---

My last video was on a game where @Antonioax2 played a Wayward Queen Attack against me, and lost quickly. Immediately afterwards, they requested another game, and I think they were out for revenge and had something to prove!

They played very well in this game despite being rated almost 400 points ELO lower, and I think the Wayward Queen Attack was holding them back!

My opponent had the white pieces, and they lead with the Bishop’s Opening. Initially, I thought that they might be angling for another Wayward Queen Attack, but this wasn’t the case. The game transposed into an Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo line, something that tends to be positional and slow. So, I decided to crack open the centre on move 5 (5… d5), which is a bit inaccurate, but it went my way and this resulted in a nice opening advantage, though we were materially equal.

On move 10, I decided to simplify and trade down, using my opening advantage to damage White’s kingside defences (after they had castled short). Although I did retain an advantage moving into the middlegame, Stockfish thought that this approach was inaccurate. This was reflected with the experience that it was more difficult to move forward in the middlegame than I had expected, even though I was ahead throughout.

Move 14 by White (14. Bg5) is a cautionary tale. Firstly, if the bishop can immediately be blocked and counterattacked by pawns, it’s probably not the best square for the bishop. Secondly, one of the ideas from the last game – the sunk cost fallacy – was at play here as well. White’s best move for their bishop was to actually pull it back and recognise that there was no place for the bishop on the kingside. However, White attempted to keep it in play on that side of the board, and that resulted in the bishop being stuck on the kingside behind a wall of pawns. Even though the bishop hadn’t been captured, it had been neutralised as it no longer asserted any influence on the game.

White, however, made good use with their knight. The knight can be a very tricky piece to play against as it dances through and around a crowded board. However, on move 29, I found a move that I’m proud of – a brilliancy! Seeing that White’s knight was clearly their MVP, I sacrificed… the rook! White’s powerful knight was worth more than my rook (29… Rxd5) and Stockfish agreed! With White’s bishop stuck, White’s only active pieces was through their rook pair, which can be difficult to use when the board is crowded.

White continued to manoeuvre well, but I managed to defend my king within a pawn bunker, meaning that it was forever safe. However, despite being able to split and disconnect White’s rooks, they continued to harass my position with the rooks which had infiltrated. I compound a blunder with a mistake, missing that White had pinned my most important pawn, the f-pawn, which was at the base of my pawn diagonals. Thankfully, White missed that tactic as well! Lucky! 😌

With White having only three minutes left on the board, I finally had a counterattack with a skewer of White’s rook to their f4-pawn (39… Be7), and White falls apart under time pressure. They cleanly blunder their rook, and I force a series of trades. The board opens, and with 1:40 left on the clock in an obviously losing endgame position, White resigned. GG!

The big takeaway from this game is that you need to balance aggressive play and defensive play. My opponent played really well in this game, where they otherwise collapsed quickly in the Wayward Queen Attack. There are other aggressive and sound openings to learn, e.g., the Scotch Game and the Vienna Game, and these may be worth trying! You don’t always have to default back to the Giuoco Piano lines.

Game: https://www.chess.com/game/live/104219401459

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2024.03.15"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Antonioax2"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[CurrentPosition "8/1p6/1kr2R2/pp2b1p1/7p/3P3P/P4PK1/8 w - -"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C23"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Bishops-Opening-2...Nc6"]
[UTCDate "2024.03.15"]
[UTCTime "05:26:43"]
[WhiteElo "880"]
[BlackElo "1299"]
[TimeControl "1200"]
[Termination "vitualis won - game abandoned"]
[StartTime "05:26:43"]
[EndDate "2024.03.15"]
[EndTime "06:02:31"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/104219401459"]
[WhiteUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[WhiteCountry "27"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 {[%clk 0:20:00]} 1... e5 {[%clk 0:20:00]} 2. Bc4 {[%clk 0:19:55.2]
Bishop's Opening} 2... Nc6 {[%clk 0:19:51] I usually play Nc6 as this baits
White into transposing back into an Italian Game. I'm also semi-expecting White
to attempt another Wayward Queen Attack $1} 3. c3 {[%clk 0:19:38.3][%c_arrow
g1f3;keyPressed;none;from;g1;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f3;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false] One of the great
things with Nc6, is that if White doesn't want to end up in an Italian, it often
results in them playing suboptimal moves [-0.1]} 3... Nf6 {[%clk 0:19:38.6] Two
Knights Defense - simples $1} 4. d3 {[%clk 0:19:36.3]} 4... Bc5 {[%clk
0:19:17.4][%c_arrow
d7d5;keyPressed;none;from;d7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false] Just like in the
previous game of the Wayward Queen Attack, if you can take the full centre with
pawns, it's often good to do so. However, I played the bishop immediately to
target White's f2-pawn.} 5. Nf3 {[%clk 0:19:29.3]} 5... d5 $6 {[%clk
0:18:52][%c_effect d5;square;d5;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] This is a bit
of an inaccuracy as after exd5 Nxd5, White has Qb3 and I can't quite defend
everything... [+0.9]} 6. Bxd5 $2 {[%clk 0:18:36.5][%c_effect
d5;square;d5;type;Mistake;persistent;true] But if White just trades everything
down, I'm fine [-2]} 6... Nxd5 {[%clk 0:18:48.5]} 7. exd5 {[%clk 0:18:35.5]}
7... Qxd5 {[%clk 0:18:43.2] And here, I've gained a good advantage in the
opening with better development} 8. O-O {[%clk 0:18:19.6]} 8... Bg4 {[%clk
0:18:11]} 9. b4 $6 {[%clk 0:16:57.1][%c_effect
b4;square;b4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] ... this is an inaccuracy, but
only if Black finds Nxb4 and realises that White cannot capture back with
cxb4... [-2.5]} 9... Bd6 $6 {[%clk 0:17:22.3][%c_arrow
c6b4;keyPressed;none;from;c6;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false][%c_effect
d6;square;d6;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] This misses the tactic} (9... Nxb4
{Black can safely capture the pawn, as White can't capture back without also
losing a knight...} 10. cxb4 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Qxf3 12. gxf3 Bd4 {[%c_arrow
d4a1;keyPressed;none;from;d4;opacity;0.8;to;a1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a1;persistent;false]} 13. Nc3 Bxc3 14. Rb1
{... and chess contines}) 10. Re1 $2 {[%clk 0:16:03.1][%c_effect
e1;square;e1;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
h2h3;keyPressed;none;from;h2;opacity;0.8;to;h3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
h3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h3;persistent;false] This is a mistake
[-2.5]} 10... Bxf3 $2 {[%clk 0:17:12.6][%c_effect
f3;square;f3;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
e8c8;keyPressed;none;from;e8;opacity;0.8;to;c8;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c8;persistent;false] Stockfish evaluates
this as a mistake/suboptimal [-0.8], but my idea was that I was going to
capitalise on trading down equal material, while damaging White's kingside
defences.} 11. Qxf3 {[%clk 0:16:00.1]} 11... Qxf3 {[%clk 0:17:11.3]} 12. gxf3
{[%clk 0:15:59]} 12... O-O-O {[%clk 0:17:08.6] My strategic approach: we were
materially balanced, but I was confident that I should be able outplay my
opponent in the middlegame, especially with their relatively more exposed king
with the semi-open g-file and their doubled f-pawns. As it turned out, White
played well and it was more difficult than expected $1} 13. Na3 {[%clk 0:15:08.8]}
13... a6 {[%clk 0:17:05.8]} 14. Bg5 $2 {[%clk 0:14:26.3][%c_effect
g5;square;g5;type;Mistake;persistent;true] This is a mistake, as the bishop can
be immediately kicked back and as it turns out, I end up restricting their
bishop and bind it out of the game [-2.3]} 14... f6 {[%clk 0:17:00.2]} 15. Bh4 $2
{[%clk 0:14:22.6][%c_arrow
g5c1;keyPressed;none;from;g5;opacity;0.8;to;c1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c1;persistent;false][%c_effect
h4;square;h4;type;Mistake;persistent;true] Sunk cost fallacy $1 The best move for
the bishop was to move out of the kingside, and in fact, back to c1 $1 [-4.2]
White has effectively lost their bishop as it no longer has any real influence
on the game, even if it hasn't been captured.} 15... g5 {[%clk 0:16:57.6]} 16.
Bg3 {[%clk 0:14:18]} 16... h5 {[%clk 0:16:40]} 17. h3 {[%clk 0:14:11.8]} 17...
h4 {[%clk 0:16:38.6]} 18. Bh2 {[%clk 0:14:10.5]} 18... Be7 {[%clk 0:15:43.8]
Stockfish doesn't agree with this approach. Rather, the attack is with a5 to
dislodge White's b4-pawn, and then attacking their knight.} 19. Rad1 {[%clk
0:13:41.4]} 19... Rd7 $2 {[%clk 0:15:31.5][%c_effect
d7;square;d7;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
a6a5;keyPressed;none;from;a6;opacity;0.8;to;a5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a5;persistent;false] A mistake compared to
a5, though Black is still comfortably ahead [-2.6]} 20. Rd2 $2 {[%clk
0:13:28][%c_arrow
a3c2;keyPressed;none;from;a3;opacity;0.8;to;c2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c2;persistent;false][%c_effect
d2;square;d2;type;Mistake;persistent;true] A mistake [-4.2]} 20... Rhd8 {[%clk
0:15:29.4]} 21. Red1 {[%clk 0:13:25.3]} 21... a5 {[%clk 0:15:08]} 22. b5 {[%clk
0:13:12.9]} 22... Na7 $2 {[%clk 0:14:54.5][%c_arrow
e7a3;keyPressed;none;from;e7;opacity;0.8;to;a3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a3;persistent;false][%c_effect
a7;square;a7;type;Mistake;persistent;true] I was overly conservative. I
considered just capturing White's knight, but decided to hold onto my material
[-2.3].} 23. b6 {[%clk 0:12:13.2]} 23... cxb6 {[%clk 0:14:48.3]} 24. Nc4 {[%clk
0:12:11.7]} 24... Kc7 {[%clk 0:14:29.5]} 25. Ne3 $2 {[%clk 0:11:49.7][%c_effect
e3;square;e3;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d3d4;keyPressed;none;from;d3;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false] Best move was to
\"place pressure on the pinned piece\" (the e5-pawn). This was a mistake
[-3.7].} 25... Nb5 {[%clk 0:13:55.3]} 26. c4 $6 {[%clk 0:10:58][%c_effect
c4;square;c4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d3d4;keyPressed;none;from;d3;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false] A bit inaccurate
[-4.4]} 26... Nd4 {[%clk 0:13:54.1]} 27. Nd5+ $6 {[%clk 0:10:56][%c_effect
d5;square;d5;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
g1g2;keyPressed;none;from;g1;opacity;0.8;to;g2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g2;persistent;false] Inaccurate, but no
good moves [-5.6]} 27... Kd6 $6 {[%clk 0:13:00.4][%c_effect
d6;square;d6;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%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] I realised after the
move that this was incorrect [-4.4] as White had Nxb6 and that this would be
annoying. The best move was to trade Rxd5, and I realised this in the game. I
was sensitised to this ostensible \"sacrifice\" after this move.} 28. Kg2 {[%clk
0:10:30.2][%c_arrow
d5b6;keyPressed;none;from;d5;opacity;0.8;to;b6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b6;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;b6;persistent;false]} 28... Kc5 {[%clk
0:12:23.6]} 29. Rb1 {[%clk 0:09:35.6]} 29... Rxd5 $3 {[%clk 0:11:28.3][%c_effect
d5;square;d5;type;Brilliant;persistent;true][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false] Oh yeah $1 And I
sacrifice... the rook $1 The chess.com analytic engine calls this brilliant. I
give up one of my rooks, but whack White's most active piece, the knight, which
is powerful in cramped spaces $1} 30. cxd5 {[%clk 0:09:26.4]} 30... Rxd5 {[%clk
0:11:25.4]} 31. Rc1+ {[%clk 0:08:53.8]} 31... Kb5 {[%clk 0:10:27.8]} 32. Rb2+
{[%clk 0:08:14.6]} 32... Ka6 $1 {[%clk 0:09:59.8][%c_effect
a6;square;a6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true][%c_highlight
a6;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;a6;persistent;false] King enter's a bunker
of pawns, which makes it basically perfectly protected against a rook pair,
which is limited by the fact that they can only move in cardinal directions $1}
33. Rc8 {[%clk 0:07:37.4]} 33... b5 {[%clk 0:08:32.6] Goal is to potentially
push the kingside pawns forward towards promotion. Immediately, this was
necessarily to prevent a checkmate.} 34. Ra8+ {[%clk 0:06:12.4]} 34... Kb6
{[%clk 0:08:24.8]} 35. Re8 {[%clk 0:05:42.2]} 35... Ba3 {[%clk 0:07:23.7]} 36.
Rd2 {[%clk 0:04:58.8]} 36... Rc5 {[%clk 0:06:22.1]} 37. Rd8 {[%clk 0:04:35]}
37... Rc3 {[%clk 0:05:30.3]} 38. Rh8 {[%clk 0:03:19.1]} 38... Bc5 $4 {[%clk
0:05:23.4][%c_effect c5;square;c5;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_highlight
c5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c5;persistent;false,b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false][%c_arrow
b5b4;keyPressed;none;from;b5;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false] This was a
blunder [-5 $37 -2.2]. I was thinking of finding a way to advance the pawns and
wanted to move my bishop out of the way. But this causes a problem. My f6-pawn
is a target as the base the diagonals...} 39. Rh6 $1 {[%clk 0:03:05.9][%c_effect
h6;square;h6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true][%c_highlight
h6;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;h6;persistent;false]} 39... Be7 $2 {[%clk
0:04:52.6][%c_effect e7;square;e7;type;Mistake;persistent;true] I compound the
blunder with another mistake [-2.2 $37 +0.7]. The bishop doesn't defend the
f6-pawn directly as it's pinned to the king $1} 40. Rh7 $4 {[%clk
0:02:59.9][%c_arrow
h2e5;keyPressed;none;from;h2;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false,h7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;h7;persistent;false][%c_effect
h7;square;h7;type;Blunder;persistent;true] Luckily for me, White misses the
tactic and chooses to chase my bishop, a blunder $1 [-4.8]} 40... Ba3 {[%clk
0:04:39]} 41. Rf7 {[%clk 0:02:51.5]} 41... Rc6 $1 {[%clk 0:04:32.3][%c_effect
c6;square;c6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true][%c_highlight
c6;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false] f6-pawn defended $1} 42.
f4 {[%clk 0:02:29.6]} 42... Bc1 {[%clk 0:04:14.7][%c_arrow
c1f4;keyPressed;none;from;c1;opacity;0.8;to;f4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d2;persistent;false,f4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f4;persistent;false]
Skewering White's rook with an attack on White's f4-pawn $1} 43. Re2 $4 {[%clk
0:02:25.1][%c_effect e2;square;e2;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_highlight
e2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e2;persistent;false] Possibly under time
pressure, White hangs their rook [-6.1]} 43... Nxe2 {[%clk 0:04:08.6]} 44. fxe5
{[%clk 0:02:14]} 44... Nf4+ {[%clk 0:03:53.9]} 45. Bxf4 {[%clk 0:01:44.7]} 45...
Bxf4 {[%clk 0:03:32.5]} 46. Rxf6 {[%clk 0:01:40.1]} 46... Bxe5 {[%clk
0:03:26.8][%c_effect b6;square;b6;type;Winner,g2;square;g2;type;ResignWhite]
White resigns the losing endgame, GG $1} 0-1