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One of the strategic ideas out of the Vienna Game is to launch a potentially rapid attack on Black’s kingside, especially if they castle to that side. In this daily game, Black played a very solid Max Lange Defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6) but going down the “two knights” route (3. Bc4 Nf6). For much of the opening and then early middle game, it is mostly equal, or Black is even better.

However, consider the position on move 11 after I played (11. f5). We have both castled kingside, and although thinks that the position is pretty much equal [+0.1], I have a connect 4 pawn chain diagonal pointing at Black’s kingside. This acts like a fence, potentially blocking off Black’s pieces from defending, or joining in the attack. With me taking control of the space on the kingside, I potentially had an attack with my dark square bishop, my queen, and my rook.

The next few moves see some trades on the queenside. However, this simply leaves the queenside empty. The action will be on the kingside of the board!

Black tries to crack open the centre with (15… d5). I ignore it and position my queen onto the g-file (16. Qg3), pinning Black’s g-pawn to the king, and getting ready for an attack with the help of my bishop. Black misses the impending attack, and captures the pawn in the centre and so, (17. Bh6) with an immediate mate threat on g7.

The thing with forthright and direct attacks on the king is that they aren’t necessarily easy to deflect, and a mistake can be very consequential. Black makes the right move with (17… Nh6). A few moves later, I miss the best move by capturing the knight with my queen (19. Qxh5) and giving up my bishop. However, I thought this piece trade was “worth it” as it forced Black to open their g-file. Stockfish thinks that my attack has fizzled, so it was safe to do so.

However, humans aren’t computers! Black, spooked by the open file played (20… Qd6) offering a queen trade, but this was a game ending blunder going from about [+0.4] to [+M9]! Black’s king was trapped in their corner of the board with a gaping hole in the g-file. Black sacrificed their queen, but to no avail. Mate came on move 24 – GG!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/513375399

[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.05.06"]
[Round "-"]
[White "vitualis"]
[Black "uriahshonor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C28"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Bishops-Opening-Berlin-Vienna-Hybrid-Variation-4...Bb4"]
[UTCDate "2023.05.06"]
[UTCTime "06:08:15"]
[WhiteElo "1188"]
[BlackElo "705"]
[TimeControl "1/604800"]
[Termination "vitualis won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "06:08:15"]
[EndDate "2023.05.07"]
[EndTime "13:50:04"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/daily/513375399"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.82046355.50x50o.c8c8e6b7296c.jpg"]
[WhiteCountry "17"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/40790702.3e4ce763.50x50o.644a4a1b5e7f.jpeg"]
[BlackCountry "2"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 {Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense} 3. Bc4 Nf6 {A very solid
\"two knights\" defense against the Vienna [+0.1]} 4. d3 Bb4 5. f4 $2 {[%c_arrow
g1e2;keyPressed;none;from;g1;opacity;0.8;to;e2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e2;persistent;false][%c_effect
f4;square;f4;type;Mistake;persistent;true] Stockfish calls this a mistake [-1.2]
preferring to defend the knight. My goal, however, is to launch a \"Vienna-ish\"
attack on Black's kingside.} 5... d6 $2 {[%c_effect
d6;square;d6;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d7d5;keyPressed;none;from;d7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false] Black plays
conservatively and this was a mistake according to Stockfish [+0.2]} 6. Nf3 Bg4
7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nd4 9. Qd1 {[%c_arrow
f3f2;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;f2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f2;persistent;false] I couldn't decide
between Qf2 and Qd1 and ultimately, opted to retreat the queen [-0.4]. Stockfish
preferred to keep the queen on the f-file which makes sense after castling.}
9... Qd7 $2 {[%c_effect d7;square;d7;type;Mistake;persistent;true]} 10. O-O O-O
{Castling into a potential kingside attack is potentially risky} 11. f5 $2
{[%c_effect f5;square;f5;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f4e5;keyPressed;none;from;f4;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false] Stockfish recommends
opening the f-file and doesn't like this move [+0.1]. My logic, however, is that
I block off Black's pieces from my impending kingside attack.} 11... Bxc3 12.
bxc3 Nc6 $6 {[%c_arrow
b7b5;keyPressed;none;from;b7;opacity;0.8;to;b5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b5;persistent;false][%c_effect
c6;square;c6;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] Black couldn't break through the
wall of pawns and I've regained the advantage [+1.4]} 13. Qe1 $6 {[%c_effect
e1;square;e1;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
a2a4;keyPressed;none;from;a2;opacity;0.8;to;a4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a4;persistent;false] Stockfish doesn't
believe in this attack [+0.9] as it can be deflected with accurate play by
Black. However, against humans, the forthright attack is difficult to defend
against $1} 13... Na5 14. Bb3 Nxb3 15. cxb3 {[%c_arrow
a2b3;keyPressed;none;from;a2;opacity;0.8;to;b3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b3;persistent;false] Stockfish prefers
opening the a-file over undoubling the pawns [+0.3]. However, my strategy was to
attack on the kingside and I prefer to keep the defences solid.} 15... d5 16.
Qg3 dxe4 $6 {[%c_effect e4;square;e4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d7c6;keyPressed;none;from;d7;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false] The attack is a
little premature [+0.8]} 17. Bh6 $1 {[%c_effect
h6;square;h6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] I can ignore Black's slower attack
with this immediate mate threat} 17... Nh5 $1 {[%c_effect
h5;square;h5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] Black's only good move} 18. Qg5
Qxd3 $2 {[%c_arrow
f7f6;keyPressed;none;from;f7;opacity;0.8;to;f6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f6;persistent;false][%c_effect
d3;square;d3;type;Mistake;persistent;true] This was a mistake [+3.8]} 19. Qxh5 $2
{[%c_effect h5;square;h5;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f5f6;keyPressed;none;from;f5;opacity;0.8;to;f6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f6;persistent;false] Stockfish calls this
a mistake [+0.4] but I thought the piece trade was \"worth it\" as Black will be
forced to open their g-file. However, f6 is best - \"placing pressure on the
pinned piece\".} 19... gxh6 20. Qxh6 Qd6 $4 {[%c_effect
d6;square;d6;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f7f6;keyPressed;none;from;f7;opacity;0.8;to;f6;persistent;false,g8h8;keyPressed;none;from;g8;opacity;0.8;to;h8;persistent;false,d3g3;keyPressed;none;from;d3;opacity;0.8;to;g3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f6;persistent;false,h8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h8;persistent;false,g3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g3;persistent;false]
Unfortunately, these are difficult positions to navigate. Black aimed to trade
queens, but needed to address the very weak g-file, and the fact that their king
is potentially trapped. This was a game ending blunder [+M9]} 21. f6 $1
{[%c_effect f6;square;f6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} 21... Qxf6 {Black
realises their king is in mortal danger and sacrifices their queen} 22. Qxf6
Rae8 23. Rf5 e3 24. Rg5# {[%c_effect
g1;square;g1;type;Winner,g8;square;g8;type;CheckmateBlack] GG $1} 1-0