Moving on, let's take aim at White's other twelfth move option: 12.Bb5+.

LESS FRENETIC THAN 12.d6.

After this check, the following moves are pretty much forced:

12.c6 13.dxc6 0-0 14.Bc4+

Nunn pointed out that 14.cxb7 isn't a good idea because of 14.Bxb7 15.Ne6 Qe7.

14.Kh8 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 16.f4 Bb6+ 17.Kh1 h6

KEY POSITION IN THE 12.Bb5+ LINE

The critical position. Nunn said, "White can of course win a pawn in various ways, but Black always seems to get a large lead in development. Also the weak c3-pawn impedes White's development."

Silman's comment is also worth repeating: "Black's active pieces would appear to promise the second player fully equal chances, though accurate play is still called for." His analysis:

18.fxe5 hxg5 19.e6

19.exf6 gxf6 doesn't give White any hope for an edge at all.

19.bxc6!

Most accurate. White gets some chances after 19.Ne5 20.e7 Re8 21.Rxe5! fxe5 22.Bxg5 Bc5 (22.bxc6 23.Nd2 Bc5? 24.Re1 is winning for White thanks to the twin threats of 25.Rxe5 and 25.Re4) 23.Bf7 Rxe7 (23.Bxe7 is also possible) 24.Bxe7 Bxe7 25.Nd2 bxc6 26.Re1 Bf6 27.Nc4 with some advantage for White.

20.Nd2 Ne5 21.e7 Re8 22.Ba3 c5 23.Bd5 Rb8

WHITE'S LAST CHANCE TO FIND A LITTLE SOMETHING

Silman told me that he looked at both 24.Ne4 and 24.Rab1 here but wasn't able to find more than equality.

To sum up: Black's defenses appear to be holding no matter how White plays after 10.N7g6 11.Re1 f6. NCO might wish to change the assessment after 10.N7g6 from "=+" to "=", but players with Black can't be too unhappy about that.

PART 1 | PART 2