Thanks for your help Stefan.

Your analysis is correct but is white winning here? My computer gives the position as equal. I agree this verdict may be slightly optimistic but black has got the bishop's pair so may be able to defend.

So the current verdict of the Riga is that it's busted, due to the long and forcing lines arising from 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Ne4: 6.d4 ed4: 7.Re1 d5 8.Bg5! f6 9.Nd4: Bc5 10.Nc6: Bf2:+ 11.Kf1 Qd7 12.Nc3 bc6:13.Ne4: Be1: 14.Nf6:+ gf6: 15.Qh5+ Kf8 16.Re1!! (Matemax)

8. ... Qd6 is also not good enough after 9.c4!

After a long search maybe I've now found a remedy though - the new line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Ne4: 6.d4 ed4: 7.Re1 d5 8.Bg5! f6 9.Nd4: and now 9. ... Qd6!?
Blacks idea is to play the ugly ... Kf7 which is apparently much better than it looks. The king is quite safe on f7 and the Ne4 is unpinned. After both 10. Bh4 and 10.c4 black will go 10. ... Kf7!?

NeverGiveUp wrote on 03/10/12 at 08:31:50:


Where is Matemax's analysis which I presume carries forward the 16. Re1 and 17. Kg1 line?  This is what I come up with my engine, after the moves from correspondence game supplied above:

16. Rxe1 fxg5 17. Kg1 Bb7 18. Qxg5 Qg7 19.
Qf5+ Qf7 20. Qe5 Rg8 21. Rf1 Qxf1+ 22. Kxf1 Rg7 23. Qc3 Re8 and my engine, outdated as it is, prefers 24. h3 though 24. Kg1 and 24. h4 aren't far behind (maybe I'll let her run all night).

Thanks in advance.  My interest in the Riga arises from the possible transposition from the Centre Attack which I am considering adopting: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O Nxe4 (rather than the "normal" 6...Be7)

drkodos wrote on 12/03/08 at 02:12:56:



McDonald following Palkovi's analysis gives 18.Bxc6 Qxc6 19.Bg7 Rg8 20.Qf7 Bf5 21.Qxg8+ Kd7 22.Qf7+ Kc8 23.Bxf6 as better for White. What do you guys think?

This, like 8.Qf3 in the Two Knights, comes up frequently in this forum. I think that this reveals more about the chess judgment of some people than anything about chess. But those who would play this should play it, and it will no doubt be an education.

Thanks Markovich.

Even if you are right and 15.c3 would give white an advantage with best play of both sides then I'd still state that the riga is very playable in a practical game - maybe not in a CC, against anything less than a GM.

The advantages are as follows:
-it's not a lot of opening theory. All you need to do is get hold of the NIC YB85 article and you're allright
-Since it's supposedly refuted, no one plays it, so white will not know what to do against it.
-It throws white off balance by going into types of positions he will be seriously unfamiliar with.
-Several lines go into complex and interesting endgames, so if you like endgames and/or are good at these then this line may be just the thing for you.
-Any white who wants to prepare against the line is bound to have a hard time -even if he's an FM or IM- since the lines that might be really difficult to meet for black are hardly mentioned anywhere. Most major RL sources hardly mention the line at all.
-Although Berger's line might be the refutation then (with the additions given here) no one plays it. I haven't had 8.Bg5 against me ever. And even if they would then I seriously doubt if they will ever come up with the amazing moves 16.Re1!! and 17.Kg1!. My guess is they will probably play something else along the way (like 8.Bg5 f6 9.Nd4 Bc5 10.Be3) when black should be fine.

It still would be brillant if one of you guys would come up with an improvement particularly in the Berger line - since it's not ideal to play an opening line that is refuted. Also you guys probably sympatise with the variation (why else come to this pub?) so it would be good if it can be saved... Any help is much appreciated ...    

Thanks guys for these excellent analyses. They do advance the opening theory of this line. Unfortunately not in the direction I'd like to see ...

Markovich I completey agree with your analysis - black is in (serious) trouble here. I suggest black should abstain for playing h6 altogheter since it's very weakening, and go 17. ... g6 straight away and after 18.f3 ef3: 19.Nf3: go 19. ... Bd5!? with the idea 20.Kg3 b5 21.Bc2 Re8 when it looks as if black is OK.

I still maintain the endgame is quite doable for black.

But then there is Aiorla's line - the brillant 17.Kg1! in Berger's line, where white being a whole rook down just plays a quiet attacking move that brings black to the brink of disaster.
Black has no choice but to sac his queen for Rf1 (as per the CC game) after which material is about even but white wins the pawn on c6 and then another one, resulting in an endgame of Q vs two rooks where white is a pawn up and black's king is unsafe so black is really struggling.
Maybe black can just about hold on by the skin of his teeth by trying to get his rooks to the 7th and attacking g2 - but it looks like white is still better since he can create a passed pawn on the queenside and protect g2 with his queen.
When time allows I'l try to do a detailed analysis of this ending. In the meantime I have been looking at alternatives for black after 8.Bg5 but they're basically all good for white. 8. ...f6 9.Nd4 Bc5 10.Nc6 Bf2+ 11.Kf1 Qd6 looks interesting but is no good after 12.Nb4+! Kf8 13.Nd5 with Bf4 to follow and black can resign. 8. ... Qd6 has been whiped off the board with the Berliner correspondence game. And 8. ...f6 9.Nd4 Bc5 10.Nc6 Bf2+ 11.Kf1 Qd7 12.Nc3 0-0!? is interesting and very doable after 13.Nd5: Kh8 14.Re4 fg5: where black has excellent compensation for the piece due to the miserable position of white's king, but falls apart after the simple 13.Re4:! de4: 14.Qd7: Bd7: 15.Bf4 and white is clearly better.
So to me it looks like the riga is now very close to really being busted by Berger's 8.Bg5    - unless anyone can come up with a rescue operation??      

One other thing before I forget - all these analyses end up in complex endings - so it really pays off in the riga (and in chess as a whole, really) to be an endgame expert! People spend too much time at openings (as we do in the pub) and do not take enough time to study the endgame what is not only very useful but also very enjoyable. People who say they never get to the endgame should have another look at their won games. Endgames are not boring at all. I'm just going through Nunn's understanding chess endgames, what is a recent and really excellent book.

Greetings to you all!

A while ago I analyzed the Riga and saw the strong 17. Kg1!. I didn't find a way to repair 8...f6. The main alternative 8...Qd6 seemed to offer faint chances to survive, but it is also +/-, certainly nothing that Black would like to play in a corr. game.