QGD Tarrasch help?

This is just off the cuff without a board in front of me to make sure it works, but I'm looking at 8. ... Qa5+ to unpin the f6 knight. If 9. Bd2, then the queen probably retreats to b6. If 9. Nfd2, then the e4 knight is hanging. If 9. Qd2, then Bb4. If 9. Ned2, then black's problem is solved.

After 7. ... d4, I was looking thinking 8. Nb5 for white to attack d4 again, at which point black plays Nc6.

And brandonQDSH, I disagree with your statement that the opening here "is fine". He lost a pawn on the 8th move of the game. That's not fine. He either needs to learn to play the Tarrasch better or play something else, because stronger players aren't going to give him these types of tactical shots. A strong player would have played 10. e3, aiming to bring out his king's bishop, castle to safety, and trade down to the endgame where the extra pawn might be decisive.

It's good that he's already a good enough tactical player to take the shot his opponent left him here, and we all need to get better at tactics, but it's good to learn a little bit here and there about the openings you routinely play, as he's doing here. This type of full game study, with advice from other players, is a great learning experience that I think every player should do regularly.

 8....Bb4+

This began as a semi-tarrasch and  5.... Nxd5 is the correct move in this.

Hope I didn't miss anything obvious.

Blitz is a different monster altogether. I was class A when I played tournaments and my FICS blitz raiting is still under 1700.

As people already noted, because of your unusal move order you had Nf6 too early, iso of Nc6. Would have some serious problems after 6.Bg5, see games of Frank Marshal.

I'm surprised no one has pointed out 18...Qe7+

19.Nc5 Rxc5  20.Qxf7+ Qxf7  21.Bxf7+ Kxf7  22.Rhf1 Rc2

I don't know why you would say that 3...Nf6 is an inaccuracy. The move itself is by far the most common response to 3.Nc3 and has been played in thousands of grandmaster games. Perhaps you meant it is a dubious move order if the plan is an early ...c5, but this is also way off base. The Semi-Tarrasch is perfectly respectable and scores almost exactly the same as the Tarrasch proper.

The inaccuracy, as Reb pointed out, comes at move five. 5...exd5 lets white pin the knight with 6.Bg5, 'leading to unfavorable iqp positions' (MCO).

Reb, I can't believe you missed this!

8...Nxe4, of course!

 Believe it ! I am not perfect  ......

Doh! I missed it, too. I wasn't really looking that hard. I'd like to think I'd have caught that in a slow OTB game, but I probably would have missed it in blitz like the time control of this game.

Deep down I know that. I just don't like the idea that I could put in the five more years of hard work it would take to reach master, and still not be perfect at chess!

Bobbereight,

I'm sorry to bring this up again, but I really don't want Fromper's confusion about Eric Schiller's advice to put you off playing the Semi-Tarrasch. I am sure that when Schiller said to develop the Queen's knight before the King's, he was talking about the Tarrasch proper, and not advising against the Semi-Tarrasch (of course FM Schiller is an active member of the site, so you could just ask him). So, if you play ...c5 before developing either knight, then you will generally want to develop your Queen's knight first. This bit of advice makes perfect sense. However, there is no problem with playing 3...Nf6 in response to 3.Nc3 and then responding to 4.Nf3 with the Semi-Tarrasch: 4...c5. You would probably want to be comfortable with playing the more standard QGD lines that follow 4.Bg5, since 4...c5 scores rather poorly in this case.

You should understand, however, that 5...exd5 is dubious, and that 5...Nxd5 is widely accepted as the correct response. The point is to avoid the pin exerted by 6.Bg5, which would lead to a position where black accepts the iqp characteristic to the Semi-Tarrasch without the opportunities for activity that a knight on d5 presents.

Wow, thank you guys! I like that I'm getting different sides here. Good info!

Hello,

If look through these two games between Marshal and Rubinstein, will see some of the very concrete problems of playing Nf6 too early, basically before white has commited to g3, in the Tarrasch.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1094711

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1003711

You are correct that I'm confused about playing the semi-Tarrasch. I've only played and studied the Tarrasch in the past. I had never even heard of the semi-Tarrasch before this thread. Sounds like you're giving some good advice here.

7. d4 Ne4 8. Nxe4 Bxd8... I'm missing it. At first I thought the threat was 9... Bxf2 #, but that's not legal since the Bishop can't go through the pawn on d4!

I think it's 9.Bxd8 Bb4ch 10. Nd2 Bxd2ch 12 QxB NxQ and end up ahead a peice.

Correct

Ok thanks