ionadowman
8/01/2008
03:02:54
[ report abuse ] |  The Latvian has long ...
Message:
... been one of my favorite openings - ever since reading Harry Golombek's assessment: "as unsound as it is violent". But that's just my contrary nature.
It is, however, a very risky line to adopt against a "booked" player. Against one who hasn't seen it before, it can be lethal. Keene and Levy had this to say: "If White puts a foot wrong he can easily find himself battered to a premature death."
They recommended the approach I took in the ionadowman vs jstevens1 game - a line much analysed by Paul Keres.
However, I suspect Harry Golombek's recommendation 3.Nxf5 is the wiser and safer choice. Several years ago I played Black in the 3.Bc4 line and, yep, White went wrong, and, yep, got battered to a premature death.
On the other hand, I tried it against a strong player in a club game in Auckland in the early 70's and this time I forgot the theory and got axed. I think the game might have been published in a North Shore journal of some sort...
Although I have a fondness for the opening, I haven't played it often, and not at all on GK (except this one time from the White side).
Cheers,
Ion
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