PANFR wrote on 03/28/12 at 19:38:45:
I cannot see how Black can achieve something remotely resembling equality after 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Be2 Nxd5 5.d4.
Now 5...b5 doesn't look like a serious move, and 5...Bf5 6.Nf3 e6 7.0-0 Nc6?! is bad due to 8.c4! Nb4 9.Nc3! when going after that a1 rook with 9...Nc2 loses to 10.d5 Nxa1 11.Qa4!
So, Black has to play something like 7...Be7 when besides the enterprising 8.c4!? Nb4 9.Nc3 Nc2 10.Rb1 Nb4 11.Be3 Bxb1 12.Qxb1 where white has terrific positional compensation for the exchange (although not necessarily enough to win in a correspondence game), he can also play routinely 8.a3 followed by c4 etc.
Where exactly Black is OK in these lines? Did I omit something critical?
I certainly think Black can at least fight for equality here. For example 7...Be7 8.a3 0-0 9.c4 Nb6 10.Nc3 Nc6 11.Be3 (11.h3 Bf6 12.Be2 is the same) 11...Bf6 12.h3!?
(this stops 12...Qe7 because of 13.g4! Bg6 14.g5 winning the piece. 13.b3 Qe7 and if 13.b4 Bg4 - one game of mine continued 14.Ne4 Bxf3 15.Nxf6+ Qxf6 16.Bxf3 Nxc4 17.Bxc6 bxc6 18.Qc2 Nb6 {18...Nxe3 19.fxe3 Qg5 is possible} 19.Qxc6 Nd5 =)
12...Bg6
(12...h6 13.b4 e5! 14.d5 e4 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 c6 17.Rc1 is also reasonable for Black imo. Emms says White is better after 17...cxd5? 18.c5 but if Black instead keeps the tension with 17...Re8 and Rc8 I don't see why White is better)
13.b4 e5 14.d5
(14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 =)
14...e4 15.Nd4 Nxd4
(Emms only gives 15...Ne5 without comment but after 16.Qb3 White is playing c5 and looks good to me)
16.Bxd4 c6 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Qb3 was played in one of my games and now 18...cxd5 19.Nxd5 Nxd5 20.cxd5 is if anything a little better for Black. Maybe White does better with 17.Rc1 but I'm still not really scared for Black.