Of course i meant
9...Ke8 and not 9...Kh8
(what was i thinking? Strange patterns work inside the mind. The move ...Kh8 is much more common than ...Ke8!)
Yes, i also disagree about with Mark here, even though making general remarks is always dangerous. There are sub-variations of the Berlin endgame (even lines that are considered main lines today, for example
Kramnik's ...h5 variation) than kill the winning chances of both sides, so if Mark had those in mind when he said what he said he is right. But, in my opinion, there are lines (like the one i talked about) that give Black hopes for the win. There is also a
...Bf5 variation which is complex and unclear.
Let me present you a fraction of a recent game of mine featuring a strong novelty from my side. After
9.Nc3 i played
9...Be6 (another good continuation) and my well-prepared opponent played
10.Ng5 Ke7 11.f4! which is considered critical in Cox's Berlin book. I played with confidence
11...h5! which is (as i understand it!) best and my opponent played
12.Rd1 which was given in Cox's book as uncomfortable for Black based on a Carlsen's game from 2005 if i recall correctly. Now i played again what i think is logical and strong:
12...f6! which is (probably!) a novelty (that came to my mind after watching plenty of those recent Ke8+h5 games, where by the way Black is not equal according to what i have found) and after
13.exf6 gxf6 14.Nxe6 Kxe6 i won easily by playing
Bd6-Kf7 and after White played
g2-g3 i played in auto-pilot the position after
Rag8+h4 with massive attack while the Rd1 looked really stupid!
A game proves nothing of course! But i use it as an example from my experience.
@trw: Is there a chance to reveal some ways you have found to make the position after 5.Re1 a bit more complicated?
I can reveal them but as I said they aren't very good.
actually I can't find the game now... I'll look again deeper later to find the physical copy. But the idea basically involved a well timed g5. You can see the risk with that shattering your own kingside but it led to a complicated game. To be honest, it wasn't an idea I would repeat unless I felt I had to win at all cost.