5. Re1 or 5. d4.
Thanks Tonydal, I'm going to look into that. Guess I should hit the books, to...
Berlin Defence
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Indeed you should as 0-0 isnt really a gambit as blacks e pawn is under too much fire for it to be safe against whites better developed position since black has also opened the e file by taking with his knight. the easiest route to winning the pawn back is the simple and effective Re1 which gives white a slight edge . however d4 is a more forcing move that leads to an endgame in which blacks kings is in the center however this is not all bad as the situation of the king is not easy to take advantage of with the queens off. it is known as the Berlin Wall because it is so hard to break down. Basically i would not suggest playing this unless you " hit the book" this is a very theoretical line and none of the moves are to be taken at face value especially blacks. Keep examining this opening and you will learn alot about the lopez and about chess and you may even like it enough to play it as black
1 of my favs
The main line after 4 0-0 Nxe4 is 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8 Kxd8.
Very tough endgame. Black looks slightly worse, but Kasparov couldn't prove why in his match with Kramnik.
Okay... I've heard that this is indeed the main line, I made a mistake in this situation (after 5. d4). But... what's the idea for white and what's the idea for black? How it must continue?
I believe the opening shown here is the Berlin Defence.
4. 0-0 Nxe4 is clearly an accepted gambit, but one that I do not understand. If I am ever faced with the Berlin Defence, I always want to play 4. Nc3 (or 4. d3) which logically protects the e-pawn. I’ve never liked it though, it seems cramped to me. Going through some GM games, I realised that they often gambit the e-pawn by castling, but in the vast majority of cases black declines the offer.
I am no GM, and neither are my opponents. I am a patzer. Patzers like me can be quite materialistic, and gobble the e-pawn with the Knight. Now, at high level games, the e-pawn is left well alone. There must be a reason for this.
My question therefore is if someone plays the Berlin against me, and plays 4…Nxe4, what compensation can I get for the pawn and how? How do you punish black for his materialistic play?
ED.