Evans Gambit
Submitted by on Sat, 08/18/2007 at 5:06am.
1. in the evan's gambit, if black plays 4...Nxb4 instead of 4...Bxb4, what should be white's answer? is that a bad move by black? why? or why not?
mrmip said: As for the Evans, white should just pick up a center pawn (Nxe5) for the 'Evans' pawn (b4). He then has nasty threats against f7 and a possibility to get his center rolling with tempo (d4). Black's Bc5 and Nb4 are somewhat vulnerable and off-side. It is much better to take with Bxb4 (...or decline with Bb6/Be7).
Kemuri said: But after
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Nxb4 5. Nxe5
then ...Qf6 seems to give black great chances..?
I too was thinking about this the other day - 4... Nxb4 isn't in opening theory, but 5. Nxe5 can't be the answer - so does anyone know what is (and why!)??
mrmip said: Mr Kemuri is right. 6...Qf6! is so strong counter that 5.Nxe5? can be considered falling into a tactical trap.
Instead simply playing 5.c3 Nc6 6.0-0 and possibly 7.d4 will leave white some initiative and central play for the pawn.
CoranMoran said: after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Nxb4 5. Nxe5 Qf6, 6. d4 Bxd4! 7. Qxd4 Nxc2+ wins the Queen.
4 ... Nxb4? is beautiful for White because it simply allows White to gain TWO free tempi with no additional loss.
After 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Nxb4 5. c3 Nc6 6. d4
- White still gains his perfect center.
- White has an extra free move compared to the normal 4 ... Bxb4 because both 5.c3 & 6.d4 threaten pieces.
- Black's position has no advantages compared to the 4 ... Bxb4 line.
So I see zero positives to this Knight take.
And some clear negatives.
Ronaldinho said: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5. This is generally thought to give black less winning chances than the more common ...Ba5 variations.
If black plays 4.Nxb4 c3 then 5.Nc6 just returns to that main line, and ...Na6 is clearly just worse.
Fromper said: After 4. ... Nxb4, black's e5 pawn is no longer protected, so white could just play 5. Nxe5, getting back the gambit pawn and double attacking the f7 pawn. I'm looking at this position and I keep looking at insane attacking possibilities for black, like 5. ... Bxf2+, 5. ... Qf6!, or 5. ... Qg5 instead of the more boring and defensive 5. ... Nh6. Actually, now that I think about it, I think that Qg5 looks like the most tempting, but I don't have time for detailed analysis right now. I can see it coming out similar to Blackburne's Shilling Gambit. Unfortunately for black's attacking chances, that knight on b4 isn't in a position to help with a king side attack. At first glance, I thought white was clearly winning, but the more I think about it, the more I think that this position is weird and tactical enough that it might actually be fun to play, even if it is inferior. It's tactical enough to be dangerous for both sides.
As another option white can play the immediate 5. d4, since the d pawn will be protected twice and attacked twice. This is more forcing against 4. ... Nxb4 than it would be against 4. ... Bxb4, because the d4 pawn will attack the bishop on c5.
On the other hand, getting opponents out of their opening preparation is
sometimes enough of an advantage to make up for such weaknesses, especially at low-intermediate levels.
I just checked the 2 million game database at chesslab.com, and it looks like most of the 13 games with 4. ... Nxb4 continued 5. c3 Nc6, transposing back to a mainline of the Evan's Gambit. Blackburne played 5. 0-0 d6 6. c3 Nc6, and went on to win as white.
Crash said: After 5.Nxe5 it seems to me that black has worse problems than he usually does in an Evans gambit and he isn't even up a pawn as compensation! Black has to do something about the threat 6.Bxf7+ or 6.Nxf7 with a fork on the rook and queen. Black also has to be careful as a defensive move like 5...Nh6 doesn't work because of the check on h5 with the queen at the end of the trades on f7 picking up the bishop on c5 and attacking the knight on b4.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Nxb4 5.Nxe5 Nh6 6.Nxf7
( 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nxf7 Nxf7 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Qxc5 )
6...Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5
rowsulz said: In the Evans gambit after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Nxb4? 5.c3 Nc6 6.d4 white gains a large lead in development and a strong pawn centre because he is attacking the bishop still on c5.
Compare this to 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 - in this position white isn't attacking the bishop and so black essentially has an extra move to develop compared to the line above.
Crash said: White's best choice may be to just transpose back into regular lines with 5.c3 Nc6 6.0-0 or (6.d4).
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Nxb4 5.Nxe5 Qf6 6.Bxf7+ Kf8 7.Qh5 Qxf2+
( 7...Nxc2+ 8.Kd1 Nxa1 9.Bb2 )
8.Kd1 Qxg2 9.Bxg8 Qxh1+ 10.Ke2 Qg2+ 11.Ke1 Qf2+ 12.Kd1 Qf1# )
6...Qxa1 7.c3 )
5...Nc6 6.O-O *