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Date: 14 Jan 2006 16:16:00
From: Robert the Bearded
Subject: Help me out 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6
I have embarked on an attempt to beat crafty in a fair fight, and I
have played the following sequence (I'm white):

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6 4. Nf3 e6 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O d5
8.
b3 dxe4 9. Ng5 Nd7

>From the look of the board, I'm thinking I have a better control of the
center than black, except that damn pawn is blocking my bishop. I had
intended to take the pawn with the c3 knight, but i think that that is
a bad idea, he'd just do BxN and I'd be stuck with an unfavorable
situation.

So is N-h3 my best bet? Have I made any large errors in my opening
that have doomed me from the start? I'd lose a tempo doing N-h3, so I
think that I have buggered it up somewhere, but where.

Thanks,
Robert the Bearded.





 
Date: 15 Jan 2006 04:14:36
From: Ron
Subject: Re: Help me out 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6
In article <[email protected] >,
"Robert the Bearded" <[email protected] > wrote:

> 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6 4. Nf3 e6 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O d5
> 8.
> b3 dxe4 9. Ng5 Nd7
>
> So is N-h3 my best bet? Have I made any large errors in my opening
> that have doomed me from the start? I'd lose a tempo doing N-h3, so I
> think that I have buggered it up somewhere, but where.

As you've deduced, you can't take the pawn. Ngxe4 runs into f5, and
Ncxe4 runs into Bxg5 - both are resignable positions.

As for where you made the mistake, I wouldn't play 3.e4, myself,
although I'm not sure it's terrible. I like the immediate fianchetto
there better. As it is, however, you simply can't let black get in ...d5
without paying a price for it.

Probably 5.Be2 was better, just getting your pieces prepared quickly for
when he plays d5 and the center opens.

Lastly, on d5, you had the following reasonable choices:

8. ed ed 9.cd Nd5 10.d4 where black can saddle you with a slightly
unpleasant isolated pawn after 10. ... cd4.

8. d3 d4 9. Ne2 e5 where your position is somewhat cramped, so you're
slightly worse, but this is probably what I'd play against a computer.

From the game position you've nothing better than Nh3.


  
Date: 16 Jan 2006 00:53:25
From: Antonio Torrecillas
Subject: Re: Help me out 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6
En/na Ron ha escrit:
>>1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6 4. Nf3 e6 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O d5
>>8.b3 dxe4 9. Ng5 Nd7
>>
>>So is N-h3 my best bet? Have I made any large errors in my opening
>>that have doomed me from the start? I'd lose a tempo doing N-h3, so I
>>think that I have buggered it up somewhere, but where.
>
> As for where you made the mistake, I wouldn't play 3.e4, myself,
> although I'm not sure it's terrible. I like the immediate fianchetto
> there better. As it is, however, you simply can't let black get in ...d5
> without paying a price for it.
>
> Probably 5.Be2 was better, just getting your pieces prepared quickly for
> when he plays d5 and the center opens.
>
> Lastly, on d5, you had the following reasonable choices:
>
> 8. ed ed 9.cd Nd5 10.d4 where black can saddle you with a slightly
> unpleasant isolated pawn after 10. ... cd4.
>
> 8. d3 d4 9. Ne2 e5 where your position is somewhat cramped, so you're
> slightly worse, but this is probably what I'd play against a computer.
>
> From the game position you've nothing better than Nh3.

Interesting is 8.e5 being main idea 8...Ne4 9.Qc2 Nxc3 10.dxc3 dxc4
11.Rd1. to play with "the catalan bishop".

AT



  
Date: 15 Jan 2006 07:36:30
From: Ray Gordon
Subject: Re: Help me out 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6
> As for where you made the mistake, I wouldn't play 3.e4, myself,
> although I'm not sure it's terrible.

It's a Closed Sicilian or English setup that's very common. I still haven't
decided if it's mere complex equality, or if White actually keeps a brief
initiative.





   
Date: 15 Jan 2006 16:32:01
From: Ron
Subject: Re: Help me out 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6
In article <[email protected] >,
"Ray Gordon" <[email protected] > wrote:

> > As for where you made the mistake, I wouldn't play 3.e4, myself,
> > although I'm not sure it's terrible.
>
> It's a Closed Sicilian or English setup that's very common. I still haven't
> decided if it's mere complex equality, or if White actually keeps a brief
> initiative.

Yeah, I suspected as much, but I've had good results against this kind
of pawn formation by getting control of d4. I'm perfectly willing to
concede there are better resources that my opponents haven't taken
advantage of, but it's a pretty easy position to play for black unless
white's well-prepared, IMO.


 
Date: 15 Jan 2006 03:47:20
From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Claus-J=FCrgen_Heigl?=
Subject: Re: Help me out 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6
Robert the Bearded wrote:
> 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6 4. Nf3 e6 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O d5
> 8.
> b3 dxe4 9. Ng5 Nd7
> So is N-h3 my best bet? Have I made any large errors in my opening
> that have doomed me from the start? I'd lose a tempo doing N-h3, so I
> think that I have buggered it up somewhere, but where.

8. b3 lost a pawn you probably don't get back. The choice is between 10.
Nh3 f5 11. d3 Bf6 with a clear advantage for Black and 10. f4 exf3 11.
Nxf3 Nde5 or 11...Bf6 also with a clear advantage for Black.

Claus-Juergen


 
Date: 15 Jan 2006 01:16:22
From: Ray Gordon
Subject: Re: Help me out 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6
>I have embarked on an attempt to beat crafty in a fair fight, and I
> have played the following sequence (I'm white):
>
> 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. e4 Nc6 4. Nf3 e6 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O d5
> 8.
> b3 dxe4 9. Ng5 Nd7
>
>>From the look of the board, I'm thinking I have a better control of the
> center than black, except that damn pawn is blocking my bishop. I had
> intended to take the pawn with the c3 knight, but i think that that is
> a bad idea, he'd just do BxN and I'd be stuck with an unfavorable
> situation.
>
> So is N-h3 my best bet? Have I made any large errors in my opening
> that have doomed me from the start? I'd lose a tempo doing N-h3, so I
> think that I have buggered it up somewhere, but where.

The knight belongs at e2, or occasionally f3.