[Event "Switzerland"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1947.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Grob, H."]
[Black "Blatti, W."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[Annotator "Martin,Andrew"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2011.01.31"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.31"]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 $1 {[%csl Yb7,Yd5] #    I
don't have the capacity to cover the entire Grob in one article, but I assure
you that 1 g4 is not easy to meet, especially as there is a tendency to
overreact when confronted with nonsense like this. But please note the
pressure on d5 and beyond at b7. These are the focal points for White's
initial attack.} Ne7 6. Nc3 e4 7. d3 exd3 8. Bf4 $5 {[%cal Yc3b5] The pawn at
g4 hangs as bait, tempting Black at every stage. Meanwhile, Grob gets on with
development. I suppose Nb5 is the main threat now.} Ng6 9. Bxd5 $1 {It takes
an original mind to even SEE such a move. Isn't the Bishop on f4 en prise?}
Nxf4 10. Qa4+ Nd7 11. Qxf4 Nf6 12. Bf3 d2+ {# Black gets in on the act with a
little zwischenzug of his own, but in reality he is just playing into Grob's
hands. Grob was quite excellent in these obscure tactical situations.} 13. Kf1
$1 Qb6 $2 {A risky adventure, although Black may be much worse already.} (13...
Bd6 {was much better, intending to castle, leading to the variation} 14. Qxd2
Nxg4 15. Rd1 Bc7 16. Qxd8+ Bxd8 17. Kg2 Ne5 18. Be4 O-O 19. Nf3 $14 {I
marginally prefer White here, but it is game on.}) 14. Rd1 Qxb2 15. Qe3+ $1 Be6
16. Rxd2 Qc1+ {The Black Queen is getting into trouble.} 17. Kg2 Bb4 $2 {A
clear misjudgement.} ({Maybe} 17... Qa3 {was the best chance, but this
position is unpleasant for Black.} 18. Bxb7 Bc5 19. Qg3 O-O 20. Bxa8 Rxa8 21.
g5 Nh5 22. Qf3 Rc8 23. Qxh5 Qxc3 24. Nf3 $16) 18. Rd8+ Rxd8 19. Qxc1 Rc8 20.
Bxb7 $1 Rc7 ({I first thought} 20... Rxc3 {but then comes} 21. Qf4 $1 {[%csl
Yb4,Yb8][%cal Rf4b4,Rf4b8]} Be7 22. Qb8+ Bd8 23. Qd6 $18) 21. Nh3 Rxb7 22. Ne4
$1 {# Black is getting battered with tactical shots.} Nd5 ({If} 22... Nxe4 23.
Qc6+ Rd7 24. Qxe4 Bd2 25. e3 O-O 26. Nf4 {is winning for White.}) 23. Qc6+ Rd7
24. Nc5 {The simple mission is to keep the Black King stuck in the middle so
the Rook on h8 never gets into the game.} Ne7 25. Qa8+ Rd8 26. Qxa7 Bxc5 27.
Qxc5 Bd5+ 28. f3 Rd7 29. Qb5 Bc6 30. Qb8+ Rd8 31. Qe5 f6 32. Qe6 Bd5 33. Qe3 {
This has been very well played by Grob. Black has never had any chance to draw
breath.} Rd7 (33... Kf7 34. Nf4 Rhe8 35. Qc3 Bxa2 36. Ra1 Bd5 37. Ra7) 34. Nf4
Bxa2 35. Ra1 Bd5 36. Nxd5 Rxd5 37. Qe6 Rf8 (37... Rd7 38. Ra8+ Rd8 39. Ra7) 38.
Ra7 Rf7 39. Ra8+ {There is an extremely strong creative element running
through this game and I am convinced that was the driving force behind Grob's
chess. He didnt want to be World Champion, but there are other ways of making
a mark. This is the approach I recommend to all my chess students. Whatever
your level, it's important to have a style all your own. Slavishly following
the Grandmaster arena and trying to copy what is there brings you nothing in
the end. Of course this does not mean you should rush out and start playing 1
g4!} 1-0

[Event "Switzerland"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Grob, H."]
[Black "Schachclub Wadenswil "]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[Annotator "Martin,Andrew"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2011.01.31"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.31"]

{The next game is another example where Black fails to get his King out of the
middle.} 1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 ({At this stage it's worth recommending} 2... c6
$1 {I think this is a tough move for White to meet and hope for an advantage.
It's probably best to play the position like Basman now with} 3. h3 $1 ({
because if White persists with Grob's original attack} 3. c4 {then as far as I
can see} dxc4 $1 {is good for Black. There's an obscure pawn sac with} 4. b3 $6
{but this is well met by} c3 $1 5. Nxc3 Bxg4 $17)) 3. c4 c6 ({There are two
interesting ways to sac the exchange for Black} 3... dxc4 4. Bxb7 Nd7 5. Bxa8
Qxa8 6. f3 {# leads to a position you wouldn't recommend to your mother in law
for White, but he is the exchange up.}) ({Meanwhile} 3... d4 $5 4. Bxb7 Nd7 5.
Bxa8 Qxa8 6. f3 e5 {# is the Romford Gambit, when the pawn on d4 is a thorn in
White's side, but he is again Rook for Bishop ahead. Speculators might like to
delve further.}) 4. Qb3 (4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 {is the other way for White,after
which Black should start sacrificing to get developed:} Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Qxb7
Nbd7 8. d4 Rb8 9. Qxa7 Bd6 10. Qa6 Rb6 11. Qd3 O-O {# I find White's game
uncomfortable here, despite the extra pawn.}) 4... Qc7 5. cxd5 e5 $6 {This was
an exhibition game where Grob was obviously displaying his wares to adoring
fans. Once again, the opponent or opponents in this case, gets lured into
tactical mayhem, which is right up Grob's street.} ({I have seen people fall
for} 5... cxd5 6. Nc3 e6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. Qxg4) 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. d3 Bd6 8. h3 Bd7 9.
Bg5 Nxd5 10. Bxd5 {He gives up the fianchettoed Bishop, not exactly the first
move that comes to mind, but it does keep Black ' on the hop'.} cxd5 11. Nxd5
Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qd8 13. Nf3 (13. Qxb7 {gives Black the initiative and that is
something that Grob, in common with most strong players, was loathe to do.} Bc6
14. Qb3 Bc5 15. e4 Bxd5 16. Qxd5 Qxd5 17. exd5 Na6 18. Nf3 $13) 13... Bc6 14.
Rg1 $1 {# Development first, questions later. Chess need not always be
complicated.} Bf8 15. e4 Bxd5 (15... f6 16. d4 $16 {opening the centre,looks
very good for White.}) 16. exd5 b6 (16... Qe7 17. Rc1) 17. Nxe5 Qd6 18. Kd1 $1
{Followed by Rook to e1, thank you and goodnight!} f6 19. Qb5+ Nd7 20. Bb4 $1
Qxe5 {The pressure gets to the allies.} (20... a6 {was more obdurate, but
there are still two good continuations for White:} 21. Bxd6 (21. Qxd7+ Qxd7 22.
Nxd7 Kxd7 23. Bxf8 Rhxf8 24. Rxg7+ Kd6 25. Rc1 $16 {# The double Rook ending
is very promising.}) 21... axb5 22. Bxf8 Nxf8 23. Nc6 $16 {# An extra pawn,
the g file and monster Knight should add up to an easy win.}) 21. Re1 Qxe1+ 22.
Bxe1 Bd6 23. Rc1 $1 (23. Qc6 Ke7 {would be less clear.}) 23... Rd8 24. Rc6 Ke7
25. d4 Rhe8 26. Rxd6 $1 {resigns in view of 26...Kxd6 27 Bb4+ Kc7 28 Qc6+Kb8
29 Bd6 mate.      Well it didnt always go as smoothly for Grob. Occasionally
his whacky ideas were punished, but I'm sure that he considered this a small
price to pay for the enormous amount of fun  involved in developing his own
opening and his own arsenal of original methods.} 1-0

[Event "Switzerland"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Brechbuhler, B."]
[Black "Grob, H."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A40"]
[Annotator "Martin,Andrew"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2011.01.31"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.31"]

{Grob made a second contribution to theoretical chess literature with his 
small ' Englund Gambit' book, published in 1968 by Schachverlag Grob, so it
looks as though Grob might have been running his own printing press too!     
1 d4 e5!? is of course, a lot more dubious than even 1 g4 and you play this at
your own risk.} 1. d4 e5 $5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 {# I cannot bring myself to
like this move however many times I see it.  3...Qe7 is just plain ugly. This
brings us to the realization that Grob played it precisely for that reason.} (
3... f6 4. exf6 Nxf6 {gives some value for a pawn, but not much.}) 4. Bf4 {
This is the main line and I think it's a good move,although White has to
sidestep a few traps.} (4. Nc3 Nxe5 5. Nd5 {# is another one of those lines
which is ' supposed' to be good for White but on which the last word has yet
to be said.} Nxf3+ 6. gxf3 Qd8 7. Bf4 d6 8. Qd2 Be6 9. e4 (9. O-O-O c6 10. Bg5
f6 11. Qe3 Kf7 12. Nf4 Bxa2 13. Bh3 Qe8 14. Qa3 Bc4 $13) 9... Ne7 10. Be3 Nxd5
11. exd5 Bd7 12. f4 Be7 13. O-O-O Bf6 14. Re1 O-O 15. Bg2 Bf5 16. Re2 Qd7 17.
b3 a5 18. Bd4 Bxd4 19. Qxd4 a4 20. Kb2 axb3 21. cxb3 Rfe8 22. Re3 Rxe3 23. fxe3
Qb5 24. Qc4 Qa5 25. Be4 Bxe4 26. Qxe4 Qd2+ {0-1 Thurnauer-Grob Zurich 1950   
I guess once this stuff starts getting played in Category 20 tournaments and
they train the super-computers on 1...e5 we will get to know the truth.}) 4...
Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2 6. Nc3 ({Please not} 6. Bc3 Bb4 7. Qd2 Bxc3 8. Qxc3 Qc1# {# 
I have managed to pull off this trap several times,so it must be just about
plausable.}) 6... Bb4 ({Internet bullet addicts like the cheapo variation
beginning with} 6... Nb4 $2 {This is refuted by} 7. Nd4 $1 {#} c5 (7... a6 8.
Rb1 Qa3 9. Rb3 Qa5 10. a3 Nd5 11. Ndb5 $3 (11. Ncb5 Qa4) 11... axb5 12. Nxd5
$18) 8. Rb1 Qa3 9. Ndb5 Qa5 10. a3 $18) 7. Rb1 Qa3 8. Rb3 Qa5 9. Qa1 ({I prefer
} 9. a3 $1 {not committing the White Queen as yet. She may find a superior
central location.} Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Qc5 11. e4 Nge7 12. Be2 Ng6 (12... O-O 13. O-O
Ng6 14. Qd5) 13. Qd5 $1 $16 {#    This variation seems to place Black's whole
idea into question.}) 9... Nge7 10. e4 O-O 11. Bd3 Ng6 12. a3 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Qc5
{Fans of the Englund Gambit could feel happ with this position. Black has not
yet been killed and he may be able to round up the e5 pawn. White has been
jolted out of his comfort zone and is making it up as he goes along. You need
self-belief to play this way with Black and Grob had plenty of that.} 14. g3 a6
15. Nd4 Ncxe5 {There it goes.} 16. Nf5 ({Black keeps his game alive with the
command of small tactics:} 16. Bb4 Qxd4) 16... Re8 17. O-O d6 18. Bb4 ({
Brechbuhler might have tried} 18. Nxg7 Kxg7 19. Bd4 Qc6 20. f4 {but Black's
position is actually very sound:} Bh3 21. Rf2 f6 $1 22. fxe5 fxe5 $17) 18...
Qa7 19. Ne3 Bh3 {#  The reckoning. Grob penetrates the light squares around
the White KIng and now the writing is on the wall.} 20. Re1 Nf3+ 21. Kh1 b5 22.
c4 Nge5 23. Qb1 Be6 24. Kg2 Nxd3 {My main point this time is that you should
think very carefully before trying to emulate the Grandmasters. You don't have
the time, you don't have the talent and you probably don't have the energy,
unless you are under 20 years old.  But what you do have is discretion and
experience and those are invaluable tools which can be used to help you to get
stronger at chess.    Know your limitations and play to your strengths. That's
what Grob did!} 0-1

