Only Chess
02 Jan 07
04 Jan 07
Originally posted by KorchI have played this opening a few times in the past. Whether it is sound or not rather depends on your definition of 'sound'. There doesn't as yet appear to be a clearcut tactical refutation. 3.Bc4, 3.exf5, and 3.d4 are a lot of fun, but black seems to be surviving. However, there really doesn't appear to be anything convincing for black after 3.Nxe5. After 3...Qf6 4.d4 and 4.Nc4 both seem to give white a clear positional advantage. Black may survive with ultra accurate play, but it's pretty uncomfortable.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5
Risky opening, but better than its reputation and may lead to wild complications. If black knows theory, they may have good results (for example when I used to play Latvian Gambit in OTB, my results was good) in it especially if white thinks that they can easily win 🙂 Today have been created thematic Latviang Gambit tournament.
Whats your opinion about this opening?
04 Jan 07
Originally posted by Northern LadI agree that 3.Nxe5 is the best for white, but white`s advantage isnt so clear - white must play very accurate to get some small positional advantage. These lines demands accurate play from black too.
I have played this opening a few times in the past. Whether it is sound or not rather depends on your definition of 'sound'. There doesn't as yet appear to be a clearcut tactical refutation. 3.Bc4, 3.exf5, and 3.d4 are a lot of fun, but black seems to be surviving. However, there really doesn't appear to be anything convincing for black after 3.Nxe5. Af ...[text shortened]... ional advantage. Black may survive with ultra accurate play, but it's pretty uncomfortable.
04 Jan 07
Originally posted by buddy2Hi buddy2, I've learnt my lines as a kid, but I only join RHP to play chess with a friend who lives out in Malaysia, and one game after another, it started to snow ball, and now I am playing too much chess for my own good! I don't really want to spend too much time getting into books, openings etc. though the mammoth book is quite well written and entertaining. I remember reading chess for tigers as a kid a long time ago, along with more hard going books like Nimzowich's my system and John Nunn's Najdorf.
the killersfan, you don't have an opening book? If you get a new one you might get yourself up to 2000 on RHP? Anyway, i think its called the Traxler Counter Attack. Which was, according to Estrin's Two Knight's Defence book, named after the Czech master P. Traxler who introduced it in 1890. It's also called the Wilkes-Barre Variation of Two Knights from ...[text shortened]... nia, not far from me. If anybody has better facts on it, please feel free to jump right in.
But its no fun, so I'll rather have a lower rating and not bother with too much opening theory (relying on commonsense, though I was badly crushed because I didn't know my lines in some French line that I fell into - Check out my game against tinkerman 🙁 ).
For all beginners here, you don't want to take the approach that I'm taking now though, unless you want to play leisurely-ish chess! I find the older I get, my memory and tactical sharpness fades but my positional understanding gets better. To the many of you out there who seem to be rediscovering chess after a few years/decades away, are you in the same boat as I am?
04 Jan 07
Actually, I am. I stopped playing chess for twenty years. Didn't have the time since I taught English and there were so many papers...I came back after i retired and played a few tournaments and found my rating had risen about 200 pts! So much for studying. Now that i'm retired i don't feel like sitting around in tournaments. The internet is so much more convenient, but i miss the social interaction so i belong to a club here in New Jersey. I spend half the year in Florida, but can't find any club where i'm located near Naples.
05 Jan 07
Originally posted by buddy2Hi buddy2, not quite retired yet on my side (still working) but I agree that the internet's really convenient. Can't say I miss the social interaction though, the chessfolk where I am (club and uni) were all a bit too serious or weird. Great to hear that your chess has improved with age! like fine wine or scotch whiskey!
Actually, I am. I stopped playing chess for twenty years. Didn't have the time since I taught English and there were so many papers...I came back after i retired and played a few tournaments and found my rating had risen about 200 pts! So much for studying. Now that i'm retired i don't feel like sitting around in tournaments. The internet is so much more ...[text shortened]... . I spend half the year in Florida, but can't find any club where i'm located near Naples.
05 Jan 07
Originally posted by thekillersfanFeel the same here, when I was a kid - chess was all about setting traps and waiting for people to fall into them, then setting more traps. Since I took chess up again it's a totally different game, especially CC chess - way more positional in my opinion. however, when i do play OTB - I become a child all over again :-) And get killed of course! But ya, definitely a different game when you get older.
Hi buddy2, not quite retired yet on my side (still working) but I agree that the internet's really convenient. Can't say I miss the social interaction though, the chessfolk where I am (club and uni) were all a bit too serious or weird. Great to hear that your chess has improved with age! like fine wine or scotch whiskey!
23 Jan 07
Game 2994928
Game which shows that in such forced lines black must know the theory. In this game didn`t need to make any own moves for winning.
23 Jan 07
2 edits
Originally posted by giantrobot3.Bc4 b5 is interesting line, but with black against 3.Bc4 I would prefer 3....fxe4 4.Nxe5 d5
Wow. I have a Bc4 b5 game going right now. I'm just learning the Latvian. I 'm going to play in the ICCF thematic that starts in a couple of weeks.
Anyway, nice game!
23 Jan 07
Originally posted by buddy2Here are some stats, but they're not purely correspondence:
I can't think of any opening that's been refuted, gambit or otherwise, although some aren't very popular for the moment. I'd like to see the stats on the Latvian Gambit in correspondence. On the shredder database, which i think includes correspondence, the Lat gets a 32.9% success rate. nxe5 after f5 gets a 67.7% success rate. The Lat is still getting win ...[text shortened]... 30 wins given to 2...f6 in the chessbase database, but i don't have the guts to play that.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/adam.bozon/stats.htm
The site agrees with you; Latvian gambit has won for black 33% of the time, which is actually quite good; however, there are very few draws, which is why it falls under the "Worst openings for black" section.
23 Jan 07
Originally posted by KorchWow. I had no idea ivanhoe was a 2000+ player! I always assumed he'd be fairly mediocre.
Game 2994928
Game which shows that in such forced lines black must know the theory. In this game didn`t need to make any own moves for winning.
04 Feb 07
Game 2976909
In this game one of the top RHP players refuted my opening experiment (but not the opening).
04 Feb 07
Here's an example that shows why it is important to know theory:
Game 3003465
Was book up to move 8. 9) Qg5+ forcing the trade of queens was crucial. Now white is lost. Game is in progress but not for long. So no comments on what comes next please.
I entered the ICCF Latvian Gambit thematic that starts in a couple of weeks. I'll probably get destroyed but that's fine. I want to start using the Latvian in OTB if I ever get back into OTB.