What a great day

hello all, long time no see 😧

I got a new PC which seems to be a bit stronger than my previous - maybe this will help to develop Blackmar Diemer theory further...

In any case, I was looking at a strong black line in the Euwe defense : 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 e6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 c5 (diagram)

I have always struggled with this move, just because it is so simple and thematic in the French defense. And also because I never found a good white continuation. Scheerer suggests 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Kh1 which is obvioulsy not bad for white. But I never found a good white continuation after b;lack's most challenging line 9.dxc5 h6 .

So today, with the help of my new silicon assistant, I got to 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Ne4 (diagram)

Black try it safely and play 11...Be7, but gets no advantage after 12.Kh1, removing the white king from any future annoying checks.

Also, 11...Bd4+12.Nxd4 Qxd4+ 13.Kh1 brings nothing aftre 13...f5 14.c3 Qd5 15.Bc4 and white will soon regain the pawn.

Which leaves 11...Bxb2 12.Rb1 (diagram) when black makes an awfull lot of moves with the blackcolored bishop.

a/ 12...Be5 13.Nxe5 Qd4+ 14.Kh1 Qxe5 15.Nd6 =+ ( Black cant capture the c5 pawn as this would result in a forced draw - try it yourself )

b/ 12...Bd4+ 13.Kh1 doesnt bring black anything more than line c

c/  12...Bf6 13.Bb5 =+ and white can damage the black pawn structure if black exchanges queens

d/ 12...Ba3 13.Rb3 += brings the black rook into the action

So, it seems that white has a decent answer to the 8...c5 9.dxc5 h6 line. True, it doesnt bring equality, but it sure is no refutation as I believed before.