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Sometimes, chess does not go your way. Losing streaks are a feature of chess. However, there is always light at the end of the tunnel! This game was at the end of 9 consecutive losses, but this only made this glorious victory with a brilliancy, all the sweeter!

The game began in a very prosaic way. As I play the Two Knights Defense with Black against the Italian Game, White can potentially drag me into the Giuoco Pianissimo, the “very quiet” game (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. Nc3 Bc5). In this position, I simply don’t have a better move and White’s position is completely solid. There’s nothing wrong with (5… Bc5) and entering the Four Knights Italian Variation of the Giuoco Pianissimo, other than the fact that I don’t like playing these lines! 😅

White short castles the next move, which makes sense. The most accurate move for Black in the position is a symmetrical short castle as well. However, I chose to not commit my king and played (6… d6) instead. Stockfish thinks that short castling is slightly more accurate, but d6 has an advantage that I like. Simply, I like to shake things up, if possible, in the middlegame and it’s potentially more exciting to attack White’s king by castling the opposite side, or even just keeping the king in the centre!

We see this play out! On move 8, White starts an attack with (8. Nd5). The boring but accurate response would be to trade knights (8… Nxd5). However, I didn’t want to! After thinking for a minute, I decided to make an attack of my own with (8… Ng4)! Now, the engine thinks that this goes nowhere as after (9. h3), the knight will be forced back to it’s starting square of f6. But we don’t have to!

Even though the engine disapproves rating it a mistake [+2.6], we can play (9… h5!?), a fishing pole trap! White is still ahead, but capturing the seemingly hanging knight with their h-pawn is a mistake as the h-file will fully open, which is dangerous with Black’s rook still controlling that file! This is an advantage with not castling that side!

White ignores my knight and presses their second knight into the attack (10. Ng5). This seems to work (11. Nf7? Kxf7 12. Nxc7+ Ke7 13. Nxa8) as White makes use of a discovered check, and then an absolute fork to win a rook and pawn for one of their knights. However, my intuition was that this was probably a mistake for White, and this bourn out in the analysis – despite White being up three points of material, the evaluation was only [+0.3]!

Why? White traded away one of their knights and their second knight was stuck on a8. That’s two active pieces! My a8-rook, however, had yet to be activated, and wasn’t contributing yet to the game. Although my king was forced to move, it was nonetheless completely safe in the centre, behind a pyramid of pawns on dark squares.

White, flush with the sense of success in winning material, now gobbled my “hanging” knight (14. hxg4?! hxg4) and was now up 5 points of material at the end of the turn. However, the evaluation was shifted even further away [+0.3 → -0.3]!

At this point, I saw a beautiful, deadly, murderous tactic down the fully opened h-file! 😈 The principal idea was to sacrifice my rook to draw White’s king onto the h-file and to clear the way for my queen to access the h-file. With my dark square bishop pinning White’s f2-pawn to the king, pushing my g-pawn to g3 is potentially unstoppable, and would support a lovely checkmate! As a chess assassin this was delicious assassination!

White didn’t see this tactic and struck their pawn down the b-file to open the a-file and defend their trapped knight. This doomed their king! I didn’t play the tactic in the most expedient way, as I didn’t recognise how powerful it was (I could have immediately sacrificed the rook for an 8-move forced checkmate!), but launched it a couple of moves later! I was very gratified to see that the rook sacrifice was rated a brilliancy by the chess.com analytic engine (17… Rh1+!!), and I won a couple of moves later with checkmate (19. Qh2#) down 13 points of material! Glorious!

The big takeaway from this game is to keep an eye out for this “fishing pole” tactic down the h-file – both using it against your opponent or it being used against you!

Game: https://www.chess.com/game/live/111290462815

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2024.06.05"]
[Round "-"]
[White "roodee7"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[CurrentPosition "N7/bp1bk1p1/2Pp1p2/p3p3/2B1P3/P2P2p1/2P2PPq/R1BQ1RK1 w - -"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C50"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Giuoco-Piano-Game-Giuoco-Pianissimo-Italian-Four-Knights-Variation-5...h6"]
[UTCDate "2024.06.05"]
[UTCTime "01:41:29"]
[WhiteElo "1159"]
[BlackElo "1257"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]
[Termination "vitualis won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "01:41:29"]
[EndDate "2024.06.05"]
[EndTime "01:48:38"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/111290462815"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/70368010.71a375c7.50x50o.17d0ac3ba514.jpeg"]
[WhiteCountry "70"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 {[%clk 0:15:06.3]} 1... e5 {[%clk 0:15:08.2]} 2. Nf3 {[%clk 0:15:11.5]}
2... Nc6 {[%clk 0:15:16.6]} 3. Bc4 {[%clk 0:15:18.9]} 3... Nf6 {[%clk 0:15:24]}
4. d3 {[%clk 0:15:26.6]} 4... h6 {[%clk 0:15:31.9]} 5. Nc3 {[%clk 0:15:33.6]}
5... Bc5 {[%clk 0:15:37.7] Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation. As
I usually go for the Two Knights Defense against the Italian, the consequence is
that White can drag me into this line of the Giuoco Pianissimo as they are
completely solid, and I don't really have a better choice... 😒 There is nothing
wrong with the position, other than that I don't really like this line. [+0.1]}
6. O-O {[%clk 0:15:38.4]} 6... d6 {[%clk 0:15:46.8] White plays entirely as
expected. According to the engine, the most accurate move here by a very slim
margin is for Black to also castle short. However, I chose to not commit and
played d6. To shake things up in the middlegame, I wanted to attack White's
king, and keep my king either in the centre or maybe castle queenside.} 7. a3
{[%clk 0:15:40.9]} 7... a5 {[%clk 0:15:38.1] Prevents b4, and, opens an escape
square for my dark square bishop on a7. Note, with White's king short-castled,
their f-pawn is pinned to the king...} 8. Nd5 {[%clk 0:15:42.5]} 8... Ng4 {[%clk
0:14:22.7][%c_arrow
f6d5;keyPressed;none;from;f6;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false] In this position,
trading knights is the most accurate move. I thought about this for over a
minute, but decided to counter White's aggressive posturing with a counterattack
of my own $1 Ng4 is arguably inaccurate [+0.4], but I just had a feeling $1 As I had
yet to castle, sacrificing my knight to damage White's kingside pawns is a
tactic $1} 9. h3 {[%clk 0:15:34.1]} 9... h5 $5 {[%clk 0:14:27.5][%c_effect
h5;square;h5;type;Interesting;persistent;true][%c_arrow
g4f6;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f6;persistent;false] The engine would
suggest that losing tempo and retreating the knight is best. However, I would
have never played Ng4 in the first place if I were willing to pull back at the
first threat $1 Instead, I played a speculative but tricky move in this position
with h5 - a \"fishing pole\" tactic, daring White to take my knight, but then
suffer a fully open h-file controlled by my h8-rook $1 [+2.6]} 10. Ng5 {[%clk
0:15:38.6] White brings another attacker into my territory $1} 10... f6 {[%clk
0:14:01.9]} 11. Nf7 $2 {[%clk 0:15:34.5][%c_arrow
g5f3;keyPressed;none;from;g5;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false][%c_effect
f7;square;f7;type;Mistake;persistent;true] And they double down - but this is a
mistake $1} 11... Kxf7 {[%clk 0:14:03.2]} 12. Nxc7+ {[%clk 0:15:40.8]} 12... Ke7
{[%clk 0:13:53.3]} 13. Nxa8 {[%clk 0:15:43.1] They may win a pawn and rook, and
my king losing the right to castle, but they've lost one knight, and the second
one is trapped. In essence, White has lost two of their most active pieces while
my king is safe in the centre behind the pawn pyramid. [+0.3]} 13... Bd7 {[%clk
0:13:35]} 14. hxg4 $6 {[%clk 0:15:26.4][%c_effect
g4;square;g4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true]} 14... hxg4 {[%clk 0:13:41.6] And
here, White's material greed is their undoing, accepting the fishing pole trap $1
They'd probably thought that the material superiority was worth it as they are
up 5 points of material. However, the position has gone from [+0.3 $37 -0.3] $1} 15.
b4 $4 {[%clk 0:15:24.9][%c_effect
b4;square;b4;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_highlight
b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false] This move makes sense
- White was trying to open the a-file to defend their knight. However, it's a
blunder [-M8] $1 In this position, I saw a beautiful tactic - an assassination
plan that involved sacrificing the rook $1 At this point in the game, I hadn't
fully calculated it out, and thought that I needed to keep the dark square
bishop to pin White's f-pawn. Actually, I could sac the rook immediately $1} 15...
Ba7 $2 {[%clk 0:13:05.7][%c_effect
a7;square;a7;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
h8h1;keyPressed;none;from;h8;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false] Pulling the bishop
back, and holding the pin $1 This is ostensibly a mistake as I had the [-M8], but
the tactic remains alive.} (15... Rh1+ $3 {[%c_effect
h1;square;h1;type;Brilliant;persistent;true][%c_highlight
h1;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false,g1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g1;persistent;false][%c_arrow
h1g1;keyPressed;none;from;h1;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false] The beginning
of a beautiful checkmate line $1} 16. Kxh1 Qh8+ {[%c_arrow
h8h1;keyPressed;none;from;h8;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false]} 17. Bh6 {White can
delay mate by a turn by blocking the check...} 17... Qxh6+ {[%c_arrow
h6h1;keyPressed;none;from;h6;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false]} 18. Kg1 g3
{[%c_arrow
c5f2;keyPressed;none;from;c5;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false,g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,h6h1;keyPressed;none;from;h6;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false,f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false,h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false]
Note: White's f-pawn is pinned $1} 19. Qh5 {[%c_arrow
c5f2;keyPressed;none;from;c5;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false,h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false]
Delay mate by a turn...} 19... Qxh5 {[%c_arrow
g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,c5f2;keyPressed;none;from;c5;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,h5h1;keyPressed;none;from;h5;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false,g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false,h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false,h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false]}
20. Rfb1 {[%c_arrow
c5f2;keyPressed;none;from;c5;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false,h5h1;keyPressed;none;from;h5;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false,h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false,h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false]
King is given a brief reprieve with an escape square on f1} 20... Bxf2+
{[%c_arrow
g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,h5h1;keyPressed;none;from;h5;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false,g1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g1;persistent;false,h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false,h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false]}
21. Kf1 {[%c_arrow
f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,f2e1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g1;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false,f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false]}
21... Nd4 {[%c_arrow
g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,f2e1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,d4e2;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;e2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false,g1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g1;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false,e2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e2;persistent;false]}
22. c3 {[%c_arrow
g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,f2e1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,d4e2;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;e2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false,g1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g1;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false,e2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e2;persistent;false]}
22... Qh1# {[%c_arrow
g3f2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,h1e1;keyPressed;none;from;h1;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,d4e2;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;e2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false,f1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f1;persistent;false,g1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g1;persistent;false,e2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e2;persistent;false]
GG $1}) 16. b5 $4 {[%clk 0:15:29.7][%c_effect
b5;square;b5;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_highlight
b5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b5;persistent;false,e3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e3;persistent;false][%c_arrow
c1e3;keyPressed;none;from;c1;opacity;0.8;to;e3;persistent;false] [-M8]} 16... g3
{[%clk 0:13:10.6][%c_arrow
g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false,a7f2;keyPressed;none;from;a7;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false,f2g1;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false,f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false]
Sacrifice the knight $1 g3 controls the h2 square and White cannot capture the
g-pawn as their f-pawn is still pinned $1 Although this sequence wasn't quite as
elegant, it still gets the job done $1 [-M8]} 17. bxc6 {[%clk 0:15:30.5][%c_arrow
g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false]} 17... Rh1+ $3 {[%clk
0:13:16.7][%c_effect h1;square;h1;type;Brilliant;persistent;true][%c_highlight
h1;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false,g1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g1;persistent;false,h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false][%c_arrow
h1g1;keyPressed;none;from;h1;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false,g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false]
White undoubtedly thought that they were crushing the game up to this point $1 😅
ROOK SACRIFICE $3} 18. Kxh1 {[%clk 0:15:37.1][%c_arrow
g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false]} 18... Qh8+ $1 {[%clk
0:13:25.5][%c_effect h8;square;h8;type;GreatFind;persistent;true][%c_highlight
h8;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;h8;persistent;false,h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false,h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false][%c_arrow
h8h1;keyPressed;none;from;h8;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false,g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false]}
19. Kg1 {[%clk 0:15:46.2][%c_arrow
g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false,h8h1;keyPressed;none;from;h8;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false,h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false]}
19... Qh2# {[%clk 0:13:34.4][%c_effect
e7;square;e7;type;Winner,g1;square;g1;type;CheckmateWhite][%c_arrow
g3h2;keyPressed;none;from;g3;opacity;0.8;to;h2;persistent;false,h2h1;keyPressed;none;from;h2;opacity;0.8;to;h1;persistent;false,h2g1;keyPressed;none;from;h2;opacity;0.8;to;g1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false,h1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h1;persistent;false,g1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g1;persistent;false]
And Black wins, down 13 points of material $1 GG $1} 0-1