Beginners or not : stop mistreating the Berliner !

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Tigranlinflexible

The Berliner Defense (or two knights Defense) has the reputation to be risky for both opponents. I found no less than four different traps one can fall in ! I would bet someone under 1600-1700 do not know more than the two first. Try it ! Given as a quiz from Black's point of view.

Beginning :

1. Your opponent refuses the Ng5 variation and plays the incorrect Nc3 :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.Your opponent plays the Ng5 variation, but you don't want to go in the dubious Traxler variation (4...Bc5 ?!) : so 4...d5 5.exd5 :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Here we are :

 

Here White plays Ba4 ? . How will you prove this "active" retreat is incorrect ?
See variations for "other moves".
4.This time, White did not fall in the trap. After Be2 h6, why is the Nh3 retreat, odd-looking, and causing h-doubled pawns better than Nf3 ?
The plan for White after ...Bxh3 gxh3 is to have his bishop on the h1-a8 diagonal, which would make kingside castling more sure and hit the c6 weakness.
EDIT : sorry for the unpleasant text formating, but I did not manage to fix it.
Conquistador

Would you provide your thoughts on the Berliner Variation rather than the Two Knights Defense?  In your entire post you never mentioned the true Berliner.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5 6.Bf1 Nd4 7.c3 Nxd5 8.Ne4 Qh4?!

GTchbe

Isn't this just basic two knights defense information?

As a side note, I always find it funny when my opponent goes into the four knights' italian with Nc3, and then even funnier when he thinks his Bxf7+ move is so great, removing my right to castle!

Tigranlinflexible
GTchbe wrote:

Isn't this just basic two knights defense information?


In my opinion it is, as one should be familiar with the openings he practice until the end of "savage tactics". But you are 1700+ . Do you honestly think everyone here knows this "basic information" ?

Dragec

Well, I can tell you from my experience that obviously a lot of people playing Italian game, doesn't know that Nc3 after Nf6 is bad.

I have won so many games after Nxe4!

 

And the second one is no trap, just a mainline Na5.

 

I love the two knigts btw Laughing

GTchbe

In my opinion it is, as one should be familiar with the openings he practice until the end of "savage tactics". But you are 1700+ . Do you honestly think everyone here knows this "basic information" ?

Before I make my main response, I just need to point out that 1) I personally don't know much opening theory at all, and 2) I am officially unrated, and my live rating on here fluctuates a lot.

The main point of my statement was really the second part, but by saying "Isn't this just basic two-knights' defense" I basically meant that if you are at the point of studying openings (and I'm probably not at that point, but that's a different discussion :D) and you play Italian as white you probably know this already, and if you aren't at that point then you probably shouldn't.  So to answer your question, I say no, but everyone who should know it does know it.  I guess I was just angry that I'll be seeing fewer and fewer Nc3's thanks to your post!  Haha.

SouthForce

@Tigranlinflexible

You can enjoy other lines, such as

4. Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5 (!?)

4. Ng5 Nxe4 (?!). If NxN, Black has d5; if Axf7+, Ke7, and White has d3! better than NxN; if Nxf7, Black has the powerful Qh4

cbgirardo

4.Ng5 Bc5