Here's my plan...

In chess it has been said that from a practical point of view "a bad plan is better than no plan at all". This may be true, but it will more often be the case that "a good plan is better than a bad plan."


perrypawnpusher - walkinthespirit
blitz, FICS, 2010

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

4...Ke7

Possibly played with the idea: If you want me to take the Bishop, then I won't take the Bishop.

5.Bc4

I had forgotten that last year we had contested the same line: 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.Nc3 Na5 7.Nxe5 Nxb3 8.axb3 d6 9.Nf3 Rf8 10.d4 Bb4 11.Bg5 Kf7 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.0-0 Bg4 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Qe6 16.Ng5+ Kg8 17.Nxe6 Bxd1 18.Nxf8 Bxf8 19.Raxd1 Re8 20.Rfe1 Bc5 21.e6 a5 22.Nd5 c6 23.Nc7 Re7 24.Rd7  Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - walkinthespirit, blitz, FICS, 2009.

Earlier still, the idea had been successful for my opponent: 5.Bd5 Nf6 6.Bc4 Nd4 7.Nxe5 Nxe4 8.0-0 Qe8 9.Re1 Nxc2 10.Qxc2 Bxf2+ 11.Kh1 Bxe1 12.Qxe4 Kf8 13.Qxe1 d6 14.Qf1+ Ke7 15.Bf7 Rf8 16.Qe1 Qb5 17.Nc3 Qxe5 18.Nd5+ Kxf7 19.Qf2+ Kg8 20.Qxf8+ Kxf8 21.Ne3 Qf6 22.d3 Qf2 23.b3 Qe1+ 24.Nf1 Qxf1 checkmate, tintagel - walkinthespirit, blitz, FICS, 2008

5...Nf6 6.Nc3 Bxf2+

Again, more psychology, similar to the "Anti-Bill Wall Gambit": Whatever White gets from his sacrifice at f7, Black will now get from his sacrifice at f2.

Of course, what White typically gets from his sacrifice at f7 is a lost game.

Except in this case, Black did not capture the Bishop at f7. I am not going to make the same mistake, so I will be ahead in material.

Still, from a practical point of view, I have already been shown to be vulnerable to psychological attacks, so there is still a little bit of hope for my opponent.

7.Kxf2 Ng4+ 8.Kg1 Rf8 9.h3 d6

Counting on the attack at f3 to regain material, but this is a mistake.

10.hxg4 Bxg4 11.d3 Nd4

This is Black's plan: look at the concentration of forces on my King's Knight.

12.Bg5+

This is what my opponent missed.

12...Kd7 13.Bxd8

I suppose that it is being picky to point out that Rybka preferred 13.Nxe5+ dxe5 14.Qxg4+ first snaring a pawn, followed by capturing the Queen. 

13...Nxf3+ 14.gxf3 Bxf3 15.Qf1 Raxd8

Black has some uncomfortable pressure against my King and Kingside, but, after all, I am up a piece and a Queen...

16.Qh3+ Kc6 17.Bd5+ Kc5 18.Rh2 Rf6 19.Rf2 Rg6+

20.Kf1 Rf8

Black keeps pressing. He has to. He is facing checkmate in a dozen or so moves.

21.Ke1

Once again (see "Idées Fixes et Manqués"), I start missing checkmates. If I had found 21.Qd7 (not that difficult to discover) then whatever loss of material I would have experienced on the Kingside would have been meaningless. 

21...Rh6 22.Qxh6

Coming to my senses. Although the proper move was still 22.Qd7 the text is a reasonable choice: by giving up my Queen for a Rook and a Bishop, I put an end to my opponent's aggression once and for all.

22...gxh6 23.Kd2 h5 24.Raf1 h4 25.Rxf3 Rxf3 26.Rxf3

Now the game winds down to its inevitable conclusion.

26...c6 27.Bb3 b5 28.Rh3 a5 29.a3 a4 30.Ba2 b4 31.axb4+ Kxb4 32.Rxh4 a3 33.bxa3+ Kxa3 34.Rh6 Black resigned