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That seems to me a reasonable interpretation.

Similarly, I understood 'Best by Test' as the best result in a scientific process. (That of course could be an individual's own experience of the move). But I've always wondered, at the time Fischer may have been quoted. Was "Best by Test" a common phrase,especially used in an advertisement campaign, it seems perfect as a tagline for a Toothpaste or headache pain-reliever.

This could transpose, but it's as likely to introduce gambit lines, such as the Morra Gambit. Such a gambit sacrifices a pawn for very quick development and a scary-looking attack.

OK, 3.dxc5 was a possibility, but you could look around for others. there was nothing to stop you, and everything in favour of, taking the pawn on d4: 2...cxd4 and if 3.Qxd4 Nc6 develops the knight and forces the queen to move a second time - a small gain for Black. But chances are White would have continued 3.Nf3, transposing into normal lines, or gone for the gambit with 3.c3!?

I was planning on playing the morra gambit after 2. ...dxc4 but now i had to rethink

To play the Sicilian effectively you need to prepare for openings like the morra gambit which most would assume is the point of d4. But this is basic theory. The purpose of c5 is to frustrate white's attempt to build a strong central pawn formation. White plays d4 to gain space but at the expense of a central pawn and the c file. To not capture here is to give White what he is looking for without cost.

That Knight is snoozing on f6 without much care. I hope he wakes up after 3.e5 with a free pawn for White.

Probably better was 3...Nd5, going in for an Alekhine's Defence type thing.

That is not a retreat  . This is similar to a nimzo sicilian which I used to play a lot. You want the N on d4 so you can block the d pawn advance and bring it back and attack the pawns.

@dmaestro, do you mean *Nd5

Well, this prevents a loss of a pawn, but it may not get away from trouble quite as easy as 3.Nd5.

a similar idea can happen in the Alekhine's defence proper: 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Ne4!? 3.d4 e6 after which Black's threatened ...Qh4 preserves the knight: 4.f3? Qh4ch 5.g3? Nxg3 etc.

4.dxc5 doesn't win a free pawn because you can recapture with 4...Nxc5.

It doesn't lose the pawn but this is similar as Ion says to known positions where the N is trapped.

Three pawns and a bishop trap the Knight in pawn prison. If time can be bought, then 4...Qa5+.

The situation doesn't look too flash at all, but there was a little trick you might have tried: 4...e6 with the idea 5.fxe4 Qh4ch 6.g3?? Qxe4ch. Of course, white can defend:6.Kd2 Qxe4. Now, there is no question that Black will have got himself out of trouble (7.Nf3 cxd4 8.Qe2), but at least Black will have introduced troublesome complications for white to deal with.

Maybe dont move the Knight. Similiar to ionadownman kingside check, 4....Qa5+, and use advanced Knight and c-pawn to cause some damage on the Queen side. Of course it gives White his open play he wanted from the Morra Gambit.

4...Qa5+ and 4...e6 are better than this move...at least.

Pawns are often OK. In any case you might as well have exchanged the d-pawn as it can not otherwise be defended. It's a goner anyway, so sell it as dearly as you can. 6...dxc3 is certainly indicated. Mind you, he should probably have taken the thing himself; 6.Qxd4 Nc6 7.Qe4. If you are going to pick up a pawn for nothing, a little loss of time can be borne.

You can't worry about not exchanging pawns that are lost anyway.

Black should buy time with the somewhat hidious 6...f6.

Uh... oh... I think I see where this is heading....

f6 is often a bit of a risky move to play early on because it weakens the kingside. Only play it if you have a good reason for doing so.

White could afford f3. Black can't afford f6 being a piece behind and opening the King as well. Better was Qa5 looking for complications.

6...f6 is not a mistake. 6...f6!? 7.exf6 exf6 8.Bd2 dxc3 9.Nxc3 Be7. Not too bright, but useful.

Oh... I was wrong. I was expecting White to play 8.f4 here, with the idea Black snaps up a very poisonous 'free' bishop: 8...fxg5, wherat 9.Qh5# terminates proceedings.

That is what I thought. If the bait isn't taken, the B can still retreat to h4 later and the Black King is being chased after Qh5.

Oops... the correct way was 7...exf6 to avoid problems with mating threats.

Getting a piece out, maybe?

And defending the d4 pawn. It's a good move.

As good as anything, you have to develop.

White had very much the light squares in Black's K-side on his mind...

You are vulnerable on the light squares and a timely check on h5.

Not every bishop has to be fianchetto-ed.

It's ok, but no more than that. You can't take the f3 pawn because it is defended, so if the bishop moves there's no danger for White.

agree, ok but no real threat.

It also gets the knight back to covering the mate threats (with Qh5). But after 9 moves, it's the only piece black has out.

10.f4 looks great for White.

I don't think much of this move: 10...d5 would have been a good response: 10.Be4 d5 11.Bc2 d3 12.Ba4ch Bd7 13.Bxd7ch Qxd7, after which Black is still benighted in the deep woods, but has something to fight with in the centre.

I think he is fishing...

I don't see how Black benefits from this? Black trades his only active piece for a worthy Bishop and this game doesn't look any better for Black. Black's Bishops look unhappy and are stuck there until 2 moves are wasted on pawns and the Black King can't castle...

That's a lot to forget about, Joe!   But the exchange is reasonable, anyway.

Not a mistake. You have to do something,

But this isn't so good. The threat is easily dealt with, but really Black's resources are too slender to be diverted into a sideshow of going after the White b-pawn.

Also, the knight now isn't covering the check on h5.

Add to that the threat of 12.Qc2.

A similar threat could have been developed by 12.Qc2. But the pawn move is better, as being the harder to answer.

This possibility has been in the background for a while.

The real aim was actually to clear the f3 square for my knight with gain of tempo

Here's where Black may just play 12...Nd6 to brighten his game a tiny bit...

That is what your opponent was looking for, to distract you. The mate threat was there for several moves and he waited until you were distracted.

White could have used this Qh5# thread earlier in the game. It reminds me of the fastest mate 1f3 e6(or e5) 2 g4 Qh4#

The fact is, Joe, some sort of exploitation of the weakened e8-h5 diagonal was on the cards the moment you played ...gxf6. Something had to be done to mitigate the damage to your kingside (or avoid it by ...exf6). It is not enough to spot one-movers before they occur (though that lesson is a first priority!), it is to see the possibilities ahead of time, and detect the sorts of situations that lead to them. In this game: ,,,gxf6 opened up a diagonal leading to the King, which the White Queen and bishop were obviously itching to exploit. This is why the 'Fool's Mate' is worth knowing: alerting one to the dangers that lie on the crucial diagonal.

Once you played f6 being behind already your game was in deep deep trouble. This opponent just kept it in his pocket for a few moves. You need to recognize this kind of situation before you make moves like f6.

6...f6 is a problem though; there wasn't really any need for it - I think it's a common theme in jkarp's games that he'll play weak moves purely to chase pieces, when more experienced players know that merely chasing pieces for the hell of it rarely achieves anything. And f6 does cause weaknesses. For example, white could have put his bishop on c4, stopping king-side castling. If black tries ...d6, then white can play f5, again hitting at the king. If black took back with the d-pawn, then this isn't even an option.

6...f6 isn't the problem, dmaestro. It's 7...gxf6 and 12...Nxb2 that quickly shaded Black's game. 6...f6 7.f4 g6 8.Bh4 exf6 is a possibility that wouldn't create the weaknesses that allowed the threat. 12...Nxb2 is a serious mistake. That same Knight could have played to d6 despite losing it, or even better, just play 12...d6. @cdeburca EVERY move causes weaknesses. You're missing that 6...f6 7.Bc4 d6 promotes development of the DSB.