Antiques Roadshow

It is one of life’s comforts to see a forgotten trinket being dusted off and appreciated afresh. So in chess, I am gently heartened to see a chess opening pass through that same phase of life. The game has its share of magpies, for whom a shiny new opening gambit is irresistible. Their approach has merit — after all, an ambushed opponent is a weakened one. But with time, the defence is remedied, and when the opening begins to look tarnished, it will soon be stuffed in the attic. It might be years, or decades, before it attracts any more attention.

Even in the 19th century, some chess fashions had already been and gone, and come back around. Wilhelm Steinitz’s The Modern Chess Instructor, Part II (1895), had this to say about a variation of the Giuoco Piano/Italian game (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5, with 4 c3): ‘In spite … of its theoretical condemnation, enterprising players like Albin and Schiffers have taken it up within the last few years’. The Evans Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4!?), was another line thoroughly analysed in the 19th century. But it was certainly an obscure choice when Garry Kasparov resurrected it in 1995, winning a brilliant miniature against Vishy Anand.

Indeed, there seems no end to the novelties concealed in the Italian opening. A few years ago, Oleg Skvortsov, a strong amateur player and sponsor of the Zurich Chess Challenge, tried an imaginative idea against Anand in an exhibition game before the tournament in 2017. Anand was goaded into action and won in dazzling style. The idea looked destined for the junk shop, but it was alchemised by Daniil Dubov last month in a spectacular game at the Russian Championship Superfinal.