See the thing is, not even grandmasters know which variations are good, which are bad, and which are completely busted. When I played GM Henrik Danielsen last year he chose the Bogoljubow defence. Stupid as I was I refrained from playing 6.Bc4 because it has been busted (but what is the chance that he would know of that bust, probably he faces the BDG once a year). So instead I chose 6.Bf4, but of course he did not castle kingside into the Dragonkiller. Still I got a reasonable position and only lost due to later errors.

However, this is not the reason I gave up the BDG. The reason was that less good players tend to play more careful, and there is one line that is very careful which also happens to be Black's best defence. 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 c6 and now what do you do?
5.fxe4 e5! is only equal and in a very boring way (McGrews articles on chesscafe where full of holes)5.Nxe4 Bf5 is a bad Caro-Kann,
5.Bc4 Bf5 is a bad version of the Vienna defence.

I could not break the Ziegler defence 4...exf3 5.Nxf3 c6 or the Tartakower-Gunderam 5...Bf5 either. I have tried the "Alchemy variation" a few times in blitz. I think it works there but a 2h/40 against someone who knows how to defend - no way!

Using computer engines only makes things worse. They tend to find the "only" moves for Black that defend, while always trying to regain material for White which is most likely to yield a bad endgame.

Still, when I play blitz or meet someone rated below 1900 the BDG works fine.

In this thread it became clear, that the Alchemy Variation is White's only chance after 5...c6.
<You need to focus more on the Alchemy Variation>
Why does LDZ recommend this, if he does not play it himself?

I have to agree with MNB on this one Lev D. Zilbermints.
The variation that Markovich is talking about specifically is not covered very well in the BDG handbook. I have both and the games are not very convincing. THe DMC has given some variations that look much more promising and in fact are more concrete answers to his concerns.

This is nonsense, guys. You keep talking about the Tartakower-Gunderan Defense, 5...Bf5 , as if it was something so special. Why don't you pick up a copy of Rev. Timothy Sawyer's Blackmar- Diemer Gambit Keybook II (Pickard & Son, Publishers 1999) in any decent bookstore? Barnes and Nobles? Or order it through the USCF catalogue?

All these lines can be easily found in old issues of Blackmar-Diemer Gambit World Magazine, 1983-1998.
You need to focus more on the Alchemy Variation and less on lines that are already well-known.

I must point out that all your analyses are great for correspondence chess, where you have DAYS to analyse. In over-the-board chess, it is a vastly different story.

So, when you analyze, specify if this is for correspondence or OTB play. The reason? Most players in OTB play  won't find a lot of these variations.

Markovich,

The name of that variation is the Tartakower-Gunderam, and if you think that Black has a chance in these lines you are sadly mistaken.

On this site, you are encouraged to give lines, if you can't or won't do that your posts will not be given much credence here.

Yes Bonsai it does.
I have made a personal decision not to post anymore analysis on the board because it seems to me that it is unfair and not very prudent for Blackmar Diemar specialists and players to put all their hard work on the forums where anyone without a subscription can just pull it off and play.

I hope that perhaps GM Prie could oblige the Blackmar Diemar players here and have us send him he analysis were he can remark upon the finding in an update. In this way we can still present our analysis monthly and he would not have to find games.

Just email me Bonsai, and I will give you the moves and send you some pgn.

Teyko@mchsi.com

I feel like a complete idiot. After having the Blackmar Diemar Gambit world cd for almost 6 months, I never thought to look at it seriously until now.

These guys are the bomb, and by the way it has been established for almost a decade that 6.Bc4 is inferior because of Bf5.

We are reinventing the wheel guys. The Pape Attack in volume 52 and Stummer's attack in Volume 59 deserve attention.