Two Knights

I recently played black in the following opening:



How would you respond to this?

So? This opening is played many times.

Originally posted by moteutsch
How would you respond to this?

Nd5 followed by Nf4

Originally posted by Thomaster
So? This opening is played many times.

I suspect the OP's question relates to the Bishop retreating to d3 rather than the usual e2.

d3 must be a bad move though. It blocks the d pawn which will make it tougher than it should be to get the Bc1 into the game. A B on d3 may also run into ... e5-e4 at some point.

Development must be the answer. Get your pieces out with moves like ... Bc5 and ... 0-0. Personally I'd hold off on ... Nd5-f4 until it's clear that moving the knight twice is better than pushing the e-pawn (right now I'm not convinced it is). At some point you can hit White's knight with ... h6 and watch it scuttle back to h3.

I like Black in this position.

8..Bc5 threatening 9..Bxf2 10. Kxf2 Ng4+ looks interesting

Am I the only one who thinks just 8. ... h6?

Originally posted by heinzkat
Am I the only one who thinks just 8. ... h6?

8.. h6 9. Ne4

8...Nd5 you are getting the tempo back cos the g5 Knight
is attacked. Then Nf4 the Bishop goes back to f1.
That's it's 4th move in 10 White moves and it's back on f1.

I like Black (I think we all do)- be interesting to see what a box says.
How highly does it rate the extra pawn?