Bishop C4 Help

the two best defenses are 1) be6 to trade it away and 2) don't castle kingside.  The bishop on that diagonal is there to dominate a castled king;  a sacrifice to expose you and a queen can end it if you are unprepared.   You can also try Nc6 -> Na5 to attack it but by then they have played a pawn and made a hole for the  bishop to live in.  You can also walk pawns at it, again, this may not succeed if the player knows what you want to do.  The forced trade or leave that diagonal with your own bishop is tried and true. 

Thanks for your response, Jonnin. Okay, I see the Nc6 --> Na5 attack. I don't see how Be6 solves the problem unless they follow with Ng5. If they don't, but soon bring out the Queen, I'm toast. Pardon my confusion. I've attached two images, accordingly.

You mean this? 

I inserted a few different options as alternative ways of playing that would have avoided getting into such a pickle...Basically, you can play other things before Nf6 and this makes Ng5 impossible for white until it's not worth doing because you will just go 0-0 next move. Or if you do go Nf6 and Ng5 comes you go d5 (which you did correctly) then after exd5 you go Na5 and whites own pawn on d5 blocks his attack on f7 and you can capture the bishop on c4 with your knight exchanging it off. If white leaves it on c4 then Nxc4, if he moves it Bb3 then Nxb3, if Bb5+ this is easily blocked with Bd7 and again the bishop will be exchanged. 

Strangemover...haha, yes, that's one of them. Don't dig too deeply into my archive—unless you need a good laugh. Thank you. I'll run your suggestions and see if it clicks. Much appreciated!

depends on the board but be6, they must trade it or move it off that diagonal.  The key here is that be6 has to make sense with your position; you don't want to just throw it out there without prep, or you will end up with doubled pawns or make some kind of mess.  

Here is one of mine playing the move, to show you what the goal / role of that bishop can be.  Its not the strongest game of all time, but its instructive: black did not fight that bishop and paid the price.  Starting on move 5, there are plenty of chances to try Be6 to drive it away or trade -- even a doubled pawn would have been better than what happened!  Check out move 11, that is where the bishop begins to be a problem. 

You can also see that d5 could be a viable way to block it as well, if you can stack enough power onto it.  That would be an epic battle for control of the center, but black can certainly put up that fight and equalize.  And you can also see the whole thing is much less of a threat if black goes queenside. 

👍 In the 2nd position you posted above btw there is Bxg5 which is why white can't go Ng5. He has to play something else, then you go Nf6. If he now goes Ng5 you go 0-0 and it's all good for black. It's not good for white to exchange bishop and knight for rook and pawn by capturing in f7 here after black castles. 

Good heavens, my brain is smokin'. I got it. It clicked. I was thinking too linear, one move at a time, instead of thinking 2-3 moves out, as in a preparatory defense. I guess that's where massive repetition will come in handy and my only game experience on the pitch and rink not being very helpful. Reactivity doesn't seem to work here. Thanks very much, Jonnin and Strangemover, for taking the time to help a red-faced newb.  I know I'm losing daily to players who could be my grandkids. Ha.

Glad to help.  I like putting my bishop there as white, and at least at my level, the only things that my opponents do that works long term is to trade it off or not be where it points. Once in a while someone manages to block it with pawns too  

This same idea happens on a fianchetto in some boards as well, put the queen behind the bishop and make them trade or that thing will be an aggravation for the next 40 moves.   

+1

You can avoid these complications altogether by playing Giuoco Piano which is my preference, e5 Nc6 Bc5 Nf6 and then castle if Ng5. Playing Bc5 then Nc6 allows the queen to guard g5 (Nc6 interferes with this) so white cant play an early Ng5. Once you've castled, f7 is defended twice, by king and rook. White can trade off their minor pieces for the rook and pawn, its equal material but they fall behind in development

sorry

they fall behind in development and you get a half-open f file to swing your queenside rook onto. Just another option.

of the two, 3..nf6 is more demanding but also more fun. 3..bc5 is quieter except for the evans. depends on what you like and how much time you can allot to study.

Thank you very much, MarkGrubb and king5minblitz119147 for your guidance re Giuoco Piano. Mark, that's clear, but I don't understand the purpose of bc5, if the obvious white counter is b4, from which i retreat back to bf8. Hmm, i think i need to buy an actual chess board. Go figure.

b4 is the Evan's Gambit and though it is a well known and loved variation in the Italian Game, it's not that common. It probably depends on rating. I started playing chess last January and normally play Italian Game with the White pieces. I occasionally play Evan's Gambit if black plays Bc5 but normally stick to main line Giuoco Piano. As black I tend to play main line Giuoco Piano against Bc4 and have never met the Evan's Gambit so you may not encounter it often. Also it's not a refutation of Bc5, it's simply a Gambit line. White sacrifices a pawn so must develop rapidly to show compensation, planning to keep the black king in the centre and recover the material with an advantage in development. If white fails to do this they have nothing to show for the pawn. Generally, you cant avoid uncomfortable early pressure in e5 openings. My intention was to point out other options where you might find complications that are more to your liking 😁

BTW the purpose of Bc5 is to develop the bishop to a square from where it can put pressure on f2 (whites weakness) and clear the kingside for castling. If you are interested in some f2 options for black then look up the Traxler Counter Attack. It is an aggressive line for black starting with a bishop sacrifice on f2.

Very helpful, thank you. Remarkable that you've only been playing for a year.