Responding to 2.Qh5: I Was Right!
A week or so ago, I discussed American GM Hikaru Nakamura's semi-successful trek into the wilderness that is 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5, and suggested that such a cynical opening should be met by the even more derisive 2...Nf6!
Nakamura has since taken to playing this opening in online blitz games - this, despite the fact that I, a player whom he outrates by about 400 points, explicitly warned him about this move. (His response: "lol".) Fortunately, his opponents all played the polite, compliant 2...Nc6 - until yesterday:
Smallville (3194) - nulletokkpokk (3183) [C20]
ICC 3 0 Internet Chess Club, 28.04.2005
1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.Be2 Nc6 5.Qf4 d5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Nf3 g5 8.Qe3 g4 9.Nd4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Bc5 11.Qa4+ Bd7 12.Qb3 Qh4 13.Qxd5 Qxf2+ 14.Kd1 Qxg2 0-1
Black is always better, according to the computer, and much better after 7...g5! White's moves are forced until the blunder on move 13, but even after the better 13.Qxb7 Qxf2+ 14.Kd1 Qxg2! 15.Rf1 O-O Black has a pretty big advantage.
The moral of the story? Meet junk with junk!
Nakamura has since taken to playing this opening in online blitz games - this, despite the fact that I, a player whom he outrates by about 400 points, explicitly warned him about this move. (His response: "lol".) Fortunately, his opponents all played the polite, compliant 2...Nc6 - until yesterday:
Smallville (3194) - nulletokkpokk (3183) [C20]
ICC 3 0 Internet Chess Club, 28.04.2005
1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxe5+ Be7 4.Be2 Nc6 5.Qf4 d5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Nf3 g5 8.Qe3 g4 9.Nd4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Bc5 11.Qa4+ Bd7 12.Qb3 Qh4 13.Qxd5 Qxf2+ 14.Kd1 Qxg2 0-1
Black is always better, according to the computer, and much better after 7...g5! White's moves are forced until the blunder on move 13, but even after the better 13.Qxb7 Qxf2+ 14.Kd1 Qxg2! 15.Rf1 O-O Black has a pretty big advantage.
The moral of the story? Meet junk with junk!
Posted by Dennis Monokroussos on
Friday April 29, 2005 at 1:25am