The Errot

[MaxwellsDemon]

(As always, if this is already answered, please direct me)

I'd be interested to hear some thoughts on 5...Bh5 in the Errot. The comment in Zuke 'Em is "5...Bh5 is unlikely, and White should be able to develop nicely since Black is not really in a position to exploit the pin."

This move has actually been played against me more often by stronger players than 5...Bxf3, as well as having been played by quite a few strong GMs (see Aleksandrov,A (2679) - Sokolov, I (2706) from 2004). In fact, this move was recommended to me by Alex Stripunsky.

There are also a few tricks to watch out for. Attempting to play similarly to the 3...Bg4 early bishop deviation line can land White in trouble:

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c6 4.c4 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.Nc3 e6 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nbd7 9.h4?! dxc4 10.h5? Be4 11.f3?? Nxe5 12.dxe5? Qxd1+ 13.Kxd1 Bxf3+

Obviously, this example does not feature best play from White, but shows how an improper plan in this line can lead from bad to worse

Any thoughts and/or examples would be appreciated.

-Max

[abcott]

I think normal developing moves are required here rather than chasing the bishop around. The pin has no bite at all as black cannot get at the N/f3

[MaxwellsDemon]

I don't disagree that white can develop "normally," but as Zuke 'Em's other lines have shown us, subtle differences in Black's play can affect our move order and piece placement decisions. It seems that this line should be no different.

-Nc3 or Nbd2?
-Bd2 or b3 + Bb2?
-0-0 or 0-0-0?
-Qe2, c2, b3, other?

These decisions will affect our middle game strategy.

The pin on our knight carries few threats at the moment, but it is restricting our play somewhat (we obviously can't move the knight at the moment, and moving our queen could lead to crippled kingside pawns). Also, if we ignore it for too long, Black could push the e-pawn at an inopportune moment for us.

Obviously, none of this is that serious on our move 6, where we should still have White's normal opening advantage, but how do we make the most of it?

-Max

[abcott]

Qb3 is playable in my opinion. I have played these positions and allowed Bxf3, retake gxf3 and pop the K into e2 later. I think Palliser has suggested this idea too in some lines.
Black has to defend his q-side without the B which is out of play. He needs to get the K safe and watch b7 too. The a4-e8 diagonal is particular is weak and White can gang up with Bb5, Qa4 and Ne5 if Black allows.

White has Nc3 and cxd5 and the Bishop can go to b5.

[Rudel]

After taking a closer look at this, I agree it is not clear how White can proceed. Maybe we can get some good model games up to get some practical guides.

[MaxwellsDemon]

One line I found that looks decent, albeit a bit simplistic, is to play 6.cxd5
The idea, as abcott pointed out, appears to be to attempt to use the a4-e8 diagonal, now that Black's bishop is on h5.

[Event "Clermont Ferrand op 21st"]
[Site "Clermont Ferrand"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Eingorn,Vereslav S"]
[Black "Flesch,Jean Benoit"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "D11"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Qa4+ Nbd7 8.Ne5 a6
9.Nc3 e6 10.Bd2 Bd6 11.g4 Bg6 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.g5 Ng8 14.e4 b5 15.Qb3 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Bc7 17.a4 Rh4 18.Bg2 Rb8 19.0-0 Ne7 20.Qa3 Nb6 21.axb5 axb5 22.Bb4 Ned5 23.Bd6 Nc4 24.Qg3 Rh5 25.Bxc7 Nxc7 26.Ra7 Nd5 27.b3 Ncb6 28.Nd6+ Kf8 29.Rxf7+ Kg8 30.Qe5 1-0

It seems Black tends to play 6...Bxf3 instead. In this case, White can use the bishop pair to gain space on the queenside.

[Event "Jack Speigel mem"]
[Site "Southend"]
[Date "2007.04.06"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Hebden,Mark"]
[Black "Flear,Glenn C"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "D11"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.cxd5 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 cxd5 8.Nc3 Nc6
9.Bd2 e6 10.Bd3 Rc8 11.0-0 Bd6 12.Qd1 0-0 13.Qb3 Qe7 14.Rac1 a6 15.Na4 Rc7 16.Nb6 Rd8 17.Rc2 Na7 18.Rfc1 Rxc2 19.Rxc2 g6 20.a3 Rb8 21.a4 Qd8 22.a5 Nc6 23.Bxa6 Nxa5 24.Bxa5 bxa6 25.Rc6 Bc7 26.Qc2 Bxb6 27.Bxb6 Qe8 28.b4 Kg7 29.Ba5 Ra8 30.f3 Qb8 31.Qc5 Qg3 32.Bc7 Qe1+ 33.Kh2 Qxe3 34.Be5 Re8 35.Rxa6 Kg8 36.Qc6 Rf8 37.Ra8 Rxa8 1-0

I'm sure there must be stronger options for White, but this seems like one reasonable solution.

[Rudel]

Rybka suggests a very strange setup indeed!

She suggests playing Bd2-c3 and the Nbd2. This allows White to either play Qb3 without concern for Bxf3 or play Bd3 and then (after ...Bg6) Bxg6 while still having Nxc4 in case Black plays dxc4.

Just something to think about...