Can black hold in the Teichmann Exchange ?

My stats indicate I get the Teichmann Exchange most often. I dont know why, because the white attack is simple and fast. But the defender thinks that, by exchanging the knight on f3, he is one piece closer to a winning end game. Things are not so simple however as white has nice attacking chances.

However, there is one line that always bothered me :

1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 c6 8.g4 Qxd4
Blacks grab another pawn : "a pawn is a pawn"

9.Be3 Qb4
moving away from the file where it comes under attack of the rook

10.0-0-0 (diagram)

10...e6 is now the best defending move, even if 10...Nbd7 has to be respected.

10...e6 11.g5 Nd5 12.Bd4 (diagram)

White has moved his blacksquared bishop to a great diagonal. Thinsg are getting complicated for black !

12...Nbd7
Only move

13.h4 (diagram)
Let's see what black is up to. 13.Kb1 is also possible, but that is not the kind of move a gambiteer likes to play.

Let's assess this position

a/ 13...Be7 14.Bxg7 Rg8 15.Nxd5 cxd5 16.Bc3 Qa4 17.Bd3 and white has an obvious advantage (+)

b/ 13...Rg8 14.Bh3 (+)

c/ 13...f6 14.Bh3 (+)

d/ 13...f5 14.gxf5 Nxf6 15.Bh3 (+)

e/ 13...0-0-0 14.Qxf7 Qe7 15.Qf3 (+=)

f/ 13...Bd6 14.a3
...f1/ 14...Bf4+ 15.Kb1 Qa5 16.Nxd5 Qxd5 17.Qxf4 Qxh1 18.Be2 (++)
...f2/ 14...Qa5+ 15.Bxg7 Rg8 16.Nxd5
......f2a/ 16...cxd5 17.Bc3 (+=)
......f2b/ 16...Rxg7 17.b4 Qd8 18.Nf4 (+=)

g/ 13...Qd6 14.Kb1
...g1/ 14...Qf4 15.Qe2 (+=)
...g2/ 14...0-0-0 15.Bg2 (=)
...g3/ 14...c5 15.Nxd5 (=)
...g4/ 14...e5 15.Ne4 (+=)

So the unimaginable has become reality - there are a few lines that give  black equality in the Teichmann Exchange !!

Did he finally go mad ?

This afternoon, I got to talk to one of my BDG buddies. We went through my sunday game which I started off as follows :

1.d4 Nf6 2.f3
Inviting ( no, begging !! )  my opponent to go into a Blackmar Diemer... But alas, my opponent wisely thanked for the invitation.
2...g6
I played the normal (??) move here.
3.e4

"Stop right here", my chess buddy said. "Why not consider 3.g4 ?? You will play it lateron anyway - why not play it right now ?"

At first, I could not believe my eyes. But my friend was right - what is keeping me from this adacious move ? It is a legal move after all !

Let's check out the natural line 3...Bg7 4.h4 (diagram)

Now believe me or not, my Stockfish chess assistant indicates that only one move offers black an advantage. Can you find it ? I bet you wont.

Let's check out a few alternatives

a/ 4...d6 ( the normal Pirc-ish move ) 5.h5

and now black only has 5...gxh5 6.g5 Nfd7 7.Rh5 leading to equality.

b/ 4...c5 5.d5

\
...b1/ 5...e6 6.e4 exd5 7.e5 (?!)
......b1a/ 7...Qe7 8.Qe2 Ng8 9.Nc3 (=)
......b1b/ 7...Ng8 8.Nc3 d4 9.Nd5 Ne7 10.Nf6+ (=+) with a complicated game
...b2/ 5...d6 6.e4 (=)
...b3/ 5...Qa5+ 6.Kf2 !!!! (=)
...b4/ 5...0-0 6.h5 (=)

c/ 4...d5 5.h5

...c1/ 5...Qd6 6.Nh3 (=)
...c2/ 5...c5 6.h6 Bf8 7.e3 (=)
...c3/ 5...gxh5 6.g5
......c3a/ 6...Nfd7 7.Nh3 (=)
......c3b/ 6...Ng8 7.Nh3 (=)

I am sure you will tell me this opening does not make sense. But hey, remember Diemer's "immortal" game against Trommsdorf in 1975 in Bagnieux, France. That game stood the test of time - and I am sure, most of our games wont be remembered in 50 years time...

Cleaning up old stuff

Today I was sort of forced by my wife to clean up my study room. Unlike the room of my daughters, my study room is filled with chess related stuff - you will find no posters of the latest boys band, merely a few CD's of Bob Dylan or Neil Young. And chess stuff. That's it, but it's enough to drive my wife crazy. In any case, whilst realigning my stuff a bit, thus satisfying the master of the family, I came upon a nice game I played last year.

Guido De Bouver - Tony Peleman
Mechelen, 2013.
1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nfd7 ?!

I had never seen this move before. Challenging my outpost knight with 8...Nbd7 is often seen, after which white gets a decent attack with the thematic 9.Qf3. But this move seems to violate the basic rules of the chess openings, as the knight is moved twice.

I decided to continue with 9.Qf3 c6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Bc4 e6 12.0-0 and the came equalized somehow.

During analysis, it became obvious I had let the fish off the hook at move 11. And indeed, the odd looking 11.Rh2 !? seems the simplest way for white to complicate things and keeping the pressure on the defender. It might not be the sttrongest move, but certainly is the most difficult for black to defend against.

So let's chekc out 11.Rh2

It seems there are only a few decent black replies : 11...e5 and 11...e6.

a/ 11...e5 12.Rf2 (diagram)

...a1/ 12...f6 13.Bd3 (+)
...a2/ 12...Qe7 13.Bf4 !! (+)
...a3/ 12...Qf6 13.Qd3
......a3a/ 13...Qh4 14.Be3 (+=)
......a3b/ 13...Qe7 14.Bf4 (+=)

......a3c/ 13...Qe6 14.d5 (+=)
......a3d/ 13...Qd6 14.Be3 (+=)

......a3e/ 13...Qd8 14.Be3 (+=)

b/ 11...e6 12.Rf2 (diagram)

...b1/ 12...Qf6 13. Qe3
......b1a/ 13...Qe7 14. Bd2 (+=)
......b1b/ 13...Qd8 14.Bd2 (+=)
......b1c/ 13...Qh4 14.Qf4 Qe7 15.Be3 (+=)
...b2/ 12...Qe7 13.Bf4 (+)


Editor's note : it seems Guido forgot about his post "Handling the do nothing line" where the line 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nfd7 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bg5.
Guess it is a matter of taste which line is better :-)