[Event "Amsterdam Zeskamp"] [Site "Amsterdam"] [Date "1930.02.16"] [Round "1"] [White "Weenink, Henri Gerard"] [Black "Landau, Salo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B08"] [Annotator "MJDonnelly"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1930.02.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.05.17"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 {if now 2...d5 then the opening becomes a Veresov but after} g6 3. e4 d6 {a Pirc Opening is the result.} 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Nxe4 {An early destruction of the White central duo also played by Keminski and Nakamura in more recent times. However, .} (5... O-O {is much more common, played by several 2700+ players again including Nakamura, and is recommended by modern day theoreticians such as Marin and Kornev. Following} 6. O-O {Black may again play} ({and if} 6. Qe2 {threatening e5 then Black has playable options such as} Bg4 (6... c6) ({or} 6... Nc6)) ({If White prevents Bg4 by} 6. h3 {then Black has} Nxe4 ({or} 6... c6)) 6... Nxe4 ({or more slowly} 6... c6 {aiming to play d5.})) 6. Bxf7+ {The most principled as at least the Black king is displaced.} (6. Nxe4 {is much simpler for Black to deal with and can attain at least equality by} d5 7. Bd3 (7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8. Nc3 Qc4 {Ammerlaan-Van Oosterom, NED-ch U-12 Hengelo 2000.}) (7. Bb5+ c6 8. Bxc6+ (8. Bd3 dxe4 9. Bxe4 O-O 10. O-O Nd7 11. c3 e5 {Tiviakov-Ipatov, Tata Steel-B Wijk aan Zee 2013.}) 8... Nxc6 9. Nc5 (9. Ng3 Bg4 {Nemeth-Fleuch, Harkany Tenkes Cup 2001.}) 9... Nxd4 {Ose-Karlsen, Las Palmas Insular-chT Primera-B 2013.}) 7... dxe4 8. Bxe4 c6 9. c3 Nd7 10. O-O (10. h3 Nf6 11. Bc2 O-O 12. O-O Qc7 {Yoo-Nakamura, Bullet Chess Winners Chess.com INT blitz 2024.}) 10... O-O 11. Bg5 Nf6 {Dubov-Andreikin, ICC op final ICC INT blitz 2016.}) 6... Kxf7 7. Nxe4 Rf8 {Black plans Kg8 to castle "by-hand". Black will then have pressure on the f-file possibly supplemented by Bg4} (7... Re8 {can also be played as in Goris-Ker, North Island op NZ 1991 although instead of the benign 8.0-0 Kg8 White may attack with} 8. h4 c5 (8... Kg8 {once again secures the king better}) 9. h5 {Fodre-Sonnleitner, Dortmund op 1987 which ended quickly as follows} cxd4 10. hxg6+ hxg6 11. Neg5+ Kg8 12. Nh4 Nc6 13. Nxg6 Ne5 14. Qh5 Nxg6 15. Qxg6 {and Black resigned.}) 8. h4 {An aggressive attacking move slightly resembling the game Marshall-Burn, Paris 1900 where Black secumbed to an attack on the h-file before the king's position was secured.} (8. Neg5+ {looks too early and Black was better after} Kg8 9. d5 h6 10. Ne6 Bxe6 11. dxe6 Qc8 12. Qd5 Rf6 {Svrkota-Doderovic, Podgorica Buducnost op 2021.}) (8. O-O {is not a problem after the key move} Kg8 {as played in many games.}) (8. Be3 {is similar and once again Black is fine after} Kg8 {one example being Hill-Saud, Olympiad-32 Yerevan 1996.}) 8... e5 $6 {Usually an attack on the wing is best met by central action but here this is not optimum as the Black king is still exposed on f7.} (8... Kg8 {is here essential.} 9. h5 Bf5 10. Ng3 Qd7 11. hxg6 Qe6+ 12. Be3 Bxg6 13. Qd2 d5 $6 {Black is fine up to this point in the game but now starts to go astray and lost after} 14. O-O-O Nd7 15. Nh5 Bf6 16. Bh6 Rf7 17. Nf4 Qa6 18. Nxg6 hxg6 19. Rh3 Rh7 20. Kb1 Kf7 21. Qf4 {1:0 Butu-Fischer (W!), EU-ch M ICCF corr.1979.}) (8... h6 {is dangerous for Black due to} 9. h5 g5 10. Nfxg5+ hxg5 (10... Kg8 {leaves Black a pawn down for nothing as in Hlavac-Turcel, SVK-ch T1E 2009.}) 11. h6 Bf6 (11... Bh8 12. Qh5+ Ke6 13. Qg4+ Kd5 $2 (13... Kf7 14. Nxg5+ Ke8 15. Qh5+ Kd7 {and Black is just about surviving.}) 14. Nc3+ {and soon mates (Petrov-Makhnev, Kimry Rating 2007)-the game ended when Black resigned following} Kc4 15. Qe2+ Kxd4 16. Qe4+) 12. Qh5+ Ke6 13. h7 {Pitschka-Hofstetter, Bayern-ch Bad Neustadt 2003.}) (8... d5 {can also be considered} 9. Neg5+ (9. Nfg5+ Kg8 {is even good for Black in Kejzar-Veber, SLO-ch T1 West Ljubljana 2014.}) 9... Kg8 10. h5 h6 11. Nh7 (11. hxg6 Bg4 (11... hxg5 $1) 12. Nf7 $18 {Steiner-Heiden, Schleswig Holstein-ch Kropp 1993.}) 11... Rxf3 12. Qxf3 Qd6 $13 {Peto-Belanoff, IECG SH 00087 e-mail 2007.}) 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Qe2 ({Instead} 10. Qxd8 {exchanging queens is weak as the king is reasonably safe on f7 and in an ending would be well placed in the centre.}) 10... h6 {Also too slow in this position as in the earlier cited games.} (10... Qd5 {preventing Qc4+ ideas and}) (10... Kg8 11. h5 gxh5 12. Nfg5 Bf5 13. Qc4+ Kh8 14. Ng3 {allow Black to stay in the game although at some disadvantage.} ({although} 14. Nf7+ $2 {throws the game due to} Rxf7 15. Qxf7 Bxe4)) 11. h5 g5 (11... Bf5 {doesn't hold Black's game together after} 12. hxg6+ Bxg6 13. Qc4+) 12. Nfxg5+ (12. Bxg5 {can be met by} Qd5 {extending the game a whilst but not by} (12... hxg5 13. h6 $18)) 12... hxg5 {loses quickly as White can soon complete development by castling queen's-side.} (12... Kg8 {also loses to} 13. Qc4+ Kh8 14. Nf7+ Rxf7 15. Qxf7) ({and} 12... Ke8 {is no better due to} 13. Be3 hxg5 (13... Qd5 14. Rd1 Qxa2 15. Qd3 $18) 14. h6 $18) 13. Bxg5 Qe8 {Other queen moves offer no salvation either eg} (13... Qd5 14. h6 Bf5 15. hxg7 $18) ({or} 13... Qd4 14. Rd1 Qxb2 15. Qc4+ Be6 16. Qxc7+ Nd7 17. Rxd7+ Bxd7 18. Qxd7+ Kg8 19. h6 Qa1+ 20. Ke2 Qxh1 21. Qxg7#) 14. O-O-O {Apart from a lead in development White has a very strong passed pawn and two pawns for the sacrificed piece. In addition, the Black king on f7 has the distinct impression of about to be "going over the top" an expression used in WW1.} Bf5 15. Qc4+ {winning easily due to the check also attacking c7.} Qe6 (15... Be6 {is no use after} 16. Qxc7+ Nd7 (16... Kg8 17. h6 Bh8 18. h7#) 17. Nd6+) 16. Qxc7+ Kg8 17. h6 Rf7 18. Rd8+ Bf8 ({Alternatively} 18... Kh7 19. hxg7+) 19. Rxf8+ Kxf8 (19... Rxf8 20. Qg7#) 20. Qd8+ Qe8 21. h7 Rxh7 (21... Qxd8 22. h8=Q#) 22. Be7+ Rxe7 23. Rh8+ Kf7 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Nd6+ {In the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s Landau was a very strong player indeed. He won or finished high up the table in several Dutch Championships and drew or narrowly lost some matches against World class players. In addition, he also had some good results in International Tournaments with the occasional win or high place. He was also a second to Alekhine in his World Championship match with Euwe in 1935 and a referee in the famous AVRO event, The Landau family had to flee Galicia during WW1 and tragically Landau and his wife and daughter did not survive the WW2 concentration camps. Little wonder the Ancient Greeks devised the concept of the Moirai: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos.} 1-0