After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5
and 2 minutes per move, Fritz 11 gives as best play by both:
5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Qe7 7.Nxh8 Bc5 8.Bf7+ Kf8 9.b4 Nxb4 10.Ba3 Nxe4
11.Bb3 Nf6 12.Qf3
with a score after 2 minutes of +1.01
Estrin gives 7... d5! "The important counterattacking move which helps black's initiative."
From the stem position 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Bc5 5. Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7. Ke3 Qh4 8. g3 Nxg3 9. hxg3 Qd4+ 10. Kf3 d5 11. Rh4 e4+ 12. Kg2:
Why is 12... 0-0 better than 12... Rf8? It seems to me Black ends up wasting time in these lines moving the King in front of the Rook and then away again. If you still try Nc3, 13. Nc3 dxc4 and 14. Qh5 doesn't carry as strong a threat- 14... Rxf7 threatens 15... Qf2+ and Black is up two pawns. If you try to save the Knight, 12... Rf8 13. Nc3 dxc4 14. Ng5 (the only safe square) Qf2+ 15. Kh1 Qxg3 forks Knight and Rook. Letting the Knight go leaves Black up material, Rh5 Bg4 is even worse, and Qh5 Rf1# loses too. The best I can see for White is saving the Bishop: 13. Be2 Rxf7 14. Qe1, where Black is down a piece for two pawns but appears to have compensation. Oh, there's also 13. c3 Qxc4 14. Ng5 Ne5, again down a piece for two pawns with some compensation. I don't have time to look deeply into these right now.
Also, what moves are decisive for White after 7. Ke3 Qe7 (threatening 8...Qc5+)?
I have a move that will take out the "C" and "D" critical lines with 15.b3
15...cxb3!
The best move because white's move was slow allowing black to gain time and the advantage.
16.Qxh7+ Kxf7 17.Rxe4 Qd6 18.Rf4+ Ke8 19.Qh5+ g6 20.Rxf8+ Kxf8 21.Qf3+ Kg8 22.axb3 Bd7 23.Ne4 Bc6 24.Nxd6 cxd6 25.d4 Bxf3+ 26.Kxf3 Rf8+ 27.Ke4 Rf1 28.Bb2 d5+ 29.Ke5 Rf2
From the stem position 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Bc5 5. Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7. Ke3 Qh4 8. g3 Nxg3 9. hxg3 Qd4+ 10. Kf3 d5 11. Rh4 e4+ 12. Kg2:
Why is 12... 0-0 better than 12... Rf8? It seems to me Black ends up wasting time in these lines moving the King in front of the Rook and then away again. If you still try Nc3, 13. Nc3 dxc4 and 14. Qh5 doesn't carry as strong a threat- 14... Rxf7 threatens 15... Qf2+ and Black is up two pawns. If you try to save the Knight, 12... Rf8 13. Nc3 dxc4 14. Ng5 (the only safe square) Qf2+ 15. Kh1 Qxg3 forks Knight and Rook. Letting the Knight go leaves Black up material, Rh5 Bg4 is even worse, and Qh5 Rf1# loses too. The best I can see for White is saving the Bishop: 13. Be2 Rxf7 14. Qe1, where Black is down a piece for two pawns but appears to have compensation. Oh, there's also 13. c3 Qxc4 14. Ng5 Ne5, again down a piece for two pawns with some compensation. I don't have time to look deeply into these right now.
Also, what moves are decisive for White after 7. Ke3 Qe7 (threatening 8...Qc5+)?
I actually had a game with black playing Rf8. The problem is that it strengthens Nc3 considerably.
Ah, now I see my mistake, and it's a very silly one... 12... Rf8 13. Nc3 dxc4 14. Rxe4+ is check and wins the Queen. I don't know why I required Fritz to see that...
Hmm...
EDIT: Oh, you beat me to it! :P
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Ke3 Qe7 8.Nxh8!
Now black has two responses:
8...d5 9.Qh5+! g6 10.Nxg6 Qc5+ 11.Ke2 Nf6 12.Qg5 Ne4 13.Qe3
8...Qg5+ 9.Kxe4 d5+ 10.Bxd5 Bf5+ 11.Kf3 Bg4+ 12.Kf2 Bxd1 13.Bxc6+ bxc6 14.Rxd1 Qh5 15.Rf1! Qxh2 16.d3 0-0-0 17.Nd2 followed by Nf3 and Be3 and white has a superior material advantage.
I think it is time to update the critical lines again.
I have eliminated the A, C, and D variations because they become equal.
I eliminated E because although white does have some advantage, black is allowed considerable counterplay. Variation B looks like white's best move.
I have also introduced white's option 6.Kf1 to be discussed.
7.Ke3 Lines
B: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Ke3 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.hxg3 Qd4+ 10.Kf3 d5 11.Rh4 e4+ 12.Kg2 0-013.Nc3 dxc4 14.Qh5 Ne7 15.Qxh7+ Kxf7 16.Rxe4 Qf6 17.Rxc4 Ke8 18.Qh5+ Kd8 19.Qe2 Bd7 20.d3 Nf5 21.Bf4 Bc6+ 22.Kg1 Rh8 23.Ne4 Qxb2 24.Rf1 g6 25.g4 Nd4 26.Bg5+ Kc8 27.Qe3 Nxc2 28.Qc5
7.Kg1 Lines
A: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Kg1 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Nxh8 d5 10.Qf3 Qd4+ 11.Qe3 Nxh1 12.Qxd4 Nxd4 13.Bb3 Be6 14.Kxh1 0-0-0 15.d3
6.Kf1 Lines
A: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Qe7 7.Nxh8 d5 8.exd5 Nd4 9.d6 Qxd6
Apologies in advance if this is a dumb question -- but as interesting as the 7 Ke3...13 Nc3 lines are, was it ever established that 13 Nc3 is any stronger than the original 13 Bd3?
I'm sure I missed it, but why exactly did 13 Bd3 get left behind?
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Ke3 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.hxg3 Qd4+ 10.Kf3 d5 11.Rh4 e4+ 12.Kg2 0-0 13.Bb3 Rxf7 14.Rf4 Rxf4 15.gxf4 Be6 16.Nc3 is the line we reached.
White has a small advantage; we have not analysed it further. If you have any thoughts, they are appreciated.
13.Nc3 appears to be the strongest move at the moment, and it has not been thoroughly analysed yet.
All right. To start off with, I want to look at Kg1, because I looked at some analysis I did around a year ago and I had a deviation on move 9 that wasn't in Fritz's database. Hold on, it was in the database, but there aren't any games with it- it's just a variation.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Kg1 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Nxh8 Nd4
I had analysis that wasn't totally exhaustive but it did cover some main lines. Fritz did all the finding mates, etc. I didn't do much but try to find the best lines when the position became clear too many moves in the future for Fritz to be rational. Here's the gist of it:
9...Nc6-d4 10.Nb1–c3
a) 10.h2xg3 Qh4xg3+ 11.Kg1–f1 Qg3-f4+ 12.Kf1–g2 and Black has perpetual
b) 10.Bc4-d3 d7-d6 11.h2xg3 Qh4xg3+ 12.Kg1–f1 Bc8-h3+ 13.Rh1xh3 Qg3xh3+ 14.Kf1–g1 Nd4-f3+ 15.Kg1–f2 Qh3-h2+ 16.Kf2-e3 Qh2-f4+ 17.Ke3-f2 Nf3-h4+ 18.Kf2-g1 Qf4-g3+ 19.Kg1–f1 Ke8-e7 20.Nh8-f7 Ra8-f8 21.Qd1–h5 Rf8xf7+ 22.Bd3-f5 g7-g6 is good for Black
c) 10.Bc4-f7+ Ke8-f8 11.h2xg3 Qh4xg3+ 12.Kg1–f1 Qg3-f4+ etc. with perpetual
d) 10.d2-d3 Ng3-e2+ 11.Kg1–f1 d7-d5 12.Bc4xd5 Bc8-h3+ 13.Bd5-g2 Bh3xg2+ 14.Kf1xg2 Qh4-g4+ 15.Kg2-f1 0–0–0 16.Kf1–e1 Rd8-f8 with a massive attack that I think is winning, although this might need analyzing
10...d7-d6 11.h2-h3 (11.h2xg3 Qh4xg3+ 12.Kg1–f1 Qg3-f4+ with perpetual; 11.Bc4-b5+ Ke8-f8 doesn't really change anything) 11...Ng3xh1 12.Qd1–f1 c7-c6 13.Qf1–f7+ (13.Kg1xh1 Bc8xh3 14.Qf1–f7+ Ke8-d8 15.Qf7-f8+ Kd8-c7 16.Qf8xg7+ (16.Qf8xa8 Bh3-g4+ 17.Kh1–g2 Qh4-h3+ 18.Kg2-f2 Qh3-f3+ 19.Kf2-g1 Qf3-g3+ 20.Kg1–h1 Bg4-f3#) 16...Bh3-d7+ 17.Kh1–g2 Ra8xh8 18.Qg7-g3 (18.Qg7xh8 Bd7-h3+ 19.Kg2-h1 Bh3-g4+ 20.Kh1–g2 Qh4-h3+ 21.Kg2-f2 Qh3-f3+ 22.Kf2-e1 Nd4xc2#) 18...Qh4-h5 19.a2-a4 Rh8-f8 20.Ra1–a3 Rf8-f4 threatens Rf4-g4 and again I think this attack is winning) 13...Ke8-d8 with a strong attack for Black- this is another position I need to look at further.
Anyways, that's my idea for Kg1.
OK, now that we're looking at the Kf1 lines, I may as well throw out Bg4 as well as Nd4. I think this is supposed to be equally good- Be2 Bxe2+ and Black will play Nd4 and 0-0-0 with a strong attack. That's a lot more lines, so I don't feel like searching through and finding the main lines right now. Maybe I'll do that later.
Finally, Ke3. Is there something wrong with 17... Bf5? I think Black has ample compensation for the pawn. Even Fritz, which is known to be materialistic, agrees since the effort to hold on to the c-pawn puts White in a very difficult position. It gives a very slight advantage (about a third of a pawn) to Black after Bf5.
Yes, I know I'm relying on the computer a lot, but I'm only a 1600 USCF and 1900 chess.com so I need the tactical help :P
Conquiscador- I think Eternal_Patzer is talking about 13. Bd3, not 13. Bb3, which you posted a line for...
13.Bd3 is positionally bad for white. It blocks the d pawn, preventing the development of the dark square bishop, losing more time.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Ke3 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.hxg3 Qd4+ 10.Kf3 d5 11.Rh4 e4+ 12.Kg2 0-0 13.Bd3 0-0 14.Qh5 Rxf7, white cannot deal with the threats and time lost. Black has the advantage.
Conquiscador- I think Eternal_Patzer is talking about 13. Bd3, not 13. Bb3, which you posted a line for...
Oops! 
13. Bd3 was in fact a typo. Conquiscador is right, the move I meant to ask about was Bb3, which was the original move that Gonnosuke suggested in his line way back at the beginning of the thread (post #3).
My bad.
I appreciate the invitation to offer any 13 Bb3 improvements I can find and I'll get going on that.
In Bucker's Chesscafe article http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kaiss23.pdf he has a reference to a later NIC Yearbook article as well:
[12] P. Pastore, B. Montcaubeig, L. R. da Costa Junior: “It’s Hard to Kill the Traxler Gambit,” in NiC Yearbook 70 (2004)
Does that article have anything to add to this discussion?
This is in response to SirDavid
Bear with me here, you gave me many variations so this will be a long post.
Okay, the 7.Kg1 variation. I will go over all of your variations.
A: 10.hxg3! (best move) Qxg3+ 11.Kf1 Qf4+ 12.Kg2 Qg5+ perpetual
B: 10.Bd3?? is a terrible error. White has no good replies after 10...d6, for example:
11.hxg3? Qxg3+ 12.Kf1 Bh3+ 13.Rxh3 Qxh3+ 14.Kg1 Nf3+ 15.Kf2 Qh2+ 16.Kxf3 Qh5+ 17.Kg3 Qxd1 White is losing in all variations.
C: 10.Bf7+?? Ke7 11.hxg3 Qxg3+ 12.Kf1 d6! 13.Bh5 (If Nc3 Bg4 14.Qe1 Bh3+) Be6! 14.d3 Rf8+ and black wins.
D: 10.d3?? Nge2+ 11.Kf1 d6 and black wins.
E: 10.Nc3 your analysis appears to be completely sound, athough, I would rather be black because of his great activity. White has to be very careful.
Now the 6.Kf1 variation with 8...Bg4
This variation is less dangerous than 8...Nd4, play continues 9.Be2 Bxe2+
Now white has a novelty that puts black under pressure.
10.Qxe2 Nd4 11.Qxf2 0-0-0 12.b3 (12.d6!?) 12...Ne4 (12...Nxd5? 13.Ba3 c5 14.Ke1 Rf8 15.Qg3 Nxc2+ 16.Kd1 Nxa1 17.Bb2 Nxb3 18.axb3 Rxh8 19.Bxe5) 13.Ba3 Qg5 14.Qf7 Nd6 15.Bxd6 Rxd6 16.Kg1 Ne2+ 17.Kf2 Nd4 18.Kg1 Ne2+ with a draw. The move 12.d6!? may be an improvement.
Finally, the 7.Ke3 variation with 17...Bf5
After the following moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Ke3 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.hxg3 Qd4+ 10.Kf3 d5 11.Rh4 e4+ 12.Kg2 0-0 13.Nc3 dxc4 14.Qh5 Ne7 15.Qxh7+ Kxf7 16.Rxe4 Qf6 17.Rxc4, black responds 17...Bf5
I have analysed this variation and it looks like it is the refutation.
18.Qh4 g5! 19.Qh5+ Kg7!! 20.Qe2 Rae8 and black's activity will make white's life difficult.
18.Qh1 b5!! 19.Nxb5 Qe6 20.Rf4 Nd5 21.Rf3 Qe2+ 22.Kg1 Kg8!! and white is losing.
That was a devastating novelty SirDavid, very nice job indeed. You have sent the entire variation B to the dustbin. Time to bring back another variation for the 7.Ke3 variation.
For the record, here are links to Maarten de Zeeuw's "Another Look at the Traxler Gambit" which appeared in NIC YB's 63-68:
http://www.newinchess.com/Yearbook/pdf/YB63_146.pdf
http://www.newinchess.com/Yearbook/pdf/YB65_137.pdf
http://www.newinchess.com/Yearbook/pdf/YB66_113.pdf
http://www.newinchess.com/Yearbook/pdf/YB67_130.pdf
http://www.newinchess.com/Yearbook/pdf/YB68_142.pdf
See YB68 for a summary of the analysis. Red meat for Traxler fans but be prepared for a cynical analysis.
In my opinion, he plays fast and loose with the "refutation" label. When he sees refutation, I usually see unclear. Maybe I'm just overly optimistic....
The problem with his articles are that the analysis is not entirely correct.
Check out this article which busts many of his lines.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzesz4a6/current/id12.html
In Bucker's Chesscafe article http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kaiss23.pdf he has a reference to a later NIC Yearbook article as well:
[12] P. Pastore, B. Montcaubeig, L. R. da Costa Junior: “It’s Hard to Kill the Traxler Gambit,” in NiC Yearbook 70 (2004)
Does that article have anything to add to this discussion?
Well, I only know your first source. I have used a portion of its analysis in my posts. If you find anything in those articles that you consider relevant, I would appreciate your contribution to this thread.
I am updating the critical variations again for the new page.
Variation B of the 7.Ke3 variation was removed due to SirDavid's refutation 17...Bf5!
I brought back my variation A to see if white still has a shot with 13.Nc3. In addition, I brought back the main line against 7.Ke3 in case that fails.
I added an additional critical variation to the 7.Kg1 variation with SirDavid's suggestion of 10.Nc3.
6.Kf1 remains the same.
7.Ke3 Lines
A: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Ke3 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.hxg3 Qd4+ 10.Kf3 d5 11.Rh4 e4+ 12.Kg2 0-0 13.Nc3 dxc4 14.Qh5 Ne715.Rxe4 Qf6 16.Rf4 Qg6 17.Qxg6 Nxg6 18.Nh6+ gxh6 19.Rxc4 Rf7 20.d3 h5 21.Bg5
F: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Ke3 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.hxg3 Qd4+ 10.Kf3 d5 11.Rh4 e4+ 12.Kg2 0-0 13.Bb3 Rxf7 14.Rf4 Rxf4 15.gxf4 Be6 16.Nc3
7.Kg1 Lines
A: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Kg1 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Nxh8 d5 10.Qf3 Qd4+ 11.Qe3 Nxh1 12.Qxd4 Nxd4 13.Bb3 Be6 14.Kxh1 0-0-0 15.d3
B: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Kg1 Qh4 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Nxh8 Nd4 10.Nc3 d6 11.h3 Nxh1 12.Qf1 c6 13.Qf7+ Kd8
6.Kf1 Lines
A: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Qe7 7.Nxh8 d5 8.exd5 Nd4 9.d6 Qxd6
That looks like a great novelty Gonnosuke. You may have revived white's chances in the 7.Ke3 line. The ball is back in black's court.