He’s undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of British chess, and next week he’ll join us for some chess and chat.
International Master Mike Basman will be at Battersea Chess Club on Tuesday, September 4 to host an evening of Coffee House Chess.
We’ll start with Battersea’s own Blair Connell giving us a special introduction to IM Basman, who was a former tutor of his.
IM Basman will then present us with four openings that have become synonymous with his name and chess style. And we haven’t even got The Grob in the there, so that leaves room for a part two!
Our first opening will be in true romantic style with the Basman Gambit in the King’s Gambit Accepted: 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Qe2.
Learn the Basman Gambit
Then we’ll lead into unarguably the most ‘solid’ opening of the night in an e6 Sicilan Defence which is co-accredited to Mike Basman and 19th century’s Louis Paulsen: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5.
Third, to a true British staple that named after England’s patron St. George the famous dragon slayer. Famously used by British legend Tony Miles to defeat World Champion Anatoly Karpov in 1980. Simply the eyebrow raiser 1.e4 a6.
We’ll cap off the evening with the Borg Defence. The more observant amoung you will realise why it was given this name: 1.e4 g5.
1858 Paris
The participants will tackle four separate opponents in each of these openings, which they will play twice. Once as white and once as black so to experience both sides.
Our host will then give small nuggets of wisdom about each of them in between and perhaps answer some of your questions.
This looks great. Would love to see what 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Qe2 is all about. Basman is a legend, I might have to get myself a ticket. https://t.co/2yoA5e0AAK
— Simon Williams (@ginger_gm) August 30, 2018
We’re going to strip back the evening to the bare essentials to attempt to offer an authentic coffee house chess experience. No increments on clocks will be used. We’re going to limit the technology.
Some of Basman’s many books will be floating around. We would like to like to encourage some of you to bring in your own chess pieces if you can manage it to add to the randomness of it all.
This is not the Karpov-Kasparov match of 1984. This is the coffee house down the road of 1858 Paris while Paul Morphy was busy taking apart the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard in the Opera House.
So dust off your berets and get down to Battersea to meet IM Mike Basman on Tuesday.
