Now we know why The Duck suddenly got married.
I drew that. I cannot draw feet so the people I draw are always in water.
Now looking at it I’m not very good at drawing hands either.....hang on.
That’s Better.
The Two Knight Defence (the 4.Ng5 variation)
In the section on the Fried Liver in my Batsford book by Yakov Estrin
The Fried Liver attack is 4...d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6
There is a brief note by Estrin after the first diagram saying Keres had analysed 4....Nxe4
Adding a line a showing a White plus with 5. Bxf7+ mentioning in passing that it is a
mistake by White to play 5.Nxf7. I have pencilled in ‘4...Nxe4 is worth a try. in blitz.’
Here I’ll add that 5. Nxe4 meets 5...d5 and Black is doing OK there. It must be equal.
Some RHP Stats up to Jan 2022 from here.
White to play.
5.Bxf7+ has been played 34 times.
5.Nxf7 has been played 60 times.
5.Nxe4 has been played 41 times.
It would appear players meeting 4...Nxe4 tend to opt for the two worse moves!
The move 5.Nxf7 is certainly tempting (and the stats prove it ) so let’s look at it.
It has a certain amount of shock value and with it being uncommon enough to
have been relegated to a footnote, this is a good place for the tacticians to fish.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 {White is perhaps hoping for a Fried Liver....} 4... Nxe4 {...and has just been crossed up with this move.} 5. Nxf7 {I'll look at Bxf7+ next. (it is the best move.)} 5... Qh4 {This tells White he has been snagged. This move has a 100% record of Black wins on RHP.} 6. O-O {6. Qe2 or 6. Qf3 (all played on RHP meet 6...Nd5)} 6... Bc5 {Offering the h8 Rook.} 7. Nxh8 {Why not take it.} 7... Nxf2 {Best. 7...Bxf2+ 8. Kh1 Ng3 mate is too much even for me to hope for.} 8. Rxf2 {Look out for 8. Bf7+.Ke7! Do not play 8...Kf8 because after 9.Bd5 and the f2 Knight is pinned} 8... Bxf2+ {9. Kh1 Qxc4 9.d3 Qg8 Black is winning.} 9. Kf1 Bb6 {Back to threatening mate again on f2.and Qxc4+ Black is having all the fun.} 10. Qe2 {Stops the mate and holds the c4 Bishop. 10.Bf7+ Kf8 11.Qf3 Nd4.} 10... Qxh2 {Hello mate on g1. Here or the previous move 11.Qh5+ Qxh5 12.Bf7+Qxf7 Black is a piece up.} 11. Ke1 d5 {A sneaky move. the idea being to win the White Queen.} 12. Bxd5 Qg1+ 13. Qf1 {Only move.} 13... Bf2+ 14. Ke2 Bg4+ {Or Nd4+ right away.} 15. Bf3 {If and when the White King moves then Qxf1 0-1.} 15... Bxf3+ 16. gxf3 Nd4+ 17. Kd3 Qxf1+ {I think we can stop there.}
Hopefully that will give you attacking ideas. Not just in this variation but games
where a similar set up (for both colours) is on the board. Now we look at 5.Bxf7+.
It’s not a pure cut and dry White win and White has lost a handful of games with 5. Bxf7+
Some of those losses will be White looking for the outright bust to 4.Nxe4 and getting
carried away (sac-happy) or crawling into a shell. In which case Black comes out of it OK.
(I’m beginning to sound like one of those guitar teachers you see on YouTube
that promise you fame, fortune and flunkies by playing 3 chords with one finger.)
You will never get all the opening answers from any bloke, blog or book. You have
to put in some work of you own (study as opposed to reading to nodding.) and you
must decide if you think it’s OK. I’m just having some fun tickling your imaginations.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Nxe4 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 {If here 6.Nxe4 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ do not play 7...Kg8 8.Ng5 wins ( 7...Ke8 and fight on)} 6. d3 {This is what the good guys are playing here.} 6... Nf6 {Not 6...Nxg5 7.Bxg5+ wins the Black Queen.} 7. Bb3 d5 {The only sane move to prevent Nf7.} 8. Nc3 {This is what both Steinitz and Anand played in this position and won.} 8... h6 {An important move not played in the previous games mentioned. Play this also against 8.0-0.} 9. Nxd5+ {9.Nf3 Kf7 and Black is back in the game. 9.Nf3 delays a quick 0-0 and f4 9.Nxd5+ is trickier.} 9... Nxd5 10. Qf3 {Is White is getting his Fried Liver attack after all? No!} 10... Nf6 {Instead of taking on g5 when it can get messy, this looks interesting.} 11. Nf7 Nd4 {Black is giving up the Queen for a few White bits.} 12. Qd1 {This guarantees trapping the Knight after it takes on a1.} 12... Nxb3 13. Nxd8 Nxa1 {14. Nxb7 sells the D8 Knight for a pawn but 14...Bxb7 develops Black's pieces.} 14. O-O Kxd8 {This way Black waste a tempo untangling. 14...Nxc2 opens up a file for the White Rook.} 15. Be3 {Still not keen on Nxc2...I'm making this up as I go along.} 15... Bd6 16. Qxa1 Be6 {I've no idea what happens next...I suppose the best chess player wins! (Good Luck).}
I’ve never been to Gibraltar, I wonder what was happening there in 2010.
J. W. Arnott - M. Frey Gibraltar 2010 (Black to play)
Whilst you are thinking about that I’ll give wee a joke before the solution.
[FEN "3R4/1k3p1P/4p3/4P3/p7/K2n4/1pb5/8 b - - 0 60"]
60... b1=Q {Black played the most natural move (always dodgy these natural moves.)} 61. Rb8+ Kxb8 {Forced else White plays Rxb1 and h8=Q} 62. h8=Q+ Kb7 {It does not mater where the Kings it cannot escape the checks.} 63. Qc8+ Ka7 64. Qa6+ Kb8 65. Qc8+ Ka7 66. Qa6+ Kxa6 {Stalemate.}
What Black should have done is;
[FEN "3R4/1k3p1P/4p3/4P3/p7/K2n4/1pb5/8 b - - 0 60"]
60... b1=N+ {This wins. Always pause before promoting.} 61. Ka2 {Only move.} 61... Nb4+
62. Ka1 {Only move.} 62... Bxh7 {With the h7 pawn gone it would have been a simple win.}
63. Rd7+ {White can win the f7 pawn.} 63... Kc6 64. Rxf7 Bf5 {But Black will capture the e5 pawn and the e6 pawn is the winner.}
The thread accompanying this blog is
Thread 193244
