My worries started to multiply...

There's nothing quite like a good mind-swarm of worries to degrade a player's chess abilities.

(For me, lack of appropriate levels of caffeine in my blood system runs a close second.)

perrypawnpusher - Abatwa
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6

Opting for the Two Knights Defense.

A couple of games by my opponent continued with the Blackburne Shilling Jerome Gambit: 3...Nd4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 (5...Ke7 6.d3 h6 7.Ng6+ Ke8 8.Nxh8 Nf6 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Re1 Bxh2+ 11.Kh1 Be5 12.c3 Nc6 13.Qb3, Black resigned, Abatwa - yeabro, FICS, 2010) 6.c3 Nc6 7.d4 Nce7 8.Qg4+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2010.

4.Nc3 Bc5

The Italian Four Knights Game.

5.Bxf7+

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit. My opponent and I have been here before.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4

7...Bxd4

The most popular response, and stronger than my opponent's earlier, creative, efforts: 7...Bb4 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.Qd5+ Kf8 10.Qxe4 Qe7 11.0-0 Bxc3 12.bxc3 d6 13.Ba3 c5 14.Qf4+ Ke8 15.exd6 Qd7 16.Rfe1+ Kd8 17.Qg5+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2010; and

7...Rf8 8.dxe5 Ne8 9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Bg5+ Nf6 11.exf6+ gxf6 12.Qxc5+ d6 13.Nd5+ Kd7 14.Qd4 fxg5 15.Qg7+ Kc6 16.Qc3+ Kd7 17.0-0-0 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Abatwa, blitz, FICS, 2010.

8.Qxd4 Re8 9.0-0 Nfg4

My opponent was spending a lot of time thinking, and this move gave me a bit of a start: my worries started to multiply, even though, objectively 9...d6 was better.

What was there to worrry about?

I would normally play 10.f4 here, but I imagined that Black would respond to the move with 10...Qh4, threatening mate. Of course, I could play 11.h3, but then he would have 11...Qg3, and if I took off the advanced Knight with 12.hxg4 he could replace it with 12...Nxg4.

After some thought, I played

10.Bf4

Not enough thought, of course.

My worried thoughts were faulty.

For starters, after 10.f4 Qh4 White would be able to remove the backup Knight with check either on his 11th or 12th moves.

Even after the hallucinated 10.f4 Qh4 11.h3 Qg3 12.hxg4 Nxg4 White can defend, with an even game, after 13.Qd5+ Kf8 14.Qh5.

Pretty sad.

Best was simply 10.h3, and after 10...Nf6 then 11.Bg5 d6 12.f4 Nc6, with Black still better.

One positive thing did come out of my odd Bishop move: I don't think it made sense to my opponent, either. What was I up to?? He continued to eat up thinking time.

10...Qf6 11.Qd2 Qg6

12.Bg3

I still wasn't sure what I was doing, either.

The straight-forward 12.h3 Nf6 13.Bxe5 Rxe5 14.f4 followed by 15.e5 would have given White the initiative and positional compensation for his material deficit.

12...d6

This certainly looks good: with four pieces aimed at my Kingside (let's not count the Black King) my opponent opens a line for a fifth.

I decided, though, that the pressure on the wing needed counter-pressure in the center.

13.Nd5 Rb8 14.Nxc7 Re7 15.Nd5 Re8 16.f3 Nf6 17.Nf4 Qh6 18.Qxd6

With three pawns for the piece, White is now probably even. It was nice to be forcing the pace of the game, making my opponent react.

18...Bd7 19.Nd5 Nxd5 20.Qxd5+

This keeps the game even, while 20.Bxe5 gives White the edge. How big an edge is not clear, as there is always the possibility of things devolving into a drawn Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame if I am not careful.

20...Kf8

Unfortunately time had now become very much a factor for my opponent, and he missed the stronger 20...Qe6 which would have kept things level.

21.Bxe5 Qe3+ 22.Kh1 Black lost on time

Three extra pawns should be enough for White to win.