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Four Knights and Belgrade gambit

Four Knights Variation

New Ideas in the Four Knights

Emerging from over 60 years of virtual hibernation, the Four Knights Game returned to top-flight international chess in 1991 with a vengeance. Nigel Short and John Nunn led the brigade, fashioning this ancient opening into a modern juggernaut. But in Linares, Spain, Short's adversaries were less than receptive, as he lost as White against Al Beliavsky, and against fellow Candidate Jan Timman.

The Four Knights arises after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nc6

In the 1920s, the Four Knights was put out of commission by the Rubinstein Defence, in which Black sacrifices a pawn after 4 Bb5 Nd4 5 Ba4 Bc5 6 Nxe5. The driving engine behind the return of the Four Knights was the discovery of a bizarre defensive maneuver by White. The game between Short and Timman illustrates this critical line. C48 Short - Timman, Linares 1992 (11) C48 Four Knights Game

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bb5 Nd4  [3 games from the 1991 English Champ. featured the exciting variation 4 ... Bc5 5 O-O O-O 6 Nxe5 Nxe5 7 d4 Bd6 8 f4! Nc6 9 e5 [DIAGRAM A] in which White re-establishes the fork or double attack in many different permutations. Nunn - Hodgson continued dramatically 9 ... Be7 10 d5 Nb4 11 exf6 Bxf6 12 a3 Bxc3 13 bxc3 Nxd5! 14 Qxd5 c6 15 Qd3 cxb5 16 f5 f6 (A possible improvement on 16 ... "Re8! 17 f6 d5!" as given in ECO. Now Nunn should play quietly with 17 Be3 or 17 Qd6, but he tried for a kingside attack and got blown away.) 17 a4 bxa4 18 Rxa4 d5 19 Rh4 Re8 20 Qd1 Re5 21 Qh5 Qb6+ 22 Kh1 Bxf5 23 Bf4 [DIAGRAM B] Qf2! 24 Qd1 Qh4 25 Bxe5 fxe5 26 Rxf5 Qe4. From DIAGRAM A two Short - Adams playoff games for the championship continued 9 ... a6 10 Be2. In both cases Adams had a difficult position, first with 10 ... Bb4 11 d5 Bc5+ 11 Kh1 Nd5 12 Nd5 d6 13 Bd3 de 14 fe Ne5 15 Bh7+ Kh7 16 Qh5+, and then with 10 ... Be7 11 d5 Nd5 12 Nd5 d6 13 Ne7+ Qe7 14 ed cd 15 f5 f6 16 Bc4+] 5 Ba4 Bc5  [Short - Beliavsky from Linares proceeded calmly 5 ... Nf3+ 6 Qf3 (ECO recommends the surprising 6 gxf3! planning f4. After the text White's pieces are actually not well placed to grab the initiative.) Bc5 7 d3 c6 8 Bb3 d6 9 O-O h6 10 Be3 Bb6 11 h3 O-O 12 Rfd1 Be3 13 Qe3 b5 and Black stood well, 0 - 1 in 58.] 6 Nxe5 O-O 7 Nd3 Bb6 8 e5 Ne8  [A well-known position. White is a pawn up but his knight on d3, which went there to gain time by attacking the Black bishop, is miserably placed.] 9 Nd5!? d6  [DIAGRAM C]  10 Ne3!! [The critical move. 9 Nd5 had historically been considered a mistake because of 10 c3 Qh4! which is good for Black after 11 Ne3 Qe4 12 Nb4 dxe5 13 cxd4 exd4. But with 10 Ne3!! White completes a strategy which posts the knights on very unusual squares. White hopes to hold the extra pawn, have his knight on d3 reposition itself through e5, and use his knight on e3 as a defensive bulwark. In the important game Nunn - Christiansen, Bundesliga 1991 Christiansen selected 10 ... Qh4 11 O-O Be6 but Nunn forced favorable exchanges with 12 c3 Ne2+ 13 Kh1 Bxe3 14 dxe3 Nxc1 15 Rxc1 Rd8 16 Bb3! dxe5 17 Bxe6 fxe6 18 Qc2, giving back the pawn for a positional superiority which he managed to convert later into a win. Two Short-Speelman games from their Candidates Match featured 10 ... c6, which attempts to put enough pressure, through ... Bc7, to force White to make the exchange exd6. The downside to this plan is that Black voluntarily withdraws his Bb6 from its important diagonal and that White will play f2-f4 to shore up e5, hoping to retake there with his Nd3, getting the steed off that horrible square. First Short tried 11 O-O Bc7 12 c3 Ne6! 13 f4 dxe5 14 Nxe5 Nxf4 with equality, but then he improved with 11 c3! Nf5 - if 11 ... Ne6 12 Bc2! Bc7 13 exd6 Qxd6 14 Nf5! and White unravels - 12 O-O Bc7 13 f4 dxe5 14 Nxe5 Nxe3 15 dxe3 and White stands better.] 10 ... Qg5 11 f4?! [This move attempts to improve on Nunn - Hubner, Munich 1991 which saw 11 exd6 Nxd6 12 O-O and now Hubner recommends 12 ... N4f5 13 Ne1 Nxe3 14 fxe3 Bg4 15 Nf3 Qh5 16 Qe1 c6 followed by 17 ... Rae8 with compensation. Clearly, this line will be investigated. The text move looks logical, but Short must have  underestimated Timman's 12th move.] 11 ... Qg6 12 O-O f6! [This clumsy-looking move is actually quite annoying, as it tempts White to liquidate the e5-point and denies that square to the knight on d3.] [DIAGRAM D]  13 exd6?  [Slavishly trying to ensure that he remains a pawn up, Short uncharacteristically misjudges his opponent's chances. It was imperative that White maintain the tension on e5 so as to avoid helping Black develop his knight on e8, and in the hope of someday recapturing on e5 with his own knight. Best was 13 Kh1! leaving the dangerous diagonal. Then the position is quite unclear after, for example, 13 ... Kh8 14 b4 (to develop with Bc1-b2) a5.]  Nxd6 14 Nf2  [Probably necessary under the new circumstances. 14 Kh1 N4f5 was hardly appealing.]  14 ... N4f5 15 Nd5?  [This was too optimistic. White had to retain the defensive bulwark at e3. Peter Irwin and the guys at the Morristown, NJ Chess Club suggest 15 c3, attempting to reactivate the bishop via c2. Then 15 ... Nxe3 16 de Bf5 would lead to an exciting struggle.] Kh8! 16 Nb6 [Black's last move prepared the threat 16 ... Nh4 17 g3 Qe4! 18 gxh4 Bh3 and wins. On 16 Qf3 Nd4 is strong. And 16 d3 loses to 16 ... Nh4 17 g3 Bg4. The desperate 16 d4 can be met by 16 ... Bxd4 17 Qd3 b5! 18 Bb3 c5, or even 16 ... Nh4 17 g3 Bxd4 18 Be3 Ndf5! 19 Bxd4 Nxg3!]  16 ... axb6 17 c3  [Or 17 Bb3 Nh4 18 g3 Ndf5, and White has big probems. But now Black eliminates the possibility of Ba4-c2.] [DIAGRAM D] 17 ... Ra4! 18 Qa4 Nh4 19 g3 Nf3+ 20 Kg2  [Not 20 Kh1 Qh5 21 h4 Nf5 22 Kg2 N5xh4+, etc. With 20 Kg2 White hopes for a respite after 20 ... Qh5 21 h3, but of course no such luck is forthcoming.] 20 ... Nh4+ 21 Kg1  [After 21 Kh1 Be6 is deadly.] 21 ... Nf3+ 22 Kg2  [DIAGRAM E] 22 ... Be6! [The bishop's arrival on d5 will be decisive. If 23 Kxf3 Bd5+ 24 Ke2 Re8+, 25 Kd1 Bf3 is mate, and 25 Qxe8+ also loses.] 23 Nh1 Bd5 24 Rf3 Nf5! 25 Nf2  [White's position is a tragi-comedy after 25 Kf2 Qh5.] 25 ... Nh4+ 26 Kf1 Nf3 27 d3 Nh2+ 28 Ke2 Bc6  [29 Qd4 Qh5+ 30 g4 Nxg4 31 Nxg4 Qg4+ was too grisly. 0 - 1