Quote:
Originally Posted by A-Rod's Cousin
The sequence 9. 0-0-0 and 10. Bb3 is dangerous. Castling queenside in this position is risky because his pawn storm can come with tempo--an eventual b7-b5-b4 will force your knight to move. The center is somewhat locked (you can try to open it with f2-f4-f5, but with your pieces in the way, that'll take some time) and Black still hasn't committed his king to the kingside, so you could be left planless while Black attacks and delays his castling.
Moving the bishop to b3 compounds these issues. It's not doing much there, it'll get chased away with tempo, and you'll often have to create a cubbyhole at a2 to save it, even though a2-a3 just lets his pawn storm get to your king shield more quickly. After 10. Be2, the bishop, though not very active, can be redeployed to the kingside or the b1-h7 diagonal when needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by A-Rod's Cousin
12. a3 is an empty threat.
12. a3 is only suboptimal because 12. Bxd5 is better (the e6 pawn is pinned, and 12...Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Bxe1 14. Nc7+ should be good for White). 12. a3 relieves Black's bishop pin and creates the flight square your bishop might eventually need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by A-Rod's Cousin
8. Qa5 is probably dumb and an empty threat. I was hoping to maybe get to B2 once he pulls his defender Bishop out.
8...Qa5 isn't an empty threat in itself, but the maneuver to b4 is. A good rule of thumb is to ask "Do things turn ugly for you (or just get worse in general) after the correct response?" If not, it's probably not that bad of a move. Black's most common third move in the Ruy Lopez is a good example:
3...a6 (
which you can read about here) is met "easily" by 4. Bxc6 or 4. Ba5, but it's not like Black is worse off after this sequence, and the move has many benefits.
By contrast, this is the position that results after 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nf6:
4. Qe5+ is an empty threat, met by 4...Be7, after which Black is going to play 5...Nc6 and develop with tempo. Not good for White.
4. e5 (empty), allows 4...Nc6 (not empty), after which Black has a developmental advantage and White is struggling to hold on to the e5 pawn.
Most good threats are "easily met" (at least by a sufficiently skilled player). The defining characteristic of these good threats is that the sequence "threat --> correct response --> subsequent variations" improves your position or worsens your opponent's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by A-Rod's Cousin
10.Bd7. Once he pulls his Bishop out sends signals off to me that he wants to move his Knight and discover an attack on my Queen. I know he wants to fork my King and Rook in 2 moves so I try to defend this. Of course I can't block the other square. I'm basically ****ed here no matter what, I think.
10...Qa5, with the idea of heading back to d8, should work.
Last edited by Rei Ayanami; 01-24-2014 at 05:51 AM.