In this sharp variation of the Sozin Attack against the classical Sicilian, White usually castles queenside on move 12. Instead, I experimented with kingside castling. Black should have played 17...cxd5 18.Qxd5 Qxd5 19.Bxd5 R...
This game of mine follows Bobby Fischer's strategy against the Dragon variation: "Pry open the h-file, sac, sac ... mate!"
After the move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5, White has the option in the Philidor Counter Gambit of 4.d4 or 4.d3. In this game, White chooses the latter but quickly falls prey to a strong kingside attack.
Mikhail Chigorin was the great proponent of the knight. He felt that it was superior to the bishop. Not surprisingly, the player of the black pieces in the Chigorin Defense often winds up with two knights versus White's b...
I am beginning to realize that the Fajarowicz Variation is to 1.d4 what the Philidor Counter Gambit is to 1.e4, a tactical slugfest! Here is my latest victory. Instead of 20.Rb3?, White had to play 20.b3. But Black has more than ...
Frederic Fournier of France has a blog called Contre Gambit Philidor, devoted exclusively to the Philidor Counter Gambit. There is one slight error. He mistakenly refers to me as James Robert West when in fact my mi...
Here is a more recent example of the fighting Fajarowicz variation in the Budapest.
From 1972 (when I joined the USCF) through 1990, the Sicilian Najdorf was my premier defense against 1.e4. From 1990 to the present, my favorite defense has been the Philidor Counter Gambit. Yesterday, in a tournament, I had Black in c...
Yesterday, in a game/45 event, I annihilated my opponent's Pirc Defense with a sharp kingside attack. Black should have interpolated 8...dxe5 9.fxe5 before playing 9...Nb6. He might also have considered playing ...Nb4 at some ...
The exchange variation in the French Defense is considered to be drawish. But not in this game!
Besides playing the Philidor Counter Gambit when the move order allows it, I sometimes transpose into a more conventional line in the Philidor Defense as can be seen in these two games.
My strategy as White in the exchange variation of the Caro-Kann is to allow Black to carry out successfully his minority attack on the queenside, even if I drop a pawn. Meanwhile, I push my h-pawn forward to open up Black's castled posit...
Bill Wall has e-mailed several Philidor Counter Gambits that he has played on the Internet, from both sides of the board. The following is not the best of the bunch, but instructive nonetheless. Obviously White needed to play...
Earlier today, I played this exciting draw in a game/30 Swiss at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. I have not analyzed it yet. What do you think?
"SonofPearl" and "erik" commented on yesterday's game Kernighan-West which featured the Fajarowicz variation. Maybe declining the Budapest Gambit with 3.d5, as in Hutama-West, is the safest way for White to avoid comp...
A few months ago, I bought Tim Harding's The Fighting Fajarowicz and have begun playing the gambit in tournaments. Here is my best game, to date.
Before adopting the Philidor Counter Gambit as my favorite defense against 1.e4, I played the Sicilian Najdorf. The following game of mine appeared in Informant 50.
