Friday, November 16, 2012

In OmarLittle (Alexey) - Stukas, our teammate makes an interesting choice after 6...h6.  Alexey steers clear of what I might consider the natural 7.ef hxg5 8.fg Rg8 and plays, instead, 7.Bc1...  (The strangely common 7.Bd2... practically shows Black that he should play what is in that position the equalizing 7...Ne4, so I find it objectionable.) Notably, his opponent defends passively with 7...Nd7 (I think 7...Ne4 is stronger) and with 8.Qg4... Alexey is very strong.  Perhaps we should discuss the decision to seek the position after 7.Bc1 Ne4 8.Qg4 g6 9.Ne2 (or 8...g5 9.h4...)... instead of 7.ef hxg5 8.fg Rg8 9.Qh5.    While my own (defective?) intuition would have led me to prefer 7.ef, having seen this through I now think I prefer Alexey's 7.Bc1 ... even if Stukas had replied with the more aggressive 7...Ne4.  What do you guys think?

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24 comments:

  1. kr4mnikNovember 16, 2012 at 3:22 PM

    All right! I finally get to use the many notes I have accumulated throughout my two games vs Stukas (real name Adolfo). The first thing that surprised me was 5...Bxc3+, I had not encountered this move before in the MacCutcheon Variation of the French. Obviously White is forced to recapture on c3. After 6...h6, I had considered three possible squared for the Bishop retreat: e3, d2, and c1). The possibility of swinging the B across to the a3-f8 diagonal seemed like a really potent threat so that seemed like the right choice to make Like Michael, I was bracing myself for impact, expecting 7...Ne4 instead of the strangely passing 7...Nfd7?!. I was planning to continue with the K-side attack, the general idea being Qg4, Bd3, h5, etc. After Black's passive reply 7...Nfd7?!, White gets a clear initiative and momentum with 8.Qg4!. To be continued...

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  2. kr4mnikNovember 16, 2012 at 3:26 PM

    In the previous comment, I meant Qg4, Bd3, h4*, not h5

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  3. kr4mnikNovember 16, 2012 at 3:41 PM

    So int he game after 8.Qg4, Black clearly must do something about the threat on g6. Castling is obviously out of the question, so it comes down to 8...g6 or 8...Kf8. Had Stukas played 8...g6, I would have still continued with my plan of Ne2 (better than Bd3 right away), f3! and h4. Stukas played 8...Kf8, which looks ugly because it buries the h8-Rook making it very diffivult to mobilize it when the need strikes. 9.Ne2! this move reinforces c3 and d4, prepares for a possibility of Ng3 in the future, adding more threats to the Black K-side. 9...c5 Black seeks to expand and gain space on the Q-side.Now, White is finally able to kick that annoying Black Knight Outpost out of there.

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  4. kr4mnikNovember 16, 2012 at 5:33 PM

    I am sorry, the actual game score went 9.Bd3 c5, 9.Ne2 c5 was a variation I had in my notes if Black played 8...g6 instead of 8...Kf8. So anyways, this is the actual game score we have looked at so far: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 (Steinitz Variation) Bb4 (MacCutcheon Variation) 5.e5 Bxc3+!? 6.bxc3 h6 7.Bc1!? Nfd7?! 8.Qg4! Kf8 9.Bd3 (I considered 9.Nf3 and 9.Ne2, but this seems the most natural developing move to me, retaining the flexibility of where to develop my knight next, depending on exactly how Black will develop)

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  5. kr4mnikNovember 16, 2012 at 5:39 PM

    Also, additional comment on my move 7.Bc1!?: In my limited opening knowledge of this line, I have only seen the move 7.Be3, and it definitely did not strike me as a good square for the Bishop in this particular position, mainly due to the fact that it allowed for the possibility of future harrasment from Black via ...Ng4

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  6. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    The MacCutcheon (5...Bxc3+) is rare, as Alexey points out, but it gives Black the luxury of an essentially forced line, so perhaps this was Adolfo's intention: to take the game into territory familiar to him and foreign to Alexey. In Cuijpers - Kishnev (http://www.365chess.com/view_game.php?g=502862) Kishnev withdraws the Bishop to e3 and while he goes on to win, I agree with Alexey that it is not clear that it is best. In fact, in the three non-master games I could find, 7.Be3 wins only 1 in 3. (http://www.365chess.com/opening.php?master=0&m=13&n=31301&ms=e4.e6.d4.d5.Nc3.Nf6.Bg5.Bb4.e5.Bxc3.bxc3.h6ns=3.16.12.17.19.37.37.38.39.31300.25602.31301) In Pesec - Harr, Alexey's 7.Bc1 draws against 7...Ne4, but I don't think Pesec made the most of his initiative.

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  7. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 8:19 AM

    The MacCutcheon (5...Bxc3+) is rare, as Alexey points out, but it gives Black the luxury of an essentially forced line, so perhaps this was Adolfo's intention: to take the game into territory familiar to him and foreign to Alexey. In Cuijpers - Kishnev (http://www.365chess.com/view_game.php?g=502862) Kishnev withdraws the Bishop to e3 and while he goes on to win, I agree with Alexey that it is not clear that it is best. In fact, in the three non-master games I could find, 7.Be3 wins only 1 in 3. (http://www.365chess.com/opening.php?master=0&m=13&n=31301&ms=e4.e6.d4.d5.Nc3.Nf6.Bg5.Bb4.e5.Bxc3.bxc3.h6ns=3.16.12.17.19.37.37.38.39.31300.25602.31301) In Pesec - Harr, Alexey's 7.Bc1 draws against 7...Ne4, but I don't think Pesec made the most of his initiative.

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  8. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 8:31 AM

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  9. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 8:32 AM

    Alexey is being too generous to his opponent; 7...Nfd7 is hardly "!?". I think it's "?!" or even "?" . In fact, I think after 7...Nfd7, black is in poor shape. When you consider that Black's best reply to 8.Qg4 may in fact be his 8...Kf8, you realize he is already very compromised. How could 8...Kf8 ever be your best move when doing well? This is a move of quiet desperation -- and the game has just begun! I feel that Alexey is halfway to victory after move 8!

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    1. kr4mnikNovember 17, 2012 at 8:54 AM

      Michael, I actually gave 7...Nfd7 a "?!" mark as well several times above, I think you may have confused with another move. In any regard, I agree completely that 7...Nfd7 deserves a "?!"

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    2. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 9:03 AM

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    3. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 9:06 AM

      I see that you did annotate 7...Nfd7?! I misread your text!

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  10. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 8:49 AM

    Is 10.a4 precise? Shouldn't white continue to apply pressure on the Kingside? With the light-squared Bishop on d3 instead of e2 White has to concern himself with the possible ...c5. White could move the Bishop to g6 *if* the Queen is on the f-file with the opposing King on f8. But with 10.a4, doesn't this Black a little bit of freedom to rescue himself? Black can now play 10...c5 or even 10...Qa5 followed by 11.Bd2 c5 12.Be2 Nc6 and Black is recovering from his passive ...Nfd7 because of White's imprecise 10.a4. Am I missing something?

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    1. kr4mnikNovember 17, 2012 at 9:11 AM

      Well, it sure seemed like a good idea at the time! Here is my thought process: I felt convinced that Black was going to play 10...Qa5, after which my plan was 11.Bd2 (possibly 11...Nc6 here) and then 12.Bb5!? with a relative pin along the a4-e8 diagonal. I was also thinking that I wanted to have the possibility of quick a5 available to me in the future. I agree that I was probably seeing ghosts and 10.a4 may have been unnecessary. I had looked at 10.Nf3, but was having trouble extrapolating a concrete plan after Black plays 10...Nc6. I guess after 10...Nc6 White could continue with 11.Bd2 c4! 12.Be2 followed by 13. h4 and 14.h5
      I honestly like my position on move 14 better in the actual game than in this variation. In my opinion, if the move 10.a4 was indeed imprecise or inaccurate, it is more difficult for Black to take advantage of that fact thatit appears at first sight...

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    2. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 9:58 AM

      Interesting. I think I have been careless (doing too much in my head) and perhaps a little obsessed with ...c4. I like your 11...Nc6 12.Bb5, but I do worry about black first playing 11...c4 12.Be2 Nc6 preventing Bb5, but perhaps you are not hurt keeping the light-squared Bishop on the Kingside. Looking at structure here, it's clear that you would need to design a Kingside plan, as you pointed out earlier, but it's not easy to find one, is it?

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    3. kr4mnikNovember 17, 2012 at 11:41 AM

      You hit the nail right on the head that it is definitely not easy to find a concrete plan for White that consolidates his positional advantage into something more tangible. I am hoping to have a few hours later this evening and explain some of the ideas I had looked at

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  11. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 8:58 AM

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  12. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 9:04 AM

    Obviously, White has to cope with his doubled c-pawns. Black may eventually play ...Qa5 and ...c5. It will take only one move to cover the c3 pawn (Bd2) but it may take two moves to protect the c2 pawn (Be2-d1). 10...Qc7 was somewhat passive and gives Alexey some breathing room, as ...Qc7 shows that Black is not seeking active counter-play against White's only weakness, but is only defending.

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    1. kr4mnikNovember 17, 2012 at 9:13 AM

      Michael, I believe in the key position we are talking about (right before 10.a4), Black had already played 9...c5

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    2. kr4mnikNovember 17, 2012 at 9:20 AM

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    3. Michael FortunatoNovember 17, 2012 at 9:59 AM

      Yes, sorry for that confusion.

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  13. kr4mnikNovember 17, 2012 at 9:53 AM

    I agree that 10...Qa5 carried more punch than 10..Qc7 did. I honestly think Stukas felt nervous about removing his Queen from defense of his K-side, especially in the precarious position his King is in on f8

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