Opening Bomb Diary #25: Refuting a Line in the Reti

Continuing in our series of bleak opening articles from White's perspective, I wanted to share the complete refutation of a line I was actually considering to play as White. Oh well...

I think the Reti is an underrated opening for White. It is extremely solid, but it still offers ways for White to squeeze for an advantage. Theoretically, there are countless small strategical ideas that White can try in even the most critical lines. Growing up, it was especially inspiring to watch Kramnik come up with all sorts of tricky novelties for White in the Reti.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I found out that White is just worse in one of the critical lines. Here was what I was planning for White at first:

My Initial Idea

So I thought that was pretty pleasant for White. And if the likes of Kramnik, Firouja, and Artemiev have tried it, it has to be good, right? To my surprise, Black has an opening bomb here:

The Bomb:

So that's it, 7.Ne5 seems to be wiped off the map by 9.b5!N. But as jarring as this refutation is, the great thing about the Reti is its flexibility. There is no single "critical main line" that White is siloed into playing.

In the tabiya after move 7, there are several interesting lines White can try other than 7.Ne5. For instance, the pawn sacrifice after 7.Nc3!? is worth a look...