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Tired of bad positions? Try the main lines!

QUALITY CHESS
 Grandmaster Repertoire 11

Beating 1.d4 Sidelines

By

Boris Avrukh

Quality Chess
www.qualitychess.co. uk
 First edition 20 1 2 by Quality Chess UK Ltd

Copyright © 20 1 2 Boris Avrukh

Grandmaster Repertoire 11- Beating l.d4 Sidelines

All rights reserved. No parr of rhi s puhli carion may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
permission of the publisher.

Paperback ISBN 978- 1 -907982- 1 2-5

Hardcover ISBN 978- 1 -907982- 1 3-2

All sales or enquiries should be directed to Quality Chess UK Ltd,

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 Preface
By the Author

Explaining the contents of a repertoire book is normally a simple process, but for this book a little
more effort is required. It is a repertoire for Black against 1 .d4 when White avoids the main lines
that result after 2.c4. So far, so simple.
There are two complicating factors - our choice against the minor lines will automatically be
constrained by the main line we had hoped to reach, and I wish to cater for a variety of black
defences. It would be easier to create a repertoire that, for example, starts 1 . . . lll f6 and 2 . . . e6, but
of course that would have little relevance to those who intend to play the King's Indian. Instead
I have created a range of black repertoires with the aim of making the book compatible with all
the main defences to 1 .d4. If you play the King's Indian, Griinfeld, Nimzo-Indian or meet l .d4
with l . . . d5 main lines, then the present book should cover virtually everything you need to know.

I must admit that I have not made the book compatible with every possible black defence. For
example, if you are a Chigorin fan who likes to meet 1 .d4 d5 2.lllf3 with 2 . . . lllc6 then you are
on your own. My apologies, but to cover every possible black defence would have been hopelessly
impractical.

The book is split into four sections:

1) 1.d4 d5 lines
The main options considered here are the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, the Veresov Opening and
the London System, as well as options such as 2.ig5 and 2.lllf3 lll fG 3 .ig5 .

2) 1.d4 ltJf6 without 2.c4 or 2.ctJf3

This section is almost entirely devoted to the Trompowsky - 2.ig5 . My reply is the ambitious
2 . . . lll e4.

3) 1.d4 ltJf6 2.CLJf3 e6 lines

The most important lines here are 3 .e3 - the Colle and Colle-Zukertort - plus the Torre Attack
with 3 .ig5 and the nameless 3.g3 system.

4) 1.d4 ctJf6 2.ctJf3 g6 lines

The main options in this final section are 3 .ig5 , 3 .if4 and 3 .g3 . In the case of 3 .g3 , after 3 . . . ig7
4.ig2 0-0 5 . 0 0 I cover both 5 . . . d5 and 5 . . . d6, so both Griinfeld and King's Indian players will
-
be happy. On the 6th move I cover all White's serious options excluding 6 . c4, as of course that
would transpose to a main line.

Throughout the book I have selected sound yet ambitious lines for Black. I expect the reader
would like to play for a win, despite the implied disadvantage of the black pieces, so I have as far
as possible avoided lines that lead to dead-drawn positions. I am happy that I have found many
original ideas, so I hope and expect that my variations will serve the reader well. Good luck!

Boris Avrukh
Beer-Sheva, September 20 1 2
 Bibliography

Aveskulov: Attack with Black, Gambit 20 1 2.

Avrukh: Grandmaster Repertoire 1 - J.d4 Volume One, Quality Chess 2008.
Avrukh: Grandmaster Repertoire 2 - 1.d4 Volume Two, Quality Chess 20 1 0.
Avrukh: Grandmaster Repertoire 8 - The Grunfeld Defence Volume One, Quality Chess 20 1 1 .
Cox: Dealing with d4 Deviations, Everyman Chess 2005 .
Greet: Play the Queen's Indian, Everyman Chess 2009.
Johnsen & Kovacevic: W:Zn with the London SJ1stem, Gambit 200 5 .
Lakdawala: A Ferocious Opening Repertoire, Everyman Chess 20 1 0.
Lakdawala: Play the London System, Everyman Chess 20 1 0 .
Marin: Grandmaster Repertoire 4 - The English Opening Volume Two, Quality Chess 20 1 0 .
Schandorff: Grandmaster Repertoire 1- The Caro-Kann, Quality Chess 20 1 0.
Scheerer: The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, Everyman Chess 20 1 1 .
Summerscale & Johnsen: A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire, Gambit 20 1 0.
Wells: Winning with the Trompowsky, Batsford 2003.

Periodicals
New In Chess Yearbooks
Secrets of Opening Surprises (SOS)

Electronic/Internet resources
ChessBase Magazine
ChessPublishing.com
 Contents
Preface by the Author 3
Bibliography 5
Key to Symbols used 8

Part 1 - 1 .d4 dS lines

1 Rare 2nd Moves 9

2 Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 19
3 2.�g5 43
4 The Veresov 55
5 The London System 85
6 2.lLif3 lLif6 - Minor Lines 112
7 The Lame Torre 116

Part 2 - 1 .d4 l2J f6

8 2.g3 (and others) 134

9 Trompowsky- Intro and 3.h4 1 53
10 Trompowsky - 3.�h4 160
11 Trompowsky- 3.if4 180
 Part 3 - 1 .d4 � f6 2. � f3 e6

12 Rare 3rd Moves 208

13 3.g3 215
14 The Torre Attack 234
15 The London System 264
16 Colle 287
17 Colle-Zukerrort (with c2-c4) 296
18 Colle-Zukerrort (without c2-c4) 324

Part 4 - 1 .d4 � f6 2.� f3 g6

19 Rare 3rd Moves 335

20 The Barry Attack 359
21 3.e3 378
22 The London System 393
23 The Torre Attack 430
24 3.g3 (without c2-c4) 467

Variation Index 495

 Key to symbols used

White is slightly better

Black is slightly better
± White is better
+ Black is better
+- White has a decisive advantage
-+ Black has a decisive advantage
equality
a; with compensation
+± with counterplav
m unclear
with attack
t
�

with initiative
a weak move
?? a blunder
a good move
!! an excellent move
!? a move worth considering
?! a move of doubtful value
# mate
D only move
 1.d4 dS
Rare 2nd Moves
Variation Index
1 . d4
1 ...d5
A) 2.a3!? 10
B) 2.e3 ttJ f6 3 ..id3 c5 4.c3 ttJ c6 12
B l ) 5 . ttJ f3 13
B2) 5.f4 16

A) note ro 4 il, g 5
. B 1) after l 2.a3 B2) note ro 8 .�e l

12 . �c7!N
..
10 Part 1 - l .d4 d5 lines

1 .d4 d5 If the Catalan transposmon rakes you

out of your repertoire then 3 . . . b 5 ! ? is a valid
alternative move order. White can consider
avoiding the normal paths of 4 . lli f3 e6, but I
don't see an advantageous way for him to do
so.
If that sounds too adventurous 3 . . . c6 is a
good alternative, followed by . . . j,f5 or . . . j,g4.
I won't be covering this in derail, but rest
assured the position is not difficult for Black
to handle.

Enough! We could talk all day about these

obscure paths, but we need to attend to the
a b c d e f g h (relatively) serious business.·
In this, our first chapter of the book,
we will pay attention to the following two A) 2.a3!?
moves: A) 2.a3!? and B) 2.e3 . In my view,
these are the only two rare moves that are
worth examining in detail. However, I will
offer a few thoughts about the array of obscure
alternatives.

If you check your database, you will see that

virtually every legal move has been played at one
time or another, but no serious player should
require a book to provide recommendations
against options such as 2.j,e3, 2.Wd3 and
2.b4.

a b c d e f g h
Moves such as 2.tlld 2 and 2.c3 are more
sensible, but they are unlikely to have much What was that about "serious business"?
independent value. Black should respond with Although the move on the board may look
2 . . . tll f6, when the play is likely to transpose like a j oke, there is more to it than meets
to some other recognized variation sooner or the eye. Ir has been championed by the
later. French grandmaster Eric Prie, who gave it
the tongue-in-cheek name of "the Grand
2.g3 can be compared with the 2.fll f3 tll f6 Prie Attack." White's idea is to make a useful
3 .g3 line examined in Chapter 1 3, in which non-committal move, remaining flexible until
I recommend a set-up with . . . d7-d5 and the opponent has revealed his intentions .
. . . b7-b5 . The simplest reply is 2 . . . tll f6 3.j,g2 Ir is surprising how often the move a2-
e6, when White hardly has anything better a3 turns out to be useful, and Prie himself
than 4.c4 transposing to a Catalan, or 4 . lli f3 has made quite an impressive score with
b5 transposing to Chapter 1 3 . it.
 Chapter 1 - Rare 2nd Moves 11

By rhe way, the 2 . lli f3 lli f6 3 . a3 move order In the game Black opted for 1 2 . . . e5 which is
is also perfectly valid, bur the psychological also quite okay.
impact of White's 'left hook' is likely to be at 1 3.!'!c l a5! 1 4. 0-0
its greatest at an early stage of the game. Black's main point is 1 4.b5 a4! when
the following line is virtually forced:
2 . . tllf6
. 1 5 .iWb2 lli a5 1 6.llid2 lli b3! 1 7. lli xb3 axb3
Obviously 2 . . . c5 would be met by 3 . dxc5 ! 1 8 . 0-0 [ 1 8 .iWxb3 lli e4+] 1 8 . . . iWa5 19 . a4
when the a2-a3 move gives White every chance \Wb4 20.f3 E\c4! 2 1 .�xc4 dxc4 22.e4 �e8
of holding on to the extra pawn. followed by . . . lli d7-b6 with excellent
compensation.
3.Cllf3 14 . . . axb4 1 5 . axb4 \Wd6 1 6. b 5 Ei'.a3 1 7.'1Wb2
White returns the ball over the net and iWb4
invites his opponent to determine his set-up. Black is better, although White probably
should hold.
3 ... e6
'This seems like the most reliable choice. Prie
has managed to make a2-a3 look surprisingly
useful against most of Black's ocher plausible
moves.

4.ig5
4.�f4
This has been played, bur the straightforward
London System with an early a2-a3 does not
impress. Here is one illustrative example:
4 . . . c5 5 .e3 lli c6 6.c3 �d6 7.�xd6 '\Wxd6 8 . b4
cxd4 9 .cxd4 0-0 1 0. lli c3 �d7 l l .�e2 E!fc8
1 2.iWb3
Sirnikov - Kuzmin, Alushta 20 1 0 . Here
I found an interesting way to highlight
White's slight lag in development:

5 ... Cll c6
5 . . . lli bd7 6.e3 �d6 is also pretty reliable.

6.e3 h6!?
This has only been played once, but it seems
to me like a good time ro hit the bishop.

7.i.xf6
After 7.�h4 Black might seriously consider
7 . . . g5! 8.�g3 lli e4 .

7 ... Wfxf6 8.b4

12 Part 1 - l . d4 dS lines

This position occurred in Prie - Bareev, This move may look dull, but appearances
Ajaccio (blitz) 2007. Here the most should not always be trusted. White intends to
straightforward continuation is: play a Stonewall set-up with an extra tempo,
which could easily lead to a kingside attack if
Black is not careful.

2 ... lLJf6 3.i.d3

3.f4 cS 4.c3 Clic6 5 .i.d3 ig4 transposes
to line B2 below, although Black might well
consider 3 . . .if5 via this move order.

3 ... c5 4.c3 lD c6
From this position White sometimes reverts
to a Colic: Sd-up wiih Bl) s.lLif3, but the most
important line is of course B2) 5.f4.

The following alternative is obviously harmless:

5 . ctJ d2 e5 6.dxeS ctJxeS
Black is already effectively playing with the
white pieces. We could leave it there, but
I would like to show one illustrative game
where he played particularly convincingly.
7.ic2 id6 8.Cligf3 0-0 9 . ctJ xe5
9.0-0 ig4 1 0.h3 ih5 l l .g4 was played in
9.cxd4 i.d6 10.lDc3 0-0 l l .i.d3 i.d7 1 2.0-0 Tech - Salimbagat, Los Angeles 2003 , and
l:!ac8 here l l . . .ig6N 1 2.ctJxeS ixe5 1 3 . f4 ixc2
Black has two bishops and healthy prospects. 1 4.�xc2 ic7 1 5 .gS ClihS 1 6.Clif3 �e7
White's reversed . . . a6-Slav formation gives him would have preserved Black's advantage.
a solid position too, but he can hardly fight for 9 ixe5 1 0. ctJ f3 ic7 1 1 .0-0 �d6 1 2. h3

s.�i
'SI � A �
. . .

the advantage.
� ;.��'§'�
';!;!/��
7 � 'm a.1.��'
8
B) 2.e3

6 • s=1J �
5 . �-·�fn'· · ·n
4 -- �� �
3 m///�a/// ��-Jr
2 8�.i- � 8-
�� lfi-:=
a b c d e f g h
12 . . . Clie4!?
Initiating favourable simplifications. 1 2 ... Ei:eS
would also have maintained an edge.

b d f g h
1 3 .ixe4 dxe4 1 4.�xd6 ixd6 1 5 .ctJd2 f5
a c e
 Chapter 1 - Rare 2nd Moves 13

1 6.b3 ie5 1 7.ib2 Ei:d8 1 8.Ei:fd l ie6 8 .ib5

With the rook heading for d3, White was 8.g4N ig6 9.ib5 Vf1c7 1 0. b4 a6 l l .ie2
in serious trouble in Norman - Iner, e-mail ie7 l 2.g5 t/J e4 l 3 .Vfjxd5 Ei:d8 l 4.V!Jb3 tt::lx g5
20 0 1 . l 5.t/Jxg5 ixg5�
8 . . . ixf3 9.V!Jxf3 ixc5 1 0.t/Jd2 e4 1 1 .V!Jd l 0-0
B l) 5.tll f3 1 2. t/J b3 id6 1 3 . c4 dxc4 1 4.ixc4
Anilkumar - Bakre, Kochi 20 1 1 .

'� � -� c ·z

681�
1
�
'�;1.1�. . .J%�i:I
;

. . %m• - . .% r�
;!/. . •

r� mr�•
..
z . . .

5 � %-r� /--
.

�
�.,.%�/�f/'/ .fl
. ..

�� �
6.tll bd2
4
���-ef----
6.0-0 e6 7.t/J bd2 transposes to the main

3 m�.J�A��J����-�
line.

2 fj ef[j m r[jw
r · �" ��� W'.Y{.
fj rt!f
1 f� �v� l: m
6.h3 �h5 7.dxc5
7.t/J bd2 e6 8 . 0-0 id6 j ust transposes again. ..z %'. . . . . . . z . .

7 . . . e5
a b c d e f g h
6 ... e6 7.0-0
It is also worth considering:
7.V!Ja4?!
This move introduces an unusual version of
the well-known Cambridge Springs system,
with reversed colours and an extra tempo for
White in ifl -d3 . This may not sound so
bad, but in fact d3 is rather a poor choice of
square for the bishop.
7 . . . t/J d7!
14 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

This is the main line in the position with 9.0-0 has been the main line in the
reversed colours, and here it works especially position with reversed colours. There are
well in view of the potential fork on the c5- many possible replies, and I will leave
square. it for the reader to explore further if he
wishes.
9 . . . ixf3 1 o .lll xf3 lll x c5 1 1 .'IWg4 a6 l 2.ie2
g6 1 3 .b3? ig7 1 4.ib2 lll e4 1 5 .lll d4 tll xd4
1 6.exd4

8 .ib5
With this slightly humiliating move White
admits that his bishop was on the wrong
square, and transposes to a Cambridge
Springs proper, in which he is ' really' playing
the black side.
8 . 0-0 ie7 9.e4 was played in Weber -

-r� , . ,
1.m s•m ��
% �
Purdy, Perth 1 962, and here I recommend
9 . . . tLl b6N with the following plausible
7 ,,�--,
6''n�nfS'�
continuation: 1 0.'1Wc2 cxd4 l l .exd5 '1Wxd5

� �-:�(""�
1 2.ie4 '1Wd7 1 3 .ixc6 bxc6 1 4 .lll e5 if5

5
�W?"j,,. '(/ /ij'/
::'.�N/ �W%/
1 5 .'\Wxf5 exf5 1 6.lll xd7 Wxd7 1 7.cxd4 Elhe8

a Jci .mi�
1 8 .lll f3 f6+
4
8 . '1Wc7

3 m �-ef��.,t��'2Jm
This position has occurred in thousands of
. .

A �fl�
� -�A �
�fl� '1,�-�
... . .

%'"///'
games with reversed colours. It would be a
2

..
0 %0%
:� %'0z 0 %'0

�,,,,� m,
�:
1
bit excessive to scrutinize the position in full

0 . � .. %�ifwrm
�� ....
. ..

detail, but dearly Black can be happy to be

effectively playing with the white pieces. I L.J
will j u s t mention a few examples of practical b d f g h
..

a c e

play from the present move order, i.e. where 7 i.d6

...

White actually lost a tempo with id3-b 5 . Black has quite a comfortable version of a
9.dxc5 reversed Semi-Slav. His bishop is ideally placed
9 . lll e5 lll dxe5 1 0.dxe5 ih5 1 1 .0-0 ie7 on g4, especially as its white counterpart is on
1 2.e4 0-0 1 3. f4 Kuijpers - De Wolf, d3, rather than e2 where it would at least break
Vlissingen 20 1 0. 1 3 . . . lll xe5 N 1 4.fxe5 the pin.
a6 1 5 .id3 b 5 1 6.'\Wc2 c4 1 7.exd5 cxd3
l 8.'1Wxd3 '1Wxe5+ 8.h3
 Chapter 1 - Rare 2nd Moves 15

Black is well placed to meet any central We have been following the game Yuferov
activity, as demonstrated by the following - Annakov, Moscow 1 996. Here Black could
encounter: 8.dxc5 i.xc5 9.e4 (9.iWc2 0-0 have fought for the advantage by highlighting
1 0 .e4 is the same thing, while 9 . b4 i.d6 the misplaced bishop on d3 :
resembles the main line and may transpose at
any moment if White plays h2-h3 .) 9 . . . 0-0
1 0.1Wc2 dxe4 l 1 .ctJxe4 i.xf3 1 2.lt'ixc5

a b c d e f g h
1 2 . . . \Wd5! 1 3.gxf3 '1Wxc5 1 4.i.f4 This was
Bogdanovich - Marciano, Issy !es Moulineaux
1 997, and now after 1 4 . . .lt'ie5!N 1 5 .i.e2
lt'ig6 1 6 .i.g3 lt'id5 White's bishop pair is 1 4.t/Jxf3 a5 is also good for Black.
overshadowed by his poor pawn structure.
Black has several ways to improve his position, 14 ...ixf3 1 5.Wfxf3 ie5
with ... e6-e5, ... f7-f5 and ... h7-h5 all tempting 1 5 . . . a5 is a decent alternative.
candidates on the next move.
16.Wfe2 :!'ks 17.�acl tLl d7
8 . . ih5 9.dxc5
.
Now if Wh i te wishes to li berate h is pos i t i on
Once again, central play leads nowhere for
White: 9 .iWe2 0-0 1 0.dxc5 i.xc5 l 1 .e4 tll e 5
with d-c4, he is more or less forced to go
down the following path .
1 2.exd5 lt'ixd3 1 3 .1Ml'xd3 This was Habel -
Nagelsdiek, Wuerttemberg 1 99 5 , and now
after 1 3 . . .lt'ixd5N 1 4.lt'ie4 i.b6 1 5 .lt'ie5 f6
1 6.lt'ic4 i.c7 Black's bishop pair gives him the
upper hand.

9 ... ixc5 10.h4 id6 II.ib2

Another game continued l 1 .a3 0-0 1 2.i.e2
:gc8 l 3 . c4 a5 l 4.b5 lt'ie5 l 5 .lt'ixe5 i.xe5
l 6.:ga2 i.g6 and White was under pressure in
Szuhanek - Rihrerovic, Kragujevac 1 99 5 .

1 1 . .. 0-0 12.a3
16 Part 1 - l .d4 d S lines

1 8.f4 if6 19.e4 lli b6 20.e5 fle7 2 1 .c4 dxc4 1 0 . . . Ji fS ! l l .Jixf5 exf5 1 2.:gf3 ? ! :8e8+ Sokanski
22.llixc4 llixc4 23.�xc4 w.rb6t 24.<Jiih2 a5 - Schikov, corr. 1 98 5 .
Black maintains slight pressure in the
simplified position, although White should be 6. . .e6 7.0-0 /ld6
able to hold it. The reader may be aware that the main lines
of the Stonewall Dutch against l .d4 involve
B2) 5.f4 a kingside fianchetto from White. With that
in mind, you may ask why we are developing
the bishop to d6 instead of g7. The simple
answer is that d6 is a better square! The
problem White has when playing against the
Dutch is that Black will usually begin with the
moves l . . .f5 , 2 . . . lll f6 and 3 . . . e6, and will wait
for the move g2-g3 to appear on the board
before committing himself 'to the Stonewall.
But if a l .d4 player knows in advance that his
opponent will play the Stonewall regardless, he
would do best to avoid the kingside fianchetto
and instead go for something similar to the set­
up recommended here, but with the bishop
on the ideal f4-square instead of g5. (In the
The reversed Stonewall 1s White's most present variation Black does not have that
consistent plan. luxury, although a bishop retreat to f5 will still
work well for him in many lines.}
5 ... ig4!
I favour the active development of this
bishop.

6.llif3
6.lll e2 does not lead anywhere special for
White: 6 . . . e6 7.llld2 Jid6 8.0-0 0-0 9 .1.W e l
(9.lll f3 Jif5) 9 . . . cxd4 ( 9 . . . Ji f5 ! ?) 1 0 .exd4 (or
1 0.cxd4 Lashkov - Efimov, Kimry 2007,
10 . . . :gc8N l 1 .lll c3 Jif5+)

s.w.re1
Black does well against other moves too.

8 . h3 Ji f5 9 .lll e5 0-0 l O .<;t>h2 l"k8 l l .Jie2

lll d7 1 2. lll xd7 �xd7 1 3. © h l f6+ Nykanen -
Martynov, Mikkeli 1 999.
a b c d e f g h
 Chapter 1 - Rare 2nd Moves 17

8.id2 0-0 9 .ie l 1!;\fb6! is awkward: 1 0.1!;\fcl 9.lli bd2?! meets with a familiar response:
E\ac8 1 1 . lli bd2 cxd4 1 2. llixd4 Helduser - 9 . . . cxd4! 1 0.llixd4 This unorthodox move is
Markus, e-mail 1 999. 1 2 . . . e5N 1 3 .fxe5 llixe5 White's best chance, but it could hardly have
1 4.ic2 id7+ been pleasing for him to recapture this way.
1 0 . . . e5 l 1 .llixc6 bxc6 1 2. fxe5 ixe5 1 3 .mrh4
s .lt:lbd2 cxd4! Pay attention to the timing of h6 1 4.h3
th is move! White would normally prefer to
respond with exd4, but now this would cost
him his f4-pawn. So instead he must open the
c-file, allowing Black to develop a promising
queenside initiative. 9 . cxd4 Elc8 1 0. a3 0-0
l l .b4 lli e7 1 2.ib2

a b c d e f g h
1 4 . . . 1!;\fb6!? (The simple 1 4 . . . ih5N is also
strong.) 1 5 . lli f3 ixf3 1 6.Ei:xf3?! ( 1 6.gxf3
1Lld7+) 1 6 . . . E\fe8 1 7.Ei'.b l lli e4+ Sigfusson -
Fjoelnisson, corr. 1 99 5 .

b d f g
10.1!;\fe2
a c e h This avoids changing the pawn structure,
8 ... 0-0 9.lll e5 but White is still likely to suffer on the light
White has to play this move at some point in squares.
order to shield his f-pawn.
18 Part 1 - l . d4 d 5 lines

After 1 0.i.xf5 exf5 the doubled pawns are of

no consequence, and the open e-file may give
White problems later. I l .ctJd2 Ei:e8 I 2.°1Wh4
'2l e4 1 3 .°1Wh5 g6 1 4 .1Wh6 i.f8 1 5 .°1Wh3 This
was Larrea Poladura - Muniz Rubiera, Norena
200 I, and here Black could have got some
advantage with:

a b c d e f g h
12 ... cxd4N 1 3.exd4 f5i
The e4-knight is a tow� r of strength, and
Black may go for a minority attack on the
queenside later.

Conclusion

2.a3 ! ? and 2.e3 may appear harmless, but

neither should be underestimated, The
10 ...ixd3 1 1 .tll xd3
The alternative is I l .°1Wxd3 '2l e4 1 2.'2ld2 f5
recommended solutions should enable you to
avoid the pitfalls and enter the middlegame
l 3.'2ldf3 i.xe5 l 4.dxe5 Perifanis - Seretakis,
with at least equal chances.
Athens 1 993, and now after 14 . . . c4N 1 5 .°1We2
1Wb6 Black is clearly better.

I 1 ...tll e4 12.tll d2
'lh is was Mesropov - Kramnik, Moscow
1991. Black already has a comfortable position,
and the only question is how best to strive for
the advantage. My suggestion would be:
 1.d4 dS
a b c d e f g h

Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
Variation Index
1 .d4 dS 2.e4 dxe4 3. ltJc3
3 ... ltJf6
A) 4.ic4 if5 20
B) 4.igS 23
C) 4.f3 exf3 24
C l ) 5.°1Wxf3?! 'Mrxd4 25
C2) S.ltJxf3 c6! 28
C2 1 ) 6.id3 ig4 29
C2 1 1) 7.h3 29
C2 1 2) 7.0-0 30
C22) 6.ic4 ifS 32
C22 1 ) 7.igS!? 33
C222) 7.ltJeS 35
C223) 7.0-0 e6 36
C223 1 ) 8.igS 36
C2232) 8.ltJgS!? 37
C2233) 8.ltJeS 39

A) no re ro 5 . f3 C2 1 l ) nore ro 9 .ie3 C2233) afrer ! l .119e l

8 . gS!N
.. I ! . . .ill b 6!N
20 Part I - l . d4 dS lines

1 .d4 d5 2.e4 3 .ic4 ll'if6 (3 . . .ll'i c6 4.c3 e5 is also excellent

The infamous Blackmar-Diemer Gambit for Black) 4.f3 ? (4.ll'ic3 transposes to variation
sees White giving away a pawn in order to 'N. with 3 .ll'ic3 ll'i f6 4.ic4) 4 . . .ll'ic6! 5 . c3 e5!
open lines and accelerate his development. It Black is already taking over the initiative, for
may not be fully correct, but when working instance:
on this chapter I was surprised at j ust how
potent White's initiative could become,
even against some of Black's most respected
defensive set-ups. Although I cannot claim
to have ' refuted' the gambit entirely, I am
confident that my recommended system will
avoid the biggest dangers while preserving
Black's extra pawn and giving the second
player good chances to capitalize on his
advantage.
a b c d e f g h
2 ... dxe4 3.tLlc3
Alternatives are rare, and I will offer j ust a 6.d5 ll'iaS (there is also nothing wrong with
couple of White's unsuccessful attempts to do 6 . . .ll'ie7) 7.'!Mla4t c6 8 . dxc6 ll'ixc6 9 . fxe4
without this move. '!Mlb6! 1 0.ll'if3 ic5 l l .ll'ibd2 0-0 and Black
was clearly better in Bartsch - Geiger, e-mail
3 . f3?! can be virtually refuted by Black's strong 200 5 .
reply: 3 . . . eS!
3 . . . ttif6
irsi �- '" �ur�•lr� • ��
A ;.�l:.lL �B�'m'W....i �
!f*r�·· ----�r�"--- "� ""'"?tor%···· ·
8

�,��.-,�
:��� �-�ill��
u. /.�·- �
5
��;, �;:,i·ef· ···%�/. ��

�///. � �� -///,
4

3
2 rn�111
.... .z····"'�-�·
�-0 -��
rm" ,,,.:z····
����ii���:
a b c d e f g h
4.dS (After 4.dxeS '&xd lt 5 .ltxd l CZJc6
White is struggling, for instance: 6.if4
if5 [6 . . .ll'ige7!?] 7.ll'id2 0-0-0 8 .'it>cl exf3 a b c d e f g h
9 .ll'igxf3 ll'ige7 and Black was obviously better From here we will discuss the rare options of
in Zube - Mercurio, corr. 1 993.) 4 . . .ll'if6 A) 4.ic4 and B) 4.ig5 before moving on to
5 .ll'ic3 ib4 6.ig5 exf3 7.'!Mfxf3 Rossi - the main line of C) 4.f3.
Have, Corsica 2004. At this point the simple
capture 7 . . .'!Mfxd5N gives Black a winning A) 4.ic4 if5
position.
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 21

On e of the key principles behind our chosen

defe nsive system is that we will almost always
develop this bishop actively before playing
. . . e7-e6.

5.f3
White is angling for a modifie d version of
the main 4.f3 line.

Let' s see what happens if he holds back with

th e f-pawn:
5.!g5 e6 6.llige2 h6! 7.�h4
Fxchanging is no better: 7.�xf6 Wxf6 8.llig3 a b c d e f g h
Bartlett - Dube, e-mail 2002, and now the 5 ... e6!
simple 8 . . . lli c6!N would leave White with Compared with the main line Black can
problems defending the d4-pawn.
7 . . �e7
develop solidly without exchanging on f3.
.

6.J.g5
Two other moves deserve attention.

6.g4 �g6 7.g5 llid5 8.llixe4

White has regained his pawn, but he has gone
completely against the gambit spirit. He has
wasted time and weakened his kingside, so
Black will simply complete development
before springing into action.
8 . . . lli c6 9 . c3

8.ttlg3 ?
The best try was 8.d5N, although I believe
Black is still better after 8 . . . g5 9 .�g3 exd5,
for example: 1 0. lli xd5 llixd5 l l .�xd5 c6
1 2.�b3 Wxd l t 1 3 .l%xd l lli d7+ with a
healthy extra pawn.
The main move is a blunder, which was
played in the game Morozov - Deev,
Moscow 1 996.
8 . . . g5!N a b c d e f g h
In the game Black missed this simple Now in the game Ewin - Graw, Bad
refutation. Homburg 2006, Black should have played:
9 .ttlxf5 exf5 1 0 .�g3 f4-+ 9 . . . Wd7N 1 0 .lli e2
The bishop is doomed. 1 0 .�b5 lli b6 l 1 .llie2 a6 doesn't change
much.
22 Part 1 - l . d4 d 5 lines

1 0 . . . 0-0-0 compensation, and it's n o wonder h e won all

Black has clearly better chances, as he is three of the games that reached this position.
going to carry out . . . e6-e5 under favourable l l .d5
circumstances. The most logical attempt. In the event of
1 1 .Ei:b l Black has l 1 . . .lll xd4 1 2.Ei:xb7 ie4+
6.fxe4 lll xe4 7.lll f3 followed by a queen swap.
l 1 . . .lll a5 1 2.ib5t c6 1 3 .dxc6 bxc6 1 4.id3
ixd3 1 5 .cxd3 ixa l 1 6.'Wxa l f6 1 7.'Wc3 'Wd5+
White hardly has any compensation for the
serious material deficit.

7 . . . ib4!
Certainly the most critical move, although
the simple 7 . . . ie7 8.0-0 0-0N obviously
cannot be bad.
8 . 0-0! ?
Continuing the gambit theme. A move like a b c d e f g h
8 .id2 would be too passive to hope for any 6 ... �b4!
&,

initiative. Black develops another piece and continues

8 . . . lll xc3 9 .bxc3 ixc3 1 0.ia3! to maintain the central tension.
A typical exchange sacrifice, but Black is not
forced to accept. 7.a3
Other moves are no better:

7.fxe4 ixe4 8 .lll f3 lll c6 9.a3 ia5 1 0.b4 ixf3

l l .gxf3 ib6 l 2.d5 lll e5 Black was clearly
better in Reh - Mueller, Bad Zwesten 1 99 9 .
.

7.'Wd2 lll bd7 8 .0-0-0 h6 9 .ih4 g5 1 0 .ig3

lll b6 l l .ib3 was played in Reh - Mueller, Bad
Zwesten 1 99 9 , and here Black has a simple
solution: l l . . .exf3N l 2 .gxf3 (Or l 2.lll xf3
lll e4 1 3 .'We l lll d 5 with a clear plus for Black.)
12 . . . c5 1 3 .'We2 c4! 1 4.ixc4 ixc3 1 5 .bxc3
lll fd5+

7 ixc3t 8.bxc3 h6 9 .ih4

... .
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 23

the Wi'b 5t idea is quite annoying, meanwhile

White intends to follow up with long castling
and perhaps f2-f3 .

s.i.xf6
White has some other possibilities:

5 . f3 exf3 6.lll xf3 if5 transposes to the main

line beginning with 4.f3 .

5 .Wi'd2 if5 6. 0-0-0 (Another game continued

6.lll ge2 lll bd7 7.lll g3 ig6 [7 . . . e6! ? also
deserves attention] 8.!c4 h6 9 .ie3 e6 1 0. a3
id6 l l .ia2 Wi'c7+ and Black remained a
healthy pawn up in Diepeveen - Geirnaert,
Belgium 2007.) 6 . . . e6 7.lll ge2 lll b d7 8.h3
h6 9 .ixf6 lll x f6 1 0.g4 !g6 l l .ig2 'Wc7
1 2.lll g3 !d6! White remained a pawn down
IO.Wi'e2 cS 1 1 .gbl Wi'aS 12.Wi'e3 0-0 and positionally worse in Cordovi! - Damaso,
White's position was already a disaster in Caldas de Felgueira 1 99 8 .
Knoll - Stag!, Graz 2008 .
5 .ic4 b 5 ! 6.ib3 b 4 7.lll a4 ig4 (A worthy
B ) 4.i.gS alternative is: 7 . . . Wi'a5 !?N 8 .Wi'd2 lll b d7
9 .lll e2 e6 1 0.0-0 ia6+) 8 .Wi'd2 e6 9.h3
(9 . lll c 5 doesn't make much sense after
9 . . . !xc5 1 0.dxc5 Wi'xd2t l l .!xd2 lll a6! when
Black is clearly better.) 9 . . . ih5 1 0. g4 ig6
1 1 .0-0-0 This position arose in the game
Meyer Kuipers, Leiden 1 997, a n d now Black
-

should have continued:

a b c d e f g h
This can be rather a tricky move if you don't
know exactly how to react.

4 c6!
...

Strangely enough I found that this is Black's

best option. The more popular 4 . . . if5 didn't
appeal to me due to 5 .'We2! when suddenly
24 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

5 ... exf6 6.ttJxe4 and it transpires that White cannot do

White has restored material equality, but anything with his discovered check.
Black's bishop pair and swift development
offer him rich possibilities. 7 ... .ie6 8.ttJc3

8 .i �.t�-� ��
1
6 m•m �
lfi"�r·,,/,m ·•�m/.,
•
: ·���
3 m
�
�,�� /@%;;�,%��''0,
2�
�-, , /,m �m
�B.Jl/l ;�JJ
"��1 VJII
1 �� �il�M �
a b c d e f g h
6 ...Wb6!
A key move, reminding White of the frailty
of his dark squares.

7.:Bbl 9 .ixa6
.

7. b3 weakens the dark squares in White's camp, An understandable decision, as after the
and Black can rake advantage as follows: 7 . . f5 .
natural 9 . ctJ f3 0-0-0 1 0.i.e2 g5! Black has an
8.tlic3 i.b4 9.tlige2 1Mi'a5 1 0.1Mi'd3 0-0 1 1 .0-0-0 obvious initiative.
Klinger - Wetscherek, Oberwart 1 99 1 , and now
after the correct l l .ctJd7N followed by . . .tlif6 9 ...Wxa6 10.ttJge2 0-0-0 1 1 .0-0 Wa5 12.a3
Black's chances are much higher.
..

@bs l3.Wd2 .id6;

Black's bishop pair gave him the advantage
In the event of 7.Wf e2 as occurred in Stich in Lipski - Dukaczewski, Jarnolrowek 2007.
- Kayser, Frankfurt 2006, Black can play
7 . . . Wfxb2!N C) 4.8

a b c d e f g h

a b c d e f g h
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 25

4.. . e:xf3 The most natural, although 9 . . . ii.f5 ! ? is also

Now it is worth considering the dubious strong.
C l) 5.1!Nxf3?! before moving to the main line 1 0.ii.c4
of C2) 5.tll xf3 . After I O.lll xa7 we have I O . . . ii.c5+ when
the simplifications reduce White's attacking
Cl) 5.1!Nxf3?! '1Nxd4 possibilities.
1 0 . . . c6 I 1 . lll xa7
This double sacrifice is unsound, but it has The attempt to obtain long-term
been used in close to a thousand games, and compensation on the dark squares with
was also played several times by one of the 1 1 .lll d6t? ii.xd6 1 2.Ei'.xd6 is refuted by
pioneers of the gambit, Diemer himself. 12 . . . lll d 5! when the rook is in trouble.
I l . . .ii.c5 1 2.ii.xc5 lll x c5 1 3 .lll x c8 Ei'.xc8
6.ie3 '1Ng4 We have been following the game
Naturally Black uses the threat of a queen Maciulewicz - Sasata, e-mail 1 998. Black
exchange to gain time. has returned one of his extra pawns in
order to simplify the position and kill his
7.'1Nf2 opponent's initiative. The resulting endgame
Occasionally White has allowed the queen can be evaluated as technically winning for
exchange in an attempt to create immediate him.

/, ·n///, � �·%%;'. /'.""/'.

l}IXJ:�j!J��r)i/
pressure on the queenside.

/'.., .%� . . %� . . %... /'.�

��� .. ��� ���
7.CLJb 5 'Wxf3 I

Despite the obvious benefit to Black in

exchanging queens, it is not clear what 7 z-A:< A z-A;c �& .. z-Az
z-Az A � A
White can achieve after 7 . . . CLJa6 ! ? 8 .0-0-0 6

):•;1�W
c6, since 9.CLJxa7 runs into 9 . . . ii.d7 when the
knight is in serious danger.
8.CLJ xf3 lll a6 9.0-0-0 :••'@;z1�·W<.j))
3
� ��:"//,� �m7;;; �
�

2 �.J[j;j� /�Y//X;�J):/Jt!!!
1 /�� m � � ��
a b c d e f g h
7 . . e5 8.a3
.

Obviously it's not a good sign ifWhite needs

to make such a slow move, but a glance at the
following lines reveals that the b4-square can
a b c d e f g h often prove to be White's Achilles' heel if left
unprotected.
Although the database shows a staggering
plus score for White, I am fully convinced
8 . h3 is met by 8 . . . °Wf5 9 .°Wd2 ii.b4 1 0.0-0-0
that his compensation for the two pawns is 0-0 when White has nothing for the two
woefully inadequate.
9 . . e6
pawns.
.
26 Part 1 - l .d4 d5 lines

8 .i.e2 'Wf5 9 .'Wg3 i.b4 is annoying for White. 1 2.ic5 , and here from a practical viewpoint
1 O.lll f3 was played in Maciulewicz - Rebaudo, I like 1 2 ... 0-0 1 3 .ixd6 cxd6 14.:8:xd6 i.e6
e-mail 200 l , and now I like the following idea when Black has a healthy extra pawn.
for Black:

8 ,E � j_�·�
8 . lll f3 i.b4! 9 .lll xe5

7 �· � ··��·
�----· � �
��
%,,% ,,,,% �----% s E�.i.�·�
; ·· � ·
� � �i
7 �·�
:{""

� � �
�.• �-if.
(/'· :{'""

54 .� • % � � - �
,

... �� 'S �Z-"'<' �

45 �� ��---·�
�
6

1
���-/---. �
3• m � •
� !�]1Jfi-!�
�
.. ,,, %'"/%/

ef,----'�C////r"" i///////•. ,.,/,

��---%� �=�"
�--- 2 -��-�-- .---------&rzr�
�.�
p� � � � :
h
1

�
b d f g 1

h
a c e , , z /,,, ,/,

b d f g
1 0 . . . lll c6N 1 1 .0-0 (The alternatives hardly a c e

work for White: l l .'Wxg7? loses to 1 1 . . . :8'.gS 9 . . . 'We4! 1 0.'Wf4 'Wxf4 l l .i.xf4 i.xc3t 1 2.bxc3
1 2 .'Wh6 lll g4! , while 1 1 .0-0-0 i.xc3 1 2.bxc3 lll d 5 1 3 .id2 0-0+ Kireev - Kund, e-mail
'Wg4 1 3 .'We l 'Wa4-+ suddenly leads to a 2006. Once again Black used the same concept
position where Black has good attacking - for the price of one pawn he has solved the
chances as well as two extra pawns.) l l . . .'Wg6 problems of his development and remained
1 2.lll g5 (After 1 2.'We l Black can think about with a technically winning position.
capturing a third pawn with 1 2 . . . 'Wxc2. )

.1 �-*-� •m ��
1m1.m•••"••
s
1 2 . . . if5 I don't see any good ideas for White.

8 .i.d3 lll c6 9.lll ge2

6
"• "• .lif "g
"

s �..-�
.IB�B•� �� :•.-.-1
�/ �.�T�••
1 , :.�
�'S)�,
�"'� R �--�
� �
-�f/'1f/�/,
" i•�
�·;,; . " i•/, .
�. " ...

� � �T----� 3'f{j � �
, /J��-�,?,��
6

� ��-�
' ;--/

� .�.�3.1� /,,,,,;-;�;fif'"'";�
3 � m.t � �
� Jli•rl't,Hi
%

�dr��k'§� '"/!A".'/,
,,,,, '.<//,, '

2 '"'Q :tffA ;;'/////;;·� �

"f" � 7/7#(/''i{"
% ' " ' fl
Q ifli
�-��
/,,,,,%
b d f g
/,,,,,/ �,,,,,;

h
� � � :h
a c e
1

a b c d e f g
8 . . i.d6 9.lll f3 1.Wf5!
.

This accurate move sets up two promising

9 . . . lll b4! This time it's the knight that makes ideas in . . . e5-e4, forcing a queen exchange,
use of the key square. 1 0. 0-0-0 This occurred
in Faber W Hort, e-mail 2002, and now the
and . . . lll g4, exchanging pieces and eliminating
-
a dangerous enemy bishop.
simple I O . . . lll x d3tN I I .:B:xd3 i.d6 is excellent
for Black. White's only reasonable idea is 10.0-0-0
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 27

..
White ignores the positional threats and 1 0 ... c!ll g4
ai ms for fast development. 1 0 . e4 is certainly not bad here either,
although it will probably entail giving up the
White can avoid both the aforementioned central pawn soon after.
ideas with 1 0 .'!Wd2, but of course this wastes
valuable time. 1 0 . . . ltlc6 1 1 . 0-0-0 0-0 l l .YNd2 c!ll xe3 1 2.§°xe3 0-0
1 2.ie2 This position has occurred in two 1 2 . . . Wf4 is a little premature, and after
games, neither of which saw Black fully 1 3 .'!Wxf4 exf4 1 4.lt:lb5 White maintains some
neu tralize his opponent's initiative. I believe chances for survival.
that the following improvement should do the
trick: 1 3.©b l

-·
,,•�
s.i• ////// ,
.t.• i/
Objectively White's best chance is 1 3 .id3

.//./.• �
z .. . z.'i� �- . . z�
Wf4 1 4 .Wlxf4 exf4 1 5 . lt:l b 5 , although he faces
7 . .
the rather dismal prospect of fighting for a

�. . !!� ���
6

·��..m.��.....�-�
draw at least one pawn down.

5.
3 f!j��
. WJ,rs�
4

2 ... . zn
l �
�·l1rrmr�
..... z=i• m,-�
a b c d e f g h
1 2 . . . e4!N 1 3 .ltl d4 (There is also 1 3 .ltlg5 ie5
l 4.f1dfl , and here Black has the nice tactical
solution 14 . . . ixc3! 1 5 .'!Wxc3 ltld5 1 6 .Wc5
We5 l 7.ic4 ie6 l 8.ltlxe6 fXe6 when he keeps
a large advantage.) 1 3 . . . Wg6 Once again I fail
to see how Whi te can justify his two-pawn
deficit.

14.id3 §°g4
1 4 . . . Wf4!N was even stronger.

1 5 J�hgl ie6 1 6.h3

The tempting 1 6.lt:lg5 runs into 1 6 . . . ifS ,
based o n the minor tactical point o f 1 7.h3
Wd4!.

1 6 ... §°f4 1 7.§°fl? f5 1 8 .c!ll e2 §°h6 19.c!ll d2

e4
28 Part 1 - l . d4 dS lines

White resigned in Klett - Sawyer, corr. defensive set-up, but chis Caro-Kann-like
1 996. Summing up, the double pawn sacrifice system has acquired the reputation for being
with 5 .�xf3?! is unsound, and Black should the most solid of all . As an aside, it will
preserve a large advantage as long as he is also make a convenient repertoire choice
willing to return one of the extra pawns when for readers who like to employ the Caro­
the time is right. Kann against l .e4, as the same position is
sometimes reached via the move order l .e4
C2) 5.tlJxf3 c6 2.d4 d5 3 .lll c3 dxe4 4.f3 exf3 5 .lll xf3
lll f6.

From here there are two main branches: C2 1 )

6.�d.3 and C22) 6.�c4, both of which are
covered by Scheerer. Apart from these two
clear front-runners, there are a couple of
distant contenders.

6.lll e5?! is effectively refuted by the accurate

reply: 6 . . . lll bd7 7 .�f3 �b6!

8 �-.i.·� � ��
WA"{&
ra% a -�W'i·& P'{ &
ra:�
1
%,, %Sfi%m- -% - - %
�•>•%a a

5 n--%� 0,m�- ---��

6

����--�-- �
With chis move we enter the principal tabiya

���-; �-'� Im
of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Compared
with the previous variation White is 'only' one 4

� !�E
l ;'ff/7� ��
pawn down, and he is developing his pieces in
classical fashion instead of rushing his queen
forwards. �
� y� ��}',
� mll ,,
I found Christoph Scheerer's monograph
� � ,

a b c d e f g h

8.�c4 (8.i@f4 g5 ! ? 9 .lll xd7 �xd7 1 0.i@xg5

on the BOG an especially useful resource,
which forced me to investigate the ensuing
positions more deeply and consider some occurred in the game Burk - Pape, corr.
1 989, and now after the obvious 1 0 . . . �xd4N
l l .�e3 �g4 1 2.�e5 �g7+ Black is a healthy
dangerous attacking plans that I had not
looked at previously. In the end, I am
happy to say I found antidotes against pawn up. ) 8 . . . e6 9 .�f4?! �xd4 1 0.lll xd7 �xd7
all Scheerer's recommendations, which Black was winning in Offen - 1<8awitter,
reinforces the widely-accepted view that Neumuenster 1 997.
the Blackmar-Diemer is not fully sound.
However, I must warn you chat a high degree 6.�g5 is a suboptimal move order which allows
of accuracy is required in some critical Black to develop his bishop to an even better
lines. square than f5 : 6 . . . �g4! White can hardly
hope for sufficient compensation, as shown by
5 . . c6!
.
the following example: 7.�e2 lll bd7 8 . 0-0 e6
Black has tried virtually every conceivable 9 .'ii h l �e7
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 29

s �rif�
.1m� S•• . . , z� & r� f ��ref·
1 . . ,•.
to castle, Black may well look towards the
�
. ,�. . . queenside as the more reliable haven.

.
'>
t�iB41l•it�i
..

5 � �� � ,. ....��
. .

At this important branch ing point White

6
% ,.%
.
%

must choose between C2 1 1) 7 h3 and C2 1 2)

�� ���� t�
7.0-0.

� � "
4

3��m
� �ref . . . ;�. . %� ����-
2 t3J ef� t3J B �B t3J ef�
��L.?.� ;� r•� �I
. .

�
l

h
,,.,. v.

a b c d e f g

1 0. tll eS ?! White was already struggling, but

th is does not help. 1 0 . . . tll xeS 1 1 .dxeS Vflxd l
1 2.ixd l ixd l 1 3 .E!:axd l tli g4 1 4.if4 g5
1 5 .h3 h5! Black was well on his way to victory
in Speck - Laengl, Ziirich 1 990.

C21 ) 6.id3

h
.
a b c d e f g

9 . ih5 ! Black is not forced to give up his

light-squared bishop. (The more compliant
9 . . . ixf3 1 0.Vflxf3 id6 1 1 .0-0-0 Vflc7 1 2.g4�
offers White decent positional compensation.)
1 0. 0-0-0 ib4 l l .g4 ig6 1 2.gS tll d5 1 3 .tll x dS
Now in the game Mann - Leisebein, e-mail
2004, Black wrongly inserted an exchange on
d3, when instead the simple l 3 ... cxd5!N would
have left White with insufficient compensation.

a b c d e f g h C2 1 1) 7.h3
With this move White prevents the enemy
bishop from coming to f5 and hopes to do
some damage on the bl-h7 diagonal.

.
6. .ig4
The bishop is happy to take up residence
on the g4-square instead. From here, Black
will often delay castling until he has finished
developing the rest of his minor pieces. With
the white bishop on d3 instead of c4, there is
less danger of a sacrifice taking place in the
centre. And when the time finally does come
30 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

According to Scheerer this is the most 1 3 . . . lll c7! 1 4.�a4 f6! Black should convert his
serious move. material advantage with ease.

7 ....ixf3 9 ...°1Wh4t 10.g3 °1Wb4 1 1 .0-0-0 llJ bd7 1 2.g4

Black should accept the challenge, as 7 . . . �h5 e6 1 3.g5
gives White some additional ideas connected These moves occurred in Schwend - Degli
with g2-g4. Eredi, corr. 1 986. At this point Black missed a
simple and strong continuation:
8.°1Wxf3 '1Wxd4

a b c d e f g h
9 ..ie3
The cheeky 9 .lll b 5 ? led to a convincing
victory for White in the game Mueller -
Hieke, Germany 1 997, but it was easy to
discover that the flamboyant knight is not C2 1 2) 7.0-0
really untouchable: 9 . . . cxb 5 !N 1 0.'\Wxb7 iWdS
I l .�xb5 t (I l .iMi'c8t '\Wd8 1 2.�xb St lll bd7-+)
1 1 . . .<j;>dS 1 2.iWxd5t lll x d5 1 3 . 0-0 At first
glance White seems to have some initiative,
but Black keeps everything under control with:

7 ... e6
h
A very solid continuation.
a b c d e f g
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 31

Acco rding to Scheerer Black can play 7 . . . �xf3 9.�el

8. °&xf3 �xd4t 9 .�e3 �g4 1 0 .�f2 e6, but Another idea is 9 . h3 �h5 1 0.g4 �g6 l l .g5 ,
so m ehow I am not fully convinced about but pushing the g-pawn achieves nothing apart
this line. White's development advantage is from weakening White's position. 1 1 . . .lll h5
obvious, and I would not be surprised if some 1 2.�xg6 hxg6 1 3 .lll e5 lll xe5 1 4.dxe5 lll g3
dangerous ideas were lurking in this position. 1 5 .�xd8t !"lxd8 1 6.!"lf3 lll f5 1 7.�xa7 �e7
1 8 .li:l e4 !"ld5 ! Black was winning in Kuni -
8 ..i e3 Lafarga Santorroman, corr. 2003 .
8.h3? is too much of a liberty, and after
8 . .. �xf3 9 .�xf3 �xd4t Black is virtually a full 9 ... .ixf3
tempo up on the aforementioned line. After Now the exchange makes sense, as White
1 0.�e3 �e5 White has nowhere near enough was intending lll e5.
compensation, as shown in the following
exam ple: 10.!!xf3 �c7 1 1 .�h4
1 1 .rii h l occurred in Trumpf - Wallner,
e-mail 2005 , and now after the correct
l l . . .�d6N 1 2.�g l 0-0-0 it is hard to see the
value of White's 1 1 th move.

1 1 . . . 0-0-0
Considering the menacing accumulation of
white pieces on the kingside, it is obvious that the
black king should go in the opposite direction.

8 . ctJbd7
. .

1 2.a4
Pushing the a-pawn seems like the only
reasonable way to create a target for attack.

12 ... h6
Another possible idea was 1 2 . . . �d6
intending . . . !"lhe8 and eventually . . . e6-e5.
32 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

13.a5 g5 14.l!Nel
Certainly White cannot play 1 4.ixg5 ? in
view of 14 . . . hxg5 1 5 .Wxh8 ic5 !-+ .

1 4 ... llJ g4 1 5.g3 f5

Slowly but surely Black grabs space and
develops his play on the kingside.

17 ... ig7 18.igl 13he8 19.llJe2 h5

We have been following the game Bischof
- Leisebein, Internet 200 5 . Looking at the
general state of the position, it would seem
reasonable to conclude that it is complicated
and offers chances to both sides. However,
there is one important detail that should not
be overlooked: Black is still a pawn up!

C22) 6.ic4

��
� -- . . .. �.i?s
m
s ., ,.,/,��,i?§ �&§ 8 �-..tB•m
., --� , ,,,%-,,�-,,
�Ji �,�/
�� 00
'i 7

"l�).l�'i"��-! ,,,,,, � �,}.,,,., f

,

6 �'
6 ""n •"• "•
5 B B Bi�� s e �e �..... ;�
,J . J,,,m �.,,,,,

4 �� �� B 'il B
.,,,,,

3 . ·� �:!�
4 81i' ,
� ��
',, -� f �
%
� ····· if@ � �W "
3 ��- ---�
2 n [}J mlZJ• � � �·d" �
,,, ,

� B
1§,?:i.� � � � t.� �-� 2 �[)],,��-� -�t::·�/,-� �JrJ
a b c d e f g h l�� �if� ��
l 8 . . . c5! A remarkable tactical idea. l 9 .ib5 a b c d e f g h
( 1 9 .bxc5? allows 1 9 . . . �c6! 20.�fl and now
This has been White's most popular choice.
the surprising 20 . . . ixc5! 2 l .dxc5 LLl de5-+ sees
The bishop avoids blocking the d-file and
Black crashing through.) 1 9 . . . cxb4 20.d bxc3
takes aim at the e6- and fl-squares. The latter
2 1 .LLlxc3 ib4 22.Ei:c l �d6 White's attempts
is connected with an elementary tactical motif
on the queenside have backfired, and he ended
which prevents the black bishop from coming
up in a completely lost position in Koch -
to g4.
Leisebein, e-mail 2006.
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 33

6 . . . ifS independent possibilities.

Fort unately the Caro-Kann-style develop­
m ent works well. At this point White's main 7 . . . e6
opti ons are C22 1 ) 7 ..tgS!?, C222) 7.ltJ eS and 7 . . . tt'l bd7 is inaccurate due to 8 .We2 e6
C223) 7.0-0. 9 . 0-0-0, and now 9 . . . ib4 allows 1 0.d5!.

s
., - , , ,/,� .,%•.��,
A �, �-�
7.g4?! has been proposed, but after 7 . . . tt'lxg4
(obviously 7 . . . ixg4? would be a mistake

� '�� '�'··
in view of 8.ixf7t) 8 . tt'l h4 g6! it is hard to

�
believe White has any real compensation for
being two pawns down, for instance:
s��� ���-��,Iu=
�.- - - - � �
� � Jl�L� �
tl) - � � --,,-
B ,, � -
4 �

�m·%"""� �0���[j
� �m-�
3

2 �8/fj�-�-
11� -�� mM
a b c d e f g h
8.liJh4!?
I found this interesting move analysed in
a b c d e f g h Scheerer's book. Scheerer goes on to cite some
analysis from Stefan Bucker, who in turn
9.)"\gl (even worse is 9.0-0?! e6! 1 0 .tt'lxf5 credits Lev Gutman for its invention.
gxf5-+) 9 . . . tt'l f6 1 0.tt'lxf5 gxf5 l l .ie3 e6
1 2.We2 ib4 1 3 .0-0-0 ixc3 1 4.bxc3 �a5+ Two other moves should be mentioned:

C22 1) 7 ..tgS!? 8 . 0-0 reaches a standard position covered

under 7. 0-0 e6 8 .ig5 - see variation C223 l
below.

8 .�e2 ib4!
It is important to discourage long castling.
I was surprised to see that most games have
continued 8 . . . ie7, and after 9 .0-0-0 White
has reasonable compensation.
9 . 0-0
White is more or less forced to castle short,
since after 9 . 0-0-0?! ixc3 1 0.bxc3 tt'l bd7
his king is too exposed.
9 . . . 0-0 1 0.lt>h l tt'l bd7
We have reached a normal kind of position
This slightly unusual move can transpose where White will have trouble demonstrating
to more familiar paths, but it also holds some sufficient play for a pawn.
34 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

l l .tll e5 Internet 1 997, and now 1 1 .l"i:fl N i¥fg6 l 2.id3

It is important to note that l l .tll h4 can be would leave White with serious compensation.
met by l l . . .i¥fa5!.
l l ... i¥fa5! 9. lll xg6 hxg6 10. 'IW d3
Again this move. White's idea is quite interesting and a little
1 2.ixf6 tll xf6 1 3 .g4 unusual for the BOG. Instead of playing for
Stamer - Risch, corr. 1 980. Now Black mate, he plans to whisk his king to safety and
should have played: then utilize the open f-file to pin down the
knight on f6. In an ideal world, his positional
pressure will either enable him to regain his
pawn advantageously, or act as a springboard
to launch a direct attack on the black king.

1 0 ... ie7
I prefer this calm move to 1 O . . . i@°a5 l l .h4! ,
with the point that l l . . . i¥fxg5 1 2. hxgS l"i:xh 1 t
1 3. <;tie2 l"i:xa l l 4.gxf6 tll d7 ( l 4 . . . gxf6 1 5 .dS!)
l 5.ixe6! gives White a dangerous attack.

1 1 .0-0-0 lll bd7

There is no poinr in rushing with 1 1 . . .tll dS,
as White is not yet threatening to sacrifice on
e6.

12.h4 lll b6
1 2 . . . aS l 3 .ib3 CU b6 is an equally valid move
order.

13.ih3 aS 14.a4
This is B ucker's recommendation, as cited i n
Scheerer's book.

l 4.a3 would ease Black's task, since after

1 4 . . . a4 1 5 .ia2 cu bd5 1 6.<;tib 1 tll xc3 t l 7.i¥fxc3
the a5 -square comes in handy: 1 7 . . . i@°aS+
,

14 ... lll bdS 15.'itibl

Here I found an improvement over the
published analysis:

The only game here saw 8 . . . h6?! 9 .ixf6 i¥fxf6

1 0. tll xfS i¥fxf5 T. Nguyen - D . R. Smith,
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-D iemer Gambit 35

7 ... e6 8.g4
Instead 8 . 0-0 transposes to line C2233 -
7.0-0 e6 8 . tli e5 .

Th e artificial-looking 8 .Ei:fl i s unimpressive:

8 . . . ig6 9 .ig5 ie7 (9 . . . ib4!? is also good.)
1 0 .'11¥ d2 tli bd7 White has no compensation,
as demonstrated in the following encounter:
1 l .ctJ xg6 hxg6 1 2.h4 tli b6 1 3 .ie2 tlibd5
1 4.tlixdS Now in the game Lorenz -
Lamprecht, Troisdorf 2006, Black should have
favoured 1 4 . . . '11¥xd5N with a clear plus.

8 ... Cll fd7!

It is important to know about this strong
counterattacking resource.

9.gxf5
9 .0-0 tli xe5 1 0 .gxfS tlixc4 1 l .fxe6 fxe6-+
16.l:'.! hfl
This move works well against 1 5 . . . '11¥ c 7, but gives White nothing.
now Black has a good answer in store.
9 . .W/h4t 1 0.@fl Cll xe5 1 1 .ie2 'Wh3t
.

16 ... Cll xc3t 17.'Wxc3 Cll e4 18.'We3 f5! 12.@gl

With the e6-pawn protected, Black stands After 1 2. 'itiel Black can take a draw by
bener. returning with the queen to h4, but there is
no reason not to play for more with 1 2 . . . ie7! .
C222) 7.Cll e5 I n the following game White faltered
immediately:

8 E� • • �if
7 W� i � � i W� i
�//��N
%. /a ,tm·�•r-- - %�
0, , / ,

5 ��-����0, B� ��-
���.f.%'Q%���
. �Z\&ie'i
� . �
4 .

3 :iz_J
2 l�*�--:. ��
1 �� �if� -It
a b c d e f g h
1 3 . dxeS ? (The best chance was 1 3 .if4N tlied7
1 4.fxe6 '11¥xe6 although here too Black is clearly
This time White is in no mood to pussyfoot better, since White has lost his right to castle
around, and he goes straight for an attack. and his king will be exposed for a long time to
36 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

come.) 13 . . . 'll*' g2 1 4.:B:fl .ih4t 1 5 .<Jid2 lLi a6-+ C223) 7.0-0 e6

Zilliox - Maciulewicz, corr. 1 98 8 .

12 ... exfS

After this common continuation we reach

our final branching point of the chapter,
as White chooses between C223 1 ) 8 . .ig5,
C2232) 8.tlig5!? and C2233) 8.lll e5 .

C223 1 ) 8 .ig5
.

1 3 ... £6 14 . .ih5t g6! 1 5 ..ixf6

9.'!We2
It's important to mention that 9 . lLi h4? runs
1 6.@fl .ie3t 17.@el tli bd7 into the elegant tactical blow 9 . . . .ixc2! .
Black was winning in Offenborn -
T. Schmidt, corr. 1 996. 9 ... tlibd7 10.�adl 0-0
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 37

� � � �� - �
/,mT•i)•. r1u
14 ... tt'l b6! 1 5 . dxe6 �xe6 1 6.�xe6 'Wxg5
8

, , /,� :� ,,�,,,,,
l 7.�b3 �xc3 1 8 .bxc3 :1l:ad8+
7
6 ,/,-
� �� ��'I�
13 ... llixf6

5
�� �� ,� �. 0,� �tj�
4
3 � m 1i,, f� m �
0,m , _ , /,� cz)�
�!WW' � � �%� �
� i8illfNL3
�
a b
�
c d
�
e f g
/,, , ,,/,

h
1 1 .wh1
It is not easy for White to make something
happen on the kingside. For instance, the
premature 1 l .tt'le5? is met by 1 l . . .ctJxe5
! 2 .dxe5 tt'l d7 1 3 .�xe7 V!ff xe7 1 4.m2 b5+ when
White has nothing for the pawn, Humme -
Wagner, e-mail 2004.

1 1 . .. 'WaS 12.ttJeS

C2232) 8.ttJgS!?

a b c d e f g h
This is a modern try, based on the possibiliry
of sacrificing on f7 or e6. At first I thought
it was too crude to succeed - and it probably
13 .�xf6 is! Nevertheless, Black must play with a high
1 3 .tt'lxd7 tt'lxd7 1 4.d5 looks tempting, but degree of accuracy if he is to repel the attack
Black can keep everything under control: and preserve his advantage.
38 Part 1 - l .d4 d5 lines

8 ... i.g6!
Black must prevent a sacrifice on f7. Here
are some sample lines in which White's idea
works perfectly.

8 . . . h6? 9 .lll x f7 <ii xf7 1 0.%\xf5 +-

8 . . . ixc2?! is a typical tactical motif, bur on this

occasion Black is biting off more than he can
chew: 9 .lll x f7! <ii xf7 I O .'l.Wxc2 '\Wxd4 t

10.tlJf4 i.xf4
With a strike on e6 looming, the knight is
a b c d e f g h too dangerous to be left alive.

l l .ie3! 'l.Wxe3t ( I l . . .'l.Wxc4? meets with a l l .i.xf4

shocking refutation in 1 2.%\f4! 'l.Wa6 1 3 .%\a4!
when the queen is trapped!) 1 2.<ii h l With
.i� �· �
%\ae l coming next, White has a powerful
initiative.
8

Ts1
•• • "m
6 ''n !m !•tm
7
��
Finally, another impressive tactical line runs
r:r�:r���@/ �'/'� //?, , , , ;:;0"/�
� -.i.
5 �
%� �,,,,,%
� m� �
8 . . . ig4 9 .lll xt7! 'l.We7 I O.E!:xf6! ixd l l l .E!:xe6
� �
't9xt7 12.lhe7t <ii x e7 13 .ig5 t <ii d 7 14J:hd l �
0. . . . .

3 m0""m m •0"'
with great compensation.
�
,,,,, � '

9.tDe2
2 ��!�� m�� m
�rBftJ
0� �V� M ·� ·
White intends to put the knight on f4,
followed by landing a haymaker of a sacrifice �,, , , ;% � � ?,, , , ,�
on e6. a b c d e f g h
1 1 ... 0-0!
The immediate sacrifice doesn't work: 9.ixe6?
Scheerer mentions the line l 1 . .. lll d5 1 2.'\Wg4
0-0 1 3 .'l.Wg3 lll x f4 1 4.%\xf4 lll d7 1 5 .%\afl when
fxe6 I O .lt:lxe6 'l.Wd7 1 1 .%\e l @f7 1 2.We2 lt:l a6
1 3 .'\Wc4 <ii g 8! 1 4.ig5 lll d5 1 5 .'l.Wb3 h6 and
White has full compensation. Compared with
White resigned in Rosenstielke - Leisebein,
the main line below, he has benefitted from
e-mail 2006.
playing the useful %\afl instead of the slower
c2-c3 .
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-D iemer Gambit 39

12 .c3
l 2.ixe6? doesn't work thanks to l 2 . . . h6!.

1 2 ... lDd5 13.'i&g4

Sch eerer's recommendation.

Th e only game on the database continued

1 3. '2lh3?! '2l d7 l 4.\Wf3 '1Wb6! l 5 .ib3 e5!
1 6.ixd5 cxd5 l 7.'1Wxd5 '2l f6 1 8 .'1Wxe5 '1Wxb2
and Black was clearly better in Leisebein -
Garscha, corr. 200 5 .

1 3 ... lD d7 14.'i&g3

8 . . . ixc2?! 9.tt:Jxf7! transposes to the note to

Black's 8rh move in the previous variation.

9.ig5
This active developing move is normal, but
there are a few other options to consider.

9 .if4 is too slow, and Black gets a fine game

with simple moves: 9 . . . tt:J bd7 1 0.ctJxg6 hxg6
l l .'1Wd3

s .es �
•\illl � ';;filf;
�m{� �
%�:
?'a'
7 �/-,�- . ,
� �
Scheerer mentions rhe line 1 4 . . . '2lxf4 1 5 .E!'.xf4
c5 1 6.E!'.afl cxd4 1 7. '2lxe6! fXe6 1 8 .ixe6t 6
L.--%�·-i)
'·'··%�
5 ·=·=-=�=
�h8 1 9 .ixd7 E!'.xf4 20.'1Wxf4 dxc3 2 1 .bxc3

4 �jj� �
when White should hold the endgame without
difficulry. -N;z�'ii-� - - -�- �

!��lS- -� � Y[!�
/
/,

� �II W"/'!­
3

2
l f
��l �
- % ��
15.i.d2

�
Black was threatening . . . tt:J h 5 .

1 5 ...'i&b6 16.b3 c5+ a b c d e f g h

I don't see any compensation for White. l 1 . . . ltJ b6! Taking the sting out of a possible
sacrifice on e6. l 2 .ib3 id6 White has
C2233) 8.lDe5 nothing for the pawn, and in the following
game he only managed to exchange more
40 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

pieces: 1 3 .lll e4 lll xe4 1 4.'Wxe4 Wh4 1 5 .l'f ae l In the game Black went for the strange
�xf4 1 6. 'W xf4 'W xf4 1 7. �xf4 Black reached a 1 1 . . .�h5 .
technically winning position in Farr - Rau, 1 2 .�ad l 'Wa5
e-mail 2003. Black is clearly better.

Another try is: The most popular alternative is the ulrra­

9.�e3 lll bd7 1 0 .'We2 aggressive:
I also examined 1 0.lll xg6 hxg6 1 l .°Wf3 'Wc7 9 . g4?! lll bd7 1 0.lll xg6 hxg6 1 l .g5
1 2.h3 �d6 (Black could also try 1 2 . . . 0-0-0!?) White resorts to radical action in an attempt
1 3 .lll e2 0-0 Once again long castling was an to seize the initiative.
option. 1 4.lll f4

EH R ��·H
,,%�� - ��
�� - ���·�
7 %,, ,%� ···%�
!1id'/&//,IDt(·� "&Y,!1�/////,,
s

5 •=•�:a: ,,.m�
6

4 � j,, r�, % m
. �., , , �Vi• 8
�

2 ,f�fa, ,3mf�
. . ; . . %u]$;���J?a
3

�m R RM� b d f g h
h
1 a c e

a b c d e f g 1 1 . . .lll b6
1 4 . . . lll d5! By simplifying the position, Black Scheerer gives this a question mark, but in
seriously reduces his opponent's attacking fact it is perfectly okay. It is worth mentioning
chances. 1 5 .lll xd5 exd5 1 6.�d3 �aes+ Black that 1 l . . .'Wc7 is also good enough, but in my
was a healthy pawn up in Robin - Edouard, opinion more complicated.
Chartres 200 5 . 1 2.�b3
I O . lll x e5 l l . dxe5
. . Scheerer's objection to Black's last move is
Kaber - Roos, St Ingbert 1 994. Here Black that White can play 1 2.�xe6 fxe6 1 3 . gxf6
has an obvious improvement. gxf6 1 4. �g4, but after 1 4 . . . Wd7 ! ? 1 5 .Vtfxg6
�e7 followed by . . . 'Wg8 Black should be able
to repel the attack and win with his extra
material.
1 2 . . . ti'i fd5 1 3.°Wf3 'Wc7 1 4.�f2 �d6

a b c d e f g h
 Chapter 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 41

1 5 . tll e4! ? in Thomas - Tew, Cardiff 2004. White's plan

A desperate attempt t o complicate matters. looks interesting at first sight, but Black can
1 5 . . . .txh2t 1 6.©g2 solve his problems easily enough:
This occurred in Diemer - Gunderam, corr.
19 77.
J 6 gh4!N
. . .

This strong move would have decided the

issue quite easily.

1 0 . hxg6 1 1 .'&el
In the event of I l .1i:lf d3 Wc7 l 2.g3
. .

0-0-0 1 3 .1:'1ae l as occurred in Rosenkranz

- Degebrodt, Greifswald 1 999, I don't see
anything for White after 13 . . . .te7N+.

1 o.1i:ll e2 tll x e5 l l .dxe5

s
7
�. �·� �ii
.1 m
:;;;�
/, , . , , /,
... ;,r;;?'{i �1''0 ...
, , , , ,,"
;,r;??'), ...
,. . , , ,

�-� - - • • L�� -

��m �. %�(�"��
· · · · �j_-
��r.%
6

23 1,
� �8
��il' �,
4

���
1 ��
� /� m : �
· l· · · ;,'F;z/; ... !� a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h 1 1 . .. tll b6!N
l 1 . . .iWd4t! An important finesse. 1 2.©h l This is an obvious improvement over
�h5 ! 1 3.iWe l tll d 7 It transpires that White l 1 . . .iWc7 1 2.h3 0-0-0 1 3 .tll e4 when White
m ust lose a second pawn. 1 4 . .te2 .txe2 got some play in Bolz - Schrey, Bochum 200 5 .
l 5 .iWxe2 1.Wxe5+ Wecke - Belka, e-mail 2007.
1 2.j,xe6
I O .tll xd7 iWxd7 l l ..txf6 gxf6 l 2.d5 was played This is effectively forced, as after 1 2 . .td3
42 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

1Mfxd4t 1 3 . .ie3 '<Mfe5-+ Black is simply winning Conclusion

with his two extra pawns.
Sacrificing an important central pawn as early
12 fxe6 1 3.ixf6 gxf6 14.'!Wxe6t '!We7
••. as the second move is an audacious concept,
15.'!Wg4 and technically the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
The only reasonable try to keep the attack cannot be considered a fully correct opening.
going, but it is not good enough. Nevertheless, I would be lying if I said Black's
task is trivial, and during my investigation I
had to work hard to find the correct antidotes
to White's numerous attacking tries. Of
the many variations covered, I would like
to highlight the modern C22 1 ) 7 . .igS! ?
{intending ll:i h4) and the aggressive C2232)
8.ttJg5!? as options which require especially
close attention. But ultimately, if Black knows
what he is doing then he should have excellent
chances to neutralize the opponent's initiative
and exploit his extra pawn.
 I .d4 dS
2.igS
Variation Index
1 .d4 d5 2.ig5 h6 3.ih4
3 .... c5
A) 4.ltJc3 44
B) 4.c3 45
C) 4.e3 ltJc6 47
C l ) 5.c3 47
C2) 5 . lD f3 48
D) 4.dxc5 g5! 5.ig3 ig7 6.c3 lD a6! 51
D l ) 7.e4 52
D2) 7.Wfa4t 53

note to move 4 in the intro

� - ••• I.ii .
C2) note to 8 .1Wb3 02) note to 9.c6!?

7 � ·� .tw m
6 ��, "If ,�Af '"t;
8

5 • •,• •
��. •. • �
�I )!il�.!�!rs
4

�etJ- =j,-�
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h

7 . . . f5!N l 1 . . .h 5!! l 5 . . . f5 ! !
44 Parr 1 - l .d4 d5 lines

1 .d4 d5 2.�g5

a b c d e f g h
7 . . .f5!N 8 .ixb8 (Black is not concerned about
8 .°1Wh5t c;t>fs, as the king is safe and . . . 4J f6
will leave him with a big advantage.) 8 . . . Ei:xb8
9.°1Wd2 'Wa5 Black is clearly better.
As far as this author is concerned this move
does not have an official name, although the A) 4.tlJ c3
term " Pseudo-Trompowsky" sums up the
essence of White's system quite well.

2 . . . h6
We begin by chasing the bishop to h4, where
it will fall out of touch with White's queenside.

3.�h4
There is little point in retreating to f4, as the
extra move . . . h7-h6 will help Black in most
variations of the London System.

3 ... c5
Hitting the centre and opening the queen's a b c d e f g h
path to b6, where she will remind the This move initiates a strange version of the
opponent of the downside to the early bishop Veresov �here Black's central counterplay is
development. White has four significant already well underway.
replies: A) 4.tlJ c3, B) 4.c3 , C) 4.e3 and
D) 4.dxc5 . 4 tlJ c6 5.e3
•••

The alternative is hardly attractive for White:

4.e4?! is too optimistic. 4 . . . dxe4 5 .d5 g5 6.ig3 5 . ctJ f3 ig4 6.e3 (I also examined the following
ig7 7.ctJc3 Now in the game Fraas - Schramm, nice line: 6.dxc5N d4! 7.ctJe4 °1Wd5 8 .°1Wd3 f5
Hamburg 1 997, Black should have continued: 9 . ctJ c3 1Wxc5 1 0 .°1Wb5 1Wxb5 l l .ctJxb5 0-0-0
1 2.e3 ixf3 1 3 .gxf3 a6 1 4.ctJa3 g5 1 5 .ig3 e5
1 6.ih3 ctJ ge7+) 6 . . . cxd4 7.exd4
 Chapter 3 - 2 .�gS 45

' � ·�· %l''.0.

J1' �J· j-,��Ji
7 r�. z.�-
; ·
8.0-0-0 g6 9.'We2 �g7 IO.tll f3

.t. • r�.z.
8
6
'- • r�zt: . ..
Filipovic - Truta, Sibenik 20 1 0 . Now the
natural continuation is:

m.
3m �ml{Jm
� ---� �'�

2 b � b - �.� �b �
� .. L; .,

� :('

m
--

�� � if��-:
h
1 '· · · · " z z
a b c d e f g

7 . . gS! 8 .�g3 �g7 9 .�bS This occurred in

.

Amaral - Santos, Lisbon 1 994, now after

9 e6N followed by . . . llige7 Black's position
. . .

looks more attractive.

s ... cxd4 6.exd4 a b c d e f g h

1 0 .. JkSN 1 1 .@b l tlJf6:j:
With an excellent position for Black.

B) 4.c3

a b c d e f g h

6 ... a6!?
Black has a few good options, but it is worth
investing a tempo to take the b S-square away
from White's minor pieces . I only found a
single game from this position, in which White
i mmediately erred.

7.'WhS?!
7.lli f3N looks normal, although Black is s.'Wb3
absolutely fine after 7 . . . �g4 8 .�e2 lli f6. 5 .�c2?! allows Black ro seize the initiative:
5 . . . cxd4 6.cxd4 lli c6 7.e3 e5! (7 . . . �f5 ! ? is also
7 ...�e6 strong)
7 �b6!?N is also promising.
. . .
46 Part 1 - 1 .d4 d5 lines

8 .i � .t. • •�l.A'l�i
�F �. �� ,,,,,r-�r01· ·· ·
illustrate this point, we can travel back almost

7 ,,��l.A'ln
..{A.. . z.,
��-j�
n �?f!ir.'
a century to witness one of Capablanca's most
famous moves:
6
� � . l .d4 lll f6 2 .lll f3 d5 3 . c4 c6 4.lll c3 .if5 5 .°Wb3
"O"" B•�
.

B
5

�,$�P' �� �---��!'" �� ·"

'Wb6 6.'Wxb6 axb6 7.cxd5 lll x d5 8 . lll x d5 cxd5
�� �� ><,,.::.w��� . :,,.
4
9 .e3 lll c6 I O .i,d2

2 /�1�1 ��-/J�i�J!J 8 .i �
3

��� � �j,, m M � �
� -�
;!.,;,,,� d��

7 � · · �· · · -- ·
' ..

•l.ilR a If
h
a b c d e f g
6

•1•�
8 .lll f3 (It is worth remembering the thematic

!8
s B'�•A
�
trick 8.dxe5 ?? 'Wb4t picking up the bishop
� m �
B�;;�o�
on h4, Hapke - Boeven, Budapest 1 999.) 4

m
� 'f"·[g; [g; � 'fl'.1
��'f,�
�
··· " c�
��-JI . %�" ��%
3
8 ... exd4 9.exd4 .ig4 1 0.lll c3 This was
2
��
Wilgenhof - Muhren, Dieren 2000, and
here Black's most accurate continuation is
�� � �
· �{�
h
, Y,
1 0 . . . i,e?!N with a big advantage.
/, , . %

a b c d e f g

5 .°Wd2?! lll c6 6.e3 cannot be refuted outright, 1 0 . . . .id7! This far-sighted move was played
but it can hardly be good for White to block in Janowski - Capablanca New York 1 9 1 6.
his knight from using the d2-square, and Black The great strategic wizard chose to retreat
is better after any sensible move. his bishop from its superficially active post

.i
outside the pawn chain, as he j udged it was

.t �
5 Wfxb3 6.axb3 cxd4 7.cxd4 l2J c6 more important to control the light squares on

�
.•.

the queenside, especially b5. Sure enough, the

- � A)) ��
m�iil film·��¥ ·"m·��0
bishop went on to support a successful . . . b6-
8 b5 advance, and eventually crowned Black's
7 [�%� � m w
achievement by infiltrating via a4-c2-e4.
6
-- ·· � m
-mA)) ··· � ··,,;'(� ,,,,,,,
�%%!'% �� �� -�
Of course we should not overplay the signifi­
5
�-
�
cance of the bishop's placement, but merely

4
� �� �f!y ,,,,%� -�� �
appreciate that White's position is slightly less
; cohesive with this piece stuck on h4.
3
, ,,,

2
�� �W',, ��rn �� -�
°[g- ;;;'{� 8 wrg. 8 °lS%
��. tJ�rli��
8.t2Jc3
8 .e3 was played in Fourcart - Djellouli,
. m France 2006, and now the simplest reply is
b d f g
/ . . . Y, ,. . . . . % ». . . . . .

a c e h 8 . . . e6 9 .lll c3 transposing to the main line.

The position seems rather dull and is
8 ... e6 9.e3
certainly close to equal, but the outpost on b4
9 .lll b 5 is met by 9 . . . i,b4t 1 0. Wd l , and
gives Black reason to be cautiously optimistic,
now both 1 0 . . . Wd7 and 1 0 . . . Wf8 favour Black
especially considering that White's dark­
slightly.
squared bishop is not so well placed on h4. To
 Chapter 3 - 2 . .igS 47

1h is posmon was reached in Steiner - the two moves appear similar, they can lead to
Sr eigerstorfer, Austria 1 992. Several moves quire distinct positions.
are p ossible here, but the following makes the
m ost sense to me. Cl) S.c3 '1Wb6

Now White has tried two queen moves.

6.'1Wb3
6.Wc l occurred in Zach - Stierhof, Germany
1 996, and here I like the following idea fo r
Black: 6 . . . cxd4N 7.exd4 (7.cxd4 i s worse due
to 7 . . . eS! when White cannot play 8 . dxeS ? ?
due to the familiar 8 . . . Wb4t picking up the
loose bishop.) 7 . . . eS!? (7 . . ..�JS is also fine of
course.) 8 . dxeS lli xeS Black has a healthy and
active IQP position.

6 ... c4 7.'1Wxb6
In the event of 7.Wc2N Black's simplest
reply is 7 . . . eS+ gaining control in the centre.
(The other possibility is 7 . . ..�JS! ? 8 .WxfS
Wxb2 9.WxdS Wxa l 1 0.WbS a6! l 1 .Wxb7
10 . lll f6
. .
tli d8! 1 2.Wb4 [ 1 2.Wb6 Ela?!] 12 . . . Elc8
Black is fighting for the advantage, and when the computer favours Black slighrly,
White to equalize. but I don't see any real need to enter such
complications. )
C) 4.e3 lll c6
7. . . axb6
Black is threatening the thematic . . . b5-b4.

Now White can support his central pawn

with either Cl) 5.c3 or C2) S.ltJB. Although
8.ctJd2
48 Part 1 - l . d4 d5 lines

8 .lll a3N has never been played but is an 12 ... lLi dS-+
obvious contender. In this case I recommend White's knight will be trapped in the centre.
8 . . . eS 9 .lll bS (9.lll c2 runs into the unpleasant
9 . . . ifS+) 9 . . . 2"1a5 1 0.a4 exd4 l l . exd4 ie7+ C2) S.lLif3
when Black has a clear plan of attacking the

8 .i � i.�·����
a4-pawn.

7 mf1111 "• •"•

"11 11 "11
s ... bs 9.e4?
"
!!'l "-'
Trying to get active play at the price of a

: 111111"
111f111111 t;,
'm""llll 110"-'
"
pawn, but the attempt fails miserably.

: .11�.!-�
The lesser evil was 9.a3N b4 1 0.cxb4 lll x b4

8nr;a- : - %D7i/,¥!J
l l .2"1cl lll c 6 1 2. lll e 2 e6 1 3 .lll c3 when White
is only marginally worse.

9 ... dxe4 1 0.!g3

Obviously White cannot recapture the pawn
with 1 0.lll xe4? due to 1 0 . . . fS l 1 .lll d 2 gS
2

•ttJ•mI=£•: m,
,,, , , , /,

a b c d
,,_ . , , /,

e f g h
l 2.ig3 f4-+ when the bishop is trapped. S ... gS!?
Gaining time for a kingside fianchetto. This
10 ... lb f6 1 1 .f3 plan becomes quite attractive with the knight
Here the most precise continuation is: on f3 serving as an additional target.
By the way, it is worth noting that 5 . . . �b6

�� ��ref-----
8 .i �
�
i. � ·���-'ef�� -----
is perfectly playable, although unlike the

7
previous variation White has the option of
m 1. m �� 1. ��
�� '� , , ,/,. ,,,,/,�
6.lll c3! when he should at least be okay.
6

: •-h�:¥�·� 6.ig3 ig7 7.c3

Blunting the long diagonal is natural,

3 �f!J�, , ,��-- £'.i �

although in one game White went for a

!:¥!J
different approach:

_
7. lll c3 !?

1 ,�_- m - - - mfm�
_ _ ., /,w
2 Karlik - Cvicela, Ceske Budejovice 1 996.
Here I suggest:

b d f g
Y, ,,, , _ , , /, �- - - - - ;

a c e h
l l ...e3!N
Instead after 1 1 . . .ifS Black 'only' had a big
advantage in Polaczek - Sretenskij , Internet
(blitz) 2003.

12.lb e4
After 1 2 .lll b l lll dS White's position is a
j oke.
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pieces off it with a blunt clasp-knife. Place the bits in a dixie over a wood fire, add a little water, and
wait impatiently till the meat is half cooked. Put your share into an enamel mug, and with the hunger of
seventeen days' starvation as relish, and the thumb and forefinger of the right hand as a fork, eat, and
thank your God.
Our dinner this evening was one to be remembered: a mugful of meat, two chupatties, a table-spoonful
of cheese, and a few spoonfuls of cooked wheat for each of us; and for the first time for many a day we
lay down feeling well fed. That night we found a level bit of ground where five could sleep together. Of
the rest, two slept practically in a bushy fir-tree, and Cochrane curled round the fire. All went well until
some one of the five—Ellis for a sovereign—wanted to turn, and the chance of sleeping was at an end.
Fortunately, it was nearly time to move off, so we did not lose much rest. Just before daylight we
started and did about two miles in two hours, the going being of the ankle-breaking variety. We were
not many miles from a main road, so it was senseless to risk travelling much after dawn. Looney, too,
with his iron-clad ammunition boots, was going very lame, with large blisters on his heels. We therefore
hid for the day in another rocky cup similar to that of the previous evening. Shortly after dawn, Nobby,
a keen shikari, slaughtered a hoopoe, which had the misfortune to have a fit in front of him. This made
a welcome addition to our larder, and when, at our meal before starting that evening, we had "fingers
out" for it, Nobby very appropriately won it. In this bivouac we had the misfortune to lose our second
and last pair of scissors—they were a great loss, and we sadly needed them later on. The cracks in the
rocks, where we spent the day, were several feet deep, and the scissors are no doubt lying at the
bottom of one of these.
There was some doubt who was guilty of the crime of losing them, but we bet another sovereign it was
——.
 CHAPTER XI.
IN THE HEART OF THE TAURUS.
During this 25th August we had fixed our position so far as our obsolete map would permit. We had, we
thought, just crossed the watershed of the Taurus, and if the day had only been clearer might perhaps
have obtained our first view of the sea from our point of vantage that morning. This fact of being on the
watershed, together with a compass-bearing on to a peak recognisable to the south, settled our
position fairly definitely as a little to the west of the range marked Gueuk Tepe on the map. This was in
agreement with a check by dead reckoning based on Looney's diary from the time we had passed the
Ak Gueul, and meant that we had still forty-five miles between us and the sea, even as the crow flies;
or, by the way we should take for the sake of better going, something well over fifty miles.
Soon after setting out on the following night's march, the accuracy of our estimate was confirmed, for
the map showed a main road not far ahead from our supposed position, and this as a matter of fact we
crossed within half an hour's trek. Just beyond the road and a little to the east of our course rose a
cone-shaped hill, crowned by what at first looked like an old castle, but which, on a nearer view,
resolved itself into a natural outcrop of white rock. It was then 7 o'clock. An hour later we were grateful
for the find of a small stream of perfectly clear water. This was the first we had discovered since
crossing the beautiful valley where we had enjoyed our much-needed bathe thirty odd hours before.
By this time, however, we had become comparatively inured to a shortage of water. It was only a
fortnight ago that one of the party had collapsed after a lesser privation. Now we did not even trouble
to fill completely the larger of the two serviceable chargals, although it is true there were other reasons
which encouraged us in this serenity. For one thing, now that we were on the southern slopes of the
Taurus, we hoped that our water troubles were over. In point of fact, we were to find ourselves sadly
disappointed. Then again, we were loth to put such a drag upon our speed as a full chargal certainly
was, change hands though it might every half-hour. So far that night we had maintained a pace of four
miles an hour. The meat eaten during the previous two days had undoubtedly met a very real need, and
with the cheese and chupatties, and the longer periods for rest, had given us a sense of renewed
vigour. Time, however, still passed with the same deadly slowness. On the first night that we had
started taking the chargals turn and turn about at regular intervals, more than one of the party had
imagined that he had been doing a spell of a full hour, and was horrified to hear that in reality it had
been only half that length.
On this night the moon rose at about 8.30; there was thus a short period of darkness between sunset
and moonlight, and as we should have a three-quarter moon for the whole of the rest of the night, we
could afford to rest for twenty minutes when the twilight had faded. This was the more desirable, as we
were still in difficult country. The surface itself was not as bad as might have been expected, for, after
all, we were in the Taurus; but our course was constantly being crossed by steep nullahs. The climb up
their farther sides was very fatiguing.
To avoid some of these, we proceeded, wherever possible, to follow the crest-line, and as soon as the
moon was up the field-glasses once more proved their value by enabling Cochrane to pick out the best
route. As time went on, however, the country became more and more broken, until we found it
necessary, if endless detours were to be avoided, to take the nullahs as they came. After a few more
climbs, we almost gave up trying to keep on our proposed course, which was a little E. of S., and nearly
decided instead to follow down a valley to the S.W., which promised better going. In the end, however,
we contented ourselves with making a mile and a half an hour in our original direction, and were
rewarded by finding in one of the nullahs a little spring of water.
At 11 P.M., having found a fairly sheltered nook (for the wind at night was always cold at this altitude),
we took the opportunity of snatching a little sleep. It has to be confessed that some of us also made a
premature attack on the next day's ration of cheese and chupatties. To help level up our loads, these
had been shared out already, and after our experience of the joys of a full meal—we allude again to the
goat—we found having food in our packs a sore temptation. Without the safeguard of common
ownership, it ceased to be inviolable. Yet perhaps after all it was best to eat at night, when we were
doing all the hard work, and when, in addition, it was cold.
Shortly after midnight we moved on, and were soon cheered by the discovery of a narrow track leading
in the right direction, and cleverly avoiding all the difficulties of the broken ground on either side. This
we were able to follow at a hard 3½ miles an hour until a little before daybreak. Then seeing lights
ahead, we left the main track, thinking it must be leading us on to a village. Immediately around us
there was no cover from view, and as the first tinge of dawn lit up the countryside, we saw that our
only hiding-place would be in the wooded hills on the farther side of the valley in which lay the
supposed houses. Proceeding at our best speed, we began a race with the sun, punctuated only by
halts of a few seconds now and then as Cochrane searched anxiously round through the field-glasses;
for we could hear herds moving about, and other lights had come into view. The descent proved
steeper and longer than had been anticipated, and it was not till after five o'clock, and just before
sunrise, that we reached the foot of the valley. Here we found we had to cross a stream ten to twelve
feet wide, and, on account of the marshy ground, at a point not 500 yards away from the lights. These
came, as we now saw, from a small group of timber huts, and in our haste to reach cover we plunged
straight through the stream, to find that only a few yards farther up we might have crossed by
stepping-stones in a place where the stream was only a foot deep.
This was no time for vain regrets, so we were soon clambering up the farther slope, which was covered
with scattered pines. Under cover of these we gave ourselves a couple of minutes' breathing space, for
the hill was steep, and then went on over the top of the first ridge, a thousand feet above the stream,
and into a little dip beyond. Here we found a trickle of water, and settled down amongst some small
trees and thorny scrub. The first thing to do was to take off our soaked boots and let them dry; after
this a brew of cocoa was prepared—well earned by what we reckoned was a 27-mile march in the
previous twelve hours. Most of our feet were terribly sore, and Looney spent an hour sewing on
bandages before he struggled back into his boots that day.
With the present satisfactory rate of progress we could afford to be rather more liberal with our food;
and so the camp fire never died down, for we took it in turns to make "pilaus" all that day. These were
made from crushed wheat, and differed from the porridge we had been accustomed to make from it
while at Yozgad, in that before boiling it was mixed with a little melted dripping, a supply of which we
had obtained from the village. The resulting pilau was a vast improvement on the plain porridge,
besides being rather quicker to cook—a consideration in view of the smallness of our cooking-pot.
Altogether we must have had five pilaus at this bivouac, but as each when distributed filled only a third
of a pint mug, we cannot be accused of greed. To avoid all waste we had brought along even the bones
of the goat; from these we now made a weak soup, after which the bones themselves were divided out
for a last picking, some of us even eating their softer portions. We were out of sight of the huts in the
valley which we had so hastily crossed, but could see the top of the hill on the farther side; here was a
fairly large walled village, with houses built of stone and roofed with the usual flat mud roofs. Although
we could see this with our glasses, we were too far to be observed ourselves, and moreover little sign
of life appeared there. That afternoon, however, we had a few anxious moments, when two men came
over the next ridge to the south of us: they passed within a hundred yards of where we lay, but
appeared not to have seen us.
In the evening, having moved a short distance up the same ridge, we were having a five minutes' halt
when two more men, this time on donkeys, came over the crest and almost rode on top of us. They
asked, "Who are you? Where are you going?" and "Why hiding?" We did not answer, so they said, "Are
you foreigners that you don't understand Turkish?" Then they went on, and so did we. Fortunately, even
should they report any suspicions they had, we were in country that was much intersected and in which
it would have been difficult for any one to trace us. So difficult, in fact, was the bit of ground which met
our view on reaching the top of the range we were on, that it was some minutes before we could make
up our minds which would be the best line to follow.
Eventually we decided to make for a ridge which seemed negotiable, and on proceeding came very
shortly afterwards to a spring and a goat-track. After drinking all the water we could, we followed the
latter. It was as well we did so, for the track took us round the head of a precipitous ravine which might
have taken a whole day to cross if we had attempted to pass over direct. On the far side, too, the track
still kept the general direction we wanted, namely, some twenty degrees east of south, and so we clung
to it steadily until 8.30 P.M. We had been marching for three hours, and now following our procedure of
the previous night, slept till 9.45, by which time the moon had risen. Before halting, we had seen one or
two shepherds' fires ahead, so took the precaution to move fifty yards or so off the track in case there
should be any traffic. By this time we had given up keeping a watch on the night halts, though we still
did so by day. The reason for this was that sleep was only obtainable during the nights, and we could
not afford to let even one member of the party go without it. On this particular occasion it was
comparatively warm, considering that we were on an open hillside in the Taurus, and we were much
rested by the sleep we obtained.
When we resumed our way we still kept to our friendly path, although it was becoming more and more
stony. A little before midnight we found ourselves in a dilemma, for, after leading us to the edge of a
deep valley which ran at right angles to our course, the track now branched right and left. The problem
was which path to follow. If we had stopped to think we might have realised that, in mountainous
country, even the most friendly road cannot always take you by a direct route, and that the longest way
round is often the shortest way home. However, on this occasion we made an error of judgment and
went straight ahead. The slope, at first comparatively grassy and gradual, became rapidly more rocky
and precipitous, until at about 1.30 A.M., after descending close upon 1500 feet, we found ourselves on
the edge of a yawning gorge, at the bottom of which foamed a raging mountain torrent. We were not
as glad to see this water as usual, for we had crossed a rivulet on our way down: at this we had already
quenched our thirst, although at the time dogs had been barking at us from some shepherds' huts on
the valley slope. The difficulty now was to find a practicable path up the farther bank. The torrent itself
was passable easily enough, for natural stepping-stones abounded in its rock-strewn bed; and in fact we
did cross and re-cross it several times in a painful endeavour to make our way a little farther to the
west.
Everywhere, however, beyond a rough and narrow ledge of rock by the side of the stream, the far bank
rose up sheer above us. In the moonlight the scene was wonderful, and we could not help thinking how
perfect a place this would have been for a day's halt. But we could not afford to lose precious time, and
for the present our whole aim was to leave it as soon as possible. At one spot, having seen a light
burning not far from the water's edge, we proceeded very cautiously. It proved to proceed from the
stump of a tree which some one had probably set on fire to warm himself and had left burning: happily
no one was there now. After a two hours' struggle we had to own that we were defeated, and were
compelled to climb back out of the gorge and still on the wrong side. Moving along its edge at a higher
level, for another two hours we searched in vain for a more likely crossing-place, and were almost in
despair when we suddenly heard the voices of men and women below us. Looking down, we saw in the
moonlight a party of Turks or Armenians in the act of crossing a fine old bridge which spanned the
gorge between two absolutely vertical banks in a single semicircular arch of stone. Even now it was
some little time before we could pick up the path leading down to it, but when we did so we were
agreeably surprised to find that the bridge was not guarded. In the last five hours we had progressed
but one mile in the right direction.
When at last we crossed the gorge it was barely an hour to dawn, and we had not followed the
mountain road leading up the farther side for long before we had to be on the look-out for a hiding-
place. There was little cover higher up the hill; so we turned right-handed and dropped down once
more towards the gorge, hoping that after all it would do us the good turn of providing us with water
and shade for the day. On the way down, however, we saw a cave hollowed out in the rocky hillside,
and as the bank below was very steep, we decided we would not give ourselves a single foot of
unnecessary climbing when we started off again next evening. We accordingly entered the cave; but
Cochrane and Perce, after ridding themselves of their packs, valiantly climbed down again to the water
and came back with the two chargals full. So much had all the fruitless clambering taken out of us that
we were more tired on this day than after double the distance on the night previous, and, except for
taking turns to cook, every one lay like a log in the cave. The latter faced west, and was roofed by two
elliptical semi-domes side by side beneath a larger arch in the rock, but being shallow in width
compared to the height of the roof, allowed the sun to stream in upon us in the latter part of the
afternoon.
On leaving the cave at about 7 P.M., as rugged country still lay ahead, we thought it best to work our
way obliquely up the hill and regain the track which had led us up from the bridge over the ravine. To
this we clung for the greater part of the night which followed, although it involved passing through
several villages. We found ourselves in the first almost before we realised that a village existed there at
all: it seemed, however, a city of the dead.
Not a dog barked at our approach, and the narrow crooked streets appeared deserted, until suddenly
the white-clad figure of a woman flitted across our path. Fortunately she did not pause to find out who
were these strange nocturnal visitors.
Not long afterwards we saw lights ahead, and as we drew nearer found that our road branched to right
and left, the latter branch leading towards the lights which seemed to proceed from a village. After the
previous night's experience we had no intention of attempting any cross-country going if we could
possibly avoid it. Here, indeed, to go on direct would have necessitated crossing first a valley of
unknown depth, and then an enormous ridge which reared up its black bulk against the clear starry sky.
It was fairly obvious that the two roads went round either end of this ridge; after that it was a toss-up
which was the more likely to lead us towards the sea. In view of the village and of the noisy clatter on
the stony track of the booted members of the party, Cochrane elected to take the right-hand branch,
and this we followed for over a mile. It was leading us due west, and seemed likely to continue to do so
for several miles more before the ridge was rounded. The coast opposite our position ran, we knew,
rather from N.E. to S.W., and so every mile we marched west added another to our distance from the
coast. At the next halt we reconsidered the question of roads, and decided we must go back and risk
the village. But it was essential to make less noise, and so, as we once more approached the cross-
roads, those not wearing "chariqs" padded their boots with old socks, bits of shirt, and pieces of felt.
It gives some idea of the absolute weariness of body which now was ours, when it is stated that it was
only after much forcible persuasion from Nobby that those who would have the trouble of tying on the
padding could be induced to take this precaution. But in the end wise counsels prevailed, and we
succeeded in passing through the village—and it was a large one—without causing any apparent alarm.
Looney, however, lost one of his mufti hats with which he had padded one of his boots.
The track now increased in width to as much as ten feet, being roughly levelled out of the solid rock,
and running along a ledge above a precipitous ravine. Below us we heard the roar of a mountain
stream, and as at one point a rough path had been cut down to water-level, Cochrane descended it and
fetched up a chargal full of water. It was to prove a serious mistake that we did not fill all our
receptacles here. On resuming our way, we were taken by our road over another striking bridge which
crossed the ravine a little higher up. This time the arch was a pointed one. Once more we found the
defile unguarded. We were probably in magnificent mountain scenery, but could see little of it, as the
moon had not yet risen. Even though after crossing the bridge we waited in the warmth of a little cave
till after the time of moonrise, the moon itself did not become visible until two hours later, so steep
were the slopes on every side of us. We could see, however, that we were going round the eastern
shoulder of the ridge which had blocked our direct route, and this ridge rose sheer from the very edge
of the ravine.
Without a road to follow, we should have fared badly indeed. Even with it, the climb from the bridge
had been severe, but on proceeding we soon came to the top of the rise and found ourselves walking
on a carpet of pine-needles through a beautiful open forest. This was a wonderful contrast to the arid
wastes or rugged ridges across which had been so many of our long and weary marches. Even here,
however, the country was soon to resume its more normal aspect. We found ourselves descending into
an open valley with no signs of trees or vegetation. Our road, too, dwindled to the width and
unevenness of an ordinary village track, and this it turned out to be, for it led past a few isolated huts,
and finally at 1 A.M. took us into a village.
A little before, during one of the hourly halts, we had seen in the moonlight a man approaching on a
donkey; so we took to our feet and marched again in order to pass him the more quickly. This we did
without a single word being exchanged.
In the village we could hear the sound of men talking and laughing together. This was rather
disconcerting, as for one thing we had been hoping to find where they obtained their water. Far from
finding either well or spring or stream, however, we even had some difficulty in finding the path out of
the village. We were about to cut across country, and had gone as far as to climb over a hedge into
some vineyards, when we recognised the path to the west of us. It worked along the side of a hill
apparently towards a saddle in the steep ridge which closed the valley ahead. While we were in the
vineyard we felt around for grapes, but the vines were barren; in fact the whole valley seemed
waterless. We now regained the track and had nearly reached the top of the ridge when our path
suddenly took into its head to start descending the valley again. Though we were loth to leave any track
so long as it made some pretence of going anywhere in our direction, this was too much for our
patience, and Cochrane led us due east, so as to cross the bleak ridge which bordered the valley on that
side and see what the next valley could do for us. But even here our difficulties were not to end: the
farther hillside was rocky in the extreme and covered with scrub and stunted trees, amongst which we
clambered for some two hours without finding any valley to promise easy progress in the direction of
the sea. To "Kola" tablets we once more resorted. Finally, an hour before dawn, we lay down as we
were, disheartened, without water, and without a road.
 CHAPTER XII.
DOWN TO THE SEA.
When daylight came, we found ourselves in a network of extraordinary valleys. Large trees grew on the
rock-strewn slopes, while along the bottoms were little strips of bright red soil, sprinkled with stones,
and yet suggestive of great fertility; and indeed in some parts it was clear that the ground had in a
previous year been ploughed. Yet as far as human habitation was concerned the valley seemed entirely
deserted; only here and there as we marched on we passed a few timbers of some ruined shelter,
indicating its former occupation by shepherd inhabitants. The whole scene gave the impression that
here had once been flourishing well-watered vales, which had then been blasted by some strange
upheaval of nature, by which the whole water supply had suddenly been cut off and the former
inhabitants compelled to quit.
To open our eyes on such a scene did not tend to revive our spirits. We had not a drop of water in our
water-bottles, and although a valley was soon found leading in the right direction, we followed it
without much hope of being able to quench our thirst. After an hour or so, however, at a place where
the valley widened a little, we picked up in the soft red soil a number of goat-tracks, and noticed that
several others joined them, all seeming to converge towards the same spot. These suggested water, but
soon after they suddenly ceased.
Fifty yards up the hill there was a stone enclosure, and just as Cochrane was leading on, Nobby thought
it was advisable to make sure there was nothing there. This was most fortunate, for inside he found a
well. Next moment we were all within the enclosure, and on lifting out the heavy timber bung which
closed the hole in the stone-built cover, found water not twenty feet down. It tasted slightly stale, and
no doubt the well had not been used for some time; but this did not affect our enjoyment of a couple of
brews of "boulgar" (porridge made from crushed wheat), which were now prepared, and flavoured with
a spoonful of our precious cocoa.
Still more refreshing to those who could summon up the necessary energy, was a wash and a shave.
Even a wash-hand basin was provided in the shape of a little stone trough which was built into the
enclosure wall, and was doubtless intended for use in watering the flocks of sheep and goats.
After nearly two hours' grateful rest and refreshment, we resumed our course, and soon after entered a
broad ravine. Here grew enormous oak-trees, seeming to flourish amid the barest rock and boulders,
although the bed of this quaint valley appeared to have had no water in it for ages. At one point, where
we halted under the shelter of a rocky outcrop, some of the party filled a haversack with the tips of
stinging-nettles. Gloves were not an item of our equipment, and our fingers were badly stung, but a
little spinach would provide a pleasant variation in our next cooked meal.
We went on till 11 A.M. without seeing a single sign of life. Then we came to a strong timber barrier
across the narrow foot of the valley, and saw beyond it a man engaged in winnowing. We quickly drew
back out of view, and decided we should have to make a detour. The country was not so desolate or
uninhabited as we had thought. First, however, we would fortify ourselves with a little food. For this
purpose we climbed a short way up the western side of the valley and settled down in the shelter of a
big tree. While Cochrane and Perce cooked some "boulgar," the rest lay down and were soon fast
asleep. It was a hard struggle indeed to rouse oneself from such delightful oblivion of all our cares, but
our Mr Greatheart was not to be denied, and after our food we left the Enchanted Ground.
To avoid the risk of being seen by people in the valley, it was now necessary to climb up the steep rocky
ridge ahead instead of circling round its foot as would otherwise have been possible. The surface was
atrocious; jagged points of rock cut into our feet through the soles of our much-worn footgear. If one
wished to avoid a sprained ankle, every step had to be taken with care, for the rock was cut up into
innumerable crannies and honeycombed with holes. It took eight hundred feet of stiff climbing to reach
the top of the first ridge. Beyond it we were not pleased to find a whole series of equally steep though
smaller ridges and valleys, and all at right angles to our proper course. After a long struggle we had to
give up the idea of going straight ahead, and instead began to follow down one of the valleys. This led
us back into country very similar to that in which we had found ourselves early that morning: once more
our path took us over the small boulders and down the line of red earth.
There were no further signs of life until nearly four o'clock. Our sudden appearance then startled three
or four small children who were tending some goats on the hillside. A moment later we came into view
of a single black tent, set up at the junction of two branches into which the valley now divided.
Concealment was impossible; besides, we were in our usual trouble for water. The only inhabitant
seemed to be an old woman, who came out of the tent to find out why the children had run back. To
avoid frightening her, the party halted some distance off, while Cochrane and Grunt went forward alone
to find out what sort of reception might be expected.
For some minutes the Circassian (for we thought she must be one) stood talking to the two envoys at
the door of her tent. Then she signalled us to approach, and invited the whole party inside her abode.
Here she offered the equivalent in the East of a chair—namely, a seat on the mats which covered the
earthen floor. The amiable old dame next produced a large circular tray, which she set in our midst, and
on which she placed some wafer-like chupatties and a couple of bowls of the inevitable "yourt." Never
did simple meal taste so sweet, but the amount provided served only to whet the appetite of the eight
hungry travellers. It was gently suggested that we should like a little more; we told her we would pay
for everything we had. At the same time we produced some of our mugs as likely to provide a method
of eating the "yourt" more in keeping with our hunger. Lest the full number should alarm her, we
tendered only four, and these she filled readily enough, and several times over, from an almost
unlimited supply which she kept in a row of large copper vessels standing along one side of the tent.
We noticed also several large sacks, which we thought must contain flour or wheat, and thought it
would be advisable to lay in further supplies if we could. Not a thing, however, would our hostess sell:
neither flour, wheat, cheese, goat, nor fowls. We asked her to make us some more chupatties, but
without avail. No money would tempt her—she was evidently not a Turk,—even the offer of a little tea
could not work the oracle. Her hospitality—and it was true hospitality that she had shown to us—was
limited to what we might eat on the premises. From what we could gather from her rather peculiar
Turkish, the old lady seemed afraid to sell us anything without her husband's consent. It was impossible
not to admire her steadfastness, and as we left we presented her with three silver medjidies (worth
altogether about twelve shillings). On this she relaxed to the extent of allowing us to take three eggs
that she had.
We tried to find out how far we were from the sea; but she seemed hardly to know of its existence, so
cut off had she been all her life in her mountain fastness. She directed us, however, to some other tents
farther down one of the valleys, and said we might be able to buy some food there; so thither we now
wended our way. There was a well outside the tent, but it was dry at the time and was being deepened.
A few drops of water which she had given us within had come from some distant stream, she said.
"Yourt," however, is a wonderful thirst-quencher, so lack of water did not cause any worry for the time
being.
We agreed, as we went on, that if we found the tents which we were now seeking, only half the party
should go to buy; partly because we thought in that way we should be less likely to frighten the
occupants from selling us food, and partly to avoid letting people see the exact strength of our party, in
case any one should take it into his head to report our presence. Accordingly, when three-quarters of an
hour later we arrived at two more tents, Cochrane and Nobby approached one, and Grunt and Looney
the other. The first pair were not received with very open arms, and had to be satisfied with only a little
"yourt" eaten on the spot, and a few coarse chupatties which they were able to take away with them.
They came on to the second tent, to find that the other pair had fallen upon their feet. They had arrived
at a very propitious moment. Just inside the doorway they had found a smiling old dame busily engaged
in making the chupatties for the family's evening meal. With some of these she regaled her guests, and
Grunt at once asked her if she would bake some more for companions of his who had gone on to
prepare the camp for the night. With a good deal of coaxing, and influenced perhaps a little by the sight
of silver coins, she finally made another dozen. Meanwhile another woman entered and ladled out some
beautiful fresh milk which was boiling in a large cauldron in the tent. The four were able to enjoy two
mugfuls of this between them, but could only induce the woman to give them one more mugful to take
away for the others. After much haggling, however, and on receipt of two medjidies, she was persuaded
to let them have six pounds of fresh cheese made from goats' milk.
As prearranged, the rest of the party had gone a few hundred yards farther down the ravine in which
stood the tents, and finding that no further purchases were to be made the four now rejoined them.
The camping-ground had been chosen some forty yards up the southern side of the ravine. The steep
slope was covered with pine and oak trees, and at their feet we slept. It mattered little to us that our
beds were uneven. We had before this slept soundly at all angles and on pointed rocks; and here we
had a mattress of leaves and pine-needles on which to lay our weary bodies. The occasional bark of a
dog or the soft hoot of an owl were the only sounds that broke the stillness of the night. Through the
trees could be seen patches of the starlit heaven. We owed much to those wonderful stars. Big and
bright in these latitudes, they had led us on our way for many a night, and when there was no moon to
befriend us they had lighted our path so that we could still march slowly on.
It was after a sound and refreshing sleep, that shortly before 4 A.M. next day, while it was yet dark, we
shouldered our packs and moved eastwards down the stony bed of the confined valley. This gave on to
a broader one at right angles to it; crossing which we halted in a small wood for an hour to prepare our
simple breakfast. Here Cochrane climbed an oak-tree hoping to obtain a glimpse of the sea, but it was
not yet in sight.
Hardly had we started off again when we suddenly saw a boy coming towards us through the wood. He
was carrying a few chupatties and a bag of "yourt." We stopped the lad, and although at first he was
unwilling to part with the food, which he intended to sell to some tent-dwellers, yet finally we
persuaded him to humour us in exchange for two silver medjidies. While eating this unexpected
addition to our breakfast, we questioned the boy as to our whereabouts. Though very uncertain about
it, he thought the sea was three hours' journey away: the nearest big town was Selefké (the ancient
Seleucia), but where it was he did not know; we should see a well near two tents in the next village.
Thus informed we left him, and on emerging from the wood saw the two tents about a mile distant and
close to what must be the main road to Selefké; away to our left stood some very fine ruins. Through
field-glasses they looked like some ancient Greek temple.
We decided to go to the tents for water, and in order to vary our story to suit our surroundings, for this
occasion we would be German archæologists. Arriving at the encampment, we were received by an old
Turk and his grown-up son, and taken into the bigger tent. Here we sat down on a carpet, and leant
against what felt like sacks of grain. Having given our reason for being in the locality, we explained that
we were willing to pay a good price for antiques.
"I have none," replied the old fellow. "Of what value are such things to me? But you Germans are for
ever searching after relics from ruins. Four years ago a party just like yours came here for the very
same purpose, asking for ancient coins and pottery." So we had hit upon a most suitable story.
A little girl now appeared on the scene. To keep up the conversation we asked the old man her age.
"She's seven years old," he answered, "and my youngest grandchild. I have six sons, of whom five are
at the war. One of them is a chaouse (sergeant) on the Palestine front; another an onbashi (corporal)
near Bagdad. I had another son in Irak too, but he was taken prisoner by the English."
"Have you good news of him?" asked one of us.
"Yes, I had a letter from him a year ago, saying he was in good health and well treated."
What the other two in the Army were doing we do not remember, though doubtless we were told. The
sixth son, perchance a conscientious objector, was in the tent with us. He joined in the conversation
now and again, and finally produced a musical instrument like a deformed mandolin.
"Can any of you play?" he asked.
"I don't think any of us can," replied our Turkish scholar. "But we should like to hear you play us
something," he added politely. "First, however, could we have some water to drink? We are all very
thirsty." This saved us the ordeal of listening to Oriental music, for the little child was sent round to each
of us in turn with a shallow metal cup of water, and by the time we had had a drink the musician had
put his instrument away. Encouraged by these beginnings of hospitality, we asked if they had any bread
for sale. At this the old man shouted some questions to the other tent, at the door of which a woman
soon appeared. She talked so fast that we could not understand what she said, but the expression on
her face and all her gestures gave us clearly to understand that she had never heard such impudence.
In the end, however, the old Turk gave us half a chupattie each. Meanwhile two of the party had gone
off to the well to fill all our water-bottles, the rest remaining in the tent trying to persuade the man to
give us more bread. Since no more was forthcoming, as soon as the two returned with water we moved
on again.
Food-hunting was now becoming a vice, of which, in our hungry condition, we found it difficult to cure
ourselves. Though we had still some of the food bought at the big village on August 24, we eased our
consciences with the thought that we might have to spend some days on the coast before we found a
boat. Moreover, in these isolated tents, dotted about in so unfrequented a district, we might with safety
try to obtain additional supplies, for there was not much likelihood of meeting gendarmes, and there
was no town very near where the tent-dwellers could give information about us. The next few hours,
therefore, were spent in searching for these isolated dwellings. But our luck had changed, for at four
tents we were received with a very bad grace. One old woman, in particular, who, without any make up,
could have played with great success the part of one of the witches in "Macbeth," showed great
animosity towards us, and ended her tirade by saying that nothing would induce her to give food to
Christians.
Thus rebuffed, we marched on. A mile to our left front were the ruins we had seen earlier in the day.
Their fluted columns were immense, and the capitals richly carved; but a closer inspection would mean
going out of our way, and a few minutes later they were lost to view.
Only two of us went to the fifth tent that we saw. The remainder walked on a few hundred yards, and
waited hidden in a small valley, easily recognisable, because it led up to a conspicuous tree. Half an
hour later the two rejoined the main body, having bought 1½ lb. of crushed wheat and the dixie half
full of porridge made with plenty of sour milk. This was divided amongst the six, as the purchasers had
had a few spoonfuls in the tent.
Continuing, we came across some dry wells and also a few fruit trees. The fruit was unripe, unpleasant
to taste, and unknown to any of us; but we ate it. The trees may have been plum-trees, which after
many decades had reverted to the wild state. At 1 P.M. we found a well containing a little water, and not
far from another tent. Once more only two went to buy supplies, while the others stayed at the well.
Here, after much talk, the old woman in the tent let our agents have a dozen chupatties and some good
cheese. The latter she took out of a goat-skin bag from under a millstone, where it was being pressed.
Though rather strong, it was very good indeed, and tasted like gorgonzola. Near the tent was a bed of
water-melons and a patch of Indian corn; but the good lady refused to sell any of these. Judging by the
heap of melon-skins lying in a corner of the tent, she and her better-half were very partial to this fruit;
hence, no doubt, her disinclination to part with any. We now decided that we were becoming
demoralised by this "yourt-hunting," and that we would not visit any more tents; so when, half an hour
after resuming our march, we passed close to one, we walked by it without taking any notice of the
occupants.
All this time the going was very bad. Countless small nullahs crossed our path. The ground was rocky
and thickly covered with thorny bushes the height of a man, so that it was necessary to take a
compass-bearing every few minutes. For a long time we had been steering a very zigzag course, when
at 2.15 P.M. we arrived at the head of one of these many nullahs and saw beneath us a deep ravine
running in a south-east direction.
Through the undergrowth at the bottom it was possible to recognise the dry stony bed of a river, and
this we decided to follow. A little north of where we were the ravine made a right-angled turn, and at
this bend we were able to find a track to the bottom. Elsewhere the sides were sheer precipice,
impossible to descend. On our way down we passed a massive sarcophagus hewn out of the solid rock.
The lid had been moved to one side, and the chamber was empty—a result, perhaps, of the visit of the
German archæologists of whom the old Turk had spoken that morning. An eerie place for a tomb it
looked, perched on the side of a steep cliff. It was a relic of a former civilisation. That part of Asia Minor
was once fertile and well populated, but some underground disturbance of nature had diverted or dried
up the water without which the land could no longer live. Now it is a dead country. The terraced
gardens near the coast still retain their step formation, but that is all. Only the wild locust-tree can find
enough moisture to produce its fruit, and bird and animal life have almost ceased to exist.
On reaching the bottom of the ravine in safety, we allowed ourselves nearly an hour's rest before we
followed the slope of the stream. This in the main continued to take us in a south-easterly direction,
though at times it ran due east. Along the bottom ran a rough and stony track, crossing frequently from
one side of the river-bed to the other as the valley twisted and turned. At many points, too, it had been
overgrown by the thick brushwood which had sprung up in the scanty soil at the foot of the ravine, and
often we had to push our way through.
By this time, in fact, marching was altogether a most painful performance. Our footgear was at an end.
Uppers had all but broken away from the soles, which were nearly worn through, so that walking over
stones was a refined torture. After two hours' going in the ravine we saw a side valley running into the
left bank. Here was a camel with two foals, which were picking up a scanty living in the main river-bed.
We also heard the bells of goats and the voice of a small boy shouting to them somewhere on the top
of the ravine. Assuming there was a tent village not far off, we made as little noise as possible. Nothing
however appeared. Towards six o'clock we came to a very sharp bend, where the track we had been
following climbed up the side of the ravine in a southerly direction. At the time we debated whether to
follow the track or the river-bed, and finally decided on the latter course. As we proceeded, the bed
became rougher and rougher and the track less and less defined, and just before dark we halted. We
had walked for many hours that day, but could only credit ourselves with five miles in the right
direction.
Moonlight, for which we had decided to wait, did not reach us in our canyon till after 2 A.M. next
morning, though the moon itself had risen some time before. In the meantime we had cooked a little
porridge and obtained a few hours' sleep. Now we retraced our steps till we came to where the track
had left the ravine, and up this we climbed into the open.
At the top we found ourselves in an old graveyard near a few deserted and ruined huts. Halting for five
or six minutes, we ate a few mouthfuls of food and lightened our water-bottles. We then followed the
track till 5 A.M., when we came to another deserted village. Near this was a well; so we replenished our
stock, and halted in some thick scrub a few hundred yards farther on. Here Grunt, to his consternation,
discovered that he had lost a small cloth bag containing one and a half chupatties and two sovereigns.
The loss of the coins was nothing, but the bread was all-important. Grunt therefore decided to go back
to the deserted village near the graveyard, where he had last eaten from the bag, and Nobby went with
him. A couple of hours later the searchers returned with the coveted bag, and said they had seen the
sea; the rest could raise no enthusiasm, and were very sceptical.
At a quarter to eight we set forth from our hiding-place, and five minutes later the party as a whole had
its first view of the sea. The morning sun was on it, making sky and sea one undivided sheen. It was
difficult to realise that at last we were near the coast. From the point where we were to the shore could
be barely six miles. Within forty miles of the coast we had been at a height of something approaching
5000 feet, but each ridge we had passed had in front of it another to hide the sea from us. Thus it was
that not until we had marched for twenty-three nights and twenty-two days did we first look on it. As
we scanned the water through the field-glasses, it looked as dead as the adjacent country. Not a sail
was in sight anywhere, not a single ripple disturbed the shining sheet of glass in front of us. With heads
uncovered, and with thankful hearts, we stood gazing, but without being in any way excited. Thus it
was that no shout like the "Thalassa! Thalassa!" of Xenophon's Ten Thousand broke from the lips of our
little band that still August morning; although here was the end of our land journey at last in sight after
a march of some 330 miles. Had we seen a single boat it would have been different. There was nothing.
Our great desire now was to get down to the coast itself. We thought that there must surely be a village
somewhere down on the shore, where we should be able either to get hold of a boat at night or to
bribe a crew with a promise of much money if they would land us at Cyprus. Before us, the intervening
country was covered with bare rocks, stunted trees, and scrub, and fell away to the sea in a series of
small ridges and terraces. Still following the track, our party, weary and hot, came to a halt at 11 A.M.
on the 30th August, two miles from the shore, in the shade of a ruined stone tower. There were similar
square towers dotted along the coast; perhaps their ancient use, like that of our own Martello towers,
had been to ward off a foreign invasion should need arise; or, in less exciting times, to show lights
towards the sea to guide at night the ships in those waters. We stopped at the tower, because we
thought it was unsafe to go farther and risk being seen by any coastguard that might happen to be
stationed there. It was well we did so. From here Cochrane went on alone, and while he was away we
saw our first boat. Coming round a headland of the coast, a few miles east of us, a motor-boat passed
across our front and disappeared into a narrow bay a mile and a half to our west. She towed a cutter
full of men. Cochrane also had seen them, and came back to the tower to tell us the news;
unfortunately, he had not found the hoped-for village.
A few yards from the tower was a shallow stone-built well. Its water, though very dirty, being merely a
puddle at the bottom, for us was drinkable. The day was very oppressive, with a damp heat, so we
refreshed ourselves with a dixieful of tea. After this, Cochrane, taking Ellis with him, again went
forward, this time to try to find the exact anchorage of the motor-boat. On their return they said there
were tents on the shore. In one of them were horses, and in the neighbourhood several Turkish soldiers
were moving about. Studying our map, we decided we were within three miles of Pershembé, a point
for which we had headed for some days past. The coast-line before us ran N.E. and S.W. We were on a
narrow plateau one and a half mile from the sea, and the high ground continued till within a few
hundred yards of the water; in some places even to the edge of the coast itself, which was indented
with small bays and creeks.
On the headland to the east, and gleaming white in the sunshine, stood a magnificent stone-built town,
walled and turreted, but showing no signs of being inhabited. Nearer to us, on the foreshore, was a
small lagoon, spanned at one corner by an old bridge: on the water's edge could be seen green reeds
and half a dozen palm-trees, and here three or four camels were feeding. Opposite to the lagoon and
some eight hundred yards off the shore was a small island fortress, its turreted and loopholed walls
rising sheer from the sea. It boasted fine bastioned towers, and when the sun was willing to act as
master showman this dazzling gem was framed in a fit setting of sapphire. This, though we did not
know its name at the time, was Korghos Island.
Here may be mentioned a very peculiar coincidence, although we only learnt of it after our return to
England. This was, that Keeling, after his escape from Kastamoni, had spared himself no trouble in
attempting to arrange schemes of escape for his former companions, and only a few weeks after our
departure a number of his code messages reached the camp at Yozgad, amongst them one detailing
our best route to this very island of Korghos. Here were to be waiting either agents with a supply of
food or a boat, between three different pairs of dates: one of those periods coincided with part of this
very time that we were on the coast. When we eventually reached Cyprus, we learnt also that two
agents had been landed on Korghos Island, but that they had been seen and captured.
To continue the description of the coast at which we had arrived: immediately below us the ground fell
away to a low-lying stretch of foreshore, which extended for nearly a mile between the end of our
plateau and the sea. Half a mile west of us lay a deep ravine, which looked as if it would run into the
creek entered by the motor-boat.
Along the sea and lined by the telegraph poles the main coast road wound its way. In the early evening
Nobby, Looney, and Johnny went off to reconnoitre, but it was impossible to approach the coast by
daylight because of the men moving about, and they had to return to the tower with little additional
information. There were five tents for men and a larger one for horses, and though no guns were visible
it was very probable that here was a section of a battery for dealing with any boat that might attempt
to spy out the nakedness of the land. Two years before that time, Lord Rosebery's yacht, the Zaida, had
been mined a few miles along the coast at a place called Ayasch Bay, which she had entered for the
purpose of landing spies. Four of her officers had come to the prisoners' camp at Kastamoni, and we
heard from the three of them who survived that there had been some field-guns on the shore where
they were captured.
Our resting-place near the tower was an unsatisfactory one. We were close to water, it is true, but we
were also close to a track leading down to the coast, and though we were soon to change our minds,
we thought at the time that no flies in the world could be as persistent and insatiable as those which all
day attacked us. For these reasons, and the additional one of wishing to be nearer the creek which we
thought the motor-boat had entered, we decided to move to the ravine half a mile west of our tower.
We would visit the well early in the morning and late at night for replenishing our water supply.
Accordingly at dusk we again packed up. Our way led us through thick undergrowth along neglected
terraces, and at about 6.30 P.M. we were on the edge of the steep-sided valley. By a stroke of luck we
almost immediately found a way down to the bottom. Although we were to become all too well
acquainted with that ravine, we only found one other possible line of ascent and descent on the tower
side, and one path up the western edge. The river-bed, of course, was dry, and filled with huge
boulders and thickly overgrown with bushes. Pushing our way through these, we had only gone a
quarter of a mile down the ravine when we decided to halt for the night.
 CHAPTER XIII.
ON THE COAST.
There was still, however, no time to be lost in discovering and obtaining the motor-tug or other boat,
seeing that we had arrived on the coast with barely three days' supply of food. That same night, then,
Cochrane and Nobby carried out a reconnaissance, continuing to follow our ravine down towards the
sea, in the hope that they would come out opposite the bay into which the tug and her tow had
disappeared that afternoon. The remainder settled down to sleep as best they could, without a dinner
and on hard and stony beds, taking it in turns at half-hour intervals to keep watch. This was necessary
to prevent the two scouts passing them unawares should they return in the dark.
The whole party had reached the coast on their last legs. In the case of Grunt especially, nothing short
of the certainty of being able to walk on board a boat could have moved him that night. He had still not
recovered from the effects of the blow on the head. As for Cochrane and Nobby, it must have been pure
strength of will which enabled them to carry on, after the trying day in the damp heat. Cochrane,
indeed, had undertaken what proved beyond his powers; upon him more than any had fallen the brunt
of the work of guiding the little column night after night and day after day. It was not to be wondered
at that on this occasion he had not proceeded a mile before his legs simply gave way beneath him, and
he had to allow Nobby to proceed alone.
Soon afterwards the ravine took an almost northerly direction. When it eventually petered out it was at
some distance to the north of the probable position of the motor-boat. Nobby now found himself
crossing the coast road; this we had assumed would be guarded. On the way out he saw no one; but
on his return journey next morning he proved our assumption correct by almost stepping on the face of
a man who lay sleeping on the road. He was presumably on duty. The propensity of the Turkish sentry
for going to sleep at his post once more stood us in good stead. During the night it had been too dark
to see much, and Nobby had had to return without having discovered a boat. After hunting round, he
had settled down on the edge of a small creek running into the sea, where he remained till the first
streak of dawn enabled him to pick his way back to the mouth of the ravine. His main difficulty that
night had been to keep himself awake. All the time he was in deadly terror of falling asleep and awaking
to find himself stranded on the coast in broad daylight.
 Sketched to Authors' description by Hal Kay.
LIFE IN THE RAVINE.
He tried to occupy himself with fishing. He had taken with him the line and hooks which were an item of
the party's equipment on leaving Yozgad; but no bites came to keep up his flagging interest. Before
long he had a midnight bathe, to the great envy of the rest of the party when they heard of it next
morning; but the water, he said, had been almost too warm to be really refreshing; the rocks, too, were
unpleasantly sharp to stand on. He next picked at an exposed nerve in one of his teeth, and the acute
pain thereby inflicted served to keep him awake for the rest of the night. At long length the sky began
to lighten, and Nobby, after his narrow escape while re-crossing the road, once more entered the ravine
and picked up Cochrane. The two then rejoined their anxious comrades.
It was now 5 A.M. Dawn was slow to reach our hemmed-in hiding-place; but when it was light enough
to see, we discovered that the sides of the ravine were covered with trees bearing what Ellis fortunately
recognised as "carobs" or locust beans. We were soon doing what we could to stifle the gnawing pains
of hunger by eating quantities of this wild fruit. Some people believe that this is what is meant by the
"locusts" eaten by John the Baptist. To our taste they seemed wonderfully sweet and had something of
the flavour of chocolate, so that throughout our stay on the coast they formed an unfailing dessert after,
and often before our meals. When we eventually reached Cyprus we found that there the tree is
cultivated, and that thousands of tons of carobs are exported yearly for use in cattle foods. However
humble their use, in our case at any rate they were not to be despised, and as a matter of fact the
cultivated beans are used to some extent in the manufacture of certain chocolates.
The night reconnaissance having failed to solve the question of the motor-boat's anchorage, at 7 A.M.
on this last day of August, Johnny and Looney set out on a search for the elusive bay by daylight.
Climbing up the southern side of the ravine, they had to keep out of sight of the men who were known
to be below them, so they at first remained at some distance from the coast, moving parallel to it for
over a mile. They then turned towards the sea until they reached a terrace below which the ground fell
away rather steeply to the shore. From this point of observation it was possible to see the greater part
of the series of capes and bays into which the coast was divided. Still no sign of the tug gladdened their
eyes. A closer approach by day would involve considerable risk. A couple of motor-lorries and a
mounted patrol had already been observed moving along the road. The two scouts sat down awhile on
some boulders behind a large bush, and while Johnny peered between the branches through the field-
glasses, Looney drew a rough panorama so as to be able if necessary to indicate to the rest of the party
any particular bay.
It was about 10 A.M.: the two were about to seek some point of vantage from which it would be
possible to see more of some of the bays, when suddenly they heard the hum of a motor. Next moment
the tug shot into view from the hidden portion of one of the bays to the N.E. Once more she towed a
cutter full of men and stores, and through the glasses it was possible to recognise the Turkish flag flying
at her stern. The two remained where they were, watching her until she disappeared round a bend far
up the coast towards Mersina.
Possibly she made daily trips, carrying working parties and material to some scene of activity, so the
two decided to try to overlook the head of the bay in which she had appeared, in order to discover
something definite about the anchorage. To reduce the risk of detection, they first withdrew out of sight
of the road and worked their way more to the north before cutting down again towards the shore. On
the way out from the ravine they had passed near some ruins, and these they now took in their course
to see if there might be a well there with water in it. It was unfortunate that there was not, for in this
dead city there was one enormous and very deep amphitheatre, into which it was possible to descend
by a path cut in the rocky side. Here shade from the sun would have been obtainable at all hours of the
day, and altogether it would have been a better hiding-place than the ravine, if only it had contained a
water supply. But though they found the remains of one well, it was absolutely dry.
The two now made their way cautiously towards the place whence the boats had been seen to emerge.
The slope of the ground, however, became more and more pronounced as they approached the coast,
so that they were able to see little more of the bay than had been visible from their earlier observation
point; although by this time they were within sight of the tents seen on the previous day. These stood a
little way out on a small cape. Dodging from cover to cover amongst the patches of scrub, sometimes
on hands and knees, they finally found themselves close to the coast road itself.
Leaving Looney screened from view, Johnny now went on alone. He was not twenty yards from the
road when a Turkish soldier passed along it. A moment later four or five others were seen skirting the
seaward edge of a rocky headland to the south, apparently engaged in looking for mussels. It was now
obvious that opposite the head of the bay which they sought, the coast rose so sheer, that to obtain a
view of the whole would entail going forward across the road to the edge of the cliff beyond. With so
many people moving about, this, by daylight, was out of the question, and after seven hours'
reconnaissance in the hot sun the two had to be satisfied with bringing back the information that they
knew which bay the boats had entered the day before, but that they were there no longer.
Meanwhile another party of two—to wit, the Old Man and Perce—had gone forth from the ravine in a
last search for food. Without a further supply of this we should be compelled to give ourselves up unless
we at once discovered a boat. Of inhabited villages there appeared to be none, even should we have
dared to attempt another entry after the experiences of "the three Huns." The Circassian encampments,
too, had ceased.
It is a fairly well-known fact that in the East if villagers are driven away from their homes for any cause,
such as a punitive expedition, they usually take steps to bury any valuables which they are unable to
carry away, the most common of which is grain. We had bethought ourselves of the deserted village
some miles back, near to which we had halted just before our first glimpse of the sea. It occurred to us
that the occupants might have been compelled by the Turkish authorities to quit on the outbreak of war,
as being within too short a distance of the coast. In this case, then, there might be food there, buried
or otherwise concealed. In this, providentially, we were to find ourselves not mistaken, although the
search party set off with little hopes of success.
It required a five-mile climb up the series of ridges to reach the village, and the track was very rough to
the feet. On the previous day even the descent had been trying enough in the oppressive heat which
seemed to prevail on the coast; so the ascent was doubly so. Moreover, the village itself did not come
into view until one was within a mile of it, and as there were remains of other tracks branching off at
frequent intervals, it was not easy for the Old Man and Perce to keep to the right one. Great was their
relief when, after a good deal of wandering, they found themselves safely within the farm enclosure; for
really the "village" comprised only one house with its outbuildings, all within a square walled enclosure.
There seemed to be no one about, so they set to work to force the rough country locks with which all
the doors were fastened. They had brought the little adze with them, and for this work it was
invaluable, although its steel edge was not thereby improved. One of the upstair living-rooms was first
invaded. On entering they found the floor bare, but cupboards and lockers in the wall stuffed full of a
wonderful variety of things—rolls of cloth (obviously made on the spot, for there were remains of the
looms), coarse cotton-wool, a few handkerchiefs, cobbler's materials and tools, an old coffee-grinder in
pieces, some hoop-iron, an enamelled mug, a dozen wooden spoons, and a miscellaneous collection of
odds and ends such as seem to collect in all houses, English and Turkish alike. The only items of
present value were the handkerchiefs, a little prepared leather, the mug, and some of the spoons. These
they removed, and by dint of looking into many small cloth bags found something of greater value—
namely, a couple of pounds of dry powdery cheese, and as much salt as we were likely to want if we
stayed on the coast for a month.
These alone, however, were not going to keep eight hungry mortals alive, so the joy of the two
searchers was proportionately great when, on breaking into an outhouse and stumbling over a litter of
wooden staves, they discovered in the next room something over 300 pounds of wheat lying in a heap
on the floor. The grain was uncrushed and dirty, but that disadvantage could be overcome with a little
trouble. Further search revealed nothing more in the way of food, but it was noted that in other rooms
there were several cooking-pots which might be worth taking down on a future visit. For the present the
two loaded up their packs with some grain, and hurriedly bundling back the things which they had
turned out from the cupboards, set their faces once more towards the sea.
At 5.45 that evening two weary figures staggered into view, being met by Cochrane, Nobby, and
Johnny, who had gone up to the well near the tower to draw water. They had reason to be happy, for
this find of food postponed indefinitely our capitulation to hunger.
All five remained at the well till after dark in order to grind enough grain for an evening meal, using a
heavy stone to beat a little of it at a time inside a hollowed-out slab, intended for use in watering sheep.
Nobby and Johnny, who stayed a few minutes after the other three, were accosted on their way back to
the ravine by a couple of men riding away from the coast on donkeys. They asked our two whether they
belonged to the camp below, and seemed quite satisfied when they said they did. This confirmed
suspicions which some of us had had the previous day, that certain of the tents we had seen contained
Germans; for the two men could certainly not have taken any of us for Turks.
Crushing grain by pounding it with a primitive stone pestle and mortar is at best a fatiguing process, nor
are the results favourable to easy digestion. Not only did some of the grains escape being crushed, but
chips of stone from the sides of the mortar became mixed with the food, which was none too clean in
itself. Cochrane said he would make the most worn-out old coffee-grinder do better work with the
expenditure of half the energy, so we decided to have another expedition to the village next day to
fetch the one which had been noticed there. We could hardly hope to make a series of visits without
eventual discovery; it was best therefore to fetch down at the same time as much more of the wheat as
we were likely to want.
Accordingly at 7 A.M. on the 1st September, four of the party started off carrying empty packs. These
were Nobby, Johnny, and Ellis, and the Old Man, who went for the second time to show the others the
way. On arrival they found distinct signs that the two men who had been met the previous evening had
gone to the farmhouse and to the well just below it. Whether they had noticed anything wrong, there
was nothing to show. In any case, the four lost no time in loading up and returning to a safer spot,
reaching the ravine at about 3.30 P.M.
The other half of the party had gone in turns to the well, to fetch water and do some more crude
grinding for the day's food. It took an hour and a half to do a single trip for water alone. Each time
nearly an hour was spent in drawing up water mugful by mugful till all available receptacles were full.
So we were thankful when later on that day, Cochrane, scouting around, discovered another well. This
was not only a little nearer to our lair, but also had one place deep enough to permit the use of a
canvas bucket. This meant a great saving of time. The water, too, held in solution rather less mud, and
none of the bits of mouldy wood which formed a fair proportion of the hauls from the well by the tower.
Near the new well there were more ruins, in this case only a few low walls, and, standing apart, a
semicircular arch of some twelve feet in diameter—just the bare ring of stones remained and nothing
else.
From now onwards, for the rest of our stay on the coast, we settled down to a new kind of existence—
in fact we may be said to have existed, and nothing more. Life became a dreary grind, both literally and
metaphorically. For the next few days, at any rate, we thought of nothing else but how to prepare and
eat as much food as we could. This was not greed: it was the only thing to do. None of us wanted to lie
a day longer than absolutely necessary in that awful ravine, but we were at present simply too weak to
help ourselves. To carry out a search for another boat was beyond the powers of any one.
Cochrane rigged up the coffee-grinder on the same afternoon as it had arrived—lashing the little brass
cylinder to the branch of a tree at a convenient height for a man to turn the handle. A rusty saw, cutting
like all Oriental saws on the pull-stroke, had been discovered in the village and brought down by the last
party, and this proved useful now and on subsequent occasions.
Whilst one of the party worked at the mill, and another supervised the cooking of the next dixieful of
porridge, the rest were busy picking over the grain in the hopes of removing at any rate some small
proportion of the empty husks and the bits of earth with which it was mixed. Even so it was impossible
to clean the dirt off the grains themselves.
Nothing, we thought, could be more wearisome than this never-ending task. Our misery was aggravated
by the swarms of flies which incessantly harassed us as we worked. What right they had to be alive at
all on such a deserted coast was never discovered. He whose turn it was to cook found in the smoke
from the fire a temporary respite from their attentions; but they took care to make up for lost time
afterwards. When the water was nearly boiled away, bits of porridge were wont to leap out of the pot
and light on the cook's hands. The ensuing blister did not last long, for within twenty-four hours the
flies had eaten it all away. We had no bandages left, and pieces of paper which we used to wet and
stick on the blisters fell off as soon as they were dry. It was not many days before Old Man's and
Johnny's hands became covered with septic sores. Unfortunately, too, most of us were out of 'baccy, as
a means of keeping these pests away. Some took to smoking cigarettes made from the dried leaves
which littered the stony bed of our unhappy home. Even the non-smoker of the party had to give way
to the pernicious habit once, out of pure self-defence.
Nor at night was it easy to obtain peace. The flies had no sooner gone to their well-earned rest than the
mosquitoes took up the call with their high-pitched trumpet notes. But of course it was not the noise
which mattered, but their bites; and in the end most of us used to sleep with a handkerchief or piece of
cloth over our faces, and a pair of socks over our hands.
Ravine life was most relaxing—partly owing to the stuffiness of the air in so deep and narrow a cleft,
overgrown as it was with trees and scrub; but perhaps still more to reaction, after more than three
weeks of strenuous marching. So long as we had had the encouragement of being able to push on each
day, and feel that we were getting nearer home, we had no time to think of bodily exhaustion: the
excitement, mild though it was, kept us going. Now, unable to do anything towards making good our
escape, it required a big effort to drag oneself to one's feet for the purpose of fetching a mugful of
porridge. It required a still bigger one to go up in pairs to fetch water from the well, although it was
essential for every one to do this at least once a day, merely to keep the pot a-boiling. This, too, was
the only way of obtaining a deep drink; except for half a mug of tea made from several-times stewed
leaves, all the water brought down to the nullah each day was utilised for cooking the wheat.
Fortunately, to take us to the well there was the further inducement of a wash for both bodies and
clothes. The latter by this time were in a very dirty and also worn-out condition; but thanks doubtless to
our having spent no appreciable time inside villages actually occupied by Turks, they were not
verminous.
On account of the washing, visits to the well were apt at times to develop into lengthy affairs—anything
up to five or six hours, which did not help towards getting through the daily tasks necessary to keep
ourselves fed. Not only did this involve having reliefs at the mill for eight out of every twenty-four hours,
but much work was necessary to keep up the supply of cleaned wheat to feed the machine. Necessity,
however, is the mother of invention, and from the 5th September, acting on a suggestion made by
Looney, we used to take the next day's wheat up to the well and wash it there in a couple of changes of
water. There was a convenient stone trough on the spot. The chaff floated to the surface, while the
earth, whether in loose particles or clinging to the grains themselves, was dissolved. After washing, the
wheat was spread out in the sun on squares of cloth brought down from the village, and when dry was
fetched back to the ravine by the next water-party.
Like most schemes, this one had its weak points. It was very extravagant in water, and in a few days
our well began to show distinct signs of being drained to emptiness; in fact, only a puddle could have
existed to begin with, though a larger one than that in the well near the tower.
The second disadvantage was that the grain, while left out to dry, might be discovered and give away
our presence; but, in any case, one pair or another of the party was so often up at the well that the risk
was not greatly increased; besides, there was not much to induce a Turk from the camp below to visit
the ruins.
In the end we were seen, the first occasion being on the 6th September. That evening, Cochrane, Old
Man, and Looney were up at the well, when an old fellow with a dyed beard—a Turk, as far as they
could say—suddenly appeared, and eyed their water-bottles very thirstily. He accepted with readiness
the drink they offered to him, but appeared to be nothing of a conversationalist. He was indeed almost
suspiciously indifferent who the three might be. There was a mystery about that man which we never
entirely solved. From then onwards, almost to the end of our stay on the coast, not a day passed
without his seeing one or other of the party. To explain our presence at the well, the water-parties
pretended they were German observation posts sent up to watch the sea, over which, as a matter of
fact, one could obtain a very fine view from that place. We usually carried up the field-glasses to have a
look round, and these perhaps helped out our story. To live up further to our Hun disguise, we once told
the man that really the place was "yessāk." This is the Turkish equivalent to "verboten," and, to judge
from our experiences in the camps, is about as frequently used.
On another occasion it was sunset when some of us saw him. After his usual drink he washed his hands
and face and said his prayers Mohammedan-wise. After his prayers he said he had seen two boats go
past coming from the east and disappearing to the west. Little remarks like this made us think at one
time that he might possibly be a British agent, landed to get information, or possibly for the express
purpose of helping escaped officers like ourselves: for there had been plenty of time for the news of our
escape from Yozgad to reach the Intelligence Department in Cyprus.
One day Grunt and Nobby deliberately went up to try to get into conversation with the mysterious
individual. In the end they came to the conclusion that he must be some kind of outlaw. He told them
that a friend and he had come from a place far inland to sell something or other to a coastal village, and
he himself was now awaiting the other's return. They were going to take back with them a load of
carobs, of which he already had been making collections under various trees. The beans seemed to be
his only food, and he was obviously half-starving. This, combined with the fact that he relied on us to
draw up water for him when there must be good water near the Turkish tents below, showed that he
was in hiding for some cause or other. This was as well for us, as, if he had thought at all, he could not
for a moment have been deceived by our story. Even if we were on watch, we should hardly trouble to
bring up not only our own, but a lot of other men's water-bottles to fill with muddy water at a disused
well. Whatever the explanation, the great thing was that he did not interfere with us. Two evenings
before our final departure from the ravine, he told us that his donkeys would be coming back next
morning, and that was the last time that he was seen.
A few extracts from diaries may serve to convey some idea of our feelings during these earlier days in
the ravine:—
"2nd Sept.—Struggled up to well at 8 A.M. Had wash in mugful of water: temporarily refreshing, but
exhausted for rest of day, and feeling weaker than ever before in spite of five brews of boulgar" (each
brew was at this time about the half of a pint mug all round) "and one small chupattie each, made by
Nobby. Flour for last made with much hard grinding after mill had been readjusted. Readjustment alone
took two hours to do.... Flies awful all day...."
"3rd Sept.—Locust beans quite good toasted over ashes, and make sweet syrup if first cut up and then
boiled, but this entails a lot of work. Every one cleaning and grinding wheat all day. As now set, grinder
produces mixture of coarse flour and boulgar. Tried unsuccessfully to simmer this into a paste and then
bake into thick chupatties." (All our efforts at this stage were directed towards producing something
digestible with the minimum of work.) "Day passed very slowly, with occasional trips for water."
"4th Sept.—Most of us rather doubtful whether we shall be able to get back our strength on a boulgar
diet, and flour takes more grinding than we have strength for at present—rather a vicious circle."
Another diary for the same date says—"Feeling weaker now than I did when we first arrived; no energy
for anything."
Next day the tide seems to have been on the turn.
"5th Sept.—Most of us slightly stronger, but held back by chronic lethargy. Continuous brewing all day.
To save interruptions at the grinder we now feed in two parties of four, taking alternate brews: this
means we get nearly a big mugful at a whack, at intervals of about three hours.... Most of us fill in gaps
eating burnt beans. Charcoal said to be good for digestion!... One thing is, our feet are rested here, and
blisters healed. We are also undoubtedly putting on flesh again, and if we can get rid of this hopeless
slackness shall be all right.... Grunt, working from 1 P.M. onwards, made 1 large and 4 small chupatties
each, so we are coming on." It was something to feel full again sometimes.
"6th Sept.—My energy as well as my strength returning a bit now.... Mill hard at it all day.... 4½
mugfuls boulgar (1 pint each) and 6 chupatties (4½ inches diameter and fairly thick) the day's ration."
 CHAPTER XIV.
FAILURE AND SUCCESS.
Our experiments at chupattie-making had led us in the end to grind the wheat in two stages—first into
coarse meal, and then, with a finer setting of the mill, into flour. This meant less strain both for us and
for the machine: upon the safety of the latter practically depended our survival, and frequent were the
exhortations to the miller on duty not to be too violent with the wretched little handle. Standing there in
the sun—for though there were trees in the ravine, they were not high enough to shelter a man
standing up—one was greatly tempted to hurry through the task of twenty hoppers full of grain, and so
risk breaking the grinder. A quotation which Looney had learnt from a book read at Yozgad proved very
apposite on these occasions. It was from a label pasted on to a French toy, and ran as follows: "Quoi
qu'elle soit solidement montée, il ne faut pas brutaliser la machine!"
When enough flour was ready, some one would knead it into a lump of dough, which would then be
divided up by the cook and flattened into little discs. These were baked several at a time on the metal
cover of our dixie. When enough chupatties were ready, the cook would pick them up one by one, while
some one else, not in sight of them, called out the names of the party at random. This was to get over
the difficulty caused by the chupatties not being all of quite the same size. Similarly, after each brew of
porridge had been distributed into the mugs by spoonfuls, we determined who was to have the
scrapings of the pot by the method of "fingers-out." It was necessary to scrape the dixie each time to
prevent the muddy paste which stuck to the bottom becoming burnt during the next brew; and the way
to get this done thoroughly was to let some one have it to eat.
On the 4th September, Nobby discovered a shorter way up to the well, by first going a little down
instead of up the ravine we were in. From that date onwards, except for one night when it was
necessary to be on the spot in case of eventualities, Looney and Perce, and on one occasion Johnny,
went up at dusk to sleep near the well. Although the mosquitoes were almost as troublesome there,
they found that the air was quite invigorating—a great contrast to that in the ravine, where no
refreshing breeze ever found its way.
By this time hardly one of us had any footgear left worthy of the name, so we soaked an old mashak
(skin water-bag) and a piece of raw hide, both of which had been brought down from the village on the
second visit, with a view to using them for patch repairs. Both, however, proved too rotten to be of use,
for they would not hold the stitches.
We had been a week in the ravine before any of us felt capable of farther exploration. To save time in
getting to work again, on the last two evenings Cochrane and Nobby had had a little extra ration of
porridge. Now at length, on the 6th September, they felt that it was within their powers to make
another reconnaissance. Nothing more had been seen of the motor-boat, but the bay in which had been
its anchorage on our first night on the coast seemed to offer the best prospect of finding a boat of some
sort. Accordingly at 5 P.M. the pair set off once again down the ravine, hoping to arrive near the end of
it before dark. And so began another anxious time for all, as we wondered what the final night of our
first month of freedom would bring forth. It had not been easy to keep a correct tally of the date during
the march to the coast. More than once there had been no opportunity of writing a diary for three days
at a time; whilst on the coast one day was so much like another that to lose count of a day would have
been easy. One of us, however, had kept a complete diary, and so we knew that we had now been at
large for a month.
To celebrate this we had decided, if all went well that night, to have something very good to eat on the
morrow. Every one voted for a plum-duff. Johnny had cooked a date-duff one evening during the siege
of Kut, when his Indian khansama (cook) found the shell-fire too trying for his nerves. To Johnny then
was given the post of chef. During the day each of the party did an extra fatigue on the coffee-grinder,
with the result that by dusk we were able to set aside about two pounds of flour for the pudding. Its
other ingredients were a couple of small handfuls of raisins and a pinch of salt. When Cochrane and
Nobby departed operations commenced. The ingredients were mixed; the dough was kneaded on a flat
rock and the resulting mass divided into two, for our little dixie was incapable of holding all at once.
Each pudding was then rolled into a ball, tied up in a handkerchief, and boiled for two and a half hours.
Thus it was close upon midnight before our dainties were ready for the morrow. The stillness of the
nights in the ravine had often been broken by the melancholy chorus of a pack of jackals, usually far
away but sometimes close at hand. We decided to take no risks of loosing our duffs, and so slung them
in the branches of a tree.
Meanwhile Cochrane and Nobby proceeded on their reconnaissance. We had made plans before they
started in case of certain eventualities. One was that if the two were recaptured they should lead the
Turks to the rest of the party; it was realised that otherwise they might be very hard put to it to prove
that they were escaped prisoners of war and not spies. A more cheerful eventuality was the possibility
that the motor-boat might have returned unobserved. In that case if a favourable opportunity of
capturing it occurred, Cochrane and Nobby were to seize the vessel, make their way to Cyprus, and
send back help for the rest four nights later. The rendezvous from which they would be fetched was to
be on the headland opposite the little island on which stood the ruined castle. We eventually learnt that
at the proposed rendezvous was stationed a battery of guns, so that it was well for us that this plan had
never to be executed.
Our two scouts had many exciting moments in their reconnaissance that night. They went to within a
few hundred yards of the mouth of the ravine, and then, turning to the right, made their way up to
higher ground by a side ravine. They climbed hurriedly, for the light was rapidly failing. From the top it
was still impossible to overlook the bay which they wanted. They were moving along parallel to the sea
when suddenly they heard voices. They could pick out four figures a little more than a hundred yards
away, silhouetted against the sea on their left. These were Turks; they seemed to be looking out to sea,
and after a minute or two squatted down on what appeared to be the flat roof of a house. At this
juncture Cochrane swallowed a mosquito. Nobby says that to see him trying not to choke or cough
would have been laughable at any less anxious time.
After this episode the two moved off with extra carefulness. It was now quite dark. They had not gone
much farther when they again heard voices. This time the voices were quite close and coming towards
them. Our pair took cover and waited: happily, at the last moment the owners of the voices turned off.
In view of the number of people who seemed to be about it was no good increasing the risk of
detection by having two persons on the move; so, soon after, Cochrane left Nobby in a good place of
concealment, and went on scouting around by himself.
Half an hour later he came back. He had been able to overlook the cove, and there were two boats
there. It was too dark, however, to see of what sort they were, and as there was a shed with a sentry
on duty close to the boats, the only thing to do was to wait for daylight. The two now slept and took
watch in turn. At the first sign of dawn they moved down to a rock, commanding a good view of the
creek. One of the boats appeared to be a ship's cutter, some twenty-eight feet long, the other perhaps
twenty feet in length. Having seen all they could hope for, they lost no time in moving off, as it was now
quite obvious that the house on which they had seen the four men on the previous evening was a look-
out post; and it was now becoming dangerously light.
Instead of returning directly to the ravine, however, they made their way some distance down the coast
to the S.W. They were able to see Selefké, and to recognise through the glasses a dhow in the river
there, but it was some way inland. It was 11 A.M. before the reconnoitring party again reached the
ravine. The news they brought gave us something definite to work for, and we decided that if we could
finish our preparations in time we would make an attempt to seize one of the boats two nights later.
That would be on the night of the 8th-9th September. But there was much to be done before then.
Masts and spars, paddles and sails, and four days' supply of food for the sea journey had to be made
ready. For the paddle heads Cochrane and Nobby had brought back some flat thin pieces of board
which they had found near a broken-down hut; and also a bit of ancient baked pottery which would
serve as a whetstone for our very blunt knives and the adze.
On the strength of the good news and to fortify ourselves for the work, we decided to wait no longer for
our feast. The duffs were unslung from the tree, and each divided with as much accuracy as possible
into eight pieces: in this way we should each have a slice from either pudding in case they varied in
quantity or quality. Both were superb, and the finest duffs ever made. We commented on their amazing
sweetness and excellent consistency. In reality a raisin was only to be found here and there, and the
puddings were not cooked right through. When we had finished, Old Man asserted that he could then
and there and with ease demolish six whole duffs by himself. This started an argument.
"What!" cried one; "eat forty-eight pieces like the two you have just had. Impossible!"
"Granted; twenty pieces would go down easily enough," said another, "and the next ten with a fair
appetite. But after that it wouldn't be so easy. You might manage another ten, but the last eight would
certainly defeat you."
Old Man, however, stuck to his assertion and refused to come down by so much as a single slice. As it
was impossible without the duffs under discussion to prove him right or merely greedy, the subject was
allowed to drop.
By this date Perce was the only one of the party who still had some tobacco, English 'baccy too, for he
smoked very little. To celebrate the discovery of the boats, he now broke into his reserve. A single
cigarette was rolled and handed round from one to another of us. It only needed a couple of inhaled
puffs to make each of us feel as if we were going off under an anæsthetic. After the two or three puffs
one thought it would be nice to sit down, and in a few seconds one felt it would be pleasanter still to lie
down full length. That is what we did. The effect only lasted a minute or two, but it showed in what a
weak condition we were.
On the evening trip to the nearer well it was found quite impossible to draw up any more water from it.
It had been gradually drying up, and now the two on water fatigue could not scoop up even a spoonful
of water when they let down a mug, so they had to go on to the well near the tower. This, too, was
going dry, but still contained a little pool of very muddy water.
Shortly after four o'clock that afternoon Looney and Perce had started off on the third visit which was
paid to the deserted village. They were armed with a long list of requisites: more cloth for sails; a big
dixie for cooking large quantities of the reserve porridge at a time; some more grain; nails and any
wood likely to be of use; cotton-wool for padding our feet when we went down to the shore; and many
other things. They returned next morning at 9 A.M. with all the important articles, together with some
hoop-iron and a few small poles. The latter were the very thing for the paddle-shafts. They also brought
down some raw coffee-beans which they had found in a little leather bag; these we roasted and ground
next day, and enjoyed the two finest drinks of coffee we remember having had in our lives.
Meanwhile we had started cooking our food for the sea voyage. It was to consist of small chupatties
and porridge, but the latter would not be cooked until the latest possible date for fear of its going bad.
Forty reserve chupatties had been set aside before we retired to rest on the night after the feast-day.
From that day onwards till we left the ravine the coffee-grinder was worked unceasingly from 5 A.M. till
7 or 8 P.M. There was no question of a six hours' day for us; for while we ground flour and porridge for
the reserve, we had still to provide our own meals for the day. We realised then, if never before, the
truth of the saying, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."
Little of the 8th September had passed before we realised that it was hopeless to think of being ready
by the following night. We therefore postponed the attempt, and settled down to our preparations in
more deadly earnest. Cochrane decided on the size and shape of the sails, which were to be three in
number. The rolls of cloth obtained from the village were about fourteen inches in width, and the
biggest of the three sails was made with seven strips of the cloth. It was a good thing that we had still
two big reels nearly untouched of the thread with which we had started from Yozgad.
When the strips had been sewn together, the edges of the sail were hemmed. Later, pieces of canvas
from Ellis's pack, which was cut up for the purpose, were added at the corners for the sake of additional
strength. No one had a moment to spare. Those who were not sail-making were doing something else,
—either at the mill, at work on the paddles, cutting branches off trees for the spars, fetching water, or
cooking.
September 9th was similarly spent, but again on this day it soon became obvious that we should not be
ready by nightfall. By the time we retired to our sleeping-places, however, our preparations were well
advanced. Two of the sails were finished, the spars were cut, some of the paddles were completed, and
the larger part of the chupatties and porridge cooked. The porridge was put into one of our packs. It
was not a very clean receptacle, but being fairly waterproof would, we hoped, help to keep the porridge
moist; for our chief fear with regard to the coming sea voyage was shortage of water.
On the 10th we worked continuously from daylight till 3.30 P.M., by which time our preparations were
complete. Before moving off we hid away all non-essentials, so as to reduce our loads. With the big
cooking-pot half-full of water, and the spars, sails, and paddles, these were going to be both heavy and
cumbersome. We also buried our fezes and the copies of the map, lest, if we were recaptured, they
should encourage the Turks to think that we were spies. For the same reason, any allusions to what we
had seen on the coast, and to our visits to the deserted village, were carefully erased from diaries.
These precautions completed, we carried our unwieldy loads down the ravine to a point opposite the
shorter path to the wells. Here we left our impedimenta, and taking only water-bottles, chargals, and
the big cooking-pot, which had a cover and swing-handle, climbed up to the well near the tower and
filled up. The water supply was almost exhausted, and it took an hour and a half to fill our receptacles
and have a drink. It was impossible to practise the camel's plan, and drink more than we really needed
at the time. It required a tremendous effort to force oneself to drink a mugful of these muddy dregs.
While the rest were filling the water-bottles, &c., Old Man and Nobby went off to a suitable point for a
final look at part of our proposed route to the shore. Then all returned to the kits in the ravine. We had
decided that we would move down to the beach in stockinged feet, so as to make as little noise as
possible. For most of us this was not only a precaution, but a necessity, since our party of eight now
only possessed three pairs of wearable boots between us. We accordingly padded our feet as best we
could, and proceeded once more towards the sea.
The going was so difficult that we had several times to help one another over the enormous boulders
which filled the bottom of the ravine, and down precipitous places where there had once been small
waterfalls.
At 7 P.M. we were not far from the mouth of the ravine. Here, then, the party halted, while Nobby, who
had been there on two previous occasions, scouted ahead. When he returned, reporting that all seemed
to be clear, we crept on out of the ravine. It was now night. Walking very carefully, testing each footstep
for fear of treading on a twig or loose stone and so making a noise, we came to a wall. This we crossed
at a low place where it had been partially broken down, and a hundred yards beyond found ourselves
approaching a line of telegraph poles and then the coast road. Up and down this we peered in the light
of the young moon, and seeing no one went across. The ground here was level, but covered with big
bushes and a few stunted firs, between which we made our way to the shore. It was grand to hear the
lapping of the waves and smell the seaweed after nearly four years.
The creek, in which were the two rowing-boats, lay a mile to the west of us. We had intended to strike
the shore where we were, for by walking to the creek along the edge of the sea the risk of stumbling
against any tents or huts in the dark would be reduced; but it took us longer to reach our objective than
we had expected. It was almost midnight when, a quarter of a mile from the creek, and near a place
where a boat could be brought conveniently alongside, the party halted. Leaving the others here,
Cochrane and Johnny were to try to seize one of the two boats marked down four nights previously, and
Nobby was to accompany them in case they needed help.
The shore line, which they now followed, rose rapidly to a steep cliff forty feet or more above the level
of the sea. When within a hundred yards of the boat which they wanted, they found a way down to a
narrow ledge two feet above the water. The moon had long set, but they could see the boat as a dark
shadow against the water reflecting the starlight. Here, then, Cochrane and Johnny proceeded to strip.
They continued, however, to wear a couple of pairs of socks in case the bottom should be covered with
sharp spikes, as had been the rocky edge of the shore for the most part. They tied two pieces of thin
rope round their waists with a clasp-knife attached to each. Thus equipped, they let themselves down
off the ledge, and slipped quietly into the sea. Fortunately the water was warm; but it was
phosphorescent too, so they had to swim very slowly to avoid making any unnecessary ripple.
As they neared the boat, which now loomed big above them, some one in the shadow of the cliff a few
yards away coughed. Next moment they heard the butt of a rifle hitting a rock as the sentry (for such
he must have been) shifted his position. Hardly daring to breathe, they swam to the side of the boat
farther from him and held on to it. Here the water was about six feet deep. After waiting a few minutes
to let any suspicions on the part of the sentry subside, they moved along to the bow of the boat.
They had hoped to find it anchored by a rope, but to their great disappointment it was moored with a
heavy iron chain. Speaking in very low whispers, they decided that one should go under the water and
lift the anchor, while the other, with his piece of rope, tied one of the flukes to a link high up in the
chain. When the anchor was thus raised clear of the bottom, they would swim quietly away, towing the
boat. Accordingly, Cochrane dived and lifted the anchor, while Johnny tied his rope round a fluke and
made it fast to a link as far up the chain as possible. They then let go.
With what seemed to them a terrific noise, the chain rattled over the gunwale till the anchor was once
more on the bottom. Were they discovered? Another cough! They did not dare to move. Could the plash
of the water lapping against the sides of the creek have muffled the sound of the rattling chain? If only
the chain had been fixed! But perhaps a short length only had been loose.
Another attempt was made. This time it was Johnny who lifted the anchor, while Cochrane tied his rope
to it. Unfortunately he had the rope still round his waist, and when the anchor dropped he was carried
down with it. How lucky that he had his clasp-knife! For though he was free in a few seconds, he came
to the surface spluttering out the water he had swallowed. It was a near thing that he was not
drowned. Where, meantime, was the anchor? Little did they realise that it was lying once more on the
bottom and laughing at their efforts to carry off the quarry that night.
Some point of the chain, of course, must be attached to the boat, but it was risky to continue getting
rid of the spare length by the present method. Besides, there was no more rope with which to tie up
the anchor to the chain. As for getting into the boat and weighing anchor from there, it would be sheer
madness. The sentry would be certain to see them, naked and wet as they were.
By this time they were both shivering violently with cold, though, as has been said, the water was quite
warm. As a last attempt they tried to take the boat out to the end of the chain by swimming away with
it farther from the sentry. Again the chain rattled over the gunwale, and there was nothing for it but to
admit defeat.
Slowly they swam back to the ledge where Nobby was awaiting them. He said they had been away for
an hour and twenty minutes, so it was not surprising that they had felt cold. With numbed fingers they
put on their clothes and climbed gloomily up the cliff. By this time the walking over sharp rocks had cut
their socks and padding to pieces, so that they were marching almost barefoot, a very painful operation.
On their rejoining the party, the sad tale of failure was told. As the time was 3 A.M., the only thing to do
was to get into the best cover we could find near the coast and sleep till dawn. About a hundred yards
inland we lay down in some small bushes beneath stunted pine-trees. There we slept.
Our thirty-fifth morning found us in a state of great depression. There seemed no chance left of getting
out of the country. Lying in our hiding-places we reviewed the situation in an almost apathetic mood.
We were on the eastern side of a W-shaped bay, a mile wide, and opening southwards. Its eastern arm
was the creek, in which was the boat we had failed to capture. There was a similar western arm, the
two creeks being separated by a narrow spit of land. From quite early in the morning motor-lorries
could be seen and heard winding their way along the tortuous road. In several places this closely
followed the coast line, and at one or two was carried on causeways across the sea itself. We lay on a
headland on the seaward side of the Turkish encampment, and were overlooked by the look-out post on
the cliff-side.
At noon a council of war was held. As we were lying dotted about some distance from one another, for
the time being we all crept into an old shelter made of branches, not many yards from us. There
matters were discussed. Although several schemes were put forward, going back to the ravine in which
we had spent so many wearisome days was not one of them. To return there would have made us into
raving lunatics. The final decision was to make another attempt that night to seize the boat; this time
there should be four of us in the water. If that failed, about the most attractive proposal was to go
boldly on to the coast road and by bluff obtain a lift on a motor-lorry, demanding as Germans to be
taken in a westerly direction to the nearest big town, Selefké: we might get a boat of some sort there.
The chief lure of this scheme was that, should the lorry-driver believe our story, we should cover a few
miles without walking on our flat feet. This was a fascinating thought indeed, for despite nearly a
fortnight on the coast we had no wish to set out on the tramp again.
Two or three of us, however, thought we might sum up the energy to march eastwards along the road
in the hope of finding a boat in the bay of Ayasch. But even if we did this there was still the difficulty
about food and drink. Unless we replenished our supply we should have to undertake a sea voyage of at
least a hundred miles with only two days' rations and perhaps a water-bottle full of water apiece. The
consensus of opinion was thus come to that if we failed again that night we might as well give ourselves
up the next day. We then went back into our old and safer hiding-places.
At about two o'clock in the afternoon we heard the sound of a far-off motor. This was no lorry. It came
from a different direction. In a few seconds we were all listening intently.
"It's only another lorry after all!"
"No, it can't be. It's on the sea side of us!"
As the minutes passed, the noise became more and more distinct. Then our hearts leapt within us, as
there came into the bay, towing a lighter and a dinghy, the motor-tug which we had last seen the day
after we had reached the coast. Skirting the shore not three hundred yards from where we lay, the
boats disappeared into the eastern creek.
Apathy and depression were gone in a second. Excitement and—this we like to remember—a deep
sense of thankfulness for this answer to our prayers took their place.
The motor-boat was flying at her bows a Turkish and at her stern a German flag, but most of her crew
of seven or eight looked to us like Greeks. In the lighter were over twenty Turks.
Another council of war took place, but of a very different type from the last. All were hopeful, and we
made our plans in high spirits. Throughout our discussion, however, ran the assumption that some of
the crew would be on board the motor-boat, and we should have to bribe them to take us across to
Cyprus. It never entered our heads for a moment that any other scheme would be possible. In fact,
when about an hour before sunset the dinghy with a few of the crew and some water-beakers on board
was rowed across to a point opposite us on the western side of the bay (where there must have been a
spring of fresh water), we determined to hail them on their return journey.
At one point they came within three hundred yards of us. In answer to our shouting and whistling, they
stopped rowing and looked in our direction. They must have seen us, but they refused to take any
further notice. Whom did they take us for? And why did they not report our presence when they went
ashore? No one came to search for us; and as the mountain had not come to Mahomet, Mahomet
would have to go to the mountain. Some one would have to swim out to the boat that night, and
proffer bribes to the crew.
As the dusk of our thirty-sixth night fell, a ration of chupatties and a couple of handfuls of raisins were
issued. A move was then made to the nearest point on the shore at which there was a suitable place for
a boat to come alongside. There we waited till the moon set at about 8.30. In the meantime we drank
what water remained in the big dixie. This left us with only our water-bottles full.
At this time our best Turkish scholar was feeling very sick. The last scrapings from the pack containing
the porridge had fallen to him, and as all of it had turned sour during the previous night, Grunt's extra
ration was proving a not unmixed blessing. This was a serious matter, as we relied on him to negotiate
with the motor-boat's crew. However, at 9 P.M., he and Cochrane, the Old Man and Nobby, set forth on
the last great venture. The others moved all the kit close down to the edge of the rock where a boat
could come in.
An anxious wait ensued. The four had set out at 9 o'clock, but it was not till 11.30 that Looney, with his
last reserve—half a biscuit—gone, saw a boat coming silently towards him. In a trice the other three
were awakened. Was it friend or foe? She had four men on board: they were our four. The moment the
boat touched at the rock the kit was thrown in. Cochrane had done magnificent work. He had swum
round the creek, found out that there was no one in the motor-boat, cut away the dinghy belonging to
the lighter, swum back with it, and fetched the other three.
Eight hopeful fugitives were soon gently paddling the dinghy towards the creek, keeping, so far as
might be, in the shadow of the cliffs; for though the moon was down, the stars seemed to make the
open bay unpleasantly light. As noiselessly as possible the dinghy came alongside the motor-boat and
made fast. The creek here was about sixty yards wide. The tug, moored by a heavy chain and anchor,
was in the middle of it. Some fifteen yards away was the lighter; on this were several men, one of
whom was coughing the whole time we were "cutting out" the motor-boat. This took us a full hour.
On trying the weight of the chain and anchor, Cochrane decided to loose the motor-boat from her
anchorage by dropping the chain overboard. He did not think it would be possible to weigh the anchor.
Odd lengths of cord were collected and joined up in readiness for lowering the end of the chain silently
when the time came. But success was not to be attained so easily. Boarding the motor-boat, Nobby and
Perce had, foot by foot, got rid of almost all the chain which lay in the bows, when another score of
fathoms were discovered below deck. It would be quicker, after all, to weigh anchor, and by
superhuman efforts this was at length achieved without attracting the attention of the enemy, our coats
and shirts being used as padding over the gunwale.
 From a photograph by Mrs Houstoun taken at Kyrenia, Cyprus.
THE MOTOR BOAT.
As soon as the anchor was weighed, we connected the motor-boat with the dinghy by a tow-rope found
on the former; all got back into the dinghy, and in this we paddled quietly away. With our home-made
paddles and heavy tow we were unable to make much headway. With six paddles in the water, we could
credit ourselves with a speed of not so much as a single knot.
Once clear of the bay, Cochrane again went aboard the motor-boat and this time had a look at the
engine. We had remaining at this time about an inch of candle, but this served a very useful purpose.
By its glimmer Cochrane was able to discover and light a hurricane-lamp. He told us the joyous news
that there was a fair quantity of paraffin in the tank. Unfortunately no petrol was to be found, and it
seemed unlikely that we should be able to start the engine from cold on paraffin alone. So weak indeed
were we, that it was all we could do to turn over the engine at all. While frantic efforts were being
made by Cochrane and Nobby to start her, those in the dinghy continued paddling. After three hours all
were very tired of it, and very grateful for a slight off-shore breeze which gave us the chance of setting
a sail. Cochrane rigged up our main-sail on the motor-boat; all then clambered aboard the latter.
Our speed was now quite good and many times that of our most furious paddling. Suddenly looking
back, we saw the dinghy adrift and disappearing in the darkness behind us. Whoever had been holding
the rope at the dinghy end had omitted to make fast on coming on board the motor-boat. The dinghy
still contained all our kit; so to recover this, including as it did what food and water remained to us,
Cochrane and Johnny jumped overboard and swam back to it. The sail on the motor-boat had been
furled, and in a few minutes the dinghy was again in tow.
After this slight misadventure the engine-room was once more invaded, and Looney and Cochrane
experimented with the magneto. There was a loose wire and vacant terminal which they were uncertain
whether to connect or not. Eventually, with Nobby turning over the engine, a shock was obtained with
the two disconnected. Two were now put on to the starting-handle. But the cramped space produced
several bruised heads and nothing else as pair after pair struggled on.
At length at 4.30 A.M., little more than an hour before dawn, the engine started up with a roar, in went
the clutch, and off went the motor-boat at a good seven knots. At the time when the engine began
firing, Nobby, who was feeling very much the worse for his exertions in weighing anchor followed by his
efforts to start the motor, was lying on deck in the stern. Startled by the sudden series of explosions, he
thought for a moment that a machine-gun had opened fire at short range, till he discovered that he was
lying on the exhaust-pipe, the end of which was led up on deck!
 CHAPTER XV.
FREEDOM.
We reckoned that by this time we were some three miles from the creek, so we could hope that the
roar of the engine would be inaudible to those on shore. On the other hand, sunrise on the 12th
September was a little before 6 A.M., so that dawn should have found us still within view from the land.
A kindly mist, however, came down and hid us till we were well out to sea. As soon as it was light
enough we tried to declutch in order to transfer our kit from the dinghy to the tug. But the clutch was in
bad order and would not come out. The alternative was to haul up the dinghy level with the tug, with
the motor still running, and then to transfer all our goods and chattels on to the deck. It was a difficult
task, but it was done. We then turned the dinghy adrift. This meant the gain of an additional two knots.
It now seemed as if our troubles really were nearing their end. The engine was running splendidly, the
main tank was full to the brim; there was enough and to spare of lubricating oil, and in a barrel lashed
to the deck in the stern was found some more paraffin. A beaker contained sufficient water to give us
each a mugful. It was brackish, but nectar compared to the well-water which we had been drinking for
the last fortnight. We also allowed ourselves some chupatties and a handful of raisins.
Our principal fear now was of being chased by one of the seaplanes which we thought to be stationed
at Mersina, not many miles away. We had seen one on two occasions during our stay in the ravine.
Time went on, however, and nothing appeared. Instead of looking behind us for a seaplane we began
to look ahead, hoping to come across one of our own patrol boats. It says much for the deserted
condition of those waters that during our fortnight on the coast and our voyage of about 120 miles to
Cyprus not a single boat was seen save those five that we had seen in the creek.
Discussing the matter of the discovery of the loss of the motor-boat and the subsequent action of the
crew, we came to the cheerful conclusion that probably the loss would not be divulged to the authorities
for a considerable period. The rightful crew would know what to expect as a punishment for their
carelessness, and would either perjure themselves by swearing that the boats had sunk at their
moorings, or thinking discretion even better than perjury, disappear into the deserted hinterland
through which we had marched. Should these two guesses be wrong, there was yet another course
which we thought possible, though not so probable, for the crew to take. Thinking that the motor-boat
and dinghy had drifted away, they would not mention their disappearance till a thorough search had
been made of all bays and creeks within a few miles of the locality.
The cherry of this delightful cocktail of fancy was very palatable; whatever else happened, the
occupants of the lighter, agitated to the extreme and dinghyless, would have to swim ashore, and this
thought amused us greatly.[11]
Now for a few words about the motor-boat. She was named the Hertha, and boasted both a Turkish
and a German flag. In addition to her name she had the Turkish symbol for "2" painted large on either
side of her bows. Broad in the beam for her 38 feet of length, she was decked in, and down below
harboured a 50-h.p. motor. In the bows of the engine-room we found a couple of Mauser rifles dated
1915, with a few rounds of small-arm ammunition; some of the latter had the nickel nose filed off to
make them "mushroom" on impact. We also discovered a Very's pistol, with a box of cartridges; trays of
spanners and spare parts for the motor, and two lifebelts taken from English ships whose names we
have forgotten. On deck, immediately abaft the engine-room hatchway, was the steering-wheel, while
farther astern was the barrel containing the extra paraffin, a can of lubricating oil, and various empty
canisters.
Till noon the sea was sufficiently rough to be breaking continually over the bows, and three of the party
were feeling the effect of the roll. To the rest, to be thus rocked in the cradle of the deep, borne ever
nearer to freedom, was a sensation never to be forgotten. The motor was going splendidly, and we all
took turns at the wheel, steering by the "sun-compass," and, with the exception of Cochrane, very
badly.
By 1.30 P.M. we could recognise the dim outline of the high mountain-range of Cyprus: on the strength
of this we each ate another two chupatties and a handful of raisins, finishing our meal with a quarter of
a mugful of water.
But we were a trifle premature in our lavishness. Our troubles were not at an end, for half an hour later
the engine began to fail, and, while Cochrane was below looking for the cause of the trouble, she
petered out. The fault was subsequently traced to the over-heating of one of the main shaft bearings,
the oil feed-pipe to which had been previously broken, and had vibrated from its place. Having satisfied
himself that no serious damage was done, Cochrane decided to wait half an hour for the bearing to
cool. During this time Old Man and Looney had a mid-sea bathe to refresh themselves, while Perce and
Johnny tried to boil some water for tea. The fire was made on an iron sheet, on which some bights of
chain were shaped into a cooking place for the big dixie. The roll of the boat, however, though very
much less than in the morning, proved too great to allow the dixie to remain steady on the chain, so the
idea of tea had to be abandoned. We now had leisure to observe the sea, and we decided that its
colour was the most wonderful we had ever seen—a clear purple-blue.
When the bearing had cooled, we tried to start the engine again. One pair followed another on the
starting-handle, but all to no purpose. All four sparking-plugs were examined: the feed-pipe, separator,
and carburetter were taken down. Except for a little water in the separator, all seemed correct. We
refilled the tank with paraffin from the barrel on deck, but our renewed attempts still met with no
success. Our efforts to turn the crank became more and more feeble, until, by 4.30 P.M., we lay down
on deck utterly exhausted.
Just before sunset we decided we would make a final attempt to start up. Should that be unsuccessful,
we would set the sails; but to our great relief she fired at the second attempt. Our joy was somewhat
tempered by her refusing to run for more than a few minutes at a time. It was found that this was
caused by the feed-pipe from the tank repeatedly choking, owing, no doubt, to grit in the oil obtained
from the barrel, which, as we had noticed when pouring it in, was very dirty.
After dark, Cochrane did all the steering; while down in the engine-room were Looney as mechanic, and
Old Man and Johnny as starters. Meantime, Perce sat on deck with his feet through the hatchway
against the clutch-lever below him. By jamming this hard down, and tapping the clutch with a hammer,
it was possible to persuade the cones to separate when required. For over four hours we spent our time
starting and stopping. Our two best runs lasted for thirty and thirty-five minutes. Usually a run lasted for
five or less. We took it in turns to tap the feed-pipe with a piece of wood, in the hope of keeping it from
clogging; but it was of little use. Each time the engines stopped, Looney took down the separator and
feed-pipe and blew through them, getting a mouthful of paraffin for his pains. When all was ready
again, the two starters, though almost dead-beat, managed somehow to turn the crank.
By 10 P.M. we were becoming desperate. It was only Cochrane's cheering news that we were within two
hours' run of the coast that kept the engine-room staff going. A run of five minutes meant a mile nearer
home, so we carried on.
An hour later, Cochrane told us all to sit on the starboard side, for it was on this side that the feed-pipe
left the tank. This was sheer genius on his part. From that very moment the wilful engine behaved
herself, and ran obediently till we meant her to stop. As we neared the coast, at a distance, perhaps, of
three miles from it, Nobby fired off a Very's light, in case there were any patrol boats in the
neighbourhood; but no answering light appeared. Next day, in Cyprus, we asked the police if they had
seen the light. They had not seen it, they said, but had heard it. This proves how wonderfully sound
travels over water, for we would not for one second doubt a policeman's story. But, as is hardly
necessary to point out, a Very's signal, like little children, should be seen and not heard.
Having had only our memories of the bearing and distance to Cyprus from Rendezvous X to guide us,
we had worked out in the ravine that the bearing on which we had to steer would be S. 50° W. On
sighting the island in the afternoon, we had found that this was too much to the west; so Cochrane had
altered the course to make for the western end of the high range of mountains visible about due south
of us. When about two miles from the shore we turned eastwards, and moved parallel to the coast, on
the look-out for a good anchorage, if possible near a village. Finally, about a hundred yards from the
shore, we dropped anchor in a wide bay.
On leaving Yozgad each of the party had possessed a watch, but by this time only two were in working
order, and these were Old Man's and Johnny's. As the chain rattled over the side, the latter looked at
the time, to find that the hand once more pointed to the witching hour of midnight. This timepiece
served its purpose well, for it was not till an hour later, when it had ceased to be so essential, that it
shared the fate of most of its comrades and was broken. It was interesting to find later, on comparing
the Old Man's watch with Cyprus time, that there was only two minutes' difference between them. We
had checked our time occasionally by noticing when one of the "pointers" of the Great Bear was
vertically beneath the Pole Star; the solar time when this occurred on any night had been worked out
before we left Yozgad. Fairly accurate time-keeping was of importance, for on this depended the
successful use of both the "sun-compass" and the star-charts.
And so we had reached Cyprus, but we were all in too dazed a condition to realise for the moment what
it meant; in fact, it took many days to do so. On arrival in the bay, Cochrane, with his keen sense of
smell, had declared that there were cows not far off, and at about 3 o'clock we heard a cock crow. We
said we would eat our hats, or words to that effect, if we did not have that bird for breakfast. There was
not a single light on shore, and we had no idea whereabouts in Cyprus we had dropped anchor. As the
stars disappeared in the coming light of dawn, we saw the coast more clearly. Then by degrees what we
thought were ruins on the coast, rocks a couple of hundred yards east of us took form; later these
proved to be the still occupied Greek monastery of Acropedi. Then a house or two near by stood
distinct; then trees; and finally our eyes beheld not a mile away a large village, boasting churches,
mosques, and fine buildings set in trees, and beyond a mountain-range rising sheer from the very
houses.
With the first light came a man to the beach opposite us. We shouted to him in English, French, and
Turkish, but he appeared not to understand. Soon he was joined by two or three others. Then they
started arriving in tens and twenties, men, women, and children. Mounted gendarmes galloped down.
We shouted ourselves hoarse, but to no purpose. We tried several times to start up the motor, but we
could not turn the handle. Finally Cochrane jumped overboard in a shirt borrowed for the occasion, as it
was longer and less torn than his own. He must have felt still rather undressed for the ordeal, as when
he reached the water he shouted for his hat, which was thrown to him. Clothed thus he swam towards
the shore. In two feet of water his courage gave way, and his modesty made him sit down. So situated
he harangued the crowd.
Finally there appeared a gendarme who understood English. He said there was an English police officer
in the village, which was named Lapethos; so borrowing a pencil and a piece of paper, Cochrane wrote
a note to the Englishman reporting our arrival. He explained to the gendarme that we wanted to bring
the boat ashore, but that we could not start the engine. When this was understood several men at once
stripped and swam out to the rest of us. Cochrane came back smoking a cigarette, which he passed
round when he got on board. The Cypriotes too brought cigarettes perched behind their ear like a
clerk's pencil, and these we smoked with great appreciation. The scheme was for us to weigh the
anchor, give the men towing-ropes, and they would then pull the boat inshore. The men, though small,
were well built. As they had started swimming almost before they could walk, it was no hardship for
them to tow our heavy vessel. Laughing and shouting, they pulled us along until they thought a rest
would be pleasant, then they came on board again. They shouted now and then in sheer lightness of
heart; they were very cheery fellows. We were not towed straight inshore, but to a small natural jetty a
hundred and fifty yards west of us along the beach.
Here we stepped on British soil, eight thin and weary ragamuffins. We know our hearts gave thanks to
God, though our minds could not grasp that we were really free.
Our story is nearly at an end, though we have yet to bring our eight travellers to England. Should our
already distressed readers hope against hope that the two authors will be torpedoed long before
arriving there, we will put an end to any such fond anticipations by telling them truthfully that we were
not. In order, however, to soothe in a small way their injured feelings, let us divulge the fact that we,
with all but two of the party, spent several days ill in hospital before we reached home. One nearly died
from malignant malaria, doubtless caused by the bites of the mosquitoes on the Turkish coast.
Having given the reader this sop we will continue. Surrounded by a large but kindly crowd, we sat down
on the rocks above the natural jetty on which we had landed, and waited for an answer to Cochrane's
note. In the meanwhile a gift arrived from the monastery: a basket containing bread, cheese, olives,
and pomegranates. No larks' tongues, nor the sunny halves of peaches, have ever been so welcome,
and we had a wonderful meal, finishing with clean sweet water and cigarettes.
About half an hour later an officer, in what looked to us then extraordinarily smart uniform, came down
to see why this crowd had collected, and on hearing our story conducted us to the village. The road led
through orchards whose trees were heavy with pomegranates and figs; past vineyards and banana
palms, tobacco plants and cotton. Everywhere we could see the signs of a fertile prosperous land, and it
struck us forcibly how different it all was from the barren tracts through which we had toiled down to
the coast of Asia Minor. No more vivid testimony could be borne to the contrast between British and
Turkish sovereignty.
The officer with us did not belong to the police, but was on survey work in the island. We were taken,
however, to the barracks of the Cyprus Mounted Police, and here, seated on chairs on the verandah, we
were given coffee with sugar in it. Everything seemed wonderful. We could smoke as much as we
wanted, and the barracks were scrupulously clean and tidy. One by one we went into the garden near a
whitewashed well, and were shaved by one of the C.M.P. After a good wash we brushed our hair for the
first time for five weeks. All that time we had had to be satisfied with a comb. As soon as Lieutenant S
—— of the Police arrived, we were taken upstairs to have breakfast, and right royally did we feast. The
meal ended, we were given the 'Lapethos Echo,' which contained Haig's and Foch's communiqués of the
9th September. These too were wonderful, and we were greatly amazed by the change which had come
over the main battle front since we saw the last paper at Yozgad before we left; then the Germans
were, so we were told, about to enter Paris.
After breakfast a hot bath and clean clothes were provided for each of us, our rags being collected in a
corner with a view to their cremation. A Greek doctor anointed us with disinfectant and bandaged
anything we had in the way of sores or cuts.
At about 3 P.M. two carriages arrived and our triumphal progress continued. We first paid a final visit to
the motor-boat, collecting our few trophies in the way of rifles and flags. This done, we were driven to
Kyrenia, a coast town eight or nine miles to the east of us: the police officer and Greek doctor stopping
the carriages at every roadside inn to regale us with Turkish delight and iced water. At Kyrenia we were
expected by the British residents, who accommodated us for the night and treated us with the truest
British hospitality.
Our sensations on finding ourselves once more between sheets in a spring-bed are more easily
imagined than described. Late next morning, after a bathe in the sea and when many snapshots of the
party had been taken, we were driven off in a motor-lorry, by Captain G—— of the A.S.C., to
Famagusta, the port of Cyprus on the eastern coast. It was an eighty-mile drive, and what with stopping
at Nikosia for lunch and at Larnaka for tea, we did not reach Famagusta and the mess of the Royal
Scots, who had kindly offered us a home, till 9 P.M.
All the recollections of our four-days' stay in Cyprus are of the pleasantest description, as were those
also of our voyage to Egypt in two French trawlers. As much cannot be said of the fortnight we spent in
Port Saïd, where we passed the first night sleeping on the sand in a transit camp and most of the rest in
hospital: nor of our ten days in a troop-train crossing Italy and France. During this time we learnt—what
perhaps we needed to be taught—that we were after all the least important people in the world. But to
tell of these adventures in detail would be to fill another book. Suffice it to say that we were sustained
by a few comic episodes. On one occasion, in Italy, we spent five minutes talking Italian, based on
slender memories of school-day Latin, to men in another troop-train, before we discovered that they
were Frenchmen. On another, in France, we remember opening a conversation in French with our
engine-driver, who proved to be an American.
At length, on the 16th October 1918, five of our party reached England together, preceded by Cochrane,
who had managed to arrange for a seat in a "Rapide" across Europe, and followed by the Old Man and
Nobby, who had had to remain in hospital in Egypt for another fortnight.
Soon after arrival in England, each of us had the very great honour of being individually received by His
Majesty the King. His kindly welcome and sympathetic interest in what we had gone through will ever
remain a most happy recollection.
Finally, we arranged a dinner for all our party, the date fixed being 11th November. This, as it turned
out, was Armistice Night, and with that night of happy memories and a glimpse of the eight companions
once again united, we will draw the tale of our adventures to a close.

FOOTNOTE:
[11] The following is an extract from a letter received from Lieut.-Colonel Keeling since we wrote
the above: "At Adana I met the Turkish Miralai (= Brigadier-General)—Beheddin Bey—who was in
command on the coast. He was fully expecting the party [i.e., our party], and put all the blame on
the men in the boat [i.e., the lighter] to which the motor-boat was tied. These men were all Turks,
the Germans being on shore. The loss of the motor-boat was discovered before dawn, and at dawn
a hydroplane was sent out to look for her; but she only spotted a small boat a few miles out,
presumably the boat with which they had towed the motor-boat to a safe distance before starting
the engine. Beheddin Bey drew me a plan showing exactly how everything had happened."
 CHAPTER XVI.
CONCLUSION.
There is one note, however, which we feel we must add before laying down our pens. Many of our
readers will have already realised that there was something more than mere luck about our escape. St
Paul, alluding to his adventures in almost the very same region as that traversed by us, describes
experiences very like our own. Like him, we were "in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of
robbers, ... in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea,
... in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and
nakedness."
To be at large for thirty-six days before escaping from the country, to have been so frequently seen,
sometimes certainly to have aroused suspicion, and yet to have evaded recapture, might perhaps be
attributed to Turkish lack of organisation. Our escape from armed villagers; our discovery of wells in the
desert, of grain in an abandoned farmhouse, and of the water (which just lasted out our stay) in the
ruined wells on the coast; and finally, the timely reappearance of the motor-tug with all essential
supplies for the sea voyage—any one even of these facts, taken alone, might possibly be called "luck,"
or a happy coincidence; taken in conjunction with one another, however, they compel the admission
that the escape of our party was due to a higher Power.
It would seem as if it were to emphasise this that on at least three occasions, when everything seemed
to be going wrong, in reality all was working out for our good. Our meeting with and betrayal by the
two "shepherds" ought, humanly speaking, to have proved fatal to the success of our venture: we had
thrown away valuable food, and were committed to crossing a desert which previously, without a guide,
we had looked upon as an impassable obstacle. And yet we know now that it would have been entirely
beyond us to have reached the coast by the route which we had mapped out to Rendezvous X, and that
it was only the deflection from our proposed route caused by this rencontre which brought the land
journey within our powers of endurance. It was the same when we were forced, against our will, to
replenish supplies at a village; the breakdown of one of the party which compelled us to do so
undoubtedly saved us from making an impossible attempt to reach the coast with the food which
remained at the time. Still more remarkable was our failure to take the rowing-boat on the night of
10th/11th September, which resulted in the motor-tug falling into our hands and being the final means
of our escape on the night following.
We feel then that it was Divine intervention which brought us through. Throughout the preparations for
escape every important step had been made a matter of prayer; and when the final scheme was
settled, friends in England were asked, by means of a code message, to intercede for its success. That
message, we now know, was received and very fully acted upon. We had also friends in Turkey who
were interceding for us; and on the trek it was more than once felt that some one at home or in Turkey
was remembering us at the time. To us then the hand of Providence was manifest in our escape, and
we see in it an answer to prayer. Our way, of course, might have been made smoother, but perhaps in
that case we should not have learnt the same lessons of dependence upon God. As it was, it was made
manifest to us that, even in these materialistic days, to those who can have faith, "the Lord's hand is
not shortened, that it cannot save."

PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS.

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