Team O Chess (1 Viewer)

[otello]

As black - consensus around e5.

Having heard no dissent, I am moving e5 as black.

 

[otello]

As black - consensus around e5.

Having heard no dissent, I am moving e5 as black.

E5 played

 

[Psychopav]

White

bg5 works for me

 

[otello]

O as black - they played Be2

We have transposed into: E91 King's Indian, 6.Be2

e5 is the most common response

O as white - they played a6

B90: Silician, Najdorf

we have several choices here: Be2, Bg5, Be3 or Bc4 (there are others)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Defence,_Najdorf_Variation

Black:I like e5 here as black. We need to keep in mind that they can greatly simplify by playing 7. dxe, dxe, qxq, rxq. Getting the queens off the board makes the game much simpler. This might be OK, but if we are looking for a complex game, we may want to try something like c6, nd7, or bg4 instead. But with that said, I like e5 better.

White:

I think Bg5 is the most aggressive move here, and the best one.

Any other thoughts as white. This is an important move. See below:The most aggressive move for White is 6. Bg5, threatening to exchange the knight, giving Black doubled pawns. 6. Be2 is the classical main line, in which White hopes to impose his/her greater positional understanding. 6. Be3 is clearly the main line today, the English Attack, in which White has a simple plan of playing Qd2, castling queenside, playing f3 to secure e4 and g4 and pushing forward the kingside pawns and mating Black. There are also some deeper, more subtle positional ideas behind this move, but that is the basic outline of White's plan. Today, the variation with 6. Bc4 is considered unpromising for White, but was a Fischer favorite in the early 1960s and can lead to a brutal piece attack if Black is not careful. 6. f3 is mainly a transpositional tool for the English attack (to avoid the annoying line 6.Be3 Ng4). 6. f4 was favored by Tal and the Hungarian players Leko and Judit Polgar, hoping to directly pressure e5 and in some cases attack along the f-file. Fischer's other contribution to Najdorf theory, 6. h3, is rarely seen, preparing g2-g4 to fianchetto the bishop, while the immediate fianchetto, 6. g3, is out of favor now. 6. a4, preventing ...b7-b5, is considered innocuous, as it leaves a hole on b4 for Black's knight.

 

[dancingbones]

O as black - they played Be2

We have transposed into: E91 King's Indian, 6.Be2

e5 is the most common response

O as white - they played a6

B90: Silician, Najdorf

we have several choices here: Be2, Bg5, Be3 or Bc4 (there are others)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Defence,_Najdorf_Variation

Black:I like e5 here as black. We need to keep in mind that they can greatly simplify by playing 7. dxe, dxe, qxq, rxq. Getting the queens off the board makes the game much simpler. This might be OK, but if we are looking for a complex game, we may want to try something like c6, nd7, or bg4 instead. But with that said, I like e5 better.

White:

I think Bg5 is the most aggressive move here, and the best one.

Any other thoughts as white. This is an important move. See below:The most aggressive move for White is 6. Bg5, threatening to exchange the knight, giving Black doubled pawns. 6. Be2 is the classical main line, in which White hopes to impose his/her greater positional understanding. 6. Be3 is clearly the main line today, the English Attack, in which White has a simple plan of playing Qd2, castling queenside, playing f3 to secure e4 and g4 and pushing forward the kingside pawns and mating Black. There are also some deeper, more subtle positional ideas behind this move, but that is the basic outline of White's plan. Today, the variation with 6. Bc4 is considered unpromising for White, but was a Fischer favorite in the early 1960s and can lead to a brutal piece attack if Black is not careful. 6. f3 is mainly a transpositional tool for the English attack (to avoid the annoying line 6.Be3 Ng4). 6. f4 was favored by Tal and the Hungarian players Leko and Judit Polgar, hoping to directly pressure e5 and in some cases attack along the f-file. Fischer's other contribution to Najdorf theory, 6. h3, is rarely seen, preparing g2-g4 to fianchetto the bishop, while the immediate fianchetto, 6. g3, is out of favor now. 6. a4, preventing ...b7-b5, is considered innocuous, as it leaves a hole on b4 for Black's knight.

I would usually place Be3 in this case, but I'm happy to roll with bg5 with an eye to eliminating the knight (which will likely end up being replaced by the other one).

 

[otello]

Consensus seems to be Bg5. Any other thoughts?

 

[kutta]

Consensus seems to be Bg5. Any other thoughts?

I'm good with Be3 also, but I agree Bg5 seems to be the consensus.

 

[otello]

I am moving Bg5. Looking forward to see where this one goes.

 

[otello]

Bg5 played.

 

[otello]

O as Black. They played 7. Be3

7.Be3 is often known as the Gligoric System, after the World Championship Candidate, who has contributed much to King's Indian theory and practice with both colours. Recently, other strong players such as Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, and Kasparov have played this line. The main idea behind this move is to avoid the theoretical lines that arise after 7.0-0 Nc6. This move allows White to maintain, for the moment, the tension in the centre. If Black plays mechanically with 7...Nc6, 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2! is a favourable setup, so Black most often responds by crossing his opponent's plans with 7...Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Nc6, but other moves are also seen, such as:

• 7...Na6 8.0-0 transposing into the modern.
• 7...h6!? is a favourite of John Nunn. The main line runs 8.0-0 Ng4 9.Bc1 Nc6 10.d5 Ne7 11.Ne1 f5 12.Bxg4 fxg4. In this subvariation, Black's kingside play is of a different type than normal KID lines, as it lacks the standard pawn breaks, so he will now play g6–g5 and Ng6–f4, often investing material in a piece attack in the f-file against the white king, while White plays for the usual queenside breakthrough with c4–c5.
• 7...exd4 immediately surrenders the centre, with a view to playing a quick c7–c6 and d6–d5. For example, 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 c6 10.Qd2 (10.Bf2!?) 10...d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 and 13...Rxe3!? (which was first seen in game 11 of the 1990 World Chess Championship between Kasparov and Karpov).

Thoughts? I like Ng4 here.

 

[kutta]

O as Black. They played 7. Be3

7.Be3 is often known as the Gligoric System, after the World Championship Candidate, who has contributed much to King's Indian theory and practice with both colours. Recently, other strong players such as Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, and Kasparov have played this line. The main idea behind this move is to avoid the theoretical lines that arise after 7.0-0 Nc6. This move allows White to maintain, for the moment, the tension in the centre. If Black plays mechanically with 7...Nc6, 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2! is a favourable setup, so Black most often responds by crossing his opponent's plans with 7...Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Nc6, but other moves are also seen, such as:

• 7...Na6 8.0-0 transposing into the modern.
• 7...h6!? is a favourite of John Nunn. The main line runs 8.0-0 Ng4 9.Bc1 Nc6 10.d5 Ne7 11.Ne1 f5 12.Bxg4 fxg4. In this subvariation, Black's kingside play is of a different type than normal KID lines, as it lacks the standard pawn breaks, so he will now play g6–g5 and Ng6–f4, often investing material in a piece attack in the f-file against the white king, while White plays for the usual queenside breakthrough with c4–c5.
• 7...exd4 immediately surrenders the centre, with a view to playing a quick c7–c6 and d6–d5. For example, 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 c6 10.Qd2 (10.Bf2!?) 10...d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 and 13...Rxe3!? (which was first seen in game 11 of the 1990 World Chess Championship between Kasparov and Karpov).

Thoughts? I like Ng4 here.

Ng4 - So where do we go if they play h3? The knight has to go back to h6 I think, which seems a bit weird. Unless we play ... exd4, nxd4, ne5. It just feels like that knight on g4 is weak, as is the pawn on f6.

I like na6, as that protects against white's "normal" queenside pawn attack with c5.

h6 is interesting and leads to a pretty cool attack for black, but that might be a bit risky.

Just to be clear, I am not totally opposed to Ng4, I just don't completely understand the situation.

 

[otello]

O as Black. They played 7. Be3

7.Be3 is often known as the Gligoric System, after the World Championship Candidate, who has contributed much to King's Indian theory and practice with both colours. Recently, other strong players such as Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, and Kasparov have played this line. The main idea behind this move is to avoid the theoretical lines that arise after 7.0-0 Nc6. This move allows White to maintain, for the moment, the tension in the centre. If Black plays mechanically with 7...Nc6, 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2! is a favourable setup, so Black most often responds by crossing his opponent's plans with 7...Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Nc6, but other moves are also seen, such as:

• 7...Na6 8.0-0 transposing into the modern.
• 7...h6!? is a favourite of John Nunn. The main line runs 8.0-0 Ng4 9.Bc1 Nc6 10.d5 Ne7 11.Ne1 f5 12.Bxg4 fxg4. In this subvariation, Black's kingside play is of a different type than normal KID lines, as it lacks the standard pawn breaks, so he will now play g6–g5 and Ng6–f4, often investing material in a piece attack in the f-file against the white king, while White plays for the usual queenside breakthrough with c4–c5.
• 7...exd4 immediately surrenders the centre, with a view to playing a quick c7–c6 and d6–d5. For example, 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 c6 10.Qd2 (10.Bf2!?) 10...d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 and 13...Rxe3!? (which was first seen in game 11 of the 1990 World Chess Championship between Kasparov and Karpov).

Thoughts? I like Ng4 here.

Ng4 - So where do we go if they play h3? The knight has to go back to h6 I think, which seems a bit weird. Unless we play ... exd4, nxd4, ne5. It just feels like that knight on g4 is weak, as is the pawn on f6.

I like na6, as that protects against white's "normal" queenside pawn attack with c5.

h6 is interesting and leads to a pretty cool attack for black, but that might be a bit risky.

Just to be clear, I am not totally opposed to Ng4, I just don't completely understand the situation.

we take the bishop on e3 and white has doubled pawns. I don't think that they would play h3, but rather Bg5, attacking our Q; to which we would respond f6.

 

[otello]

Any other thoughts?

 

[kutta]

O as Black. They played 7. Be3

7.Be3 is often known as the Gligoric System, after the World Championship Candidate, who has contributed much to King's Indian theory and practice with both colours. Recently, other strong players such as Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, and Kasparov have played this line. The main idea behind this move is to avoid the theoretical lines that arise after 7.0-0 Nc6. This move allows White to maintain, for the moment, the tension in the centre. If Black plays mechanically with 7...Nc6, 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2! is a favourable setup, so Black most often responds by crossing his opponent's plans with 7...Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Nc6, but other moves are also seen, such as:

• 7...Na6 8.0-0 transposing into the modern.
• 7...h6!? is a favourite of John Nunn. The main line runs 8.0-0 Ng4 9.Bc1 Nc6 10.d5 Ne7 11.Ne1 f5 12.Bxg4 fxg4. In this subvariation, Black's kingside play is of a different type than normal KID lines, as it lacks the standard pawn breaks, so he will now play g6g5 and Ng6f4, often investing material in a piece attack in the f-file against the white king, while White plays for the usual queenside breakthrough with c4c5.
• 7...exd4 immediately surrenders the centre, with a view to playing a quick c7c6 and d6d5. For example, 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 c6 10.Qd2 (10.Bf2!?) 10...d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 and 13...Rxe3!? (which was first seen in game 11 of the 1990 World Chess Championship between Kasparov and Karpov).

Thoughts? I like Ng4 here.

Ng4 - So where do we go if they play h3? The knight has to go back to h6 I think, which seems a bit weird. Unless we play ... exd4, nxd4, ne5. It just feels like that knight on g4 is weak, as is the pawn on f6. I like na6, as that protects against white's "normal" queenside pawn attack with c5.

h6 is interesting and leads to a pretty cool attack for black, but that might be a bit risky.

Just to be clear, I am not totally opposed to Ng4, I just don't completely understand the situation.

we take the bishop on e3 and white has doubled pawns. I don't think that they would play h3, but rather Bg5, attacking our Q; to which we would respond f6.

I meant after the moves you posted, so after we play nc6, that bishop is already off e3.

 

[otello]

O as Black. They played 7. Be3

7.Be3 is often known as the Gligoric System, after the World Championship Candidate, who has contributed much to King's Indian theory and practice with both colours. Recently, other strong players such as Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, and Kasparov have played this line. The main idea behind this move is to avoid the theoretical lines that arise after 7.0-0 Nc6. This move allows White to maintain, for the moment, the tension in the centre. If Black plays mechanically with 7...Nc6, 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2! is a favourable setup, so Black most often responds by crossing his opponent's plans with 7...Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Nc6, but other moves are also seen, such as:

• 7...Na6 8.0-0 transposing into the modern.
• 7...h6!? is a favourite of John Nunn. The main line runs 8.0-0 Ng4 9.Bc1 Nc6 10.d5 Ne7 11.Ne1 f5 12.Bxg4 fxg4. In this subvariation, Black's kingside play is of a different type than normal KID lines, as it lacks the standard pawn breaks, so he will now play g6g5 and Ng6f4, often investing material in a piece attack in the f-file against the white king, while White plays for the usual queenside breakthrough with c4c5.
• 7...exd4 immediately surrenders the centre, with a view to playing a quick c7c6 and d6d5. For example, 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 c6 10.Qd2 (10.Bf2!?) 10...d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 and 13...Rxe3!? (which was first seen in game 11 of the 1990 World Chess Championship between Kasparov and Karpov).

Thoughts? I like Ng4 here.

Ng4 - So where do we go if they play h3? The knight has to go back to h6 I think, which seems a bit weird. Unless we play ... exd4, nxd4, ne5. It just feels like that knight on g4 is weak, as is the pawn on f6. I like na6, as that protects against white's "normal" queenside pawn attack with c5.

h6 is interesting and leads to a pretty cool attack for black, but that might be a bit risky.

Just to be clear, I am not totally opposed to Ng4, I just don't completely understand the situation.

we take the bishop on e3 and white has doubled pawns. I don't think that they would play h3, but rather Bg5, attacking our Q; to which we would respond f6.

I meant after the moves you posted, so after we play nc6, that bishop is already off e3.

My research indicates that they will not play 10. h3, but rather d5, attacking the knight on c6. If you really like 7. Na6 here, I will defer. It is still early.

 

[kutta]

O as Black. They played 7. Be3

7.Be3 is often known as the Gligoric System, after the World Championship Candidate, who has contributed much to King's Indian theory and practice with both colours. Recently, other strong players such as Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, and Kasparov have played this line. The main idea behind this move is to avoid the theoretical lines that arise after 7.0-0 Nc6. This move allows White to maintain, for the moment, the tension in the centre. If Black plays mechanically with 7...Nc6, 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2! is a favourable setup, so Black most often responds by crossing his opponent's plans with 7...Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Nc6, but other moves are also seen, such as:

• 7...Na6 8.0-0 transposing into the modern.
• 7...h6!? is a favourite of John Nunn. The main line runs 8.0-0 Ng4 9.Bc1 Nc6 10.d5 Ne7 11.Ne1 f5 12.Bxg4 fxg4. In this subvariation, Black's kingside play is of a different type than normal KID lines, as it lacks the standard pawn breaks, so he will now play g6g5 and Ng6f4, often investing material in a piece attack in the f-file against the white king, while White plays for the usual queenside breakthrough with c4c5.
• 7...exd4 immediately surrenders the centre, with a view to playing a quick c7c6 and d6d5. For example, 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 c6 10.Qd2 (10.Bf2!?) 10...d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 and 13...Rxe3!? (which was first seen in game 11 of the 1990 World Chess Championship between Kasparov and Karpov).

Thoughts? I like Ng4 here.

Ng4 - So where do we go if they play h3? The knight has to go back to h6 I think, which seems a bit weird. Unless we play ... exd4, nxd4, ne5. It just feels like that knight on g4 is weak, as is the pawn on f6. I like na6, as that protects against white's "normal" queenside pawn attack with c5.

h6 is interesting and leads to a pretty cool attack for black, but that might be a bit risky.

Just to be clear, I am not totally opposed to Ng4, I just don't completely understand the situation.

we take the bishop on e3 and white has doubled pawns. I don't think that they would play h3, but rather Bg5, attacking our Q; to which we would respond f6.

I meant after the moves you posted, so after we play nc6, that bishop is already off e3.

My research indicates that they will not play 10. h3, but rather d5, attacking the knight on c6. If you really like 7. Na6 here, I will defer. It is still early.

I am not hard over either way. They are both well-known lines so I know neither one leads to ruin. I'm good with whatever people decide.

 

[otello]

O as Black. They played 7. Be3

7.Be3 is often known as the Gligoric System, after the World Championship Candidate, who has contributed much to King's Indian theory and practice with both colours. Recently, other strong players such as Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, and Kasparov have played this line. The main idea behind this move is to avoid the theoretical lines that arise after 7.0-0 Nc6. This move allows White to maintain, for the moment, the tension in the centre. If Black plays mechanically with 7...Nc6, 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2! is a favourable setup, so Black most often responds by crossing his opponent's plans with 7...Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 Nc6, but other moves are also seen, such as:

• 7...Na6 8.0-0 transposing into the modern.
• 7...h6!? is a favourite of John Nunn. The main line runs 8.0-0 Ng4 9.Bc1 Nc6 10.d5 Ne7 11.Ne1 f5 12.Bxg4 fxg4. In this subvariation, Black's kingside play is of a different type than normal KID lines, as it lacks the standard pawn breaks, so he will now play g6g5 and Ng6f4, often investing material in a piece attack in the f-file against the white king, while White plays for the usual queenside breakthrough with c4c5.
• 7...exd4 immediately surrenders the centre, with a view to playing a quick c7c6 and d6d5. For example, 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 c6 10.Qd2 (10.Bf2!?) 10...d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 and 13...Rxe3!? (which was first seen in game 11 of the 1990 World Chess Championship between Kasparov and Karpov).

Thoughts? I like Ng4 here.

Ng4 - So where do we go if they play h3? The knight has to go back to h6 I think, which seems a bit weird. Unless we play ... exd4, nxd4, ne5. It just feels like that knight on g4 is weak, as is the pawn on f6. I like na6, as that protects against white's "normal" queenside pawn attack with c5.

h6 is interesting and leads to a pretty cool attack for black, but that might be a bit risky.

Just to be clear, I am not totally opposed to Ng4, I just don't completely understand the situation.

we take the bishop on e3 and white has doubled pawns. I don't think that they would play h3, but rather Bg5, attacking our Q; to which we would respond f6.

I meant after the moves you posted, so after we play nc6, that bishop is already off e3.

My research indicates that they will not play 10. h3, but rather d5, attacking the knight on c6. If you really like 7. Na6 here, I will defer. It is still early.

I am not hard over either way. They are both well-known lines so I know neither one leads to ruin. I'm good with whatever people decide.

Thanks and I agree with you. What do others think??

 

[otello]

O as white. They played e6.

Our response should be f4.

 

[kutta]

O as white. They played e6.

Our response should be f4.

I like the cut of your jib.

 

[Psychopav]

White

That looks good.

Question: when does the "opening" no longer count as an "opening"? The correspondence rules state that we can consult opening books but how do you know when it's time to stop looking at what's the next most popular move etc.?

 

[otello]

White

That looks good.

Question: when does the "opening" no longer count as an "opening"? The correspondence rules state that we can consult opening books but how do you know when it's time to stop looking at what's the next most popular move etc.?First, we have cons

First, we have consensus around f4 as white.

We can depart from the opening book at any time we want, but we do so at our peril. The lines we are playing are well traveled for a reason; they are safe and generally solid. That said, by the time we get to move 12 to 15, we will be in the middle game and on our own.

 

[otello]

I am playing f4.

 

[kutta]

I am playing f4.

I'm good with that

 

[otello]

O as white. They played e6.

Our response should be f4.

We played f4.

 

[otello]

O as black, we are playing Ng4.

 

[otello]

Ng4 played as black.

 

[otello]

O as white. They played e6.

Our response should be f4.

We played f4.

They are considering one of four responses: Be7, Qb6, Nbd7 or Qc7.

 

[kutta]

Black for us:

They played bg5. I think we have to play f6.

Thoughts?

 

[Brownsfan]

F6 seems like the right play to me

 

[otello]

Agree with f6. I will play now.

 

[otello]

Black:

f6 played.

 

[otello]

O as white:

they played Qb6, threatening pawn at b2.

O as black:

they played Bh4

 

[otello]

O as white, two choices:

Qd2 or Nb3.

Qd2 takes us into the poisoned pawn variation of the Najdorf B97:

http://www.365chess.com/eco/B97_Sicilian_Najdorf_Poisoned_pawn_variation

well known territory here:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044724

I like Qd2 here.

 

[otello]

O as black:

Two main choices: Nc6 or g5.

I prefer Nc6, develops the knight.

 

[Steve Tasker]

I think I'm officially useless at this point. Sorry dudes.

 

[kutta]

O as white, two choices:

Qd2 or Nb3.

Qd2 takes us into the poisoned pawn variation of the Najdorf B97:

http://www.365chess.com/eco/B97_Sicilian_Najdorf_Poisoned_pawn_variation

well known territory here:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044724

I like Qd2 here.

We have to be ready to put our big boy pants on with this line. I like it but if we don't have the stomach to sacrifice in order to gain an advantage in attacking then we should shy away.I'm in though.

 

[kutta]

O as black:

Two main choices: Nc6 or g5.

I prefer Nc6, develops the knight.

I agree, though I think you mean f5.I might play f5 in real life because I find myself erring on the side of aggression, but since all hell is about to break loose in the white game, I say we play a little safer here with nc6.

 

[otello]

O as black:

Two main choices: Nc6 or g5.

I prefer Nc6, develops the knight.

I agree, though I think you mean f5.I might play f5 in real life because I find myself erring on the side of aggression, but since all hell is about to break loose in the white game, I say we play a little safer here with nc6.

my research indicates g5. anyway. we agree on nc6.

 

[otello]

O as white, two choices:

Qd2 or Nb3.

Qd2 takes us into the poisoned pawn variation of the Najdorf B97:

http://www.365chess.com/eco/B97_Sicilian_Najdorf_Poisoned_pawn_variation

well known territory here:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044724

I like Qd2 here.

We have to be ready to put our big boy pants on with this line. I like it but if we don't have the stomach to sacrifice in order to gain an advantage in attacking then we should shy away.I'm in though.

We agree on Qd2. Depends are on.

 

[kutta]

O as black:

Two main choices: Nc6 or g5.

I prefer Nc6, develops the knight.

I agree, though I think you mean f5.I might play f5 in real life because I find myself erring on the side of aggression, but since all hell is about to break loose in the white game, I say we play a little safer here with nc6.

my research indicates g5. anyway. we agree on nc6.

My bad. My game is a move behind and g5 isn't possible. We need to catch up.

 

[otello]

If we are to have a chance here, we will need as much help as possible. Please try to participate if you can.

 

[kutta]

Did you officially move Nc6?

I agree it would be nice to get some other feedback.

 

[dancingbones]

My chess time games were cancelled - so I'm only following through this thread when I'm online via computer, & not able to play along with that analyze feature on my phone. So, not as easy to look ahead & play with variations.

White:

I'm game for Qd2, looks like fun, & something I probably wouldn't play on my own.

 

[dancingbones]

Did you officially move Nc6?

I agree it would be nice to get some other feedback.

Black:

What about exd4? Clear some of this clutter from the center?

 

[otello]

I have not made any moves yet. Still taking in suggestions.

 

[kutta]

Did you officially move Nc6?

I agree it would be nice to get some other feedback.

Black:

What about exd4? Clear some of this clutter from the center?

I'm not opposed to that. We could look at eventually playing bb7 if is e-pawn is gone (he can't play e5 which would muck that up). I don't think that's anything standard and might help get us out of these book lines.

 

[otello]

O as white, two choices:

Qd2 or Nb3.

Qd2 takes us into the poisoned pawn variation of the Najdorf B97:

http://www.365chess.com/eco/B97_Sicilian_Najdorf_Poisoned_pawn_variation

well known territory here:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044724

I like Qd2 here.

Consensus around Qd2. I will wait a little longer, but should make this move tonight at some point.

 

[kutta]

O as white, two choices:

Qd2 or Nb3.

Qd2 takes us into the poisoned pawn variation of the Najdorf B97:

http://www.365chess.com/eco/B97_Sicilian_Najdorf_Poisoned_pawn_variation

well known territory here:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044724

I like Qd2 here.

Consensus around Qd2. I will wait a little longer, but should make this move tonight at some point.

I say just do it. Let's get it moving. It's going to be fun, so who would object?

 

[otello]

Did you officially move Nc6?

I agree it would be nice to get some other feedback.

Black:

What about exd4? Clear some of this clutter from the center?

I'm not opposed to that. We could look at eventually playing bb7 if is e-pawn is gone (he can't play e5 which would muck that up). I don't think that's anything standard and might help get us out of these book lines.

O as black. If we are leaving the book, I would not play exd4. We can do that at any time; plus, if take the pawn on d4 after Nc6, we will be able to take the Knight on d4 if they retake. Bb7 is also available after Nc6. I prefer Nc6 here.

 

[otello]

O as white, two choices:

Qd2 or Nb3.

Qd2 takes us into the poisoned pawn variation of the Najdorf B97:

http://www.365chess.com/eco/B97_Sicilian_Najdorf_Poisoned_pawn_variation

well known territory here:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044724

I like Qd2 here.

Consensus around Qd2. I will wait a little longer, but should make this move tonight at some point.

I say just do it. Let's get it moving. It's going to be fun, so who would object?

Done. I will move now.