Smyslov_Fan wrote on 12/30/13 at 03:17:25:



Even though he is a clear pawn to the good, the endgame in the critical line is over my pay grade and will require an endgame specialist.

11.Qxb3 Bxf3! 12.gxf3 Bxe3 13.fxe3 Qh5 14.Nd2 Qh6 15.O-O-O Qxe3 16.Qxb7 Qb6 17.Qxb6 axb6 18.a3 Nh5/Nf4 when the extra pawn is blockaded and White has to rely on an early d4 to have any winning chances.

This is what Sloughter posted on another site:



And the response, by a 12xx rated player, sums up the general attitude here: "Nobody cares what your computer says."

If you want to get useful feedback, show some games that human grandmasters have played against each other in the lines you are discussing and show why your lines should matter.

Ever since Williams pronounced 6...Rf8 as leading "nowhere" in the WBT, it has been known that 6...Rf8 is an easy plus with White who needs only to find 7.d3 Bg4 8.Nf3 Qe8 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Qh5 11.Nbd2/Qe2/O-O-O +/-

What has been missing is a correspondingly simple way to meet 6...Qe8:

4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Bb3 Qe8 7.d3 d6 8.Nf3 Bg4 9.Be3 Nd4 10.c3 Nxb3 11.Qxb3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 Qg6 13.Nbd2 Qh6 14.O-O-O Qxe3 15.Qxb7 Qb6 16.Qxb6 axb6 +/-

Of course Black can try things like Bxf3, but then he is just a pawn down and has given back the minor exchange. What White has succeeded in doing is exchange his doubled e-pawn for Black's a-pawn. This is a huge improvement for White who often faces the difficult job of trying to straighten out his pawn structure. Now he has a solid extra pawn with excellent winning chances and no losing chances---a worst case scenario for the WBT player.