1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4?!

Black to play after 20.Rd1 and end the game.

The game Gadgil-Mazzillo, Kenilworth Summer Tourney 2005 (which you can view online or download as PGN) was interesting in several respects, not least because of its opening. I have witnessed several games at the club that began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4?! (rather than the recommended 3...d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4). And I am never sure whether or not the players know that this line is supposed to be bad for Black--or if Black is playing it as a trap of sorts, knowing full well that the worst that can happen to him is that he will end up with a bad ending (which anyone below Master level would be hard pressed to win). What's more, the second player is very likely to be rewarded -- as in the present game -- by those who do not know the "refutation." So, as a warning to all, here is a bit of analysis on this interesting Petroff byway, which turns out to be a lot more complicated than I had supposed. In fact, if you are serious about studying this line I'd suggest you download the PGN file since it contains a few minor adjustments to my original analysis--and I'm sure that if you played around with these lines some more with Fritz you'd discover even more ideas!

The game is also interesting for its critical moment (see diagram above). Black was clearly winning--he was already a pawn up with a dominating position--but he rightly sensed that this was the moment to deliver a knock-out blow. The mistake he made can only be understood in this way: he knew a combination must exist here, and as soon as he saw the glimmer of one he played it. He chose wrong, unfortunately, and lost. Can you find the knock-out that he knew was there?

[Event "KCC Summer Tourney "]
[Site "Kenilworth, NJ USA"]
[Date "2005.08.25"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gadgil, Laukik"]
[Black "Mazzillo, Pat"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[Annotator "Goeller,Michael"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2005.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4 {I had always thought this was an opening error, and I suppose I remain convinced that it is. But White must be prepared for a sharp struggle followed by a long endgame in order to carry the point. He must also avoid a few traps, as the game and the analysis show.} 4. Qe2 Qe7 ({Of course not} 4... Nf6 $4 5. Nc6+ $18) ({nor} 4... d5 5. d3 Qe7 6. dxe4 Qxe5 7. exd5 $16) 5. Qxe4 d6 6. d4 ({Also playable may be} 6. f4 $5 dxe5 7. fxe5 Nc6 (7... f6 8. Bc4 Qxe5 9. Qxe5+ fxe5 10. d3 Nc6 11. Be3 Nd4 12. Kd2 Nf5 13. Bf2 Bd7 14. Nc3 O-O-O 15. Rae1 Re8 16. Bf7 Re7 17. Bd5 c6 18. Be4 b6 19. Rhf1 $14 { 0-1 Haznedaroglu,K-Volkmann,F/Leon ESP 2001 (48)}) 8. d4 f5 9. Qf4 Be6 10. c3 O-O-O 11. Bd3 Qd7 12. Bc2 g5 13. Qf2 Be7 14. Nd2 Rhf8 15. Nb3 Qd5 16. Bd2 Qb5 17. Bd1 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Rd5 19. Be2 Rxe5 20. Be3 Bc4 21. Bxc4 Qxc4 22. O-O-O $18 {1-0 Chandler,M-Jimenez de la Torre/Oviedo 1992 (41)}) 6... dxe5 ({a)} 6... Nc6 $5 7. Bb5 (7. Nc3 dxe5 8. Nd5 Qd8 9. dxe5 Bf5 10. Qxf5 Qxd5 $44) 7... Bd7 8. O-O $1 dxe5 9. d5 f5 10. Qe2 Nb8 (10... Nb4 $142 $5) 11. Re1 Bxb5 12. Qxb5+ c6 13. Qb3 cxd5 14. Bg5 Qc7 15. Nc3 Nc6 16. Qxd5 Be7 17. Nb5 Qd7 18. Qxd7+ Kxd7 19. Rad1+ Ke8 20. Nc7+ Kf7 21. Bxe7 Kxe7 22. Nxa8 Rxa8 23. c3 { 1-0 Speelman,J-Keogh,E/Amsterdam zt 1978 (36)}) ({b)} 6... f6 $2 7. f4 Nd7 8. Bc4 $1 (8. Nc3 fxe5 $1 (8... dxe5 $2 9. Nd5 Qd6 $2 10. fxe5 fxe5 11. dxe5 Qc6 12. Bb5 Qc5 13. Be3 {1-0 Wills-Sparks/USA 1942 (13)} Qxb5 14. Nxc7+ Kd8 15. Nxb5 $18) 9. dxe5 $1 (9. fxe5 dxe5 10. Nd5 Nf6 11. Bb5+ c6 12. Nxf6+ gxf6 13. Bxc6+ bxc6 14. Qxc6+ Kf7 15. Qd5+ (15. Qxa8 $2 exd4+ 16. Kf2 Bb7 $40) 15... Kg6 16. Qxa8 $2 (16. Qe4+) 16... Bb7 17. Qb8 Bg7 18. Qxa7 exd4+ 19. Kf2 Re8 20. Rg1 Qe2+ $19) 9... dxe5 10. Nd5 Qh4+ 11. g3 Qd8 12. Be2 $1 $18) 8... fxe5 9. fxe5 dxe5 10. O-O exd4 (10... Nf6 11. Qh4 $40) 11. Bf7+ Kd8 12. Bg5 Nf6 13. Rxf6 $3 Qxe4 14. Rd6# {Bernstein/Paris 0 (14)}) 7. Qxe5 $2 {A blunder, which gives Black the edge rather than properly punishing him for his inaccurate opening.} ({The only correct move is} 7. dxe5 $1 Nc6 8. Nc3 { White has three alternatives, two of which may also be good:} (8. Bf4 $6 g5 9. Bd2 (9. Bb5 Bd7 10. Bd2 f5 11. Qe2 O-O-O 12. O-O f4 13. Bc3 Rg8 14. Nd2 Rg6 15. Ne4 Nxe5 16. Bxd7+ Nxd7 $11 {1/2-1/2 Seknadje,J-Nuvoloni,D (23)}) (9. Bg3 $4 f5 $19 {Rivers-Acers, New Orleans 1961}) 9... Nxe5 10. Nc3 f5 $13) (8. Bb5 Bd7 9. Nc3 $1 (9. O-O $6 O-O-O 10. Bf4 (10. Be3 Nxe5 11. Bxd7+ Nxd7 12. Qa4 a6 13. Nc3 Qb4 14. Qxb4 Bxb4 15. Nd5 { 1/2-1/2 Marcet Bisbale,A-Hidalgo,A/St Cugat 1994 (15)}) (10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. Qf5+ Bd7 12. Qf4 f6 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Nc3 Qf7 15. Ne4 f5 16. Be3 Rg8 17. Ng5 Qg6 18. g3 Bd6 19. Qd4 f4 20. Qxa7 Bc6 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. gxf4 Qxg5+ { 0-1 Wittmann,R-Lieff,H/Germany 1979 (22)}) 10... f5 11. Qe3 Qb4 12. e6 (12. Nc3 Bc5 13. Qc1 Bd4 $13) 12... Qxb5 13. exd7+ Rxd7 $11 { 0-1 Salakhova,G-Potapov,A/Ceske Budejovice 1994 (56)}) 9... Qb4 $1 (9... O-O-O $6 10. Bf4 $1 (10. O-O Nxe5 $11 { 1/2-1/2 Kulicov,O-Maiorov,O/Kramatorsk UKR 2003 (17)}) 10... f6 (10... Qb4 11. O-O-O Qxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe5 13. Bxd7+ Nxd7 14. Ng5 $16) (10... g5 11. Bg3 Bg7 12. O-O-O Qc5 13. Rd5 Qe7 14. Rhd1 Nb8 15. Bxd7+ Rxd7 16. Nb5 { 1-0 Karmov,M-Wolochowicz,P (16)}) 11. exf6 Qxf6 12. O-O-O a6 13. Nd5 Qf7 14. Bc4 Re8 15. Qf3 Be6 16. Rhe1 Bc5 17. Rxe6 Rxe6 18. Nxc7 { 1-0 Yudasin,L-Montecatine,R/Dos Hermanas 1992 (18)}) 10. Bc4 $1 O-O-O (10... Be6 $5) 11. a3 $1 Qa5 12. Bxf7 Nxe5 13. b4 Bxb4 14. Qxb4 Qxb4 15. axb4 Nxf7 16. Rxa7 $16 {1-0 Naiditsch,A-Volkmann,F/Istanbul TUR 2003 (45)}) (8. f4 $5 Qb4+ ( 8... Bd7 9. Nc3 $16) 9. Nd2 Qxe4+ 10. Nxe4 Nb4 11. Bd3 Be6 12. Bd2 Nxd3+ 13. cxd3 O-O-O 14. Ke2 Bg4+ 15. Ke3 Be7 16. h3 Bf5 17. g4 Rxd3+ $2 (17... Be6 18. f5 $16) 18. Kxd3 Rd8+ 19. Ke3 Bxe4 20. Kxe4 Rxd2 21. Rab1 Bc5 22. Rhd1 Re2+ 23. Kf5 $1 $18 {1-0 Tozkij,A-Babaeva,F/Moscow 1991 (42)}) 8... Qxe5 9. Qxe5+ Nxe5 10. Nb5 $1 (10. Bf4 Bd6 11. Bg3 Bd7 (11... Bf5 12. O-O-O O-O 13. Nb5 $16 { 1-0 Mellado Trivino,J-Jimenez de la Torre,J/Seville ESP 2005 (47)}) 12. O-O-O O-O-O 13. Ne4 Bc6 14. Nxd6+ cxd6 15. f3 Rhe8 16. Rd4 $1 (16. Rd2 f5 17. h4 h6 $2 (17... f4 $3 18. Bxf4 Nxf3 $1 $11) 18. h5 $14 Rf8 19. Rh4 Rf7 20. Rhd4 Rfd7 21. Bh4 g5 22. hxg6 {1-0 Koskivirta,O-Larsson,P (22)}) 16... Kc7 17. a4 f5 ( 17... f6 $142 $1 {Acers}) 18. h4 g6 19. Bf4 Rd7 20. b4 Rde7 21. Kb2 a6 22. a5 d5 23. h5 Kc8 24. hxg6 hxg6 25. Rh6 Rg7 26. Bxe5 Rxe5 27. Bd3 Kc7 28. g4 Re3 29. gxf5 gxf5 30. f4 Rf7 31. Rh5 Re4 32. Bxe4 fxe4 33. f5 Kd6 34. c4 Ke5 35. Kc3 dxc4 36. Rxc4 Kf4 37. Rc5 e3 38. Rh6 e2 39. Re6 Bf3 40. f6 Rd7 41. Rce5 Rf7 42. Kd4 Kg3 43. Rg5+ Kf4 $2 44. Rg7 $18 Rf8 45. Rge7 Kg5 46. f7 Bg4 47. Re4 Kf6 48. R7e5 Rd8+ 49. Kc5 Bf3 50. Rxe2 Rc8+ 51. Kb6 { 1-0 Vasiukov,E-Chekhov,V/USSR 1975 (51)}) 10... Bd6 (10... Bb4+ 11. Bd2 (11. c3 Ba5 12. Bf4 f6 13. a4 $1 $14) 11... Bxd2+ 12. Kxd2 O-O 13. Re1 Nc6 14. Nxc7 { 1-0 Stempka,J-Larsson,P (14)}) 11. Nxd6+ cxd6 12. Be3 O-O 13. O-O-O Rd8 14. f4 Nc6 {White has a clear advantage in the endgame with his two Bishops, greater control of space, and the target at d6. It still takes quite a bit of technique to turn these advantages into a win.} 15. c3 Bg4 16. Rd2 Rac8 17. Kb1 d5 18. Bd3 a6 19. h3 Bd7 20. Bc2 Re8 21. Bb6 Ne7 22. Re1 Rc6 23. Rde2 Re6 24. Rxe6 fxe6 25. Bd4 Rf8 26. Bc5 Re8 27. Bxe7 Rxe7 28. Re5 g6 29. Kc1 Kf7 30. Kd2 Kf6 31. Ke3 Bb5 32. h4 Rc7 33. g4 Bd7 34. h5 b5 35. Bd3 a5 36. g5+ Kf7 37. hxg6+ hxg6 38. Kd4 Rc8 39. Re2 Rh8 40. Ke5 Rh3 41. Bc2 b4 42. cxb4 Bb5 43. Rf2 axb4 44. Kd4 Bd7 45. Kc5 Rh4 46. b3 Bc8 47. Kxb4 e5 48. Kc5 Rxf4 49. Rxf4+ exf4 50. Kxd5 f3 51. Kd6 f2 52. Bd3 Bh3 53. b4 f1=Q 54. Bxf1 Bxf1 55. a4 Ke8 56. Kc7 Ke7 57. b5 Ke6 58. b6 Ba6 59. b7 Bxb7 60. Kxb7 Kf5 61. a5 Kxg5 62. a6 Kf4 63. a7 g5 64. a8=Q g4 65. Qa1 Kf3 66. Qg1 {1-0 Hatala,J-Motamedi,G (66)}) 7... Qxe5+ 8. dxe5 Bf5 ({Also playable is} 8... Nc6 9. Bb5 Bd7 10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. O-O O-O-O 12. Bf4 g5 $1 13. Bg3 Bc5 (13... h5 $1) 14. c3 h5 15. h3 Rdg8 16. b4 Bb6 17. Kh1 h4 18. Bh2 g4 $40 19. f3 gxh3 20. gxh3 Rd8 21. Bg1 Rhg8 22. Bxb6 axb6 23. a4 Rd1 24. Rxd1 Bxf3+ 25. Kh2 Rg2+ 26. Kh1 Rd2+ 27. Kg1 Rxd1+ 28. Kf2 Bh5 $19 {0-1 Wright,I-Kagan,M/Canberra AUS 1999 (28)}) 9. Bd3 $2 { This move creates a weak pawn at d3, thus presenting Black with two targets of attack at e5 and d3. White should be able to maintain equality but he must play very carefully to combat Black's initiative.} ({a)} 9. Bb5+ Nd7 (9... c6 10. Bd3 Bxd3 11. cxd3 Nd7 12. O-O Nc5 13. d4 Ne6 14. Be3 O-O-O 15. Nd2 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Rxd4 17. Nf3 $11 {1-0 Paulic,B-Milin,D/Belgrade SCG 2005 (59)}) 10. Ba4 ( 10. O-O Bxc2 11. Nc3 c6 $1 $17) 10... O-O-O 11. Bg5 Re8 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. O-O Bxe5 $15 {1/2-1/2 Coleto,V-Vilchez,I/Cacere University 1993 (38)}) ({b)} 9. c3 Nd7 10. f4 (10. Bf4 O-O-O 11. Bc4 (11. Nd2 Nxe5 12. Bxe5 Re8 13. f4 f6 $11 14. Nf3 fxe5 15. fxe5 Bd6 16. O-O-O Bxe5 17. Nxe5 Rxe5 18. Bd3 Bxd3 19. Rxd3 Re2 20. Rd2 Rxd2 21. Kxd2 {1/2-1/2 Simon,P-Clark,K (21)}) 11... Nxe5 12. Bxe5 Re8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Szilagyi,T-Majdanics,I/Cuba 1993 (23)}) 10... O-O-O 11. Be3 a6 12. Nd2 f6 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. h3 Re8 15. Kf2 Nd5 16. Nc4 Nxe3 17. Nxe3 Bc5 18. Re1 Rxe3 $1 {0-1 Grishchuk,A-Kuliev,S/Bratislava WchJM-U10 1993 (18)}) ({c)} 9. Nc3 Bxc2 10. Be3 c6 $11) 9... Bxd3 10. cxd3 Nc6 11. O-O O-O-O $15 12. f4 Bc5+ 13. Kh1 Rxd3 $17 (13... Nb4 14. Nc3 Nxd3 15. Ne4 Bd4) 14. Nc3 Rhd8 15. a3 Bd4 ( 15... Nd4) 16. g3 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Rxc3 18. Bb2 Rc2 $19 19. Bc1 Nd4 20. Rd1 Rxh2+ $4 {Pat clearly felt that there had to be a win in the position. He just miscalculated. Instead, Black mates or wins easily after} (20... Nf3 $1 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Bd2 $8 Rxd2 23. Rd1 $8 Rxd1+ 24. Kg2 Nd4 $19) 21. Kxh2 Nf3+ 22. Kg2 Rxd1 23. Kxf3 Kd7 24. Kg4 Rg1 25. Bb2 Rg2 26. Rd1+ Ke7 27. Bd4 { and White eventually won.} 1-0