Author: Ed Schröder
Date: 00:35:54 11/30/99
Go up one level in this thread
>Posted by Robert Hyatt on November 29, 1999 at 20:17:47: [ snip ] r3q1k1/ppp1rpp1/2n1b2p/8/2P2B2/3B4/PPPQ1RPP/5RK1 w - - bm Bxh6; >>>>00:00:00 1.00 1.02 1.Bxh6 gxh6 2.Qxh6 >>> >>> >>> >>>This looks _incredibly_ dangerous. For every position where Bxh6 works, >>>there are 10 positions where Bxh6 loses. Here a piece for two pawns looks >>>awful if the other pieces can't get over to help out... Speculative play is >>>nice, as in the old days of the Novag gadgets from Kittinger, and in the >>>current >>>play of CSTal... but it can backfire big-time as well... > >>> >>>Crafty doesn't like the sac, unless it sees actual material coming back, >>>because >>>I have spent a lot of time teaching it which types of material imbalance are >>>bad and which types are good. A piece for 2 pawns is always bad unless >there >>>is some tactical conclusion at the end. And given the above PV there >>>obviously >>>isn't anything except a somewhat naked king position for black... >> >>I can not believe you saying this. After 1.Bxh6 gxh6 2.Qxh6 there is a queen, >>2 rooks and a bishop all pointed very dangerous at a naked king. Rebel giving >>+1 is fully justified. >> >>Every 1800 rated chess player will play 1.Bxh6 immediately, no need to >>calculate. >> > >Sorry, but _I_ am an 1800+ player and _I_ wouldn't play it immediately. >Because black can play f5, and it doesn't look nearly so clear after that. The king >has a way out... the black rook now can interpose on the g/h files. The >f file is no longer useful unless white does something else... 1.Bxh6 gxh6 2.Qxh6 f5 3.Bxf5 the black king is even more naked. I guess we have a different view on king safety. >It may be good. It may not work. But as a human, I don't play Bxh6 here >without calculating something worthwhile at the end of the sequence. I let >an IM look at this for several minutes... he left unclear whether it was >good or not... Who was the IM? After 1.Bxh6 gxh6 2.Qxh6 f5 3.Bxf5 I am pretty sure all programs soon will display a +2 or +3 score. Based on this I wouldn't call this position a 100% positional sacrifice as it is somewhere in the 10th ply area (depending on a programs extension use). >That is what I meant by "this looks incredibly dangerous". Because if you >don't get something back from this, you are pretty well sunk. The position looks >pretty nice for white. But good enough to toss a piece immediately? Unclear >without a lot more analysis... > >to me As said we must have a different view on king safety even on the basics as this case for me is so crystal clear: QRRB all pointed at a naked king, the king having hardly any escapes, the black pieces not able to defend its own king. Based on that Rebel gives a 2 pawn positional bonus after 2.Qxh6 and even more after 3.Bxf5. See also my points regarding this issue in another posting. Ed
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