Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ulvestad & Fritz Variations

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My Chess Notebook

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@ItsBigChuck Жыл бұрын

This was an excellent resource as a fried liver player. Thank you sir.

@markieb4704 3 жыл бұрын

Good job. However I have played the Ulvestad as black on several occasions and none of my opponents have replied with the correct move (retreating the bishop back to f7). But from your analysis, white will have to do well to get the advantage, even with this move. There seem to be so many opportunities to make mistakes. This is a really helpful video. Many thanks.

@mychessnotebook8653 3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad the video was helpful. I did some more research and found that I had a misconception about this line. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5, the best move (according to the books and engines) is 6.Bf1 as I state in the video. You want to retreat the bishop so as to continue to pressure the pawn on b5, so the question is whether to put the bishop on f1 or on e2. It looks more natural on e2, where the bishop is still developed and not impeding castling. I thought the reason for 6.Bf1 was in case Black played 6...Qxd5 7.Nc3 and the g2 pawn is defended. But consider 6.Be2 Qxd5 7.Nc3. The g2-pawn is poisoned: 7...Qxg2 8.Bf3 Qxg5 9.Bxc6+ and White wins material. In fact, after 6.Be2, Black's best move (according to the engine) is 6...Nd4, and now White's bishop on e2 is hit, and so 7.c3 just gives Black 7...Nxe2 8.Qxe2 Qxd5, and Black is better. So, the real reason to retreat the bishop to f1 rather than e2 is to avoid attack by the Black knight coming to d4. In any case, as far as I can see, the Ulvestad is playable even after 6.Bf1 as you say. The engine at lichess gives the main line position +1.1, but White can easily go wrong and Black has an attack. And if your opponents don't play 6.Bf1, then the engine says you've already equalized (and I would prefer Black).