where did i go wrong so early?

D5. Stops the bishop attack on F7.

 

I agree, simply 4....d5 and you are ok

thank you so much. very clear to see now. hehe. i find myself going on cruise control at the beginning of games and it causes me alot of trouble. Live and learn!

 Thanks again!

lol i checked again and I feel dumb for even posting this. so simple. :(

4...Nxe4 - "I ignored his knight for some reason"

Ignoring your opponent is usually a bad idea. Here he's attacking f7 with two pieces and only your king defends it. If Nxf7 he forks your rook and queen. Let's look at some ideas I've seen people play here:

  

If 4...h6?? you threaten his knight, but that only forces him to play a good move. 5.Nxf7 Qe7 6.Nxh8 and White has won a rook and a pawn (even if you manage to trap his knight, White comes out way ahead).

 

If 4...Qe7? now f7 is attacked twice and defended twice, but Black can still play 5.Bxf7+!. Notice 5...Qxf7 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 leaves you "up a piece" but trading a queen (+9) for a knight and bishop (+6) is a terrible plan! So after 5...Kd8 6.Bb3 White is simply up a pawn and you've lost the right to castle.

 

So 4...d5! 5.exd5 Nxd5 and you've stopped White's immediate attack dead in its tracks. Although the pawn sacrifice 6.d4!? is interesting. How would you reply?

It's ok.  Atleast now you'll (hopefully) never fall for this again :).

While 4. ...d5 is Black's best move here,  you're not quite "ok" yet.  This opening is known as the Fried Liver Attack and is used mainly to attempt an early attack which is unsound if the Black player is prepared for it.  There are a few acceptable variations, a couple of which I'll evaluate below (be sure to click on the "move list" button to see the different variations).

 

what about, in this position (after move 5) 5...Qf6?

if whites castle than Ne4 only gets a cramped position (or trades a bishop and a knight for a rook.) 

why diddent

a. the bishop attack the pawn

b. the pawn attack the knight

hmmmm?

4... d5 is the most common defense. However, 4... Bc5 is also playable and leads to some really wild play. Black counterattacks the f2 pawn and if White is not careful he can be in for a wild ride.

shadowslayer wrote:

why diddent

a. the bishop attack the pawn

b. the pawn attack the knight

hmmmm?

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 Move 5, after he took the pawn

omnipaul, nice explanation. The 6.d4 line I mentioned transposes to the Lolli Attack, a favorite of Fischer which has a reputation for being somewhat stronger. Of course, the moral of the story is that White should not play 5...Nxd5.

wow. great info on this. now i am glad i posted it :)

5...Nxf2 is worth a look too Also 5...Bc5 Perhaps even 5...Qh4

I've always done well with the book line:

Well...it's all very complicated (which I guess is why all those 19th century geniuses reveled in this stuff).  BCO recommends 5 Bxf7+ (instead of 5 Nxf7) Ke7 6 d4 d5 7 Nc3.  I think 5 Nxf7 allows 5... Qf6 6 O-O Bc5 (if 6... Nd6 7 Nxh8 Nxc4 8 Qh5+ and things seem to be going White's way) 7 Nxh8 Bxf2+ 8 Rxf2 (8 Kh1 Ng3+ 9 hg Qh6 mate) Qxf2+ 9 Kh1 Qd4 and if 10 Qh5+ g6 and Black has a deadly mate in 3 threat (11... Nf2+ 12 Kg1 Nh3+ and mate next, with Qf2 or Qg1).  As I say, it's all very complicated...and now I've got a headache.  (There is also, if White plays 10 Qf3, the strange queen win with 10... Nf2+ 11 Kg1 Nh3+ 12 Kf1 Qg1+ 13 Ke2 Nf4+.)

This should be nicer