C34 King's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3: 3...Nf6 and 3...d6 (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 d6)

The theoretical move order for this variation is 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Nc6. If we would have followed the theoretical move order, I think I would not have played 3...Nc6. I definetely would not play that after the old post I came across yesterday. The post I am referring to was published April 2nd, 2012 titled "Rajlich: Busting the King's Gambit, this time for sure". It can be found at the Chessbase website. In that post Vasik Rajlich claimed that the King's Gambit had been solved. According to that extensive project he did, the best move against 3.Bc4 is 3...Nf6 and White should lose with best play. The project was inspired by Bobby Fischer's claims that he had refuted the King's Gambit. Interestingly enough it seems that Fischer was right about 3...d6 being the best answer to 3.Nf3. What is also interesting about this project is that the only move after 2...exf4 that keeps White in the game is 3.Be2 and with best play it is a draw. In practical play human players can still make bad moves, so it is not like you could get a guaranteed win in the lines that should be winning from this early on.

The game below was played in a second division, group 4 match between AS and SalSK 2 in 2010. I played on board 4 for SalSK 2 in this match. I was not unfortunately the only one who lost on our team, we also lost on boards 1 and 3. On board 2 we drew and the only win we got from our board 5 player. This meant that the final score was 3 - 1 in favor of AS. While this game started in a promising way for me, the longer the game went, the more the game started to gravitate in favor of my opponent. The position below is taken after my 7th move g5. My opponent played 8.Nc3, after which I should be clearly better. The best option for White to stay in the game is to play 8.d5 here.

I remained only clearly better until in the position below my opponent blundered and played 12.Bd3. Had I played 12...Nxd5, I might have been in a position that is close to winning, but alas I played 12...Re8 and I remained only clearly better.

The game went on being either clearly favorable or winning at times for me, up to the move 35.Kh2, but then the game started to slowly become favorable for my opponent. In the position below I played 35...Rf1, which gave my opponent a golden opportunity to punish me from my mistake and play 36.Bg4+. It would have resulted in a position where I need to sacrifice my bishop and even though I would only have a pawn for the bishop, I should have enough counterplay to compensate for the material. Especially since I would be likely to get a second pawn for the bishop from a2.

My opponent did not go for that plan and the position remained roughly even, with both players making some inaccuarete moves until we reached the position below. On move 40 my opponent moved his rook from e2 to d2. This was one of the turning points of the game. I played 40...Rc1, which at long last gave my opponent the advantage. I should have played 40...h5 in order to maintain equality of the position. Maybe also 40...b5 was a move to consider instead of the move played in the game.

Blunders did not end there of course. I was still hanging on in the game in the position below, I was only slightly worse at the time. With the move 44...Rb1 my position went down the drain, now it was my opponent who had the winning position. The correct move for me was 44...fxg2. While the move that my opponent chose was not the most accurate, he should still be winning after 45.Bd7+.

Even though I drifted into a position that seemed completely lost, for some reason I continued the struggle. Perhaps because this was a team match, I continued the game longer than I normally would. The fact that I did not give up, might have frustrated my opponent enough so that he made a mistake that allowed me to get into a position that was drawish. I should be completely lost in the position below, but one blunder can change that. My adversary played 61.Ke6, which with correct play is only good enough for a draw. 61.h4 was the best move for White. Stockfish thinks that White should be up by 24+ pawns after 61.h4. An advantage that should be enough for everyone to convert into a win.

The final mistake of the game came in the position below after my opponent had played 71.h6. The only move that could have drawn the game for me was 71...a2. For some reason I thought that move order is not important in this position and I played the horrible blunder 71...c4 before playing a2, but that was a judgement error that cost me the game.

71...a2 was much better because it forces 72.Bf6 and then I could have played 72...c4. I was so close to a draw, but still so far away. I did offer my best resistance in the game continuation, but it was in the end futile and I needed to resign after 81.Bxc3 as my pawns were forcefully removed from the board. I have added mate in one puzzles 524 & 525, a mate in two puzzle 745, a mate in three puzzle 670 and a mate in four puzzle 533 today.

So far my statistics are: 2 games with the black pieces, 1 win (50%), 1 loss (50%).

[Event "AS - SalSK 2"] [Site "?"] [Date "2010.11.20"] [Round "3"] [White "Ojanen, Jyrki"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C34"] [WhiteElo "2007"] [BlackElo "1838"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "161"] [EventDate "2010.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. f4 exf4 {King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Maurian Defense} 4. Nf3 d6 {C34 King's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3: 3...Nf6 and 3... d6} 5. O-O Be6 6. Bb5 Bd7 (6... a6 7. Ba4 b5 8. Bb3 Nf6 9. d3 Qd7 10. Bxf4 Ne5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Bxe5 Rd8 13. Bxe6 Qxe6 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Qf3 Bc5+ 16. Kh1 Ke7 17. Nc3 c6 18. Qf5 Rdg8 19. Qxc5+ Kd7 20. Qf5 Ke7 21. Qxe6+ {Bruinsma Oudwater, R (1683)-Porta Chicote,D (1808) Barcelona 2015 1-0 (51)}) 7. d4 g5 {N} (7... Qe7 8. Bxf4 O-O-O 9. Nc3 Nb4 10. Bc4 Be6 11. d5 Bg4 12. Qe2 c6 13. a3 cxd5 14. axb4 dxc4 15. Nd5 Qd7 16. Rxa7 Qb5 17. Ra8+ Kd7 18. Ne5+ Ke8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Nxf7+ Kc8 21. Qxg4+ Kb8 22. Bxd6+ {Sorokina,A (2223)-Fairley,N Auckland 2005 1-0}) 8. Nc3 (8. d5 {!?} Ne5 9. Bxd7+ Kxd7 10. Bd2 {=/+}) 8... Bg7 {+/-} 9. Nd5 h6 10. c3 Nf6 11. Qe2 O-O 12. Bd3 (12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. Bd3 Rae8 {+/-}) 12... Re8 (12... Nxd5 {!?} 13. exd5 Ne7 {-+}) 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 (13... Bxf6 {?!} 14. g3 g4 15. Nd2 {=}) 14. h3 (14. Bd2 Rac8 {+/-}) 14... Bf5 (14... Ne7 15. Qd1 {+/-}) 15. Qc2 Bg6 16. Qb3 Rab8 (16... Bxe4 {? is a blank shot} 17. Bxe4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Rxe4 19. Qxb7 {+-}) 17. Qd5 a6 18. Re1 {White prepares the advance e5} (18. Bd2 Qe6 19. Qxe6 fxe6 {+/-}) 18... Qe6 (18... Ne7 19. Qc4 c5 20. dxc5 {-+}) 19. Qxe6 {+/-} fxe6 (19... Rxe6 {?!} 20. h4 d5 21. exd5 Rxe1+ 22. Nxe1 {=/+}) 20. Bc4 (20. b4 Rbc8 {+/-}) 20... Rbd8 (20... Na5 21. Bf1 {+/-}) 21. Bf1 (21. h4 g4 22. Nh2 Na5 {+/-}) 21... Ne7 22. e5 (22. b4 e5 23. d5 Bf6 {+/-}) 22... dxe5 ( 22... Nc6 23. exd6 cxd6 24. Bc4 {-+}) 23. Nxe5 Bxe5 24. Rxe5 Nc6 25. Re1 Kg7 26. Bc4 (26. g3 {!?} e5 27. Bg2 {+/-}) 26... e5 {-+} 27. dxe5 {?? leading to a quick end} (27. b3 e4 {-+}) 27... Rxe5 (27... Nxe5 {nails it down} 28. Bxf4 gxf4 {-+}) 28. Rxe5 Nxe5 29. Be2 Bd3 30. Bh5 Kf6 31. b3 (31. a4 {-+}) 31... Kf5 {?? throwing away the advantage} (31... Be4 {and Black has reached his goal} 32. Be2 Kf5 {-+}) 32. Ba3 {+/-} Be4 33. Re1 (33. Rd1 Rxd1+ 34. Bxd1 Kf6 {+/-}) 33... Rd2 {-+} 34. Re2 Rd1+ (34... Rxe2 {!?} 35. Bxe2 Bb1 {-+}) 35. Kh2 {+/-} Rf1 (35... Rd3 36. Bg4+ Nxg4+ 37. hxg4+ Ke5 38. Bb2 {+/-}) 36. Bc5 (36. Bg4+ Nxg4+ 37. hxg4+ Kxg4 38. Rxe4 Rf2 {=}) 36... Nd3 (36... Bd3 {!?} 37. Rd2 f3 38. Bxf3 Nxf3+ 39. gxf3 Rxf3 {+/-}) 37. Bg4+ {=} Ke5 (37... Kg6 38. Rxe4 Nxc5 39. Re5 {=}) 38. Bg1 (38. Bd4+ Kd5 39. Rd2 c5 {=}) 38... Re1 (38... c5 39. b4 {=}) 39. Bd4+ {=} Kd5 40. Rd2 Rc1 {?} (40... h5 {!? is the best option Black has} 41. Bxh5 Ke6 {=}) 41. Bg7 {+/-} Kc6 42. c4 (42. Re2 Re1 43. Rxe4 Rxe4 44. Bf3 { +/-}) 42... Ne1 {?} (42... b5 43. cxb5+ axb5 44. Bxh6 {+/=}) 43. Bxh6 (43. Re2 {with excellent chances for White} Bd3 44. Re6+ Kc5 45. Bxh6 {+-}) 43... f3 { +/= Black threatens to win material: f3xg2} 44. Bxg5 Rb1 {??} (44... fxg2 { and Black can hope to survive} 45. Rxg2 Rc3 {+/=}) 45. Bd7+ (45. Be3 {keeps an even firmer grip} b6 46. Bd7+ Kb7 47. g4 {+-}) 45... Kc5 46. Be3+ {?? White loses the upper hand} (46. Be7+ Kb6 47. b4 Ka7 {+-}) 46... Kb4 {+/-} 47. g4 Nd3 {?? leads to further unpleasantness} (47... Nc2 48. Bh6 Rh1+ 49. Kg3 Kc3 {+/-}) 48. Kg3 {+-} Kc3 49. Rh2 Rb2 (49... Rd1 {does not save the day} 50. Bf5 Bxf5 51. gxf5 {+-}) 50. Rxb2 Kxb2 (50... Nxb2 {is the last straw} 51. Bf5 Kd3 {+-}) 51. Bf5 Bxf5 52. gxf5 Kxa2 (52... f2 53. Bxf2 Kxa2 {+-}) 53. Kxf3 Ne5+ 54. Ke4 Nf7 (54... Nd7 55. Kd5 Nb8 56. Ke6 {+-}) 55. b4 Kb3 56. Kd5 Kxb4 57. Bc5+ Kb3 58. f6 a5 59. Ke6 Ng5+ 60. Kf5 Nf7 61. Ke6 (61. h4 Nd8 62. Be7 {+-}) 61... Ng5+ {= Twofold repetition} 62. Ke7 Kxc4 63. Be3 {White threatens to win material: Be3xg5} Nh7 64. h4 a4 65. Bc1 b5 66. f7 b4 67. f8=Q Nxf8 68. Kxf8 a3 {Is this a dangerous pawn?} 69. h5 Kb3 70. Bg5 c5 71. h6 {A strong pawn} c4 {?? overlooking an easy win} (71... a2 {is the best chance} 72. Bf6 c4 {=}) 72. h7 a2 (72... c3 {cannot change destiny} 73. h8=Q a2 74. Qh1 Kc4 75. Ke7 c2 76. Kd6 c1=R 77. Qxc1+ Kd4 78. Qd2+ Kc4 79. Qc2+ Kd4 80. Qxa2 Kd3 81. Kc5 b3 82. Qd2+ Ke4 83. Qd5#) 73. h8=Q c3 74. Qh1 Kb2 (74... Kc4 {doesn't do any good} 75. Qf1+ Kd5 76. Ke7 Kd4 77. Kd6 a1=R 78. Qxa1 Ke4 79. Qf1 c2 80. Qf4+ Kd3 81. Qd2+ Kc4 82. Qd5+ Kc3 83. Bf6#) 75. Qc1+ {+-} Kb3 76. Ke7 Kc4 (76... a1=N {is not the saving move} 77. Qxa1 Kc2 78. Ke6 b3 79. Qc1+ Kd3 80. Qd1+ Kc4 81. Qd5+ Kb4 82. Be7+ Ka4 83. Qc4+ Ka5 84. Bd8#) 77. Bf6 (77. Kd6 Kb3 78. Kc5 c2 79. Bf6 a1=Q 80. Bxa1 Ka4 81. Qxc2+ Ka3 82. Qb2+ Ka4 83. Qxb4#) 77... Kb3 (77... Kd5 { a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} 78. Qd1+ Ke4 79. Qe2+ Kf4 80. Be5+ Kf5 81. Qe3 a1=Q 82. Qf4+ Kg6 83. Qg4+ Kh6 84. Bf4+ Kh7 85. Qf5+ Kh8 86. Be5+ Kg8 87. Qg6#) 78. Kd6 Kc4 (78... a1=B {is no salvation} 79. Qxa1 Kc2 80. Kc5 Kd3 81. Qf1+ Kc2 82. Kc4 b3 83. Qe2+ Kb1 84. Kxb3 c2 85. Qxc2#) 79. Be5 ( 79. Qd1 Kb5 80. Qd5+ Ka4 81. Qxa2+ Kb5 82. Bd8 c2 83. Kd5 b3 84. Qa5#) 79... Kb3 (79... Kd3 {does not solve anything} 80. Kd5 Ke2 81. Ke4 a1=Q 82. Qxa1 b3 83. Qxc3 b2 84. Qf3+ Kd2 85. Qd3+ Kc1 86. Bf4#) 80. Kc5 Ka4 (80... a1=R { cannot change what is in store for White} 81. Qxa1 Kc2 82. Kc4 Kd2 83. Qf1 Kc2 84. Qe2+ Kb1 85. Kb3 c2 86. Qxc2#) 81. Bxc3 $1 {Mate attack.} (81. Bxc3 a1=N 82. Qxa1+ Kb3 83. Qb2+ Ka4 84. Qxb4#) 1-0 [Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.01.01"] [Round "?"] [White "EhsanAliabadi"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C34"] [WhiteElo "1251"] [BlackElo "1382"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Nc6 {C34 King's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3: 3. ..Nf6 and 3...d6} 5. O-O Be6 {Black threatens to win material: Be6xc4} 6. d4 $4 $146 {there were better ways to keep up the pressure} (6. Bb5 Nf6 (6... Bd7 7. d4 Qe7 8. Bxf4 O-O-O 9. Nc3 Nb4 10. Bc4 Be6 11. d5 Bg4 12. Qe2 c6 13. a3 cxd5 14. axb4 dxc4 15. Nd5 Qd7 16. Rxa7 Qb5 17. Ra8+ Kd7 18. Ne5+ Ke8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Nxf7+ Kc8 21. Qxg4+ {Sorokina,A (2223)-Fairley,N Auckland 2005 1-0}) 7. d4 Bd7 8. Qe2 Be7 9. Bxf4 d5 10. Nbd2 dxe4 11. Nxe4 O-O 12. c3 a6 13. Bd3 Re8 14. Qf2 Bg4 15. Ne5 Bd6 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. Bg5 Be7 18. Nxf6+ gxf6 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. Qxf6 Qxf6 {Ventos Alfonso,A (1854)-Barba Rios,E (1697) Catalunya 2008 1-0 (52)} ) (6. Qe2 Qd7 7. d4 Bxc4 8. Qxc4 f6 9. Bxf4 O-O-O 10. Nc3 g5 11. Bg3 h5 12. b4 h4 13. Bf2 h3 14. g3 g4 15. Nh4 Bh6 16. Nf5 Bd2 17. Nb5 d5 18. Nfd6+ cxd6 19. exd5 Qf5 20. dxc6 Qf3 {Revesz,N (1841)-Heintz,S (1740) Hungary 2015 0-1 (46)}) (6. Bxe6 fxe6 7. d4 e5 8. c3 Nf6 9. Ng5 Qe7 10. d5 Nd8 11. Qe2 Nxd5 12. exd5 Qxg5 13. Bxf4 Qe7 14. Bg3 g6 15. Nd2 Bg7 16. Ne4 Rf8 17. Qg4 Nf7 18. Bh4 Qd7 19. Qg3 Nh6 20. Bf6 Nf5 {Riemer,M-Schuette,A Germany 2009 1/2-1/2}) (6. Bxe6 $142 {is just about the only chance} fxe6 7. d4 $11) 6... Bxc4 $19 7. d5 (7. Rf2 {doesn't change anything anymore} Nf6 8. b3 Ba6 $19) 7... Ne5 (7... Bxf1 { and Black can already relax} 8. Qxf1 Ne5 9. Bxf4 Nxf3+ 10. Qxf3 $19) 8. Rf2 (8. Re1 {cannot undo what has already been done} g5 $19) 8... Be7 (8... Nf6 { seems even better} 9. b3 Ba6 10. c4 $19) 9. b3 (9. Qd4 {is no salvation} Nxf3+ 10. Rxf3 Be2 $19) 9... Ba6 10. c4 Nf6 11. Bxf4 Nxf3+ (11... Nxe4 $142 $5 { might be the shorter path} 12. Re2 f5 13. Nd4 $19) 12. Qxf3 O-O 13. Nd2 Nd7 14. Raf1 (14. Qe2 {does not save the day} Re8 $19) 14... Bf6 15. e5 (15. Qd3 { does not improve anything} Qe7 $19) 15... Nxe5 16. Bxe5 (16. Qe2 {cannot change what is in store for White} c6 17. dxc6 bxc6 $19) 16... Bxe5 17. Ne4 ( 17. Qd3 {is not the saving move} c5 18. dxc6 bxc6 $19) 17... Bd4 18. Qg3 (18. a4 {is not much help} Qe7 $19) 18... Bxf2+ (18... b5 {makes it even easier for Black} 19. Qd3 Bxf2+ 20. Rxf2 bxc4 21. bxc4 $19) 19. Rxf2 Qe7 20. Ng5 (20. Rf4 {doesn't do any good} b6 $19) 20... Qe1+ 21. Rf1 Qxg3 22. hxg3 Rae8 23. Kf2 Re5 (23... Re7 {might be the shorter path} 24. Nf3 $19) 24. Nf3 Re7 25. Rh1 (25. Nd4 {does not win a prize} Rfe8 $19) 25... Rfe8 26. Ng5 (26. Nd4 {there is nothing else anyway} b6 27. Rb1 $19) 26... Re2+ 27. Kf3 h6 (27... R8e3+ 28. Kg4 Rxg2 29. Kf4 Rexg3 30. Nxh7 g5+ 31. Nxg5 Rg4+ 32. Kf3 Rxg5 33. Re1 R5g3+ 34. Kf4 Kg7 35. Re3 Rxe3 36. Kxe3 Rxa2 37. Kd3 f5 38. b4 Ra3+ 39. Kc2 Bxc4 40. b5 Bxb5 41. Kb1 f4 42. Kc2 Rd3 43. Kb1 f3 44. Ka1 f2 45. Kb1 f1=Q+ 46. Ka2 Qe2+ 47. Ka1 Rd1#) 28. Nh3 Rxa2 (28... R8e3+ 29. Kf4 Re4+ 30. Kf3 g5 31. Nf4 gxf4 32. Rh3 R2e3+ 33. Kf2 fxg3+ 34. Rxg3+ Rxg3 35. Kxg3 Re2 36. a3 Re3+ 37. Kf2 Rxb3 38. g3 Rxa3 39. g4 Bxc4 40. Kg2 Rb3 41. Kf2 a5 42. g5 hxg5 43. Kg2 a4 44. Kh2 Bxd5 45. Kg1 Rb2 46. Kf1 a3 47. Ke1 a2 48. Kd1 a1=Q#) 29. Kg4 Ree2 (29... Re3 $142 {nails it down} 30. Nf4 Rxb3 31. Re1 $19) 30. Nf4 Re4 (30... Re3 $142 {makes it even easier for Black} 31. Kh3 Rxb3 32. c5 dxc5 33. Re1 $19) 31. Rf1 g5 32. Kf3 Rd4 (32... f5 33. g4 Rxf4+ 34. Kg3 Rxf1 35. gxf5 Rb2 36. b4 Bxc4 37. b5 Bxd5 38. Kg4 Rxg2+ 39. Kh5 Bf7+ 40. Kxh6 Rh1#) 33. Ne2 Rdd2 (33... Rd3+ 34. Ke4 Rxb3 35. Nc1 Bxc4 36. Rh1 Bxd5+ 37. Kxd5 Ra5+ 38. Kc4 Re3 39. Kb4 Raa3 40. Rd1 Rec3 41. Rxd6 c6 42. Rd8+ Kg7 43. Ra8 c5+ 44. Kb5 Rxc1 45. Rg8+ Kxg8 46. g4 Rb3+ 47. Ka4 Rb4+ 48. Ka3 Ra1#) 34. Nc3 Rab2 (34... Rd3+ 35. Kg4 Rxc3 36. Rf3 Rxf3 37. gxf3 Rb2 38. Kf5 Rxb3 39. f4 Bxc4 40. fxg5 Rxg3 41. g6 Bxd5 42. Kf6 Kf8 43. g7+ Rxg7 44. Kf5 Rg3 45. Kf4 Rf3+ 46. Kg4 Kg7 47. Kh5 Be6 48. Kh4 Rh3#) 35. Nb5 (35. Re1 {doesn't change the outcome of the game} Rxb3 36. Re3 Bxc4 37. Ne4 Rxe3+ 38. Kxe3 Rd3+ 39. Kf2 f5 40. Nf6+ Kf7 41. Nh5 Kg6 42. g4 Rd2+ 43. Ke3 Rxg2 44. gxf5+ Kxh5 45. f6 Kg6 46. f7 Kxf7 47. Kd4 b5 48. Kc3 a5 49. Kd4 Rg3 50. Ke4 c5 51. dxc6 Kf6 52. c7 Rd3 53. c8=Q d5#) 35... Rxb3+ (35... Bxb5 36. Ke4 Bd7 37. Rf3 f5+ 38. Ke3 g4 39. b4 Rxg2 40. Kd4 gxf3 41. Kc3 f2 42. g4 f1=Q 43. b5 Qf3+ 44. Kd4 Rxg4#) 36. Ke4 Bxb5 (36... Bxb5 37. Rf3 Re2+ 38. Kd4 c5+ 39. dxc6 Rd2+ 40. Ke4 Bxc6+ 41. Kf5 Bxf3 42. gxf3 Rxf3+ 43. Kg4 Rf1 44. c5 Rh2 45. c6 f5#) 0-1