Move 6

[Brian-E]

As predicted by several team members, their move is 6.Be3 attacking our c5 pawn and probably intending a later Qd2 and Bh6 manoeuvre.

As also suggested last move, 6...d6 is a natural developing move which deals with the immediate threat.

Another possibility is 6...Nd4. This is a slight transgression of opening principles, moving an already developed piece, but in its favour it establishes the knight on this strong square which will limit White's possibilities and will not be immediately exchangeable (Ng1-e2/f3, Nxd4 is answered by recapturing with the pawn and forking two pieces), and we can bolster it with ...Ng8-e7-c6. They will probably want to spend time kicking our knight off d4 by playing Nc3-e2 and c3 later on, and that pawn on c3 then gives us a target for a queenside attack with ...Rb8, ....b5, ....b4. Obviously this is thinking 5 or more moves ahead when general development is completed.

6...b6 is possible, intending 6...Bb7.

6...Qa5 may be playable, though it's a very early moment to develop our queen. In its favour, it tempts White to play the bishop back Be3-d2 (after which we retreat the queen without having lost a tempo because of their lost tempo with the bishop), and then if they want to continue their plan of a queen and bishop battery on the c1-h6 diagonal they may have to put the queen on the more awkward square c1 instead of d2. However, I think either 7.Nge2 or immediately 7.Qd2 may be good replies instead of 7.Bd2.

Are there any other moves worth considering? And what are our individual preferences for what we play now?

[paulunderwood]

I think it is a toss up between 6...d6 and advancing our knight.

Moving the knight is slightly more agressive, gaining back for us some momentum.

6...d6 brings our queen's bishop back into the game.

I also think 7.Qd2... should be countered with 7...h5.

[henryzz]

I am about to go out so I can't spend much time now.
I looked it up on [url]http://chesstempo.com/game-database.html[/url] and Nd4 has consistently a much better chance of white winning(once the <2200 rating games are filtered out). My initial reaction is d6 although I need to spend more time on it.

[richs]

I prefer d6. It's a natural developing move and defends c5.

I do not like moving our knight or queen at this point to defend c5. Although Nd4 is defendable, we will have to spend resources defending the knight at this point in the game.

[Brian-E]

I guess I agree with Paul that it's a toss-up between 6...d6 and 6...Nd4. Either can reckon on my support. David and Rich prefer 6...d6 so maybe that's what we're inclining towards, but David in particular wanted to look further.

[henryzz]

I am pretty certain my favorite is d6. I would love not to stop us from doing d5 but I don't think we can easily do that. b6 is possibly worth some consideration IMO. Can we make d5 after b6 work to our advantage? The stats from past games seem to suggest otherwise. There haven't been that many attempts though.

[richs]

I still prefer d6. It projects power in the center which is good at this point in the game while protecting our c5 pawn. I think we should play a powerful yet conservative game for now and see if they blunder.

[paulunderwood]

We are agreed on 6...d6?

[Brian-E]

[QUOTE=paulunderwood;351245]We are agreed on 6...d6?[/QUOTE]
It looks as if we are with the exception that David has expressed some possible interest in 6...b6. I personally dislike 6...b6 as too passive a development in this opening, given that a queenside pawn advance by Black is often the way forward. Passivity with Black can be very dangerous in my opinion.

[richs]

I also dislike b6 since it is away from the center. Just my two cents.... :smile:

[henryzz]

I will post d6.