PLAY THE HIPPO!

By Andrew Martin

The Hippopotamus system is more or less frowned upon in the theoretical manuals. Black nudges lots of pawns forward to the third rank and comes out of his corner slowly. It’s provocative! This month I’d like to present you with four games from my just-completed book for Batsford on this underrated method of defense. You must make your own mind up – the book will be published within a few months.

Nezhmetdinov - Ujtelky [B06]

Chigorin mem Sochi (1), 1964

Here is an extraordinary game, in which Ujtelky goads one of the most feared attacking players with the Hippopotamus.

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Bc4 e6

It helps to have a bishop on c4.

5.Nf3 Ne7 6.h4 h6

Note the reaction. Black answers 7.h5 with …g5. Whilst that might still be good for White, most players would not want to commit themselves this early.

7.Bf4 a6

TYPICAL HIPPO SETUP

8.Qe2 Nd7

Here, he could certainly try 8...b5 9.Bd3 Nbc6 with ideas of ...Nb4, ...Nxd3 and ...Bb7. Maybe I’m the wrong type of guy to play this slow stuff...

9.a4 b6 10.Rd1 Bb7

Very pretty by White and where to go from here?

11.Kf1!? 

He is baffled by the lack of contact.

11...Nf8 12.Kg1 Qc8 13.Bb3 Qd7 14.Rh3 Rd8 15.Bc4 Qc8

Black continues his maneuvering, although in this case a6 needed to be defended. Ujtelky asks Nezhmetdinov, “What is your idea?” 

16.Bb3 f6 17.Re1 Kf7 18.Bc1 c6

STRANGE STUFF

How should you classify a position like this? Black is keeping White at bay. I personally find Black’s play too passive in this game.

19.Nd2 d5 20.a5

20.exd5 cxd5 21.h5 g5 leaves nothing clear at all.

20...b5 21.Nf3 Qc7 22.Bd2 Bc8 23.Na2 Nh7 24.Nb4 Rhe8 25.Nd3 Nf8 26.Bf4

I think White missed a chance here: 26.e5 f5 27.Rg3 Nd7 28.Bb4. The threat of a kingside attack combined with White’s ability to stop ...c6-c5 makes the Black position unattractive. For instance: 28...Bf8 29.Qd2 Ng8 30.Bd6 Bxd6 31.exd6 Qxd6 32.Nfe5+, ±.

26...Qxa5 27.e5 f5 28.Bd2

28.Qe3 Ng8 29.Nc5 Nd7 30.Nxd7 Bxd7 31.c3 with the idea of Bc2 and g4, was to be considered.

28...Qb6 29.Ra1 Nh7?

29...Rd7.

30.Ba5 Qa7 31.Bxd8 Rxd8 32.Qd2 Bb7 33.Qa5 Ra8 34.Nc5 Bc8 35.c3 Nf8

The maneuvers continue. He seems not to care one whit that he is the exchange down. Having said that, White has to find the right way to break in. How about preparing g2-g4!

36.Ne1?!

Time-trouble perhaps? 36.Nd3 is better.

36...Bxe5 37.dxe5 Qxc5 38.Nd3 Qa7 39.Bc2 c5

Black is right back in the game.

40.b4 Nc6 41.Qa3 c4 42.Nc5 Nxe5 43.Qc1 h5 44.Rg3 Ned7 45.Nxe6??

He just lost it psychologically. Unable to pierce the black pawn front, Nezhmetdinov goes haywire with an unsound piece sacrifice. And having provoked the mistake, Ujtelky’s subsequent play is faultless.

45...Nxe6 46.Qh6 Ndf8 47.Bxf5 gxf5 48.Re1 Bd7 49.Qxh5+ Ke7 50.Qxf5

White has left himself with no plan B.

50...Kd6 51.h5 a5 52.Qe5+ Kc6 53.Rd1 Nc7 54.Ra1 Qb8 55.bxa5 b4!

Suddenly it is White who has some very serious defending to do.

56.cxb4

56.h6 b3 57.h7 Nxh7 58.Rg6+ Ne6 59.Rxe6+ Bxe6 60.Qxe6+ Qd6 61.Qf7 Ng5 62.Qg7 Ne4 is game over.

56...Qxb4 57.Rf3 Nce6 58.a6 Qc5 59.Qe1 Nd4 60.Rf6+ Nfe6 61.Ra5 Qb6 62.h6 Kd6 63.h7 c3 64.Ra1 c2 65.Rg6 Rh8 66.a7

The contrast between the spread out White position and Black’s perfectly centralized formation is extraordinary.

66...Qb2 67.Rh6 Ne2+ 68.Kh2 c1=Q 69.Rxc1 Nxc1 70.Qa5 Bc6 71.Qa6 Qe5+ 72.g3 Nb3 73.f4

73.a8=Q Rxa8 74.Qxa8 Bxa8 75.h8=Q Qxh8 76.Rxh8 Bc6 77.f4 might have lasted longer, but the d pawn must win.

73...Qb2+ 74.Kh3 Nbc5 75.a8=Q, 0-1. Which Queen shall we take first? Either capture wins quickly.

CW Baker – N Davies [B06]

Crewe, 1996

The following game is a real gem. White sets out his stall with a lot of hustle and bustle, comes forward aggressively and is picked off in an exemplary manner. The Black center towards the end of the game is a sight to behold!

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 e6

Already a prophylactic idea against the possibility of White playing f4-f5. “The way I see it is that if I prevent White from moving his f-pawn forward his Bishop on c1 will never be able to exchange itself off for my Bishop on g7. And in that case my king keeps a vital defender.” – GM Davies.

5.Nf3 Ne7 6.Be2 Nd7 7.0–0 b6

As mentioned, thoroughly appropriate when White either plays his Bishop to e2 or castles short.

8.Qe1 Bb7

A PURE HIPPO

A pure Hippo: Black’s Bishops are both fianchettoed, while his Knights stand side by side on e7 and d7.

9.Kh1 0–0 10.Qh4

Primitive. Black hits back with a show of strength in the center.

10...c5!

There comes a time when the pussyfooting must stop. Serious counterplay is initiated with 10...c5!

11.Be3 Nf6!

Hitting e4, an attack which is very difficult to meet.

12.Rad1

White’s two other moves are not very good: 12.e5 Nf5; 12.Bd3 c4!, and so he has to rely on this Rook centralization. However, Davies is not to be bluffed and takes the pawn!

12...Bxe4! 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.f5

White is getting desperate already.

14...gxf5! 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.Ng5 Nxg5 17.Bxg5 f6 18.Be3 Rc8!

Carefully guarding against White’s only threat of Bxc5.

19.Rf3 Ng6 20.Qh5 Rf7 21.Rh3

Baker’s whole game plan seems to be based on checkmate. However, without a center it’s unlikely this can ever succeed. The rest of the game is predictable: Davies continues to play with due care and takes White apart!

21...Bf8 22.Rg1 c4 23.g4 f4 24.Bd4 e5 25.Bc3 Qe8!

Not falling for 25...d5 26.g5 f5 27.Bxe5!! Nxe5 28.g6 Rg7 (28...Nxg6! 29.Rxg6+ Kh8 is unclear) 29.Qxh7+!!

26.g5 f5 27.Bf3 Qe6

Keeping the Bishop out of d5 and securing the position against any Qxg6 tricks.

28.Re1 Rd7 29.Kg1 d5

Preparations are complete. It is time to “let those truckers roll!”

30.Kh1 e4 31.Bg2 Qf7 32.Bf6 f3 33.Bxf3 exf3 34.Qxf3 d4 35.Qxf5 Qd5+ 36.Qxd5+ Rxd5 37.Rd1 Bg7 38.Rf3 Bxf6 39.gxf6 Kf7 40.b3 cxb3 41.cxb3 Rc6 42.Rh3 h5 43.Rhd3 Rcd6, 0-1. Davies made chess look easy. We know that this is not the case.

Janosevic - Suttles [B06]

Belgrade, 1969

We have seen that the Classical and quieter systems allow Black to develop more or less as he chooses within limitations. Let’s take a look at an obscure scheme devised by Canadian Grandmaster Duncan Suttles, which as far as I know is unrefuted to this day. 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Be2 Nd7 6.0–0 Nh6!?

This is the introductory move. Black intends ...f7-f6 and ...Nh6-f7 and later he will expand in the center with either ...f6-f5! or …e7-e5. Note the timing of 6...Nh6. Suttles waited until White castled thus rendering h2-h4 unplayable. But I’ll try to show 6.a4 Nh6 is also possible, allowing the dangerous 7.h4. f7 is a very good square for the Knight in such positions, cutting out Ng5 by White, indirectly defending e6 as a result. This is the closest yet to Thompson’s original Hippopotamus concept. Of course, Black is showing discretion because White’s attacking possibilities have been limited by his quieter approach.

7.Bg5?!

Although a GM, Janosevic does not seem to understand what Black is trying to do. 7.Bg5  presents Suttles with a valuable tempo! Better is 7.Re1 Qc7 (7...f6? 8.d5 Nf7 9.Nd4, ±, highlights a possible drawback to Black’s set-up. One must watch the e6 square very carefully indeed!) 8.a4 0–0 (8...e5 seems very reasonable; as does 8...a5) 9.h3 Kh8 10.Bc4 e5 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Be3 f5 13.Bg5 f4 (13...Nf7! looks better: 14.Be7 [14.exf5 gxf5 15.Be7 Re8 16.Ng5 Nxg5 17.Bxg5 Nf6, unclear] 14...Re8 15.Ng5 [15.Ba3 Nb6 16.Bb3 Be6 17.Bxe6 Rxe6 18.Qe2 Rd8, unclear] 15...Nxg5 16.Bxg5 Nc5 with chances for both sides) 14.Be7 Re8 15.Qd6 Qxd6 16.Bxd6 Bf6 17.Red1 Kg7 18.a5 Nf7 19.Ba3 g5 20.Rd2 Nf8 21.a6 b6 was perhaps a little better for White in Jimenez Zerquera-Suttles, Palma de Mallorca 1970.

Meanwhile 7.Bd2?! (He wants to play Qc1 evading ...Ng4.) 7...e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.h3 Motwani-Bischoff, Groningen 1980 and now the immediate 9...Qe7 (9...f6!? 10.Qc1 Nf7) 10.Qc1 Ng8 11.Rd1 Ngf6 is reasonable for Black, although he has not been able to carry out his main idea.

7...f6 8.Be3 0–0 9.d5 f5?! 

One can only say that such situations present the vast majority of Black players with an excellent opportunity to win the game. White is having to make critical decisions all the time and he may well go wrong (as Janosevic does here). Objectively, Black’s whole idea looks dubious to me, but it is part of the rich “Hippo” complex and deserves to be included in this book. Instead, 9...Nf7 10.Nd4 Nb8 11.Qd2 c5 12.Ne6 Bxe6 13.dxe6 Ne5 14.f4 is poor for Black. Better is 9...c5! (Taking the d4-square away from White’s Knight.), when 10.h3 f5 is the way to go if Black wants to play ...f5.

10.Nd4

10.dxc6! bxc6 11.Nd4 Ne5 12.Nxc6 Nxc6 13.Qd5+ Nf7 14.Qxc6 Bd7 15.Qd5 Qc7 gives Black compensation; how much is difficult to say.

10...Bxd4!

Suttles was always quite undogmatic. If a move had to be played, so be it! The point of 10...Bxd4 is to try to shut down White’s light-squared Bishop and create an outpost on e5 for a Knight.

11.Qxd4

11.Bxd4 c5 12.Be3 f4 13.Bd2 Ne5 14.Qc1 g5 isn’t clear.

11...f4 12.dxc6 bxc6

13.Bc4+?!

13.Qc4+ Nf7 (13...Kg7 14.Qxc6 fxe3 15.Qxa8 Qb6 [15...exf2+ 16.Kh1, but 15...Nb6!? 16.Qb5 Ne5 17.Qb3+ Kh8 is unclear] 16.Qd5 exf2+ 17.Kh1 Qxb2 18.Qb3, ±) 14.Qxc6 Rb8 15.Bc1 f3 may or may not be OK for Black; the point is that it is frightening for White to face at the board: 16.gxf3 Nde5 17.Qa4 Bh3 18.Rd1.

13...Nf7 14.Bxf4

White has been suitably confused, but 14.Bc1 Nb6 15.Bb3 Ba6 16.Re1 c5 is quite OK for Black.

14...e5

Obviously, Black now has serious counterplay.

15.Qxd6 exf4 16.Rad1 Qg5

16...f3 looks very dangerous.

17.Bxf7+ Rxf7 18.Qxc6 f3 19.g3 Nb6 20.Nd5 Bd7 21.Qd6 Nc4

When given the opportunity to do so, Black hits very hard; in fact he keeps pounding away until Janosevic falls over!

22.Qb4 Rc8 23.b3 Ne5 24.Ne3 Qh6

Something has got to give around the White King.

25.Rd5 Ng4 26.Nxg4 Bxg4

With the idea of ...Qh3.

27.h4 Rxc2 28.Rfd1 Rc8 29.e5

29.Rd8+ Rf8! 30.Rxc8 Bxc8 31.Qc4+ Kh8 32.Qd4+ Qg7 33.Qxg7+ Kxg7 34.Rc1 Be6 35.Rc7+ Rf7 is winning for Black.

29...Be6 30.Rd8+ Rxd8 31.Rxd8+ Kg7 32.Qc3 Qh5 33.Kf1 Qf5

A nice square, threatening simultaneously ...Qh3 and ...Qb1+. White cannot stop both. 

34.Rd6 Qb1+, 0-1.

I cannot state that this particular idea is 100% sound, but it is certainly an interesting addition to Black’s armory in the classical Modern. A murky position was all that a talented player like Suttles needed to try and win the game and crucially, to ENJOY the game of chess. That’s what it’s ultimately all about.

Baki (2092) – V Ianov (2381) [B06]

Marx Gyorgy Open, 2005

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Be3 a6 5.Qd2 Nd7 6.0–0–0

White is shaping up for the big one. To play slowly with Black here would be a crime. He has to start the action.

6...b5! 7.f3 Bb7 8.h4 h6 9.g4

Many, many of your opponents will play this way. They just stick the kingside pawns forward to gain space and dissuade Black from a later 0–0.The Modern defender should not feel uncomfortable facing this aggression. He must juggle the obligations of flexible defense and the preparation of counterplay, but that is the intellectual challenge after 1...g6.  If you cannot cope with this pressure, don’t play the Modern!

9.d5 h5 10.Nh3 c5 11.dxc6 Bxc6 12.Nd5 Ngf6 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Ng5 Rc8 gives Black very satisfactory counterplay on the c-file. He has a good version of the Dragon. White has no breakthrough in sight and the Knight on g5 is simply misplaced. 15.Bd4 Qc7 16.Bxf6 Nxf6 17.Bd3 Nd7 18.f4 Nc5 19.f5 gxf5 20.exf5 f6 21.Ne6 Nxe6 22.fxe6 Kd8! 23.Rhg1 Qb6 24.Qf4 Be8 25.Qg3 Bc6 26.Rge1 Kc7 27.Qg7 Rce8 28.Bg6 Rhg8 29.Qh7 Rh8 30.Qg7 Rhg8 31.Qh7, 1/2-1/2, Koziak-Bezold, Neuhausen 2004.

9...Rc8!

An easy idea to remember. Black prepares ...c7-c5, with his Rook in the right place.

10.g5 hxg5 11.Bxg5 c5

The second key move. It’s a turbo-charged Hippo, unrecognizable from the original beast.

12.dxc5 Nxc5 13.Bh3 b4! 14.Nd5 b3!!

BITTEN BY A TURBO CHARGED HIPPO

Baki certainly didn’t expect this one. All the good things about Black’s position come into play now. White may already be lost.

15.Kb1

The variations are easy if White moves his queen. 15.Qe1 Bxd5 16.exd5 bxa2 17.Kd2 Rb8; 15.Qe3 bxa2 16.Kd2 Bxb2 17.Bxc8 Bxc8!. Black is winning in both cases.

15...Nxe4

Not that this isn’t easy to understand. All of White’s kingside advances are rendered irrelevant. 

16.fxe4 bxc2+ 17.Ka1 cxd1=Q+ 18.Qxd1 Rc4 19.Bg2 Bxd5 20.exd5

20.Qxd5 Rc2!

20...Qb6 21.Qe2 Rb4 22.Bc1 Nf6

Black might even castle in a minute.

23.Nh3

Unless White plays this one.

23...Rhxh4 24.Re1 Ne4 25.Qc2 Qc5, 0-1. White woke up and counted the pieces. A brilliant, short game by Ionov.