Nd7 Scandinavian Pawn Sac

nd7 is a perfectly acceptable move and your opponent should have played 6 nxd5. the position kinda reminds me of the benko gambit, though i am not sure that the comparison is justified.

Ya I agree nxd5 is better than what happened in the game, but I feel that white is still better after Nc3 e6 Nf3 Bd6 and 0-0. Bd7 seems more aggresive though with the c6 break.

well, perhaps. i definitely don't think that Nd7 deserves a ?! though, black has reasonable compensation.

Ya you're right I think I put it there cause I never saw it before.

Yes. I think I observed this game...Vinay Doma was the black player I believe. Too bad I didn't get to see you play Qg7+!!. Awesome shot.

Ya haha it was cool, but the game was like the last one though.

If black had played 18... c5 how do you think white should have continued?

intuitively i'd pick Rad1. Also, I like hxg3 better, since it leaves fewer dark square weaknesses. Or Rfd1 actually, because we want to advance our passed pawn in the future. That's why im unsure of fxg3. usually taking the other way is correct.

Ya it was a tough choice for me to choose between fx and hx, but I though hx, then black has chances for a stronger kingside attack, with Rh6 and exchanging the knight on f3, but Im probably hallucinating threats :P. After Rd1 either way, if black closes it up with c4 do I break with b3?

Hmmm...Rh6, but then the only way to create threats is to put the queen on the h5 square. This seems to take a very long time, and white can still make a defense with Ne5 and f3 if he needs to (Bg4 Ne5). I think the center control is more important, and black can play f6 if necessary to block the f1 rook. Have you checked with an engine yet?

Also, after c4, I don't feel so good about opening the position and helping the black's bishop pair get stronger. I would maneuever my knights to the weaknesses like e5 and c5 if needed and start quickly get my a pawn moving (that's what you did in the game). ------------------

My Fritz says that to play bg3 was a mistake, since the knight is  pretty useless on h5 and needs to spend a turn to go back: Be3 Nf6 and white has a nice edge; black has a bishop pair and decent pieces, but white still has the extra pawn with no big problems. Fritz likes hx and fx equally. Probably fx activates the rook while hx is fine too since it gets center control. But after Bg3, the position was equal, since black has no unopposed bishops vs the weaker knights.

After fxg3 c5 (#1, and it is good, opening the center and getting rid of the d4 pawn: Rad1 Bg4 followed with Bc5 after exchanging pawns, and the bishops put a lot of pressure on white. It's about equal.

Fritz doesn't like c4 so much... it says to break with b3, although I am not sure of the reason why (do you know?). After Be6, you played really well, and won nicely.

ya i think it doesnt like c4 cause it closes up the position so its not too good for blacks bishops. bg3 probably was a mistake, I think i just played it to trade off some more pieces and shelter the king more, but be3 was definitely better since I just gain a tempo.

lol, it's gonna be a bunch of the same people from the potomac open @ the atlantic open...hope I get to play against new people.

lol ya, potomac open playing conditons are 10x better cause of the provided clocks and super nice wooden sets

and pairings texted to you.

Love those wooden sets. Much better than those foamboards and plastic pieces that I used in the U1700.

ya definitely, also the prize system was really nice by points so no sharing

Was Black Vinay Doma? I've played him as black with a similar situation.

Ya, what opening did he play from white?

Hey, please post your game against CB. I saw you were clearly almost winning in the beginning, but somehow he managed to win.