If you look at the Title Matter above, you will see that this thing has 3 or 4 other names as well. Potato Opening, or, "Ther Spud", makes as much sense as any other appellation, it would appear. I dare say, though, that to call it the Murphy Opening, would violate certain principles of political correctness...

The names listed in the title matter are for 1. h3, whereas I understand "Potato Opening" is being used for 1. h3 and 2. a3. Michael Basman has called this the "Global Opening" (presumably because it can be played against any Black moves).

In "Pawn Power" Hans Kmoch points out that this pawn formation can't be blockaded.

Do you mean Black's, or White's? Here, White could set up a small centre (e3 and d3) with the idea of advancing the "other one" when Black moves one of his centre pawns to his 5th rank. Black has a slight lead in time and space, but no decisive advantage at this point.

Weak move. If the bishop can develop via e7, why open up a line to g7? And vice versa.

This could have waited for the knights...

@ruachessnut2 :What I was implying is something totally different. Moreover, don't believe Lasker too much. Yes the apparent position tells you that blacks have won the strategic e4 position and caused a development pbm in whites king-side. That is not true. Whites will manage to quickly correct that by deploying the Bf1 and the Ng1. After that e4 will become a heache. g6 is not good as far as the formation d5, e4 is concerned. @ruachessnut2 after comment edit : well I'm not implying u should believe me either ! My point is that we ought to leave behind us much of the abstract principles set by masters like Lasker. We know our level of play, and to enhance it we need to reach conclusions ourselves !

Yes black won control of f3 & keeps the knight out. World champ for over 25 years Lasker says to move 2 pawns in the opening. edit added: Lasker was rated 1000 or more than I am & you are rated 116 points higher. After much thought I will believe Lasker. Also no world champ ever started a game 1. a3 or 1. h3.

Um... well... Adolf Anderssen played 1.a3 in his first match game against Paul Morphy - and won that game (the rest of the match was a disaster for him, though!). Em. Lasker had a reputation for rather indifferent opening play, but much of that might well have been a willingness to accept a slight early disadvantage in order to unbalance the game and open up a much wider variety of possibilities than might otherwise have emerged. It seems to me that is what White is attempting here. After 4...e4 the position looks rather like the Advance Variation of the French Defence. Do the assorted pawn moves thrown in materially alter the situation from the standard Advance French? Hard to say.

Because the normally good move Nf3 is now a bad move.

Specifically, whites wants to open the b5-c6 file so that by Bb5 he wins tempo and gather time for the development of Ng1 = > Ne2.

In the standard Advance French, the immediate exchange on d4 (recalling the colours are reversed here) is not to be recommended. Rather, Black plays Stacks on the Mill with ...Qb6 and ...Nc6. Can White do the equivalent here? There doesn't seem to be any real objection to 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Qb3 etc.

@ruachessnut2 : gameknot.com

Maybe you should try blitz. edit added: Yes, but @ 10 minutes for all your moves you might find it difficult to use a database.

The move played seem OK to me...

Strategically better is 9...Bxb5 & Black trades his bad bishop for White's good bishop. Black would probably win.

Right. As I said before should have swapped the light squared bishops.

Black might have preferred 11...Be6, but then 12.Nf4 would be a real nuisance.

In the interests of K-side attack as well as protection of the d5-square, 12...g5 came into consideration. Black can probably forget about castling short at any rate. The K-side is his "natural" theatre of attack.

@ruachessnut2 : don't also believe Nimzovich. What he says is true in the end game : that time you should calculate the cost of making a major piece travel to the back of a pawn formation and starts eating pawn from that point. In the middle game, especially in the case of this one, it's not true : d5 is well defended even if if I manage to gather Nf4 or even Qa2. If I do so, I will lose tempo, while my opponent is very happy to see me going that plan and then he uses that time to setup his attack one. In this game f3 was a better option in my point of view.

Nimzovich says a pawn chain should be attacked at the base. edit: After 13. f3 exf3 White has a backwards pawn on the open e file.

Nimzovich merely argues that attcking the "base" of the pawn chain is normally the preferable course. He was naturally aware that much depended on how available the targets are. Occasionally the best option is to "relocate" the base by advancing instead of taking. In this position, White has Black's base under pressure, but Black has that point heaviliy protected. Meanwhile, this attack on the head of the chain has an interesting side effect that was probably not lost on White at the time. The threat is that 14.fxe4 dxe4 opens lines aimed directly at f7. At the same time, a long term asset in the form of a central passer comes into being. This little pawn move has a lot going for it, it seems to me!

Right! f5 was a bad choice. 13...exf3 was the move.

Good thinking. Mind you, Black might have been better off taking with the f-pawn, the opening of the f-file notwithstanding. Blockading that passed d-pawn is going to be a chore...