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Thursday, April 17, 2014

Instructive position

Here's a position Magnus (playing Black) found himself in after his opponent tried the wild Danish Gambit sacrificing 2 pawns to gain  development. Magnus was feeling pretty smug after fending off the attack and getting a rook for a knight, gaining an extra pawn and having eliminated the Queens and thus imminent danger. He probably realized that he was behind in development, but astonishingly he didn't realize his opponent was ahead in development. What do I mean? I mean his opponent is still dangerous - like a wounded lion! What is Magnus's best move? a) Bb4  b) b6  c) c6  d) d6  e) g6


The real danger here is the double attack with Nb5 or Nd5, so if you said Bb4, you'll lose a rook after Nb4 Ba5 Bxg7. Best is the simple c6 which prevents aggression by that knight and keeps g7 guarded. Yes, he need to develop, but right now he needs to defend!

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