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At the time of writing, my new book Become a Chess Assassin! has only been released for a couple of days, but I’ve been really pleased with how well it’s been selling! In fact, it’s currently the #1 Best Seller for chess books in Amazon Australia! 🥳🎊🎉

The book is a celebration of Romanticism in chess and so, it seems very fitting that I played this unrated game against Random Noob earlier today! I had the Black pieces and White led with the Wayward Queen Attack (1. e4 e5 2. Qh5).

Now, I’ve written and spoken about the Wayward Queen Attack (WQA) before. The most accurate response is that we “must” defend against the queen’s attack on our e5-pawn and thus, we should develop our queen’s knight (2… Nc6). After White plays (3. Bc4), lining up a Scholar’s Mate, we then kick back White’s queen with (3… g6). I cover the line in the video above, but also in my previous article on how to play against the “determined” Wayward Queen Attack player.

However, one of the things is that the “determined” WQA player at the intermediate level may well outplay you as they’ve studied and learnt the most accurate lines! Technically, the WQA isn’t bad for White from the perspective of accuracy.

Today, in the spirit of Romanticism, I decided to try something different, the Kiddie Countergambit with (2… Nf6)!

In essence, I’m giving up my e5-pawn as a gambit! It is commonly stated that this is unnecessary as (2… Nc6) preserves the pawn. This is of course true. However, notably, Stockfish doesn’t evaluate the Kiddie Countergambit as mistake! In fact, the evaluation barely changes [-0.3 → -0.1] despite the loss of material after (3. Qxe5+)!

When we look at the Lichess community database, the Kiddie Countergambit is the response to the WQA that has the best win likelihood for Black (White 46% vs Black 50%). It’s also been argued that it might be the psychologically correct move! Why? It’s a Romantic sacrifice that changes the dynamic of the game. Rather than playing into White’s preparation, the sacrifice of the pawn creates a semi-opened e-file, allows for rapid development as (3… Be7!) blocks the check and we’re ready to short castle, and we’re now in the position to chase and counterattack White’s queen without giving them the “tactical resource” of having a Scholar’s Mate lurking as a background threat!

On turn 4, Black has several options. I played (4… Nc6) to set the tone; I’m going to aggressively pursue White’s queen with development to capture the initiative, both in actuality, and psychologically. 😏 The other equally good moves are d5 and short castling, and the move order is flexible.

White made a correct backward queen move (5. Qf4) and at this point, I knowingly played an inaccurate and speculative “probing” move (5… Bd6?!). My goal was to gauge White’s psychological mindset. The correct response for White wasn’t necessarily difficult to find (6. e5), pressing forward with their pawn and a seeming fork of my f6-knight and d6-bishop. However, they made yet another hesitant retreating move of their queen (6. Qe3) and I suspected that their “attacking spirit” had been broken!

As I had them on the run, I pressed forward with another speculative attack, this time with my knight (6… Nb4?!), which was threatening Nxc2+, a Family Fork! This wasn’t an easy position for White to navigate, and the most accurate moves were “ugly”: Na3 or Kd1 to defend the c2-pawn. Instead, White moved their queen yet again, this time relegating it to guard duty with (7. Qb3?!).

Now in the early middlegame, I didn’t play the most accurate moves, but temporarily paused my attack to castle my king, and missed a devious tactic on turn 9. White had played (9. e5?) with the fork, and I responded with (9… Qe7?) pinning the e-pawn to their king. There’s a very tricky line starting with (9… Bxe5!) seemingly hanging the b4-knight. However, after White captures the knight (10. Qxb4), Black has (10… Re8) and the threat of the discovered check allows Black the step of tempo to recapture a piece, and potentially win White’s queen if they are careless! See the PGN and video.

Although I didn’t see this specific line, I saw another tactic that also made use of a discovered check! On turn 11, White pushed forward their knight to attack my queen (12. Nd5??), blundering [-M2]. The logic seemed sound; if I moved my knight to give a discovered check by my queen down the e-file, their knight would capture my queen… right?

Unfortunately for White, they didn’t see my plan! In response, I had (12… Nxf3+!); double checks make the impossible, possible! Although both my knight on f3 and my queen on e7 were hanging, revealing the discovered double check meant that neither piece could be captured! Against a double check the king must move.

Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of a double check.
— Aron Nimzowitsch (1947), in My System

Having moved their queen so many times in the opening, White had little development, and all their remaining pawns were still on their second rank. White’s king had only a single legal move, sliding their king to the queen’s seat (13. Kd1). My queen then flew down the fully opened e-file, delivering back rank checkmate from the white king’s throne with (13… Qe1#)! A beautiful Romantic finish!

Game: https://www.chess.com/analysis/library/3WAotGJ1a6

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2024.11.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Random Noob"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[TimeControl "600"]
[WhiteElo ""]
[BlackElo ""]
[Termination "Guest7015061067 won by checkmate"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/analysis/library/3zQXDtTgSJ?tab=analysis&move=25"]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]
[WhiteUrl ""]
[WhiteCountry ""]
[WhiteTitle ""]

1. e4 {[%clk 0:09:58.7][%timestamp 13]} 1... e5 {[%clk 0:09:59][%timestamp 10]}
2. Qh5 {[%clk 0:09:53.3][%timestamp 54] Wayward Queen Attack} 2... Nf6 $5 {[%clk
0:09:52][%timestamp 70][%c_effect f6;square;f6;type;Interesting;persistent;true]
Kiddie Countergambit $1 Now, Nc6 is the standard and sensible move to refute the
Wayward Queen, but I decided to try some unexpected and spicy in this game $1 I
knew that Nf6 existed as an \"okay\" move, but had never really looked into it
before $1 [-0.3 -> -0.1]. This move is called \"speculative\" as it sacrifices the
e5-pawn for development, something that isn't necessary. However, it has the
virtue that it might be relatively unexpected for the dogged Wayward Queen
Attack player who has learnt the theory. Stockfish evaluates the position as
equal/slightly favouring Black still, and the Lichess community database
identifies that this is the most winning line 46\% White, 50\% Black $1} 3. Qxe5+
{[%clk 0:09:50.6][%timestamp 27]} 3... Be7 $1 {[%clk 0:09:43][%timestamp
90][%c_effect
e7;square;e7;type;GreatFind;path;null;size;100%25;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_highlight
e7;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;e7;persistent;false]} 4. Nf3 {[%clk
0:09:42.2][%timestamp 84]} 4... Nc6 {[%clk 0:09:41.6][%timestamp 14][%c_arrow
d7d5;keyPressed;none;from;d7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false,e8g8;keyPressed;none;from;e8;opacity;0.8;to;g8;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false,g8;keyPressed;shift;opacity;0.8;square;g8;persistent;false]
The obvious moves in the position are all good: d5 and O-O are both just about
equally good $1} 5. Qf4 {[%clk 0:09:27.9][%timestamp 143]} 5... Bd6 $6 {[%clk
0:09:25.4][%timestamp 162][%c_effect
d6;square;d6;type;Inaccuracy;path;null;size;100%25;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d7d5;keyPressed;none;from;d7;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false,e8g8;keyPressed;none;from;e8;opacity;0.8;to;g8;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false,g8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g8;persistent;false]
This is inaccurate, and I knew it in the game, but I decided to speculatively
chase White's queen $1 This is a mistake as White has e5. In the position, d5 or
O-O remain the logical and best moves.} 6. Qe3 {[%clk 0:09:15.2][%timestamp 127]
The probe also is a gauge of White's psychological mindset. This hesitant
retreating move indicates White's discomfort with the counterattack, and
inability to press on with a full attack $1} 6... Nb4 $5 {[%clk
0:09:09.8][%timestamp 156][%c_effect
b4;square;b4;type;Interesting;path;null;size;100%2525;animated;false;persistent;true]
This is ostensibly an inaccuracy, but based on White's response, I pressed on
with the counterattack to capture the psychological advantage. Very Romantic $1}
7. Qb3 $6 {[%clk 0:09:11][%timestamp 42][%c_effect
b3;square;b3;type;Inaccuracy;path;null;size;100%25;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_arrow
b1a3;keyPressed;none;from;b1;opacity;0.8;to;a3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a3;persistent;false] White now has their
queen doing defence. The most accurate moves were somewhat ugly: Na3 or Kd1.}
7... O-O $2 {[%clk 0:08:40.5][%timestamp 293][%c_effect
g8;square;g8;type;Mistake;path;null;size;100%25;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f6e4;keyPressed;none;from;f6;opacity;0.8;to;e4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false] White's e4 pawn could
be captured immediately, but I decided to castle first.} 8. Ng5 $2  {[%clk
0:09:06.2][%timestamp 48][%c_effect
g5;square;g5;type;Mistake;path;null;size;100%2525;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_arrow
e4e5;keyPressed;none;from;e4;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false] e5 with the fork is
best} 8... h6 {[%clk 0:08:27.8][%timestamp 127]} 9. e5 $2 {[%clk
0:08:41.9][%timestamp 243][%c_effect
e5;square;e5;type;Mistake;path;null;size;100%25;animated;false;persistent;true]
This is a mistake for White, though I didn't see the full line. In the position,
Black has Bxe5, seemingly hanging the b4-knight $1 This is a good pattern to
know $1} 9... Qe7 $2  {[%clk 0:08:16.1][%timestamp 117][%c_effect
e7;square;e7;type;Mistake;path;null;size;100%2525;animated;false;persistent;true]
I pin White's e5-pawn to their king and I'm fine (I am), but miss the fantastic
tactic of Bxe5 $1} (9... Bxe5 $1 {[%c_effect
e5;square;e5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false] This is the best
move $1} 10. Qxb4 Re8 {[%c_arrow
h6g5;keyPressed;none;from;h6;opacity;0.8;to;g5;persistent;false,e8e1;keyPressed;none;from;e8;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,e5d6;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;d6;persistent;false,d6b4;keyPressed;none;from;d6;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g5;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false,b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false]
And Black has a great tactical advantage $1 Black will at least win back White's
knight and if they are not careful, they could lose their queen with the
discovered check1}) 10. Nf3 $2 {[%clk 0:07:45][%timestamp 569][%c_effect
f3;square;f3;type;Mistake;path;null;size;100%25;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d2d4;keyPressed;none;from;d2;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false] White continues with
the retreat and this is a mistake} 10... Ng4 $2  {[%clk 0:07:56.6][%timestamp
195][%c_effect
g4;square;g4;type;Mistake;path;null;size;100%2525;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d6e5;keyPressed;none;from;d6;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false] Again, Bxe5 $1 is
best $1} 11. Nc3 $4 {[%clk 0:07:31.3][%timestamp 137][%c_effect
c3;square;c3;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_highlight
c3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c3;persistent;false,d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false][%c_arrow
d2d4;keyPressed;none;from;d2;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false] White needed to
develop their centre pawns $1} 11... Nxe5 {[%clk 0:07:52.4][%timestamp 42]} 12.
Nd5 $4 {[%clk 0:07:03.8][%timestamp 275][%c_effect
d5;square;d5;type;Blunder;path;null;size;100%25;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false,e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false][%c_arrow
f3e5;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false] White attempts
to strike but misses my powerful mating attack $1 This blunders [-M2]} 12...
Nxf3+ $1 {[%clk 0:07:34.4][%timestamp 180][%c_effect
f3;square;f3;type;GreatFind;path;null;size;100%25;animated;false;persistent;true][%c_highlight
f3;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false][%c_arrow
e7e1;keyPressed;none;from;e7;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,f3e1;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false]
Double checks make the impossible, possible $1 Both the knight and queen are
hanging, but neither can be captured $1} 13. Kd1 {[%clk 0:06:34.8][%timestamp
290]} 13... Qe1# {[%clk 0:07:32.5][%timestamp 19][%c_effect
g8;square;g8;type;Winner,d1;square;d1;type;CheckmateWhite][%c_arrow
e1d1;keyPressed;none;from;e1;opacity;0.8;to;d1;persistent;false,f3e1;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,e1e2;keyPressed;none;from;e1;opacity;0.8;to;e2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d1;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false,e2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e2;persistent;false]
Back rank checkmate from the opened e-file $1 Good game, GG $1} 0-1