Nov `99
Announcement
The e-pawn emperor will be away to China from 30 October until 20 November, but after that he will, as always, reply personally to as many e-mail messages as possible which come to MrMo@ChessPublishing.com
The December e4-e5 ‘monthly update’ will be posted on this Internet site in time for Christmas. Until then..."Wo xiwang meigeren dou xiai wo zhege yue de e4-e5 xiangqi." (Mandarin for "I hope everyone will enjoy my e4-e5 chess of this month."---Mr Mo, Belgium 28/10/99)
Dedication
This second update (after the previous launch material) is dedicated to IM Andrew Martin. As you’ll see from the contents of the Reflection Zone associated with the "E-mail Mr Mo" link in this site, Andrew’s 1998 "Foxy Openings" 80-minute video on the Portuguese Opening provided me with extra food for thought recently, even if 2 Bb5 does look a bit funny.
New Highlights
Lots of new mouth-watering goodies await us, including a double dose of King’s Gambit excitement in games G4.5 & G4.6 , the first of which shows our Hero of the Month in lethal form. The Evans Gambit makes a not-too-successful inaugural appearance in game G12.3 , but White fares better in G9.6 with the Goring Gambit, which is also (almost) a total "newcomer" to the site this month. Black scores a sensational 20-move win using the Classical Variation against the Ruy Lopez in G13.4 , and the Berlin Defence provides us with a reliable alternative in G13.5. The eternal White versus Black struggle continues in G5.3 (a Latvian Gambit) and G12.4 (the Italian Game), where lightning strikes twice to produce really quick 1-0 and 0-1 results respectively. In general, the action-packed games are made even more irresistible by the presence of related challenging puzzles, which can also be seen in the section called "Puzzle Paradise".
The late great Alfred Hitchcock would not approve of me spoiling the suspense by giving away too many advance details here, but just as he liked to pop up briefly in his own films, I have also given a hat-trick of personal offerings in main games G9.7 , G11.5 , and the aforementioned G13.5.
M.O. Moves
It’s a personal choice, but for me the Most Outstanding Move of the games within this month’s update material is the stunning queen sacrifice 17 Qe8+!! by our Hero of the Month in game G4.5.
Rewind Reward
The key idea here is that (although in general we focus on recent happenings) it still pays off to study some memorable older material. For example, a 17-move dashing victory from 1993 by our Hero of the Month, playing White against a F.I.D.E. Master opponent in game G4.5 , is a sharp reminder of just how lethal a weapon the King’s Gambit can be, especially in the hands of an energetic attacking player. So it’s no wonder that IM Andrew Martin decided in 1995 to do an 85-minute video showing numerous attractions of the King’s Gambit, 2 f4. Personally, I am less taken by the Portuguese Opening, 2 Bb5, but if you would like to check out Andrew Martin’s 1998 video on that opening too, then you can purchase it online at the Chess & Bridge Secure Shop.
Perhaps there is somewhat less excitement in the Berlin Defence Ruy Lopez encounter of game G13.5 , but hopefully that 1996 battle between GM Neil McDonald and myself will prove to be another useful and instructive "Rewind Reward" for interested readers.
Motto of the Month
The previous launch and update material laid the foundations for further exciting adventures with 1 e4 e5 as our chosen starting point, and there still remains much for us to discover. By not letting ourselves become too bogged down in masses of theory, we can enjoy learning together and exploring with a free creative spirit. Let’s bring back to life some wise words from Aristotle as an inspirational motto: "The purpose of education should not be to fill a bucket, but to light a fire".
Reflection Zone
Recently I had some very interesting correspondence with my good friend IM Andrew Martin by e-mail on 6 & 8 October. The contents were certainly thought-provoking for me, and I hope that many readers will also benefit from seeing most of what was written.
Index of New Games
G9.6;Mastrovasilis,D-Gabriel,C
G12.4.2;Van Coppenolle,K-Motwani,P
G13.5.3;Rozentalis,E-Motwani,P
New Index of New Players
(bold indicates that the player had White)
New Index of Openings
Four Knights Game with 4 g3;G11.5
King’s Gambit with 2...Qh4+/2...Qf6;G4.5
King’s Gambit with 2...Nc6;G4.6
Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence;G13.5
Ruy Lopez, Classical variation & ...Nf6;G13.4