ATTACK THE Q. Re1 looks amazing (ka-ching!)
Question about a position - capitalizing on undervelopment
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Wait it IS white to move, right?
Mar 10, 2018
0
#4
I would have played ba6 eyeing up taking the rook while creating a discovered attack on the black queen.
Mar 10, 2018
0
#5
It's true black's development is lacking, but you can't exploit it without open lines.
Because you don't have pawn breaks, that means you have to be looking at moves like Nb5, Bf5, and Bg6.
If those moves don't work, then too bad, you're not going to win right out of the opening. Sometimes a lead in development doesn't lead to anything tangible. It sucks but it's true.
(Actually Nb5 looks promising, at least at a glance)
Also Qg3 would be a tactic if you get the queen to move away from defending g7.
Mar 10, 2018
0
#6
If it's white to move, Nb5 should win by force, threatening both Rxd4 and Nc7+, winning an exchange.
Isn't Qg3 a fork?
Yeah, 1. Nb5 looks best, because 1. ..cxb5 2. Bxb5+ wins the queen. Because the queen is under direct threat from the knight, it's forcing. I think it wins a whole rook at least, not just an exchange, because after the queen moves to safety, black can't protect the a1 rook. In fact, black's best reply is probably 1. .. Qxf4 2. Qxf4 cxb5 getting two pieces for the queen. Still completely lost, though.
If it's black to play, 1. ..Bd6 looks like the best try. 2. Bxd6 Qxd6 3. Nb5 Qe7 holds the defensive position together, though only just. However, 2. Nd5 is a complicating reply by white which has some dangerous looks to it.
The (white to play) 1. Bg6 line looks dangerous, but 1. ..Qf3 appears to hold together thanks to the pawn on h6. If that pawn weren't there, 2. Bg5! would be devastating due to the dual threats of Rd8# and Qxf7#.
This position happened in a game I played recently: