Part 3 on West and the Philidor Counter-Gambit
Jim West has blogged a reply to my first anti-PCG post. As one would expect from someone who has spent a lot of time on that line, his analysis helps to move the discussion along. Unfortunately for the gambit's friends, the movement is probably to its grave, but time will tell.
Here are the highlights. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5?! 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5, we've discussed two lines: 6.Ng3 and 6.Neg5!
(a) 6.Ng3. This is what I played against West, and although I was successful, it probably doesn't promise White very much. West, citing Kosten, gives 6...e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.f3 (Keres) and now instead of 8...Bd6 (played by West), 8...exf3 9.Qxf3 Bd6 10.Bd3 O-O 11.O-O Nc6 12.Nxc6 bxc6, when Black is fine. I agree.
(b) 6.Neg5! This is the move given by Bauer in his new book The Philidor Files (thanks to Everyman Chess for not naming it The Philidor Philes), and as far as I can tell, White has a clear advantage after this move. Bauer considers 6...e4 and 6...h6, and I threw in 6...exd4 as well, which happens to be West's preference.
(b1) 6...e4 7.Ne5 Nh6, and now the road divides. I presented Bauer's line, which continues 8.Nxh7 and concludes with a clear White advantage. West thinks Black can improve, but suggests 8.Nxe4 as even better. I think he's right about 8.Nxe4 - I'm not sure if it's objectively better, but it is simpler. His analysis of 8.Nxh7 seems flawed though, so both moves look strong.
(b2) 6...h6. As far as I can tell, West at least tacitly agrees that this move holds no hope for Black. Perhaps the following is key: 7.Nf7 Kxf7 8.Nxe5+ Ke7 (Bauer only considers 8...Ke6) 9.Ng6+ Kf6 10.Qf3 Bf5 and now not 11.Nxh8, as mentioned in Shibut's review of West's second PCG book, but 11.g4! as given in my first post.
(b3) 6...exd4. This is West's main line, and he claims that after 7.Nxd4 Qe7+ Black gets a good game. I've argued against this in my second anti-PCG post, which West hasn't yet gotten around to rebutting. He has, however, critiqued my suggestion of 7.Bb5+ c6 8.Bd3, but there too I believe I have an improvement on his analysis.
The details are here.
Here are the highlights. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5?! 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5, we've discussed two lines: 6.Ng3 and 6.Neg5!
(a) 6.Ng3. This is what I played against West, and although I was successful, it probably doesn't promise White very much. West, citing Kosten, gives 6...e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.f3 (Keres) and now instead of 8...Bd6 (played by West), 8...exf3 9.Qxf3 Bd6 10.Bd3 O-O 11.O-O Nc6 12.Nxc6 bxc6, when Black is fine. I agree.
(b) 6.Neg5! This is the move given by Bauer in his new book The Philidor Files (thanks to Everyman Chess for not naming it The Philidor Philes), and as far as I can tell, White has a clear advantage after this move. Bauer considers 6...e4 and 6...h6, and I threw in 6...exd4 as well, which happens to be West's preference.
(b1) 6...e4 7.Ne5 Nh6, and now the road divides. I presented Bauer's line, which continues 8.Nxh7 and concludes with a clear White advantage. West thinks Black can improve, but suggests 8.Nxe4 as even better. I think he's right about 8.Nxe4 - I'm not sure if it's objectively better, but it is simpler. His analysis of 8.Nxh7 seems flawed though, so both moves look strong.
(b2) 6...h6. As far as I can tell, West at least tacitly agrees that this move holds no hope for Black. Perhaps the following is key: 7.Nf7 Kxf7 8.Nxe5+ Ke7 (Bauer only considers 8...Ke6) 9.Ng6+ Kf6 10.Qf3 Bf5 and now not 11.Nxh8, as mentioned in Shibut's review of West's second PCG book, but 11.g4! as given in my first post.
(b3) 6...exd4. This is West's main line, and he claims that after 7.Nxd4 Qe7+ Black gets a good game. I've argued against this in my second anti-PCG post, which West hasn't yet gotten around to rebutting. He has, however, critiqued my suggestion of 7.Bb5+ c6 8.Bd3, but there too I believe I have an improvement on his analysis.
The details are 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
Saturday April 7, 2007 at 7:24pm
It looks to me like White can gain a slight edge with a general light-squared plan, but not the kind of massive advantage that keeps showing up against 5...d5.
4.exf5 is also a bit troublesome, but I found another two ideas quite interesting:
A) 4..Bxf5 5.dxe5 Nc6!? 6.Bb5 dxe5 7.Qe2 Bd6 8.Bg5 ( 8.0-0 Nge7 9.Nc3 a6 ) 8..Nf6 9.Nxe5 ( maybe 9.Nc3 with slight White adv. ) 9..0-0! 10.Bxc6 Bxe5! 11.Qxe5 bxc6! = Morato - Melchor, corr. email thematic, 2006/07; and now not 12.Qxf5? Qe8+! 13.Be3 Ne4 and ..Nxf2 with terrible attack.
B) 4..e4 - usual line - 5.Ng5 Bxf5 6.Nc3 ( 6.f3 Qe7 ) 6..d5 7.f3 e3 8.Bxe3 h6!? 9.g4!? ( Kosten analyze 9.Bd3 and 9.Nh3 as well ) 9..hxg5! 10.gxf5 Nc6 ( 10..Bd6 11.Qe2 Kf8 12.0-0-0 c6 13.Qd2 Qc7 14.Bxg5 Rh5!? Kosten - or ..14..Rxh2 - ) 11.Qe2 Qd7 12.Bxg5+ Be7 13.0-0-0 0-0-0 14.Rg1 Qxf5 15.Be3 Qf7 16.h3 Nh6 17.Qh2 Nf5 equal E.Garcia - Melchor, corr. email thematic, 2006/07 draw in 46.
Against Bauer's note on 5..Nf6(!) 6.Nxf6 gxf6 7.Bd3 Black can play 7..Bg4 immediately or 7..Nc6 8.0-0 Be6 with idea ..Bf7 ( to avoid 8..Nxd4? 9.Nxd4 and Qh5+ ).
Thats all!
I'm not sure what you meant by "that's all". If you mean that your analysis settles all questions, you might be a little optimistic. If it means you're bailing out, then that's too bad. In any case, here are some reflections on your latest offering.
A)
1) 4.exf5 Bxf5 5.dxe5 Nc6 6.Bb5 dxe5 7.Qe2 Bd6 8.O-O Nge7 9.Nc3 a6. No problem with that line, but I'd assess it as slightly better for White.
2) Same through Black's 7th, then 8.Bg5 Nf6 9.Nxe5 (I agree that 9.Nc3 gives White an edge) O-O 10.Bxc6 Bxe5 11.Qxe5 bxc6 and here I disagree with your assessment of equality. After 12.O-O we have a position reminiscent of the Schliemann line 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 Nf6 6.Nxf6 Qxf6 7.Qe2 Be7 8.Nxe5. In both cases White gains a pawn and a not-immediately-useful 3-2 kingside majority in return for the bishop pair and a little activity. The usual story among competent players is that an opposite-colored bishop ending results, leading to either a slow White win or a slow draw, and it seems to me that sort of thing should happen in this particular Philidor line.
B)
1) 4...e4 5.Ng5 Bxf5 6.f3 Qe7 (your (Kosten's?) line), but now 7.Nc3 looks better for White. One possibility is 7...exf3+ 8.Kf2 Nc6 9.Qxf3 Nh6 10.Bb5 O-O-O 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Qxc6 with a clear advantage, as Black's compensation for the pawn seems imaginary.
2) Same through Black's 5th, then 6.Nc3 d5 7.f3 e3 8.Bxe3 h6 9.g4 hxg5 10.gxf5 Bd6 11.Qe2 Kf8 12.O-O-O c6 13.Qd2 Qc7 14.Bxg5 (Kosten, according to your comment) is simply winning for White. After 14...Rh5, 15.Ne2 followed by Nf4 is very strong, and after the bad 14...Rxh2? 15.Rxh2 Bxh2 16.f4 traps and (quickly) wins the bishop.
3) Same through White's 10th, then 10...Nc6 and now 11.Qd2 (+=) looks like an improvement on your opponent's 11.Qe2.
C) On Bauer's note, I agree that 7...Bg4 is a reasonable move, but I think White maintains a slight edge there. Practical tests are probably needed to see if that's so. Likewise with 7...Nc6 8.O-O Be6: 9.Ba4 looks +=, but time will tell.