CraigEvans wrote on 05/23/11 at 19:59:15:


Congratulations on winning the game! I shall add it to my collection. As for "unsound", that remains to be seen. Personally, I think the position is unclear after 13...Nd5 . That is not the same thing as losing the game.

Finally, the 11...g6  line is not that often seen. I maintain that the best Black can hope for in the 9...Nxf3 line is equality. Often hew does not get even that. Thus, 9...Nxf3 is favorable for White. 

My computer agrees with this analysis. After 12 Bh6 Nd5 13 Bxf8 Qxf8 14 Nxd5 exd5 15 Qf3 c6 16 Rae1 Bd6 the computer evaluates the position as =/=+  , hardly lost for White! I put it to play itself, and the result was a draw with opposite-colored Bishops. Black was a pawn up on move 60, but could not make any progress.

Thus, the most accurate assessment is that the 11...g6 12 Bh6 Nd5! line gives Black equality and draw, but no more. And the burden of proof is on Black to find the best moves!

CraigEvans wrote on 05/22/11 at 09:56:53:


Regarding your opinion of 11...g6 etc., I think it is inaccurate. White still has a Bishop remaining, which he can exchange. Hardly a refutation, in my opinion. Perhaps more accurate would be to say that after the line you give, the position is unclear.

You just contradicted yourself by admitting you actually won a game with the Zilbermints Gambit in correspondence. Care to share it?

That is the thing about the 'dodgy' gambit: Computers may find the perfect line, but a human will not. More proof is that a computer, Deep Blue, beat the World Champion, Garry Kasparov, back in 1996.

I'm sorry, I seem to have missed a page here.

11...g6 12.Bh6 Nd5! 13.Bxf8 Qxf8 14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Qf3 Be6 16.Rae1 Bd6 (to keep it simple) - where is black's "hope for equality"? He has the bishop pair and two pawns for the exchange. If anyone has winning chances it is him, unless my understanding of chess and my evaluation of this position is way off. It may end in a draw, it might even be "unclear" - but with half of the pieces traded, black is definitely not worse. If this is one of the better lines for white, then it goes to show how dodgy this gambit actually is. We've obviously unpicked some of the holes in 9...c5 and 9...Nc6, and 9...c6 seems like a solid reply also, but the fact that black can be completely fine (which I opine he is) even in this line (which, by my understanding, is pretty much the whole point of 9.Kh1?!) shows that this gambit should not be taken seriously.

The amusing irony is that I have recently won a correspondence game in it where my opponent chose the weaker 12...Re8. Had he found the move I stumbled across (12...Nd5!), then I believe he could have proven black to be better even here. In a simplifying line.

Moving on, another correspondence game I've recently been playing involved the Pietrowsky defence (5...Nc6). Now theory old and new seems quite damning of this move after 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.O-O, but here my opponent uncorked the rare 7...a6!, which I think puts the onus back on white to prove something. I chose 8.Bd3 but after 8...Bg4 I seemed to find myself in quite an inferior position, though I've managed to turn it around and reach what I think is an equal position in the middlegame. But neither 8.Bc4 or 8.Bxc6 (possibly best) seem convincing either. What are people's experiences/opinions of this rare line?

I hope you understand what you imply here.
A) 9...Nxf3 10.Qxf3 is one of best White can get.
A1) This means that Black can chose better lines.

B) Black can only hope for equality in 9...Nxf3 10.Qxf3.
Combining with A1 we get that Black has serious prospects for more than equality in other (ie better) lines.

Somehow I think you meant something else.

But 16...Bc5, or 16...Bd6, and Rxe6 no longer works. No idea why black would want to spend a tempo he doesn't need to on passive play. I maintain black is better here. Either way, if the best I can hope for is dead equality in this line (which was supposed to be one of the best for white), it's another reason against it. Not to worry, thanks for the answers folks!

That's easy. He probably meant 14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Qf3 Be6 16.Rae1 c6 and I don't see Black's advantage either. 17.Rxe6 equalizes.

CraigEvans wrote on 05/18/11 at 17:45:57:


Go to Yahoo. Type in Unorthodox Openings Newsletter. It should take you to the group. You can download it from there.

As for your analyses, I suggest 12 Bh6 Nd5 13 Bf8 Qf8 14 c3 Bc5 15 Nd5 exd5 16 Qf3 Be6 17 Rae1 c6 =

I think White is better. The computer says -0.88 , so...

Call me an idiot for opening this debate...

In the ZGED, after 9...Nxf3 10.Qxf3 O-O 11.Qh3!?, what is white supposed to do against 11...g6? I'm yet to find anything convincing.

Also, a link to these newsletters would be useful for those of us who do not know where to look!