Martin vs the world analysis thread #4

Tug, I'm just trying to get good at posting diagrams/analyses, and to show how prying open his castled corner can happen very quickly.  Get enough of these diagrams shown and other members can poke holes in the analyses easily since the diagrams bring them visually up to date, and enable them to help with far less "burnout."

There's still other first moves:  10. h3 or 10. h4 to consider.  I'll see what b5 does.  ChessPro, JARP, maybe Ry, will jump in… as we are now two days in.

I won't mind if we have our move decided, then wait for Martin to give warning, take another 12 hours after the warning, and then make our move.  In this way, Thanksgiving will not "eat" into our time.

Is there also Bulldog Martin vs whole world?

There was the martin+auk vs the world at one point

Has anyone considered 10. 0-0-0 here? Because that and 10. h4 are the main moves I've considered here. I don't know if 10. 0-0-0 is too crazy.

I've looked at far from every move in the lines I've considered and I could have easily missed something. There's probably a lot of improvement to be made in the lines below.

10. h3 prevents ...Ng4, but I'd rather play f3 (at the right moment of course; it would be a terrible idea to play 10. f3 immediately because of 10...Bh4+ of course) if possible. 10. h3 feels like a "last resort move" if we have no good way to prepare f3.

10. Bd3 feels slightly weird to me to play voluntarily (is e4 really in that much danger right now?). It's true that it's x-raying the black king on h7, but we'd need to make at least 4 moves (h4, h5, hxg6 and e5) in order for our bishop to do much on d3 (otherwise it would kind of just bite on granite, with the g6-pawn being defended by f7). I would rather play h4-h5 first and then see if we want the bishop on d3.

I have not found a line that refutes 10. Bd3, but I also haven't been looking for one.

10. 0-0-0 has the obvious idea of playing f3 (since there would no longer be any ...Bh4+). I don't know if castling queenside would be dangerous for us. He does have a bishop on g7 pointing in that direction and he has already played ...a6. But on c1 our king would be safe from checks, for now at least. Here are a few lines (black has many more options than this of course):

10. 0-0-0 Ng4 11. Bg3 Bd4 (otherwise we kick the knight with 12. f3) 12. Bd3 (I feel like there's probably a better move for us than this, or at least that there's improvement to be made somewhere in the 10. 0-0-0 line) and we will probably play 13. h3 or 13. Kb1 followed by 14. f3 on the next move(s).

I don't think 10...b5 works against 10. 0-0-0, but I could have easily missed something.

10. 0-0-0 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 12. Bxb5 Qa5 13. Bb1 and I think we're fine.

10. h4 looks interesting. One possible move for black (which is not forced) is 10...Ng4.

10. h4 Ng4 11. Bg3 Bd4 12. Nh3 and now we are threatening to check black into oblivion with Ng5+. For example if black just plays a nothing move, say 12...Nd7, then one line is 13. Ng5+ (1) hxg5 14. hxg5+ (2) Kg8 15. Bh7+ (3) Kg7 16. Qxd4+ (4) cxd4 17. Bh6+ (5) 1-0. Of course the first few of these moves (10...Ng4, 11...Bd4 and 12...Nd7)  were very much not forced for black.

10. h4 Ng4 11. Bg3 Bd4 12. Nh3 Kg7 (getting away from the lethal checks) 13. f3 Nf6 (13...Be3 14. Qd3 loses a piece for black I think) and we can trade bishops with 14. Be3 if we want (we're attacking both the bishop on d4 and the pawn on h6).

It's a tough problem, every which way.

Martin responded quickly last time because he had certainty of what to do, Kh7 being imperative.

But next move around, unless we find an indisputable attacking move, he's going to be wallowing in analysis ad absurdum.  Then the shoe will be on his foot… and it will be a HOT foot.

10. 0-0-0 is interesting, especially since Qd2 would then have been an ALL important move.

If I were him, I would then respond with 10. … a5, so as to enable his heretofore languishing-Knight to take part in the game, and also to heighten the stature of the forgotten Rook in that far-and-away back-corner.

If we play 0-0-0, then a next move by us will have to be a pawn move, because they're the only cement blocks in this game.  Also like that we have a trusty castle-Knight to help guard our King, a Knight being a hallmark of a good defense for a King's corner.

If we were to play 0-0-0 without undue analysis, it would be an exciting game… no question.  And a3 for us, as a follow up, makes the position look impenetrable.

Then we come at him with both barrels (Bishops) locked and loaded, and pawns ready to rule the day.

0-0-0 basically vindicates his ...a6 and probably loses for us.

I was just noticing that, myself, and was going to make some diagrams, but got sidetracked by today's soaring market.

It's brutal in our a1 corner if we castle long.  He'd be all over us, with us scrambling and always a move too late.

JARP, I've looked at h4 and I can't get it to go.

As much as Tug has "put down" h3, I'm still drawn to it, and preferably to the Bd3 move.  If we do Bd3 now, then if Martin did a b5 pawn advance, we'd wonder why we wasted a move doing Bd3 if an exchange of pawns takes place at b5, possibly requiring our e2 Bishop.

However, h3 followed by a later move of Bd3 I do like.

Advantages of 10. h3

• A first move of a possible foray toward Black's fortress
• Prevents an incursion of Martin into our battlefield:  guards g4
• Identifies what is what:  We'll both be attacking into each other's left flanks
• It is a defensive strategy, and for lack of anything better, a Best move

Vote 10. h3.

I'm going to analyze a few ideas later on today. I like h4 right now, but I won't vote yet.

Analysis of 10. h3

At the end of the line shown Martin could harass us further by playing Bc4.

Let me know what you don't like.
P.S. We still have a teleporting Bishop!

Let's say we go h4. What's Martin's expected response?

I'll play the devil's advocate… Ng4.

As I imagined. So then after Bg3 what would you play?

I analyzed h4 with the idea of Nh3 and Ng5+ which would basically win on the spot.

11. …  Bd4

Analysis of 10. h4

^he just plays 4... h5 and we just gave up a knight for a pawn. 

I'm just moving the pieces to provoke thought.  Are there any holes in 10. h4 that would rule it out.  The whole line I've provoked may never happen because 10. … Ng4 (to begin with) is not sound, and Martin would never play it, therefore.

I don't think Ng4 is good for Martin in this line.

h4 might be good, but once we play it we can't play h3, so it's not a move we should rush into.

Giving him a free check with f3 might not be so bad, since after Bh4+ g3 he has to retreat and has wasted time. The question is if we've made any progress in that time, which is debateable with the two moves we made. 

Bd3 would be a bad move, now Ng4 is a problem because after Bg3, Ne5 and he hits our bishop and c4, pushing us back to e2.

Not a huge fan of 0-0-0, as we look really vulnerable on that side. 

e5 doesn't work at all now because Ng4 just attacks the bishop and e5.

Nf3 seems ok but doesn't do much other than develop.

g3 seems ok as it prepares f4 while blocking Bh4+

Maybe f4 is ok, after Bh4+ g3 we have made progress for his wasted time, as we now control e5.