Game 4500946
Are there any merits to 4. ...Nxd4 in the ubove game? I'm not sure how well I played, but that move seemed to weaken his king side somewhat. Also, was 6. e5 a sound move? I thought a while before doing it and it seemed to work but I'm not sure if it should have done. I think there were a few places where black made mistakes, and left his king undefended. Any advice?
Originally posted by Jake EllisonWell I suppose he took the knight in case you took him, thereby doubling his pawns.
Game 4500946
Are there any merits to 4. ...Nxd4 in the ubove game? I'm not sure how well I played, but that move seemed to weaken his king side somewhat. Also, was 6. e5 a sound move? I thought a while before doing it and it seemed to work but I'm not sure if it should have done. I think there were a few places where black made mistakes, and left his king undefended. Any advice?
e5 did double his pawns so I suppose it paid off. I wouldn't have played it because you've giving up control of the centre, your king's exposed and you haven't developed your major pieces.
Originally posted by Jake EllisonI would have played 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.Nc3 e5 9.Qd3.
Game 4500946
Are there any merits to 4. ...Nxd4 in the ubove game? I'm not sure how well I played, but that move seemed to weaken his king side somewhat. Also, was 6. e5 a sound move? I thought a while before doing it and it seemed to work but I'm not sure if it should have done. I think there were a few places where black made mistakes, and left his king undefended. Any advice?
After that rapid piece development , moving the B and centralize the Rooks and you should have a comfortable game.
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Originally posted by LukerikActually I don't think it would have doubled his pawns as the c pawn was already gone. I've had a look at some database games. Taking the knight (black taking the white knight) seems to correlate with a high sucess rate for white. Maybe it just opens white up for a strong early attack while black is relativly undeveloped.
Well I suppose he took the knight in case you took him, thereby doubling his pawns.
e5 did double his pawns so I suppose it paid off. I wouldn't have played it because you've giving up control of the centre, your king's exposed and you haven't developed your major pieces.
Originally posted by Jake Ellison4... Nxd4 is not a good move. Consider the position after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Qxd4. Here Black can develop a piece with a gain of a tempo by 4... Nc6. In your game, Black can only dislodge the Queen with the unconstructive move e5.
Game 4500946
Are there any merits to 4. ...Nxd4 in the ubove game? I'm not sure how well I played, but that move seemed to weaken his king side somewhat. Also, was 6. e5 a sound move? I thought a while before doing it and it seemed to work but I'm not sure if it should have done. I think there were a few places where black made mistakes, and left his king undefended. Any advice?
Your 6. e5 is not the best way to continue. As you saw, Black won the pawn with Qa5+. Admittedly, after this you still had some compensation for the pawn in the form of a developmental advantage. Where Black really went wrong was with 10... e6. Better is 10... O-O-O and the onus is on White to prove that the pawn sacrifice was sound.
Incidentally, you are to be commended for the way you conducted the attack after the dubious 10... e6.
I think there are two possible continuations for White which are advantageous. The safe one is to play 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Bxd7 Qxd7 8. c4 followed by O-O, which leads to a Maroczy Bind with white-squared bishops exchanged - rather pleasant for White. The sharp one is to play 6. Nc3 followed by Be3 (or Bg5), O-O-O and a Kingside pawnstorm in the style of the English Attack vs. the Najdorf. Because of White's developmental advantage created by the dubious 4...Nxd4, this is very good for White.
Originally posted by Jake EllisonThe queen gets a pretty good central location from which it is difficult to dislodge her.
Game 4500946
Are there any merits to 4. ...Nxd4 in the ubove game? I'm not sure how well I played, but that move seemed to weaken his king side somewhat. Also, was 6. e5 a sound move? I thought a while before doing it and it seemed to work but I'm not sure if it should have done. I think there were a few places where black made mistakes, and left his king undefended. Any advice?
e5 was not the best.
White should have played c4 and set up a Maroczy bind.