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1. d4
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Not much to say apart from just laying claim on the centre. |
 
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1... Nf6
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Keeping an eye on e4 |
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2. e3
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protecting d4 to solidify centre. |
1 comment
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2... g6
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Preparing fiancceto and quick castle kingside |
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3. Nd2
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Again just developing, aiming at centre. May fincetto my black squared bishop or may go for stonewall formation with f4, Be3, N(1)f3,Ne5. I think I'll wait and see what he plays. |
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3... Bg7 4. Bd3
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developing my bishop. Preparing for kingside castling and leaving options open for Stonewall and kingside attack or pawn advance on queenside supported by rooks. |
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4... d5 5. b3
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Not sure about a stonewall with his B able to come to g5 straight away pinning my knight on f3. My options are still open I think Ill fiancetto my black squared Bishop and play a swift c4. I can castle kingside and get my rooks blasting up the c file. |
2 comments
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5... O-O 6. h3
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Don't like the idea of my knight going to f3 to be immediately pinned by his Bishop coming to g4..don't want his knight poking its nose around there later either... I will play the prophylactic h3 before developing my knight. I'm still holding the option to Castle Queenside and get my rooks on g1 and h1 and pelt him with my g and h pawns. We'll see how things develop. |
2 comments
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6... c5
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Why is he offering his c pawn? Oh I see, if I take on c5 he can play Qa4 and I can't defend against Qxc5. OK he regains the material straight away but is he then in a better position than me? I don't think so. So is there something else there for him? If I take on c5 he can move Ne4 with a discovered attack on my rook then when I move the rook he can play Nc3..Mega ouch! That would be murderous and totally screw up my Queenside as well as a direct attack on my Queen. It may as well be all over then...no I cannot allow that to happen!
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1 comment
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7. Ngf3
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I will develop the knight and overprotect d4. Which square though..e2 or f3?, both moves allow me to get my king safely castled. The knight can keep a useful watch on the e5 square from f3 it may even be ok to move my knight to e5 soon and command some useful space for a while. . Yes, OK I play Nf3. |
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7... Nc6
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Developing another piece and hitting again on d4...if he moves the kings knight he will be attacking d4 three times I only have it defended twice...I must be very careful! |
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8. Bb2
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I should delay castling and play Bb2 immediately to overprotect d4. |
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8... cxd4 9. Nxd4
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Retaking on d4 with my pawn will limit the scope of my black squared bishop, so I will take back with my knight and then if he recaptures with his knight I play BxN and I have plenty of open space for my bishops to be effective and my pawn formation remains strong. Yes Nxe4.
Oh I have just noticed..of course he can now play e5! and then e4!...I was too busy worrying about my own position and not concentrating on what he may do! I should have taken with the pawn!! |
1 comment
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9... Nb4
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Black is attacking my white squared bishop and also threatening to play an immediate e5 followed by e4. That would be horrible. |
1 comment
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10. Nd2f3
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I can't move my bishop to b5 because of the automatic response a6. Retreating the bishop to f1 is counter intuitive and loses too many tempi. If I try to keep the bishop and post it on e2 I might get away with it but it takes away a retreat square for my d4 knight if he plays an immediate e5. I suppose I could then place my knight on b4 if that happens but it just doesnt look safe there..he would have Qa5..it just doesn't seem right.
OK what else can I do? If I move either knight to f3 it cannot be pushed easily away because I have played h3 already. It would temporarily prevent black playing e5 and I cannot afford to let him play that move yet. OK so which knight go I post on f3? My knight on d4 is central and well posted..it has to be the other knight and then when he plays 10...NxB I can take back with the Queen, then get my rook on c1 and push the c pawn to c4. Yes I will play N(d2)f3. |
1 comment
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10... Nxd3+
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Predictably white has snaffled the hapless Bishop! |
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11. Qxd3
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White could have played c2d3 but apart from stopping the black knight popping into e4 it looks pretty sterile. I can always persuade the black knight to bog off with Nd2 or with my f pawn if it becomes too much of a pain.
This way I think my play has the possibilities to become a little more active on the C file. Maybe..maybe not. |
2 comments
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11... Re8
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Oh..he's now opposing my king with his rook I had better castle sharpish!..but which side is best...Kingside or Queenside? Wait...Oh no!...he can now play 12.e5 threatening my knight and when it moves he can then push e4 immediately...forking my Queen and Knight!
Damn! it looks like I will have to move my knight!...that's a pity he looks really comfortable there in the centre..where can he go?..perhaps e2 or b5..if I play Nb5 he can play Qa5+ then the knight must come to c3 where it looks safe but it blocks my c pawn which is OK if I castle queenside. I have a positional feeling that I would be safer castling kingside, then I really don't want my Knight blocking my c pawn! The knight would probably have to come to e2 from c3 eventually when I want to push my c pawn so why help him develop. I can move 12.Ne2 straight away which saves all those tempi (Nb5/Nc3/Ne2).
So how about straight away 12.Ne2? It simply can't stay on d4 and e2 is a useful square and overprotects c1 and d4 (I want at least 1 rook on c1 and d4 is a very important central square with both sides black square Bishops eyeing it up). Hang on..if I play 12.Ne2 he can respond with Bf4 threatening my Queen and also my pawn on c2 is skewered..not lost immediately, but looking suddenly very vulnerable because of Black's possible 13...Rc8. ....He can also advance e5 and then e4... I don't like any of this one bit!
Is there anything else I can do?.... I could play Ne5..is this any good? It has potential. My knights can both command excellent positions on d4 and e5. I could then perhaps play f4 and then possibly my other knight could sometime move from d4 to f3..giving me a sort of stonewall position. |
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12. Ne5
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I feel as if I'm sticking my neck out a bit with my knight out with no immediate support but I think overall it's the best option I have. My knight can be easily kicked away from e5 and I may eventually be left with a backward Kings pawn, but this plan may buy me time to castle kingside safely and start to mobilise down the c file.....I don't like my other options so I will play Ne5!? |
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12... Ne4
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I didn't consider blacks knight coming here!...Now I'm in a bit of a pickle...I thought he may play Nd7 in which case I would have traded knights.
He is threatening to play f6 and after my knight retreats he can play e5 pushing my other knight onto d2. That looks extremely passive for white and black can then even push d4 and I wouldn't be able to take back with my e pawn because he could then take back with his e pawn, threatening to move his knight with all sorts of discovered checks by his rook on e8. I'm not liking that!... What are my other options?
I can play f3 attacking his knight. I don't like that either it creates a bad hole at g3 and cuts off the retreat square for my knight. Oh!..hang on he can play g3 and then my rook and my knight are being attacked...I lose a piece.
OK how about f4. again it creates the hole on g3, or he can just take my knight with his bishop and I have doubled isolated pawns on the kings file...yuk!
Back to Nf3 and when he plays e5 my other knight goes to d2. If he does push d4 then I'll ignore it and try to push away his annoying Knight and castle Queenside. |
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