Interruptor automático

1 e4 g6 2 d4 Bg7 3 Nc3 d6 4 Nf3 a6 5 a4 b6 6 Bc4

The favourite move of the no-nonsense player. White takes direct aim at f7 and openly declares his hostile intentions.

6 ... e6!

Once again, we play innocent – for now. The Hippo is the ideal weapon versus the hyper-aggressive opponent. Black immediately blunts the bishop’s point. As always, White’s position looks a lot more wonderful than it actually is. Without a clear target, the leaderless white pieces tend to mill about without purpose, waiting for something to happen.

7 0-0 h6

I would play 7 ... Ne7. Rule of thumb: always encourage the shallow Bg5?! since we always gain a tempo after ... h6.

8 Bf4

8 ... Bb7

Question: Does the order matter on the moves ... Ne7, ... Nd7, and ... Bb7?

Answer: Normally, no, but my personal preference is to play ... Ne7 first, just in case my king needs

to make a quick exit and castle kingside. 9 Qe2 Ne7 10 Rad1 Nd7 11 Rfe1

A Norman Rockwell moment, as Fred Reinfeld’s cherished dream comes to fruition. I remember having White in this position in a game played at age 15 against a hated teen rival. I thought I was crushing my opponent, played ultra-aggressively, and got crushed and humiliated instead! I don’t believe White even holds an advantage here. There is something about the Hippo that gets White’s blood boiling, like when the normally placid Spock is transformed into a total bugger during the pon farr – the ‘amok time’ mating ritual for Vulcans!

11 ... g5!

Black unveils our essential central dark-square strategy, much more in the taunting spirit of the Hippo than the more conformist 11 ... 0-0, which is also okay, but lacks the spirit of adventure of 11 ... g5!.

12 Bc1

Question: All the way back?

Answer: There’s no place like home. The bishop tends to get in the way on every other square. 12

Bg3 is riskier, since then the bishop is vulnerable to ... h5 ideas from Black, but there is something to be said about posting it there: Black will have a much harder time engineering the ... c5 break.

12 ... Ng6 13 h3 Qe7 14 Bd3

Victory! White doesn’t see much of a point to posting his bishop on c4, so he backs it up to d3, a place he could have secured in one move, rather than two.

A warning: be very careful about playing such a break. If you mistime it and allow White to blast open the centre, you may get crushed. In this case, Black’s timing is exemplary since White has no way to exploit the slight opening of the game.

15 d5

15 dxc5 Nxc5 looks like a Kan Sicilian gone slightly wrong for White. 15 ... Nde5

The dark-square strategy begins to take effect, as Black occupies e5. 16 Nxe5 Bxe5 17 Qh5 Qf6! 18 dxe6?!

The flow of White’s position begins to noticeably spasm and stutter about here. This may end up helping his opponent, as White opens the f-file and strengthens Black’s centre. Still, it’s hard to fault White for going after Black’s king.

18 ... fxe6 19 Bc4

Exercise (planning): The time has arrived to make a decision

by remaining in the centre with 19 ... Ke7? 19 ... Ke7!

Oddly enough, Black’s king looks quite safe here. Black avoids the rote 19 ... 0-0-0 when 20 Qe2! targets a6.

20 Rd3

The beggar rook scavenges for scraps of counterplay along the third rank, and also covers c3. 20 ... Nf4 21 Bxf4 gxf4!

And thou shalt have dominion over the dark squares. Advantage Black: 1. Who may soon occupy the open g-file, aiming at White’s king.

2. Who owns the bishop pair, but much more importantly retains an iron grip on the central dark squares.

3. Who enjoys the more fluid pawn structure in both centre and queenside. 22 Nb1!?

Ingenious, but it doesn’t worry Black. Here we witness the co-mingling of forced bravery out of necessity, much like the doctor who treats a gangland patient, and who does well not to ask how his patient received the gunshot wound. White thinks about Rb3, and also redirects his knight to better pastures. The problem is the rook looks klutzy out and about this early in the game, and is in danger of being chased around by Black’s pawns and pieces.

22 ... Bc6

Attacking a4 and allowing coverage of b6. 23 Rb3

The rook, after murmuring a prayer, charges in. 23 ... Rhb8

Well, I guess Black isn’t going to occupy the open g-file after all! A flowing mind, open to all possibilities, is a dangerous weapon in a chess game.

24 Qe2?

White certainly can do with a bit of good news about now, but unfortunately, none is forthcoming. His last move was a blunder. 24 Nc3 was necessary, when Black continues to hold a strategic advantage.

Exercise (combination alert): Taking the pawn on a4 is a

good move, but Black has a deeply hidden combination which is even stronger. Can you spot the idea the GM missed?

24 ... Bxa4

Not such a bad move, but Black missed an immediate game ender.

Answer: 24 ... b5!! 25 axb5 axb5 26 Bxb5 Rxb5 27 Rxb5 f3! 28 gxf3 (28 Qd3 Rg8 29 g3 Qf4! 30 Kf1

Rxg3! 31 fxg3 Qxg3 is crushing) 28 ... Qf4 (the queen doles out punishment the way a stern grandmother smartly smacks the misbehaving grandchild on the knuckles; the comps tell us 28 ... Qh4! is even stronger and mates in ten moves) 29 Kf1 Qh2 30 Qd3 Bd4! 31 Re3 Bxb5!! 32 Qxb5 Bxe3 33 fxe3 Ra1 mates.

25 Ra3 b5

It isn’t clear if Black’s bishop on a4 is being rescued or taken hostage. 26 c3

26 Nc3 f3! is also winning for Black.

26 ... f3! 27 Qxf3 Qxf3 28 gxf3 bxc4! 29 Rxa4 Rxb2 30 Rxc4? 30 Kf1 Rab8 31 Na3 Ra2 is also hopeless for White.

Exercise (combination alert): White, in a lost position,

just blundered into a mate in four. Can you spot it? 30 ... Rab8

Good enough.

Answer: Even better is 30 ... Rg8+! 31 Kf1 (31 Kh1 Rxf2 leaves White just as mated as in the other

line) 31 ... Bh2! with unstoppable mate next move. 31 Na3

The three-legged cat runs as fast as he can from the neighbour’s dog. 31 ... Ra2 0-1

Following 32 Nb1 Rg8+! (the pedestrian 32 ... Ra1 also wins) 33 Kf1 Bh2! the dying white king wordlessly mouths a final curse before expiring.

Summary

The Hippopotamus is a mysterious and potent line against this particular white set-up. Game 15

J.Cuartas-T.Hillarp Persson