C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4)

This game was played in a team match called Khamûl the Nazgûl. The match is played on 17 boards between Lord Of The Rings and Cafe Jasmin - Open 24/7. I am playing on board 3 for Lord Of The Rings. This has been a quite one-sided match because the current score in the match is 22 - 7 in favor of Lord Of The Rings. Then again we did have higher rated players on most boards, so this is pretty much the expected outcome. However, there have been some upsets too to make it more interesting. This will be quite convincing victory for us as soon as all the games are finished.

The move 3...h6 is not even considered theory in all sources, but Chess.com's opening explorer does recognise this opening variation. I remember vaguely playing that h6 move when I was still relatively new to chess, but later on I started playing 3...Bc5 and I have played it many times over the years. The move 3...h6 does stop any intrusion by a knight or a bishop, for instance, but it also feels a bit unnecessary. I think the two main moves here are 3...Bc5 and 3...Nf6, both of which I would prefer over h6. I think I have also played 3...Be7, which is probably also a better alternative than h6. Basically I am saying that I do not like that move. Because I think that my opponent's third move is a mistake, which takes a bit time off from development, I thought that I should maybe play as aggressively as possible and try to finish my development as soon as possible. Therefore I started with 4.d4. That move does two things, it opens up a diagonal for my dark-squared bishop and it also has a threat to win a pawn with dxe5 attached to it. I think that exd4 was the correct way to answer d4, but after I took back with the knight, my opponent went a bit astray in my opinion. He took on d4 the second time with the knight and after I recaptured with the queen, I had two pieces developed while my opponent did not have any. I also have the center under my control and I think these things should give me a clear advantage in the position. I was not winning just yet, but the position seemed very promising.

Nikdelhossein replied to 6.Qxd4 with 6...Nf6, which is probably a decent move in the position. I continued with O-O and then my opponent played Be7, which is understandable move because he wants to castle as soon as possible and had I just allowed him to castle, he might have been able to survive better. I played 8.e5 in order to disrupt those castling plans and kick the knight to a bad square. My opponent should have moved the knight because after 8...c5, the fate of the knight is sealed and it will be lost. This is because of the move 9.Qf4, which pins the knight to the f7-square. Had the knight moved, I would have taken on f7 with the queen ending the game immediately because of checkmate. Nikdelhossein tried the desperate 9...g5, but after 10.Qf3, I will be able to win a piece. 10...d5 does not help because of the following continuation 11.exf6 dxc4 12.fxe7. This meant that I was already in a winning position after my opponent blundered with 8...c5. I may not have played the rest of the game perfectly, but well enough to secure the win.

On a completely unrelated note, I realized today that I am at least on four different sites at my peak rating! While my games at Chess.com have not been able to produce a new peak in Daily chess since January, 2009, I am at my peak at Red Hot Pawn with a rating of 1969, at ChessRex with a rating of 1755, at GameKnot with a rating of 1810 and maybe most importantly got my FICS standard rating to 2204 on April 16th, 2016!! The last one is special because it broke my previous online rating peak that used to belong to the rating I had achieved at Queen Alice Internet Chess Club. It is now the highest rating that I have been able to get on any site. I am the first one to admit though that there is some air in that rating and that it does not really portray my true skill level. However, the way that the ratings are calculated at the Free Internet Chess Server, it has made this possible. Then again I was very close to losing my last game there and I thought many times during the game, why did I made the challenge as a rated game... Had I lost that game, I would have probably lost a few hundred points I think. Even drawing that game would have drastically dropped my rating. Now I must go back to making moves in my correspondence games and if I have some time left today, I should also prepare for an important over the board game that I play tomorrow.

[Event "Khamûl the Nazgûl - Board 3"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.02.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "nikdelhossein"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1835"] [BlackElo "1587"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 h6 {Italian Game: Anti-Fried Liver Defense} (3... Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 b5 {Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Leonhardt Countergambit} (6... d6 7. Qb3 {Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Tartakower Attack}) (6... exd4 7. O-O b5 {Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Johner Defense})) 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nxd4 {C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} 6. Qxd4 Nf6 7. O-O ( 7. e5 Nh7 8. Nc3 b6 9. Qd5 Qe7 10. Qxa8 Kd8 11. Ba6 Qxe5+ 12. Be3 Ke7 13. Bxc8 Ke6 14. Bxd7+ Kd6 15. O-O-O+ Ke7 16. Qe8+ Kf6 17. Nd5+ Qxd5 18. Rxd5 Kg6 19. Bf5+ Kh5 20. Qxf7+ Kh4 21. g3# {1-0 (21) Ganz,M (1553)-Boba,K (1004) Oravska Priehrada 2016}) 7... Be7 8. e5 (8. Nc3 d6 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Bf6 12. Qd3 Re8 13. Bd2 Rxe1+ 14. Rxe1 Bxb2 15. Ba5 Bd7 16. Qb3 Be5 17. Qxb7 Qc8 18. Qxc7 Qxc7 19. Bxc7 Rc8 20. Bxd6 Bxd6 21. Bb3 Bb4 22. Re4 Bc3 {Maerkl, S-Risino,S Bremen 1992 1-0 (35)}) 8... c5 $4 $146 {terrible, but the game is lost in any case} (8... Ng8 9. Qd5 d6 10. Qxf7+ Kd7 11. Qxg7 Nf6 12. exf6 Qf8 13. Qxe7+ Qxe7 14. fxe7 Kxe7 15. Nc3 c6 16. Re1+ Kd8 17. Be6 Re8 18. Bxh6 Bxe6 19. Re2 Kd7 20. Ne4 Ke7 21. Bg5+ Kf8 22. Bh6+ Ke7 23. Bg5+ {Kolsek,J (1500) -Markocic,T (1500) Rogaska Slatina 2009 1-0 (36)}) (8... Nh7 $142 9. Nc3 O-O $16) 9. Qf4 $18 g5 (9... d5 {hardly improves anything} 10. exf6 Bxf6 11. Qe3+ Be6 12. Bb5+ Kf8 13. Qxc5+ Qe7 14. Qxe7+ Kxe7 15. Nc3 $18) 10. Qf3 O-O (10... g4 {doesn't get the cat off the tree} 11. Qe2 Ng8 12. Qxg4 $18) 11. exf6 Bxf6 12. Nc3 Rb8 (12... Bg7 {does not help much} 13. h4 $1 {Decoy: h4} g4 14. Qe4 $18) 13. Nd5 Bg7 (13... Kg7 {is not much help} 14. Qg3 b5 15. Bf4 $18) 14. Bd3 (14. Re1 $142 {keeps an even firmer grip} Kh8 15. h4 $18) 14... b6 (14... d6 { there is nothing better in the position} 15. h4 $1 {an unpleasant surprise} g4 $18) 15. Qf5 Re8 16. Qh7+ (16. f4 $142 {and White wins} Bb7 17. fxg5 Bxd5 18. Qh7+ Kf8 $18) 16... Kf8 17. c3 (17. f4 $142 {and White can celebrate victory} Bb7 18. fxg5 Bxd5 $18) 17... d6 (17... Bb7 {does not improve anything} 18. Ne3 Qf6 19. Bd2 $18) 18. Bd2 (18. f4 $142 {finishes off the opponent} Be6 19. fxg5 hxg5 20. Be4 $18) 18... Be6 19. Ne3 d5 (19... f6 {cannot change what is in store for White} 20. Bb5 Bg8 21. Qd3 $18) 20. Nf5 (20. f4 $142 {and White wins} Rb7 21. fxg5 Qxg5 $18) 20... Bxf5 21. Qxf5 (21. Bxf5 {makes it even easier for White} Qf6 22. f4 g4 23. Bxg4 Ke7 $18) 21... Re5 (21... Qf6 {is no salvation} 22. Qh7 $18) 22. Qf3 (22. Qh7 $5 {seems even better} Re8 23. Bb5 Re4 $18) 22... b5 (22... d4 {doesn't improve anything} 23. Rad1 $18) 23. Rfe1 (23. Qh3 { might be the shorter path} Qb6 24. f4 g4 25. Qxg4 Re7 $18) 23... a6 (23... Qf6 {does not solve anything} 24. Qh5 Rbe8 25. Bxb5 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27. Bxe1 $18) 24. Rxe5 Bxe5 25. Re1 Qd6 26. g3 Re8 27. Qe2 Qf6 28. Kg2 Re7 (28... Qc6 { does not win a prize} 29. Qf3 $18) 29. Qf3 (29. Qg4 {keeps an even firmer grip} Qc6 30. f4 c4 $18) 29... Qd6 (29... Qxf3+ {is no salvation} 30. Kxf3 Re6 31. Bf5 $18) 30. Bf5 (30. h4 $142 {makes it even easier for White} Bf6 31. Rh1 Re5 $18) 30... Kg7 (30... d4 {hardly improves anything} 31. Rd1 Bf6 32. cxd4 Bxd4 33. b4 $18) 31. Qg4 (31. h4 $142 {seems even better} gxh4 32. Qg4+ Kf8 33. Bh7 $18) 31... Qf6 (31... Bf6 {is not much help} 32. Rxe7 Qxe7 33. h4 $18) 32. Bc2 (32. h4 {and White can already relax} h5 33. Qxh5 Qxf5 34. Bxg5 Kg8 $18) 32... a5 (32... d4 {doesn't improve anything} 33. f4 dxc3 34. bxc3 Qc6+ 35. Kh3 $18) 33. Qf5 (33. h4 $142 {ends the debate} Kf8 34. hxg5 $18) 33... Qxf5 34. Bxf5 Kf6 35. Bg4 Kg6 (35... Bc7 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} 36. Rd1 $18) 36. Bf3 f6 37. Re2 Rd7 38. Kf1 (38. Bg4 {seems even better} Rd8 39. f4 Bd6 $18) 38... h5 (38... b4 {does not improve anything} 39. Bg4 Rd8 40. f4 $18) 39. Bg2 Kf5 (39... g4 {doesn't get the bull off the ice} 40. a3 $18) 40. f3 Bc7 {Black prepares g4} (40... d4 {cannot undo what has already been done} 41. Bh3+ g4 42. fxg4+ hxg4 43. Rf2+ Kg6 44. Bxg4 $18) 41. Bh3+ g4 42. fxg4+ hxg4 43. Rf2+ Kg6 44. Bxg4 Re7 (44... Rd8 {doesn't change anything anymore} 45. Be3 d4 46. cxd4 cxd4 47. Bf5+ Kf7 48. Bf4 $18) 45. Bf5+ Kg7 46. Bf4 (46. Re2 $142 {and White can already relax} Be5 $18) 46... Bb6 (46... Bxf4 {is not the saving move} 47. Rxf4 Kf7 48. Kf2 $18) 47. Re2 Rb7 (47... Bd8 $18 { a last effort to resist the inevitable}) 48. h4 b4 49. h5 bxc3 (49... Bd8 { cannot change destiny} 50. h6+ Kf8 51. Bd6+ Be7 52. h7 Kg7 53. Bxe7 Rb8 54. Bd6 b3 55. Re7+ Kh8 56. Bxb8 a4 57. Re8+ Kg7 58. h8=Q+ Kf7 59. Qf8#) 50. h6+ Kf8 ( 50... Kf7 {cannot change what is in store for White} 51. h7 Rb8 52. Bxb8 c2 53. Bxc2 Bc7 54. Bxc7 Kg7 55. Re7+ Kh8 56. Re8+ Kg7 57. h8=Q+ Kf7 58. Qf8#) 51. bxc3 (51. Bd6+ Kf7 52. h7 c2 53. h8=Q c1=Q+ 54. Kg2 Qg1+ 55. Kxg1 c4+ 56. Kf1 c3 57. Qf8#) 51... Bc7 (51... Bd8 {does not save the day} 52. Bd6+ Be7 53. h7 Kg7 54. Bxe7 d4 55. Bxf6+ Kxf6 56. h8=Q+ Kxf5 57. Re5+ Kg6 58. Qg8+ Rg7 59. Qe6+ Kh7 60. Rh5#) 52. Bg6 (52. h7 Rb1+ 53. Kg2 Be5 54. h8=Q+ Ke7 55. Qh7+ Ke8 56. Qd7+ Kf8 57. Bh6+ Kg8 58. Qh7#) 52... Be5 53. Bxe5 fxe5 54. Rxe5 Rb8 55. Rxd5 Rb2 (55... Ke7 {doesn't change the outcome of the game} 56. Rxc5 Ke6 57. Rxa5 Rf8+ 58. Ke2 Rh8 59. Be4 Kf6 60. h7 Kg7 61. Rg5+ Kf6 62. Rg8 Rxh7 63. Bxh7 Ke6 64. a4 Kd5 65. a5 Kc6 66. a6 Kb6 67. Rg6+ Ka5 68. a7 Kb5 69. a8=Q Kc4 70. Qc8+ Kb3 71. Rb6+ Ka2 72. Qa6#) 56. Re5 Rxa2 (56... Rb8 {doesn't do any good} 57. Re8+ $1 {the final blow} Rxe8 58. Bxe8 a4 59. g4 a3 60. g5 Kg8 61. g6 Kf8 62. g7+ Kg8 63. Kf2 c4 64. Kf3 Kh7 65. Bb5 Kg6 66. g8=Q+ Kf6 67. Qg7+ Ke6 68. Kf4 Kd5 69. Qe5#) 57. Re8# 1-0