I enjoyed the opening discussion. Definitely a situation with a lot of imbalances that create dynamic equality (or slight advantage for white). That being said, my first instinct was that I preferred white in the position after both sides castled. But, after seeing your moves and hearing your analysis, I see that black has a lot of play in the position.

I thought the middle-game struggle over white's hanging pawns was fascinating. I've always had trouble playing both with and against hanging pawns, so hearing your analysis was helpful.

Great vid!

Just a quick brag that's semi-relevant to the game...Mr. Tate is coming to Louisville to live!! As much as I want to maintain my Hoosier heritage..gotta love an IM comin to my town...now to find a way to get lessons..

As for the game..is the Vienna commonly seen at master level? It's seems odd (but refreshing) to see something other than a Ruy or Sicilian nowadays at the higher levels. I think the opening led to a very dynamic position, and it'll be interesting to see the battle to decide if the isolated pawn duo will be a weakness or a strength!

Excellent, Malfurion. But you need not wait for Tate: I'm available for lessons online!

The Vienna is a relatively rare guest among players whose ratings have 4 digits and that start with a '2': it's rare enough that you can go years without seeing it, but common enough that it's not that surprising. It's not bad, but not nearly as challenging as the Ruy or even the Scotch, as White has relatively few plans.

I cannot play this video at all..it is kinda strange because every other video works but this one...=/

Same here , it doesnt stop loading.

Same here in France.No video...So sad...Help!

Ok, should be fixed now. Sorry about that.

It works for me now aswell. Sorry I did not check it before replying on your message...=)

Hi admin:

(1) Thanks for fixing the technical problem!
(2) Is it time to unleash part two on the eager fans?

Thanks. Some nice tactics.
It seems to me, White was doing very well, as after you won the pawn, black still had problems. Whites dark squared bishop does not sit well on e3, maybe it should have dropped back, say to b2 would have been more dynamic. White seemed to have no ideas, just trying to sit on the position, waiting, hoping you will make one move blunder.

Maybe you should have played Na5 at some point, with the idea c7-c5 blockade in the position, fixing the pawns.

I look forward to the next installment.

Hi Pobble,

Your comments seem rather abstract to me. It's true that the Na5 + c5 construction is reasonably common in Petroff and Petroff-like structures, but there wasn't any concrete moment when it seemed the best thing to do - either in the game or afterward.

Likewise, it's not clear to me at what point White is supposed to maneuver the bishop from e3 to b2. For instance, 19.Bc1 (instead of 19.Rfd1) is met by 19...Be7 followed by ... Bf6, when the long diagonal is neutralized, the e-file is open for me to swap (if I so desire) and White will have to worry a bit more about his d-pawn.

Also - not to be hornery or anything; I just disagree with the claim - I don't find Tate's play purposeless or parasitic. He has the bishop pair and a space advantage, so what he's trying to do is restrict my possibilities and improve the placement of his pieces as much as possible before making a big commitment with c5 or d5. That's typical of play with hanging pawns: if they remain adjacent on their fourth rank, they tend to function well in cramping the opponent; when advanced, gaps can result, so the side with the "hangers" must prepare their advance very carefully.

Finally, if by "problems" you mean that I was worse after winning the pawn, I disagree again. The right assessment of the position, in my view, is that White has adequate compensation for the pawn - no less, but also no more. The imbalanced setting made for a good fight, and that's just what happened - as you'll see.

I prefered Na5 instead of your move Qd7, Na5 appears to come with tempo.
After your Bf8, Bc1 looks good to me, intending Bb2 next and freeing up whites Rooks. Inproving harmony between whites pieces. I understand the positional stuff behind hanging pawns, which prompted my suggestion.
True, I have not seen the rest of the game as you say, the "problems" I mentioned, is that your game does not appear to have improved by winning the pawn, from what I have seen so far. The rest of the meaning you put to "problems", are putting words into my mouth.
I had assumed you would welcome some feedback.

Thanks for writing back! Here are some thoughts on the more specific suggestions.

1. If 15...Na5 (instead of my 15...Qd7), White plays 16.Qc3 all the same, and because his c-pawn is well-defended, it's not clear to me what the knight will achieve on a5. If Black tries 16...c5, he loses material after 17.dxc5, and no other idea that comes to mind is benefited by playing 15...Na5 first.

2. On 20.Bc1 (after 19...Bf8), Black will play 20...Rbd8 21.Bb2 Be7! followed by 22...Bf6 with a good game. In my view, the bishop is worse on b2 than on e3, though that would not be the case if Black's bishop couldn't reach f6.

3. I probably misunderstood you on the subject of "problems", but then I'm confused. Maybe I didn't solve all the problems I may (or may not) have had by winning the pawn, but unless I took on some new ones, doesn't winning a pawn improve my situation? (If I claimed in the show that winning the pawn gave me the easy life or something, then you're completely right to dispute that claim. I don't think I did that, but if so, consider it retracted. I think 16...Bg6 is equal, and I think the position after 16...Bxf3 17.Bxf3 Qxh3 18.Bg2 Qd7 is equal as well, but in a different way.)

4. Feedback is certainly welcome, but I can't promise to agree with your assessments.

I was not after your agreement, but a critical response. I have played chess long enough to know, that gathering information is vital, but a player must think for himself.