Is the Traxler Counter Attack a solid opening?

There is just something very tempting about the traxler counter attack that I just find very hard to resist. When it works it gives a great feeling however I suspect it will work only against those who don't know how to deal with the bxf2 sack.

 

If you play Kf1 instead of taking then the sting is lost and black is clearly worse. However when I play it, it usually has delivered the results.

 

However is traxler counter-attack a solid opening.

Traxler is just not very wise against all but the most inexperienced players. That being said, an element of it that I do actually like is when someone tries the fried liver attack on me and eagerly(and stupidly in my opinion) wants to trade their bishop and knight for my rook and pawn(after castling).

The Traxler counter attack is a hyper- modern opening that is very solid if you understand the theory and positional play. S. Morrison vs Tk Hemingway is a perfect example that illustrates masters play the line. It is not a cheap trick, it is a gambit. Learn some respect for the check/ chess master and stop misinforming the general public .

The computer hates it and gives white a +1.5.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean anything when humans play. The white king is going to be chased around and has to defend perfectly in order to not get into trouble.

So if white survives the initial onslaught, black is in trouble. It definitely makes for a fun game for black, especially if you like attacking.

I never play the fried liver (I play king's gambit instead) so I've never had to deal with the Traxler Counterattack.

But if I did, I'd probably decline the free bishop. I'd play something like this:

 

Why is 5. Nxf7 bad? Is it because you think 5. Bxf7+ is better?

The original question was if the Traxler is solid, and it certainly doesn't qualify as solid.  "Double-edged" would be a better word for the opening.  At the club level, especially with scholastic players, I think the Traxler has good psychological value - players who play 4. Ng5 like to attack, and 4...Bc5!? turns the tables on them, forcing them to think about playing defense.  So against certain players the Traxler can be very effective, although you won't find many GM games with it.

 

 

 

Deranged: In the the knight sac line of theory , if the bishop is declined the theory is to push the D file open after rescuing the queen. Even if rook is captured by the knight. My preference is castling queenside anyway during this line. But Black needs to incorporate other pieces first otherwise he will lose tempo on the white king.P fren neglects to mention the game Friedrich vs Peter Leiseben in which fx7 was captured by the bishop and black still came out on top. Sure psychology is a factor but so is every game. The line is less popular but it doesn’t change the point other masters have lost ;unless your implication is they knew nothing and were Ill prepared . Points are traded for position very frequently , look at some of the Morphy games if you need proof in the pudding.

The Traxler pretty much breaks everything that defines a solid opening. But it's not necessarily bad, especially at your level.

Wow

 

This is greedy white

Traxler is not sound, but it is occasionally played at grandmaster level as a surprise
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1018213

Besides 4 Ng5 is not considered sound either and grandmasters nowadays prefer the tame 4 d3.

 

#18
Maybe Anand burned too much time and that explains it.
Here is another one of GM beliavsky.
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068378 

 

this is made up but a lot of players would play this line

Still, if bishop takes, Ke7 and when the bishop escapes, black gets a huge development lead with rc8, h6, qe8(getting space from the empty f7 square) and soon also be able to develop a bishop.

For c3, bishop g4 is trapping the queen and kxf2 is kind of worse than the first

And in the bishop sac line, the knight on f3 trying check the king on e7 and trade knights is just a move that gives black a tempo since if nc3 happens first, the f2 square is still a target which means white castles first and give black more activity.

oh wait it's knight on f6