Chess with Sam Collins

Gavin Wall vs Alex Lopez

Irish Championship 2018

Alex Lopez dominated this year’s Irish Championship, scoring an emphatic 8/9 against the strongest field in recent memory. Most of his wins (including one against me!) were earned in long games, but he can attack sharply when the opportunity presents itself, as demonstrated by this game.

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3

This is the so-called “Fantasy Variation”, which is much less popular than White’s other ...