Looking for aggressive lines in the Teichmann Exchange

Last weekend, I faced a Teichmann Exchange but failed to find the correct line.

1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 c6 8.g4 e6 9.g5 Nd5 10.Bd3 Be7 11.h4 Qb6 (diagram)

I had played this opponent before, so I guess he was well prepared to play this line. I played 12.Bd2 Nd7 13.0-0-0 and I found myself in a lost position after 13...Qxd4. With two pawns down, I realised I had nothing - and indeed I went down the drain quickly.

 So what should I play here ?

12.a3 is countered by 12...Nd7, and after 13.Bd2, white has lost one move compared to the immediate 12.Bd2.

12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.c3 is good for black, I think black can castle safely as the white queen cannot attack anymore via square e4, eg 13...0-0 14.h5 Nd7 (=+)

12.Rf1 is also no good as the simple 12...Qxd4 13.Qxf7+ Kd7 14.Qf2 Qxf2 leaves beaves white one pawn down without compensation.

So the only option for white to mplay for an advantage is 12.Bd2 (diagram), as I played in my game.

Black's options include

a/ 12...Qxd4 13.Nxd5
...a1/ 13...Qxd5 14.Be4 Qc4 15.0-0-0 Qxa2 16.Bc3 (=) (diagram below)
...a2/ 13...cxd5 14.Bc3 (+=)

...a3/ 13...exd5 14.0-0-0 (+=)

b/ 12...Nd7 13.Nxd5
...b1/ 13...cxd5 14.0-0-0 (=)
...b2/ 13...exd5 14.0-0-0 (+=)

c/ 12...Nxc3 13.bxc3 (+=)

d/ 12...Nb4 13.Be4 (+=)

e/ 12...0-0 13.Qe4 g6 14.h5 (+)

f/ 12...f5 13.gxf6 (+=)

h/ 12...Na6 13.Rf1 (=)

The position in line a1 is interesting. White has sacrificed half of his army, whilst black only has developed his queen.

White can unleash dangerous attacks in this line. Black's best try is 16...Nd7 17.Bxg7 Rg8 18.Rxd7!!! (diagram) with a complicated game.

So dont dispair if your opponent makes great moves - the Blackmar Diemer gambit contains winning sacrifices in every line !

Handling the "Do Nothing" line

Out of pure frustration of my opponent's plan ( and my own loss ) in last week's game, I call the line 1.d4 Bf6 2.f3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.Nc3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nfd7 the "Do Nothing" variation.

Last post demonstrated my loss after the normal 9.Qf3 c6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Bc4 e6 12.0-0, but since then, I learned that 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bg5 (diagram) is better.

a/ 10...Nf6 ( the Do Nothing variation at its best ) 11.Qe2 (diagram)

...a1/ 11...Qxd4 12.Rd1 (+)
...a2/ 11...Nc6 12.0-0-0 (+=)

...a3/ 11...Nbd7 12.d5 (+=)

...a4/ 11...Nh7 12.Bd2 (+=)

...a5/ 11...Nd5 12.Qb5 (+)
...a6/ 11...e6 12.d5 (+=)

...a7/ 11...c6 12.0-0-0 (+=)

b/ 10...Nb6 11.Qd3

...b1/ 11...Qd7 12.Bg2 (+=)
...b2/ 11...Qd6 12.0-0-0 (+=)

...b3/ 11...c6 12.0-0-0 (+=)

...b4/ 11...Nbd7 12.d5 (+=)

c/ 10...Nc6 11.Bg2

...c1/ 11...Nb6 12.d5 (+=)
...c2/ 11...f6 12.Qd3 (+=)

...c3/ 11...a6 12.Qd3 (+=)

.

d/ 10...c6 11.Qe2

...d1/ 11...Nf6 12.0-0-0 (+=)
...d2/ 11...Qa5 12.Bd2 (+=)

...d3/ 11...Qb6 12.0-0-0 (+=)

...d4/ 11...Qc7 12.0-0-0 (+=)

e/ 10...c5 11.d5

...e1/ 11...Qc7 12.Qf3 (+=)
...e2/ 11...Qb6 12.Qf3 (+=)

...e3/ 11...Qa5 12.Qe2 (+)

...e4/ 11...Ne5 12.Bb5+ (+)
...e5/ 11...f6 12.Bd3 (+)

f/ 10...f6 11.Qd3 (+)

g/ 10...Na6 11.Qf3 (+)

So we see that the simple 10.Bg5 gibes white a simple game, with a small advantage in all lines. A just punishment for black's play !

The art of doing nothing

My opponent last weekend excelled in the noble art of doing nothing. He defended. That's all. Waiting in his hideout for me to make a mistake. Not committing anything, but with a sharp eye on the mistake that I would inevitably make. "Show me what you have" seems to be their concept.

It's hard to play that kind of playters, especially in a gambit line, since you did sacrifice the pawn. You gave this kind of opponent the opportunity to act like this, you did give them the pawn. They can just wait for the storm to calm and fight back at that point.

What to do against those opponents ? Play the correct moves, and hope that you can unleash a violent storm - something I failed to do.

1.d4 Nf6 2.f3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.Nc3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nfd7 (diagram)
Challenging my outpost in a very unconventional way.

I continued in the normal Teichmann way, not realizing my opponent had embarked on a "Do Nothing" approach.

9.Qf3 c6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Bc4 e6 12.0-0 Qf6 13.Be3 (diagram)
Black has just played the only active move he will ever play, and I failed to take advantage.

13...Qxf3 14.Rxf3 Be7 15.Raf1 Rf8 16.Ne4 Nb6 17.Bb3 Nd5 (diagram)

Black reached a relatively safe outpost for his knight, ( but has not forgotten his concept of play ).
18.Bg5 f6 19.Bd2 a5 20.c4 Nc7 21.Bf4 N8a6 22.Nd6+ Bxd6 23.Bxd6  Rh8 (diagram)

Returning to his home spot ! But actually it is a great move as the rook will go lateron to h5, commanding the 5th line.

And here I suddenly realised I had less than nothing. I have the bishop pair, but black still has a solid position and has the extra pawn. And most of all, I spent 1,5 hours out of my allotted 2 hours for 40 moves to reach an equal position, whilst my opponent had spent only 30 minutes doing nothing. Black clearly has a won game here - talking from a psycological point of view.

In any case, I lost the game. But how to play against the odd 8...Nfd7 ?? My silicon assistant suggests 9.Nxg6 ( a move that needs to be played anyway ) hxg6 and now 10.Bg5 or 10.Bg2, but let's analyse that in the next column.