I've created a slideshow of the Blumenfeld Attack, in order to teach students how it arises ... I'm going to post my findings here ... It all starts with the scotch - mainline:
Interesting?
Here are some interesting facts about this highly tactical opening:
1) The Scotch: Blumenfeld attack is extremely rare and occurs in less than 1 in 10,000 games.
2) From the data, you can expect that White will have a high 71.43% chance of winning, while Black should only have a 28.57% chance of winning. Because of the fact that most players probably have never seen this opening, and that Black has such a low expected chance of winning, it may be well worth it to keep this variation in your back pocket. Since as White, you should have a significant edge and will probably catch your opponent off guard.
Here is the initial move of the Blumenfeld Attack:
6. Nb5!!
Here's an interesting trap if Black tries to grab the pawn on b2
In my opinion, the correct move to play here is 9.Kd2! This should mean that you will win Black's Knight for the cost of the c-pawn. I've played this move myself in several online blitz games with some success.
Of course, White is hoping that Black will take the Knight with his King. This would lead to the shocking 11. Nd5!! winning Blacks Queen for the Knight ... !
Here is a novel idea that I found in the Blumenfeld Attack, but I doubt that it is very unsound? Its a move that I thought of playing in a Standard-Play club game and it really tempted my opponent into playing Qxe4 ...? Presumably they wanted activity, so happily traded their Rook for my Knight ... ?
As it turned out, the trade didn't pay off and they (Black) eventually lost the game (see previous Blog post).
Anyway, we have the following man to thank for his ideas regarding this particular attack:
Why not give his idea a try?
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