Just wondering if you could give me a heads-up on Bxa1 Qxa1 Ne7 if there is supposed to be a win.
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8. 0-0 is the main line not 8. d5
Also what happens if white plays d6/Ng5 instead of Bh6 ? How can black ever hope to develop his pieces ?
Ok thanks for the info! I was just wondering about this variation because Chessmaster says it's the "main line" according to its database after Bxa1 (it says that this variation is most common):
By "clear advantage" I mean "clear pressure against black with the e6 pawn".
black is better. He can try quite long to play for a win with about 0 risk though perhaps white might be able to hold :)
- Black is a pawn up
- The pawn on e6 might become weak where the black position has no weakness.
- White has not active plan. His pieces are kind of in the best places. His only idea is to conquer the h-file but that is countered easy
- Black has an easy plan to develop and try with his extra pawn
9...Ne5 has effectively killed the old mainline. White has some positional compensation for the pawn, but that's all: Black is fine without having to memorize long, forced variations.
7.Bd2 is the modern choice, although Black has three roads to equality, the simplest one being 7...Nxe4 8.Bxb4 Nxb4 9.Bxf7+ Kxf7 10.Qb3+ Kf8! 11.Qxb4+ Qe7.