MNb wrote on 03/14/14 at 02:46:12:


More problematic for White is the move-order:  1. e4 c5 2. c3  d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3  Nc6 5. d4  cxd4 6. cxd4 Bg4 7. Be2 and now 7…Nf6 instead of the more commonly played (7…e6), the idea is to reach the following position. 8. Nc3 Qa5 9. 0-0 (9. d5 is possible, but I think Black is just fine after 9…Rd8) e6 10. h3 Bh5 11. Be3 Bd6! An important finesse and much more challenging than the usual (11…Be7, which is quite promising for White after 12. Qb3 Qb4 13. g4 Bg6 14. Ne5! 0-0 15. g5 Qxb3 16. axb3 Nd5 17. Nxd5 exd5 18. Rfc1 intending Rfc8? 19. Bg4  with a clear advantage.) A similiar approach is not as effective against the text because Black has more control over the e5 square and in some cases, say an ending, the e7 square is a useful place to park the King. For e.g.  12. Qb3 Qb4 13. g4 Bg6 14.  Qxb4 Nxb4 15. Nb5 Ke7 16Nxd6 Kxd6 17. Ne5 Nfd5 with a fully satisfactory position for Black.

I don’t think the positions after 11…Bd6 offer White very much, so he should seek improvements earlier. However I have not found anything totally convincing for White as yet, although a few interesting alternatives do exists, but require more practical tests before a definitive verdict can be reached.      

I had a Déjà vu moment, and seem to recall that I either started or participated in a thread some years back, that discussed these very lines in quite some detail.

In any case, I think the Original Poster now has enough material to make an informed decision.

Regards,

Topper

GM Ron Henley gives : 1.  e4 c5 2.  c3 d5 3.  exd5 Qxd5 4.  Nf3 Nc6 5.  d4 cxd4 6.  cxd4 Bg4 7.  Nc3 Bxf3 8.  gxf3 Qxd4 9.  Qxd4 Nxd4 10.  Nb5 Nc2 11.  Kd1 Rc8 and now he thinks the simple and hardly tried 12.  Rb1 is best, with some advantage for White. I too prefer 12. Rb1, particularly for practical reasons, note that the obvious 12...a6 fails to 13.Bd2!, a trap I suspect will catch out quite a few opponents. Even if they avoid this pitfall, White's position is still slightly better and more importantly much easier to play OTB.

Objectively speaking, the line you give: 1.  e4 c5 2.  c3 d5 3.  exd5 Qxd5 4.  Nf3 Nc6 5.  d4 cxd4 6.  cxd4 Bg4 7.  Nc3 Bxf3 8.  gxf3 Qxd4 9.  Qxd4 Nxd4 10.  Nb5 Nc2 11.  Kd1 Rc8! 12.  Nxa7 Rc5 13.  b4!? Nxb4 14.  Rb1! Maybe theoretically stongest of all (Houdini seems to think so at least), but White needs to be play very accurately here to prove his advantage, and I think from a practical point of view this is the line Black would be more prepared to face.

Lastly, if Black goes for this line I would not transpose to the main paths with 7.Be2, as it is much more difficult to prove any advantage there.

Toppy    

tipau wrote on 03/11/14 at 00:06:10:




White seemed to be better to me for the most part of the game. Maybe drawable, but certainly not the type of game I would like to have as Black.

chandrashekharkoravi wrote on 03/10/14 at 17:56:37:

It seems reasonable at first sight. Still, a more proper investigation is needed. 

The line given by Vass starting with 15.Bc7+ seems to be almost flat out winnning for White. If you have a good engine turn it on, and judge for yourself. More often than not if you feed it a few moves it is usually easy to refute variations historically considered dubious.

tipau wrote on 03/09/14 at 23:12:55:


Taking the Queen on d5 is also possible, but equally leads to an obscure ending. White can avoid all this and get a normal game with 7. Be2 defending the d pawn tactically by the usual Bxc6 trick. It's then down to typical IQP play. So it's a White player option to get involved in this.

Hi, tipau!
I don't have time to check right now, but your guess is right. If there are any chances for the first player to complicate things, these two moves have to be considered: