The Chess Mind

In the previous post, we took a look at Lukov's clever 15.Ke2!, exploiting the suddenly precarious position of Leburgue's queen on h5. Clever, yes; original, no. The idea may have even earlier predecessors, but the one I'm most aware of is Kamsky-Karpov, Dortmund 1993.

Faced with a queen on h4 and a generally dangerous array of White pieces, Karpov produced a stunning novelty in the 4...Nd7 Caro-Kann: 11...Ke7. Just as in Lukov-Leburge, the enemy queen's position is suddenly precarious, thanks to the threat of pushing the g-pawn.

Kamsky's position after 11...Ke7 remained good, and although he eventually lost, he responded in the best way and maintained some advantage. Still, Karpov's ingenious idea expanded Black's horizons in the Caro-Kann, and introduced (or at least popularized, if he too had predecessors) a defensive/counter-attacking idea we can transport outside the confines of that particular opening.

It was a very light game, to be sure, but Lukov-Leburgue from the 20th Grand Prix du Touquet caught my eye. It's not every day one sees Black bring his king to e7 while still in the opening, especially in a reasonably open position with queens on the board. By itself, that would have been encouraged a raised eyebrow but probably nothing further, but then came White's winning reply: Ke2!

That wasn't enough to make the game a masterpiece, but it did tickle my funny bone and made the game blogworthy. Have a look, be amused, and learn a lesson: Qd8-a5-h5 doesn't guarantee any attacking chances against the White king; rather, the White king might help in the attack against the Black queen!