Are opening principles correct?

[Uri Blass]

[d]r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

This position from chess steps 2+

the question is what is best
Qe7+ Bxf3 or Nf6

the reply I thought and they thought is Nf6

stockfish does not agree and prefer Qe7+

FEN: r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

Stockfish_18120615_x64_modern:

28/47 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.84 1. ... Be6 2.Ng5 Bd7 3.0-0 Be7 4.Re1 Nf6 5.Bf4 0-0 6.Nf3 Nh5 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Nbd2 a5 9.h3 Bd6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Re8 12.Rxe8+ Bxe8 13.Nf1 Bd7 14.Qc2 Be6 15.Re1 a4 16.a3 Bf4 17.Qd1 Bd6 18.Bg3 Bxg3 19.Nxg3
28/33 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.73 1. ... Bd7 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Na3 Nge7 4.Nb5 Bf5 5.Bxf5 Nxf5 6.Nxd6+ Qxd6 7.Re1+ Nfe7 8.a4 0-0 9.b4 a6 10.Ra2 h6 11.Ba3 b5 12.Bc1 Ng6 13.Rae2 Qd7 14.axb5 axb5 15.Qd3 Rfb8 16.h3 Kh8 17.Kh1 Qd6
28/37 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.50 1. ... Qc8 2.0-0 Bd6 3.h3 Bf5 4.c4 dxc4 5.Bxc4 Nge7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Re1 Ng6 8.Ne4 Qd7 9.Nxd6 Qxd6 10.d5 Nb4 11.Nd4 Bd7 12.Qb3 c6 13.dxc6 Nxc6 14.Nb5 Qf6 15.Qg3 Rae8 16.Bg5 Rxe1+ 17.Rxe1 Qxb2 18.Nc7 Na5 19.Bd3
28/42 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.43 1. ... a6 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 0-0 6.Ng3 Bxg3 7.hxg3 Qd7 8.Qb3 b6 9.Qc2 Bf5 10.Bxf5 Nxf5 11.g4 Nd6 12.g5 hxg5 13.Nxg5 Qf5 14.Qxf5 Nxf5 15.Bf4 Nd6 16.Bxd6 cxd6 17.Nf3 Rfe8 18.a4 a5 19.b3
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.40 1. ... Be7 2.0-0 Nf6 3.Bf4 0-0 4.Re1 Bd6 5.Bxd6 Qxd6 6.Nbd2 Rae8 7.Qc2 Bxf3 8.Nxf3 a6 9.Qb3 Na5 10.Qa4 Nc6 11.g3 g6 12.Kg2 Kg7 13.a3 Qd7 14.Qc2 b5 15.a4 Rxe1 16.Rxe1
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.33 1. ... Nf6 2.0-0 Be7 3.h3 Bh5 4.Bf4 0-0 5.Nbd2 Bd6 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.Qc2 a5 8.Rfe1 Bg6 9.Bxg6 hxg6 10.Ne5 Rfe8 11.Ndf3 Ne4 12.Nd3 b6 13.Re3 g5 14.Rae1 f5 15.Nfe5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 f4 17.Rf3
28/43 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.30 1. ... h6 2.h3 Bh5 3.Nbd2 Qf6 4.0-0 Bd6 5.Qa4 Nge7 6.Ne5 Bxe5 7.dxe5 Qxe5 8.Nb3 Qf6 9.Bf4 d4 10.Bxc7 dxc3 11.bxc3 0-0 12.Be4 Bg6 13.Rfe1 Rac8 14.Bh2 Rfe8 15.Rad1 Qxc3 16.Qb5 Bxe4 17.Rxe4
28/44 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.29 1. ... Bh5 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 0-0 6.h3 Bg6 7.Nh4 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Qd7 9.Bd2 a6 10.Rad1 Nd8 11.Qf3 f5 12.Qe2 Re8 13.Nf3 Nf7 14.Qe6 Qxe6 15.Rxe6 Nc6 16.Rde1 Rxe6
28/43 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.27 1. ... Qe7+ 2.Be3 Qd7 3.h3 Bf5 4.0-0 Bd6 5.Bxf5 Qxf5 6.Re1 Nge7 7.b3 0-0 8.c4 b6 9.Nc3 Bb4 10.Rc1 Rfe8 11.Qe2 Rad8 12.Red1 Bxc3 13.Rxc3 dxc4 14.bxc4 h6 15.Qd2 Ng6 16.Qb2 Qf6 17.a3 Nh4
28/39 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.01 1. ... Qd7 2.Bf4 0-0-0 3.0-0 f6 4.Bg3 g5 5.h3 Bf5 6.Bxf5 Qxf5 7.b4 h5 8.h4 Bd6 9.Bxd6 Rxd6 10.Nbd2 Kb8 11.Re1 g4 12.Nh2 Nh6 13.Nhf1 Qd7 14.b5 Na5 15.Ng3 Qxb5 16.Nxh5
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k 0.00 1. ... Bd6 2.h3 Bh5 3.0-0 Nge7 4.Re1 f6 5.Na3 a6 6.Nc2 0-0 7.Ne3 Qd7 8.Bd2 Rae8 9.Rc1 Bf4 10.Nf1 Bd6
28/33 05:07 867,992k 2,819k 0.00 1. ... Qf6 2.Nbd2 Bd6 3.0-0 Nge7 4.h3 Bf5 5.Bxf5 Qxf5 6.Re1 Qd7 7.Nf1 0-0 8.Bd2 Ng6 9.a4 Nce7 10.Re2 Nf5 11.Qb3 c6 12.Rae1 Ngh4 13.Nxh4 Nxh4 14.Bg5 Nf5 15.Bd2 h6 16.g3 Ne7 17.Qc2 Rae8

[Uri Blass]

I gave it more time and stockfish insiste that Qe7 is a good move

Here is the analysis at depth 36:

Qe7+ is one of the top 4 moves with score of 0.00 when Nf6 with -0.42 pawns against black is only the 9th best move.


FEN: r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

Stockfish_18120615_x64_modern:


36/48 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k -0.80 1. ... Be6 2.0-0 Nf6 3.Re1 h6 4.Bf5 Qd7 5.Bxe6 fxe6 6.Qe2 Bd6 7.Qxe6+ Qxe6 8.Rxe6+ Kf7 9.Re1 g5 10.Be3 Rae8 11.Nbd2 Ne7 12.Ne5+ Kg7 13.f3 Nf5 14.Bf2 c5 15.g4 cxd4 16.cxd4 Ne7 17.Rac1 h5 18.h3 hxg4 19.hxg4 Ng6 20.Bg3 Nf4 21.Bxf4 gxf4 22.g5 Nh5 23.g6
36/53 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k -0.72 1. ... a5 2.h3 Bh5 3.0-0 Bd6 4.Re1+ Nge7 5.Na3 h6 6.Nb5 0-0 7.a4 Qd7 8.Nxd6 Qxd6 9.b3 Qf6 10.Ra2 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Qxf3 12.gxf3 Ng6 13.Kh2 Rae8 14.Re3 Rxe3 15.fxe3 f5 16.Kg3 Rf6 17.h4 h5 18.e4 Nce7 19.Bg5 f4+ 20.Kh3 Rb6 21.Rb2 Rd6 22.e5 Rb6 23.c4 Kf7 24.c5 Re6
36/49 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k -0.45 1. ... h6 2.0-0 Bd6 3.h3 Be6 4.Re1 Nge7 5.Nbd2 Qd7 6.Nb3 b6 7.Ne5 Bxe5 8.dxe5 0-0 9.Bf4 a5 10.Rc1 d4 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.cxd4 Rad8 13.Be3 c5 14.f4 cxd4 15.Bf2 Nd5 16.Qd2 Nb4 17.Be4 Bf5 18.a3 Bxe4 19.Rxe4 Nc6 20.Qd3 Qe6 21.Bg3 Rfe8 22.f5
36/47 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k -0.42 1. ... Nf6 2.0-0 Be7 3.Bf4 0-0 4.Nbd2 Bd6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Bxg3 8.hxg3 Qd6 9.Qc2 Kg7 10.b4 Bh5 11.Rae1 Rfe8 12.b5 Ne7 13.Ne5 c6 14.Re3 Ng4 15.Nxg4 Bxg4 16.Rfe1 Be6 17.bxc6 Nxc6 18.Nf3 b6 19.Qd2 Rac8 20.Qb2 Qc7 21.Nd2 g4
36/48 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k -0.37 1. ... Be7 2.0-0 Nf6 3.Bf4 0-0 4.Nbd2 Bd6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Bxg3 8.hxg3 Qd6 9.Qc2 Kg7 10.Rfe1 Rae8 11.Nf1 Bd7 12.a3 b6 13.b4 Ng4 14.a4 Rxe1 15.Rxe1 Ne7 16.N1h2 Nxh2 17.Kxh2 Ng6 18.Kg1 Re8 19.Rxe8 Bxe8 20.Nd2 Bd7 21.b5 c6
36/54 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k -0.23 1. ... a6 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 0-0 6.Ne3 Bh5 7.h3 Re8 8.Bd2 Qd7 9.a4 a5 10.Nf1 Rad8 11.Ng3 Bg6 12.Bb5 f6 13.Qb3 Kh7 14.Be3 Nf5 15.Nxf5 Qxf5 16.Qd1 Qc2 17.Qxc2 Bxc2 18.Re2 Bf5 19.Nd2 Bd7 20.Rae1 Kg8 21.Nf3 Kf7 22.Bd3
36/49 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k -0.22 1. ... Qc8 2.0-0 Bd6 3.a4 Nge7 4.Na3 a6 5.Nc2 0-0 6.Ne3 Bh5 7.Re1 f6 8.Bd2 Qd7 9.b4 f5 10.h3 f4 11.Nc2 Bg6 12.Qe2 Rae8 13.Bxg6 Nxg6 14.Qd3 Qf7 15.Rab1 Nd8 16.b5 axb5 17.Rxe8 Rxe8 18.axb5 c6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Qa6 Be7 21.Re1 Bf6 22.Qa8 Qd7 23.Rxe8+ Qxe8
36/48 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k -0.16 1. ... Bh5 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Na3 a6 5.Nc2 h6 6.Ne3 0-0 7.h3 Re8 8.Ng4 f5 9.Ne3 Qd7 10.Bd2 f4 11.Nf1 Rf8 12.N1h2 Bg6 13.Bxg6 Nxg6 14.Qc2 Qf7 15.Re2 Rfe8 16.Rae1 Rxe2 17.Rxe2 b5 18.Bc1 Re8 19.Qd3 Na5 20.b3 Nc6 21.a4 bxa4 22.bxa4
36/49 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k 0.00 1. ... Qe7+ 2.Be3 Qd7 3.h3 Bf5 4.Bxf5 Qxf5 5.0-0 Bd6 6.Na3 Bxa3 7.Qb3 Nge7 8.Qxa3 0-0 9.Rfe1 a6 10.Qb3 Na5 11.Qa3
36/50 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k 0.00 1. ... Bd6 2.0-0 Qd7 3.a4 Nge7 4.h3 Be6 5.Nbd2 Bxh3 6.gxh3 Qxh3 7.Re1 Qg4+ 8.Kf1 Qh3+
36/50 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k 0.00 1. ... Qd7 2.0-0 Bd6 3.a4 Nge7 4.Na3 a6 5.Nc2 f6 6.Re1 0-0 7.Ne3 Bh5 8.b4 Rfe8 9.h3 Bf4 10.Ba3 Bg6 11.b5 Na5 12.bxa6 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 bxa6 14.Bb4 Nac6 15.Bc5 Na5 16.Bb4
36/42 52:04 9,020,737k 2,887k 0.00 1. ... Qf6 2.Be2 Bd6 3.0-0 Nge7 4.Bg5 Qe6 5.Re1 f6 6.Be3 Qd7 7.Nbd2 0-0-0 8.h3 h5 9.hxg4 hxg4 10.Ng5 Bh2+ 11.Kf1 Bf4 12.Kg1

[BeyondCritics]

[d]r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

This position from chess steps 2+

the question is what is best
Qe7+ Bxf3 or Nf6

the reply I thought and they thought is Nf6

stockfish does not agree and prefer Qe7+

FEN: r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

Stockfish_18120615_x64_modern:

28/47 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.84 1. ... Be6 2.Ng5 Bd7 3.0-0 Be7 4.Re1 Nf6 5.Bf4 0-0 6.Nf3 Nh5 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Nbd2 a5 9.h3 Bd6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Re8 12.Rxe8+ Bxe8 13.Nf1 Bd7 14.Qc2 Be6 15.Re1 a4 16.a3 Bf4 17.Qd1 Bd6 18.Bg3 Bxg3 19.Nxg3
28/33 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.73 1. ... Bd7 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Na3 Nge7 4.Nb5 Bf5 5.Bxf5 Nxf5 6.Nxd6+ Qxd6 7.Re1+ Nfe7 8.a4 0-0 9.b4 a6 10.Ra2 h6 11.Ba3 b5 12.Bc1 Ng6 13.Rae2 Qd7 14.axb5 axb5 15.Qd3 Rfb8 16.h3 Kh8 17.Kh1 Qd6
28/37 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.50 1. ... Qc8 2.0-0 Bd6 3.h3 Bf5 4.c4 dxc4 5.Bxc4 Nge7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Re1 Ng6 8.Ne4 Qd7 9.Nxd6 Qxd6 10.d5 Nb4 11.Nd4 Bd7 12.Qb3 c6 13.dxc6 Nxc6 14.Nb5 Qf6 15.Qg3 Rae8 16.Bg5 Rxe1+ 17.Rxe1 Qxb2 18.Nc7 Na5 19.Bd3
28/42 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.43 1. ... a6 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 0-0 6.Ng3 Bxg3 7.hxg3 Qd7 8.Qb3 b6 9.Qc2 Bf5 10.Bxf5 Nxf5 11.g4 Nd6 12.g5 hxg5 13.Nxg5 Qf5 14.Qxf5 Nxf5 15.Bf4 Nd6 16.Bxd6 cxd6 17.Nf3 Rfe8 18.a4 a5 19.b3
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.40 1. ... Be7 2.0-0 Nf6 3.Bf4 0-0 4.Re1 Bd6 5.Bxd6 Qxd6 6.Nbd2 Rae8 7.Qc2 Bxf3 8.Nxf3 a6 9.Qb3 Na5 10.Qa4 Nc6 11.g3 g6 12.Kg2 Kg7 13.a3 Qd7 14.Qc2 b5 15.a4 Rxe1 16.Rxe1
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.33 1. ... Nf6 2.0-0 Be7 3.h3 Bh5 4.Bf4 0-0 5.Nbd2 Bd6 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.Qc2 a5 8.Rfe1 Bg6 9.Bxg6 hxg6 10.Ne5 Rfe8 11.Ndf3 Ne4 12.Nd3 b6 13.Re3 g5 14.Rae1 f5 15.Nfe5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 f4 17.Rf3
28/43 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.30 1. ... h6 2.h3 Bh5 3.Nbd2 Qf6 4.0-0 Bd6 5.Qa4 Nge7 6.Ne5 Bxe5 7.dxe5 Qxe5 8.Nb3 Qf6 9.Bf4 d4 10.Bxc7 dxc3 11.bxc3 0-0 12.Be4 Bg6 13.Rfe1 Rac8 14.Bh2 Rfe8 15.Rad1 Qxc3 16.Qb5 Bxe4 17.Rxe4
28/44 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.29 1. ... Bh5 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 0-0 6.h3 Bg6 7.Nh4 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Qd7 9.Bd2 a6 10.Rad1 Nd8 11.Qf3 f5 12.Qe2 Re8 13.Nf3 Nf7 14.Qe6 Qxe6 15.Rxe6 Nc6 16.Rde1 Rxe6
28/43 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.27 1. ... Qe7+ 2.Be3 Qd7 3.h3 Bf5 4.0-0 Bd6 5.Bxf5 Qxf5 6.Re1 Nge7 7.b3 0-0 8.c4 b6 9.Nc3 Bb4 10.Rc1 Rfe8 11.Qe2 Rad8 12.Red1 Bxc3 13.Rxc3 dxc4 14.bxc4 h6 15.Qd2 Ng6 16.Qb2 Qf6 17.a3 Nh4
28/39 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.01 1. ... Qd7 2.Bf4 0-0-0 3.0-0 f6 4.Bg3 g5 5.h3 Bf5 6.Bxf5 Qxf5 7.b4 h5 8.h4 Bd6 9.Bxd6 Rxd6 10.Nbd2 Kb8 11.Re1 g4 12.Nh2 Nh6 13.Nhf1 Qd7 14.b5 Na5 15.Ng3 Qxb5 16.Nxh5
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k 0.00 1. ... Bd6 2.h3 Bh5 3.0-0 Nge7 4.Re1 f6 5.Na3 a6 6.Nc2 0-0 7.Ne3 Qd7 8.Bd2 Rae8 9.Rc1 Bf4 10.Nf1 Bd6
28/33 05:07 867,992k 2,819k 0.00 1. ... Qf6 2.Nbd2 Bd6 3.0-0 Nge7 4.h3 Bf5 5.Bxf5 Qxf5 6.Re1 Qd7 7.Nf1 0-0 8.Bd2 Ng6 9.a4 Nce7 10.Re2 Nf5 11.Qb3 c6 12.Rae1 Ngh4 13.Nxh4 Nxh4 14.Bg5 Nf5 15.Bd2 h6 16.g3 Ne7 17.Qc2 Rae8

The question was: Which of the three moves is best? This is clearly 1...Nf6. Does that answer the question?

[Uri Blass]

[d]r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

This position from chess steps 2+

the question is what is best
Qe7+ Bxf3 or Nf6

the reply I thought and they thought is Nf6

stockfish does not agree and prefer Qe7+

FEN: r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

Stockfish_18120615_x64_modern:

28/47 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.84 1. ... Be6 2.Ng5 Bd7 3.0-0 Be7 4.Re1 Nf6 5.Bf4 0-0 6.Nf3 Nh5 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Nbd2 a5 9.h3 Bd6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Re8 12.Rxe8+ Bxe8 13.Nf1 Bd7 14.Qc2 Be6 15.Re1 a4 16.a3 Bf4 17.Qd1 Bd6 18.Bg3 Bxg3 19.Nxg3
28/33 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.73 1. ... Bd7 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Na3 Nge7 4.Nb5 Bf5 5.Bxf5 Nxf5 6.Nxd6+ Qxd6 7.Re1+ Nfe7 8.a4 0-0 9.b4 a6 10.Ra2 h6 11.Ba3 b5 12.Bc1 Ng6 13.Rae2 Qd7 14.axb5 axb5 15.Qd3 Rfb8 16.h3 Kh8 17.Kh1 Qd6
28/37 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.50 1. ... Qc8 2.0-0 Bd6 3.h3 Bf5 4.c4 dxc4 5.Bxc4 Nge7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Re1 Ng6 8.Ne4 Qd7 9.Nxd6 Qxd6 10.d5 Nb4 11.Nd4 Bd7 12.Qb3 c6 13.dxc6 Nxc6 14.Nb5 Qf6 15.Qg3 Rae8 16.Bg5 Rxe1+ 17.Rxe1 Qxb2 18.Nc7 Na5 19.Bd3
28/42 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.43 1. ... a6 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 0-0 6.Ng3 Bxg3 7.hxg3 Qd7 8.Qb3 b6 9.Qc2 Bf5 10.Bxf5 Nxf5 11.g4 Nd6 12.g5 hxg5 13.Nxg5 Qf5 14.Qxf5 Nxf5 15.Bf4 Nd6 16.Bxd6 cxd6 17.Nf3 Rfe8 18.a4 a5 19.b3
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.40 1. ... Be7 2.0-0 Nf6 3.Bf4 0-0 4.Re1 Bd6 5.Bxd6 Qxd6 6.Nbd2 Rae8 7.Qc2 Bxf3 8.Nxf3 a6 9.Qb3 Na5 10.Qa4 Nc6 11.g3 g6 12.Kg2 Kg7 13.a3 Qd7 14.Qc2 b5 15.a4 Rxe1 16.Rxe1
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.33 1. ... Nf6 2.0-0 Be7 3.h3 Bh5 4.Bf4 0-0 5.Nbd2 Bd6 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.Qc2 a5 8.Rfe1 Bg6 9.Bxg6 hxg6 10.Ne5 Rfe8 11.Ndf3 Ne4 12.Nd3 b6 13.Re3 g5 14.Rae1 f5 15.Nfe5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 f4 17.Rf3
28/43 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.30 1. ... h6 2.h3 Bh5 3.Nbd2 Qf6 4.0-0 Bd6 5.Qa4 Nge7 6.Ne5 Bxe5 7.dxe5 Qxe5 8.Nb3 Qf6 9.Bf4 d4 10.Bxc7 dxc3 11.bxc3 0-0 12.Be4 Bg6 13.Rfe1 Rac8 14.Bh2 Rfe8 15.Rad1 Qxc3 16.Qb5 Bxe4 17.Rxe4
28/44 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.29 1. ... Bh5 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 0-0 6.h3 Bg6 7.Nh4 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Qd7 9.Bd2 a6 10.Rad1 Nd8 11.Qf3 f5 12.Qe2 Re8 13.Nf3 Nf7 14.Qe6 Qxe6 15.Rxe6 Nc6 16.Rde1 Rxe6
28/43 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.27 1. ... Qe7+ 2.Be3 Qd7 3.h3 Bf5 4.0-0 Bd6 5.Bxf5 Qxf5 6.Re1 Nge7 7.b3 0-0 8.c4 b6 9.Nc3 Bb4 10.Rc1 Rfe8 11.Qe2 Rad8 12.Red1 Bxc3 13.Rxc3 dxc4 14.bxc4 h6 15.Qd2 Ng6 16.Qb2 Qf6 17.a3 Nh4
28/39 05:07 867,992k 2,819k -0.01 1. ... Qd7 2.Bf4 0-0-0 3.0-0 f6 4.Bg3 g5 5.h3 Bf5 6.Bxf5 Qxf5 7.b4 h5 8.h4 Bd6 9.Bxd6 Rxd6 10.Nbd2 Kb8 11.Re1 g4 12.Nh2 Nh6 13.Nhf1 Qd7 14.b5 Na5 15.Ng3 Qxb5 16.Nxh5
28/41 05:07 867,992k 2,819k 0.00 1. ... Bd6 2.h3 Bh5 3.0-0 Nge7 4.Re1 f6 5.Na3 a6 6.Nc2 0-0 7.Ne3 Qd7 8.Bd2 Rae8 9.Rc1 Bf4 10.Nf1 Bd6
28/33 05:07 867,992k 2,819k 0.00 1. ... Qf6 2.Nbd2 Bd6 3.0-0 Nge7 4.h3 Bf5 5.Bxf5 Qxf5 6.Re1 Qd7 7.Nf1 0-0 8.Bd2 Ng6 9.a4 Nce7 10.Re2 Nf5 11.Qb3 c6 12.Rae1 Ngh4 13.Nxh4 Nxh4 14.Bg5 Nf5 15.Bd2 h6 16.g3 Ne7 17.Qc2 Rae8

The question was: Which of the three moves is best? This is clearly 1...Nf6. Does that answer the question?

Yes but stockfish believes Qe7+ is better than Nf6

[BeyondCritics]

Even more funny: It believes, that it is advantagous to lure to bishop c1 to e3 and then playing Qd7. Really? I don't think so. Do you use "Contempt = Both"? If so, you might want to try to set "Contempt=Off". This gives more conservative play and more stable evaluations, i think.

[Uri Blass]

It believes Qe7+ is better than Qd7 even at depth 40 because it seems to believe e3 is bad for the bishop

The main line after Qd7 does not include Be3 but the plan 0-0 Re1 Nbd2 Nf1 Ne3

Here is the main lines at depth 40:Qf6 and Qe7 are considered to be best moves.
I used default contempt in the analysis


FEN: r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

Stockfish_18120615_x64_modern:

40/54 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.29 1. ... Nf6 2.0-0 Be7 3.Bf4 0-0 4.Nbd2 Bd6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Bxg3 8.hxg3 Qd6 9.b4 Bh5 10.Qc2 Kg7 11.b5 Ne7 12.Rfe1 c6 13.a4 Rae8 14.Ne5 Ng6 15.Ndf3 Ng4 16.Nxg4 Bxg4 17.Nd2 Bd7 18.Nb3 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 b6 20.bxc6 Bxc6 21.a5 Bd7 22.axb6 axb6 23.Nd2 Ne7 24.Qb3 Re8 25.Ra1
40/56 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.15 1. ... Qc8 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 Bf5 6.Ne3 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 Qd7 8.Bd2 Rae8 9.h3 h6 10.Re2 Bf4 11.Rae1 Ng6 12.Ng4 Bxd2 13.Qxd2 f6 14.Rxe8 Rxe8 15.Rxe8+ Qxe8 16.Qc2 Nce7 17.Ne3 Qd7 18.h4 h5 19.g3 Nf8 20.Kg2 c6 21.a3 b6 22.b3 Qe6 23.c4 Kf7 24.cxd5 Nxd5
40/59 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.09 1. ... Bh5 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 Qd7 6.b4 a6 7.Ne3 0-0 8.h3 f5 9.a4 f4 10.Ng4 Bxg4 11.hxg4 Qxg4 12.Qb3 Qh5 13.Ba3 g5 14.b5 axb5 15.Bxd6 cxd6 16.axb5 Rxa1 17.Rxa1 Nd8 18.Re1 Re8 19.Qa3 Nc8 20.Qa5 Rxe1+ 21.Nxe1 Qe8 22.Nc2 Qd7 23.Kf1 Ne7 24.Nb4 Kh8 25.b6 Qc8 26.Nxd5 Nxd5 27.Qxd5
40/57 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.09 1. ... Qd7 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 h6 6.Ne3 Be6 7.g3 Ng6 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 Rae8 10.Bd2 Rb8 11.c4 b5 12.Bxb5 axb5 13.cxd5 Bxd5 14.Nxd5 Rfd8 15.Rc1 Bxg3 16.Nf6+ gxf6 17.hxg3 Nxd4 18.Bxh6 Ne6 19.Qxd7 Rxd7 20.Rcd1 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Ne5 22.Nxe5 fxe5 23.Rd7 b4 24.Bd2 Kg7 25.Kg2 c5
40/58 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.04 1. ... Bd6 2.0-0 Qd7 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 h6 6.Ne3 Be6 7.g3 Ng6 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 Rfe8 10.Bd2 b5 11.Bc2 Nce7 12.a4 c6 13.Qe2 Bh3 14.Qd3 a5 15.axb5 cxb5 16.Qe2 a4 17.Qd3 Rab8 18.Kh1 Qb7 19.Qe2 Bd7 20.h4 Nf8 21.Ne5 Bxe5 22.dxe5
40/59 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k 0.00 1. ... Qe7+ 2.Be3 Qd7 3.h3 Bf5 4.Bxf5 Qxf5 5.0-0 Bd6 6.Na3 Bxa3 7.Qb3 Nge7 8.Qxa3 0-0 9.Rae1 Ng6 10.Qa4 h6 11.Re2 a6 12.Qd1 Rfe8 13.Rfe1 Re6 14.Nh2 Rae8 15.Nf1 Na5 16.Ng3 Qf6 17.b3 Nc6 18.c4 Rd8 19.Nh5 Qh4 20.Rd2 Qe7 21.Ng3 Qd7 22.a4 Kh7 23.Nf5 Nce7 24.Ng3
40/55 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k 0.00 1. ... Qf6 2.Nbd2 Qe6+ 3.Qe2 Qxe2+ 4.Bxe2 Bd6 5.0-0 Nf6 6.Nb3 0-0 7.h3 Rfe8 8.Be3 Bh5 9.Rfe1 h6 10.a4 a6 11.a5 g5 12.Nc5 Bxc5 13.dxc5 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Ne5 15.Be2 Kg7 16.g3 Nc6 17.h4 gxh4 18.gxh4 Rad8 19.Bf3 Ne5 20.Be2

[BeyondCritics]

It believes Qe7+ is better than Qd7 even at depth 40 because it seems to believe e3 is bad for the bishop

The main line after Qd7 does not include Be3 but the plan 0-0 Re1 Nbd2 Nf1 Ne3

Here is the main lines at depth 40:Qf6 and Qe7 are considered to be best moves.
I used default contempt in the analysis


FEN: r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

Stockfish_18120615_x64_modern:

40/54 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.29 1. ... Nf6 2.0-0 Be7 3.Bf4 0-0 4.Nbd2 Bd6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Bxg3 8.hxg3 Qd6 9.b4 Bh5 10.Qc2 Kg7 11.b5 Ne7 12.Rfe1 c6 13.a4 Rae8 14.Ne5 Ng6 15.Ndf3 Ng4 16.Nxg4 Bxg4 17.Nd2 Bd7 18.Nb3 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 b6 20.bxc6 Bxc6 21.a5 Bd7 22.axb6 axb6 23.Nd2 Ne7 24.Qb3 Re8 25.Ra1
40/56 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.15 1. ... Qc8 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 Bf5 6.Ne3 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 Qd7 8.Bd2 Rae8 9.h3 h6 10.Re2 Bf4 11.Rae1 Ng6 12.Ng4 Bxd2 13.Qxd2 f6 14.Rxe8 Rxe8 15.Rxe8+ Qxe8 16.Qc2 Nce7 17.Ne3 Qd7 18.h4 h5 19.g3 Nf8 20.Kg2 c6 21.a3 b6 22.b3 Qe6 23.c4 Kf7 24.cxd5 Nxd5
40/59 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.09 1. ... Bh5 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 Qd7 6.b4 a6 7.Ne3 0-0 8.h3 f5 9.a4 f4 10.Ng4 Bxg4 11.hxg4 Qxg4 12.Qb3 Qh5 13.Ba3 g5 14.b5 axb5 15.Bxd6 cxd6 16.axb5 Rxa1 17.Rxa1 Nd8 18.Re1 Re8 19.Qa3 Nc8 20.Qa5 Rxe1+ 21.Nxe1 Qe8 22.Nc2 Qd7 23.Kf1 Ne7 24.Nb4 Kh8 25.b6 Qc8 26.Nxd5 Nxd5 27.Qxd5
40/57 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.09 1. ... Qd7 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 h6 6.Ne3 Be6 7.g3 Ng6 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 Rae8 10.Bd2 Rb8 11.c4 b5 12.Bxb5 axb5 13.cxd5 Bxd5 14.Nxd5 Rfd8 15.Rc1 Bxg3 16.Nf6+ gxf6 17.hxg3 Nxd4 18.Bxh6 Ne6 19.Qxd7 Rxd7 20.Rcd1 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Ne5 22.Nxe5 fxe5 23.Rd7 b4 24.Bd2 Kg7 25.Kg2 c5
40/58 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.04 1. ... Bd6 2.0-0 Qd7 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 h6 6.Ne3 Be6 7.g3 Ng6 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 Rfe8 10.Bd2 b5 11.Bc2 Nce7 12.a4 c6 13.Qe2 Bh3 14.Qd3 a5 15.axb5 cxb5 16.Qe2 a4 17.Qd3 Rab8 18.Kh1 Qb7 19.Qe2 Bd7 20.h4 Nf8 21.Ne5 Bxe5 22.dxe5
40/59 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k 0.00 1. ... Qe7+ 2.Be3 Qd7 3.h3 Bf5 4.Bxf5 Qxf5 5.0-0 Bd6 6.Na3 Bxa3 7.Qb3 Nge7 8.Qxa3 0-0 9.Rae1 Ng6 10.Qa4 h6 11.Re2 a6 12.Qd1 Rfe8 13.Rfe1 Re6 14.Nh2 Rae8 15.Nf1 Na5 16.Ng3 Qf6 17.b3 Nc6 18.c4 Rd8 19.Nh5 Qh4 20.Rd2 Qe7 21.Ng3 Qd7 22.a4 Kh7 23.Nf5 Nce7 24.Ng3
40/55 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k 0.00 1. ... Qf6 2.Nbd2 Qe6+ 3.Qe2 Qxe2+ 4.Bxe2 Bd6 5.0-0 Nf6 6.Nb3 0-0 7.h3 Rfe8 8.Be3 Bh5 9.Rfe1 h6 10.a4 a6 11.a5 g5 12.Nc5 Bxc5 13.dxc5 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Ne5 15.Be2 Kg7 16.g3 Nc6 17.h4 gxh4 18.gxh4 Rad8 19.Bf3 Ne5 20.Be2

First of all, it does believe 1...Nf6 and 1...Qc8(??!) are the best moves and now it does believe that 1...Qd7 is a tad better than 1..Qe7+. Please clarify.
Second, it got even more weird: Now 1...Qc8 is better than 1...Qd7!??.
I have used Contempt too, but results were never that strange for me. Now i would definitely try "Contempt=Off", to see what happens...

[Uri Blass]

It believes Qe7+ is better than Qd7 even at depth 40 because it seems to believe e3 is bad for the bishop

The main line after Qd7 does not include Be3 but the plan 0-0 Re1 Nbd2 Nf1 Ne3

Here is the main lines at depth 40:Qf6 and Qe7 are considered to be best moves.
I used default contempt in the analysis


FEN: r2qkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/3P2b1/2PB1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 1

Stockfish_18120615_x64_modern:

40/54 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.29 1. ... Nf6 2.0-0 Be7 3.Bf4 0-0 4.Nbd2 Bd6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Bxg3 8.hxg3 Qd6 9.b4 Bh5 10.Qc2 Kg7 11.b5 Ne7 12.Rfe1 c6 13.a4 Rae8 14.Ne5 Ng6 15.Ndf3 Ng4 16.Nxg4 Bxg4 17.Nd2 Bd7 18.Nb3 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 b6 20.bxc6 Bxc6 21.a5 Bd7 22.axb6 axb6 23.Nd2 Ne7 24.Qb3 Re8 25.Ra1
40/56 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.15 1. ... Qc8 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 Bf5 6.Ne3 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 Qd7 8.Bd2 Rae8 9.h3 h6 10.Re2 Bf4 11.Rae1 Ng6 12.Ng4 Bxd2 13.Qxd2 f6 14.Rxe8 Rxe8 15.Rxe8+ Qxe8 16.Qc2 Nce7 17.Ne3 Qd7 18.h4 h5 19.g3 Nf8 20.Kg2 c6 21.a3 b6 22.b3 Qe6 23.c4 Kf7 24.cxd5 Nxd5
40/59 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.09 1. ... Bh5 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Nf1 Qd7 6.b4 a6 7.Ne3 0-0 8.h3 f5 9.a4 f4 10.Ng4 Bxg4 11.hxg4 Qxg4 12.Qb3 Qh5 13.Ba3 g5 14.b5 axb5 15.Bxd6 cxd6 16.axb5 Rxa1 17.Rxa1 Nd8 18.Re1 Re8 19.Qa3 Nc8 20.Qa5 Rxe1+ 21.Nxe1 Qe8 22.Nc2 Qd7 23.Kf1 Ne7 24.Nb4 Kh8 25.b6 Qc8 26.Nxd5 Nxd5 27.Qxd5
40/57 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.09 1. ... Qd7 2.0-0 Bd6 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 h6 6.Ne3 Be6 7.g3 Ng6 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 Rae8 10.Bd2 Rb8 11.c4 b5 12.Bxb5 axb5 13.cxd5 Bxd5 14.Nxd5 Rfd8 15.Rc1 Bxg3 16.Nf6+ gxf6 17.hxg3 Nxd4 18.Bxh6 Ne6 19.Qxd7 Rxd7 20.Rcd1 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Ne5 22.Nxe5 fxe5 23.Rd7 b4 24.Bd2 Kg7 25.Kg2 c5
40/58 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k -0.04 1. ... Bd6 2.0-0 Qd7 3.Re1+ Nge7 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.Nf1 h6 6.Ne3 Be6 7.g3 Ng6 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 Rfe8 10.Bd2 b5 11.Bc2 Nce7 12.a4 c6 13.Qe2 Bh3 14.Qd3 a5 15.axb5 cxb5 16.Qe2 a4 17.Qd3 Rab8 18.Kh1 Qb7 19.Qe2 Bd7 20.h4 Nf8 21.Ne5 Bxe5 22.dxe5
40/59 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k 0.00 1. ... Qe7+ 2.Be3 Qd7 3.h3 Bf5 4.Bxf5 Qxf5 5.0-0 Bd6 6.Na3 Bxa3 7.Qb3 Nge7 8.Qxa3 0-0 9.Rae1 Ng6 10.Qa4 h6 11.Re2 a6 12.Qd1 Rfe8 13.Rfe1 Re6 14.Nh2 Rae8 15.Nf1 Na5 16.Ng3 Qf6 17.b3 Nc6 18.c4 Rd8 19.Nh5 Qh4 20.Rd2 Qe7 21.Ng3 Qd7 22.a4 Kh7 23.Nf5 Nce7 24.Ng3
40/55 2:20:21 24,633,110k 2,925k 0.00 1. ... Qf6 2.Nbd2 Qe6+ 3.Qe2 Qxe2+ 4.Bxe2 Bd6 5.0-0 Nf6 6.Nb3 0-0 7.h3 Rfe8 8.Be3 Bh5 9.Rfe1 h6 10.a4 a6 11.a5 g5 12.Nc5 Bxc5 13.dxc5 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Ne5 15.Be2 Kg7 16.g3 Nc6 17.h4 gxh4 18.gxh4 Rad8 19.Bf3 Ne5 20.Be2

First of all, it does believe 1...Nf6 and 1...Qc8(??!) are the best moves and now it does believe that 1...Qd7 is a tad better than 1..Qe7+. Please clarify.
Second, it got even more weird: Now 1...Qc8 is better than 1...Qd7!??.
I have used Contempt too, but results were never that strange for me. Now i would definitely try "Contempt=Off", to see what happens...

You do not understand the output of arena.

I copied it from arena gui that I use and it show the best move last when I use copy and paste.
evaluation is not from white point of view but from the side to move so Qf6 and Qe7 mean equal position and rest of the moves are advantage for white.

Note that in the screen the order that I see is different

[Colin-G]

You do not understand the output of arena.

I copied it from arena gui that I use and it show the best move last when I use copy and paste.
evaluation is not from white point of view but from the side to move so Qf6 and Qe7 mean equal position and rest of the moves are advantage for white.

Note that in the screen the order that I see is different

In Arena on my computers I have the "Values always from White's point of view" box ticked.
This setting is in Options >> Appearance Settings >> Chess Tab.
This produces the normal evaluation output that most people use.
i.e. plus scores mean White is winning.

[zullil]

I have used Contempt too, but results were never that strange for me. Now i would definitely try "Contempt=Off", to see what happens...

Stockfish-dev with Analysis Contempt = Off, Threads = 20, Hash = 32768, MultiPV = 3:

info depth 40 seldepth 55 multipv 1 score cp -3 nodes 36738335623 nps 26830227 hashfull 999 tbhits 0 time 1369289 pv d8f6 d3e2 f8d6 e1g1 g8e7 f1e1 h7h6 b1d2 g4e6 g2g3 e8g8 d2f1 c6b8 f1e3 c7c5 e3g2 b8c6 c1f4 d6f4 g2f4 e7g6 f4g2 b7b6 g2e3 g6e7 g1g2 c5c4 b2b3 b6b5 a2a4 a7a6 b3b4 f8e8 d1d2 e7f5 e3g4 f6d8 g4e5 f5e7 e5c6 e7c6 a4b5 a6b5 a1a8

info depth 40 seldepth 55 multipv 2 score cp -22 nodes 36738335623 nps 26830227 hashfull 999 tbhits 0 time 1369289 pv f8d6 h2h3 g4h5 e1g1 g8e7 f1e1 f7f6 b1a3 a7a6 a3c2 e8g8 b2b3 d8d7 c3c4 b7b6 a2a3 a6a5 c1e3 a5a4 b3a4 d5c4 d3c4 h5f7 c4b5 f7b3 d4d5 d7f5 f3d4 c6d4 c2d4 b3d1 d4f5 e7f5 a1d1 f5e3 e1e3 g7g6 b5c6 a8d8 e3b3 g8g7 d1e1 f6f5 a4a5 b6a5 b3b5 a5a4 b5b7 d6a3 c6a4

info depth 40 seldepth 63 multipv 3 score cp -22 nodes 36738335623 nps 26830227 hashfull 999 tbhits 0 time 1369289 pv d8d7 e1g1 f8d6 b2b4 a7a6 f1e1 g8e7 b1d2 e8g8 d2b3 e7g6 h2h3 g4f5 d3f1 a8e8 c1e3 d7c8 a2a4 c6b8 b3c5 b8d7 d1b3 d7f6 e3g5 f6e4 b3d5 e4c3 d5b7 c8b7 c5b7 d6b4 e1e8 f8e8 g5d2 f5e4 a1e1 e8e7 b7c5 b4c5 d2c3 e4f3 d4c5 e7e1 c3e1 f3c6 f1a6 c6a4

So far, Stockfish-dev prefers Qf6, with an advantage for White of just 3 centipawns.