Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Edited by Tartajubow
Note: This booklet does not contain the complete games included in Bloodgood’s originally published work
on the Grob Attack.
Part 1 (The Gambit Accepted) [4...Qc7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.h3 (6.Qb3!? and if 6...e6 ,
7.h3!) 6...Bd7 7.e4 e6 8.dxe6 Bxe6 9.d4 Nbd7
Grob's Attack is a basic gambit unlike anything 10.Nge2 g6 11.Be3 Bg7 12.0–0 0–0 13.Rc1 Bc4
else in modern chess theory. Every basic concept (13...Qa5 14.Bd2 Qb6) 14.b3 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Qa5
of development and piece placement must be 16.e5 Ne8 17.Ne4 Nc7!? (17...Qd8 with ...Nb6-
discarded once 1. g4 has been played, and this Nd5 following) 18.Nd6! Rab8 19.Nxb7 1–0
applies to the player with Black even more than to Grob,H-Chevalier,D/corr 1964 (19) with an easy
the player with White. Accepting the gambit pawn win.; 4...Qb6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Qc2 Nf6 7.a4 a5 8.d3
in the Grob is accepting immediate problems, but cxd5 9.Nxd5 Nxd5 10.Bxd5 Bc5 11.Be3 (11.Qc4?
it has been my experience that players facing this Qb4+ relieves some of the pressure on Black)
for the first time are most likely to do just that. For 11...Bxe3 12.fxe3 Bd7 (12...Qxe3? 13.Qc4 Qd4
practical purposes, this is the logical introduction 14.Bxf7+ Kd8 15.Qb3 with advantage to White)
to the Grob. 13.Nf3 1–0 Bloodgood,C-Clark,J/corr Zugzwang
1975 (23) with some advantage to White.; After
1. g4 d5 4...cxd5 5.Qb3 come several lines of interest
2. Bg2 Bxg4 5...Nf6 (5...Qc7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Nxd5 Nxd5 8.Bxd5
3. c4 Nc6 9.Bxf7+ Kd8 (compare this with the position
after 9... Kd8 in Bloodgood-Ebright below) 10.Nf3
Qd7 11.Ng5 Nd4 12.Qd3 Bxe2 13.Qxd4! 1–0
Bloodgood,C-Christy,W/Norfolk Open 1957 (13)
(if 13... Qxd4 14. Ne6+); 5...e6? 6.Qa4+ 1–0
Bloodgood,C-Bowlby,R/corr 1974 (6) Black
resigned.) 6.Nc3 e6 7.Qxb7 Nbd7 8.d4 Rb8
(8...a5! 9.Bf4 Rc8 10.h3 Bf5 11.Qb3 Rc4 12.Nb5?
a4! 13.Qxc4 dxc4 14.Nc7+ Ke7 15.d5 e5 16.0–0–0
Qxc7 17.d6+ Qxd6 18.Rxd6 Kxd6 19.Bd2 Be7
20.Nf3 h6 21.Rd1 Ke6 22.Bc3 Ne4 23.Be1 a3
24.e3 Ndc5 25.bxa3 Nd3+ White resigned 0–1
Grob,H-Gubler,E./corr) 9.Qxa7 Bd6 10.Qa6 Rb6
11.Qd3 1–0 Grob,H-Wegmueller,A/corr 1963 (11)
with advantage to White.; 4...Qa5 5.Qb3 Qb6
6.Qg3 (6.dxc6! and the white queen cannot be
This simple position occurs very frequently. Black taken because of 6...Qxb3 (, so 6...Nxc6 7.Qxb6
has four main lines of play from this point, each axb6 8.Na3 with advantage to White.) 7.cxb7!)
with its own peculiar problems. 3...dxc4? is 6...Nf6 7.Nc3 Bd7 8.e4 Na6 9.Nge2 Rd8 10.0–0
obviously no answer, so Black not only can't take cxd5 11.exd5 g6 12.d3 Nb4 13.Be3 Qa6 14.d4
the second pawn, but must defend his d-pawn Bf5 15.Nf4 h5 16.h4 Bh6 17.Rfd1 Nc2 18.Rac1
even though it cannot be held. The first three lines Nxe3 19.fxe3 g5! 20.hxg5 Rg8 21.e4 Rxg5
considered are attempts to hold the center by
22.Qe3 Bh7 23.Rf1 Kf8 24.Kh1 Kg8 25.e5 Ng4
defending the black d-pawn: Variation "A" with
26.Qd2 Kh8 with equal chances.]
3... c6; Variation "B' with 3... Nf6!?; Variation "C" 5.Qb3
with 3... e6. The fourth line, Variation "D" with 3... [5.Nc3 is not as good as the text because it allows
e5!? is an attempt to avoid the problems of 5...Bd7 A line of note continues 6.Qb3 Qc8 7.d4
defending the d-pawn, but it has not fared well in
e6 8.e4 exd5 9.exd5 Be7 10.Bf4! cxd5 11.Nxd5
practice.
Nxd5 12.Bxd5 with White standing much the
better; analysis by H. Grob. Black has better
Variation "A" (3...c6 4. cxd5!) moves in this line.] 5...Qc7 'See Bloodgood-
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4!? 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5! Shepard, Variation "B", for 5... Qd7.' [5...Qb6
[4.Qb3 Qc7 5.cxd5 cxd5 (5...e6 6.h3! Bf5 7.e4 6.dxc6! Nxc6 (6...Qxb3? 7.cxb7 Qxb7 8.Bxb7 with
Bg6 8.dxe6! fxe6 9.Qxe6+ etc.) 6.Nc3 and now: material advantage; C. Bloodgood-J. Turenchalk,
6...d4? a) 6...e6? 7.Qa4+ with 8. QxB next; b) IPC EKO–1), ) 7.Qxb6 axb6 8.Nc3 e5? (8...Nd4!?
6...Nc6! 7.Nxd5 Qd7 8.Qa4 Rc8 9.d3 e5 (9...e6 is Black's best chance) 9.b3 Nd4 10.Kd1 Bb4?
10.Qxg4 exd5 11.Qxd7+ Kxd7 12.Bh3+ with (10...Nxb3 11.Rb1 Nxc1 12.Rxc1 Bc5 or 12...
White winning a R for B)) 10.Bd2 Nd4 11.Qxd7+ Bc8) 11.Bxb7 Ra7 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 0–0
(11.Qxa7? Nc2+) 11...Bxd7 12.Kd1 with equal 14.Bb2 1–0 Bloodgood,C-Hassan,B/corr APCT
chances-H. Grob.; 7.Nb5 Qb6 8.Bxb7 Be6 1974 (14) with Black having nothing for the pawn.;
(8...Qxb7? 9.Nd6+ exd6 10.Qxb7 Black Resigned; 5...Qc8 6.Nc3 e6 7.h3! Bh5 8.dxe6 fxe6 9.Na4 b6
C. Bloodgood- J. Boothe, 1972) 9.Qf3 Qxb5 10.d4 Nd5 11.e4 Nf6 12.Bf4 Bf7 13.Bg3 e5!?
10.Bxa8 Nf6 11.Qb7 with an easy win- H. Grob.] 14.d5 cxd5? 15.exd5 Bd6 16.Ne2 0–0 17.0–0
4...Nf6 Nbd7 18.Rac1 Qb7 19.Nd4 exd4 20.Bxd6 Rfe8
21.Rc7 Qa6 22.Qd1 Rad8 23.Qxd4 Nc5 24.Bxc5
bxc5 25.Nxc5 Qd6 26.Rxf7 Kxf7 27.Nb7 Qd7 if 8.Qc6+ Bd7; or if 8.Qb5+ c6 9.Qxc6+ Bd7 - H.
28.Nxd8+ Rxd8 29.Rd1 1–0 Bloodgood,C- Grob) 8...Nd3+) Black now gets good counterplay
Moore/Virginia 1972 (29) with an easy endgame with 7...Nc5 8.Qc2 Qd7 9.Nc3 Bf5 etc.]
win for White.] 4...Nxd5
6.Nc3 e6 [4...Qd7? 5.Qb3 c6 6.Nc3 e6 (6...Nxd5 7.Nxd5
[6...Nxd5 7.Nxd5 cxd5 8.Bxd5 Bc8 9.Bxf7+ Kd8 cxd5 8.Bxd5 with threats against both Black's b7
10.Nf3 Nc6 11.Bg8! Bd7? 12.Qf7 1–0 pawn and f7 pawn) 7.h3! Bh5 (7...Bf5 8.e4 Bg6
Bloodgood,C-Ebright,D/corr APCT 1975 (15) with 9.dxe6! fxe6 10.d4 White has a distinct
a material advantage.] 7.h3! [7.dxc6 Nxc6 8.d3 a6 advantage) 8.dxe6! fxe6 (8...Qxe6? 9.Qxb7 wins)
9.Be3 Be7 10.Bb6 Qd7 11.Nh3 e5 12.Ng5 0–0 9.Nf3 Nd5 10.Ne5 Qc7 11.d4 Nd7 (11...Nxc3
13.Nce4? (13.Nf3 with about equal chances) 12.Qxe6+ is better for White) 12.e4 Nxe5
13...Nxe4 14.Nxe4 Be6 15.Qc2 Bd5! 0–1 (12...Nxc3 13.Qxe6+!) 13.dxe5 (13.Bf4? Nd3+!; or
Bloodgood,C-Buntin,L/IPC IST-2 1975 (25) with 13.exd5!? Nd3+ with Black getting some
advantage to Black.] counterplay) 13...Nb4 (13...Nxc3 14.Qxe6+ Be7
7...Bh5 [7...Bf5 8.e4 Bg6 9.dxe6! fxe6 10.Qxe6+ 15.bxc3 Bf7 16.Qf5 0–0 17.e6 Bg6 18.Qg4 Qa5
favors White also.] 19.Bd2 Rad8 is unclear.) 14.Qxe6+ Be7 15.0–0
8.dxe6 fxe6 9.Qxe6+ Nc2 (15...Bf7!?) 16.Rb1 Nd4 17.Qc4 Nf3+
White has much the better of this. (17...Qxe5!? 18.f4 Qc5 19.Qxc5 Bxc5 20.Kh1 0–0–
0 is better for Black) 18.Bxf3 Bxf3 19.Bf4 0–0–0
20.Rbc1 a6? (20...g5! 21.Bg3 h5) 21.Nd5! Rxd5
(not 21...Qd7? 22.Nb6+) 22.exd5 1–0
Bloodgood,C-Shepard/corr 1975 (22) with
advantage to White.]
5.Qb3 c6
[5...e6? 6.Qa4+ wins.]
6.Qxb7 Nd7
[6...Nb6? 7.Bxc6+ Bd7 (7...N8d7 is no better)
8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 (8...N8xd7!? avoiding the queen
trade would have been better) 9.Qxd7+ N8xd7
10.b3 e6 11.Bb2 delaying Blacks KB development
11...Nf6 12.Nf3 Nbd5 13.Rg1 Rc8 14.Nc3 Nb4?
(14...Nf4 followed by ...Ng6 and ...Be6) 15.Rc1 a6
16.a3 Nbd5 17.Nxd5 Rxc1+ 18.Bxc1 Nxd5 19.Bb2
f6 20.Rg4 Kf7 21.Ra4± ½–½ Bloodgood,C-
Variation "B" (3...Nf6!? 4. cxd5 Nxd5) Carpenter,H/corr. 1975/Megacorr (33) with an
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4!? 3.c4 Nf6!? easy engame win.; 6...Qc7? 7.Qxa8 Nb6 8.Bxc6+
This seemingly logical line of defense leads to Bd7 9.Qb7 (9.Bxd7+? Kxd7! and the White queen
complications almost immediately. There is much is lost or White is mated) 9...Qxc6 10.Qxc6
to be explored here, but from what has been (10.Qxb8+ Bc8 with Black threatening Qxc1 mate
played, White obtains an advantage in this and Qxh1) with a material advantage-H. Grob.) ]
variation. 7.Bxd5
[7.Qxc6? Rc8 with mate threatened if the White
queen moves.]
7...Rb8
[7...cxd5 8.Qxd5 Nb6 9.Qg2 Rc8 10.Nc3 Bd7
11.b3 Bc6 12.Nf3 e6 13.Bb2 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Be7
15.Ne4 0–0? Black can't afford this! 15...f6 was
best, 16.Rg1 f6 17.Qg4 Rf7 18.Qxe6 Qd7
19.Qxd7 Nxd7 20.Rc1 Rxc1+ 21.Bxc1 Ne5
22.Bb2 Bb4 23.a3 Ba5 24.b4 Bb6 25.h4 Nc4
26.Bxf6 Nxa3 27.h5 Nb5 28.h6 g6 29.Bg7 Rc7
30.Kd1 a5 31.Nf6+ Kf7 32.Nd5 Rb7 33.Nxb6
Rxb6 34.bxa5 Ra6 35.Rg5 1–0 Bloodgood,C-
Halley,R/Washington D.C. 1958 (35) Black
resigned.]
8.Bxf7+
4.cxd5 [8.Qxc6? Rc8 etc.]
[4.Qb3 e6 5.Qxb7 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 (6...Rb8 8...Kxf7 9.Qxa7 g6
transposes into Variation "C") 7.Qb3 (7.Nc3? Nc5! [9...e5 10.f3 Bc5 11.Qa4 Bd4 12.Nc3 Qf6 13.Ne4
and the white Queen is trapped, e.g. if 8.Qb4 (or Qf4? 14.d3 is a queen trap of interest because it
occurs in a line where Black appears to have 4...Qc8
good counterplay.]
10.b3 Bg7 11.Nc3 Rf8
[11...Nb6 12.Bb2 Ra8? 13.Qb7 Bd7 14.a4 Nd5
15.Nf3 Rf8 16.e4 Nxc3 17.Bxc3 Bxc3 18.dxc3
Kg8 19.Ne5 Be8 20.Nxc6 Qd7 21.Nxe7+ 1–0
Bloodgood,C-Acevedo,A/Norfolk 1958 (21)]
12.Bb2 Kg8
[12...Bh5]
13.Qa4 Ne5 14.Nd1 Ra8
Variation "A2"
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.e4!?
This is definitely not recommended!
3...dxe4 4.Bxe4 Nf6 5.Bf3
[5.f3? Nxe4 6.fxe4 Qh4+ with a strong attack for
Black.]
Variation "C2" (3. c4 d4) 13.Nf5 Bxf5 14.exf5 Nf4+ 15.Kf1 Nd7 (15...Nxg2!)
16.Bxf4 exf4 17.Qe1+ Qxe1+ 18.Rxe1+ 1–0
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.c4 d4 Grob,H-Wyss/corr 1967 (18) 18...Kd8 19.Nxd4
This is an awkward line for Black which creates Kc7 (19...Be5 20.Nc2 Bxb2 21.Rb1! Grob) 20.b4
more problems than it solves. with a solid advantage for White.]
4.d3 6...a5 7.Nd2 Nc5
[4.b4!? c6 5.h3 Be6? (5...Bxb4!) 6.Qb3 b5!? [Grob-O. Hirzel, corr., cont. 7...Qb6 8.h3 Bd6
(6...Qb6!) 7.d3 Be7 8.a4 bxc4 9.dxc4 Qb6 10.b5 9.Nf1 Ne7 10.Ne2 Ng6 11.h4 h5 12.g5 Nc5
1–0 Bloodgood,C-Campbell,W/corr Zugzwang 13.Nfg3 Qb3 14.Qxb3 Nxb3 15.Rb1 Nc5 16.Kd2
1975 (10) where White's advantage is due to Nf4 17.Nxf4 exf4 18.Ne2 with equality.]
Black's weak play.] 8.Nf1 h5!?
4...c6 Perhaps Black does best with 8...N e7 to g6;
[Daconto-Fumo, Venice, 1971 ran 4...c5 5.h3 however the text is the most aggressive move at
(Cuero-Roto, Ibercaja, 1993 5.Nh3 Ne7 6.0–0 Black's disposal.
Nec6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.e4 0–0 10.f4 exf4 9.gxh5
11.Nxf4 Ne5 12.h3 Nbc6 13.a3 Be6 14.b3 Rab8 [9.g5! h4! 10.Bh3 Be7 11.Bxc8 Qxc8 12.Qf3 f6
15.Ra2 b5 16.Nd2 bxc4 17.bxc4 Qd6 18.Qe2 Rb7 13.g6 Nh6 14.Nh3 f5? (14...Nb3) 15.Bxh6 Rxh6
19.g5 Rfb8 20.Nd5 Rb2 21.Rxb2 Rxb2 22.Rb1 16.exf5 Bf6 17.Nd2 b5!? 18.cxb5 cxb5 19.0–0 Rb8
Rxb1+ 23.Nxb1 Qd8 24.h4 was eventually drawn) 20.Rac1 b4 21.Ne4 1–0 Bloodgood,C-
5...Nc6 6.Nd2 f5 7.gxf5 Bxf5 8.Ne4 Nf6 9.Nxf6+ Erwin,H/Virginia 1972 (21) Black resigned.]
Qxf6 10.Qb3 Rb8 11.h4 h6 12.Bd2 Be7 13.0–0–0 9...Qh4 10.Bf3 Nf6 11.Ng3 Ng4 12.h3 Nf6
0–0 14.Rf1 Qg6 15.Bd5+ Kh8 16.h5 Qd6 17.Nh3 13.Qe2 a4 14.Nf5? Bxf5 15.exf5 Bd6 16.h6 gxh6
Bxh3 18.Rxh3 Nb4 19.Bf3 b5 20.Rg3 bxc4 (H. Erwin-D. Stroemer, 1972) with advantage to
21.Qxc4 Qb6 22.Rfg1 Bf6 23.Be4 Nc6 24.Qc2 Black.
Nb4 25.Qc4 Nc6 26.Qc2 Rfc8? He should have
taken the draw. 27.Rg6 Nb4 28.Qc4 Nc6 29.Qf7
Qxb2+ 30.Kd1 Qb1+ 31.Bc1 Rb7 32.Rxh6+ gxh6
33.Qxf6+ wins]
5.e4 [5.h3 Be6!? a) 5...h6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Nbd2 Nf6
8.a3 a5 9.g5 hxg5 10.Nxg5 Na6 11.Nde4 Nxe4
12.Nxe4 Be7 13.e3 f5 14.Nd2 (14.Ng3 dxe3
15.fxe3 Bh4!) 14...dxe3 15.Nf3 e4 16.dxe4 Qxd1+
17.Kxd1 exf2 18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Ke2 1–0 Grob,H-
Wyss/corr 1965 (59) with White struggling to hold
equality.; b) 5...Ne7! 6.Nf3 Ng6 7.g5!? (7.e4 dxe3
8.Bxe3 f5! 9.gxf5 Bxf5 favors Black according to
Grob.) 7...f5! 8.gxf6 Qxf6 9.Bg5 Qf5 10.Bd2 Bd6
0–1 Bloodgood,C-Erwin,H/Virginia 1972 (10) with
advantage to Black.; 6.Nf3 Nd7 7.Ng5 Qe7 8.a3 f6
9.Nxe6 Qxe6 10.e3 dxe3 11.Bxe3 Bc5 12.Nc3 a5
13.Ne4 Bd4 14.Bxd4 exd4 15.0–0 ½–½ Grob,H-
Brechbuhler/corr 1965 (15) with White having the
better position.]
5...Nd7
Variation "D2" (3. c4 dxc4)
[After 5...dxe3 6.Bxe3 Bloodgood-H. Erwin,
1972, cont. 6...f5 7.gxf5 Bxf5 8.Nf3 (not 8.d4?
Bxb1 9.Rxb1 Qa5+ ; Grob) 8...Bb4+ (8...Bxd3 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.c4 dxc4 4.Qc2
9.Nxe5 Qa5+ 10.Nc3 Qxe5 11.Qxd3 with a good This is definitely not a gambit pawn, e.g.[now
position; Grob) 9.Nbd2 Qa5 (9...Qxd3 10.Nxe5!) 4.Qa4+ c6 5.Qxc4 forcibly regains it immediately.
10.Qb3 (10.Qc2 with equality; Grob) 10...Nd7 ; The gambit try 4.b3!? is not good, e.g. 4...Qd4!
11.a3? Bxd2+? 12.Bxd2 Qc7 13.0–0–0?? (13.Be3) 5.Nc3 Qxg4 6.Bh3 Qg6 7.Bxc8 Qg2! with a
13...Nc5! 14.Qc3 Nxd3+ and White resigned.This winning advantage for Black. At this point, two
line is worth exploring for White.] important lines of defence are possible: Variation
6.a3 "D2a" 4...c6; and Variation "D2b" 4...Qd4.]
[6.Nd2 Ne7 (6...Nc5 7.Nb1!) 7.Nf1 Ng6 8.Nf3
Bb4+ 9.Ke2 Nf6 10.h3 h6 11.Ng3 Qa5 12.a3 Bd6 See diagram next page
14.Nf3 Nc2+? (14...Nxf3+!) 15.Kf1 with advantage
for White.]
7.Nf3
[7.h3 f6 8.a3 (8.Na3 Qb6 9.Nc4 Qb4 10.Nxd6+
Qxd6 11.a3 Nd7 12.b4 Ne7 13.d3 with an unclear
position; Grob) 8...Qb6!? (8...Ne7) 9.b4!? (9.Nf3)
9...a5! 10.Nf3 axb4 11.axb4 Rxa1 12.Qxa1 Qxb4!
(12...Bxb4? 13.Nxe5!) 13.Ba3 Qc4 14.Nc3 Bxa3
15.Qxa3 Na6 16.0–0 Ne7 17.Rc1 Qb3 18.Qxb3
Bxb3 19.Rb1 Nc5 20.d4 exd4 21.Nxd4 Bc4
22.Nxc6 Nxc6 23.Bxc6+ bxc6? (23...Kf7) 24.Rb8+
Ke7 25.Rxh8 h6 26.f4 Ne6 27.e3 Nf8 28.h4 Kf7
29.Ne4 Bd5 30.Nd6+ Ke7 31.Nf5+ Kf7 32.h5 Ne6
33.Nxh6+ gxh6 34.Rxh6 c5 35.Rh8 c4 36.h6 Nf8
37.h7 1–0 Bloodgood,C-Baker,E/Virginia 1973
(37) Black resigned.]
7...Qc7
[7...f6 8.h3 Ne7 9.e4 Ng6 10.d3 Nd7 11.Be3 Nf4
12.Bf1 Qe7 13.Nbd2 Bb4 14.Qc2 Qf7 15.b3 Ng6
"D2a" (4... c6 5. Qxc4 Be6!) 16.Qc1 0–0 17.Be2 c5 18.Qb2 Rac8 19.Rg1 Ba5
20.h4 Bc7 21.Rc1 Bb8 22.a4 Rfd8 23.h5 Nf4
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.c4 dxc4 4.Qc2 c6 5.Qxc4 24.Nh4 b6 25.Nc4 Bxc4 26.dxc4 Nf8 27.g5 N8e6
Be6! 28.g6 hxg6 29.hxg6 Qb7 30.f3 Nd4 31.Bf1 Nxf3+
This is the only aggressive reply. 32.Nxf3 Qxe4 33.Kf2 Nxg6 34.Bh3 Rd3!?
35.Be6+ Kf8 36.Rce1 1–0 Roesler,C-Grob,H/corr
1966 (36) with a winning advantage.; 7...Nd7 8.h3
(8.d4? Qb6!) 8...Ne7 9.Na3 0–0!? (9...Qb6 10.Nc4
Qb4) 10.Nc4 Bc7 11.Ncxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Nd5
13.Qd4 Qf6 14.Nf3 Nf4 15.Qxf6 Nxg2+ 16.Kf1
gxf6 17.Kxg2 1–0 Bloodgood,C-
Brenneman,M/Virginia 1973 (17) with a winning
advantage for White.]
8.h3 f6!
[8...Nd7 9.Ng5! Nc5 10.b4 Nd7 11.Nxe6 fxe6
12.Qb3 1–0 Grob,H-Ruegg/corr 1966 (45) with
advantage to White.; 8...Na6? 9.Ng5! Qd7!?
10.Nxe6 Qxe6 11.Bxc6+ Ke7 12.Bxb7 1–0
Grob,H-N. N./corr 1966 (12) with an easy win for
White.]
9.d4 Nd7 10.Nbd2
[10.Be3 Ne7! 11.-- with 11...Nd5 following.]
6.Qc3 10...Ne7 11.e4! Ng6
[Grob-F. Bregger, corr., continued 6.Qa4 Bd5 [11...0–0 12.Nc4 Ng6 13.Nxd6 Qxd6 14.Be3 Rac8
(6...Nd7! followed by 7.-- Nb6) 7.Nf3 e4!? (14...Nb6 15.b3 Nc8 16.Rd1 Qc7 17.0–0 Nd6
(7...h5!) 8.Nd4 Qh4 9.h3 Qg5 10.Nc3 Nf6 11.Nf5! 18.d5 Nxe4? 19.Qc2 1–0 Grob,H-N. N./corr 1966
Nbd7 12.d4 b5 13.Qd1! e3 14.Bxe3 Bxg2 15.Bxg5 (19) winning a piece) 15.Rd1 Qb8 16.0–0 exd4
Bxh1 16.f3 With a winning advantage for White.; 17.Nxd4 Bf7 18.f4 c5 19.Nf5 Nb6 20.h4 Nc4 21.h5
Not good is 6.Qe4 when Black replies 6...Nd7 with 1–0 Grob,H-Brechbuhler/corr 1966 (21) with a
7.-- Bd5 threatened.] 6...Bd6 [After 6...Nd7 7.h3 winning advantage.; 11...a5 12.a3!? (12.Bf1 b5
(not 7.d4 Qf6!) Grob-Dr. F. Veit, corr., continued 13.a3 0–0 14.Qc2 b4 15.Bc4 favors White; Grob)
7...Ngf6 8.a3 a5 9.Qg3 (9.d3 Bb4 10.axb4 axb4 12...b5 13.d5 Bf7 14.0–0 0–0 15.dxc6 Nxc6
11.Rxa8 Qxa8 12.Qxb4 Qa1 wins for Black; Grob) (15...b4!) 16.Qe3 Nd4? 17.Nxd4 Bc4? 18.Qc3?
9...Bd6 10.Nc3 (10.d4? Qb6!) 10...Nc5 11.Qh4 Bxf1 19.Qxc7 Bxc7 20.Bxf1 b4 21.Ne6 Rfc8
(11.Rb1 Bb3!) 11...Nb3 (11...Qc7 12.d3 0–0 22.Nxc7 Rxc7 23.axb4 Rca7 24.b5 Rb8 25.Nb3
13.Be3 Ne8 14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 f5 16.gxf5 Bxf5 a4 26.Be3 Raa8 27.Bc4+ Kf8 28.Nc5 Nxc5
17.Bxf5 Rxf5 18.Qc4+ Kh8 19.Nf3 Be7? 20.Qe6! 29.Bxc5+ Ke8 30.Bd5 Ra5 31.Bc6+ Kf7 32.Bd6
Rh5 21.Rg1 Nf6? 22.Ng5! h6 23.Nf7+ Kh7 Rc8 33.Bb4 Ra7 34.Bc5 Rac7 35.Rxa4 1–0
24.Nxh6 Rxh6 25.Bxh6 Kxh6 26.Qf5! 1–0 Grob,H- Bloodgood,C-Lawson,J/Virginia 1973 (35) Black
Veit/corr 1966 (26)) 12.Rb1 Nd4 13.d3 Qc7 resigned.; Grob suggests 11...0–0–0 where Black
can contest the king's side more actively.]
12.Nc4 0–0–0 13.d5
White has some advantage, but this is very Rxa3+ 36.Kd4 Ra4+ 37.Kc5 f3 38.h5 Rh4 39.d4
minimal. b4 40.d5! 1–0 Grob,H-David/corr 1966 (40) Black
13...Bf7 resigned.]
[13...cxd5? 14.Nxd6+ is not particularly good for 7.Ng5
Black, so 13...Bf7 is forced; after which:] White has a strong attack!
14.Nxd6+ Qxd6 15.dxc6 7...Qf5!? 8.Qxc4! c6 9.Bh3!
[15.Be3 is sharper] Bloodgood- R. Traylor, 1973)Winning a piece.
15...Nc5! 16.cxb7+ Kb8 17.0–0! Nxe4 18.Qa5
Qd5
with an unclear position. (Grob-B. Brechbuhler, Variation "E"
corr. 1966) 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.c4 c6
Variation "E3"
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Qb3
Ne7 6.Nc3 e4!?
Variation "B3"
1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 b5
Of the remaining alternative for Black at move
two, this is the line with the most possibilities.
Others are playable. [2...Nc6 3.c4! e6 (3...dxc4
4.Bxc6+! leaving Black with tripled isolated
pawns) 4.Qb3!? (4.d3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2
Nge7 7.Na3 Ng6 8.Nf3 with an unclear position;
H. Grob) 4...Na5!? (4...d4) 5.Qa4+ c6 6.cxd5 exd5
7.Nc3 Be6 (7...Bxg4 8.Nxd5!) 8.d4 Bd6 9.g5 Ne7
10.h4 Ng6 11.b4 Nc4 12.b5 Qb6 13.bxc6 bxc6
14.Nxd5!? Qxd4 15.Qxc6+ Kd8 16.Qxa8+ Kd7
17.Qb7+ Kd8 18.Rb1 1–0 Bloodgood,C-
Waymire,W/Norfolk 1960 (18) Black resigned.;
2...c5 3.g5 (3.c4 d4 4.d3 Nc6 (4...e5 5.g5 Be7
6.h4 Nd7 7.e4 Bd6 8.Ne2 Ne7 9.Nd2 0–0 10.Ng3
Nb6 11.b3 Nc6 12.Nf5 Bxf5 13.exf5 f6 14.Be4!
fxg5 15.hxg5 Qxg5 16.Nf3 with a winning attack;
Part 5: (1... e5)
H. Grob-Unknown) 5.g5 e5 6.h4 (6.Nf3 b5 7.cxb5
Qa5+ 8.Nfd2 Qxb5 9.Nb3 Rb8 10.f3 Qa6 11.Kf2
with an unclear position.) 6...h5 7.Nd2 Nge7 Variation "A4"
8.Ne4 Ng6 9.Bh3 Bxh3 10.Rxh3 Be7 11.Nf3 b5 1.g4 e5 2.Bg2
12.cxb5 Qa5+ 13.Nfd2 Qxb5 14.Nc4 Rd8 15.f3 While 2 Bg2 d5 transposes to Part III, this defence
Qa6 16.Kf2 ½–½ Grob,H-Sutton/corr 1966 (16)) generally brings about a radical difference in the
3...e5 4.d3 Nc6 5.Nc3 Be6 6.h4 f6 7.e4 d4 8.Nce2 basic motifs of attack.
Qd7 9.f4 Bg4 10.f5 g6 11.Bh3 gxf5 12.Bxg4 fxg4
13.Ng3 h5 14.gxh6 Bxh6 15.N1e2 Bxc1 16.Nxc1 Several lines not recommended for White include:
Nce7 17.Nb3 b6 18.Qe2 Ng6 19.Nf5 Nh6 20.Nxh6 [2.c4? h5! 3.d4? (3.d3) 3...hxg4 4.dxe5 Nc6 5.Qd5
Rxh6 21.Qf2 Nf4 22.0–0–0 Rb8? (22...0–0–0!) Rh5! 6.f4 Qh4+ 7.Kd1 d6 8.e4 dxe5 9.f5 Nf6
23.Kb1 f5 24.exf5 Qxf5 25.Nd2 Kd7 26.Rde1 b5 10.Qd3 Bxf5 11.exf5 Rd8 12.Qxd8+ Kxd8 13.Bd3
27.Re4 Rh7 28.Rhe1 Re7 29.Nb3 Kd6 30.c3 Rf8 e4 0–1 Schraner-Grob,H/corr 1964 (13) White
31.Rf1 Rg7 32.cxd4 cxd4 33.Qd2 Rff7 34.Qb4+ 1– resigned.;
0 Grob,H-Wampfler/corr 1964 (34) With a winning
position.; 2...Nf6? 3.g5 Ne4 4.d3 Nxf2? (4...Nc5) 2.e4? d5! 3.Qf3 (3.Bg2 Nf6!) 3...dxe4 4.Qxe4 Bd6
5.Kxf2 e5 6.c3 c6 7.h4 and Black has no 5.h3 Nc6 6.c3 f5 7.Qe2 (7.gxf5 Qf6) 7...Qe7 8.d3
compensation for the Knight. 7...Bf5 8.Nf3 Nd7 g6 9.g5 Bd7 10.Bg2 0–0–0 11.h4 Qf7 12.Qf3 Re8
9.h5 Be7 10.Qc2 h6 11.e4 dxe4 12.dxe4 Be6 13.Nd2 Nd8 14.Ne2 Bc6 15.Qh3 Kb8 16.Nc4 Ne7
13.gxh6 gxh6 14.Be3 b6 15.Nbd2 Rg8 16.Bh3 ½–½ Schraner-Grob,H/corr 1963 (16) with
Bxh3 17.Rxh3 Qc7 18.Bxh6 Nf6 19.Nh2 Qd7 advantage to Black.;
20.Qd3 1–0 Grob,H-Minder/corr 1965 (20);
2...Na6!? 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Qb3!? (5.h3 is 2.d4!? e4? 3.c4 Qh4 4.h3 Bb4+ 5.Nc3 Bxc3+
safer) 5...Be6! 6.Qxb7? (6.d4!) 6...Nb4 7.Na3 a6 6.bxc3 Qe7 7.Bf4 d6 8.e3 g5 9.Bg3 Be6 10.Rb1
8.d4 Rb8 9.Qa7 Qc8 0–1 Bloodgood,C- Bc8 The second tempo lost in this game! 11.Be2
Nf6 12.h4 gxh4 13.Bxh4 Qe6 14.g5 Nfd7 15.Nh3 5.c4 f5
Rg8? (15...Nb6!) 16.Nf4 Qe7 17.Nd5 Qd8 18.g6 [5...c6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Nge2 Qg5 8.Ng3 f5 9.d4
f6 19.gxh7 1–0 Grob,H-Rothschild,W/corr 1964 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 f4 11.exf4 exf4 12.Qe2+ Ne7
(19) Black resigned.] 13.Qf3 Ng6 14.Ne4 Qe7 15.d5 Ne5 16.Qe2 d6
17.Bxf4 Bf5 18.Nxd6+ Qxd6 19.Bxe5 Qe7
2...h5 20.Bxb8 Rxb8 21.Qxe7+ Kxe7 22.a4 Bd3 23.Bf1
[2...Bc5 3.e3 (3.h3 Qh4 4.e3 Nf6? 5.d4 exd4? Be4 24.Rg1 g6 25.Bg2 Bd3 26.c5 cxd5 27.Bxd5
6.exd4 Bd6 7.Nf3 1–0 Bloodgood,C- Rxh2 28.0–0–0 Bf5 29.Rg2 Rxg2 30.Bxg2 g5
Mizesko,H/IPC CM-6 1975 (7) and the Black 31.Rd5 Bd7 32.Rxg5 Bxa4 33.Rg7+ Kf6 34.Rxb7
Queen falls;) 3...Nc6 4.c3 (4.Nc3 d6 5.Na4 Bb6 Rxb7 35.Bxb7 1–0 Bloodgood,C-
6.Nxb6 axb6 7.h3 Nge7 8.d4 exd4 9.exd4 d5! Monroe,F/Virginia 1973 (35) and White won in 53
10.a3 0–0 11.Nf3 Ng6 12.0–0 Nce7 with equality; moves.]
H. Grob) 4...d5 5.d4 exd4 6.exd4 Qe7+ 7.Be3 Bb6 6.Qc2 g6 7.Nc3 c6 8.Nge2 Nf6 9.d4 d6 10.Bd2
8.g5 f6 9.h4 f5 10.Nh3 Be6 11.Nf4 0–0–0 12.Nd2 Be6 11.d5 cxd5 12.cxd5 Bf7 13.Qa4+ Nbd7
h6? 13.Ng6 1–0 Bloodgood,C-Christy,R/Virginia 14.Rc1 a6 15.Ng3 Be7 16.0–0 b5 17.Qb3 Nc5
1972 (13) Black Resigned.; 18.Qc2 e4 19.f3 exf3 20.Bxf3 b4 21.Na4 Rb8
22.Nxc5 dxc5 23.Qa4+ Qd7 24.Qxa6!?
2...Nc6 3.c4 Bc5 [24.Qxd7+ with equality.]
a) 3...Nge7 4.Nc3 Ng6 5.h3 Bc5 6.d3 b6 7.Nf3 24...Bxd5 25.e4 Bc6 26.Be2 Ra8 27.Qb6 fxe4
Bb7 8.e3 Nce7 9.e4!? Nf4? (Grob suggests 28.Be3 Nd5
9...c6 followed by 10.-- d5) 10.Bxf4 exf4 R. Ott-H. Grob, corr,1965with the White Queen
11.a3 Ng6 12.Qd2 c6 13.d4 Be7 14.Ne2 d5 trapped.
15.cxd5 Qd6!? 16.dxc6 Bxc6 17.e5 Qe6
18.Rc1 Rc8? (18...Rd8!) 19.d5 1–0 Grob,H-
Mosiman/corr 1964 (19) and White wins a
piece.;
b) 3...d6 4.h3 Nf6 (4...Nge7 5.d3 Ng6 6.Nf3 Be7
7.Nc3 0–0 8.g5 f6 9.Nd5 fxg5 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7
11.Bxg5 Qf7 12.Be3 Nf4 13.Bf1 Qh5 14.Qd2
Bf5 15.0–0–0 Nxd3+? Simply an unsound
combination; Black had equality before this
move. 16.exd3 Qxf3? 17.Be2 Qg2 18.Rdg1 1–
0 Grob,H-Henneberger,W/corr 1964 (18) and
the Queen is trapped.) 5.d3 Be7 6.Nc3 0–0
7.Nf3 Re8 8.e4 Bf8 9.Be3 Ne7 10.g5 Nd7
11.h4 f5 12.exf5 Nxf5 13.Ne2 h6 14.Ng3 Nxe3
15.fxe3 c6 16.g6 Qe7 17.Ne4 Qe6 18.Neg5
Qe7 19.Ne4 ½–½ Grob,H-
Henneberger,W/corr 1942 (19) Drawn.; 4.e3
d6 5.a3 a5 (5...Nge7? 6.b4 Bb6 7.Bb2 Ng6 Part 6 (1...e5 2.d3)
8.Be4 Qg5 9.h3 f5 10.Nf3 Qf6 11.g5 Qe7 Part 5 covers the alternatives for White on the
12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.h4 e4 14.h5 Nf8 15.h6 Ne6 second move, and while White can safely play 2.
16.hxg7 Nxg7 17.Bf6 Qf7 18.Nh4 Be6 19.c5 Bg2, the above move offers the first player a bit
Bb3 20.Qc1 dxc5 21.Qc3 c4 22.Bxg7 0–0–0 more initiative. the variations after 2. d3 which are
23.Qf6 1–0 Grob,H-Rognon/corr 1964 (23) covered here are: "A5" ... h6; "B5" 2... h5; "C5"
Black resigned.) 6.Nc3 Bd7 7.h3 Nge7 8.Nge2 2... Nc6; "D5" 2... Be7; "E5" 2... Bc5; "F5" 2... d6;
0–0 9.d4 exd4 10.exd4 Ba7 11.Be3 Ng6 "G5" 2... d5.
12.Qd2 (12.Ng3 Nh4 13.Be4 f5 14.gxf5 Nxf5
15.Nxf5 Bxf5 16.Qd3 with equality; Grob)
12...Qc8 13.0–0–0 Nce7 (13...f5 with
Variation "A5"
counterplay) 14.Ng3 ½–½ Grob,H-Ruegg/corr 1.g4 e5 2.d3 h6 [
1965 (14) favors White.] Not considered independently, but of interest is
2...g6 Grob-P. Weiland, corr., continued 3.e4 h6
3.gxh5 Rxh5 4.e3 Rh8! 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Be3 c6 6.Bg2 Ne7 7.h3 d5 8.Bc5 d4
[4...Nf6 5.c4 c6 6.Nc3 d5! 7.cxd5 Rg5 8.Bf3 cxd5 9.Nce2 Be6 10.Qd2 b6 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Ng3
9.Qa4+ Nc6 10.d3 Rg6 11.e4 d4 12.Nd5 Be6 Nd7 13.a3 Rc8 14.N1e2 c5 15.0–0 ½–½ Grob,H-
13.Qb5 Qd7 14.Bd2 Bxd5 15.exd5 Nb4 16.Qxd7+ Wieland/corr 1964 (15)]
Kxd7 17.Bxb4 Bxb4+ 18.Kd1 ½–½ Hug,P- 3.e4
Grob,H/corr 1964 (18) 18...Kd6!? (18...Bd6 with [3.h4 d5 4.e3 (4.e4!?) 4...Nf6 5.Be2 a6 6.Nd2 Nc6
equality) 19.Ne2 Nxd5? 20.Ng3 Rd8 21.Bh5! Rf6 7.Nf1 Bc5 8.Ng3 Be6 9.f4 exf4 10.exf4 Be7!?
22.Ne4+ with a material advantage.] (10...d4!) 11.c3 d4 12.c4! 1–0 Grob,H-
Steinbruchel/corr 1965 (26) with advantage to Variation "B5"
White.; 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.h3 c6 5.e4 d5 6.Nd2 d4 7.Nc4 1.g4 e5 2.d3! h5
Nbd7 8.Nf3 Qc7 9.Nh4 g6?! (9...b5!) 10.g5! hxg5 This line of play lacks sting! White should get an
11.Bxg5 Nh5 12.Qf3 Nf4!? 13.Bxf4 exf4 14.Qxf4 advantage with proper play.
0–1 Bloodgood,C-Sanderson,T/Virginia 1973 (14) 3.g5 h4
with advantage to Black.] [3...Be7 4.h4 d5 5.Bg2 Bg4 6.Nd2 c6 7.Ngf3 Nd7
3...Nc6 4.Nc3 8.e4 d4 9.Bh3 Bxh3 10.Rxh3 f6!? (10...Qc7)
[4.h4 d5 5.Bg2 d4 6.g5!? (6.Nd2 may be better) 11.Nc4 b5 12.gxf6 Bxf6? (12...gxf6) 13.Nd6+ Ke7
6...hxg5 7.hxg5 Rxh1 8.Bxh1 f6? (8...Nge7 with 14.Nf5+ Kf7 15.Ng5+ Bxg5 16.Bxg5 Qc7 17.Qf3
9.-- Ng6 and 10.-- Be7 following) 9.Qh5+ Kd7 Ngf6 18.0–0–0 Raf8 19.Rg3! Kg8? (19...Rh7)
(9...Ke7 10.Qh7!) 10.Qf7+ Nge7 11.gxf6 gxf6 20.Nxg7! Ng4 21.Nf5 1–0 Bloodgood,C-
12.Qxf6 1–0 Bloodgood,C-Leonard,F/Virginia Cacalano,A/Norfolk 1961 (21) with a winning
1973 (12) with a winning advantage to White.] advantage to White.]
4...Nge7 4.Bh3
[4...Nf6 5.h4 (5.Bg2 Bc5 6.h4 d5!? 7.g5! hxg5 [4.f4 exf4 5.Bxf4 d5 6.Bg2 c6 7.e4 Be6 8.Nc3 d4
8.hxg5 Rxh1 9.Bxh1 Ng4! 10.Nh3 d4 11.Nd5 Be6 9.Nce2 Be7 10.Qd2 h3! 11.Bf1 Bg4! 0–1
12.f4! exf4 13.Bxf4 Bd6 14.Qf3 Nge5 15.Qh5 1–0 Bloodgood,C-Lewis,R/Norfolk 1960 (11) with
Bloodgood,C-Sarkis,A/Virginia 1973 (15) with strong advantage to Black
advantage to White.) 5...d5 6.Bg2 d4 7.Nd5 Nxg4! this in several ways. First, the Black KRP is a
0–1 Bloodgood,C-Sarkis,A/Virginia 1973 (7) with problem for the second player to defend. Add to
advantage to Black.] this the delays Black faces in developing his
5.h4 King-side because of the "Spike" pawn while
[5.Bg2 Ng6 6.Nf3 d6 7.h3 Be7 8.Be3 with Black White can free his pieces easily. 6...-- [6...Ne7
quite cramped; Grob.] 7.e4 Ng6 8.Qf3 Be7 9.Ne2 Nc6 10.c3 Qd7 11.Be3
5...d5 Rf8 12.Nd2 0–0–0 13.0–0–0 Kb8 14.Qg2 f5 15.gxf6
[5...g6 6.Bg2 Nd4 7.f4 d6 8.Be3 Nec6 9.Nd5 at Rxf6 16.Bg5 Rf7 17.Bxe7 Ncxe7!? (17...Ngxe7 is
which point Black played 9...Bxg4? 1–0 Grob,H- better with the Queen-Knight better placed for a
Hoffmann/corr 1964 (9) but White already had a Q-side attack) 18.c4! Rg8 and White ha some
considerable advantage.] advantage.]
Variation "B6"
1.g4 h5
An immediate challenge to White's K-side
6.g5 Be6 7.f4 exf4 8.Bxf4 Ne7 9.Nd2 Bb4 10.a3 ambition which is very double-edged.
Ba5 11.b4 Bb6 12.Bh3 Bxh3 13.Nxh3 0–0 2.g5
14.Nc4 Bc7 15.0–0–0 Bxf4+ 16.Nxf4 Ng6 17.Rdf1 Of doubtful value is 2.gxh5!? which does nothing
Nxf4 18.Rxf4 Nd7 19.Rhf1 Qe7 20.Qg4 Ne5 for White and merely opens the Rook-file for
21.Nxe5 Qxe5 22.h4 a5 23.Rf5 Qe6 24.bxa5 Black.
Rxa5 25.Rxf7 Qxf7 26.Rxf7 Rxf7 27.Qc8+ Rf8 2...h4
28.Qe6+ Kh8 29.Qe7 Rg8 30.h5 Raa8 31.e5 b5 [After 2...e5 3.d4 (3.h4 d5 4.Bg2 Ne7 5.c4 dxc4
32.e6 b4 33.Qxb4 Bloodgood-J. Boothe, 1973 6.Qc2 c6 7.Qxc4 Be6 8.Qc2! (8.Qc3 Ng6 9.d3
Black resigned. Qb6!) 8...Na6 9.a3 Qc7 10.d3 f5 (10...Nf5 11.Nf3
Nc5 12.Nbd2 a5 13.b3 f6 14.Bb2 a4 15.b4 Nb3
16.Nxb3 Bxb3 17.Qc3 Ne7 18.e4 Ng6 19.Bc1 Bd6
Part 7 (1... Various)
20.gxf6 gxf6 21.Bh3 Qf7 22.Be3 Ba2 23.Rg1 Rg8
24.Ke2 Rd8 with an unclear position; Grob-
For all practical purposes, 1... d5 or 1... e5 are the
Wettstein, corr.) 11.b4 0–0–0 12.Nc3 Nd5 13.Nxd5
only moves which present White with any
(13.Nh3 Nxc3 14.Qxc3 Rd4 15.f4 Nxb4 16.fxe5
immediate problems. This does not mean that
Qxe5 17.Nf4 Bc5 18.Rh3 Rxd3 19.Rxd3 Nxd3+
White need not be concerned with other possible
20.Qxd3 Qxa1 0–1 Grob,H-Wettstein,M/corr 1964
answers, for virtually any move can develop into a
(20)) 13...Bxd5 14.Bxd5 Rxd5 15.Bb2 Nxb4!?
serious test. The lines considered in this part are
(This is not good as it opens lines to the Black
simply not encountered as often, and Black is
King.) 16.axb4 Bxb4+ 17.Kf1 ½–½ Grob,H-
generally conceding the initiative early in the
Wettstein,M/corr 1966 (62) with a winning
game. The variations considered here are: "A6"
advantage to White to White.) 3...exd4 4.Qxd4
1... Nf6; "B6" 1...h5; "C6" 1... g5; "D6" 1... g6; "E"
Nc6 5.Qe4+ Qe7 6.Bg2 d6 7.Nc3 f5 8.Qxe7+
1... b5; "F6" 1... c5; "G6" 1... c6; "H6" 1... d6; and
Ngxe7 9.h4 Bd7 10.Be3 0–0–0 11.Nh3 Be6 12.Nf4
"I6" 1... e6.
Bf7 13.0–0 d5 14.Bc5 b6 15.Bxe7 Nxe7 16.Rad1
c6 ½–½ Bloodgood,C-Buntin,L/corr
1974/Megacorr (16) with some advantage to
White.]
3.d4 d6
[3...c5 4.d5 g6 5.e4 d6 6.h3 f5 7.f3 e5 8.dxe6
Bxe6 9.exf5 Bxf5 10.Bc4 Ne7 11.Nc3 Bg7 12.Nd5
Nxd5 13.Qxd5 (13.Bxd5 is less complicated.)
13...Qe7+ 14.Kd1 Nc6 15.c3 0–0–0 16.Rh2 Rde8
17.Re2 Qd7 18.Bf4 Ne5 19.Bxe5 Rxe5 20.Qf7
Qxf7 21.Bxf7 Rxe2 22.Kxe2 Be5 ½–½ Grob,H-
Wettstein,M/corr 1964 (22)]
4.Qd3 g6 5.Bg2 Nc6
[5...Bg7 6.h3 Nc6 7.c3 e5 8.d5 Nce7 9.e4 f5
10.gxf6 Bxf6 11.Nf3 Rh5 12.Be3 g5 13.Nh2! Ng6
14.Bf3 Rh7 15.Bg4! Nf4 16.Bxf4 exf4 17.Nd2 c5
18.dxc6 bxc6 19.0–0–0 Rc7 20.Rhe1 Kf8 21.Bxc8
Qxc8 22.Qxd6+ Be7 23.Qg6 Qxh3? ( a costly
"gift") 24.Ndf3 Rd8 25.Ne5 1–0 Grob,H-
Wettstein,M/corr 1964 (25) Black resigned.] Variation "D6"
6.c3 Bd7 7.Na3 1.g4 g6
White has an advantage. Should the Grob become a popular opening, this
defense will undoubtedly become a major line, but
for the present it is still among the seldom played
variations.
2.Bg2 h6
[Bloodgood-S. Patterson, APCT 75-r-7,
continued 2...Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.h3 (5.g5!)
5...0–0 6.d4 c6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qb3 Nbd7 9.Rd1
(9.Nf3!) 9...Qb6 10.Nf3 Qxb3!? (this is giving
White an open Queen/Rook-file with pawns
handy for levers) 11.axb3 with advantage to
White.]
3.e4 Bg7 4.d4 e6 5.Nf3 d5
[5...Nf6 6.Ne5 d6 7.Nd3!]
6.Nbd2 dxe4 7.Nxe4 Nf6
[7...f5 8.gxf5 gxf5 (8...exf5!) 9.Nc5 Nc6 10.c3 b6
11.Nh4! Qd6 12.Nd3 Bd7 13.Ng6 Rh7 14.Bf4! e5
15.Ngxe5 1–0 Grob,H-Bartschiger/corr 1967 (15)
with a winning attack.]
8.Nxf6+ Bxf6
Variation "C6" The position is not clear.
1.g4 g5!?
This allows White to hold the initiative for a long
time.
2.h4! e6
[Not 2...f6? 3.d4 Bh6 4.Nf3! ; Grob.]
3.Nf3!
[Grob-Unknown, continued 3.hxg5 Qxg5 4.e4 d6
5.d3 Qe7 6.g5 d5 7.Bg2 d4 8.f4 e5 after which
White obtains a lasting advantage with 9.f5 Grob-
Unknown]
3...Be7
[3...gxh4 4.Rxh4 is good for White.]
4.hxg5 Bxg5 5.Nxg5 Qxg5 6.e4 Nf6
This move seems sharper than it is; Grob.
7.d4
Black now has an awkwardly placed Queen and
nothing is seriously threatened. 7...-- [If 7...Qg6
8.f3 is good; or if 7...Qxg4? 8.Qxg4 Nxg4 9.e5 h5
10.f3 Nh6 11.Rxh5 and Black drops a piece.]
Variation "E6" Variation "G6"
1.g4 b5!? 1.g4 c6
This counter play on the long diagonal is hardly This is decidedly inferior to 1...d5.
good for Black. 2.c4
2.Bg2 c6 3.a4! d5 [White handles 3...Qb6 with [2.Bg2 e6 3.d3 Nf6? (3...d5!) 4.g5 Ng4? (4...Ng8
4.axb5 Qxb5 5.Nc3; and 3...Qa5 with 4.b3 was best.) 5.d4! c5 6.h3 1–0 Grob,H-
followed by Bb2.] Hasselblatt/corr 1964 (21) and White wins the
4.axb5 Nf6 5.c4! piece.; 2.Bg2 d5 transposes to Part II.]
White has much the better of this! 2...d5
[2...g5!? 3.d4 h6 4.e4 e6 5.d5 b6? (5...d6!) 6.Qd4
f6 7.d6 c5 8.Qd3 b5 9.e5 Bg7 10.Bg2 Nc6
11.Bxc6 dxc6 12.cxb5 Bb7 13.Be3! cxb5 14.f3 c4
15.Qg6+ Kf8 16.Bc5 1–0 Grob,H-Steucheli/corr
1964 (23) with a winning advantage.]
3.Qb3
[Not 3.cxd5? Qxd5 with 4.-- Bxg4 next.] 3...Qc7
[Or 3...dxc4 4.Qxc4 with a position similar to those
in Part II, Variation "A" without being down a
pawn.]
4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3
[Not 5.Bg2 Qxc1+]
5...e6 6.d4
White has some advantage, and somewhat more
freedom for his pieces.
Variation "F6"
1.g4 c5
This line can transpose into a Sicilian Defense,
but it not likely to create the same problems for
White.
2.Bg2 Nc6 3.e4 e5 4.d3 Nge7 5.h4 d5 6.Nc3 --
[6...dxe4 7.Nxe4 b6 (7...Nd4!?) 8.Be3 Bb7 9.Ng3
Qd7 (9...Qc7!) 10.Be4 Nd5 11.Bd2 Be7 12.Bf5
Qc7 13.Nf3 which favors White.]
Variation "H6"
1.g4 d6
This is passive and while not exactly bad, it hardly
poses any major threats.
2.Bg2 e5
[2...a6 3.h3 h5 4.g5 e5 5.d3 f6 6.gxf6 Nxf6 7.Nf3
Be7 8.Ng5 h4 9.c4 Nh5 10.Ne4 Bf5 11.Qb3 ½–½
Grob,H-Gabreilli/corr 1964 (11) With a solid
advantage to White.;
Claude Frizzel Bloodgood was born Klaus Frizzel Bluttgutt III on July 14, 1937 and died August 4, 2001. Bloodgood
was a controversial player. As a young man, he got into trouble with the law, and was arrested several times. He
received the death sentence being convicted of murdering his mother but later commuted.
While in prison, he was a very active player, playing a large number of correspondence games and rated games with
other inmates. Eventually by manipulating the ratings system in use at the time he became one of the highest rated
players in the U.S.
Bloodgood’s father, Claude Sr., had died, leaving his son $100. Bloodgood felt there was much more money due him
and that somehow his stepmother had cheated him of it. In the midst of the 1968 forgery trial, in full rage and before the
entire courtroom, Bloodgood threatened to kill her if he were convicted. He was convicted, served one year, and shortly
after his release in 1968 made good on his threat
While in prison, Bloodgood played thousands of correspondence games. At the same time he played thousands of rated
games against other inmates and published three books on chess openings the best known being The Tactical Grob.
The book had 184 of Bloodgood’s games using 1.g4. He also published The Nimzovich Attack: The Norfolk Gambis,
and The Blackburne-Hartlaub Gambit. These books were published by Kenneth Smith’s Chess Digest.
In prison Bloodgood set-up the Virginia Penitentiary Chess Program (VAPEN) in 1972. Powhatan inmates had the
opportunity to learn chess. In 1974, on the pretext of organizing details for sending a team of prisoners to an “outside”
chess tournament , Bloodgood and another convicted murderer were let out on a day-long furlough in the custody of a
single guard .
By the early 1990’s, Bloodgood had managed to reestablish himself as a trusted inmate and he resurrected VAPEN
chess program. With state money, Bloodgood purchased chess sets and registered about 50 prisoners with the USCF
and then began playing rated games. He also organized a few tournaments which were open to outsiders and so was able
to add some legitimacy to the ratings.
This continued for several years and by 1996 his rating was 2702 making Bloodgood the second-highest rated player in
the nation. It’s difficult to know Bloodgood’s true strength and it’s been estimated at anywhere between 2100 and 2400.
Bloodgood denied these accusations and said that he played chess in the only competitions available to him, prison
tournaments, and won almost every game because he was the strongest player in the prison system. As his rating rose,
he wrote the USCF to warn them that its system was prone to "closed pool" ratings inflation.
Of course the USCF ignored his letters until he qualified for the US Championship His rating caused a debate in the
USCF and they ultimately deleted his rating.
Bloodgood made a lot of wild claims. He claimed to have been born in 1924 and asked for a furlough based on old age.
He claimed to have been born in Germany or Mexico and asked to be extradited. He also claimed to have been a Nazi
spy during World War II. He often gave interviews, trying to convince the interviewer that he was completely innocent
of his crimes and a victim of mistaken identity. Bloodgood. He also made claims to have played many Hollywood
celebrities. He died in Powhatan Correctional Center of lung cancer on August 4, 2001.
During the period from 1957 to 1961 Bloodgood was a very active in the tournament scene of Virginia. His list of OTB
victories is impressive
Virginia Open (1957, 1958)
Norfolk Open (1958, 1959, 1960, 1961)
Norfolk Chess Club Championship (1957, 1958, 1959, 1961)
Norfolk USO Invitational (36 of 60 monthly tournaments)
Camp Elmore Championship (1957)
FMFLant Championship (1957)
Oceana NAS Open (1959)
In 1958 he was a key organizer for the All-Service Postal Chess Club (ASPCC) tournament. In speed chess Bloodgood
was practically unbeatable.
From 1997 until his death in 2001 he was confined to the Medical Unit in Powhatan Prison, suffering from a steadily
worsening lung condition. He told a reporter “I can’t walk four or five steps before I start wheezing like a son-of-a-
bitch.”
Despite his illness Bloodgood continued, propped up in bed or sitting in his wheelchair, to write and play
correspondence chess until three months before his death.
.