A dagger at the heart of the classical variation?

[Rudel]

Hey guys, an innocent question posed by a new user, Joe Feagin, may have led to a great way to get around what is possibly the most challenging line of the C-Z.

After the Phoenix Attack showed up, the most difficult lines in the C-Z (counting only ...d5/...e6 lines) were:

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.0-0 Be7 7.Bb2

and then:

7...0-0 8.Nbd2

or

7...cxd4 8.exd4

It looks like the former (and perhaps the latter) may have been defused. When writing the Phoenix Attack edition of Zuke 'Em, I realized White could not play the Phoenix against a ...Be7 defense because dxc5 does not come with tempo against the Black Bishop and so Black can simply play ...Nfd7 and pick up the pawn that way:

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.0-0 Be7 7.Bb2 0-0 8.dxc5 Nd7

But if White delays castling for two moves, we get:

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.Bb2 Be7 7.dxc5, when 7...Nd7 would lead to 8.Bxg7 Rg8 9.Bc3 Rxg2, an interesting position that favors White I think.

Of course, delaying castling has its own issues, but some quick analysis suggests none of them are particularly problematic, though a couple could land you in trouble if you don't know how to react [I think they call that "most of chess" though]

Now, after 6.Bb2, Black could still play 6...cxd4 7.exd4 Be7, inviting that latter option...but perhaps even in this case White has some new ideas since things have not completely transposed yet.

This is definitely worth looking into!
Thanks Joe!

[abcott]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.Bb2 Nc6 6.0-0 Be7 7.Bb2

do you mean 5. b3 ?

[Rudel]

yeah I'll fix it.