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Today’s game is from my subscriber @Bogo-IndianaJones, who is a much stronger player than me, with an ELO rating in the 1800s for rapid. They played a fantastic game of the Reti Opening, Potato Variation, or simply, the Potato Opening with the white pieces! (1. Nf3 d5 2. a4)

The fascinating thing here is that it isn’t even that bad an opening! Stockfish gives it an evaluation of [-0.2] and there are many opening gambits that are substantially worse!

Black responds accurately, with the immediate and principled d5 and then c5. White now plays the provocative (3. e4), which gambits the e-pawn. This is very similar to the Tennison Gambit which comes out of the Reti (1. Nf3 d5 2. e4) or Scandinavian (1. e4 d5 2. Nf3), but without the potato a-pawn!

And now, it very much goes down the tricky Tennison Gambit type line! Pressure builds on the e-pawn on e4. Then on move 6, White gives a check (6. Bb5+). As Black has already committed their c-pawn, they need to block the check with a piece. Black plays (6… Nbd7). Stockfish thinks that Nc6 is optimal, but if White trades, it would result in an isolated a-pawn for Black, so Nbd7 is definitely more natural.

White now turns the screw once again with (7. Qe2) putting even more pressure on the e4 pawn. Black responds with a counterattack on White’s bishop (7… a6). Black now plays an excellent move (8. Ngxe4!), capturing the pawn on e4. It is a psychologically amazing move as in essence, it gives Black a choice. They must either capture the knight now on e4, or the bishop on b6. Option A completes the trade sequence where White initially had three attackers to Black’s two defenders. Seemingly, White will come out ahead. Option B, Black wins the bishop for the cost of two pawns, a good deal!

So, the very natural move is for Black to capture the bishop, and as it was framed as a choice, Black is very likely to miss the devious trap! Because now (9. Nd5#), the knight leaps forward with check, and with moving off the e-file, there is a discovered pin of Black’s e-pawn against their king by White’s queen! A potato discovered-pin smothered mate on move 9. Brilliant! GG!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/live/89596183937

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.09.27"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Bogo-IndianaJones"]
[Black "1thebigav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "A06"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Reti-Opening-The-Potato-Variation"]
[UTCDate "2023.09.27"]
[UTCTime "23:26:22"]
[WhiteElo "1824"]
[BlackElo "1775"]
[TimeControl "600"]
[Termination "Bogo-IndianaJones won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "23:26:22"]
[EndDate "2023.09.27"]
[EndTime "23:27:46"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/89596183937"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/61032262.19ac7f24.50x50o.edf6b6e16e5d.jpg"]
[WhiteCountry "2"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/4806683.0bea96c8.50x50o.26bd0671e937.jpeg"]
[BlackCountry "2"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. Nf3 {[%clk 0:10:00]} 1... d5 {[%clk 0:09:59.2]} 2. a4 $5 {[%clk
0:09:56.1][%c_effect a4;square;a4;type;Interesting;persistent;true] Reti
Opening: The Potato Variation $1 🥔 [-0.2]. Surprisingly, it's not really that
bad $1 There are many opening gambits which have a worse objective evaluation $1}
2... c5 {[%clk 0:09:57.9]} 3. e4 {[%clk 0:09:53.1][%c_arrow
e2e3;keyPressed;none;from;e2;opacity;0.8;to;e3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e3;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;e3;persistent;false] Stockfish thinks
this move is a bit suboptimal [-0.6], but it's a highly provocative move that
gambits the pawn to split Black's pawns and open up the centre. This is similar
to the Tennison Gambit, which can come out of the Reti Opening or the
Scandinavian Defense.} 3... dxe4 {[%clk 0:09:53.9]} 4. Ng5 {[%clk 0:09:51.1]}
4... Bf5 {[%clk 0:09:45.9]} 5. Nc3 {[%clk 0:09:41.5]} 5... Nf6 {[%clk 0:09:40.8]
Building pressure on the pawn on e4} 6. Bb5+ {[%clk 0:09:34.7]} 6... Nbd7 {[%clk
0:09:26.1][%c_arrow
b8c6;keyPressed;none;from;b8;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c6;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false] White has baited
Black to smother their king $1 Nc6 is more accurate [-0.2].} 7. Qe2 {[%clk
0:09:29.7] More pressure on e4...} 7... a6 {[%clk 0:09:20.6]} 8. Ngxe4 $1 {[%clk
0:09:25.3][%c_effect e4;square;e4;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] Great move $1
Black is given a choice...} 8... axb5 $4 {[%clk 0:09:16.5][%c_effect
b5;square;b5;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f6e4;keyPressed;none;from;f6;opacity;0.8;to;e4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false] ... and doesn't
choose wisely. A blunder [+M1].} 9. Nd6# {[%clk 0:09:24.1][%c_effect
e1;square;e1;type;Winner,e8;square;e8;type;CheckmateBlack][%c_arrow
e2e7;keyPressed;none;from;e2;opacity;0.8;to;e7;persistent;false,e7e8;keyPressed;none;from;e7;opacity;0.8;to;e8;persistent;false,d6e8;keyPressed;none;from;d6;opacity;0.8;to;e8;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e7;persistent;false,e8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e8;persistent;false]
Discovered pin smothered mate $1 GG $1} 1-0