TL Chess Match 4 - Page 21

Scotch. I'd rather lose an exciting game than win a positional nightmare...

There is a lot of potential in this move, depending on his response. If he continues to play standard (3. ... Bc5) then to avoid quiet and passive play we should follow up with 4. d4 as this will get the ball rolling to a very dynamic position after 4. ... Bxd4 5. Nxd4 Nxd4 6. 0-0 which will allow us to play 7. f4 or 7. Bg5 to begin an attack. He could also play 4 ... exd4 to which we should be delighted to have the opportunity to push e5 and transposition in to an interesting attack of the Scotch or even the ability to transpose to the Scotch Gambit with 5. c3.

...primarily because it's NOT the Ruy Lopez! An opening which is over-played, over-analyzed, and has overly subtle positional considerations that is well beyond the typical player's understanding. Playing the Spanish Torture will also ensure us about a month of book moves.

Bc4 increases our control of the center, directly. It removes the bishop from the king-side, allowing a castle whenever we choose. It also eyes black's weak f7 square, which can be the source of many potential tactics.

Playing Nc3 will needlessly limit our flexibility, by preventing the support of the d-pawn thrust with c3.

The Italian game (3. Bc4) leads to an open position and sharp tactical lines, which I think is more fun than the Ruy.

I already said I wanted to play the scotch, so I'm sticking to that.

I like the Ruy Lopez :p. Other move i dont mind playing is the scotch with 3.d4 or italian/2 knights with 3.Bc4.

I'm going to endorse Bc4 as well. I love an opportunity to give the Evan's Gambit a run, and if he doesn't opt for 3. .. Bc5 there are some other aggressive lines we can use that should still be fun.

im a total noob when it comes to chess, but I think its better to claim the forward positions and secure them asap

I might change later for d4, depending on what people think about both moves. d4 seems more aggressive to me as the two pawns will directly threaten one another while Bc4 is more of a "passive aggressive" I guess. As some people already said, it'll threaten some critical spots in ng5's line, allowing us to take control of the center maybe a little easier, so I kinda like this move at the moment.
As for the Ruy Lopez some people are voting for without providing any more explanation, it just doesn't seem to do anything THAT interesting to me. I'm not a big chess expert so if one of those who voted Bb5 could explain why this move is so good compared to our other options, please do so, I'd really appreciate it.

a little more subtle than d4, but still trying to get more control over center.

As stated before, I like Italian/Two Knights. Also, I play Evans/Max Lang respectively, though not extremely well xD

this is how I play. I'll just say the opening I'm most comfortable with.

We didn't want f4, so it has to d4. For an open and exciting game!

3... d5, and I daresay Black already has equality. 4. PxP QxP, and can you honestly tell me that we have an advantage in this position?

The key problem with c3 at this point in the game is that a) it accomplishes nothing immediate, and b) it temporarily blocks our Queen's Knight from his best position. Without 3. c3, 3... d5 is not a good option for Black: after 4. PxP QxP, 5. Nc3 develops a Knight and drives the Queen away with tempo. With 3. c3, 3...d5 becomes a very good move for Black, it breaks open the center, puts his Queen in an active position from where she can't be quickly dislodged, and leaves our Queen's Knight stranded in the backfield.

It's the most popular move in this position for a reason: the Bishop on b5 exerts steady pressure on Black's position that it takes him a long time to escape from. Specific points:

• At any time, White can remove a defender of the e5 pawn by exchanging Bishop for Knight. This means that Black always has to make sure that his pawn is defended (or that he can capture ours in return).
  
• When Black moves the d-pawn (and he can't very well leave it in place), we have a pin on the Knight, which stops it from moving freely.
  
• This also means that Black has to watch out for moves that take advantage of the pin (such as Nxe4, in some situations.
  
• Black can't drive off our Bishop for some time, unless he plays h6 and g5, but playing those moves severely undermines his c6 Knight and his c-pawn, by depriving them of pawn support.
  
• Black can't relieve the pin for some time unless he plays Bd7, but that blocks the d-file for him.
  
• If we exchange Bishop for Knight, Black has to slightly compromise his pawn structure by doubling his pawns.

Don't get me wrong, none of these things mean we have a decisive advantage. These aren't traps, which Black will fall into. For instance, Ng5 is not going to lose his e5 pawn by forgetting that we can take his Knight.

What they are is constraints on his position. Black can't just do anything he wants, because he has a bunch of things to make sure he is taking care of, every move. Our position by contrast is relatively freer.

Despite all my talk about long-term pressure against his position, however, if we play 3. Bb5 and Black responds with 3.... h6, I'd like to cash in our chips immediately by playing the Exchange Variation, 4. BxN. That way, we trade our temporary (albeit relatively long-term) pressure on his position for a permanent (albeit small) advantage in the form of pawn structure, and possibly tempo as well (depending on which pawn he chooses to retake with). If we play carefully from there, I think that should carry us into the endgame with an advantage, and as some people pointed out, with over 60 people discussing each move, playing carefully ought to be an advantage of ours. It's not likely that every one of us will overlook some clear tactical error. So, as long as we can gain an advantage, even a small one, I think we're well-suited to keep it. That's why I favor the Exchange Variation: immediately trading in our dynamic advantage as White for a small positional advantage that lasts through the endgame, if we nurse it.

Of course, this is only if we end up playing 3. Bb5 and Black responds with ...h6.