17 Jul 07
Originally posted by yofidawgYou know... that's pretty nasty because people can walk into that without even realizing there's a catch some where.
Game 3797933
Why don't more people play this opening?
17 Jul 07
Originally posted by yofidawgwhat if black plays the standard 2...Bc5? its not the same game then
Agreed, I probably wouldn't have seen that coming either 😀
The main line is 1.e4 d5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4. No matter what black plays (except 3...Nc6 which transposes to the TND) white gets a free, aggressive game in the center. I'll post some more good ones soon.
17 Jul 07
Originally posted by ChessJesterThat is true. White can play Nc3 or Nf3 and continue play.
what if black plays the standard 2...Bc5? its not the same game then
The problem with 2...Bc5 is that black's kingside is vulnerable
3.Nc3. If black plays 3...Nf3 white can play something like 4. f4!? or 4. d3 and be fine. If black plays 3...Nc6 white plays 4. Qg4 and is somewhat better.
17 Jul 07
Originally posted by ChessJesterI think an early ...Bc5 is a good plan vs. the Urosov.
what if black plays the standard 2...Bc5? its not the same game then
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A little Doctor Rat analysis for you to chew on and improve upon:
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1.e4 e5
2.Bc4 Nf6
Playing an immediate 2...Bc5 will likely transpose to the Italian Game though there are some independent variations.
3.d4 exd4!?
(a) 3...Nc6 4.d5 Na5 5.Be2! (5.Bd3 c6 6.a3 cxd5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.0-0 Be7 10.c4 Nf6 11.Nc3 d6=) 5...Nxe4 6.Nf3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.c3 b5!? 9.Nxe5 d6 10.Nf3 a6 +/= as White keeps an edge due to his space advantage and Black's awkwardly placed a5-knight.
(b) 3...Nxe4 4.dxe5 Nc5 5.Nf3 d6 6.Nc3 Be6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.Qxd5 Nbd7 11.b4 Nf6 (11...Nb6?! gives up too much space on the kingside after 12.Qxf7+ Qxf7 13.Bxf7 Kxf7 14.bxc5 dxc5 15.Ng5+ Kg6 16.h4 Kf5 17.0-0-0 Rhe8 18.g4+ Kxe5 19.Rd3 Kf6 20.Nxh7+ Kg6 21.Ng5 +/- and White holds a definite edge due to more space, the advanced 3-on-1 kingside mobile pawn majority, and the better developed pieces.) 12.Qxf7+ Qxf7 13.Bxf7+ Kxf7 14.exf6 Rhe8+ 15.Kf1 Ne4 16.fxg7 Kxg7 17.h4 b5!? (Black wants to play his pawn to this square before White does, as in: 17...a5 18.b5 c6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Rb1 Rab8 21.Rxb8 Rxb8 22.Ke2 Rb2 23.a3 Rxc2+ 24.Kd3 Nxf2+ 25.Kxc2 Nxh1 26.Kb3 +/- and White's king will snag the black pawn on a5, giving himself a passed a-pawn and Black will be under some pressure to deal with this threat.) 18.a4 a5 19.axb5 axb4 20.Rxa8 Rxa8 21.Ke2 Nc3+ 22.Kd3 Nxb5 23.Kc4 Rb8 24.Re1 c5 25.Re7+ Kg6 26.Kd5 h5= and Black should be fine.
4.Nf3 Bc5
Other playable options are 4...Nxe4, 4...Bb4+, and 4...Nc6, but we wanted to look at the early ...Bc5 option.
5.0-0
I don't think 5.e5?! is effective based upon 5...d5 6.exf6 dxc4 7.fxg7 Rg8 8.Bg5 Be7 9.h4 Nc6 10.0-0 Rxg7 11.Re1 Be6 -/+ and Black seems to have the advantage with an extra pawn, a half-open g-file to pressure White's king, greater central control with his forward c- and d-pawns, better development, and he should be able to keep his king safe with queenside castling.
5. ... Nc6
6.e5 d5
7.Bb5
Certainly a critical variation is 7.exf6 dxc4 8.fxg7 (8.Re1 Kf8 9.Bg5 gxf6 10.Bh6+ Kg8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.Bxf8 Kxf8 13.Nxc4 Be6 with unclear equality, where White has the better pawn structure and Black's king has lost the right to castle and is slightly exposed, gumming up the ability to connect the heavy pieces on the 8th rank. Still, with some clunky maneuvering, Black can try to connect the heavy pieces down the g-file and with Black's long-range minor piece -- the light-squared bishop -- Black should have enough counterplay for equality. Yes? No? Discuss?) 8... Rg8 9.Bg5 (or 9.Re1+ Be7 10.Bg5 Be6 11.Bxe7 transposes) 9...Be7 10.Bxe7 Kxe7 11.Re1+ Be6 12.Re4 d3 13.Nbd2 Qd5 14.Rxc4 Rxg7 15.cxd3 Qxd3 16.Rc3 Qf5 = Black's kingside pawns are split for a long-term weakness, but the half-open g-file gives the second player counterplay against the White king. The position seems balanced.
7... Ne4
8.Nxd4 0-0
9.Bxc6
9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc6 Ba6 11.Qxd5 (11.Re1? Nxf2) 11... Bxf1 12.Qxe4 Bb5 13.Nc3 Bxc6 14.Qxc6 Bd4 15.Bf4 Rb8!?[Palkovi] 16.b3 Qe8 17.Qf3 Rb6 =/+ and White doesn't have enough for his exchange sacrifice. Black has a comfortable edge.
9... bxc6
and now (A) 10.Be3, (B) 10.f3, (C) 10.Nc3.
(A) 10.Be3 Qe8 11.Nd2 Bxd4 12.Bxd4 c5 13.Be3 (13.Nxe4 cxd4 14.Ng5 Qxe5 15.Nf3 Qd6 16.Qxd4 Bf5=/+ and Black has the better minor piece and a good central pawn.) 13...Qxe5 14.Re1 Nxd2 15.Bxc5 Qf4 16.Be3 Nf3+ 17.Qxf3 Qxf3 18.gxf3 Re8= The position is balanced.
(B) 10.f3 f6! (With this move, Black can play for the full point) 11.fxe4 fxe5 12.Rxf8+ Qxf8 13.c3 Qe7 14.Kh1 exd4 15.cxd4 Bb6 16.Nc3 dxe4 -/+ and Black will be pulling for a strong edge with his two-bishops advantage.
(C) 10.Nc3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 f6 Black plays to eliminate White's forward e-pawn, getting rid of any future advance/promotion/counterplay threats from this pawn once and for all. 12.Bf4 fxe5 13.Bxe5 Qd7 14.Re1 Ba6 15.Re3! This rook lift may be caveman chess, but the threats of this rook in combination with the white queen against the black king are what keeps Black from generating counterplay at will. 15...Rae8 16.Qh5 Bd6 17.f4 g6 18.Qh6 c5 19.Nf3 White has to retreat his knight to a square that blocks the lateral movement of his rook, but it can't be helped. 19...d4 20.Ree1 Bb7 21.Ng5 The knight is threateningly close but Black has adequate resources 21...Bxe5 22.fxe5 Rf5 23.Rab1 Bd5 24.Rf1 Rfxe5 25.Rf7 White tries for complications but Black can calmly counter. 25...Bxf7 26.Qxh7+ Kf8 27.Qh8+ Bg8 28.Qf6+ Bf7 and White has no way to avoid the loss unless he goes for perpetual check 29.Qh8+ Bg8 30.Qf6+ Bf7= draw.
Corrections, improvements, found mistakes, and healthy criticism welcome.
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17 Jul 07
Originally posted by yofidawgIn the quoted game, 5...d5 is Black's improvement.
Game 3797933
Why don't more people play this opening?
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