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| There are 4,666 examples of this position in ChessBase's 2024 Mega database |
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Black replied 4...Bc5, which occurs 1,630 times in Mega24, second only to 4...Bb4's 1,748 times.
I continued 5.Nxe5!?, which, judging by body language, caught my opponent by surprise, although, since his rating is 2063, I am sure he is familiar with the basic idea.
When Black plays ...Nxe4, intending, after Nxe4 to play ...d5, forking the knight on e4 and a bishop on c4, it is with the idea of equalising the game.
When, as in this game, White plays the similar Nxe5, it is usually in the hope of achieving a slight plus.
The difference can be explained by White enjoying the advantage of the move, which is normally more potent in the early stages of a game.
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| Position after 5.Nxe5!? |
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The mainline in Mega24 runs 5...Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4 7.dxe5 Nxe4 8.Qf3 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Ba5 10.Bf4, which at best gives White a tiny edge (Dragon1 calls the position completely equal).
My opponent played 5...Bxf2!?, which is clearly tempting as it occurs 194 times in Mega24 and has been the choice of 14 players rated over 2300.
However after 6.Kxf2 Nxe5 7.d4 White has the bishop-pair and the centre.
True, White has lost castling rights, and after 7...Neg4+ 8.Kg1 has difficulties developing the king's rook.
But the advanced black knight is easily driven away, and the white king is not in danger, so it is not so surprising that Dragon1 and Stockfish16.1 reckon White has a positionally won game.
LESSON: allowing the well-known forking combination Nxe5 (...Nxe4 for Black) can be embarrassing, but lashing out with ...Bxf2+ (Bxf7+ for White) is rarely a good idea. Losing the bishop-pair and control of the centre is much more significant than depriving the opponent of castling rights.
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