MNb wrote on 03/28/06 at 03:31:14:


I think MNb's line might be the best way out of the thicket.  I just posted on the Nimzo thread on 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 4 d5 b5 5 Bg5 exd5 6 cxd5 h6 7 Bxf6 Qxf6 8 Qc2! (maybe it doesn't deserve a "!" but I think it's markedly stronger than 7 Nc3).  So:

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 4 d5 b5 5 Bg5 exd5 6 cxd5 Qa5+ 7 Nc3

I'm not sure that 6 ... Qa5+ 7 Nc3 resolves any of Black's queenside problems.  I like 7 ... Be7 8 d6 Bd8, which turns out okay if Black can find some way to activate his/her queenside pieces.  But look at 7 ... Be7 8 Qd2! 0-0 9 d6 Bd8 10 Bxf6 Bxf6 11 Nd5 Qxd2+ 12 Nxd2; Black is really hurting!

Instead: 6 ... Qa5+ 7 Nc3 d6 (which Black has to play at some point anyway...) 8 Bxf6 gxf6 9 Qd3 c4 10 Qe4+ Be7 and Black might even have a reasonable game on the queenside, so long as the fractured pawn structure on the kingside doesn't become too serious a liability.  I suppose an alternative to 9 ... c4 is 9 ... Bd7, but I'm not sure I want to pin down my pieces to passive defense.  Having said that, I'm worried about 11 Nd4 when the f5 square looks vulnerable.  11 Nd4 b4 12 Nd1 f5 13 Nxf5 Bxf5 14 Qxf5 Nd7 15 e3 c3 16 bxc3 bxc3.  Black may have some compensation for the pawn, but I'm not sure I would like to play Black here...

Here's a beautiful game -- one of the most spectacular I have seen in some time.  If it is new to you, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Garcia Martinez,S (2450) - Knaak,R (2490) [E10]
Tunja Tunja (5), 1984

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Nc3 b4 8.Ne4 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.e3 f5 11.Ne5 fxe4 12.Qh5+ Kd8 13.Nf7+ Kc7 14.Nxh8 g5 15.Nf7 Qc3+ 16.Kd1 d6 17.h4 Bd7 0-1

This is the only game with 8.Ne4 in my database...

(Just to note that there is another thread on the Blumenfeld at http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1143385887)

I feel like though the lines ErictheRed mentions are critical, they are also quite unclear and if Black is careful to hold the center together he seems to do quite well.  It may turn out that such a strategy is not possible for Black in general, though...

I'm more immediately interested in seeing what the response to 5.Bg5 ought to be.  I don't think that 5...Qa5+ is so great, in part because of the lines mentioned above, and so I've been initially looking at some of the fascinating lines after 5...h6, in particular 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Nc3 b4 8.Nb5 Kd8.  The whole enterprise requires more study than I've given it so far, but Black's position, if chaotic, is surprisingly resilient.  Has this line been put out of business?

As a side note (which may be quite relevant if these things are discussed there), I've ordered a copy of Przewoznik's text, mainly because it was so cheap, it seemed silly not to have it if I was going to look at these lines -- it seems to have been positively received when it came out, but is it still reliable?

That's true, MNb.

I've never played the Blumenfeld for either side (except in blitz), but one line that really puts me off is 5.de fe 6.cb and 7.g3.  Has Black got anything special here?

Just curious: is there anything wrong with the obvious (to me at least) 7...b4 (after MNb's 7. Nfxd2!)?  This move makes White's knight on b1 look kind of silly.  White's probably still better, but Black seems OK after something like 8.Bxf6 gf 9. g3 Bb7 10.g3 f5 (note that 9.e4 f5 10.exf5 Bg7! is complicated but probably equal).

For what it's worth, the top players tend to prefer 5 Bg5 exd5...

At the main page of chesspub I read, that Glenn Flear
does not think too high of 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5 5.Bg5 because of Qa5+. Now I have not subscribed for several reasons (low salary, impossibitlity of transferring money from Suriname), but still I am curious about 6.Qd2 Qxd2+ 7.Nfxd2! (very common in the Blumenfeld) bxc4 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.e4 Na6 10.a3 Rb8 11.Nxc4 Nc7 12.Nc3 a6 13.a4 (prevents Nb5) d6 14.Bd3 Bb7 15.o-o-o Bh6+ 16.Kc2 Bf4 17.Ne2 exd5 Jongsma-Przewoznik, Haarlem 1980 (with a small transposition) and now Przewoznik in his book on the Blumenfeld gives 18.exd5! Nxd5 19.Nxf4 Nxf4 20.Nxd6+ Kf8 21.Nxb7 with almost a won position. The Black pawns are weak but his bishops are not too active.
Are there any improvements for Black?