Exploiting a greedy Nh5 in the opening

Personally I learned a lot from this post. Please keep things positive so we can keep the learning alive!!

Thanks for the positive feedback guys, I appreciate it.

Some more comments about such Nh5 plans in general: if after Be5 black goes after the bishop with e.g. Nd7 and Nxe5, black is taking serious risks getting his knight stuck on h5. If white recaptures on e5 with the d-pawn, the pawn then covers the f6-square and g2-g4 threatens to trap the knight on the next move. Black could try to save the knight with g7-g6 to answer g4 with Ng7, but the knight will be awfully placed on g7.

So even in the "ideal case" where black does manage to capture the white bishop on e5 with another knight, he has to be very careful not to get a lost position quickly due to the vulnerable knight on h5. In a sense black's move f7-f6 was principled here, trying to capture the white bishop with the Nh5, but tactically it is unsound due to this motif of Ng5 and Nxh7.

Also it turns out that the "other way around" also works favorably for white here - if 9. Bg5 instead of 9. Be5, and black had played 9... f6, then also 10. Ne5! would have been strong. A black pawn capture would run into 11. Qxh5+ (note that the white knight is not really hanging), while 10... g6 can now be met with 11. g4 Ng7 12. Qf3!, adding another threat of checkmate on f7 in case the black f6-pawn dares to capture the white bishop.

So yeah, sometimes these London-style openings can be quite interesting...

@thijscom so you knew he was a cheater at least after his last move? I suppose he wasn't detected a cheater due to this game?
White started playing passively after gaining the advantage (eg Qf7) and Black played natural, active moves. Don't need computer assistance to play like that.

Thank you thisjcom for the ideas! I have always struggled in my own games against Nh5. Typically the response is H3 in anticipation but of course that uses a tempo that could be utilized elsewhere.

After reading your post I stopped playing H3 knowing there are some tactics available. It was this morning before seeing your response here that I was thinking how different my games have been since that change. What an effect developing elsewhere on the board has had! It seems the resulting positions are quite different. This is great insight.

Would you sometimes place your knight from F3 onto E5 to allow your queen to peer into H5/G4 as a defence against KH5? From tim to time my opponent has blundered by not noticing this coverage so its a nice resource in that respect but, I wouldnt base a strategy around a blunder if I can avoid it.

Thanks again!!

@TheClouds Moving the knight into e5 is a typical plan for white, to gain space, disrupt the black coordination and prepare f4. And covering h5 is of course a nice bonus, so if you time things well you may not have to play h3 to save your bishop pair.

Concretely whether Ne5 is strong or not depends a bit on the black setup. But usually black develops a knight to f6, so that a Ne5 cannot be instantly kicked out and gives white time to for instance play f4 on the next move (assuming the bishop dropped back to g3).

Right on, its true Ke5 has been an interesting try as a response to things like Bd6 as well as others. Forward moves in the London seem to take time, often I am found making progress through counter attacks.

It seems my ability to initiate is left lacking. Do you er towards counterattacking in this setup? Or you are a proponent of kingside pawn storms ect? Thanks for all the input!