Its nice to get into a discussion of a concrete variation rather than follow a rather pointless discussion of the merits of 5.Be7 as an equalising move. For whatever it's worth, 5..Be7 is certainly a good move but has never put me off playing the BG. 

As for 5..Nxd5, there are some well-studied lines, all thought to be a bit better for White eg

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5 Nxd5 6.exd5 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Qe7+ 8.Qe2 Bxd2+ 9.Kxd2 Qxe2+ 10.Bxe2 Ne7 11.d6 gives White quite a lot of pressure in the ending, despite the pawn deficit

5..Nxd5 6.exd5 Nb4 7.Nxd4 Nxd5 8.Nf5 Ne7 9.Bg5 f6 [9...d5 10.Bxe7 Bxe7 11.Nxg7+ Kf8 12.Nh5] 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Qh5+ Ng6 12.0-0-0 is a promising sacrifice, though 9..d5 is an interesting alternative that gives Black plenty of play. I would avoid this by playing 5..Nxd5 6.exd5 Nb4 7.Bc4 Qe7+ 8.Kf1! which offers good chances for White.

I think these lines have put Black players off 5..Nxd5, especially as there are other moves that make life harder for White 

Awww shucks guys, you flatter me 

I am just a patzer with a big mouth, so no need to lose any sleep worrying about how strong or weak, young or old I am.

My ongoing debate with Monson and his beloved Belgrade Gambit is a good thing. Such heated debates in the long run only serve to sell more books. 

That was a hint to photophore, this forum is not meant as a free lunch or a replacement to Informant, New in Chess or Chesspublishing.com. If you want in depth coverage buy the books and study them, when you have done that you may come back here and discuss ideas, content or ask for clarification.

Give a man a fish he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he should never go hungry.

No 'DOUBT' about that.

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Thanks, I appreciate your taking your time with that.  I was hoping that at some point, Bruce Monson would come here either to demonstrate White's chances against my idea or to admit that the Trajkovic line is not quite up to snuff.

Lately I too have been wondering both about TopNotch' actual strength in chess, which I assume exceeds my own (2240); and his age, which I am sometimes tempted to think must be no more than 18.  That was some very nice Dragon analysis he so generously posted, in any case. 

A close look at this thread will reveal that I did supply some lines and improvements, sometimes obvious ones, on the games given.

As for the Dragon, I think I sometimes supply too much analysis, but perhaps that is because I have a special interest in it.

Play the Belgrade if you must, no doubt you will soon be on the market again shopping for something else to play.

Peace and Love

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The beauty of chess is that there are rarely "End of Story" scenarios--the number of messages in this thread is testament to that.

I've never played either side of the Belgrade Gambit (nor likely will), but I've been following this thread out of chessic interest, and would second Markovich's call for substance over rhetoric.  Let's get back on course, please.

I respect the opinions both of TopNotch and of Bruce Monson.  However, I wouldn't come to this forum if opinions were all I found here.  It really is supremely unenlightening to learn that one player thinks that White after 5...Be7 has reasonable play for a win, while another thinks he doesn't.

I wish that the next time someone posts to this thread, they would post some specific ideas about how to play in given positions (e.g.) see my own post, previous page of this thread, concerning the Trajkovich line.  My ideas there remain unanswered, whether from their being ridiculous or simply from everyone's uninterest in the line considered, I am not sure.

I do think that the burden of proof concerning White's supposed winning chances after 5...Be7 rests with those who claim they exist, since established theory -- for whatever it is worth -- seems to say that Black's equality here is easy.

But we should also recognize that the question of whether significant winning chances exist with the Belgrade versus excellent opposition is not necessarily very interesting to the players who play chess, like me, significantly below the excellent level.

Sigh. I just wanted to know if there was any news about progress on the 2nd edition of Monson's book, or if the Belgrade Gambit website is up. TopNotch, you're certainly entitled to your opinion but is it really necessary to keep repeating the same opinion over and over again in this thread?

I don't have an opinion at the moment regarding the position after Be7, but to me it's not the end of the world if it's equal (as NCO says). I would like to see the score of a match in the Belgrade Gambit between 2 equally rated players, where White knows the Belgrade Gambit well and Black just thinks Be7 is all he needs to know.

Obviously it's not objectively as strong as the Ruy Lopez, but if it leads to interesting and beautiful positions, that are not clearly better for Black, then it should be a good and fun surprise weapon. And it's a huge advantage that it can be used against the Petroff as well as against Nc6.

So... any updates on the book or website? Any interesting recent games in this opening? Thanks.