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perrypawnpusher - vityas81
"Play The Italian Game III" tournament, Chess.com, 2023
Sometimes things can be made more complicated by worry.
Here I was worried about the Knight at b4 and its threats to the c2 square. Also, there was the Bishop on e6 that, at any moment, would attack my Queen after a well-timed ...d4.
After the game Stockfish 15.1 tried to reassure me that I could have turned a corner and gotten a bit closer to success with 14.Ng5+, which doesn't immediately do anything, but which controls the enemy Bishop. After 14...Kg8 15.O-O things would have remained balanced.
14.Bxb4 axb4 15.O-O Rhf8 16.Qd3 Kg8
Now, if I can only get around that next corner...
17.Nd4 Bd7 18.b3
This weakening of the a1-h8 diagonal (with the Rook still on it) rightly led to trouble.
I should have tried to get rid of a Bishop with 18.Nb5, although my opponent was in the position to give up a pawn with 18...Be5 19.Qxd5+ Rf7 and still be better.
18...Be5 19.Nge2
Making things worse. Necessary was 19.Rad1, even if it led to the loss of the a-pawn.
19...Qh6
My opponent momentarily abandoned the win of a piece with 19...c5 for a mate-in-1 threat - which worked.
20.Ng3 c5 21.Ndf5 Bxf5 22.Nxf5 Qxh2 checkmate
Ouch.
Well, Mr. Monck and Mr. Noa, I may have to re-evaluate my relationship with your gambit...
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