As all of you readers know who followed my initial article about Hungarian combat (click HERE to read the first article), my first encounter with a Grandmaster ended with me being tortured to death on all sides of the board. My opening, the Accelerated Dragon, took a severe beating.

Since the tournament (First Saturday October, Budapest 2003) was a GM norm event, there were three GMs in attendance: Attila Czebe, who Maroczied me to death, Emil Anka, and Goran Kosanovic.

For my second encounter with a GM, vs. Anka, I went to my reserve defense against 1.e4, namely the Philidor Defense. I was inspired by GM Tony Kosten's book, WINNING WITH THE PHILIDOR DEFENSE and I had had good results with it in American tournaments. But as I discovered, that meant nothing in Europe.

I won't go so far as to say the book should be retitled “Losing with the Philidor Defense” but certain lines were over-optimistic … I followed a Larsen analysis, given in the book as leading to a good game – and right at the end of the analysis, Anka improved so accurately that I was shortly defending a pawn down ending, and praying to draw – but my prayers were not answered!

I had nothing else prepared, so it was back to the Accelerated Dragon. I worked on an alternate line instead of the double fianchetto that had been killed by Attila, and this time at least the opening worked!

Kosanovic - Taylor
1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 g6
5.c4 Bg7
6.Be3 Nf6
7.Nc3 0-0
8.Be2 d6

I had played this solid move before, and it does have a higher reputation among GMs than 8... b6.

9.0-0 Bd7
10.f3

This may not be a mistake, but it gives Black an interesting opportunity, because the White Q-Knight is not protected. My Accelerated Dragon book recommends 10…Qb6 here, but I find that doubtful in view of 11.Ncb5, shutting off Black's play and preparing to molest the Black Queen with Nc2 or even Nf5.

White could avoid all risk with the book 10.Qd2, while I might have played 10.f4 – more on that in part 5 of this series.

10…Nxd4
11.Bxd4 Nh5

A TRICKY MOVE

Black's point, which also contains the simple trap 12.f4?? Bxd4+ 13.Qxd4 Nxf4! 14.Rxf4 e5 and Black was winning in Weiss-Taylor, Chicago 1990.

The problem for White is that he cannot avoid the exchange of dark square Bishops without allowing severe Queenside weaknesses – yet this must be the only way to test the line, for as you see in this game, after the exchange of Bishops Black has no problems, and can play for a small edge.

So are any White players up for 11.Be3!? Bxc3 12.bxc3 b6 13.f4 with two bishops and space, but permanent weaknesses on the c-file?

12.Bxg7 Nxg7
13.Qd2 Bc6
14.Bd3 e5!

THE STRATEGIC POINT OF BLACK'S PLAY

One sees White's problem with the dark square B exchange: d4 has become weak.

15.Kh1 Ne6
16.b4 b6
17.Rfd1 Qh4
18.Bf1 Rad8
19.Qe1 Qxe1
20.Rxe1 Nd4

DREAM POSITION

All Accelerated Dragon books refer to this type of setup as “Black's dream position.” Black has the big Knight on d4, and the better Bishop, while his only weakness is the pawn at d6. So Black is a little bit better, but a long way from a win, as the Knight cannot be maintained on d4. If White would now foolishly play Nd5, then after …Bxd5 Black would have a permanent Good Knight, Bad Bishop advantage, but there is no way to compel a GM to make such a positional blunder!

21.Rac1 f5
22.Bd3 a5?

But blunders were coming easily to me in this tournament! I wanted to open a “second front” on the a-file, expecting 23.a3, but my opponent surprised me with the following “anti-positional” move, demonstrating that now I have two weaknesses …

I should have played the simple 22…f4 when after 23.Ne2 Black has slightly the better of a probable draw.

23.b5 Bb7?!

Perhaps I should dig in with 25…Ba8 26.Na4 Rb8, but I was still hoping for active play.

24.Na4

SUDDENLY THE b6-PAWN CRUMBLES

24…fxe4
25.fxe4 Rf2
26.Nxb6 Rd2

WHICH WHITE ROOK SHOULD GO TO d1?

Not 26…Rxa2 27.c5!, which wins due to the threat of Bc4+. But though 26…Rd2 is a better try, I don't really have enough for the pawn – but now I finally got a break!

27.Rcd1?

As Kosanovic said immediately after the game, correct was 27.Red1 (another one of those melancholy examples of the “wrong Rook,” as Fischer said of Robert Byrne!) when my analysis convinces me that I am dead, e.g. 27… Rb2 28.c5! and now A. 28…bxc5 29.Bc4+ Kg7 30.Na4 and White stays a pawn up, while Black's compensation can not be seen; or B. 28…Nxb5 29.Na4 Rb4 (forced) 30.Bxb5 Rxb5 31.Rxd6 Rxd6 32.cxd6 Bxe4 33.Nc3 Rb4 (33…Rc5 34.d7) 34.Nxe4 Rxe4 35.d7! and the curtain comes down.

27…Rb2
28.Rb1

Now if White plays 28.c5, Black plays as in “A” but has the c2-square for his Rook, which in the above line would lose a piece – White might still be better, but Kosanovic was so upset over missing the clear line that he didn't want to take any chances, and simply repeated moves, then offered a draw.

28…Rd2
29.Rbd1 Rb2, 1/2-1/2.

How “wonderful!” I made a draw!!!

In an American Swiss tournament, I would have been depressed, but in Budapest, after losing to two GMs, I was just happy to make a half point against the third, despite the errors on both sides.

But the serious consequence of this “moral victory” was that I decided to give the Accelerate Dragon another try … which would lead to the debacle you will gaze upon in my next article!