Shortly after posting this I looked at Fritz again and it's listing 2... c5 as the best response, giving it -0.05, so I'll start with that one.
Since the leads on all of these are so small, I'm still expecting a draw.
1. e4 e6 2. e5
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Yeah, but I'm still curious. I'm betting the IM is right. Black does equalize for sure.
After 1. e4 e6 the move 2. e5 is definitely a very poor move and Black gets an equal game with either 2. ...d6 or 2. ...c5 and if I were playing would prefir Black in such a position. [I would play 2. ...d6]
There is a general rule in chess openings do not move a pawn twice unless you have a good reason [such as it attacks a piece as in the Alekhine Defense]
You do not need a computer to tell you this and often even the best computers are not so strong re openings. Humans have mostly surpassed computers in opening theory.
1.e4 e6 2.e5 is a dubious one. Which allows 2...c5, 2...f6, 2...d5 with tempo.
i just set that position up in scid and critter got the mate in 5 instantly.
Mr Houdni takes much longer than Tal did to solve this famous puzzle. You would expect the engine to come with an instantaneous solution since the consider most legal moves.
Many humans do not think of promote to a knight though promote to a knight has come up recently in some of my games.
I would guess that a top chess engine should solve that probably in less than a second.
Fritz really hates that position.
I tried to let it run over night, but I lost power during the first game, so screw it. Curiosity can go wanting.
nice
Omfg that is insane!
Was this an actual game, or a puzzle that someone showed Tal? I would like to know the story behind it.
It was AWESOME :)
But er... returning to the subject, does the Steinitz not *look* and *feel* entirely excellent? Does it not tick many boxes that abstract theory demands?... Dominate [overrun!] the center; Defend! (d4,f4,Nf3); Play with courage [GGRRR!!!]... The Steinitz looks so pretty too, tending towards a central pyramid... I doubt many sensitive types would have the heart to jeopardize its very pleasing symmetry. Anyway, I've won with it against Sourceforge MobileChess (on a Java mobile) which is probably the strongest computer opponent out there, and that's good enough for me! Now where did I put my pills?
Seems unlikely, but I think the penalty should be that the other player gets to keep the queen.
(6 years later, yes I know) 2) e5 looks playable if 2... d6, but 2...c5 could be a different story, seems like its recommended if trying to put a quick repertoire together as shown here (about 2:40 into it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqSoMxxGYRM
I don't like e4 e6 e5 Its a dubious move because it allows c5 and then also Nc6
This sometimes happens when I play with 1... e6. IM pfren once gave the wonderful suggestion of 2... c5. I recently gave Fritz the position. After an hour of analysis, it listed these as it's top 3 choices.
1. Nc6 (-0.02)
2. d6 (-0.02)
3. c5 (0.03)
If anyone knows how to do engine matches to test these, it could be interesting. I'm going to have Fritz do a shoot out, but it always seems to draw against itself when I do this. I'll post the games if anyone is interested.
I'm just curious as to how this will turn out.