1. e4 c5 2. c3 e5? What to do
My Database has over 1400 games with Nf3, but I sort of want a 1800+ view of it
Apparently, 3... Nc6 is much more popular. After 4. Nf3 Black plays 4... Qc7. I am preparing for my opponent, this is what he plays
3.Nf3 transposes into the 3.Bc4 line after 3...Nc6 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.Ng5. With a pawn on c3, you can't go Nc3 like you usually might in a King's Pawn Game.
In a King's Pawn Game, best is usually to play c3 and not Nc3...
Thank you IM. But to everyone joining, my real question now is what to do after 1. e4 c5 2. c3 e5 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Qc7
@ aussiedj : well, what's the main idea of Alapin variation?
Playing d4 after c3, to establish a good centre.
So u just have to develop pieces and play d4 at the right moment, black not making pressure on e4 so u have to time to manoeuvre a bit.
But u are not forced to play d4, u can play d3 and u will have the italian game...
Thus depends also on what type of position u like on 1.e4 e5 with white.
Let's sum up :
1.e4 c5 2.c3 c5, then u play for d4 after developing your pieces, so 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bc4 (a nice diagonal!) and now black has a clever move, Qc7, preventing d4 (bcoz Bc4 would hang...).
True u can go for d4 anyway, 5.d4 c5xd4 6.Qb3 with an interesting gambit.
If u want to play sound, 5.d3 is the move with a transposition into an italian game.
5.Ng5 is another possibility, with 5...Nd8 following, and then u will play f4 or Qb3 first.
The best players play d3 but in my opinion, playing gambit style with d4 or attacking with Ng5 are plausible.
Personnally i would play d3, just because i like this kind of position, and also Black players often dislike it, they want to play a sicilian, they play a Giuoco Piano!
Would be sorta partial to 3.Bc4 there, blazes with the database.
Blacks first two moves willl ensure white's lsb a healthy future on that square.
c5 weakens the d5 square, and also the d6 pawn is backward. Probably Nf3-d4.
I try to see every game as the preparation for the next game. I am not making money with playing chess indeed. :-)
I prefer to make an analysis myself - not using an engine - and then learn by experience. In the end I have to use my own grey cells, so why not put them at work already during preparation? The master games are examples for me. I don't use an extended database, only games of top grandmasters in the openings I play and only to see how they played.
And I would look for articles like this:
and then start working on it myself.
Looking at the position after your initial start I see that black tries to prevent to play e5, although he can never use that field himself as long as the pawn is on c3. That implies that you should be ready to exchange the e-pawn for the d-pawn when black plays d5. (Otherwise can he play d4 and get a good grip on that field.) Both black pawns are on black fields, hence I would use the white fields for attack and the black fields for defence.
You want to get a knight on d5. That can be reached playing most naturally by b1 - d2 - f1 - e3 - d5. That implies that the rook after castling should be on e1. The bishop should be on the c4 diagonal and to protect that you would like to play a4 at some time. Furthermore that you will keep the position closed for a long time.
Thinking this way can you also work out how to develop your pieces playing g3 Bg2. He will be the first to be out of preparation.
The title says it all