One of the sharpest
Openings in all of Chess is the Wilkes
Barre/Traxler Variation i.e. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3
Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5,
but after 5.Bxf7ch Ke7 6.Bd5 Rf8 (If a
strong attacking move like this is bad, it
is doubtful that 6...Qe8 is any better.
White can play 7.Bxc6! in either variation).
Losev-Isaev, Trades
Union, 1990 saw 6...Rf8
7.Bxc6! dxc6 followed by 8.Qe2? allowing
8...Ng4 9.f3 Bf2ch! (Losev-Isaev saw
9...Nf2). Now Fritz 8 sees a simple tactical
shot i.e. 10.Kf1 (Kd1?? Ne3ch -+) Bb6=.
The correct way to meet
7...dxc6 is with 8.Nf3!! Game over! Black
cannot play 8...Nxe4 because of 9.Qe2 Nxf2
10.Rf1 +- White picks up two pieces for the
Rook. According to Fritz 8, Black has
nothing better than 8...Kf7 which allows
9.d3. There is no attack and Black is a Pawn
down with no compensation, a winning
advantage for White in the hands of say GM
Victor Korchnoi.
In the game Moody-Fritz
8, White easily neutralized the Black
initiative after 9...Kg8 10.Be3 (Offering
the trade Bxe3 11.fxe3 Ng4 12.Qe2 Be6 13.0-0
Qe8 14.h3+- White can contest the f-file
and wins the endgame easily) Bd4?! 11.Nxd4
exd4 (Improving the pawn structure at the
expense of handing White a simple middlegame
win.) 12.Bf6 Qd6 13.Bxf6 Rxf6 14.0-0 Be6
15.f3 Raf8 16.Rf2 a6 17.a4 (Fritz has White
winning easily by move 40 even though White
wasted several tempos).
Since the computer plays
complex middlegames at or beyond World
Champion level, this is a valid test of the
innovation. The combination of
5.Bxf7ch/Bd5/Bxc6/Nf3 appears to cook the
Wilkes Barre/Traxler Variation.
