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Today, I played a game where I had a mouse-slip on move 1! I’d just woken up and made the mistake of playing a game before I had my morning coffee. My opponent with the white pieces played e4, and I responded with e5. At least, I tried to. I ended up playing e6, which is the French Defense, something that I don’t normally play, and know no theory. Although not the most auspicious start, I somehow did okay!

This game ended up being more fun and interesting than anticipated. Against e4, I typically play e5, which often results in either an Italian, Giuoco Piano, or a Ruy Lopez, games that I don’t do so well against when I’m playing with the black pieces. Recently, I’ve experimented against the Italian by playing the two knights defense, inviting the opponent to play the Fried Liver, and then me playing the Traxler Countergambit. However, I’ve had a terrible record when using the Traxler – it seems that opponents who play the Fried Liver know the theory better than me!

Although my win was ultimately the result of my opponent blundering a mate in 1, in response to my own egregious blunder, I was actually in a pretty good position before the blunder! I should probably be fully caffeinated prior to early morning sleepy games, but regardless, the French might be a potential future response to e4.

I hope you enjoyed this video, and thanks for watching!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/live/36544276669

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.01.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "MexicanTaco21"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "1265"]
[BlackElo "1209"]
[TimeControl "1800"]
[EndTime "14:57:14 PST"]
[Termination "vitualis won by resignation"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 c4 5. Na3 a6 6. Nc2 Ne7 7. Nf3 Nf5 8. Be2 Nc6 9. Bg5 Nce7 10. Bxe7 Bxe7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kf1 O-O 14. f4 f6 15. Ne3 fxe5 16. dxe5 Rxf4+ 17. Bf3 Qf8 18. Kg2 Rxf3 19. Qxf3 Bd7 20. Qh3 0-1