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1. Nf3 f6 2. e3 White is threatening to sac the knight and unleash the queen. The danger is illustrated if Black makes a "non-move": 2. ... a3?? 3. Ne5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qd5 [1-0] (White is forking d7 and f7). So, Black must protect against this queen fork. There are only two commonly played second moves by Black: e6 and d5 (d6 is seen occasionally). The subject of this chapter is d5. 2. ... d5 There are various third moves White can make. But we will continue with 3. Ng5 fxg5 (We can also arrive here by 3. Ne5 fxe5.) This is the beginning of an old and classic line. Black offers White the material advantage of two pawns (as we shall see) and gets piece activity (especially rook activity on the f-file) as compensation. After 3. Ng5 fxg5, we immediately see that White can win material. Black protected d5 but not e5. So, the usual continuation is 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qe5 Now, Black plays 5. ... Be6 which saves the bishop from the ensuing explosion on c7 and is thus better than 5. .. e6. Now the classical way of playing is to take the material immediately with: 6. Qxc7 In other chapters we will look at ways that White can delay or forego this capture. Now, due to the threat of 7. Bb5+, Black is best advised to play 6. ... b5 The bishop must be kept out. If it is allowed to infiltrate Black's camp with Bb5+, then White will squash any compensation Black may have had, and White might even win more material. Let's take stock of the position. We can see that White is up exactly two pawns. However, Black's kingside pieces will mobilize quickly and a Black rook will come to f8, poised to attack down the half-open file. White must struggle to keep the file closed. Black might offer a knight for White's f-pawn or he might take the f-pawn directly with a minor piece if White allows him. Black's b5 and d5 pawns are also nicely placed to hamper White's development. Black might also push his d-pawn to d4 at some point to attack with his bishop. Black's plan should probably be to castle kingside (the queenside is too airy and the c-file might open), although I have seen 0-1 games featuring Black castling queenside. If White can repel Black's attack he will win the endgame. So, who stands better? Well, perhaps you'll decide for yourself when the chapter is over. Now, White has a few 7th moves at his disposal. We'll look at some of them in this chapter, beginning with:
A. White is threatening to capture d5. I suppose there is also a minor threat of Na4, after which White will either get his knight into enemy territory or his bishop (bxa4 Bb5+). Black has a couple of responses here. Historically speaking,
A1. has probably been the most popular response. Now, if 8. Nxd5?? Black wins with 8. ... Ne4 [0-1]. So, White must block the knight from advancing further. 8. f3?! might be possible, but is probably not a good idea because Black can play Ng4 (now or later) anyway because Black would love an open f-file for his rook. So, commonly played has been 8. g4. Now, White's position is pretty solid and he should be able to play into a winning endgame. At least that is what experience has shown. As of 10th, 2008, wildchess.org has 140 games featuring this position, and the score stands 78.5 to 61.5 in White's favor. One should keep in mind that a large number of those games featured the computer player Sordid as Black. Here is one game featuring Sordid losing as Black: Rekursiv vs. Sordid (June 14th, 2006) {1.Nf3 f6 2.e3 d5 3.Ng5 fxg5 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qe5 Be6 6.Qxc7 b5 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.g4 O-O-O 9.d4 Bg7 10.Bg2 Bxg4 11.Bh3+ Ng4 12.Bxg4 Bxd4 13.Bd2 Rd6 14.Bb4 Rc6 15.Bc5 e5 16.O-O a5 17.Bf8 a4 18.c4 Rc7 19.Rac1 a3 20.b4 Kb7 21.cxb5 Rc2 22.Rxc2 h6 23.Rc1 Kb6 24.b5 e4 25.Rc6+ Kb7 26.b6 d4 27.Rc7+ Ka6 28.b7 dxe3 29.b8=Q e3 30.fxe3 Rh7 31.Qb5# {Sordid checkmated} 1-0} I think Sordid's downfall in most of its losses were due to its castling queenside. In the game excellion vs. GrandLapin (June 5th, 2006) {1.Nf3 f6 2.e3 d5 3.Nc3 b5 4.Ng5 fxg5 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Qe5 Be6 7.Qxc7 Nf6 8.g4 Bh6 9.Bg2 O-O 10.f4 b4 11.f5 Bxf5 12.Bf3 Bxe3 13.d4 Rf1+ 14.Ke2 Rf2+ 15.Ke1 Re2+ 16.Kf1 g5 17.Ne4 Rf8+ 18.Nf6+ exf6+ 19.Bf4 gxf4+ {excellion resigns} 0-1}, we see what happens to White if he ignores Black's threats to open the f-file. Note the transposition to our position in the above game. The opening we are discussing is apparently highly transpositional, as is illustrated in the game StupidGenuis vs. WildKiller (July 24th, 2006) {1.Nh3 f6 2.e3 d5 3.Ng5 fxg5 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qe5 Be6 6.Qxc7 b5 7.g4 Nf6 8.Nc3 Bh6 9.f3 O-O 10.Nxd5 Ne4 11.d4 Nd2 12.Bc4+ bxc4 13.c4 Nxf3 14.Kd1 Rf2 15.g5 Rd2+ 16.Ke1 Rd1+ 17.Kf2 Rf8+ 18.Kg3 Rf3+ 19.Kg4 Bxg5# {StupidGenuis's king exploded} 0-1}. Note again how Black wins by opening the f-file. White did better than in the previous game, but was still careless. Backing up to Black's 7th move, perhaps better is
A2. This saves the bishop and threatens Bxc2, restoring the material balance. White has to be careful here. We'll look at several possible 8th moves by White.
A2a. This weakens the c1-h6 diagonal of which the Black bishop on f8 will take advantage. After 8. e4?! Bg4!, Black is threatening to win with Be2. Note that if 9. f3??, then 9. ... Bh6 10. d4 (10. f4 Be2 [0-1]) 10. ... Bd2+ [0-1]. White can live a little longer with 9. Bxb5, but then 9. ... Bh6 (or 9. ... Be2) gives Black a fine game. For example, 10. f4? looks suicidal because Black can open the f-file eventually: 10. ... Be2 11. Nb5 O-O-O! and White will soon lose on the f-file. Perhaps 10. O-O is better, but in any case, Black gets a good game.
A2b. Maybe this move is possible, but I doubt it. This gives back one of the two pawns, but if 8. Na4 Bxc2 9. Nc5 Bg7 10. Rd1, White's edge is not clear. Or, after 8. Na4, Black doesn't have to take c2 to get counterplay. For example: 8. Na4 Nh6 9. g4 Bg7 10. d4 Be4! 11. f3? O-O and White is in big trouble (the threat being Bxf3).
A2c. After this move, Black could take a pawn back with 8. ... Bxd3, but this might aid White's development and make his job easier to free his pieces, defend Black's attack, and enter the endgame a pawn up. So, instead, Black might try either 8. ... Bg7, 8. ... Bh6, or 8. ... Nf6. If 8. ... Bg7 or 8. ... Nf6, White would probably be fine after 9. e4 since now his c1 bishop is protecting the c1-h6 diagonal. So, maybe 8. ... Bh6 is required to stop all of Black's compensation from evaporating. After 8. ... Bh6, one might consider 9. Ne4 since 9. ... Bxe3 leads to 10. Bg5 and White's one pawn lead looks comfortable. So, after 9. Ne4, perhaps play could proceed with 9. ... Bg4 10. Nf6+ exf6 11. f3, and this line is starting to look good for Black (remember that Black wants to open that f-file). If instead of 10. Nf6+, White plays 10. f3, then Black can immediately equalize with 10. ... Bxf3 11. Be2 Bxe3 12. Bg5 Nf6 13. O-O O-O-O, for example. Or even take an advantage if White isn't careful: 10. f3 Bxf3 11. g4 O-O-O 12. Bg2 Rf8 13. Bf3 Bxe3 14. Bf4 g5 15. O-O-O h5 16. Be3 hxg4 17. h3 e5 18. Rd2 e4 19. d4 Rf3 20. Bxg5? Rc3 21. bxc3 Rh6 22. h4 Rf6 23. Rf1 Rf2 24. Rxf2 e3 25. Kd1 e2 26. Ke1 Nf6 27. h5 Ng4 28. h6 Nh2 29. h7 Nf3 [0-1] {guest vs. Sordid May 10th, 2008}.
A2d. This gives back some material. Black should probably play 8. ... Bxd3 and now White's two pawn for knight advantage will win should he be able to reach the endgame. However, White should be careful. For example, 9. b4?! is not the sharpest move: 9. ... Bg7! (better to develop this bishop with tempo before putting the knight on f6) 10. d4 Nf6 11. f3 Ne4 and now 12. fxe4?? loses to 12. ... O-O. So, Black has probably at least secured a draw, and has some winning chances. So, instead of 9. b4?!, White needs to take preventitive measures on the kingside with something like 9. d3 or 9. g4 in order to stop the Black knight. But Black might still have sufficient counterplay for the draw.
A2e. After this move, probably Black's only shot to hang in the game is 8. ... Bg4, but then White can play 9. f3! to stifle Black counterplay. If 9. ... Bxf3, then it is Black will have to watch out for White using the f-file. For example, consider the game guest vs. Sordid, May 10th, 2008: 1. Nf3 f6 2. e3 d5 3. Ng5 fxg5 4. Qh5 g6 5. Qe5 Be6 6. Qxc7 b5 7. Nc3 Bf5 8. Ne4 Bg4 9. f3 Bxf3 10. Bd3 Bg7 11. O-O Be5 12. g3 O-O-O 13. Bf5 Kc7 14. d4 Bf4 15. b4 e6 16. Bb2 Kb8 17. c4 a5 18. Rac1 Rc8 19. Ba1 h5 20. cxb5 Rc2 21. Rxc2 Ka8 22. b5 h4 23. Rc1 Ne7 24. Bxe6 Bc7 25. Rf1 Bd6 26. Rf7 Be7 27. Rh7 Rc8 28. Rh8 Bf8 29. Bc3 a4 30. b6 Kb7 31. e4 h3 32. e5 Rc6 33. e6 g5 34. Rh7 Be7 35. g4 Rc4 36. Kf1 Rc6 37. a3 Rc4 38. Ke2 Rc6 39. Rh8 Bd8 40. Rh6 Be7 41. Rh8 Bd8 42. Rh7 Be7 43. Rf7 Rc8 44. Rf1 Rh8 45. Kd1 Rb8 46. Kc1 Rc8 47. Kb1 Bf6 48. Ka1 Re8 49. e7 Bg7 50. Bb4 Be5 51. Rf8 Rxe7 52. dxe5 d4 53. Bd2 d3 54. Kb2 Kc6 55. b7 Kb5 56. b8=Q Kc6 57. Ka1 Kc5 58. Qb4 Kc6 59. Qc5 Kb7 60. Qb6 Ka8 61. Qa7 {Sordid checkmated} 1-0. White got a winning opening (but stumbled around a bit in the endgame before winning). Or consider how White can get an opening advantage even if Black doesn't play 9. Bxf3 in the game siggemannen vs. tipau (2005 finals of the Atomic World Championships): 1. Nf3 f6 2. e3 d5 3. Ng5 fxg5 4. Qh5 g6 5. Qe5 Be6 6. Qxc7 b5 7. Nc3 Bf5 8. Ne4 Bg4 9. f3 Nf6 10. Nxf6 Bh6 11. Bd3 O-O 12. Bf5 e6 13. d4 Kh8 14. O-O Bh3 15. Bxh3 g5 16. e4 g4 17. Bg5 Bxg5 18. f4 h5 19. f5 e5 20. f6 h4 21. f7 g3 22. h3 Rac8 23. c3 b4 24. a4 a5 25. b3 {tipau resigns} 1-0. It seems that White can get an advantage from 1. Nf3 f6 2. e3 d5 3. Ng5 fxg5 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qe5 Be6 6. Qxc7 b5 7. Nc3. However, let's take a look at another White 7th move.
B. Here, White threatens to play 8. Ba3, aiming at e7. Black's pawn on b5 is poised to block with b4, but that would open up the b5 square for White's f1 bishop. To prepare for this Black can play 7. ... a6, so that if 8. Ba3, then 8. ... b4, and the b5 square is covered. However, perhaps a more vigorous defense is 7. ... d4 As of May 11th, 2008, there are 65 games at wildchess.org featuring this position, and 54 of them feature Sordid (playing Black in 40 of them). 8th moves tried by White include (in order of popularity): d3, Ba3, c4, e4, Nc3, Bc4, g4, a4, Bb2. The move that seems most intuitive to me is 8. Bc4 Here, White develops a piece, Blocks the e6 bishop from attacking b3 so that Ba3 may be more easily played, and defends against Nf6. White would be fine with the line 8. ... bxc4 9. Ba3 Bxb3 10. Na3 Nf6 11. g4, for example, in which White is heading for a winning two-pawn-vs-bishop endgame. In the game guest vs. Sordid, May 11th, 2008, Black doesn't play 8. ... bxc4 and White gets a comfortable win: 1. Nf3 f6 2. e3 d5 3. Ng5 fxg5 4. Qh5 g6 5. Qe5 Be6 6. Qxc7 b5 7. b3 d4 8. Bc4 Nh6 9. Ba3 b4 10. Bb5 Kd8 11. g4 a5 12. Be8 a4 13. Bxb4 Kc7 14. c4 Rb8 15. b4 g5 16. Na3 Bg7 17. Nb5 Kb6 18. Bg6 Rhf8 19. f3 Nxg4 20. Bxh7 Bxc4 21. Rc1 Rbc8 22. Rc6 Ka7 23. O-O Rxc6 24. Rc1 Rh8 25. Kf1 d3 26. Rc7 Kb6 27. Rc6 Kb7 28. b5 Rh4 29. b6 Rb4 30. Rc7 Kb8 31. b7 Rb1 32. Rc1 g4 33. fxg4 Ra1 34. Rxa1 e6 35. h3 a3 36. h4 e5 etc. [1-0]. Other 7th moves by White don't seem to be as threatening. For example, consider:
C. This move doesn't seem very strong. For one thing, it does nothing to protect the light squares on White's kingside, making it tougher to defend against Nf6 by Black. In general, White doesn't really have time to make such moves in this opening. For example, watch White get massacred in the game polarity vs. Rekursiv (February 10th, 2008) {1.Nf3 f6 2.e3 d5 3.Ne5 fxe5 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qe5 Be6 6.Qxc7 b5 7.d4 Nf6 8.f3 Ng4 9.h4 Nh2 10.Be2 Bh6 11.f4 O-O 12.e4 Bxf4 13.Bf3 dxe4 14.Bf4 Bxa2 15.g4 Nxg4 16.c4 Rf1+ 17.Kd2 Rxh1 18.Ke3 bxc4 19.Ke4 e5 20.Kf3 exd4 21.Ke4 a5 22.Ke5 Ra6 23.Kd5 h6 24.Ke5 a4 25.Kd5 a3 26.bxa3 h5 27.Ke5 g5 28.hxg5 h4 29.Kd5 h3 30.Kc5 h2 31.Kb5 h1=R 32.Kc5 Rh5+ 33.Kc4 Ra4+ 34.Kd3 Rh3+ 35.Kc2 Ra2+ 36.Kd1 Rh1# {Polarity checkmated} 0-1} Or, watch maciejg also break open the f-file in Black's favor in the game Kid A vs. maciejg (June 30th, 2005) {1.Nf3 f6 2.e3 d5 3.Ne5 fxe5 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qe5 Be6 6.Qxc7 b5 7.d4 Nf6 8.f3 Ne4 9.Bd3 Nd2 10.Nc3 Bh6 11.Bf5 Bxf5 12.a4 O-O 13.Kd1 Nxf3 14.Rf1 Rf2 15.Rxf2 Rf8 16.Nxd5 Rf1+ 0-1}
KEY:
When branching occurs, move options are listed
from best to worst according to the author's opinion.
# = mate
## = win by explosion
? = bad move
?? = loses to a short forced mate
?! = probably a bad move
other marks are standard chess notations
1. Nf3 f6 2. e3
2. ... d5 3. Ng5 fxg5 (3. Ne5 fxe5) 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qe5 Be6 6. Qxc7 b5
7. Nc3
7. ... Bf5
8. Ne4 Bg4 9. f3!
9. ... Bxf3 10. Bd3 Bg7 11. O-O Be5 12. g3 O-O-O 13. Bf5 Kc7
14. d4 Bf4 15. b4 e6 16. Bb2 Kb8 17. c4 a5 18. Rac1 Rc8 19. Ba1 h5
20. cxb5 Rc2 21. Rxc2 Ka8 22. b5 h4 23. Rc1 Ne7 24. Bxe6 Bc7
25. Rf1 Bd6 26. Rf7 Be7 27. Rh7 Rc8 28. Rh8 Bf8 29. Bc3 a4 30. b6 Kb7
31. e4 h3 32. e5 Rc6 33. e6 g5 34. Rh7 Be7 35. g4 Rc4 36. Kf1 Rc6
37. a3 Rc4 38. Ke2 Rc6 39. Rh8 Bd8 40. Rh6 Be7 41. Rh8 Bd8
42. Rh7 Be7 43. Rf7 Rc8 44. Rf1 Rh8 45. Kd1 Rb8 46. Kc1 Rc8
47. Kb1 Bf6 48. Ka1 Re8 49. e7 Bg7 50. Bb4 Be5 51. Rf8 Rxe7
52. dxe5 d4 53. Bd2 d3 54. Kb2 Kc6 55. b7 Kb5 56. b8=Q Kc6
57. Ka1 Kc5 58. Qb4 Kc6 59. Qc5 Kb7 60. Qb6 Ka8 61. Qa7#
{guest vs. Sordid (May 10th, 2008)}
9. ... Nf6 10. Nxf6 Bh6 11. Bd3 O-O 12. Bf5 e6 13. d4 Kh8 14. O-O Bh3
15. Bxh3 g5 16. e4 g4 17. Bg5 Bxg5 18. f4 h5 19. f5 e5 20. f6 h4
21. f7 g3 22. h3 Rac8 23. c3 b4 24. a4 a5 25. b3 [1-0]
{siggemannen vs. tipau (2005 Atomic World Championship finals)}
8. Bd3 Bxd3
9. g4
9. d3
9. b4?! Bg7! 10. d4 Nf6 11. f3 Ne4 12. fxe4?? O-O [0-1]
8. d3?!
8. ... Bh6! 9. Ne4
9. ... Bg4
10. f3 Bxf3
11. Be2 Bxe3 12. Bg5 Nf6 13. O-O O-O-O
11. g4 O-O-O 12. Bg2 Rf8 13. Bf3 Bxe3 14. Bf4 g5 15. O-O-O h5
16. Be3 hxg4 17. h3 e5 18. Rd2 e4 19. d4 Rf3 20. Bxg5? Rc3
21. bxc3 Rh6 22. h4 Rf6 23. Rf1 Rf2 24. Rxf2 e3 25. Kd1 e2
26. Ke1 Nf6 27. h5 Ng4 28. h6 Nh2 29. h7 Nf3 [0-1]
{guest vs. Sordid May 10th, 2008}
10. Nf6+ exf6 11. f3
9. ... Bxe3 10. Bg5
8. ... Nf6?! 9. e4
8. ... Bg7?! 9. e4
8. ... Bxd3?!
8. Na4?!
8. ... Nh6 9. g4 Bg7 10. d4 Be4! 11. f3? O-O
8. ... Bxc2 9. Nc5 Bg7 10. Rd1
8. e4?! Bg4!
9. Bxb5
9. ... Bh6
10. O-O
10. f4? Be2 11. Nb5 O-O-O!
9. ... Be2
9. f3?? Bh6
10. d4 Bd2+ [0-1]
10. f4 Be2 [0-1]
7. ... Nf6
8. g4
8. ... O-O-O 9.d4 Bg7 10.Bg2 Bxg4 11.Bh3+ Ng4 12.Bxg4 Bxd4 13.Bd2 Rd6
14.Bb4 Rc6 15.Bc5 e5 16.O-O a5 17.Bf8 a4 18.c4 Rc7 19.Rac1 a3 20.b4 Kb7
21.cxb5 Rc2 22.Rxc2 h6 23.Rc1 Kb6 24.b5 e4 25.Rc6+ Kb7 26.b6 d4
27.Rc7+ Ka6 28.b7 dxe3 29.b8=Q e3 30.fxe3 Rh7 31.Qb5#
{Rekursiv vs. Sordid (June 14th, 2006)}
8. ... Bh6 9.Bg2 O-O 10.f4 b4 11.f5 Bxf5 12.Bf3 Bxe3 13.d4 Rf1+ 14.Ke2 Rf2+
15.Ke1 Re2+ 16.Kf1 g5 17.Ne4 Rf8+ 18.Nf6+ exf6+ 19.Bf4 gxf4+ [0-1]
{excellion vs. GrandLapin (June 5th, 2006)}
8. ... Bh6 9.f3 O-O 10.Nxd5 Ne4 11.d4 Nd2 12.Bc4+ bxc4 13.c4 Nxf3
14.Kd1 Rf2 15.g5 Rd2+ 16.Ke1 Rd1+ 17.Kf2 Rf8+ 18.Kg3 Rf3+ 19.Kg4 Bxg5#
{StupidGenuis vs. WildKiller (July 24th, 2006)}
8. f3?!
8. Nxd5?? Ne4 [0-1]
7. b2
7. ... d4
8. Bc4
8. ... Nh6 9. Ba3 b4 10. Bb5 Kd8 11. g4 a5 12. Be8 a4 13. Bxb4 Kc7
14. c4 Rb8 15. b4 g5 16. Na3 Bg7 17. Nb5 Kb6 18. Bg6 Rhf8 19. f3 Nxg4
20. Bxh7 Bxc4 21. Rc1 Rbc8 22. Rc6 Ka7 23. O-O Rxc6 24. Rc1 Rh8
25. Kf1 d3 26. Rc7 Kb6 27. Rc6 Kb7 28. b5 Rh4 29. b6 Rb4 30. Rc7 Kb8
31. b7 Rb1 32. Rc1 g4 33. fxg4 Ra1 34. Rxa1 e6 35. h3 a3 36. h4 e5
etc. [1-0] {guest vs. Sordid (May 11th, 2008)}
8. ... bxc4 9. Ba3 Bxb3 10. Na3 Nf6 11. g4
8. d3
8. Ba3
8. c4
8. e4
8. Nc3
8. g4
7. ... a6 8. Ba3 b4
7. d4?! Nf6! 8. f3
8. ... Ng4 9.h4 Nh2 10.Be2 Bh6 11.f4 O-O 12.e4 Bxf4 13.Bf3 dxe4 14.Bf4 Bxa2
15.g4 Nxg4 16.c4 Rf1+ 17.Kd2 Rxh1 18.Ke3 bxc4 19.Ke4 e5 20.Kf3 exd4 21.Ke4 a5
22.Ke5 Ra6 23.Kd5 h6 24.Ke5 a4 25.Kd5 a3 26.bxa3 h5 27.Ke5 g5 28.hxg5 h4
29.Kd5 h3 30.Kc5 h2 31.Kb5 h1=R 32.Kc5 Rh5+ 33.Kc4 Ra4+ 34.Kd3 Rh3+
35.Kc2 Ra2+ 36.Kd1 Rh1# {polarity vs. Rekursiv (February 10th, 2008)}
8. ... Ne4 9.Bd3 Nd2 10.Nc3 Bh6 11.Bf5 Bxf5 12.a4 O-O 13.Kd1 Nxf3 14.Rf1 Rf2
15.Rxf2 Rf8 16.Nxd5 Rf1+ 0-1 {Kid A vs. maciejg (June 30th, 2005)}
2. ... a3?? 3. Ne5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qd5 [1-0]
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