Rope-A-Dope

The following game has a sense of strangeness about it.

It was as if my opponent were adopting a rope-a-dope strategy against me. It worked, up until the point when it didn't...



 perrypawnpusher  - rsiemon
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 N8e7

10.f4

This is about as strong as 10.0-0 (which will come next move) or 10.d4 (which never quite arrives).

10...Bd7

To fight against White's e-pawn. Better, although looking anti-positional, was 10...c5.

11.0-0

The next time I play this line, I will opt for more center action with 11.f5 Ne5 12.d4 N5c6 13.Nc3 Kf7 and then 14.0-0 with a roughly even game.

11...Bc6 12.f5 Nf8

Come and get me!

My next move tries to do just that, but there is not a whole lot for White in either (slightly better) alternative: 13.Nc3 Nd7 14.d4 Nf6 15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Nfd5 or 13.d4 Nd7 14.c4 Nf6 15.e5 dxe5 16.dxe5 Ng4

13.f6 gxf6 14.Rxf6 Ng8

Come and get me!

15.Rf1 Qe7 16.d3 Rd8

After the game Rybka 3 suggested 16...Qg7 17.Bd2 Nd7 18.Nc3 Ne7 19.Rf2 Rg8 20.Qe2 b5 21.Raf1 Ne5 as about even.

17.Qg3

Again, Rybka 3's post-mortem suggestion was 17.Nc3 Qg7 18.d4 Nf6 19.Qg5 Qxg5 20.Bxg5 Nxe4 21.Rae1 d5 22.Bf6 Rg8 23.Nxe4 dxe4 24.c4 Kd7 25.Bxd8 Kxd8 26.d5 Be8 27.Rxe4 when White has a Rook and two pawns to Black's two pieces.

17...Rd7

Time to castle-by-hand on the Queenside... Funny! 

18.Nc3 Qg7 19.Qh3 Kd8 20.Be3 Kc8

By this time in the "Rumble in the Jungle", George Foreman had largely worn himself out against Muhammad Ali and his rope-a-dope tactics.

21.Rf2 Kb8 22.Raf1 Rd8

Black finally drops his guard.

23.Rf7

Here, Black forfeited on time. After the necessary 23...Qg6 he would lose a Knight to 24.Rxf8.