Points in favour of 11.Na3: it can aim for useful squares such as c4 without blocking the Bc1 (as N1d2 would do); and it leaves us free to play c3 if we need to - ie, it's not Nc3, which I think is a bad square for this piece.

11.Na3 Nxd3 12.cxd3 d5 13.exd5 Qxd5 14.Nc4!

11.Na3 Bf6 12.Nc4!

11.Na3 Bf6 12.Nc4 Nxc4 13.Bxc4

and 11.Na3 Bd7 (a Fritz suggestion which is unlikely to be played by Arno) 12.Nc4 Nxc4 13.Bxc4 should appeal strongly to anyone who doesn't like our passive pawn-like bishop on d3.

In these lines it once again becomes a meat-eating cleric along Sozin-Fischer lines.

The beauty of this is that Black can't hit back immediately with either ...b5 or ...d5 - both fail for tactical reasons, easily checked. He could try 12.Nc4 Ne7, but then 13.Rd1 looks very strong:

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or

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In this position we're eyeing b6, and Black is getting cramped, despite having castled. His Ne5 has a choice of pieces to exchange for, but both are good for us. After 14...Nxc4 15.Bxc4 the white bishop comes alive, while ...Nxd3 would gives us strong play in the centre while also permitting Nb6.

Note btw that it's a mistake to play Bh6 in this line to prevent castling: 12...Ne7 13.Bh6? Nxc4 14.Bxc4 Bxb2. This is another reason to reserve the option of playing our c2 pawn to c3.

I've concentrated on lines where Black plays ...Bf6 and ...Ne7 to castle kingside. Obviously he has alternatives. The main one is ...b6, with ...Qc7 and perhaps ...Bb7. But in these lines he has difficulty developing the Ng8 and untangling his kingside.

I would like to hear what he thinks of the 11.Na3 move, which I am wary of.

In a likely line, 11.Na3 Bd7 12.Nc4 NxN 13.BxN Rc8

White has used tempi to lead the Knight to slaughter, whilst at the end of the exchange Black has freed -c8- AND has had time to put his Rook there. That must constitute an advantage, whatever engines tell me. No?

<"Offhand"> doesn't cut it I'm afraid. If you promote this line that I disagree with, you'll have to give me a <"hands-on"> argument against my line.

(So there! ;-) In my usual genteel manner.)

But Black might also play ...Bf6, hitting c3/b2/a1, which makes the early bishop move less comfortable for us. And of course we lose the option of Bh6 (which is bad in some lines but looks OK in others).

Ok. The posters who want instant gratification with Na3 make the plausible argument that the c4 square is immediately available, whereas the c3 square has no immediate prospects for the knight. I agree completely.

_But it's not that easy_. With 11. Na3 you are taking two tempi to exchange the knight at c4, or possibly three tempi to exchange it at b6. The knight is simply not going to reach both of these squares without getting whacked. To start some impromptu analysis, with 11. ... Bd7 black already puts the question to the a4 pawn, forcing either the exchange of knights at c4 or 12. a5. Let's look at that:

11. Na3 Bd7 12. a5 b5!? 13. axb6 Qxb6 14. Be3 (still trying to avoid the exchange on c4) Qb7 (keeping an eye on a6, b3, and e4) 15. f4 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Nf6 17. Nd2 (e5 gives the f6 knight a very good square at d5) 0-0 (not Qxb2?? losing the queen) 18. Qd4 (avoiding the awkward 18. Nac4 Bb5) d5!

and it looks to me like black has equalized, given that closing the center with 19. e5 leaves the Na3 out of play.

Again, the above comes out of the powerful engine of my pocket chess set, with my idiot brain doing the evaluation. If computer analysis contradicts my hunches, all the better, but again, I think 11. Nc3 or 12. Nc3 gives the knight some hope of a future (as well as increased control of the d5 square) whereas after 11. Na3 it either gets stuck in a3 or gets exchanged off at c4.

If you want take two tempi to exchange the Nb1 for the Ne5, that's an acceptable (if suboptimal, imo) plan, but please don't have any illusions that the Na3 will have a future or that it will give us a winning advantage. I don't much like the c3 square for the knight, but preservation of potential energy argues for its deployment to this square because there is no other in which it will be around for the long-term.

Thorsson: We are now in a fluid situation. Moves that are poor now, could become good in a couple of moves time. Therefore we cannot condemn Nxd3 or f4 out of hand. But as of this moment Black will not exchange his nice N on e5 for our poor Bishop on d3 unless we play f4.

Why? Well, the B on d3 is poor at the moment, but if we get in f5 the Bishop is serving a purpose. So by taking the Bishop at that point the Knight weakens our possible f5 push as well as not wasting a tempo by retreating the Knight.

If f4 was to be played then it ought to have happened before a N got to e5.

Nasruddin Hodja:
Guys, either now or in 1-2 more moves, Nc3 is the best positional move for the knight. Again, I'll rely on intuition/positional considerations rather than engine analysis. The knight has no immediate moves after Nc3, but it _does_ exert control over the important b5, d5, and e4 squares. Ask yourself the following about later positions:

(1) Won't I be a mite unhappy if black is able to gain ground in the center with ... d5, which could have been prevented with the standard Nc3?

(2) After the a5 advance and Na3 or Nd2, isn't black's light-squared bishop at b5 going to be a serious pain in the ass if black has previously played Nxd3? Wouldn't it be nice if this was verboten because of Nc3xb5?

(3) Wouldn't it be good to have a knight to jump to e4 if we're able to get in f4 followed by e5?

If all you want to do is exchange off black's knight at e5, then by all means play Nd2 or Na3. It seems to me that that's equivalent to playing for a draw given that it uses up tempi and reduces control over the above squares. Personally, I prefer center control and the push for a breakthrough, which means the following sequence: Nc3, Be3, Rae1, Kh1, f4 and then either f5 or e5, whichever is better at opening up files for the rooks.

And yes, that's only one plan among many, but it's a good one, and I don't want to give it up just because too many people here are too cool and in the "in-crowd" to play a stick-in-the-mud positional move like Nc3.

Contributions welcome. Poke the eye.