---

This was a game I played very recently that was a lot of fun and had some points of learning. I played this game at night – probably at around 9 PM – so was a bit tired. One of the chess.com “Insights” from 2023 was that my performance is noticeably worse at night, compared to during the day! So, this game isn’t the most accurate – it’s a bit messy – but I did find a brilliancy that I’m proud of!

I had the White pieces, and against Black the game starts with the Max Lange Vienna Gambit (1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4). Black responded with (3… d6), a passive and slightly suboptimal move (accepting the gambit is best), but it caught me a little off guard as I wasn’t expecting it. Without thinking it through, I played (4. Bc4) and realised almost right away that I should have played (4. Nf3) first!

Separate to Stockfish’s evaluation on accuracy, the issue is that after (4… Nf6), the only rational move is (5. d3) and we have transposed into the Berlin-Vienna Hybrid variation. There’s nothing wrong with this position whatsoever, and I used to frequently enter it with the Max Lange Defense of the Vienna Game. However, the reason I now play f4, the Vienna Gambit against the Max Lange Defense is to try to avoid the Berlin-Vienna Hybrid as I don’t tend to enjoy those games quite as much.

It was clear in the opening that Black tended to play somewhat conservatively and defensively, so on move 6, I decided to spice things up with (6. fxe5). I knew that this was probably inaccurate, but it forces opens the f-file and the centre, steering the game away from something that would otherwise tend to be closed and positional. This makes the game more Vienna Gambit-ey! The chess.com analytic engine calls this an inaccuracy [+0.3 → -0.1] but I think it’s completely fine!

By move 10, we had entered the middlegame. Both my opponent and I had castled kingside, which is often advantageous for White in Vienna Gambit lines. The strategy is simple – attack Black’s king! Tactical resources that I had included that semi-open f-file controlled by my rook, the dark square c1-bishop ready to smash Black’s defences with a sacrificial capture (Bxh6), my c4-bishop potentially pins Black’s f7-pawn to the king, my centrally placed d5-knight ready to deflect or remove Black’s defensive knight on f6, and my f3-knight ready to leap into the attack with my queen! And queen first – slide over to e1 to access the g3 and h4 squares.

I suspect that Black wasn’t sure how to play this position as their strategy in the middlegame seems to involve attacking down the queenside. They play (11… b5) with an attack on my light square bishop. This is flawed as Black fundamentally doesn’t have a strategic target on the queenside. Remember my dark square c1-bishop? Stockfish thinks that the time for Bxh6 is now! However, I’m not so tactically sharp at night and although I considered it, I was worried that it might end up being a blunder of both my bishops.

So, I decided to play more conservatively. First, I removed Black’s king’s knight defender (12. Nxf6+ Qxf6). This then gave me a good place to put my light square bishop, keeping vision on f7, though it involved a shuffle. Black continued to try to pressure down the queenside and we do a bit of a dance as I respond to that attack.

On move 17, I realised that I didn’t have to respond to pressure on the queenside so went on the attack on the kingside! Firstly, (17. Nh4) – moving the knight into a more advantageous position with a discovered attack on Black’s queen. The semi-open f-file is power! In moving their queen, Black accidentally hangs their knight, and I snatch a quick bit of material for free. Nice!

Feeling under pressure, Black sought to trade off my light square bishop and I obliged (19… Be6 20. Bxe6 fxe6). I now had a strong sense that I was winning in the game, and this was matched by the evaluation on analysis at over [+5]. Let’s take stock of the position at move 20. After trading bishops, Black’s doubled e-pawns and my pawn chain had effectively created a barrier that divided the board in two. Most of Black’s pieces other than their f8-rook were largely on the wrong side of that barrier!

In this position, I did have a long-ish think and found what I consider to be the best move, (21. Nf3). Stockfish thinks that some queenside shenanigans is the most accurate and although that might be the case, as we’ve already decided, nothing on that side really matters! On the next move, I finally play (22. Bxh6), smashing Black’s king’s defences! I’m reminded here that Stockfish analyses need to be taking in context. Stockfish doesn’t consider this as within the top three accurate moves and all its recommendations are incremental and slow. However, I would argue that in this position Bxh6 is not only still completely winning (the evaluation only changes from [+5.4 → +4.7]), but it is also psychologically damaging to the opponent! It makes the opponent FEEL like they are losing!

That the most accurate moves are sometimes not very exciting is demonstrated again on move 24. Stockfish again suggests a slow queenside capture (axb4), or an immediate trading down to an endgame (Nxe5). Smelling blood in the game, I instead infiltrated with my queen and with the position very difficult to play, Black responds inaccurately, and I find a beautiful series of knights moves – one excellent followed by a brilliancy – (25. Qh5 Kh7? 26. Ng5+! Kg7?? 27. Nxe6+!!).

Royal fork! Black is forced to capture my knight with rook if they don’t want to lose their queen, but this allows for my queen to infiltrate into the position, capture the rook and effectively create a mating net around their exposed king (27… Rxe6 28. Qf7+ Kh8 29. Qxe6).

In the game, I thought that a mating sequence probably existed (there was a [+M5]), but as I was tired, rather than trying to calculate it out, I decided to play some “safe and easy” moves and moved into an endgame. This wasn’t at all accurate – quite messy in fact – but it got the job done! I forced Black to trade their queen for my rook with a skewer. And then, kept my rook on the back rank to guard against back rank mate, and pushed pawns to promote – forcing Black to trade their final couple pieces. Black was a good sport and played on, but at the point that I had two queens on the board, they sensibly resigned! GG!

The first big takeaway from this game is that I need to work on some of my endgame patterns as I could have won quite a bit earlier. The second is that engine evaluations do need to be taken in context. Often in analysis, there will be technically less accurate move that are not only still completely winning, but they will also be more strategically coherent from a psychological perspective.

Game: https://www.chess.com/game/live/100611714783

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2024.02.02"]
[Round "-"]
[White "vitualis"]
[Black "ahmedtaymour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C25"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Vienna-Game-Max-Lange-Vienna-Gambit"]
[UTCDate "2024.02.02"]
[UTCTime "11:15:44"]
[WhiteElo "1296"]
[BlackElo "1242"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]
[Termination "vitualis won by resignation"]
[StartTime "11:15:44"]
[EndDate "2024.02.02"]
[EndTime "11:53:21"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/100611714783"]
[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 "45"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 {[%clk 0:15:10]} 1... e5 {[%clk 0:15:07.1]} 2. Nc3 {[%clk 0:15:16.3]} 2...
Nc6 {[%clk 0:15:00.3]} 3. f4 {[%clk 0:15:24] Vienna Game: Max Lange, Vienna
Gambit} 3... d6 {[%clk 0:15:07.4][%c_arrow
e5f4;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;f4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f4;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;f4;persistent;false] A passive and
slightly suboptimal move. Accepting the gambit is best.} 4. Bc4 $2 {[%clk
0:15:19][%c_effect c4;square;c4;type;Mistake;persistent;true] However, as I was
playing this game quite late in the night and a bit tired, I was caught a bit
off guard. Afterwards, I realised that Nf3 was the best move, but I
automatically played Bc4 without much thought [+0.00 $37 -0.7].} 4... Nf6 $2 {[%clk
0:15:09.4][%c_effect f6;square;f6;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
e5f4;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;f4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f4;persistent;false] Black was playing
quite conservatively...} 5. d3 {[%clk 0:15:04.3] ... which is good for me from
an objective perspective. However, the reason I've started playing the Max Lange
Vienna Gambit is to avoid the Berlin-Vienna Hybrid. It's completely fine but I
don't necessarily enjoy these positions as they often end up a bit closed.} 5...
a6 {[%clk 0:15:16.1]} 6. fxe5 $6 {[%clk 0:15:06.5][%c_arrow
g1f3;keyPressed;none;from;g1;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false][%c_effect
e5;square;e5;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] So to spice things up, I decided
to capture to force open the f-file $1 😆 It's not the most accurate [+0.3 $37 -0.1]
but completely fine.} 6... dxe5 {[%clk 0:15:17.5]} 7. Nf3 {[%clk 0:15:02.5]}
7... Bg4 {[%clk 0:15:20.5] In these positions, Bg4 is usually not a problem as
the f-file is open and the knight will be defended by the rook after castling.}
8. O-O {[%clk 0:13:52.2]} 8... Bc5+ {[%clk 0:15:04]} 9. Kh1 {[%clk 0:13:57.7]}
9... h6 {[%clk 0:14:17.4]} 10. Nd5 {[%clk 0:13:55.4]} 10... O-O {[%clk
0:13:34.1]} 11. Qe1 $6 {[%clk 0:13:54.6][%c_arrow
d5f6;keyPressed;none;from;d5;opacity;0.8;to;f6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f6;persistent;false][%c_effect
e1;square;e1;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] Stockfish prefers Nxf6+ first, but
I didn't see how this was advantageous after Qxf6. With Qe1, Black's queen has
access to the g3 and h4 squares and I'm also thinking about a bishop sacrifice
with Bxh6 to punch open Black's king's defences.} 11... b5 $2 {[%clk
0:12:46][%c_effect b5;square;b5;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f6d5;keyPressed;none;from;f6;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false] Black wasn't sure how
to respond and tries counterattacking on the queenside. This was a mistake as
there is no real threat [+0.1 $37 +2.2].} 12. Nxf6+ $6 {[%clk 0:13:57.9][%c_effect
f6;square;f6;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
c1h6;keyPressed;none;from;c1;opacity;0.8;to;h6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h6;persistent;false] Being tired, I was
overly conservative $1 Stockfish thinks that the time for Bxh6 is now $1 I decided
to remove Black's knight as a defender. Stockfish the critic, calls this
inaccurate [+2.2 $37 +1.4], but I still have a great attack $1} 12... Qxf6 {[%clk
0:12:51.3]} 13. Bd5 {[%clk 0:14:06.4]} 13... Nb4 $6 {[%clk 0:12:13.2][%c_effect
b4;square;b4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
g4f3;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false] This is a difficult
position for Black to navigate. This move seems to make sense, but it is
inaccurate as the attack fundamentally goes nowhere. However, Stockfish's
recommendation of trading the light square bishop for the knight on f3 is
difficult to contemplate.} 14. Bb3 {[%clk 0:13:01.2]} 14... a5 $2 {[%clk
0:11:52.2][%c_arrow
g4e6;keyPressed;none;from;g4;opacity;0.8;to;e6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e6;persistent;false][%c_effect
a5;square;a5;type;Mistake;persistent;true] Black continues the queenside attack,
but it's a mistake [+3.2]} 15. a3 {[%clk 0:12:55.5]} 15... Nc6 {[%clk
0:11:41.7]} 16. Bd5 $2 {[%clk 0:12:58.3][%c_effect
d5;square;d5;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f3h4;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;h4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h4;persistent;false] This move pins the
knight to the rook, but was probably unnecessary. Stockfish recommends focussing
on the kingside attack [+1.5].} 16... b4 $2 {[%clk 0:10:25.1][%c_effect
b4;square;b4;type;Mistake;persistent;true] Again, the ongoing queenside attack
is a mistake [+4.7]} 17. Nh4 {[%clk 0:12:55.7] The power of the semi-open
f-file $1} 17... Qd8 {[%clk 0:09:57.4]} 18. Bxc6 {[%clk 0:12:48.8]} 18... Ra6
{[%clk 0:09:50.4]} 19. Bd5 {[%clk 0:12:51.4]} 19... Be6 {[%clk 0:09:06.9]} 20.
Bxe6 {[%clk 0:12:09.5]} 20... fxe6 {[%clk 0:09:13.5]} 21. Nf3 {[%clk
0:10:46.7][%c_arrow
a3b4;keyPressed;none;from;a3;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b4;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false] After thinking for
around 1.5 minutes I found what the engine considers is the second best move. I
did see axb4, but thought that it didn't matter - that I would prefer to close
the f-file because I thought that I would end up losing an initiative if Black
played Rxf1+.} 21... Bd6 {[%clk 0:08:50.4]} 22. Bxh6 $5 {[%clk
0:10:33.4][%c_effect h6;square;h6;type;Interesting;persistent;true][%c_arrow
a3b4;keyPressed;none;from;a3;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false] I decided to punch
the hole $1 It's not the most accurate, but is completely fine [+5.4 $37 +4.7] and
psychologically damaging to Black $1} 22... gxh6 {[%clk 0:08:31.6]} 23. Qg3+
{[%clk 0:10:41.2]} 23... Kh8 {[%clk 0:08:34.9]} 24. Qg6 $6 {[%clk
0:10:17.8][%c_effect g6;square;g6;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
a3b4;keyPressed;none;from;a3;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false,f3e5;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false,e5;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false]
I think this is a situation where Stockfish's top moves are not thematically
consistent with the flow of the attack, even if the moves are more accurate.
axb4 doesn't seem to matter to the attack, while Nxe5 results in a series of
pieces trades moving into a winning endgame. That's fine, but not exciting $1
Stockfish evaluates Qg6 as inaccurate [+5.0 $37 +3.7], but it's still winning $1}
24... Rf6 {[%clk 0:07:50.6]} 25. Qh5 {[%clk 0:10:00.1]} 25... Kh7 $2 {[%clk
0:07:34.2][%c_arrow
b4a3;keyPressed;none;from;b4;opacity;0.8;to;a3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a3;persistent;false][%c_effect
h7;square;h7;type;Mistake;persistent;true] It's very difficult for Black to play
the position $1 [+6.0]} 26. Ng5+ $1 {[%clk 0:10:05.2][%c_effect
g5;square;g5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true][%c_highlight
g5;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;g5;persistent;false] I'm really proud that
I saw the next couple of moves, and saw them quickly $1} 26... Kg7 $4 {[%clk
0:07:25.7][%c_arrow
h7g8;keyPressed;none;from;h7;opacity;0.8;to;g8;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g8;persistent;false][%c_effect
g7;square;g7;type;Blunder;persistent;true] And this was a blunder [+12] that I
was hoping to see $1} 27. Nxe6+ $3 {[%clk 0:09:58.4][%c_effect
e6;square;e6;type;Brilliant;persistent;true][%c_highlight
e6;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;e6;persistent;false,d8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d8;persistent;false,g7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g7;persistent;false][%c_arrow
e6d8;keyPressed;none;from;e6;opacity;0.8;to;d8;persistent;false,e6g7;keyPressed;none;from;e6;opacity;0.8;to;g7;persistent;false]
Royal fork $1 This sacrifices the knight but basically force wins Black's rook,
which strips away one of Black's king's last defenders $1} 27... Rxe6 {[%clk
0:07:23]} 28. Qf7+ {[%clk 0:09:48.3][%c_arrow
f7g7;keyPressed;none;from;f7;opacity;0.8;to;g7;persistent;false,f7e6;keyPressed;none;from;f7;opacity;0.8;to;e6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g7;persistent;false,e6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e6;persistent;false]}
28... Kh8 {[%clk 0:07:27.7]} 29. Qxe6 {[%clk 0:09:55.9]} 29... Rc6 $4 {[%clk
0:04:25.8][%c_effect c6;square;c6;type;Blunder;persistent;true] Black hangs
[+M5]. I knew that I was completely winning, but too tired to calculate the
mate $1 Intuitively, I knew that it probably existed, but I chose to just play
\"easy\" and \"safe\" and so I end up entering a rather messy endgame $1} 30. Rf6
{[%clk 0:09:09.2][%c_arrow
e6h6;keyPressed;none;from;e6;opacity;0.8;to;h6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h6;persistent;false]} ({The quickest path
to checkmate...} 30. Qxh6+ Kg8 31. Qg6+ Kh8 32. Rf7 Qg8 33. Qh6+ Qh7 34. Qxh7#)
30... Rxc2 {[%clk 0:03:31.8]} 31. Rxh6+ {[%clk 0:09:13.8]} 31... Kg7 {[%clk
0:03:39.5]} 32. Qg6+ {[%clk 0:09:19.6]} 32... Kf8 {[%clk 0:03:37.8]} 33. Rh8+
{[%clk 0:09:20.2]} 33... Ke7 {[%clk 0:03:41.5]} 34. Rxd8 {[%clk
0:09:29.2][%c_arrow
h8h7;keyPressed;none;from;h8;opacity;0.8;to;h7;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h7;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;h7;persistent;false] I had a mate, but
chose the simple path to trade Black's queen for my rook and just enter an easy
winning endgame...} 34... Kxd8 {[%clk 0:03:49.3]} 35. axb4 {[%clk 0:08:33.3]}
35... Bxb4 {[%clk 0:03:38.9]} 36. Qg8+ {[%clk 0:08:27.2]} 36... Kd7 {[%clk
0:03:45.4]} 37. Qd5+ {[%clk 0:08:29]} 37... Kc8 {[%clk 0:03:39.2]} 38. Qxe5
{[%clk 0:08:28.5]} 38... Rc5 {[%clk 0:03:27]} 39. Qe8+ {[%clk 0:08:18.4]} 39...
Kb7 {[%clk 0:03:29.5]} 40. h3 {[%clk 0:08:12.9]} 40... Rc6 {[%clk 0:02:34.1]}
41. h4 {[%clk 0:07:51.6]} 41... Rd6 {[%clk 0:02:32]} 42. e5 {[%clk 0:07:48.8]}
42... Rxd3 {[%clk 0:02:38.9]} 43. e6 {[%clk 0:07:48.4][%c_arrow
e8b5;keyPressed;none;from;e8;opacity;0.8;to;b5;persistent;false,b5b7;keyPressed;none;from;b5;opacity;0.8;to;b7;persistent;false,b5d3;keyPressed;none;from;b5;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false,b7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b7;persistent;false,b5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b5;persistent;false]
I could have forked the rook - saw this after the move.} 43... Re3 {[%clk
0:02:17.7]} 44. h5 {[%clk 0:07:48.5]} 44... Re5 {[%clk 0:02:09.4]} 45. h6 {[%clk
0:07:53.4]} 45... Rf5 {[%clk 0:01:34.2]} 46. h7 {[%clk 0:07:58.5]} 46... Rf8
{[%clk 0:01:39.5]} 47. Qxf8 {[%clk 0:08:05]} 47... Bxf8 {[%clk 0:01:44.8]} 48.
h8=Q {[%clk 0:08:14.2]} 48... Bb4 {[%clk 0:01:46.9]} 49. Rxa5 {[%clk 0:08:15.2]
Keep it simple $1 I sacrifice the rook to deflect Black's bishop so to promote the
e-pawn.} 49... Bxa5 {[%clk 0:01:46.6]} 50. e7 {[%clk 0:08:23.1]} 50... c5 {[%clk
0:01:26.4]} 51. e8=Q {[%clk 0:08:32]} 51... c4 {[%clk 0:01:29.2]} 52. Qb5+
{[%clk 0:08:38.9][%c_effect
h1;square;h1;type;Winner,b7;square;b7;type;ResignBlack] Black was a good sport,
playing on in a dead lost position. However, with two queens on the board they
finally opted to resign. GG $1} 1-0