Vienna Game 2... d6 | Philidor-ish Defense is bad!
#vienna #openingtheory
Every now and then, Black with respond to the Vienna Game with d6 (1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 d6), which is similar to the Philidor Defense if White developed the other knight. However, against the Vienna Game, it is simply not good. Part of this is simply that the next opening moves are easy for White - take the full centre with (3. d4).
Black might think that at the end of the trades that they get a point of tempo by chasing away the queen with the development of their knight (3... exd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6). However, at this point, White has any number of good moves. Firstly, White can simply pin the knight to the king with (Bb5). Or, White can move their queen to a number of good squares including Qd3, Qe3, and even undeveloping with Qd1. All of these moves retain an advantage to White from around [+0.3 to +0.5].
Feeling a bit cocky, I played an aggressive move 6 with Nd5, inviting a trade of knights. This was an inaccuracy as the evaluation returns to [0.00], but Black had to ignore the provocation. Black, however, obliged, which was a mistake, granting me an important advantage [+2.3]. Move out of the opening, my opponent buckles unders the pressure of the attack down the centre in the opening - hanging their other knight, and then attempting to escape a pin by side-stepping their king. Unforutnately, this was a bad mistake with a [+7] evaluation in my favour on move 10.
The strategy was now simple. Consolidate and finish development. Trade pieces where possible. And then, launch an overwhelming attack down the centre with rooks and queen. GG!
Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/481086855
