Shelter from the storm

I said it before and will continue to say it - expert knwoledge is required to play the Blackmar Diemer successfully. Yesterday I managed to play the line halfways, and, as a result, had to content with a draw.

Guido De Bouver - Stijn Van Vlaenderen

1.d4 Nf6 2.f3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.Nc3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nbd7
I believe both e6 and c6 are better

9.Qf3 (diagram)

9...c6 is no good here, as white recaptures the pawn with an advantage : 9...c6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.g5 (+=) So my opponent choose the best line.

9...e6 10.Qxb7 Nxe5 11.dxe5 Nd7 12.Bb5 (diagram)

Until this move, i was playing on automatic pilot. But now I starting wondering on how to convert my obvious advantage into a win.

12...Rb8
only move.

13.Qxa7
I was a bit hesitant about this, because I vaguely remembered that black could equalize by removing the pin on knight with a sacrfice 13...Rxb5 14.Nxb5 and black overtakes the initiative ( even if Houdini still gives a white advanatge )

13...Bb4 (diagram)
I remembered a great sacrifice here if black was to play the natural 13...Be7 14.Bxd7 Kxd7 and now the killer move 15.Bg5 (++). but alas, my opponent went for a simple pin on my knight.

Ubntill now, I had been able to play bookmoves - they were lingering somewhere far away, but I was able to retrieve them correctly. But this move got me into thinking.

The correct move is 14.Bxd7 Kxd7 15.Be3 and the black king will have diffciculties to find shelter from the storm. Alas, I played 14.Qa4 and the game ended in a hardfought draw.

Coming back to best line 14.Bxd7 Kxd7 15.Be3 (diagram)

a/ 15...Qh4+ 16.Bf2 Qg5 17.Rd1+ Kc8 18.Qa6+ Rb7 19.0-0 Qxe5 20.Rfe1 Qa5 21.Qc6 (+)

b/ 15...Bxc3+ 16.bxc3 (++)

c/ 15...Bxc2 16.0-0 (++)

d/ 15...Ke8 16.Rd1 Qc8 17.Bg5 (+)

e/ 15...Kc8 16.0-0 (++)

So it is fair to conclude that the above line does not offer any hope for black - a reality check for those that have not yet embraced the joys of the Blackmar Diemer gambit.

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 :-)

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.

Yet another improvement

I was looking for improvements on my game last week, where my opponent was baffled by my audacious 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qf3 Nd5 10.Bb5+ c6 11.0-0.

My opponent choose the inferior 11...f6, but I realised black would get trhe upper hand aftre the correct 11...Nf6, as 12.Rf2 complicates things even further, but black remains on top after the simple 12...Be7.

But now I see that 11.0-0 is in fact the bad move ! 11.Rf1 (diagram) is much stronger.

a/ 11...Qh4+ 12.Kd1
...a1/ 12...cxb5 13.Nxd5 (++)
...a2/ 12...Nxc3+ 13.bxc3 (+=)
...a3/ 12...Be7 13.Nxd5 (+=)
...a4/ 12...f6 13.Nxd5 (++)

...a5/ 12...Qf6 13.Qg2 (=)

...a6/ 12...Qe7 13.Nxd5 (++)

...a7/ 12...Bd6 13.Nxg6 (++)

b/ 11...cxb5 12.Nxg6 (++)

c/ 11...Nf6 12.Be2 (=)

d/ 11...Qf6 12.Nxd5

...d1/ 12...exd5 13.Qxd5 (+=)

...d2/ 12...Qxf3 13.Nc7+ Kd8 14.Rxf3 Kxc7 15.Nxf7 (+)

e/ 11...f6 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Bd3 (=)

f/ 11...f5 12.Nxd5 

...f1/ 12...Qxd5 13.Qxd5 exd5 14.Bd3 (+=)

...f2/ 12...exd5 13.Bd3 (+=)

So it seems to me that 11.Rf1 is much stronger than 11.0-0. There is no advantage in sight for black and he will soon be drowning the terrible complications against a well prepared attacker.

Also, black can hold in three lines :

> 11...Qh4+ 12.Kd1 Qf6 Qg2

> 11...Nf6 12.Be2

> 11...f6 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Bd3

My next post will focus on these lines.

The jungle of variations

Yesterday afternoon I played an interesting Blackmar Diemer - I didnt win the game, as I lost the way in the jungle of variations myself.

Guido De Bouver - Patrick Colemont
Belgian interclubs. 15-dec-2013.

1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qf3
All according to plan - the Teichmann defense

9...Nd5?! (diagram)

Luckily I remembered a great attacking line.
10.Bb5+ c6 11.0-0 (diagram)

11..f6 ?!
The correct move is 11...Nf6 and black should be better somehow, even if 12.Rf2 complicates things for black.

12.Nxg6 hxg6 (diagram)

Now it was turn to make an inferior move :-(
13.Nxd5 ?
The correct move 13.Bd3 should gave given me a small advantage

13...Nxd5 14.Bd3 (diagram)

The defender is better now, but black choose the inferior 14...Kf7.

The remainder of the game was quite spectacular after 15.Be4 Qxd4+ 16.Be3 Qe5, but I was able to secure a draw in a complicated queen versus two rooks endgame.

In any case, I will have to find a decent continuation after black's best move 11.Nf6

It only gets better

I always had problems dealing with 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 e6 9.Qf3 c6 10.g5 Ng8 (diagram)

Black retreats his horseman back to square null - safety first. Guess his reasoning is something like "Show me what you have for the pawn !".

And indeed, I have always been struggle with thius move as I could not find an immediate punishment. But now, I finally found the way to victory for white ( rather appropriate wording on this 11th november, when we remember the end of the Geat War ).

The right move is 11.Bd3 Qxd4 - black is obliged to take the pawn to stay in the game as 11...f5`12.gxf6 Qxf6 13.Qg3!! Bxd3 14.Bg5 Qf5 15.cxd3 does not look good at all for black (diagram).

Back to the main line after 11.Bd3 Qxd4 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Rf1 (diagram)

Only 13...Qh4+ is feasible here, follwed by 14.Rf2 Bc5 15.Qxf7+ Kd8 16.Ne4.

As 16...Bb6 now fails to 17.Qxb7, black has nothung else than 16...Bxf2+ 17.Nxf2 (diagram). Black is a lot of material ahead, but white has sufficient comprensation :

a/ 17...Nd7 18.Bd2
...a1/ 18...Ne7 19.0-0-0
......a1a/ 19...Nd5 20.Ne4 (+=)
......a1b/ 19...Rf8 20.Qxe6 Rxf2 21.Bc4 (=)
......a1c/ 19...Kc7 20.Qxe7 (+=)
......a1d/ 19...Ne5 20.Qxe6 (++)

...a2/ 18...Kc7 19.Bf4+ (+=)

...a3/ 18...Ne5 19.Qxb7 (+=)

b/ 17...Ne7 18.Bd2 Nd7 ( see a1 )

c/ 17...Qb4+ 18.Bd2 

...c1/ 18...Qe7 19.Qxg6 (+=)

...c2/ 18...Qxb2 19.Qf8+ Kc7 20.Rd1 (++)

So it seems that white had nothing to fear from the timid 10...Ng8 reply in the Teichmann defense

Is this winnable ?

Dont know if winnable is correct English. I am just wondering if white can convert a small advantage that occurs in the Teichmann defense into a full point.

Consider the position after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Bg2 c6 10.h4 Nbd7 (diagram)

I discussed the main line 10...Bb4 in length in previous posts, but 10...Nbd7 ( and also 10...Bd6 ) gives interesting, unbalanced positions.

My silicon assistant suggests 11.h5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Qxd1+ 13.Kxd1 Nxg4 14.hxg6 Nxf2 15.Ke2 Nxh1 16.gxf7+ Kxf7 17.Bxh1 (diagram)

Black has rook and two pawns for the two pieces. Some might say black has the material advantage ( especially in view of the g and h pawns ), but my computer gives white a small plus ?! let's look at the lines

a/ 17...h5 18.Ne4
...a1/ 18...h4 19.Ng5+ Kg8 20.Bg2 (+=)
...a2/ 18...Be7 19.Bf4 (+=)

...a3/ 18...Bb4 19.Ng5+ (+)
...a4/ 18...Rd8 19.Ng5+ (+)

...a5/ 18...Re8 19.Ng5+ (+)

b/ 17...h6 18.Ne4

...b1/ 18...g5 19.Be3 (+=)
...b2/ 18...Be7 19.Be3 (+=)

...b3/ 18...Bb4 19.Be3 (+=)
...b4/ 18...Rd8 19.Be3 (+)

c/ 17...g6 18.Ne4

...c1/ 18...Bg7 19.Nd6+ (+)
...c2/ 18...Be7 19.Bh6 (+)

d/ 17...Bc5 18.Ne4

...d1/ 18...Be7 19.Be3 (+=)
...d2/ 18...Bb6 19.Nd6+ (+)

...d3/ 18...Bd4 19.Nd6+ (+)

e/ 17...Bb4 18.Ne4

...e1/ 18...Be7 19.Be3 (+=)
...e2/ 18...Rd8 19.Ng5+ (+)

f/ 17...Be7 18.Ne4 h5 19.Bf4 (+=)

g/ 17...a6 18.Be3 (+=)

So it quickly becomes clear that the line 17...Be5 18.Ne4 h5 19.Bf4 (diagram) is critical

Does white have something here ? Maybe, maybe not.  Sure wont be easy for either player.

It aint that bad

In my quest to refute the refutation of the Teichmann defense, I studied the line 9.Bg2 c6 10.h4 in the Tecihmann defense 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6.

It is obvious that only 10...Bb4 gives black a chance to survive. White now has both 11.00 and 11.Bg5 at his disposal.

11.00 was discussed in an earlier post as white risks all to trap an enemy piece. Analysis shows that white has nothing to fear in this line.

More enterprising is the line 11.Bg5 and I looked at the black replies 11...h6, 11...Qa5, 11...Nbd7 and 11...00

The black defense 11...h6 seemed to give white some headache, but 12.Nxg6 fxg6 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Qd3 seemed to equalize.

Igor S from Russia then mailed me that black gets the better game after 14...Nbd7 15.000 000 (diagram)

I initially agreed with him, but aftre carefull analysis, it seems to me 16.Kb1 (diagram) gives white full equality :

a/ 16...Bxc3 17.Qxc3 (=)

b/ 16...Qf2 17.Be4 (=)

c/ 16...Qe7 17.Ne4 (=)

d/ 16...Nc5 17.Qc4 Bxc3 18.Qxc3 (=)

e/ 16...Nb6 17.Ne4 (=)

f/ 16...Kb8 17.Qg3+ (=)

So it seems my Russian friend was wrong and that the line 9.Bg2 c6 10.h4 in the Teichmann Defense is certainly not refuted in any way !

The ink was not dry yet

The ink was no dry yet on an earlier post "Disturbing my plans", when i received a mail saying that "...you might have missed something"...

I was trying to demonstrate teh soundness of the line 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc4 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Bg2 c6 10.h4 Bb4 11.Bg5.

Now I demonstrated that white is better after the natural 11...Nbd7 and has equal chances ( even if white had to trade 6!!! pawns for a piece ) after the challenging 11...Qa5. But last post considered 11...h6 and I suggested 12.Nxg6 fxg6 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Qd3 with equal play.

But the attentive reader might see that black is better after 14...Nbd7 15.000 000.

Back to the drawing table !

Forced lines all along

Last post, I covered a line in the Teichmann defense 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc4 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Bg2 c6 10.h4 Bb4 11.Bg5 ?!

I showed that white is on top aftre the natural move 11...Nbd7 12.h5.

Unfortunately for the line, black has some otehr choices. as an example, Scheerer indicates 11.Bg5 to be "dubious" and suggests 11...Qa5 after which 12.Bd2 Qb6 13.h5 Qxd4 14.Nf3 Qxg4 15.hxg6 Qxg6 "...Black has four pawns for the piece and went on to win in E.Stadler-G.Haika, correspondence 2000."

Hmm, that's a bit of a setback. Let's start at 11...Qa5 12.Bd2 (diagram)

My silicon assistant only gives 12...Qb6 here ( 12...Qc7 13.Qe2 += ) followed by 13.h5 Qxd4 14.Nf3 (diagram)

Again, Scheerer's line is confirmed and 14...Qxg4 15.hxg6 is suggested.
Black may deviate now with 15...Qxg2 but this greedy capture is punished by 16.gxf7+ (+)
Another option is 15...Qg3+ 16.Kf1 but this is better for white than the main line.

So Scheerer was completely right - black has 4 pawns for the piece. But is black also winning ? Let's look after 16.Qe2 (diagram)

Faithfull Houdini now suggests 3 lines

a/ 16...Bxc3 17.Bxc3 Qg3+ 18.Kf1 (+=)

b/ 16...Qg3+ 17.Kf1
...b1/ 17...Nbd7 18.Rh3
......b1a/ 18...Qc7 19.Nb5 cxb5 20.Bxb4 Nd5 21.Be1 (+=)
......b1b/ 18...Qb8 19.Ne1 (+=)
......b1c/ 18...Qd6 19.a3 (+=)
......b1d/ 18...Qg6 19.Nb5 (+=)

...b2/ 17...Qc7 18.a3 (+=)
...b3/ 17...Be7 18.Rh3 (+=)
...b4/ 17...Bxc3 18.Bxc3 (+=)
...b5/ 17...Qg6 18.Nb5 (+=)

...b6/ 17...00 18.Ne4 Nxe4 19.Qxe4 (++)

c/ 16...Qxc2 17.Nd4 Qxb2 18.Rb1 Qxc3 19.Rxb4 !!

...c1/ 19...Qc5 20.Rh4 (=)

...c2/ 19...Qg3+ 20.Kf1 00 21.Rxb7 (+=)

...c3/ 19...Qa1+ 20.Kf2 Qxa2 21.Nf5 (++)

So it seems to me that Scheerer was right - white has to give an awfull lot of pawns for the piece. But I disagree that black is winning. Its seems to me only line c1 gives black an equal games, and white is on top in all other lines, even if white has given 4 or 5 pawns for the piece.

Milking the position

In dutch, "milking the position" means that the player manoeuvres very slowly and carefully as to exploit a very small positional advantage. Of course, that does apply to the vast majority of Blackmar Diemer positions, but still, you might need to do so as to show an advantage.

I learned that the Teichmann defense might give black a smalkl advantage after1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc4 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qf3 c6 10.g5 Nh5.

So I decided to look into 9.Bg2 c6 10.h4 Bb4 and showed that white has equality.

But is there an advantage for teh attacker. My earlier analysis only considered 11.00. So let's look today at 11.Bg5 (diagram) and see if this one can bring white an advantage.

The move looks rather stupid, as it seems to block the advance of the g pawn.

The most natural black move in this position is clearly 11...Nbd7, attacking white's outpost. However white can now can a small advantage attacking the bishop 12.h5 (diagram)

 a/ 12...Nxe5 13.dxe5
...a1/ 13...Qxd1+ 14.Rxd1
......a1a/ 14...Be4 15.exf6 Bxg2 16.Rh2 (+=)
......a1b/ 14...Bxc2 15.exf6 (+=)
......a1c/ 14...Ne4 15.Bd2 (+=)

......a1d/ 14...Bxc3+ 15.bxc3 (+=)

...a2/ 13...Be4 14.Qxd8+ Rxd8 15.exf6 Bxg2 16.fxg7 Rg8 17.Rg1 (+=)

...a3/ 13...Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 (+=)

...a4/ 13...Qa5 14.exf6 Qxg5 15.hxg6 (+=)

b/ 12...Qa5 13.Bxf6

...b1/ 13...Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Qxc3 15.Kf2 (+=)

...b2/ 13...gxf6 14.Nxd7 (+=)

c/ 12...Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 (transposing to other lines ) (+=)

d/ 12...Be4 13.Bxe4 Nxe5 14.Bxf6  (+=)

e/ 12...Qc7 13.Bxf6 (+=)

So we see that whote can get a small advanatge aftre the natural move 12...Nbd7. Unfortunately, black has some other moves, which we will analyse on a further post.

Disaster - I was wrong !!!!

Following an embarassing defeat in a blitx game, I decided to look up again the lines occuring in the Teichmann after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qf3 c6 10.g5 Nh5 (diagram)

I had shown before that 11.Bd3 is best and gave the line 11.Bd3 Qxd4 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Rf1.

But now, oh horror, I see there is a small problem with this as I forgot about 11.Bd3 Qxd4 12.Nxg6 fxg6. It now seems black is equal, maybe even better, as the move I suggested in my book 13.Qg4 (diagram) is not winning.

a/ 13...Bc5 14.Bd2 

...a1/ 14...Qf2+ 15.Kd1 16.Nd7 (=+)

...a2/ 14...00 15.Qxe6+ Kh8 16.000  (=)

...a3/ 14...Qe5+ 15.Ne4 (=)

...a4/ 14...Nd7 15.Qxe6+ Kd8 16.000 (=)

b/ 13...Qe5+ 14.Kd1 (=)

c/ 13...Qb4 14.Be3 (+=)

d/ 13...Qd6 14.Ne4 (=)

So the line 11.Bd3 Qxd4 12.Nxg6 fxg6 13.Qg4 seems to be better for black after 13...Bc5 14.Bd2. The problem is that white does not have much alternatives after having played 11.Bd3. 

Back to the drawing table !!!

It aint over till the fat lady sings

My quest to prove a white advantage after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qf3 c6 10.g5 Nd5 11.Bd3 Nd7 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.00 Qe7 was highlighted by fellow Blackmar Diemer gambiteer Gary Lane. Unfortunately, my suggestion 15.Bd2 was whispered by some incorrect iPad Stockfish analysis. 

Today, I am listing the correct white line - proving that white is better in this line.

15.Rf2 (diagram) is the move !! White prepares for a triple attack on the f7 pawn and anticipates better on black potential replies

a/ 15...000 16.Qxf7 (diagram)

...a1/ 16...Rxh3 17.Qxg6
......a1a/ 17...Rh4 18.Bf4 e5  19.dxe5 (+=)
......a1b/ 17...Qb4 18.Qxe6 Qxd4 19.Qxh3 Bc5 20.Be3 Qxe3 21.Qxe3 Bxe3 22.Re1 (+=)
......a1c/ 17...Qe8 18.Qxe8 Rxe8 19.Bg6 (+=)
......a1d/ 17...e5 18.Rf7 (+)
...a2/ 16...Rh4 17.Qxe7 Bxe7 18.Kg2 (+=)
...a3/ 16...Qxf7 17.Rxf7 
......a3a/ 17...Rxh3 18.Bf4 (+)
......a3b/ 17...Nb6 18.Bf4 (+)
...a4/ 16...Qd6 17.Kg2 (+)
...a5/ 16...e5 17.Qxg6 (+)

b/ 15...Rh5 16.Qg4 (diagram)

...b1/ 16...000 17.Bf4 

......b1a/ 17...e5 18.dxe5 (+=)

......b1b/ 17...f5 18.gxf6 Nxf6 19.Qg3 (+=)

......b1c/ 17...a6 18.Re1 (+)

......b1d/ 17...Qe8 18.c4 (+=)

......b1e/ 17...Nb6 18.Raf1 (+)

...b2/ 16...Rc8 17.Bd2 (+=)

...b3/ 16...Nb6 17.Be3 (++)

...b4/ 16...Rc8 17.Bd2 (+=)

...b5/ 16...a6 17.Bd2 (+)

c/ 15...f5 16.gxf6 gxf6 17.Bxg6+ Kd8 18.Rg2 (diagram) (+=)

d/ 15...Rh4 16.Be3

...d1/ 16...f5 17.gxf6 gxf6 18.Bxg6+ Kd8 19.Re1 (+=)

...d2/ 16...e5 17.Qxd5 Rxh3 18.Bd2 (+=)

...d3/ 16...000 17.Qg3 (+=)

e/ 15...Rc8 16.Bd2 (+=)

So, I guess the fat lady actually did sing today !

Stockfish on iPad versus Houdini on Windows

In my earlier blog "Can you believe your eyes ?", I showed that black is busted after the natural continuation 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qf3 c6 10.g5 Nd5 11.Bd3.

I showed the various line, and came up with a great white 18th move, ie 11...Nd7 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.00 Qe7 15.Bd2 f5 16.gxf6 gxf6 17.Bxg6+ Kd8 18.Kh1 !! Now reader "Anonymous" challenged my assessment and indicated "...After 18.Kh1 black has 18...Bh6 with only a slight edge for white."

Humm, That's strange, let's look at the line after 18...Bh6 (diagram).

My Stockfish app on my iPad immediately indicates 19.Ba5+ as clearly winning for white, whilst Houdini on my Windows PC only shows a very small edge for white ??  What's happening ? Could it be that Stockfish on my small iPad is better than Houdini on my serious Windows operating system ??

After 19.Ba5+ b6 20.Rae1, Houdini on Windows suggests 20...Rc8. Stockfisk on iPad answers 21.Bc3 (diagram). The disagreement continues as Houdini on Windows suggests a small advantage for white ( +0.23 ) whilst Stockfish on iPad sees a large white lead ( +1.5 ). Who is right ?

In this position, Houdini on Windows plays 21...Bg5, which is answered by Stockfish on iPad by 22.Bf5. Houdini on windows now defends with 22...Rc6 (diagram).

The disagreement continues : iPad says : 23.Re2 ( +0.8 ) Windows shouts : 23...Qf7. iPad plays 24.Bd3. Windows 24...f5 (diagram)

Houdini on Windows sticks to his earlier judgement and still sees a tiny white advantage ( +0.15 ), whilst the assessment by Stockfish on iPad has changed dramatically. From an earlier +1.5, it has now dropped to 0.5.

Who is right ? I guess Houdini on Windows is right, but actually... I dont care. I am happy that both engines, playing on such a master level, have problems assessing this position. I just shows the Blackmar Diemer is a serious chess opening leading to hugely complicated positions.