38. … P-Kt5 Resigns.
GAME No. 24
White: Atkins. Black: Barry.
French Defence.
1. P-K4 P-K3 2. P-Q4 P-Q4 3. Kt-QB3 Kt-KB3 4. B-Kt5 B-K2 5. P-K5 KKt-Q2 6. BxB QxB
Diag. 135
7. Kt-Kt5
The intention is to strengthen the centre by P-QB3. Though it takes a number of moves to bring the Knight into play again, yet most of the tournament games in this variation have been won by White, mostly through a King’s side attack on the lines set out in the notes to Game No. 22. Investigations by Alapin tend to show that this is due to the fact that Black in all cases devoted his attention to Queen’s side operations (just as in Game No. 22) when he could have utilised White’s backward development, by himself starting a counter attack on the King’s side. He can then either aim at the White centre at once with P-KB3, or else play P-KB4 and prepare the advance of the KKtP by Kt-B3-Q1-B2. These various lines of play are still under discussion. Simple development is probably preferable to the move in the text, e.g. 7. B-Q3, Castles; 8. P-B4, P-QB4; 9. Kt-B3.