Tuesday 4 June 2024

Half remembered opening theory

 I guess half remembered opening theory is better than none, at least under certain circumstances. Facing a Goring Gambit in a very recent game, I remembered a recommendation from George Botterill where Black plays Bb4, follows up with d6 and then takes on c3 with the bishop at the correct moment.  So far so good, but I could not remember what happens next. Fortunately my opponent chose a line that Botterill did not recommend,  although I then chose a response that wasn't good either. But the long and the short of it was that I seemed to have the better of the opening, my opponent sacrificed material for play, and after3 hours, I managed to grind out a win in a R+B+N v Q position (I had the bits, not the queen)

If you are interested the line is supposed to be 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 dxc3 5.Nxc3 Bb4 6.Bc4 d6 7.Qb3 (7.O-O Bxc3 8.bxc3 Bg4! is given by Botterill as best) 7. ... Qe7 (and 7. ... Qd7 is better) 

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