GabrielGale wrote on 01/26/09 at 16:34:17:
1) Is this a common way to avoid the Petroff or is it just Nigel Short?
The 4 Knights is a well known way to avoid the Petroff. It is not only used by Short, but most GM try to avoid the draw with the main lines of the Petroff.
GabrielGale wrote on 01/26/09 at 16:34:17:
2) Is this a good way to avoid the Petroff?
Yes, because black has no good way to reach a Petroff. An early 3...Bb4 is supposed to be good for white. Of course that does not mean that the 4 Knights is a good opening, when it comes to creating winning chances.
GabrielGale wrote on 01/26/09 at 16:34:17:
3) Can Black avoid the 4 Knights? ie, do not play 3...Nc6? Nunn covered only 3...Bb4 and mentioned only 3...d6 which he says transposes to a Philidor Defence ( 4 d4 Nbd7) and says 3...Bc5 is good for W after 4 Nxe5 Bd4 5 Nf3 Bxc3 6 dxc3 Nxe4 Bd3 Nc5 8 O-O.
As you mentioned the two main alternatives to the 4 knights the answer is obviously yes.
GabrielGale wrote on 01/26/09 at 16:34:17:
4) What do you think of W's chances in the 4 knights?
That depends on the variation.
a) White can play an early a3 as advocated in an SOS volume. An opening advantage is most likely caused by surprise, with best play black should equalise comfortably.
b) White can play the Scotch 4 Knights with 4.d4. This can get very dry and drawish, it´s hard for either side to create winning chances.
c) White can play the infamous Belgrade Gambit, with 4.d4 exd 5.Nd5. There´s a huge thread on this hidden somewhere, but the bottom line seems to be that white get´s complicated double edged play with compensation if black accepts the gambit, whereas declining the gambit with 5...Be7 again looks like an easy equalizer.
d) 4.g3, the Glek variation is likewise an opening where white does not count on a straight opening advantage, but hopes to reach a favourable middlegame. It´s not as drawish as the Scotch 4 knights because there are not as many exchanges, but black should not get into opening trouble.
e) 4.Bb5, the Spanish 4 Knights has a lot of known drawing lines as well. On the other hand there are quite a few ways for white to create a rich middlegame structure. Forum member Urusov has a series of good articles on this, you find it here:
http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/games/java/2006/anti-rubinstein.htm The new Marin book is a good source for this too, there seems to be some life in these positions, but still black stands equal according to theory. The better player should win.
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Avoiding the Petroff the Short style (Read 10560 times)
