trw wrote on 08/08/08 at 00:59:02:
Paddy wrote on 08/07/08 at 22:15:59:
the more recent Palkovi (2001)
I have been trying to obtain this source for quite sometime... any advice on where to get it?
REPLY
I assume you've tried major European suppliers, e.g. BCM, Chess & Bridge, Chess Direct, Niggermann, New in Chess...
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trw wrote on Today at 01:59:02:
Thanks for those games Perhaps I have underestimated Nd5 here but b4 still seems white's best chance.
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REPLY: Well, obviously b4 ideas are critical, since b4 gains material and forces Black to justify his sacrifices, but 14 b4 is definitely bad and based on what I've looked at with Fritz I suspect 15 b4 loses by force.
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trw wrote on Today at 01:59:02:
However Geller notes 13 d4 to be a mistake... gives a ton of analysis but his main line goes like this 13. d4 Bb6 14. b4 Nd5 15 bxa5 Qh4+ 16 g3 Bxa5+ 17. Bd2 Qxh2 18 Bxa5 Qxg3+ =
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REPLY: No, there is no way that 13 d4 can be a mistake; it is a normal, logical move and is possibly the safest way for White to achieve a clear advantage, unless you can find a significant improvement after Mednis's 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Qd4 11. f4 Bc5 12. Rf1 Qd8 13. d4 Bb6 14. c3! [Instead of 14 Be3?! or 14 b4?!] 14...Nd5 15. Kf2! O-O 16. Kg1. Black is just a pawn down with the worse structure and considerably less play than he gets in the main lines of the Two Knights with 10...Bc5, 10...Qc7 or 10...Bd6.
Some confusion may have arisen because some sources (e.g. Keres 1968, Estrin 1983) give Van Oosterom's 13th move as 13...Bd6, but in his book "King Power in Chess" Mednis gives it as 13...Bb6, the same move as in Megabase.
Let's examine some lines after 13 d4:
a) 13....Bxd4 14 c3. and
b) 13...Qxd4 14 Qxd4 Bxd4 15 c3 "in both cases with big endgame advantages for White." Mednis
c) 13...exd3!? 14 Qxd3 Qc7 "the best practical chance (...) to keep the position as open as possible." Mednis.
This might be the way to go. There has been very little experience with this; many Two Knights players might well consider this position acceptable for Black. Estrin (1966) and ECO2 gave 15 Bd2! Rb8 16 Bxa5 Qxa5+ 17 Nd2, Paoli-Pogats, Kecskemet 1962 as better for White but, as with all such sharp theory from the pre-computer age, this should be re-examined.
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trw wrote on Today at 01:59:02:
What do people think though of 13... Bb6 14. b4 Nb7 I like black's chances alot here still....
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REPLY: 13 c3 Bb6 14 b4 Nb7 15 Nxc6 Qc7 16 Ne5 0-0 17 Na3 is given in most sources as better for White (Rodkin-Shakhov, USSR 1962) with the verdict that Black has insufficient compensation for two pawns, but perhaps some work with Fritz can unearth resources for Black.
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It would great if you could make 10...Qd4 work, but for now I'm sticking with 10...Bc5!
It is a pleasure to me to re-examine some of these old ideas in one of my favourite openings - thank you for raising this topic and good luck in your investigations!