James West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
The Philidor Counter-Gambit, which is defined by the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5(?!), has long had a poor theoretical reputation, and I'm unaware of any recent work overturning that verdict. To take the most recent example, GM Christian Bauer's main line disposes of it as follows:
4.Nc3(!) fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5(?!) 6.Neg5! (He thinks 6.Ne5 and 6.Ng3 both offer some advantage, but not as much as 6.Neg5) 6...h6 (6...e4 7.Ne5 Nh6 8.Nxh7! etc.) 7.Nf7! Kxf7 8.Ne5+ ("All White needs now is accuracy in the conversion of his clear advantage.") 8...Ke6 9.Qg4+ Ke7 10.Ng6+ Ke8 11.Qe2+ Ne7 12.Nxh8 ("The h8-knight will escape, despite all of Black's efforts to prevent it.") 12...Bf5 13.g4 Be4 14.f3 Bh7 15.g5 hxg5 16.Bh3 Nbc6 17.c3 Qd6 18.Qe6 Qxe6+ 19.Bxe6 Nd8 20.Bg4 g6 ("Black is at last ready to 'pluck' the knight, but...") 21.h4 Bg7 22.hxg5 Bg8 23.Bf4 c5 24.dxc5 d4 25.cxd4 Bxd4 26.O-O-O Bxc5 27.Rhe1 Kf8 28.Bd6+-. (Christian Bauer, The Philidor Files (Everyman Chess 2006), p. 31.)
New Jersey NM James West has played this variation for a long time, however, and has even written a couple of books defending it. Reading this post on the Kenilworthian blog and following its links makes me wonder if West has addressed the 6.Neg5 line in his writings. Bauer's analysis may be new, but 6.Neg5 isn't - Mega2007 offers 10 games going back to 1979.
Do any West-savvy readers know what he thinks about this move?
(The analysis above, and quite a bit more besides, can be found here.)
4.Nc3(!) fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5(?!) 6.Neg5! (He thinks 6.Ne5 and 6.Ng3 both offer some advantage, but not as much as 6.Neg5) 6...h6 (6...e4 7.Ne5 Nh6 8.Nxh7! etc.) 7.Nf7! Kxf7 8.Ne5+ ("All White needs now is accuracy in the conversion of his clear advantage.") 8...Ke6 9.Qg4+ Ke7 10.Ng6+ Ke8 11.Qe2+ Ne7 12.Nxh8 ("The h8-knight will escape, despite all of Black's efforts to prevent it.") 12...Bf5 13.g4 Be4 14.f3 Bh7 15.g5 hxg5 16.Bh3 Nbc6 17.c3 Qd6 18.Qe6 Qxe6+ 19.Bxe6 Nd8 20.Bg4 g6 ("Black is at last ready to 'pluck' the knight, but...") 21.h4 Bg7 22.hxg5 Bg8 23.Bf4 c5 24.dxc5 d4 25.cxd4 Bxd4 26.O-O-O Bxc5 27.Rhe1 Kf8 28.Bd6+-. (Christian Bauer, The Philidor Files (Everyman Chess 2006), p. 31.)
New Jersey NM James West has played this variation for a long time, however, and has even written a couple of books defending it. Reading this post on the Kenilworthian blog and following its links makes me wonder if West has addressed the 6.Neg5 line in his writings. Bauer's analysis may be new, but 6.Neg5 isn't - Mega2007 offers 10 games going back to 1979.
Do any West-savvy readers know what he thinks about this move?
(The analysis above, and quite a bit more besides, can be found here.)
Related Posts (on one page):
- Part 9 on West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
- Part 8 on West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
- Part 7 on West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
- Part 6 on West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
- Part 5 on West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit: Another Go-Round, with an Assist from Marvin Barker
- Part 4 on West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
- Part 3 on West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
- James West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit: A Follow-Up
- James West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
Posted by Dennis Monokroussos on
Wednesday April 4, 2007 at 4:19am