1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a6 11.Nb3 Bb4 12.Bd3 b5 13.g4 Bb7 14.Rhg1 Na5 15.Rg3 Nc4 16.Qe1 Qh4 17.Bd4 Rfc8 18.Qf1 Qe7




At this point I see my candidate moves as:

• 19.Kb1
• 19.Qh3
• 19.Rh3
• 19.Bxh7+

Yes, I have the bishop sac on my list!  Although this runs counter to my initial intuitive assessment (i.e., "shouldn't be sound because White cannot bring up reinforcements quickly enough"), my contention is that after 19.Bxh7+ Kxh7 20.Qh3+ Kg8 21.g5




White has substantial compensation for the piece (the key is the harmonious placement of White's remaining pieces  ).  I will try to back this up with some analysis in later posts.  In the meantime, I'm interested to hear any thoughts on this (preferably supported by specific ideas/analysis), and I'm more than happy to try and shoot down any ideas for Black's defense.

I'm not asserting (yet) that the bishop sac is White's best move, however I will claim that it is far too strong (and interesting!) not to be considered.

Thanks to Keano for putting the bishop sac idea in my head.  (I take full blame, however, for overstating its strength should it ultimately prove to be unsound.)

My absolutely unreliable analysis runs 19.Kb1
a) 19...Bxc3 20.Bxc3 b4 21.Bd4 a5 22.Qh3 Nf8 23.f5 and the space invaders are too slow.
b) 19...a5 20.Rh3 Nf8 21.f5 a4 22.f6 Qd8 (might be an argument pro 18...Qd8) 23.fxg7 Kxg7 24.Nd2 a3 25.Qf4.

18...Qe7 is a bit better than 18...Qd8 according to my analysis with Shredder. There are also some fun lines where black attacks on the queenside with his pawns and his queen is well posted there on e7. And no, 19.f5 and 19.Bxf7 don't work -- just yet. I think 18...Qe7 is a more active square for the queen than d8, as well as I think being safe, so I will play it probably tomorrow, if no one can post analysis that will lead me to change my mind.

Regards.

Keano,

Glad to have you participating in our recently resurrected game!

I think either 18...Qe7 or 18...Qd8 should be played.  There are subtle differences between the two and it is difficult to say which is better (I've concentrated more on 18...Qe7 in my analysis).  Although Black's queenside play should not be underestimated, I think your "space invaders" scenerio might be just a tad optimistic. 

Unless I missed something, 18...Nf8 is pretty much refuted by 19.g5 cutting off the black queen's retreat.

I hadn't even considered the Bxh7+ sac (after say 18...Qe7).  My impression is that it shouldn't be sound because White cannot bring up reinforcements quickly enough.  However, this idea should not be discarded without a bit of analysis - which I will be sure to do!

whiteatak shredder,

My next move is 18.Qf1

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a6 11.Nb3 Bb4 12.Bd3 b5 13.g4 Bb7 14.Rhg1 Na5 15.Rg3 Nc4 16.Qe1 Qh4 17.Bd4 Rfc8 18.Qf1




It was a tough choice between this move and 18.f5, which I also think may also prove to be a decent option.  For the most part 18.f5 was more straightforward and easier to calculate, but I like the positions I saw arising from 18.Qf1 a bit better.

OstapBender wrote on 01/08/07 at 03:59:14:


If I were playing white, that would probably be my order for what I think the strongest moves would be, at least for the first two. I admit that after 18.f5 black is fighting for the draw; for 18.Qf2 I think that would be the same but less so.

Thanks Ostap.

I'm sorry to be so hasty, but since the overwhelming amount of analysis here has been on 17...Rfc8 -- and since there's been a lot of time to analyze other moves from this position -- I'm going to play it. I like how it attacks on the queenside and vacates the f8 square for the king.

So, here is my move: 17...Rfc8.

I don't remember all of my analysis, but I thought that 17.Bd4 followed quickly by f4-f5 was simply too much for Black's kingside.  Rather than Black giving up pawns, I saw White sacking pawns to get through to the king.   

I'll try to piece together my analysis over the next week, but I'm discovering that the snow days at the end of the semester have really messed up my Christmas break.  (The time that I thought I had to prepare for next semester will be spent patching together the remains of the Fall semester with as little heartache for the students as possible.)