TL Chess Match 4 - Page 17

I agree with the sentiment. I'd prefer the Scotch, just because I think the main line Spanish wouldn't be very fun for most people. I don't think you can really say one is "better" than the other, there's certainly many ways to play for the advantage in the Scotch.

3.Bc4 is an option too, though after Bc5 we're pretty much forced to play something slow with d3 and c3 or just give up our advantage. Again, probably not fun for most people here.

I'd like to see us play moves that are maybe not the most popular but still offer a possible advantage. If we end up playing the Spanish I have some ideas, but it would be even better if it happened in a somewhat open game.

I feel that going for a very standard opening is the best way to go as we aren't sure exactly how this will play out due to having 60-odd people decide each move. So familiarity will hopefully mean that we get ourselves to a more solid position later on in the match.

I don't know if this has been emphasized enough but I think one of our strengths is our computational ability. It is unlikely that 60 of us are going to make a tactical mistake very easily. However, I suspect we will have a tough time executing something that takes more then two (one maybe) moves to do. It seems like a moot point bc nf3 is the strong leader now but I mention (and vote for) f4 since I think we need to keep this in mind and create sharp tactical lines.

So, perhaps not ruy lopez after this unless someone has a really innovative idea . I would like to go into the scotch game and take it from there. Admittedly this isn't my home territory and I look forward to getting out of the book phase so we can start actually talking about chess moves. I will mention I love opening theory though, and to that end we should try to identify what our opening goals are and execute them (I suggest an open game and an aggreesive tactical one where the powers of our 1 million minds combined can overwhelm ng5). tldr. scotch game next

If we go Nf3, it all depends how he responds. Nc6 is probably the best response for him though. Anything else and I'm unsure what we would do next.

Of course the best baller move is 2.Ke2 and not 2.f4 . I vote for f4 basically because I am bored by Nf3 and want something new, no other reason really.

I wanted to see 1. d4 or 1. e4 e5 2. f4 but with 2. Nf3 there is still hopes for 2 ... Nf6 or 2 ... f5. I fear that if we should play Nf3 that the majority of people won't know exactly what they are getting themselves in to. There is a reason why the Ruy Lopez is also known as the Spanish Torture. It's a very dry game and has A LOT of theory. So, here is to hoping that with the ball in Ng5's court he keeps to his promise and chooses an interesting variation of the Ruy Lopez should he respond Nc6 since people are opting out of positionally exciting games.

edit: I doubt the group as a whole would be willing to play a Scotch ( 2 ... Nc6 3. d4) or Italian Gambit (2 ... Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d4), which is why I didn't bring them up. Bb5 is in fact a solid response to Nc6, but it just lacks any real excitement that other openings can bring about. I'm still willing to play it, but not in a game that will take me 30+ days. It's something that's exciting in a 90 minute time control.

In Defense of f4: When I used to play standard games, I played the Vienna Gambit (1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 and you are giving up a temporary piece for a very strong development gain and complete control of the semi-closed F-File when you castle King Side (although, in the Vienna Gambit you castle Queen Side, but its powerful either way). It's very counter-intuitive to say because you play f4 you've weakened your kingside ... you've only weakend the f2 square for an advantage in development. If Black wants to exploit this weakness early on, he has to sacrifice his own positional safety with such aggressive moves as g5.

I actually prefer Italian/Two Knights over Ruy Lopez. But either is fine.

There's a difference between "interesting" and
1 e4 e5
2 d4

Black responds
2 ... exd4
and then what do we have?

Our options include
3. c3 [danish gambit]
3. Qxd4 [standard? I think?]
3. Nf3 [Kieseritsky]
3. f4 [some other gambit]

+ Show Spoiler [Why the Danish Gambit is bad] +
+ Show Spoiler [why 3. Qxd4 is bad] +
+ Show Spoiler [why 3.Nf3 is bad] +
+ Show Spoiler [why 3. f4 is bad] +

everything else is incredibly dull

What? That isn't the queen's gambit. That's the Center Game and Blazinghand provided a strong argument of the 1) loss of tempo and 2) early queen development being less ideal and he provides a reason for why Nf3 should be played first.

You're argument of "push d5" makes no sense. You can't push d5 if you've lost your d-pawn and Queen to d5 to avoid the Nc6 is even worse as you're only allowing black to develop and attack simultaneously.