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This game is an example of how things can go very wrong for the Queen’s Pawn Opening player with the white pieces when they try to avoid the trickiness of the Englund Gambit! My opponent declined the Englund Gambit (1. d4 e5 2. d5) which is instantly good for Black [-0.1], as White is forced to move their d-pawn twice in the opening losing tempo and be placed in a somewhat overextended position.

On move 4, White attempted to regain tempo by attempting to pin my knight (4. Bg5), but this allowed me to respond with my first brilliant move extremely early in the game (4… Bxf2+)! By ostensibly sacrificing my bishop, I win a pawn, White loses the right to castle and even more tempo as their king is attacked. And the fascinating thing is that this is White’s best option!

In this game, White saw and didn’t like this and refused to capture my bishop with (5. Ke2). However, this was a mistake that gave me a second brilliancy with (5… d6)! Now admittedly, “sacrificing” the bishop a second time isn’t difficult to see, but I’ll accept the brilliant designation by the chess.com analytic engine!

In the next few moves, I develop my queen into the attack, something that is very dangerous for White with their king potentially exposed and in the centre of the board. White scrambles to try to develop and create an attack. However, in their haste (11. Nc4), they blunder the limited defence of their centre, hanging their e-pawn.

By the early middlegame, I had a major advantage at better than [-5]. This was in the form that I controlled the centre with my pawns. White, on the other hand, was missing their f, e, and d-pawns, with their king a target. And that was my principal tactic – to simply attack White’s king with my pieces in the centre, which ended up being overwhelming. After move 25, White runs out of time trying to play through a hopeless position [-11] and flags. GG!

The big takeaway from this game is that the Englund Gambit remains a great weapon at the beginner-intermediate level against the Queen’s Pawn Opening!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/live/91947495923

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.10.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "konotopp1659"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "A40"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Englund-Gambit-Declined-2...Bc5-3.e4"]
[UTCDate "2023.10.25"]
[UTCTime "04:31:46"]
[WhiteElo "1116"]
[BlackElo "1314"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]
[Termination "vitualis won on time"]
[StartTime "04:31:46"]
[EndDate "2023.10.25"]
[EndTime "05:05:16"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/91947495923"]
[WhiteUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[WhiteCountry "141"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. d4 {[%clk 0:15:06.7]} 1... e5 {[%clk 0:15:04.8]} 2. d5 $6 {[%clk
0:15:09.1][%c_arrow
d4e5;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false][%c_effect
d5;square;d5;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] Englund Gambit Declined [-0.1]}
2... Bc5 {[%clk 0:14:49.4]} 3. e4 {[%clk 0:14:35.3]} 3... Nf6 {[%clk 0:14:40.5]}
4. Bg5 $6 {[%clk 0:14:26.9][%c_arrow
f1d3;keyPressed;none;from;f1;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false][%c_effect
g5;square;g5;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] An inaccuracy [-1]} 4... Bxf2+ $3
{[%clk 0:14:41.2][%c_effect f2;square;f2;type;Brilliant;persistent;true]
Brilliant move $1 Prospective bishop sacrifice that wins initiative $1} 5. Ke2 $2
{[%clk 0:13:06.9][%c_effect e2;square;e2;type;Mistake;persistent;true] White is
spooked and chooses to not capture, which is actually a mistake $1 [-2.7]} 5...
d6 $3 {[%clk 0:14:39.9][%c_effect d6;square;d6;type;Brilliant;persistent;true] A
second brilliancy $1 Admittedly, \"sacrificing\" the bishop again is an easy move
to find $1} 6. h3 {[%clk 0:13:06.9]} 6... h6 {[%clk 0:14:00.4]} 7. Bxf6 {[%clk
0:12:22.1]} 7... Qxf6 {[%clk 0:14:06.8]} 8. Nf3 {[%clk 0:12:29.4]} 8... Bd4 $6
{[%clk 0:12:28.5][%c_arrow
f2g3;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;g3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g3;persistent;false][%c_effect
d4;square;d4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] A bit inaccurate as White can
attack the bishop and win tempo [-2.2]} 9. c3 {[%clk 0:12:30]} 9... Bb6 {[%clk
0:11:38]} 10. Nbd2 {[%clk 0:11:04.1]} 10... Qf4 {[%clk 0:11:37.6][%c_arrow
c7c6;keyPressed;none;from;c7;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c6;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false] Not quite the most
accurate move. Stockfish believes that c6 is better, but Qf4 places pressure on
White's king.} 11. Nc4 $4 {[%clk 0:08:18][%c_arrow
d1e1;keyPressed;none;from;d1;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false][%c_effect
c4;square;c4;type;Blunder;persistent;true] White tries to form an attack, but
this blunders [-5.2] a pawn. However, the correct moves are difficult to find.}
11... Qxe4+ {[%clk 0:11:40.9]} 12. Kd2 {[%clk 0:08:05.1]} 12... Nd7 {[%clk
0:11:16.2][%c_arrow
e4d5;keyPressed;none;from;e4;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false] I saw Qxd5+ which is
the best move by forcing a queen trade while up on material. However, I opted
not to do this as I thought there may be a mate possible.} 13. Qa4 {[%clk
0:07:47.6]} 13... Be3+ {[%clk 0:10:53.5]} 14. Kd1 {[%clk 0:07:37.2]} 14... Qxd5+
{[%clk 0:09:56.2]} 15. Kc2 {[%clk 0:07:18.7]} 15... Bf4 {[%clk 0:09:33.6]} 16.
Rd1 {[%clk 0:07:17.3]} 16... b5 {[%clk 0:08:08.8] I decided it was time to cash
out...} 17. Rxd5 {[%clk 0:06:58.7]} 17... bxa4 {[%clk 0:08:15.3]} 18. Rd1 {[%clk
0:06:13.7]} 18... Nc5 {[%clk 0:07:36.5] I saw a powerful attack on the d3
square $1} 19. Na5 {[%clk 0:04:39.2]} 19... Bf5+ {[%clk 0:07:14.4]} 20. Bd3 {[%clk
0:04:35.3]} 20... Nxd3 {[%clk 0:06:41.3] Almost but not quite a mating net $1
[-6.3]} 21. Rxd3 {[%clk 0:03:54.9]} 21... e4 {[%clk 0:05:42.8][%c_arrow
e4d3;keyPressed;none;from;e4;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false,e4f3;keyPressed;none;from;e4;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false,f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false]}
22. Re1 {[%clk 0:03:49.3]} 22... O-O {[%clk 0:05:44.5]} 23. g4 $4 {[%clk
0:01:15.8][%c_effect g4;square;g4;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d3d5;keyPressed;none;from;d3;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false] This blunders the
rook [-11]} 23... exd3+ {[%clk 0:05:48.8]} 24. Kd1 {[%clk 0:01:17.6]} 24... Be6
{[%clk 0:05:18.6]} 25. c4 {[%clk 0:01:01.9]} 25... Rab8 {[%clk
0:05:02.5][%c_effect g8;square;g8;type;Winner,d1;square;d1;type;TimeoutWhite]
White flags. GG $1} 0-1