By Karel van der Weide

In my whole life, I never had a decent reply to the Trompovsky, most probably because I didn't bother to have a proper look at it. Initially I played 2...d5, running blindly into games like:

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Bd3 0-0 6.Nd2 c6 7.Ne2 f5 8.c4 dxc4 9.Nxc4 Bc7 10.Qc2 g6 11.h4 Be6 12.g3 Nd7 13.h5 Nf6 14.hxg6 hxg6 15.Nf4

I remember showing this game to Mikhail Gurevich. Misja really is fond of bishops and the double exchange caused him some health-problems. Needless to say, Black went into a bad ending, but in the end I managed to scrape a draw against Helgi Olafsson.

Another time I wasn't that lucky, facing a runner-up for the world-championship, David Bronstein:

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Nd2 f5 6.Qf3 Qf6 7.Bd3 c6 8.Ne2 Be6 9.c4 Nd7 10.Nc3 dxc4 11.Bxc4

The same pawn structure as appeared in the previous game. White is obviously better, due to his central domination. Black has no chance to make his bishop pair a real value and I lost without a fight: 11...0-0 12.0-0 Rfe8 13.a3 Rad8 14.Rad1 h6 15.Rfe1 Bc7 16.b4 Nb6 17.Bb3 Nd5 18.Nxd5 Bxd5

So much for the pair of bishops.

19.Bxd5 Rxd5 20.Nb3 Qd6 21.g3 b6

This antidote turns out to be worse then the disease.

22.Qe2 Rb5 23.Qc4 Qd5 24.Rc1 Re6 25.a4 Qxc4 26.Rxc4 Rd5 27.b5 cxb5 28.Rxc7 bxa4 29.Nc1 Ra5 30.Nd3 a3 31.Ra1 b5 32.Rc3 Rea6 33.Nb4, 1-0.

Very depressing. Maybe I read it somewhere, or thought of it myself, but a set-up with a bishop on g7 might promise more dynamic chances for Black. Well, see and shiver!

Fluit-van der Weide, Zwolle 2005
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 g6 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.e3 Bg7 5.g3 f5 6.c4 d6 7.Bg2 Nd7 8.Nc3 0-0 9.Nge2 Re8 10.0-0 Nf6 11.Qc2 h5 12.h4 Ng4 13.Nd5 c6 14.Ndf4 a5 15.b3 Bd7 16.Rfe1 Re7 17.Rab1 Qe8 18.Qd2 Bh6 19.Nc3 Nf6 20.a3 Qf8 21.Bf3 Ne4 22.Qc2 Rae8 23.Kg2 Qg7 24.Rbd1 Kf8

Dynamic chances? I am not making any progress, am I?

25.Na4 Rd8 26.Nb6 Be8 27.Bxe4 fxe4 28.Qd2 g5? 29.hxg5 Qxg5 30.Qe2

Oops, there goes h5!

30...f5

The alternative 30...h4 was no good due to 31.Rh1 hxg3 32.Rh5 Qg7 33.Rdh1.

31.Rh1 Kg8 32.Rh2 Bg7 33.Nxh5 Bxh5 34.Qxh5 Qxh5 35.Rxh5 Rf7 36.Rdh1 Kf8 37.R1h4 Ke7 38.Rf4 Rdf8 39.g4 fxg4 40.Rxf7+ Rxf7 41.Rxa5 Bf6 42.Rh5 Ke6 43.Na4 g3 44.fxg3 Be7 45.Nc3 Rf3 46.Nd1 b6 47.Rh1 Bg5 48.Rf1 Bxe3 49.Re1, 1-0. Well done Karel! Solidly outplayed by a guy with 400 Elo points less!

This called for desperate measures. I had to give this opening serious attention! A quick glance showed me that Black had two reasonable options to meet 2.Bg5. You chose either 2...e6 or 2...Ne4. The former certainly isn't bad, but because the latter was played by my good friend and colleague IM Eelke Wiersma, it was the easiest to "steal" his repertoire!

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4

The main move as the alternatives 3.h4 c5 4.d5 Qb6 5.Nd2 Nxg5 6.hxg5 g6 7.e4 d6 and 3.Bh4 g5 4.f3 gxh4 5.fxe4 e5 6.e3 Bh6 promise Black excellent play.

3...c5 Now there is a branch: A) 4.f3 and B) 4.d5

A) 4.f3 Qa5+ 5.c3 Nf6 6.Nd2

There is something to say for 6.d5 here. Logical looks 6...Qb6 7.Bc1 (7.b3 e6 8.e4 exd5 9.exd5 Bd6 10.Bg5 Be7 11.c4 0-0 12.Nc3 Re8 and 7.e4 Qxb2 8.Nd2 Qxc3 9.Bc7 d6 10.Ne2 Qe3 11.Nc4 Qh6 are fine for Black.) 7...e6 8.c4 (8.e4 exd5 9.exd5 Bd6 10.Na3 0-0 etc.) 8...exd5 9.cxd5 c4 10.e3

The Trompovsky sometimes is characterized by a huge amount of pawn-moves. Black has to play this position very energetically and sacks a pawn for an uncertain position of the White King: 10...Bc5 11.Kf2 0-0 12.Bxc4 Re8 13.Qb3 Qd8 14.Ne2 d6 15.Rd1 a6 16.a4 Nbd7 with great compensation in Mamedyarov-Sulskis, Batumi 2003.

Now, back to 6.Nd2: 6...cxd4 7.Nb3

It is amazing that White's innocent set-up causes Black problems. It is his choice now between a speculative continuation, A.1) 7...Qf5 or an ending that should be slightly better for White, A.2) 7...Qb6.

A.1) 7...Qf5 8.Bxb8 Rxb8 9.Qxd4 b6 10.e4 Qf4 11.Nh3 Qc7 12.e5 Ng8 13.0-0-0

White is fully developed, where in the mean time Black played his moves in reverse!

13...e6 14.Ng5 Ne7 15.f4 Nf5 16.Qf2 Okay, Black has the pair of bishops. Who knows?

A.2) 7...Qb6 8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Qxb6 axb6 10.Nd4!

10.Be3 d5 11.Bxb6 e5! 12.Bf2 d4 13.e4 Be6 gives Black sufficient compensation for the pawn.

10...e5 11.Nxc6 dxc6 12.Bxe5 Be6

13.e4! That's the problem. White returns the pawn (13.a3 b5 allows Black to keep the initiative). After taking it, Black faces the same ending as in lines of the Spanish Exchange Variation. The white majority is mobile, the black one isn't, therefore White is better.

Studying the alternative on the fourth move cost me initially much less time:
B. 4.d5 Qb6 5.Bc1 g6 6.f3 Nd6 7.e4 Bg7 8.Nc3 f5

In an actual game I might prefer castling before throwing this one in.

9.exf5 Nxf5 10.g4 Nh6 11.d6 e6 12.Nb5 Na6 with a complete mess in McShane-Kotronias, Gibraltar 2003. Ideal to play against a weaker opponent!

So, I thought I knew it all. Okay, there were some problems in the line with 4.f3, but I might swindle myself out with 7...Qf5. Then this game occurred:

Dittmar-van der Weide, Seefeld 2006
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 c5 4.d5 Qb6 5.Nd2

Hold on, I don't know this move. Checking my database after the game, there appeared to be some odd 150 games with it. Bad, bad preparation!

5...Nxd2

The reader is advised to play 5...Qxb2! 6.Nxe4 Qb4+ 7.Qd2 Qxe4 8.e3 g5! 9.f3 Qf5 10.Bg3 Bg7 11.c3 Qf6 12.Rc1 d6 and I think White's compensation is sufficient.

6.Bxd2 Qxb2 7.e4

The rock solid and very sympathetic German Peter Dittmar played this all very quickly. It urged me to divert, but the move I played might not be appropriate.

7...g5!!?? 8.Rb1 Qg7 9.Ne2 Qg6 10.Ng3 Bg7 11.Bd3 Be5 12.0-0 d6 13.f4 gxf4 14.Bxf4 Nd7 15.Bb5 Bd4+ 16.Kh1 Rg8 17.Qe2 Qg4

Somehow I am still in this game. It might have been more sensible to play 17...a6 here, because it is obvious White won't exchange Queens.

18.Qd2 a6 19.Be2 Qg7 20.Bh6 Qh8

That puts the Queen out of commission

21.Nf5 Bc3 22.Qe3 Be5

Sweating time! It was clear to me Peter could deliver a final blow with 23.Qa3. The upcoming maneuver Qa5/Qc7 is fatal.

23.Qf2? Nf6 24.Qh4 Rg6

24...Bxf5 25.Rxf5 0-0-0 probably made more sense.

25.a4 Qg8 26.g4 Kd8? 27.Bd2 Ke8

This surely makes a stupid impression on the reader.

28.g5 Nd7 29.Bh5 Nf8 30.Bxg6 Qxg6

Material down, so now coffeehouse chess is needed.

31.c4 b5 32.axb5 axb5 33.cxb5 Ra2 34.Rf2 e6 35.Ne3 Bb7 36.Rbf1 Bd4 37.Rxf7 Qxf7 38.Rxf7 Kxf7 39.Qf4+ Ke7

The famous 40th move. 40.Nc4 now concludes matters, but luckily my opponent panicked.

40.Bc1? Ra1?

Someone else is panicking too! 40...Be5 41.Qf1 Ra1 42.Nc2 Rb1 43.Na3 Ra1 44.Nc2 would have secured a repetition of moves.

41.Nc4 exd5 42.Qxd6+ Kf7 43.Qf4+

There was a win for White here: 43.Qc7+ Kg6 (43...Kg8 44.Nd6 Rxc1+ 45.Kg2+-) 44.Nd6 Rxc1+ 45.Kg2 Rc2+ 46.Kh3 Rc3+ 47.Kg4 and White successfully fled from the checks.

43...Ke6

Finally I came to my senses, no winning attempts! 43...Kg8 44.Nd6; 43...Kg6 44.Nd6; 43...Ke7 44.Qc7+ Nd7 45.Nb6 all go +-.

44.Qd6+ Kf7 45.Qf4+, 1/2-1/2.

So, I am still struggling against the Trompovsky. Maybe it is a question of time before I change to 2...e6, the last resort.