Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Two Knights Defense, Fritz-Ulvestad Variation

Dennis Monokroussos has annotated the game Charbonneau - Schneider, USCL 2009 (Round 3) which featured the Fritz-Ulvestad Variation of the Two Knights Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5 6.Bf1 Nd4 7.c3 Nxd5), with the continuation 8.cxd4!? (sidestepping the famous Estrin - Berliner game with 8.Ne4). I was thinking the Fritz/Ulvestad was due for a revival, especially after Hikaru Nakamura beat Josh Friedel's more standard gambit 5....Na5 to win the 2009 US Championship using Gunsberg's 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3!? If the Fritz/Ulvestad bites the dust, what will Two Knights Defense players fall back on? This is still a very much contested territory, but White has been winning of late. For those who want to learn more about the Fritz/Ulvestad lines, some resources:

2 comments:

katar said...

Matt Pullin's video lecture merits a link. However, he recommends the independent Ulvestad line (h6 instead of Nd4). This line simply doesn't work for black-- Dennis M. annotated a game where Naiditsch tried it and got crushed.

George Jempty said...

How do you base you assessment on one game? The Ulvestad is currently recognized by far (and this is supported by *very* high rated masters), and by current theory, as the very best variation of the Two Knights for Black.