rb1 Qc3 8.Bb5, the London Gambit, although this is a topic for another time.
In recent years, 𝟓...𝐍𝐡𝟓!? has become a popular shortcut for dynamic players looking to immediately unbalance the play and prevent White from playing his usual 'system'.
The main line runs 6.dxc5 Nxf4 7.exf4, grabbing the pawn, but after 7...g6! 8.c3 Bh6 9.g3 0-0, deep engine analysis has shown that Black has excellent compensation for the pawn. We are following a natural move like 10.Bg2, we can play 10...b6! 11.cxb6 Qxb6, obtaining excellent compensation for the pawn with the initiative, bishop pair and mighty centre.
That's why the trend has recently shifted to 𝟔.𝐁𝐞𝟓!?, as championed by Murzin and Erigaisi of late. This initially seems silly, as the bishop just gets kicked back by 𝟔...𝐟𝟔, right?
One of the main lessons I teach my students (of all levels) is finding ways to effectively ignore the opponent's threats and the response 𝟕.𝐜𝟒!!...It is a perfect example.
Black cannot safely take the bishop with 𝟕...𝐟𝐱𝐞𝟓 𝟖.𝐜𝐱𝐝𝟓 𝐐𝐱𝐝𝟓 (I show the answer to 8...Nb4 in the PGN in the first comment), as after 𝟗.𝐁𝐜𝟒, White's initiative proves too strong. After 9...Qd6 10.Ng5, the machine is already giving back the knight on h5 by taking on d4 (still, with a terrible position), so let's instead follow the game Nechaeva-Vokhidov from the 2022 Chesscom Titled Tuesday.
That game proceeded 𝟗...𝐐𝐝𝟖 𝟏𝟎.𝐍𝐠𝟓 𝐍𝐟𝟔, when surprisingly, the obvious 11.Nf7 (as played in the game) loses virtually all of White's advantage. Instead, White should play in the Morphy spirit (prioritising development/attack over material) with 𝟏𝟏.𝐁𝐟𝟕! 𝐊𝐝𝟕 𝟏𝟐.𝐍𝐞𝟔 𝐐𝐚𝟓 𝟏𝟑.𝟎-𝟎, when Black is completely tied up with his king on d7, and will not survive the onslaught after e.g. 𝟏𝟑...𝐜𝐱𝐝𝟒 𝟏𝟒.𝐞𝐱𝐝𝟒 𝐞𝐱𝐝𝟒 𝟏𝟓.𝐍𝐛𝟑.
That explains why 6...e6 is nowadays preferred by advanced players, although even then, 7.c4!? leads to quite interesting IQP positions - once again, in the style of Paul Morphy. This post would be too long if I explained the details here, but I have included my PGN file as a starting point for your analysis in the comments below.
What do you think of 6.Be5 followed by 7.c4?
