Beating the Petroff

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
Originally posted by buffalobill
[b]In our very average hands, the Cochrane's fine. Just don't play the natural feeling 5. Bc4+ - it goes nowhere...

Aye...
Game 3848447[/b]

After 5...d5! (instead of 5...Ke8?!) white would have no compensation for material.

Originally posted by Korch
After 5...d5! (instead of 5...Ke8?!) white would have no compensation for material.

Yes, but if I try it again I'll go 5.d4 instead of Bc4+ which I think was slightly inaccurate.

At one point I definately thought I had his Q. I was even wrong there. Not such a great game, but my only attempt at the Cochrane gambit.

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
Yes, but if I try it again I'll go 5.d4 instead of Bc4+ which I think was slightly inaccurate.

Yes 5.d4 is more accurate.

Originally posted by buffalobill
In our very average hands, the Cochrane's fine. Just don't play the natural feeling 5. Bc4+ - it goes nowhere - but 5. d4. Best response for black is 5. ... c5 and the first test for your opponent is whether he finds this modern GM theory, which is right. That link above to the Cochrane is quite good. Here's a recent game Game 3755287 played on a k ...[text shortened]... n a rook.
Either way, you're almost guaranteed a result. There's nothing drawish about it.

Game 3755287
I've been meaning to figure out how I could improve on that and my first thought is that 18... a5 is a mistake. Black has the material, but he has to get to a point where it will show and that means freeing the f8 bishop and h8 rook. Instead a5, a4! and the knight has no good spaces.

My original thought was that this would allow Bxc5 easing blacks game, but this gave white too great of an initiative. At this point I am still at a loss for improvements.

Originally posted by zebano
Game 3755287
I've been meaning to figure out how I could improve on that and my first thought is that 18... a5 is a mistake. Black has the material, but he has to get to a point where it will show and that means freeing the f8 bishop and h8 rook. Instead a5, a4! and the knight has no good spaces.

My original thought was that this would allow Bxc5 ea ...[text shortened]... his gave white too great of an initiative. At this point I am still at a loss for improvements.

16. ...b4 was very effective. I'd rather you hadn't played that.
The a-pawn was unnecessary. You really need to set your rook and bishop free. The problem was finding the time.
at 20/21 you had the opportunity to fork the rooks. I can't remember my plan but I was prepared to give one of them up to Queen a pawn. Looking at it now, I can't see how and I think you would have been better off increasing your material advantage.