White to move. There are a lot of ways to continue with this game. Which is the best? How should white proceed?
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At first glance, 1.Nxe5 seems to win the exchange and is safe! For eg., 1.Nxe5!!.Qxe5.(if 1….Bxd5?.2.exd5! Wins a piece for W!).2.f4!.Qc7.3.Bxa8.Rxa8.4.e5!.Nd7.5.Bxd8. But this is without taking any risks and is not spectacular enough! Hence,
1.f4!!!
A>1….Bxf4.2.Bxf4 and W is a piece up! With a devastating attack! Eg. 2….Qe7.3.Bxa8.Rxa8.4.Nxf6+!.gxf6.(not 4….Qxf6.5.Bg5!!.Q~. 6.Bxd8!.Rxd8.7.e5! and wins easily being a R up!
B>1…Bd4.2.Bxa8.Rxa8.3.e5!.Qc7!.4.exf6! And W is a piece up with a devastating attack! ..gxf6.5.Nxf6.Bxf6. 6.Bxf6!
C>1…Nxg4!.2.hxg4! (Not 2.fxe5?.Nxe5!).Bd4.(not Bf6?.3.Bxa8.Rxa8.4.e5! Winning a piece!). 3.Bxa8.Rxa8.4.e5!!.Qg6.5.f5!.Qc6.6.Bxd8!.Rxd8.and W wins easily up the exchange and pawn roller!
I think it should go with
Pf4 as it would make way for Pe5. What do you think?
I just feel a great urge to play f4, though I just see complicated tactics. I don’t know if it’s that practical at that, but for white it would certainly be impractical to allow all the attacking possibilities to slide.
There are lots of things to catch the eye, I suppose (lots of exchanges), but one idea literally leaps off the screen at me- find a way to fork d6 and f6 by playing e6. It isn’t hard to find a way, either, but which way:
1. Bf6!
Not Nf6- the idea is to leave black with two men on d6 and f6 that can’t capture something before the pawn fork comes. If white takes with the knight here, black can take the bishop at g5 rather than a8 when white moves to exchange at a8 (see the continuation below). Continuing:
1. ……Bf6 (alternatives later)
2. Ba8!
And black must lose a piece for a pawn since…..
2. ……Ra8
3. e5 Be5 (any better?)
4. Re5+-
Now, we need to foreclose black’s alternatives at move 1:
1. Bf6 gf6
2. Nh6! Kf8
On Kg7, Nf5 fork wins easily, and on Kh8, Nf7 fork wins easily. Continuing:
3. Nf5! Qc7 (Qd7 4.Qh6 anyway)
4. Qh6 Ke8
5. Qg7! Rb8 (any better?)
6. Qg8 Kd7
7. Qf7 Kc8
8. Ne7 and black must give up the queen for the knight.
Finally, the only other reasonable defense I can see for black at move 1 is to try 1. …Bf4:
1. Bf6 Bf4 (attacking the queen)
2. Qc3
I don’t know that this is the best. I see lots of possible moves here for white, but three of them are similar to this, and the other one (Be7) is sort of vague in my mind, thus I like putting the queen on the long diagonal to cover f6 instead since I can see that one is good for white. Continuing:
2. ……gf6 (what better now?)
3. Nf6 Kf8 (Kh8 4.e5 anyway)
4. e5! Qc7 (Qf6 probably better)
5. Ba8
Again, not sure this is the best move for white. I can make an argument for e6 immediately, but it is less clear in my head (even with a chessboard!). Continuing:
5. ……Ra8
6. Qf3 Bd2 (Bh6 7.Qh5)
7. Rd2
Again, maybe e6 immediately. Continuing:
7. ……Rd2
8. Qa8 wins with ease.
Harry,
The main problem in 1.f4 is the third line you gave:
1. f4?! Ng4!
2. hg4?!
You disparaged 2.fe5, but I don’t think it worse than 2.hg4. However, it is beside the point. Continuing:
2. ……Bd4
Unsure if this is best, but I don’t think 2. …Bf6 is necessarily that much worse, though I don’t like it as much as Bd4 here. Continuing:
3. Ba8 Ra8
4. e5 Qc6!
I don’t know why one would play 4. …Qg6 here. Just hands white a useful tempo. 4. …Qc6 much better here as it sets a trap, albeit a simple one. Now, what does white have here? One might think white wins the exchange with Bxd8, but that is a dangerous illusion since black has Qh6+ in hand as a defense. I have looked at this for a while, and see nothing for white here.