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One of the reasons that the Vienna Gambit is so good at the beginner and intermediate levels, is that most ways of playing against it, other than a single response, is bad. This means that against the unprepared opponent, the Vienna Gambit can be extremely winning.

This was another game from the internal Team Australia tournament that I’m playing at the time of this article and video. I had the white pieces, played the Vienna; Black responded with the Max Lange Defense, and as usual now, I responded with the Vienna Gambit in the Max Lange Defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4).

In the typical Falkbeer Variation, Vienna Gambit, the only good response by Black is the Main Line (3… d5). In the Max Lange Vienna Gambit, the only good response by Black is to Accept the gambit (3… exf4). In this game, Black opted to develop their second knight – sensible looking, but a mistake! The Max Lange Vienna Gambit is curiously rarely discussed in social media and YouTube videos, and there are pros and cons to this. The con is that you just must play it to learn its various forms. The pros include that few people know what they are doing when facing it!

The second knight transposes into a known bad position for Black if facing against the Falkbeer Vienna Gambit – this is the declining of the Vienna Gambit with 3… Nc6. For the Vienna Gambit player, this is one of the best outcomes, as (4. fxe5 Nxe5 5. d4) and we end up chasing Black’s knights, gain full central control and in the typical line, will eventually force Black’s king’s knight to un-develop.

However, Black recognised their mistake, but decided to double-down! They launch their knight forward (5… Nxe4), trading material for initiative, and I suspect that they saw what they hoped was a winning attack with a follow up Qh4+! I admired their spirit, but I have studied this potential line previously, and I knew that it was a serious mistake/blunder!

This is after (6. Nxe4 Qh4+), the seemingly powerful black wayward queen attack is immediately blunted by moving the white knight to either the f2 or g3 squares on the dark square diagonal. Not only does this block the check, but it also defends the e4 square, so Black’s queen is suddenly misplaced without a target. Black’s knight is still hanging, and White now has the opportunity to develop pieces while harassing the black queen, winning and accumulating tempo.

Black keeps up the attack, now launching their bishop (7… Bb4+), but after (8. c3), Black has two pieces hanging. Although they castle their king to safety (8… O-O), their attack has come to a grinding halt and they are about to lose catastrophic material.

Their knight is the first to fall (9. dxe5). Black attempts to bring in a rook to replace the knight, but (10. Nf3) both defends the e5-pawn and wins tempo by attacking the black queen. Then, their bishop is the next to fall (12. cxb4). I suspected that Black, given their history, was going to attempt to use their queen to infiltrate alone and win back material, but had calculated that this was going to work for them. Indeed, all it achieved was allowing me to win more tempo by developing a piece and threatening their queen and with (15. Bd3), the evaluation had reached [+9] in White’s favour.

A move later, I had 6-pieces ready to attack Black’s king and Stockfish identified that forced mate was now possible [+M12]. Although I absolutely couldn’t see a forced line of that length, I was confident that I was completely winning, though of course, care is still required. I found a mating line – not the quickest according to Stockfish on analysis but was able to program it in using the “conditional moves” feature, and ended the game on move 24 with a lovely checkmate!

The big takeaway from this game is that even if you don’t play the Vienna Game yourself, you’d need to learn how to respond against it at the intermediate level. Woe be upon the unprepared!

Game: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/631221399

[Event "Aussies on the move 900-1250 - Round 1"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2024.03.07"]
[Round "-"]
[White "vitualis"]
[Black "glaiCastle"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Tournament "https://www.chess.com/tournament/aussies-on-the-move-900-1250"]
[CurrentPosition "r1bkrR2/ppp3Qp/8/3pPNB1/2BNq3/8/PP4PP/R5K1 b - - 4 24"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C25"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Vienna-Game-Max-Lange-Vienna-Gambit"]
[UTCDate "2024.03.07"]
[UTCTime "04:18:27"]
[WhiteElo "1238"]
[BlackElo "1165"]
[TimeControl "1/259200"]
[Termination "vitualis won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "04:18:27"]
[EndDate "2024.03.15"]
[EndTime "21:17:51"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/daily/631221399"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[WhiteCountry "17"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/269586721.b088f22d.50x50o.ef9000239bb7.jpg"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 {[%clk 71:43:22]} 1... e5 {[%clk 69:48:15]} 2. Nc3 {[%clk 71:33:48]} 2...
Nc6 {[%clk 70:58:53]} 3. f4 {[%clk 71:24:00] Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense,
Vienna Gambit - let's go $1 [-0.5]} 3... Nf6 $2 {[%clk 70:51:18][%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] A (very
understandable) mistake $1 Woe be upon the unprepared in the Vienna Gambit $1 [-0.5
$37 +1.5] This move transposes into the same position as the regular (Falkbeer)
Vienna Gambit, but where Black declines the gambit with Nc6.} 4. fxe5 {[%clk
71:53:47]} 4... Nxe5 {[%clk 71:50:51]} 5. d4 {[%clk 72:00:00]} 5... Nxe4 $2 {[%clk
71:56:19][%c_effect e4;square;e4;type;Mistake;persistent;true] This is a
fascinating move $1 Black opts to double-down, launches their knight forward,
trading material for iniative, probably seeing an attack with Qh4+. I admire
their spirit, though, this is very much a mistake/blunder $1 [+4]} 6. Nxe4 {[%clk
71:47:13]} 6... Qh4+ {[%clk 71:51:10][%c_arrow
h4e1;keyPressed;none;from;h4;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,h4e4;keyPressed;none;from;h4;opacity;0.8;to;e4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false]
This probably what Black had calculated...} 7. Ng3 {[%clk 71:15:14] ... but it
doesn't work $1 I've seen this line so I already knew this response. Black
suddenly has nothing $1 The knight on g3 not only blocks the check, but also
defends the e4 square to prevent check $1} 7... Bb4+ $2 {[%clk 71:48:45][%c_effect
b4;square;b4;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
e5g4;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;g4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g4;persistent;false] Desperate move -
however, Black has nothing. This achieves nothing other than creating a scenario
where Black hangs two pieces... [+5.3]} 8. c3 {[%clk 71:55:15][%c_arrow
d4e5;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false,c3b4;keyPressed;none;from;c3;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false,b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false]}
8... O-O {[%clk 70:21:09][%c_arrow
b4d6;keyPressed;none;from;b4;opacity;0.8;to;d6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d6;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;d6;persistent;false] Getting the king to
safety was sensible, but this basically hangs both the bishop and knight...} 9.
dxe5 {[%clk 66:12:50]} 9... Re8 $6 {[%clk 70:43:12][%c_effect
e8;square;e8;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
b4c5;keyPressed;none;from;b4;opacity;0.8;to;c5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c5;persistent;false] Black again, chooses
to double down and make an attack rather than pull back [+6.6]. However, they
don't have enough \"juice\" in their attack - not enough material and
inadequately coordinated.} 10. Nf3 {[%clk 71:27:08][%c_arrow
f3h4;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;h4;persistent;false,f3e5;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false,c3b4;keyPressed;none;from;c3;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h4;persistent;false,e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false,b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false]
Winning tempo, and defending my e5-pawn. Black's bishop remains hanging $1} 10...
Qe7 {[%clk 55:56:35]} 11. Nf5 {[%clk 71:53:23]} 11... Qc5 {[%clk 71:47:44]} 12.
cxb4 {[%clk 71:56:58]} 12... Qxb4+ {[%clk 55:29:20]} 13. Qd2 {[%clk 71:59:27]
Let's trade queens $1} 13... Qe4+ {[%clk 69:52:31][%c_arrow
e4e1;keyPressed;none;from;e4;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,e4f5;keyPressed;none;from;e4;opacity;0.8;to;f5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f5;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false]
Black probably thought that they had infiltrated with their queen and will be
winning back material...} 14. Ne3 {[%clk 71:52:59] But again, I'd calculated
this - the other knight now blocks check $1} 14... g5 $2 {[%clk 19:42:50][%c_effect
g5;square;g5;type;Mistake;persistent;true] Potentially striking out in
desperation, but possibly also a trap as Nxg5 will be met with Qh4+, an absolute
fork of the king and g5-knight, winning back material. However, this was easy to
deflect. [+9]} 15. Bd3 {[%clk 71:59:30] Development with tempo} 15... Qc6 {[%clk
47:02:35]} 16. O-O {[%clk 65:10:29]} 16... f6 $4 {[%clk 53:48:48][%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,f6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f6;persistent;false][%c_effect
f6;square;f6;type;Blunder;persistent;true] White has 6-pieces in the attack, and
Black final weakening of the king's defences was the final straw. There is a
checkmate net woven with mate in no more than [+M12]} 17. Bc4+ {[%clk 67:19:14]}
17... Kf8 {[%clk 62:48:36]} 18. Nd4 {[%clk 71:55:37][%c_arrow
f1f6;keyPressed;none;from;f1;opacity;0.8;to;f6;persistent;false,f6f8;keyPressed;none;from;f6;opacity;0.8;to;f8;persistent;false,d4c6;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f6;persistent;false,c6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false]
Double-attack} 18... Qe4 {[%clk 68:20:24][%c_arrow
d6c6;keyPressed;none;from;d6;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c6;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false] [+M7]} 19. Rxf6+
{[%clk 71:59:23]} 19... Ke7 {[%clk 48:00:51]} 20. Nef5+ {[%clk 71:57:21]} 20...
Kd8 {[%clk 71:58:38]} 21. Rf8 {[%clk 71:59:52][%c_arrow
d4e6;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;e6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e6;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;e6;persistent;false] Ne6+ is faster}
21... d5 {[%clk 66:11:17]} 22. Qxg5+ {[%clk 66:54:37][%c_arrow
g5d8;keyPressed;none;from;g5;opacity;0.8;to;d8;persistent;false,f8e8;keyPressed;none;from;f8;opacity;0.8;to;e8;persistent;false,e8d8;keyPressed;none;from;e8;opacity;0.8;to;d8;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d8;persistent;false,e8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e8;persistent;false]}
22... Kd7 {[%clk 69:40:02][%c_arrow
d4c6;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false,d4e6;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;e6;persistent;false,e5d6;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;d6;persistent;false,g5d8;keyPressed;none;from;g5;opacity;0.8;to;d8;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false,e6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e6;persistent;false,d6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d6;persistent;false,f6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f6;persistent;false,e7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e7;persistent;false,d8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d8;persistent;false]}
23. Qg7+ {[%clk 72:00:00][%c_arrow
g7d7;keyPressed;none;from;g7;opacity;0.8;to;d7;persistent;false,d4c6;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false,d4e6;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;e6;persistent;false,e5d6;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;d6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d7;persistent;false,f7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f7;persistent;false,c6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false,e6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e6;persistent;false,d6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d6;persistent;false,e7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e7;persistent;false]}
23... Kd8 {[%clk 71:59:07][%c_arrow
g7d7;keyPressed;none;from;g7;opacity;0.8;to;d7;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d7;persistent;false,e7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e7;persistent;false]}
24. Bg5# {[%clk 72:00:00][%c_effect
g1;square;g1;type;Winner,d8;square;d8;type;CheckmateBlack][%c_arrow
g5d8;keyPressed;none;from;g5;opacity;0.8;to;d8;persistent;false,g7d7;keyPressed;none;from;g7;opacity;0.8;to;d7;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d8;persistent;false,d7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d7;persistent;false,e7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e7;persistent;false]
GG $1} 1-0