MuddleGame Blues

More "muddlegame" blues: White has all the makings of an attack on the enemy King – well, almost all – but his efforts look like someone trying to put together a 1,000 piece puzzle when some of the parts are missing. After such a failure, to win the game based on what seems to be an optical illusion makes things even more bizarre.


perrypawnpusher - Fazmeister
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5

The Italian Four Knights Game.

5.Bxf7+

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

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

7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Re8 9.0-0 d6

10.f4

A standard move in this kind of position, but probably 10.Bg5, as in Wall,B - Foman, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 22) was stronger.

10...Nc6 11.Qd3 Kg8 12.Bd2 Kh8

The King's cautious double-move eliminates the risk of a Queen-check-and-fork at c4, should Black move a piece to b4 to attack Her Majesty. Previously I had seen 12...a6 13.Rae1 Kh8 in perrypawnpusher - KaZC, blitz, FICS, 2010 (½-½, 61).

Actually, in my post on the KaZC game, I said I'd try 10.Bg5 "next time", but I forgot to...

13.Nd5

Another "standard move in this kind of position", but with Black's Rook at e8 this should simply lose the e-pawn.

13...Nxd5

A curious example of "playing the player" (or "playing the player's misconceptions") rather than "playing the board."  Folie a deux?

14.exd5 Nb4

I don't know what to say. Some people just want to attack my Queen. Now that there is no insidious check-fork (see my comment to Black's 12th move) my opponent goes ahead...

15.Bxb4 a5

White has regained his sacrificed piece and is even a pawn up.

One look at Black's undeveloped Queenside suggests that White should focus an attack on the enemy King, using the a1-h8 diagonal and possibly the g-file as well.

That much, I understood. But I could not put the attack together. 

16.Bc3 b6 17.Qd4

This move is adequate, but after the game Houdini suggested the cold-blooded 17.f5 Ba6 18.Qg3 Qd7 19.f6, since 19...Bxf1 is only a temporary material gain for Black, as he quickly has to return the exchange with 20.Rxf1 Re5. After 21.Bxe5 dxe5 22.Qxe5 Qf7  23.fxg7+ Qxg7 Black has turned back the attack, but he is two pawns down without any compensation at all.

The idea of an attack that does not necessarily end up with checkmate, but which is "expensive" for the opponent to defend against, is part of middlegame play (in my games, "muddlegame play") that I'm still trying to understand.

One of the "missing pieces" in my own construction of the attack was the move f4-f5.

17...Re7

Stronger was 17...Qf6, because the text move makes the Rook a target after f4-f5-f6; but I was oblivious to that.

18.Rae1

Solid, but take a look at 18.f5 Rf7 19.f6 Rxf6 20.Qxf6!? gxf6 21.Bxf6+ Qxf6 22.Rxf6 when White has the exchange and a pawn to comfort him for his "failed" attack on the King.

18...Rf7 19.Re3

Planning to transfer the Rook to the g-file, but without the "can opener" f4-f5 the attack will not be sufficient.

19...Bf5

20.Rg3

With the arrival of Black's Bishop, his Kingside is almost secure.

20...Qd7 21.Rff3 Bxc2 22.f5

The pawn finally takes a step, but it turns out now that the Rook sacrifice at g7, which I try a move later, is the key here: 22.Rxg7 Rxg7 23.Rg3 Bg6 24.f5 Re8 25.fxg6 Re5 26.Qd3 Qa4 27.Qf3 Qe8 28.gxh7 Kxh7 29.Rxg7+ Kxg7 30.Bxe5+ dxe5. White is up a pawn in a Queen + pawns endgame; and at our level of play, in blitz, that's probably what they call "3/4 of a point" (i.e. a draw, with a big sigh).

22...Raf8 23.Rxg7

I was thinking "something like this should work", which is a very bad substitute for analysis. I had also lost my patience, which is a very bad substitute for actually playing chess.

It was better to stay the course, as Houdini showed afterward: 23.Rg5 b5 24.Rfg3 Rg8 25.f6 g6 when White is better, but he will probably have to sacrifice the exchange to break through. The win is a long ways off.

23...Rxg7 24.Rg3

The sad fact is that Black has adequate defensive resources, and White will end up with a pawn for a piece.

24...Rff7 25.Rxg7 Rxg7 26.Qf2 Be4 27.Bxg7+ Qxg7 28.f6 Qf7 29.g4 Bxd5

It is hard to believe that this is the same game that I was playing 4 diagrams back. White is simply busted.

30.g5 Bxa2 31.h4 Bb1 32.h5 c5 33.Qf4 Ba2 34.Qxd6 Qxh5

I think the only explanation for this move is that my opponent has been looking at moves for his pieces along the light squares, while he has been assessing my Queen's movements along the dark squares. Kind of an optical illusion.

Well, that, and maybe a shortness of time on the clock.

35.Qf8+ Bg8

Of course.

36.Qg7 checkmate

Well, that was far better than I expected.

(It looks like I need a serious refresher course on attacking the King, starting with Joel Johnson's Formation Attacks.)