Move 26

paulunderwood · 2014-04-24, 09:56

One line might be:

26... bxc3
27.Bxc3 Nxd4

How would we continue play?

I guess we could instead play:

26... bxc3
27.Bxc3 Nd5

or:

26... bxc3
27.Bxc3 Bxd4

Is there an alternative to 26... bxc3?

Brian-E · 2014-04-24, 14:28

The alternative to 26...bxc3 is, I think, 26...Nxd4. I also find 26...Nxd4 preferable at the moment, avoiding lines where the white bishop comes to c3.

paulunderwood · 2014-04-24, 14:45

26...Nxd4
27.cxd4 Bxd4+
28.Be3...

and we are down on material :down:

Brian-E · 2014-04-24, 15:05

[QUOTE=paulunderwood;371901]26...Nxd4
27.cxd4 Bxd4+
28.Be3...

and we are down on material :down:[/QUOTE]
Oh yes, I see that now. The threat to d4, which I hoped we were maintaining last move by putting the bishop out of the way, has vanished now with their knight on c4 allowing Be3 in that line.

Of the lines you give in your first post, perhaps 26...bxc3 27.Bxc3 Nd5 might be the best leaving us with some play for the pawn deficit.

As an alternative to 26...bxc3, maybe immediately 26...Nd5.

paulunderwood · 2014-04-24, 15:10

[QUOTE=Brian-E;371902]

As an alternative to 26...bxc3, maybe immediately 26...Nd5.[/QUOTE]

We should look at. :smile:

paulunderwood · 2014-04-25, 09:10

26...Nd5, 27.Ne3... and White is putting a lot of pressure on d5

Brian-E · 2014-04-25, 19:42

[QUOTE=paulunderwood;371963]26...Nd5, 27.Ne3... and White is putting a lot of pressure on d5[/QUOTE]
It seems to me that after ...Nd5 (whether we play it immediately or after an exchange of pawns on c3) ...Nce7 is always an adequate reply to Ne3. They can, in my opinion, better either leave the knight on c4 attacking a5 or play Nd6+ and Nxc8 (or possibly Nd6+, Nf7(+) and Nxh6) depending on circumstances. These are general ideas rather than exact lines, of course.

In general I like 26....Nd5 better than 26...bxc3 at the moment for the reason that we might profit from not playing the latter move at all for the time being. I would judge that their move cxb4 is not good for them - d4 hangs, and we may perhaps recapture advantageously with a knight on b4 - so instead they probably have to leave the status quo with those queenside pawns for the time being. In other words, we say if and when we are exchanging there, and we do it when it clearly suits us.

paulunderwood · 2014-04-25, 20:39

Yes, Brian. At the moment, I am thinking "to take is a mistake!" :smile:

Brian-E · 2014-04-26, 09:12

Yep. The more I look at the position, the more I like 26...Nd5. One important feature of the move is that it gives our king a breathing square on e7 for if they play Nd6+ (though we must not play ...Ke7 until they have played that check, because e7 is needed for the c6 knight if they play Ne3 instead as you suggested earlier).

Rich and David, I hope you're around too. Please post your opinions!

henryzz · 2014-04-26, 09:55

How do we respond to 26...Nd5 27.Re1?

What about:
26... bxc3
27.Bxc3 Bxd4+
28.Bxd4 Nxd4

paulunderwood · 2014-04-26, 10:16

[QUOTE=henryzz;372050]How do we respond to 26...Nd5 27.Re1?

What about:
26... bxc3
27.Bxc3 Bxd4+
28.Bxd4 Nxd4[/QUOTE]

Yeah, 27.Re1... The pin looks disasterous for us :down:

Your second suggestion, maintains the material balance and can be forced :smile:

2014-04-24, 09:56	#1
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 1001001001101₂ Posts	Move 26 One line might be: 26... bxc3 27.Bxc3 Nxd4 How would we continue play? I guess we could instead play: 26... bxc3 27.Bxc3 Nd5 or: 26... bxc3 27.Bxc3 Bxd4 Is there an alternative to 26... bxc3? Last fiddled with by paulunderwood on 2014-04-24 at 10:31

2014-04-25, 20:39	#8
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 5·937 Posts	Yes, Brian. At the moment, I am thinking "to take is a mistake!" :smile: Last fiddled with by paulunderwood on 2014-04-25 at 20:40

2014-04-26, 09:55	#10
henryzz Just call me Henry "David" Sep 2007 Liverpool (GMT/BST) 3·23·89 Posts	How do we respond to 26...Nd5 27.Re1? What about: 26... bxc3 27.Bxc3 Bxd4+ 28.Bxd4 Nxd4 Last fiddled with by henryzz on 2014-04-26 at 10:29

2014-04-26, 10:16	#11
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 5×937 Posts	[QUOTE=henryzz;372050]How do we respond to 26...Nd5 27.Re1? What about: 26... bxc3 27.Bxc3 Bxd4+ 28.Bxd4 Nxd4[/QUOTE] Yeah, 27.Re1... The pin looks disasterous for us :down: Your second suggestion, maintains the material balance and can be forced :smile: Last fiddled with by henryzz on 2014-04-26 at 10:29 Reason: Fix mistake in quote

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2014-04-24, 14:28	#2
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands 2·11·149 Posts	The alternative to 26...bxc3 is, I think, 26...Nxd4. I also find 26...Nxd4 preferable at the moment, avoiding lines where the white bishop comes to c3.

2014-04-24, 14:45	#3
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 1001001001101₂ Posts	26...Nxd4 27.cxd4 Bxd4+ 28.Be3... and we are down on material :down:

2014-04-24, 15:05	#4
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands 2×11×149 Posts	[QUOTE=paulunderwood;371901]26...Nxd4 27.cxd4 Bxd4+ 28.Be3... and we are down on material :down:[/QUOTE] Oh yes, I see that now. The threat to d4, which I hoped we were maintaining last move by putting the bishop out of the way, has vanished now with their knight on c4 allowing Be3 in that line. Of the lines you give in your first post, perhaps 26...bxc3 27.Bxc3 Nd5 might be the best leaving us with some play for the pawn deficit. As an alternative to 26...bxc3, maybe immediately 26...Nd5.

2014-04-24, 15:10	#5
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 5×937 Posts	[QUOTE=Brian-E;371902] As an alternative to 26...bxc3, maybe immediately 26...Nd5.[/QUOTE] We should look at. :smile:

2014-04-25, 09:10	#6
paulunderwood Sep 2002 Database er0rr 5·937 Posts	26...Nd5, 27.Ne3... and White is putting a lot of pressure on d5

2014-04-25, 19:42	#7
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands 3278₁₀ Posts	[QUOTE=paulunderwood;371963]26...Nd5, 27.Ne3... and White is putting a lot of pressure on d5[/QUOTE] It seems to me that after ...Nd5 (whether we play it immediately or after an exchange of pawns on c3) ...Nce7 is always an adequate reply to Ne3. They can, in my opinion, better either leave the knight on c4 attacking a5 or play Nd6+ and Nxc8 (or possibly Nd6+, Nf7(+) and Nxh6) depending on circumstances. These are general ideas rather than exact lines, of course. In general I like 26....Nd5 better than 26...bxc3 at the moment for the reason that we might profit from not playing the latter move at all for the time being. I would judge that their move cxb4 is not good for them - d4 hangs, and we may perhaps recapture advantageously with a knight on b4 - so instead they probably have to leave the status quo with those queenside pawns for the time being. In other words, we say if and when we are exchanging there, and we do it when it clearly suits us.

2014-04-26, 09:12	#9
Brian-E "Brian" Jul 2007 The Netherlands CCE₁₆ Posts	Yep. The more I look at the position, the more I like 26...Nd5. One important feature of the move is that it gives our king a breathing square on e7 for if they play Nd6+ (though we must not play ...Ke7 until they have played that check, because e7 is needed for the c6 knight if they play Ne3 instead as you suggested earlier). Rich and David, I hope you're around too. Please post your opinions!