Of all the things you’ve said, Sam, I find it hardest to believe that Karpov would play 1 g4 against anybody, let alone a GM.
This is the man who thought he was being insulted when Tony Miles played 1…a6 against him (and won).
You apparently did not read the article in ChessBase about this game.
“President Gorbachev arrived at 4 p.m. and they were ready to start. Anatoly had white in the first game. Therefore, President Gorbachev would make the first move for Anatoly. As he arrived at the board, he told the audience that this is a wonderful match between two great champions. “I am going to cause some difficulties for the older player”, he said, then proceeded to play 1.g4 without asking Anatoly. Both Anatoly and Susan looked up at President Gorbachev in shock. Anatoly thought that the President was joking as Anatoly mentioned that he would like to make another first move. But the President was firm in saying there is no take back in chess. Then the players started their first game.”
So, Karpov won the game, which turned out to be the only game that Karpov won with white.
Later, Polgar said that she had lost because she was distracted by Gorbachev pouring a glass on water during the game. That was a poor excuse considering that Karpov is considered the better player and 1.g4 is just a good move. (Your lines above give Black nothing.)
No, I did not read the Chessbase article. But it turns out that Karpov did not make the move, so my belief in his sense of taste is vindicated.
At least Gorbachev knew he was making one klunker of a move. As Botvinnik maight say, “Every Russian schoolboy knows that 1 g4 is bad.”
Can you imagine what Kasparov’s face would look like if you tried that stuff on him?
Contrary to your assertion that my lines (which are really Pete Tamburro’s) give Black nothing, the only line that comes out with equality for White is 3 d4. In all other lines, Black already has an edge, or even a -+.
It would help, Sam, if you backed up your claims with some concrete analysis.
Please do not hold your breath. I engaged him in a bit of analysis on RGC WIin another of his ‘claimed’ playable lines, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6. I continually busted his offered lines (like getting to endgames 3 or 4 pawns up) until he simply stopped responding (or perhaps he just forgot?). Of course, he kept claiming it was playable.
The more things change, the more things stay the same.
Yeah, but we can’t continue this discussion or they will lock the thread (moderators, I am not complaining, I am acknowledging the need to stay on topic).
I think that the point Brenan brought up in an earlier post might have gotten lost in his other words. I want to highlight this point as I thought I remembered how it happened. Sam, unbelievably, got it wrong.
Gorbachev did make the first move for Karpov as 1. g4. However, after the humor of the situation where all got their laughs, Karpov corrected the first move to be 1. d4.
Sidenote: I was amused by the second sentence of the article regarding peaceful resolutions.
Here is the key passage, found 2/3 down the page:
I suppose “shock” is as good excuse as any for losing a game to 1.g4, and “technical difficulties” with the sensory board is a good excuse for not having the game moves. And I wonder why the 6 blitz games aren’t in my CB or TWIC databases, even though GM Shulman kept the moves on a screen using Fritz.
If the moves were put on a screen using Fritz, this means that they have the games recorded in a computer.
I believe that the other games were published somewhere. The only game that was not published was the game where Karpov played 1. g4 and won.
Perhaps we should ask Mr. Korenman that question since he was in charge of the event. Was the game where Polgar lost not published to save embarrassment to Polgar? (We have a similar situation with regard to the Exhibition Event at the World Cup of Football in Dresden, Germany in 2007. The three games played by Polgar in the preliminary round were never published, nor were the results ever revealed except that Polgar wrote that she “took it easy” to “conserve energy”. Does this mean that she lost one of the games? We have never been able to find out the answer to that question.)
I stand corrected. I did say that I was going by my recollection only. I do recall Karpov asking for a different first move. That is where I left it.
Now as to Brenan claiming how bad 1. g4 is, well it ain’t necessarily so.
I play weekly with a friend that often plays 1. b4 as his first move. He has won quite a few games with this opening, even against a Master and a few Experts. That’s not too bad for a Class B player.
Also Sam Sloan played an Expert, Bill Brock, awhile back in a grudge match held in Chicago. People actually gave money to fly Sam to Chicago and have a $1000 prize to the winner. This was all done through the group on rgcp before this forum was even a twinkle in Mike Nolan’s eye. Anyway, Sam won that match. I might be mistaken but I think 1. g4 may have been seen by Sam in that match.
While the Grandmasters of the world will claim these openings are busted, it isn’t necessarily so in real play. Sure, theoretically that may be so, but let’s face it when playing over a chess board the practical often varies quite a bit from the theoretical.
All Time Controls were really G/75 (+ 5" Bronstein).
In Game 3, Black resigned with 9 seconds left on the clock.
Arbiter Vince Hart and Official Scorekeeper Larry Cohen awarded the
Best Game Prize, which was a copy of Benko’s Life Games & Compositions,
to Sam Sloan for Game 3, for having delivered the best entertainment
value.
Ban the Smith-Morra Gambit. Though I don’t think Dr. Hecht would go for that since he’s beaten me several times with it. I guess I can’t vote for him. LOL
If you hate the Morra Gambit, you can always decline it and force White to play the c3 Sicilian. But you have to be comfortable with the …Nf6 version of the c3, not the …d5 one.
But taking the pawn is fun. It’s always nice when White shys away from the Open Sicilian and plays an inferior anti-Sicilian system. The only one to really pose Black trouble is Bb5 systems.
I like Bent Larsen’s comment in his annotations to a Ken Smith game from San Antonio '72. When Smith’s opponent, who was Mario Campos Lopez, played the French against Smith’s 1e4, Larsen gave the move …e6 a (?) and wrote, “Stronger is P-QB4, which wins a pawn…”
