Body: <p>I recently lost an OTB game against a strong player (USCF) as white in the Guicco Pianissimo and have a few questions about it, especially 14. d4!?. Feedback/criticism are appreciated greatly.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks everyone</p>
  
  <pre><code>[FEN ""]
  [Event "Local Tournament"]
  [Site "?"]
  [Date "????.??.??"]
  [Round "4"]
  [White "Me"]
  [Black "Opponent"]
  [Result "0-1"]
  [WhiteElo "1800"]
  [BlackElo "2300"]
  [ECO ""]
  
  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 { I generally enjoy playing these positions for white. } 4...Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.b4!? { Do I really have enough time to play this expansive move here? Perhaps it's better to continue by focusing on development. } ( 9.Bb3 { Followed by Nc4 and Be3 is probably the best way to get the dark-squared bishop into the game. } ) 9...Ne7 10.Bb3 Ng6 11.Nc4 b5! { With my pawn on b4, it seems like this advance blocks my position much more severely than it would otherwise. } 12.axb5 axb5 13.Ne3 { Here, I'm not entirely sure if e3 is the best square. } ( 13.Na5 { this move creates some queenside threats, but I'm worried that the knight will become out of play. } ) 13...Nf4 { A nice outpost, since I can't really play } 14.d4!? { Open the position straight away, or wait? I felt that I almost had no strategic ideas left besides playing this move, but perhaps I should attempt to improve my position beforehand. } ( 14.Qc2 Bb7 { I didn't like this method, because I felt paralyzed by the pressure on the e4 square. } ) ( 14.Re1 { Perhaps I should continue preparatory moves like Re1, Qc2/Qd2 and Bb2, anticipating the opening of the position. } ) 14...Qe8 ( 14...Nxe4 15.Qc2 { Doesn't work due to } 15...Nxc3! { So, how would I have actually been able to proceed after 14... Nxe4? } ) 15.dxe5? { I feel that relieving this tension is a mistake. Re1 looks interesting, keeping a lot of tactical ideas alive in the center. } ( 15.Re1 Nxe4 16.Qc2 Bb7 17.Nf5 { Looks like a respectable position. } ) ( 15.Nd5 N4xd5 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 { Also looks interesting, with black's misplaced queen and undeveloped c8-bishop. } ) 15...dxe5 16.Nd5?? { Now here I'm missing a tactic that I should not miss. Being exhausted isn't a perfect excuse, but I was quite physically exhausted during this game. At this point, I also realize that playing Bb2 far in advance would have eliminated these tactics on the a-file. } ( 16.Nd5 ) ( 16.Bb2 { Might still hold an equal battle } 16...Nxe4? 17.Bd5 Nxd5 18.Qxd5 { Forking } ) 16...N4xd5 17.exd5 Bxf2+! 18.Rxf2 Rxa1 19.Ra2 { I don't know what else I can do here besides try to trade the strong rook. } 19...Rxa2 20.Bxa2 Bg4 21.h3 Bh5 22.g4 Bg6 23.d6 cxd6 24.Qxd6 Qd8 ( 24...Qa8 { Makes things easier. } ) 25.Qxd8 Rxd8 26.Kf2 Ne4+ 27.Ke3 Nxc3 28.Bb3 Rd3+ { And the bishop falls. } ( 28...Rd3+ 29.Kf2 Ne4+ )  0-1
  </code></pre>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-08-21T02:19:14.323Z
Comments.Text: To properly format the pgn for the replayer to work, you don't need the outermost curly brackets. You just need to highlight the entire game, including headers, and click Ctrl-K.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Herb
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-08-21T16:17:54.317Z
Comments.Text: Don't you answer the question yourself in your comments ? 14...Nxe4 looks like a strong retort, so 14.d4? should be avoided. 14.Re1, 14.Ra2, 14.Ra5, 14.h3 all come to mind.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Evargalo
Tags: <analysis>
Title: Misplaying (?) the Guicco Pianissimo; is 14. d4 correct?
ThreadText: # Misplaying (?) the Guicco Pianissimo; is 14. d4 correct?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2017-08-21)
  
  I recently lost an OTB game against a strong player (USCF) as white in the Guicco Pianissimo and have a few questions about it, especially 14. d4!?. Feedback/criticism are appreciated greatly.
  Thanks everyone
  [FEN ""]
  [Event "Local Tournament"]
  [Site "?"]
  [Date "????.??.??"]
  [Round "4"]
  [White "Me"]
  [Black "Opponent"]
  [Result "0-1"]
  [WhiteElo "1800"]
  [BlackElo "2300"]
  [ECO ""]
  
  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 { I generally enjoy playing these positions for white. } 4...Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.b4!? { Do I really have enough time to play this expansive move here? Perhaps it's better to continue by focusing on development. } ( 9.Bb3 { Followed by Nc4 and Be3 is probably the best way to get the dark-squared bishop into the game. } ) 9...Ne7 10.Bb3 Ng6 11.Nc4 b5! { With my pawn on b4, it seems like this advance blocks my position much more severely than it would otherwise. } 12.axb5 axb5 13.Ne3 { Here, I'm not entirely sure if e3 is the best square. } ( 13.Na5 { this move creates some queenside threats, but I'm worried that the knight will become out of play. } ) 13...Nf4 { A nice outpost, since I can't really play } 14.d4!? { Open the position straight away, or wait? I felt that I almost had no strategic ideas left besides playing this move, but perhaps I should attempt to improve my position beforehand. } ( 14.Qc2 Bb7 { I didn't like this method, because I felt paralyzed by the pressure on the e4 square. } ) ( 14.Re1 { Perhaps I should continue preparatory moves like Re1, Qc2/Qd2 and Bb2, anticipating the opening of the position. } ) 14...Qe8 ( 14...Nxe4 15.Qc2 { Doesn't work due to } 15...Nxc3! { So, how would I have actually been able to proceed after 14... Nxe4? } ) 15.dxe5? { I feel that relieving this tension is a mistake. Re1 looks interesting, keeping a lot of tactical ideas alive in the center. } ( 15.Re1 Nxe4 16.Qc2 Bb7 17.Nf5 { Looks like a respectable position. } ) ( 15.Nd5 N4xd5 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 { Also looks interesting, with black's misplaced queen and undeveloped c8-bishop. } ) 15...dxe5 16.Nd5?? { Now here I'm missing a tactic that I should not miss. Being exhausted isn't a perfect excuse, but I was quite physically exhausted during this game. At this point, I also realize that playing Bb2 far in advance would have eliminated these tactics on the a-file. } ( 16.Nd5 ) ( 16.Bb2 { Might still hold an equal battle } 16...Nxe4? 17.Bd5 Nxd5 18.Qxd5 { Forking } ) 16...N4xd5 17.exd5 Bxf2+! 18.Rxf2 Rxa1 19.Ra2 { I don't know what else I can do here besides try to trade the strong rook. } 19...Rxa2 20.Bxa2 Bg4 21.h3 Bh5 22.g4 Bg6 23.d6 cxd6 24.Qxd6 Qd8 ( 24...Qa8 { Makes things easier. } ) 25.Qxd8 Rxd8 26.Kf2 Ne4+ 27.Ke3 Nxc3 28.Bb3 Rd3+ { And the bishop falls. } ( 28...Rd3+ 29.Kf2 Ne4+ )  0-1
  
  **Tags:** analysis
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: To properly format the pgn for the replayer to work, you don't need the outermost curly brackets. You just need to highlight the entire game, including headers, and click Ctrl-K.  
  > **username_2**: Don't you answer the question yourself in your comments ? 14...Nxe4 looks like a strong retort, so 14.d4? should be avoided. 14.Re1, 14.Ra2, 14.Ra5, 14.h3 all come to mind.  
  
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  ## 0 answers
  
  