After 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6!? 6.Nf3 Bd6 I played 7.Qe2+?! (bishop moves are normal) and my opponent replied 7...Be7?! (7...Be6 is almost certainly better).
The full game can be seen at ML 9 but here I want to look at what is generally considered best-play.
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| Position after 6...Bd6 |
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The oldest example of this position in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database occurred in Harry Pillsbury - Horatio Caro, Vienna Imperial Jubilee 1898, which saw 7.Bd3 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.g4!? Bg6, when 10.Bxg6 hxg6 would have brought about the same black kingside pawn-structure as arose in my game.
Pillsbury preferred 10.Nh4, and after 10...Nd7 11.Nf5 Bxf5 12.Bxf5 (Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1 like 12.gxf5!?) g6 13.Qe2 Qe7 14.Bxd7+ Kxd7 the engines reckon the position is equal, although Pillsbury won on move 30.
7.Bd3 (1,059 games) is the most-popular move in Mega22, ahead of 7.Be2 (739 games) and 7.Be3 (230 games), but the reply 7...Bg4 has been superseded by 7...0-0.
Frank Marshall - Savielly Tartakower, Karlovy Vary 1929, continued 8.0-0 Bg4 (this is arguably more effective now 9.h3 Bh5 10.g4!? would compromise the white castled-king's position) 9.h3 Bh5 10.Re1 Nd7.
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| How should White proceed? |
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11.c4!?
More popular today is 11.c3, which scores 55% in Mega22, 23 percentage points better than the text. However the engines prefer 11.c4!?, with Stockfish14.1 also liking 11.g4!? Bg6 12.Nh4 (Komodo12.1.1 is unimpressed).
11...c5!? 12.Be4
12.d5 gives White a protected passed pawn, but it is well-blockaded and the engines reckon Black, if anyone, is better after 12...Ne5.
12...Qc7 13.Be3 cxd4 14.Qxd4
Tartakower replied 14...Bxf3!?, but was probably worse after 15.Bxf3 Bc5 16.Qd5 Bxe3 17.Re3, although the game was drawn in 34 moves.
The engines reckon best-play goes something like 14...Rfd8 15.Qc3 Nc5 16.Bd5 Bxf3!? 17.Bxf3 Be5 18.Qc2 Nd3 19.Red1 Nxb2 20.Rxd8+ Rxd8 21.Rc1, believing White has at least full compensation for a pawn.
CONCLUSION: Black has nothing particular to fear after 6...Bd6. As Wikpedia puts it: "5...exf6 ... offers Black rapid development, though also ceding White the superior pawn-structure and long-term prospects."
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