SenseiDanya (1751) vs willforgetthis (1502)

1700Episode 15 · 1-0

During the gameIn the review

  1. King's Gambit Accepted: Fischer Defense, 4.d4 g5
  2. 1.e4 e5
  3. 2. f4 Why the King's Gambit faded, unrefuted Opening It is a rematch, and since so many people have asked for it, the King's Gambit. He has never played it as his main opening and warns not to expect top-level theory. The review starts with its history: the gambit is about as old as chess in Europe, and the first recorded game with it was played by Ruy Lopez in Rome in 1560. What impresses him is that the move is not intuitive at all - the knight to f3 is, and this one loosens White's own king. Playing it took nerve. Greco later worked out much of its analysis, and in Morphy's day it was the most popular opening there was. It faded in the first half of the twentieth century as people found how many ways Black has to meet it. Computers have not refuted it and Black is not winning, but Black can get a comfortable game and take the sting out of it, which is what took the fun away.
  4. 2...exf4
  5. 3. Nf3 Knight first, to stop the queen check Opening The first misconception: White does not push d4 here. That runs into a nasty queen check on h4, and blocking with g3 fails because the f-pawn takes, so the king has to come out. Not the only move, but the most respected one, because it stops the check.
  6. 3...d6 4.d4 g5
  7. 5. Bc4 The rules of a gambit Opening Develop fast - that is a rule of gambits. The push h4 is apparently the theoretical move, but he wants to play it in a more romantic style. The rules for gambits, as he gives them: develop quickly and actively, and never be afraid to give up more material. Sacrificing a pawn is close to signing a contract to play for the initiative, and being stingy with the rest of your material afterwards would be hypocritical. The bishop aims at the pawn, and White has two pieces out to none. Viewers spot h4, a very typical move that undermines the base of the chain to soften up the f-pawn. He keeps it in his pocket. In the review: the bishop move is actually rare, and h4 is the main line - with the knight going back home after g4. The f-pawn has been softened so much that the knight can afford to undevelop, and taking that pawn later justifies it. Out of book, he chose a natural developing move, and the computer has no objection.
  8. 5... Be6 The gambit he had ready Opening Had the pawn advanced to g4, he was ready for a very interesting gambit. He does not know this move and thinks he can see why it is inaccurate. The review spells out the gambit he had in mind: leave the knight to be taken and castle, a version of the Muzio. The spirit of it is sound - count White's developed pieces and look at Black's king - and in practice it is very hard to meet without knowing the theory. Instead this was Black's first serious mistake. And it is where the recap starts: this is the move that made the defence so hard.
  9. 6. Bxe6 A gambit is not allergic to trades Strategy Whether to trade is a real decision, and he asks gambit players to listen. A common mistake is to become allergic to trades, as if every exchange must favour the side with the extra pawn, and so to retreat the bishop or push d5. That is not true. A queen trade might hurt, but a single minor-piece trade does not drain a gambit of its force. Here it is the opposite: Black has to recapture with a pawn, which weakens his king badly and opens the diagonal. Followed up properly, it is clearly good for White.
  10. 6...fxe6
  11. 7. h4 An undefended pawn makes a double attack Tactics The move already mentioned, and now it is very strong. Notice that e6 is undefended, which means a double attack is possible: if the g-pawn advances, the knight jumps to g5 and hits e6 as well. Three pawns attacked - f4, g4 and e6 - and Black's position falls apart right away.
  12. 7...Bh6
  13. 8. Nxg5 A weakened diagonal: move the knight, then the queen Tactics Taking on g5 with the pawn is the obvious move - it breaks the chain and puts the bishop on an awkward square - but not the best one. The cute alternative is the knight capture, and if the bishop takes, the queen check on h5 comes in between. How to see it: once you have noticed the weakened diagonal, you should automatically be looking for a good way to move the knight off f3 and put the queen on h5. After the recapture on e6, that should come as no surprise.
  14. 8...Bxg5 9.Qh5+ Kf8 10.hxg5 e5
  15. 11. dxe5 Exchange first so the push comes with a threat Strategy First take on e5, because opening the position clearly favours White, and after the recapture that pawn on e5 will be undefended. The review explains why the exchange had to come first: pushing the g-pawn straight away would have opened the queen's line to e5 while d6 still guarded it, so there would be nothing to threaten.
  16. 11...dxe5
  17. 12. g6 One push, three jobs Attack Now the push, and it does several things: it opens the queen's attack on e5, hits h7 and loosens Black's kingside further. The knight to c3 or the bishop to a3 were alternatives, but the move was too tempting to resist. Black might survive with very accurate play, but positions like this are very hard to defend - which is exactly why the King's Gambit is fun, and hard to face off the cuff.
  18. 12...Nc6
  19. 13. Qxh7 Give the queen to promote the pawn Tactics Lots of players would grab on h7 at once, which is less good than it looks. With a pawn on g6, at least a small part of your brain should be thinking that it is close to promoting. A queen check on f5 can be blocked by the queen on f6. Only the rook on h8 stops the pawn. So the queen is sacrificed on h7, which is a more common idea than people realise. Either the rook is lost, or it takes the queen and the pawn recaptures and promotion cannot be stopped - the point is to queen, not to win the knight. It works because Black is so badly developed that he cannot stop a single pawn even in the middlegame. In the review he calls it a typical technique across many openings, and shows a game from 1996 in a Najdorf, a completely different opening, where a g-pawn sacrifice and the same queen capture on h7 decide it: the lone pawn cannot be stopped by Black's pieces, which are all on the queenside.
  20. 13...Rxh7 14.gxh7
  21. 14... Qd4 Material won means defending precisely General A very good move. This is what often happens after winning material: now White has to defend, and very accurately, because with the queen gone his own king is under assault. The review compliments the defence - this was Black's best option.
  22. 15. Nc3 Know when you are not in a hurry General The obvious move is to promote, but there is no hurry: Black still cannot stop the pawn. So it may be worth spending a tempo first to defend e4, and the knight does it. If the rook comes to d8, it threatens nothing. White's pieces look passive but control every important square. Do not panic, and recognise when you are not in a hurry - sometimes there is time for a quiet move like this.
  23. 15...Nb4
  24. 16. h8=Q The pawn that cannot be defended and need not be Tactics The knight attacks c2 and it is tempting to panic, because c2 cannot be defended. It does not need to be. Promote; if the knight takes with check, the king steps to e2, and once the knight has taken the rook it is finally White's turn. Black's king is then at the mercy of the queen and rook, with his pieces scattered and the rook not developed. The rook on a1 is sacrificed for the greater good. Then the rook goes to h7, threatening the queen on g7, and he does not think that can be stopped.
  25. 16...Nxc2+ 17.Ke2 Nxa1
  26. 18. Rh7 The unsung bishop on c1 Piece play There are several good moves. The queens face each other, so taking on f4 with the bishop and bringing it to h6 is also devastating. But first he checks that the checks run out, and they do: the king can walk away from them. The knight on a1 is out of the game, which matters. And the bishop on c1 is the unsung hero, covering e3 so the queen cannot check there. Asked about the bishop capture in the review, he says it was possible too, but the queen check on c4 lets Black take the bishop afterwards. Still winning, but his choice was crisper.
  27. 18...Qc4+
  28. 19. Kf2 Escape the checks towards a target square Endgame Now the king zigzags out of the checks, heading for g1 and if necessary h2. A useful technique: people facing a string of checks get overwhelmed, when what they need is a target square or area to escape to. Decide where the king should end up - here, h2, sheltered behind the g-pawn - and then chart a course there. He says it is especially useful in queen endings.
  29. 19...Qd4+ 20.Kf1 Qd3+ 21.Kg1 Qg3
  30. 22. Ne2 Stop the perpetual from the other end, with tempo Attack A perpetual can be stopped from either end of it, and here the end can be covered with tempo. Not the rook back to h3, which viewers suggest: the rook is a key attacker, and after it retreats the queen comes to g7 and the attack is gone. The knight needs a job. It attacks the queen, which has to stay on the g-file, and now the minor pieces tip the balance: the queen and rook keep Black paralysed, the knight and bishop will finish it. Black's queen is wearing too many hats and protecting too many squares, so something is going to be sacrificed on f4. The review calls this the key move - without it the win would not be easy.
  31. 22...Qg5
  32. 23. Nxf4 Two sacrifices on one square, in the right order Attack With the queen pinned by the bishop, giving something up on f4 is in the air. The idea is that as soon as Black's queen stops watching g7 it is mate, so she has to be dragged off g5, and only the bishop and knight are free to do it. Both captures on f4 are fine, he thinks, but one is more accurate - and why not sacrifice both? Take with the bishop first, and the knight's recapture threatens a fork on e6, which the rook can stop from e8. Take with the knight first, and the bishop's recapture hits the queen directly, keeping her on the g-file; when she leaves it, the bishop to h6 finishes things. Bishops are generally great attackers. In the review: the bishop-first order still wins, but not simply; this one is crushing because of the bishop coming to h6.
  33. 23...exf4 24.Bxf4 Qxf4 25.Qg7+ Ke8 26.Qxg8+ Qf8 27.Qe6+ Qe7 28.Rh8#
  34. Black was checkmated
End of episode 15 · 1-0 ← 14. vs Balzdeep802 (2044)All games at 170016. vs ChessNinja012 (1445) →