Vass wrote on 10/05/11 at 20:49:22:
White definitely has an edge, but not enough imho.. Maybe white has some improvements, too.. But the way it goes I think black has resources..
I estimate that white can score from the 9...g5 position at least 75% which means 2 things
- black plays only for a draw or a loss
- white scores more than average (compared with more solid openings like KID or Gruenfeld where whites score lays close to 60%).
Whites edge is not neglectable if you search for further improvements in the lines you indicate:
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Be2 Bxe2 5.Qxe2 Qxd5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.c4 Qe4 8.Qxe4 (I prepared and analysed this briefly once for an OTB game as the correspondence games with Be3 weren't easy to crack in the short available timeframe, I discovered with 9.0-0 a new idea and I always have been an aficionado from endgames. ) Nxe4 9.0-0 g5
A)10.Re1 (Still not clear to me if variant A or B creates the best winning chances for white. Anyway I see it as a luxury problem.) g4 11.Rxe4 gxf3 12.d5 Nb4 13.Nc3 Nd3 (An interesting alternative but I doubt that it is better.) 14.gxf3 (g3 must also give a small edge to white. As it can lead to some extreme wild positions, I prefer to stay away from it if not really necessary.) f5 15.Rh4 (Rd4 seems also good for +/=) Bg7 16.Kf1 (This looks stronger than f4 as white keeps more flexibility and the king plays a more active role) h5!? 17.Rb1 and the endgame seems very unpleasant for black.
B)10.d5 g4 11.dxc6 gxf3 12.gxf3 Rg8+ (Again same remark as for your other recommendation. I doubt that it is better as pushing the king to h1 also gives white the chance to play in some lines Rg1) 13.Kh1 Nd6 14.cxb7 (c5 is an interesting alternative which should be good enough for also +/=) Nxb7 15.Rd1 (I believe 15.Nc3 with the idea of Bf4 or 15.Be3 with the idea of Nd2 or Na3 are also valid tries to play for a win) Nd6 16.Na3 and the defense for black won't be a walk in the park.