In the line where White captures the e-pawn in the Falkbeer, how has 7...Bf5 as a response to Qe2 been doing for Black (Tarrasch liked it)?

1. e4 e5  2. f4 d5  3. exd5 e4  4. d3  Nf6  5. dxe4  Nxe4  6. Nf3 Bc5  7. Qe2  Bf5  8. g4 0-0  9. gxf5 Re8 etc.

Isn't Keres' 5. Nd2 the problem for Black early in the Falkbeer? After 5...e3 6. Nc4 Nxd5  7. Nxe3 Nxf4 8. g3 etc, sees White fianchetto the Bishop and develop the KN to f3, and Black lagging behind with nothing in the centre. This worries me as a Falkbeer player, as I cannot rely on 5 dxe4. Back to 2..Bc5? Or even accept the gambit?

I see, having looked at databases, at chessgames.com and chesslab.com, that 7...Bf5 is doing very badly (16%) against Nc3, and 5Nd2 is doing very badly for White (Black has 60% after exd3!) So - reality has obviously moved on quite a bit.

Hello hicetnunc - 

I thought you might find this interesting, coming from one like me with very little theoretical backing.

In the last week or so on the internet, I have twice had great joy with the Falkbeer, without really having much of an idea in advance of where I was going. I suppose it proves that White can go very seriously wrong quite easily. Short games, so here they are:

(By the way, elders and betters - comment greatly appreciated, of course. Be gentle)

Game A:

White: KG player
Black: Frankly

1. e4 e5; 2. f4 d5; 3. exd5 e4; 4. Nc3 Nf6; 5. Bc4 Bg4; 6. Nge2 Bc5; 7. d4 exd3; 8. Bxd3 Nxd5; 9. Nxd5 Qxd5; 10. Kf1 Bh3; 11. Rg1 Bxg1; Nxg1 and resigns too. 0-1.

My eyes lit up with Kf1.

Game B:

White: AN Other KG player
Black: Frankly

1. e4 e5; 2. f4 d5; 3. Nf3 Bg4; 4. h3 Bh5; 5. Be2 dxe4; 6. Nxe5 Qh4+; 7. Kf1 Qxf4+; 8. Kg1 Bc5+; 9. d4 exd3+ Resigns. 0-1.

Needless to say, my little spirit rejoiced as this unfolded, as I was dithering endlessly about 4...Bh5. I also took forever with my moves, which would have led to great time trouble (as always!) had it not ended so soon and violently.

The moral of the story is that I did not know the lines at all (save for very early Falkbeer) and yet White managed to create a nightmare for himself twice so quickly. Consulting databases afterwards (Chessgames.com) confirmed that these were not the lines. Anyway, for what it's worth - there it is.

Gerando:
4.Nf3 Nf6 is the Modern Defence
4.Bc4 is the Bishop's Gambit
4.Qf3 is the Breyer Gambit
Indeed they deserve a separate thread.

Hicetnunc:
no comment on 12.o-o-o ?

and what about 1 e4 e5 - 2 f4 d5 - 3 ed5 ef4 ? I played it on the net with godd results.

I was wondering how to play as white against the Falkbeer counter-gambit ? I recently tried what I thought was a healthy main line as white and run into 8...Na6 before being thoroughly crushed...This move looks like a hard nut to crack 

One of my fellow clubmate told me 6.Qe2 (instead of 6.Nf3/7.Qe2) was a refutation, but 6...Bb4+ 7.c3 0-0! looks quite good for Black.

So any idea is much welcome at the moment 

Thank you for your help !

[Event "HCL-M"]
[Site "Playchess"]
[Date "2005.02.04"]
[Round "18"]
[White "Me"]
[Black "SoYouWannaPlayKG huh ?"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.f4 e5 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.d3 Nf6 5.dxe4 Nxe4 
6.Nf3 Bc5 7.Qe2 f5 8.Be3 Na6 9.Nbd2 O-O 10.Nxe4 
fxe4 11.Ng5 Bf5 12.Ne6 Bxe6 13.dxe6 Qf6 14.O-O-O 
Rad8 15.Rxd8 Rxd8 16.Qf2 Ba3 17.c3 
Qxc3+ 0-1