The whole line seems to have been buried because of 6.Bc4.
Have there been any new developments? I really hope so, because I agree with MNb:
Quote:I would love it, when 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Ne4 proved to be playable.
I am also interested in the line 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Ne4 5.Nce2 f6.
Końca and Przewoźnik give 6.Nf4 as critical, but there have been hardly any games with this move in recent years. 6.f3 is seen more often.
According to Końca and Przewoźnik the best move after 6.Nf4 is 6...Qe7, but they are not very enthusiastic about Black's chances to play for a win in the line 7.Qh5+ Qf7 8.Qxf7+ Kxf7 9.f3 fxe5 10.fxe4 exf4 11.Bxf4 (I translate from the german edition: "White doesn't risk losing. On the other hand, Black has chances to draw with accurate defence.").
Maybe Black is ok in this variation, but has anyone still found a better answer to 6.Nf4, or is this variation not played anymore because 5.Nxe4 dxe4 6.Bc4 is so well known to be just better for White?