Quote:Well, this entire Nb4 line was Fritz’s work not mine, as I hope was clear from my post. I included it mainly for the bizarre position after Bxh7. I agree that after 18…Qg5+, White can equalize, and maybe even do a bit better than that. 18…Nd7 might be better for Black, but I think White is OK.
But after 18..Nd7 19.Bh4 Nf6 20.Qe2 White is better!
Quote:In the 10…Be7 line, I don’t like 12…Nd7. Frankly, compared to the same position after Black wastes a tempo on Bb4-Be7, Black is better not obstructing the queen (which watches d4), though White can temporize (in the 10…Bb4 line) with 13.c3 and the positions may transpose. This is an interesting subtlety, but probably Black does better playing 10…Be7 and then 12…Qb6. At any rate, I don’t see any breakthroughs for White.
You are maybe right, but was is sure is that 10..Bb4, giving a tempo compared to 10..Be7 can only be inferior to 10..Be7 (It's not like if I had no good moves to play, and commit my position with a move)
About 8..Qxd4 9.Be3, I think only 9..Qd6! 10.g5 Nfd7 can give problems to White. With 8..Qb4, 8..Qe5 or 8..Qd8, Black have no advantages. But theses positions after the double pawn sacrifice are really hard to assess. In theory, it seems that there is not always a concrete way to compensate the 2 pawns, but in practice it's a lot different. If I wanted to analyse 8.g4!? it's because this move is very sharp, and it's at least equal (or real winning chances)against every Black's responses,(other than 8..Qxd4 9.Be3 Qd6 10.g5 Nfd7 where I am myself quite septical) like we have seen in our analysis. The other reason I gave 8.g4!?, is Peter Leisebein's favourite, where he have a very good results, but he admit that theses positions are difficults to judge and to play for both side. After 8..Qxd4 9.Be3 Qd6 10.g5 Nfd7 (I think this is the critical variation of the whole 8.g4!?, because in any other lines, I don't fear anything), Leisebein prefered first 11.Bd2 and after 11..Ne5 Qe2 I have 2 wins from him.(but like you Scholar, I am quite septical here) and in the recent years, he seems to prefer 11.Qf2 but here too, I am not sure about White's compensation. My general conclusion of 8..Qxd4 is that the game is very sharp, theorically better for Black because of the material advantage, but hard to play for both side, and not that bad in practice (still goods results of course, but I am not convinced by White's real compensation in line with 9..Qd6) And for curiosity, I watched to Fritz's evaluation after 11.Qf2, and despite the fact that he is generally materialist, he agree that White have a compensation of 75% for 2 pawns (about -0.50, 1 pawn totally compensated and an half pawn compensated in a material point of view, and somes times in a normal BDG position he give -0.50 where Black is "only" 1 pawn up. And generally when you continue to play best moves from White side, Fritz himself "improve"White evaluation gradually, moves after moves to finally reach an equality. )It was just an interesting point of view, but Fritz is not always a reference, it's even more true in the BDG when he sometimes gives defensives and passives moves to White because he plays like if he had to survive with a pawn down, which is contrary to the gambit spirit : attacking at all cost (and 8.g4 is in this spirit). But if White is doubt of White's compensation, or is just scared to offer another pawn without anything concrete, (only dynamics compensation, that can often be used to regain material with (=) or even more, but not sure they always can.) you can still play the classical 8.Be3 (Fritz the materialist seems to prefer this move, but was the old mainline I think) or 8.Qf2!?(Ciesilsky variation) which are more conventional and not bad.
This tread is just another example of the complexity of the BDG, and the differents positions that can arrise from differents strategies, and the theory of the BDG still evolue, and even you (anyone in this forum), or me can contribute to add a little thing to the theory, which is still growing and evoluting, sometime only one little improvement from one side can change an entire defense or attack! When you realise that theses analysis is just a part from my works and researchs of existing analysis, it just deserves the right to have some respects for the BDGers, who are also chess lovers, like any of you, and fights hard to defend a meprised line (only somes guys are concerned, generally the type of guys who love to uses only words to say that the gambit is so bad).