Your center pawn on the fourth rank rather than on the third means more of your pieces are active and more of your opponent’s are passive.
Solomon Slonim White
Nikolai Riumin Black
Moscow 1932
Scotch Game C47
1 e4 e5 2 ♘f3 ♘c6 3 d4 exd4 4 ♘xd4 ♘f6 5 ♘xc6 bxc6 6 ♘c3 ♗b4!
Better than 6...♗c5 7 ♗g5!, which stops 7...d5 (8 exd5 cxd5 9 ♗b5+! ♗d7 10 ♗xf6). Black should avoid the passive center, 7...d6. See below.
7 ♗g5 ♕e7 8 ♗d3 ♕e5
Now 9 ♕d2? ♘xe4! 10 ♗xe4 ♗xc3 favors Black.
9 ♗d2 d5! 10 ♕e2 0-0
Now on 11 exd5, Black can choose between an equal endgame, 11...♕xe2+, and the ambitious 11...♖e8 12 ♕xe5 ♖xe5+ (and 11...♕d6!?/12...♖e8).
11 0-0-0 ♖b8 12 f4 ♕e7
Question 289: What happens after 12...♗xc3 ?
13 exd5??
On 13 e5 Black had 13...♗a3! (14 exf6 ♗xb2+). But White can fight on with 14 ♘b5! cxb5 15 exf6 ♕xf6.
13...♗a3!
Based on 14 ♕xe7 ♗xb2+ 15 ♔b1 ♗xc3+ 16 ♔c1 ♗b2+ 17 ♔b1 ♗a3+ 18 ♔a1 ♗xe7, pocketing a piece.
Note that 14 ♘b5 now fails (14...cxb5 15 bxa3 ♕xa3+ 16 ♔b1 ♗g4!).
14 ♘a4 ♗xb2+ 15 ♘xb2 ♕a3 16 ♕e5 ♖e8! 17 ♕d4 c5! 18 ♕c3 ♕xa2
There was no good defense to both 19...♕a1 mate and 19...♘xd5.
19 ♗e1?? ♖e2! 20 ♗xe2 ♘e4! White resigns.
Stefan Sievers White
Rolf Benz Black
Winterthur 1996
1 e4 e5 2 ♘f3 ♘f6 3 ♘c3 ♘c6 4 d4 exd4 5 ♘xd4 ♗c5 6 ♘xc6 bxc6 7 ♗g5! d6 8 ♗d3 ♗e6 9 0-0 ♕d7?! 10 ♘a4 ♗b6 11 ♘xb6 axb6 12 f4 ♗g4 13 ♕e1 ♘g8 14 e5 ♔f8 15 f5 dxe5 16 ♕b4+ resigns.