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Today’s game is against another Aussie, @kingghi in the daily format, that is a good demonstration of how to exploit a weakened f-pawn or kingside diagonal to the opponent’s king. This is one of the tactics described in my new book, “50+2 Chess Quick Wins: Tactical ideas for exciting chess for beginner players“.

I had the White pieces, and we open with the Vienna Gambit, which Black declines with d6 (1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d6). Now, my opponent is much earlier on their chess journey than me, so it isn’t necessarily unusual or a surprise that some of their moves weren’t accurate. However, it is useful to examine how impactful the inaccuracies can be against the Vienna Gambit!

Black attempts to defend against my immediate central attack with (5… Nd7) but this was an inaccuracy. However, it was Black’s next move (6… f6) that created a critical weakness in Black’s defence of their king along the light square diagonal.

This diagonal was now my focus of attack! Firstly (7. e6) and then (8. f5) solidifies my control of that diagonal. And a few moves later the queen strikes down the diagonal with (11. Qh5+). The evaluation at this point was [+15]! Move 12, checkmate! GG!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/567012843

[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.09.28"]
[Round "-"]
[White "vitualis"]
[Black "kingghi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C28"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Vienna-Game-Falkbeer-Vienna-Gambit-3...d6-4.Nf3"]
[UTCDate "2023.09.28"]
[UTCTime "00:25:55"]
[WhiteElo "1188"]
[BlackElo "303"]
[TimeControl "1/604800"]
[Termination "vitualis won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "00:25:55"]
[EndDate "2023.09.29"]
[EndTime "09:37:57"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/daily/567012843"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[WhiteCountry "17"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d6 {[%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false][%c_arrow
d7d5;keyPressed;none;from;d7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false] Vienna Gambit,
Declined 3... d6 [+0.5]. Entering the Main Line with d5 is the only good
response.} 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. d4 Nd7 $6 {[%c_arrow
c6d4;keyPressed;none;from;c6;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false][%c_effect
d7;square;d7;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] This backwards knight move is an
inaccuracy [+1.3]} 6. dxe5 $6 {[%c_effect
e5;square;e5;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
c1e3;keyPressed;none;from;c1;opacity;0.8;to;e3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e3;persistent;false] This was a novel
position for me and I wasn't sure of the best response. I decided to relieve the
tension the centre which was inaccurate [+0.5]} 6... f6 $2 {[%c_effect
f6;square;f6;type;Mistake;persistent;true] However, Black makes a major mistake
as this critically weakens the light square diagonal from f7 to the king. The
creates the opportunity for a future fatal attack [+4].} 7. e6 $1 {[%c_effect
e6;square;e6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} 7... Nc5 8. f5 {I now control the
light square diagonal with the e- and f-pawns $1} 8... b5 $4 {[%c_effect
b5;square;b5;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f8e7;keyPressed;none;from;f8;opacity;0.8;to;e7;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e7;persistent;false] Black doesn't
recognise the threat and tries attacking down the queenside, but hangs this
pawn. This single loss of tempo is a major blunder [+9].} 9. Bxb5 {This pins the
knight on c6} 9... Bb7 10. Nd4 {Powerful combination attack, placing pressure on
the pinned piece $1 White also opens the light square diagonal for the queen to h5
to attack Black's king $1} 10... a6 $4 {[%c_effect
a6;square;a6;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
h7h5;keyPressed;none;from;h7;opacity;0.8;to;h5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h5;persistent;false] Black must defend the
critically weak light squares $1 [+15]} 11. Qh5+ Ke7 $4 {[%c_effect
e7;square;e7;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
g7g6;keyPressed;none;from;g7;opacity;0.8;to;g6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g6;persistent;false] Hangs checkmate} 12.
Qf7# {[%c_effect e1;square;e1;type;Winner,e7;square;e7;type;CheckmateBlack] GG $1}
1-0