Help understanding recommended line

Hi all,

Just played this game on rapid and generally felt quite happy with it....quite a few errors and not anything I'm hugely proud of but definitely an improvement on how I was playing rapid a few months back!

I'm stuck a bit on a recommended line in turn 6. Nd5 felt like a good move as it was a relatively safe square to move my knight into and the worst that could happen is that black breaks the pin and returns with Be6 or trades knights.

The engine instead said I should go with Nxe5...now I can see that the engine here has black respond by capturing the knight and leaving their g4 bishop hanging and I can see that the variation leaves me up on material. But at the same time, it doesn't seem reasonable to assume that black would take the knight rather than the "obvious" Bxd1 which in my mind would lead to black losing castling rights after 7. Nf7 Kxf7....but then I'm down a queen and I'd have thought black is still in a winnable position.

Can anybody help me see what I might be missing here?

Forgot to add that my original thinking at the point of 6. Nd5 was that I'd probably exchange Knights with 6... Nxd5 7. Bxd5

Bxd1 leads to mate.  On the next move...

Did you play out the alternate line suggested?  It's not that Nd5 was bad -- it's that you missed an opportunity to pick up his bishop.  6. Nxe5 dxe5 7. Qxg4

I did, and I could see the line working in my favour, but I couldn't understand why the line had the Knight recapture and not Bxd1... But it's because......

•  6.... Bxd1 7. Bb5#

That's what I was missing! 

Or rather...

7. Bb5+ Qd2 8. Bxd2#

Is that right?

You're getting closer...

No, I'm still wrong... Because there's still Nxd2.. This is getting embarrassing... 

You tease...

6....Bxd1 7. Bf7#

Thanks for that... Really glad you didn't just hand me the answer, was a good little puzzle for me! 

Does the K have any escape squares if you were able to put it in check?  Looks like that knight has them covered, right?  Now if only there were a way to put the K in check...

And you found it!  Good for you.

A useful technique if you're looking at a suggested line in analysis and wondering why the engine doesn't play a seemingly obvious move (e.g., 6...Bxd1 here) is to play it yourself on the analysis board and see how the engine responds. The answer will usually become clear very quickly.

I still struggle a bit too spot those kind of -M1 opportunities on a busy board... 

It's not an easy game.  Some of us have spent thousands of hours to achieve no more than near pitiful mediocrity...

Total coincidence, currently reading Play winning chess by Seirawan and playing along with a travel board while I spend hours in a waiting room...

The mating pattern I was missing and the "hanging queen" just came up in Legall's mate...

If Nxd5 is followed with Bxd1 then it's game over... Albeit slightly different line in the book version..

Hmm