Ankit Gupta wrote on 10/09/10 at 15:23:42:
We have not finalized line choices yet, and that is the input that we mainly want from the public. To ensure we are familiar with all the recent ideas in the various positions, we have preliminarily analyzed all lines for Black, but we will only emphasize one line per White's choices in the book.
In regards to your first question, after 5. Nxe5, we are leaning towards 5...Nd7 (which also unfortunately has the "forced" draw of 6. Nxf7). Would people prefer we instead give the 5...Bd6 line because it avoids the draw (even though it has other drawbacks)? Maybe if we could get a general poll on this, it would give us a better view on what people want.
And in regards to your second question, we are leaning towards Nc6 followed by Nb4. It is currently being played the most at the top level, and therefore, seems like the logical choice to suggest. That said, both GM Har-Zvi, and I decided it would be best to offer new ideas for Black to deviate earlier in that line (still after ...Nb4), and also deep within that line, so Black has multiple *new* options.
If people want us to cover other lines instead, please present the case for such, because line choices have not been finalized yet, and can be changed.
I am looking forward to the book. I've always been attracted to the Petroff but have only been an occasional dabbler. So what would I like to see?
In the 3.d4 line, I would like to see 5..Nd7. After 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 7.0-0 I like having the option of 7..Bd6 (transposing to the 5..Bd6 6.0-0 Nd7 line) or 7..Qh4. At the top level, I take it that 7..Bd6 is considered better, but at amateur level 7..Qh4 can lead to a livelier game with opposite side castling. It gives you a chance to try to mix things up when you need to.
Maybe the main lines after 7..Qh4 are theoretically +/=, but I don't think it matters as much at amateur level. If, for example, you consider a game like Anand-Ivanchuk, Linares 1993, Anand knows how to win this position with the two bishops and the pawn for the exchange. At club level, I bet Black wins this as often or even more often than White.
I confess, though, that I don't pay that much attention to 3.d4 because it doesn't come up that often in my occassional Petroff games. Whichever you choose, I hope you will comment in the book on why 3.d4 has fallen out of favor. Is it simply fashion or has White (other than Tiviakov) just given up trying to play it for a win?
In the 3.Nxe5 line, I would like to see 6..Nc6/6..Be7 and 8..Nb4. It's by far the main line at the moment. Is Marshall's 6..Bd6 playable? The old 6..Nc6, 7..Bg4 line has looked shaky to me since that K-K game where Kasparov chased Karpov's Queen to a6. And, for some reason that I can't quite remember at the moment, I think that 6..Be7, 8..Bg4 is under pressure.
But this then is a problem I have with the Petroff because in the 8..Nb4 9.Be2 line, I think that I would prefer to play the White side after 9..0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5. Those c3-d4 pawns look a little too mobile for my taste (and I can tell you that its dispiriting when White plants a piece on d6 for the rest of the game). So I hope you will discuss how to play against these pawns and show that Black is OK here. Also, after 15.Bf4, it alsways feels wrong to have to play 15..Rc8. Is Karpov's 15..Bd6 playable?
But what I'd really like to see, if you can make it work, is ..Be6, either at move 9 or 10. I saw GM Har-Zvi's video on ICC where he looked at 10..Be6 followed by ..c5, and while I have not analyzed it yet, it looked like something that I would be happy to try. So again I hope you will cover these alternatives thoroughly. There is really little out there on them.
As for the rest of the book, I assume it will be 5..c5! against the Cochrane, that there will be a good line against the Nimzo after Nxc3, and I would echo a prior comment that we really do need some suggestions for how to win again 5.Qe2 and 5.d3. Then we can play the Petroff as our #1 defense even in must win situations against lower-rated players.
I also think that it would help to have a historical overview as to how the opening has developed and changed. It seems that, after 8..Nb4, everyone used to take on d5 until Karpov played Be2 and, after that, it really became a different and more complicated opening.
Oh, and in case you still care, consider this another vote to keep it just a Petroff book.
Good luck finishing the book and thanks for asking!
edited
Thanks for your comments. We'll look into them.