The Frankenstein–Dracula Variation is a chess opening for
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
, usually considered a variation of the
Vienna Game
The Vienna Game is an opening in chess that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nc3
White's second move is less common than 2.Nf3, and is also more recent.
The original idea behind the Vienna Game was to play a delayed King's Gambit with ...
Bishop's Opening
The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Bc4
White attacks Black's f7-square and prevents Black from advancing the d-pawn to d5. By ignoring the beginner's maxim "develop knights before bishops", White ...
:
:2. Bc4Nf6
:3. Nc3Nxe4
The opening involves many complications; however, with accurate play the opening is viable for both sides.
The variation was given its name by Tim Harding in his 1976 book on the Vienna Game, in which he said that the bloodthirstiness of the character of play was such that "a game between Dracula and the
Frankenstein Monster
Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compare ...
would not seem out of place."
The line is rarely seen in top-level play. Ivanchuk used the opening against
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating o ...
in Roquebrune in 1992 in a game that ended in a draw.
Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov (, lv, Aleksejs Širovs; born 4 July 1972) is a Latvian and Spanish chess player. Shirov was ranked number two in the world in 1994.
He won a match against Vladimir Kramnik in 1998 to qualify to play as challenger for the classic ...
also played it as Black in a
simultaneous exhibition
A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition (commonly chess or Go) in which one player (typically of high rank, such as a grandmaster or dan-level player) plays multiple games at a time with a number of other pl ...
in Canada 2011. In 2019,
Hikaru Nakamura
Christopher Hikaru Nakamurarapid game in St. Louis against
Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Jan-Krzysztof Duda (; born 26 April 1998) is a Polish chess grandmaster. A prodigy, he achieved the grandmaster title in 2013 at the age of 15 years and 21 days. he is ranked No. 1 in Poland and No. 18 in the world. His personal best rating ...
.
Annotated moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4
:Another common way of reaching the same position is 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 (Bishop's Opening) Nf6 3.Nc3.
3... Nxe4
:This move defines the Frankenstein–Dracula Variation. White cannot win immediately, since 4.Nxe4 brings 4...d5.
4. Qh5
:4.Nxe4 d5 is considered to give Black no problems. 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe4 is considered good for Black as long as he avoids 5...Nc6 (5...d5) 6.Qf3+ Kg8 7.Ng5 and White wins (7...Qxg5 8.Qd5). 4.Qh5 threatens Qxf7#, a threat that White continues to renew in this line.
4... Nd6
:This move is the only good response to White's dual threats against f7 and e5; 4...Ng5 would be met by 5.d4 Ne6 6.dxe5 with some advantage. Also possible is 6.d5, when 6...g6 loses to 7.dxe6, as in Böök–Heidenheimo 1925. Instead, 6.d5 Nd4 led to very complicated play in Kis–Csato, Hungarian Team Championship 1993.
5. Bb3
:Swedish grandmaster
Ulf Andersson
Ulf Andersson (born 27 June 1951) is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972.
Career
At his peak, Andersson reached number four on the FIDE rating list. Tourname ...
recommended 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 6.Qxe7+ Bxe7 7.Be2, claiming that White has some advantage. (See Harding's 1998 column cited below.)
5... Nc6
:5...Be7 (returning the pawn) is a alternative, for example 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Nxe5 0-0 (7... g6!? is worth a try) 8.0-0 Nxe5 9.Qxe5 Bf6 10.Qf4 Ne8 11.d4 c6 12.d5; however, White has a better game ( Larsen; Nielsen–Muir, corr. 1971).
6. Nb5 g6 7. Qf3 f5
:
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein (russian: Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet and Ukrainian chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narro ...
once won a game with 7...f6 8.Nxc7+ Qxc7 9.Qxf6 b6 10.Qxh8 Bb7 11.Qxh7 0-0-0, but he has not found followers. If Black tries 7...Nf5, then White continues 8.g4 (also strong is 8.Qd5 Nh6 9.d4 d6 10.Bxh6 Be6 11.Qf3 Bxh6 12.d5 Hughes–Fogarty, Pittsburgh 2013) 8...a6 9.gxf5 axb5 10.fxg6 Qe7 11.gxf7+ Kd8 12.Ne2 (preventing ...Nd4) e4 13.Qg3+/−.
8. Qd5 Qe7
:8...Qf6 has also been tried and leads to notably different games. For instance, after 9 Nxc7+ Kd8 10 Nxa8 b6 11. d3 Bb7 12.h4 as in the ...Qe7 line, Black has the strong 12...Ne7! that he cannot play when the queen is on e7, and now White has a very poor game. If white wants to avoid black's attack, the line 11.d4 Nxd4 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.Nf3 Bb7 14.Qxd4 (this would be a terrible move with the black queen on e7) followed by 14...exd4 15.Bg5 Qxg5 16.Nxg5 calm down with almost equal game. White can choose other more promising lines involving several queen moves.
9. Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8
:Black is at the moment a
rook
Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to:
Games
*Rook (chess), a piece in chess
*Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game
Military
* Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft
* USS ...
down, but will eventually regain the
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
, leaving him down the exchange. In return, Black will play for an .
10... b6 (diagram)
:Black almost always continues with this move, preparing ...Bb7 to pick up the trapped knight. In return for his material, Black has a good and his
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
s will be well placed on the . He will try to justify his sacrifice by avoiding a queen
exchange
Exchange may refer to:
Physics
*Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States
* Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* ...
and attempting to checkmate White. White will secure his
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
(which for the moment is somewhat short of squares), hold onto his extra material and eventually may go on the offensive and attack the black king stuck in the centre of the board. Whether Black has sufficient compensation is a matter of opinion. One possible continuation is 11.d3 Bb7 12.h4 (threatening to win Black's queen with Bg5) 12...f4 13.Qf3 Nd4 (13...Bh6 14.Bd2 is also possible) 14.Qg4 (a 1969 recommendation by
Anthony Santasiere
Anthony Edward Santasiere (December 9, 1904January 13, 1977) was an American chess master and chess writer, who also wrote extensively on non-chess topics. Santasiere was a middle school mathematics teacher by profession. Santasiere won the 19 ...
, threatening to trade queens with Qg5), when Black has choices 14...Bh6, 14...Bg7, and 14...Bxa8. (See Harding's 1998 column cited below.)
John Nunn
John Denis Martin Nunn (born 25 April 1955) is an English chess grandmaster, a three-time world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician. He is one of England's strongest chess players and was forme ...