C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 a6)

This was played in the first round of the WORLD OPEN RAPID tournament that was played at the FIDE Online Arena on March 18th 2015. This was not an easy game and it could have ended in my opponent getting the win. The first really horrible move was played by me in this game when I moved my bishop to g7 on move 27. The bishop was needed on f8 in order to cover the d6 square, so that the knight could not jump there. Veronica.v replied correctly with 28.Nd6 and my position after that was rather horrible, even losing. The knight on d6 attacked the queen, the pawns at b7 and f7 and also added to the control of the square e8, so that my rook on d8 lacked good squares to go to.

I then moved my attacked queen to d7 in order to protect the pawn on b7. The most obvious seeming move would be then to play Qe7 and add more pressure to my position, but veronica.v kindly just moved the knight back to e4, which attacked the pawn on g5. This helped me to get back into the game, which I was able to do with the reply 29...Rg6. There would be no real point behind moving the knight back to d6 because I could just reply with Bf8 and the knight move would look rather silly and it would just waste time. The next huge blunder was played by veronica.v, when my opponent played 34.Qe2.

The move was so bad in fact that it was easy for me to come up with moves that would help me win the game. I started with the obvious 34...hxg2+, since it won a pawn and freed the square h3 for my queen to land upon on the next move. It is true that my opponent could have offered a better resistance, had veronica.v covered the square h1 with the knight by moving it to f2, but even then the result of the game should be 0-1. Veronica.v played the game up to mate, which came on move 44.

Game number two. This is a short game and that is because my opponent lost on time. And the timeout, of course, explains why I won the game... Apparently according to the analysis I was basically already lost after nine moves because I had made the horrible move 9.O-O, which should have lost the game.

Igwiz missed his or hers chance and played 10.Qf3. A much better square for the queen would have been h5, where it would attacked both f7 and mate on h7. Had my opponent played that I might have resigned the game at that moment. Then it came time to play the last move of the game, 10...Qe7, which was losing again due to the reply Qh5. This was played in a tournament called 2014 September Grand Seven Fourteen III. The win of the tournament went to a player called kopsov (1858), who gathered 114 points. I was 4th in the final standings of the tournament and gathered 99.

Game number three. The game below is from a tournament called 2014 September Grand Seven Fourteen III. This was one of the three draws that I played in the tournament. In the game below I played the sequence of moves in the wrong order and had to take the draw at the end. I am referring to move 19...Re8, had I instead taken on e4 with my pawn and played Re8 the next move, I may have had better chances to win the game.

In the game dooser2004 played 19.g3, which was the only move played in this game that could have been the starting point for a loss for one of the players. The reason why 19.g3 is such a bad is that White is not only forced on the defensive, but also ends up losing some material. For instance, the game might continue 19...fxe4 20.dxe4 Re8 21.Neg1 Rfe7 22.Nd2 d3 23.c3 Bf2 and White would lose a pawn. The line I chose was where White tries to hold on to the material, it might be better to give up the pawn earlier, so that the position does not get so bad for White. 23.c3 was played in that line because 23.cxd3 would have been answered with Nb4. Because I was not able to take advantage of this opportunity, the game was played evenly to the end.

Game number four. This one was played on the first round of the 2014 September Glacial Super Casual I tournament that is held at Red Hot Pawn. I played on group 7 and I won the group, which meant that I was the only one from my group to advance to the second round. Only the group winner or winners will advance, so most players are eliminated in round one. The second round is currently in progress and it is very unlikely that I would win this tournament, but it is still theoretically possible. I have gathered 6 points and my maximum possible score is 30, which is 6 points higher than the amount of points that the current leader has gathered. The game below was quite evenly matched up to the last couple of moves when my opponent self-destructed. The game deciding blunder was seen when dooser2004 played 20.f4.

Moving the pawn to f4 was bad because it loses at least a pawn. I took on f4 with my pawn and then dooser2004 just simply took the pawn back with the rook, which momentarily equalized the material. Taking the pawn back was much worse than giving up the pawn in view of 21...Be3, which I played in the game and my opponent resigned because there is no way to save both the rook and the knight.

After 4 games, I have only played this variation with the black pieces and I have been able to win 3 (75%) and drawn 1 (25%) of the games. Since the average rating of my opponents is only 1552, this may not be that impressive.

[Event "Tournament 28038750"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.03.18"] [Round "1"] [White "veronica.v"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1531"] [BlackElo "1803"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 a6 {C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} 5. a3 d6 (5... Nf6 6. d3 b5 7. Bd5 Ne7 8. Bxa8 Ng4 9. O-O O-O 10. d4 Bd6 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Bxe5 13. Bd5 c5 14. Qg4 d6 15. Qh4 Nxd5 16. Qh5 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Bxc3 18. Rb1 f5 19. Bg5 Qe8 20. Qh3 {Lorenz,A-Mulder,K Erfurt 2014 1/2-1/2}) 6. h3 Nf6 7. d3 Be6 8. Ba2 $146 (8. Bxe6 fxe6 9. O-O O-O 10. Ng5 Qe8 11. Qg4 Nxg4 12. hxg4 Nd4 13. Bd2 Nxc2 14. Rac1 Nd4 {0-1 (14) Tsvetanova, P-Zhivkov,G (2187) Kozloduy 2008}) 8... Nd4 9. O-O Bxa2 10. Nxa2 Ne6 11. Nc3 c6 {Covers b5+d5} 12. Ne2 O-O 13. Nh2 d5 14. exd5 cxd5 15. c3 {Consolidates b4+d4} d4 {White has a cramped position} (15... Bd6 16. Ng3 $11) 16. Ng3 (16. cxd4 Nxd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 $11) 16... Re8 (16... dxc3 17. bxc3 Nd5 18. Ne2 $15) 17. Ng4 (17. b4 $142 Bd6 18. cxd4 $11) 17... Nf4 (17... dxc3 $142 18. bxc3 Nd5 $15) 18. Bxf4 exf4 19. Nxf6+ Qxf6 20. Ne4 Qf5 21. b4 Bf8 22. c4 ({Instead of} 22. cxd4 Red8 $15) 22... Re6 (22... a5 $14) 23. f3 (23. Qf3 $142 $5 $16) 23... Rg6 24. Kh1 Rd8 25. c5 {White gains space} Rh6 26. Qe2 g5 27. Rae1 Bg7 $2 (27... b6 $142 $11 {and Black could well hope to play on}) 28. Nd6 $18 Qd7 29. Ne4 { White threatens to win material: Ne4xg5} (29. Qe7 $142 {White had this great chance} Bf8 30. Qxd7 Rxd7 31. Re8 $18) 29... Rg6 (29... Qf5 30. Qc2 $14) 30. Qc2 h5 {Black plans g4} 31. Rc1 (31. h4 gxh4 32. Qf2 h3 $11) 31... g4 32. fxg4 hxg4 33. Rxf4 gxh3 34. Qe2 $4 {what a pity, victory was in sight} (34. g4 $142 {this is the best way to fight back} Rxg4 35. Rxg4 Qxg4 36. Qf2 $11) 34... hxg2+ $19 35. Kg1 Qh3 36. Nd6 (36. Nf2 {otherwise it's curtains at once} Qh6 37. Qe4 $19) 36... Qh1+ 37. Kf2 Qxc1 38. Rg4 g1=Q+ 39. Rxg1 Qxg1+ 40. Kf3 Rf6+ (40... Qg4+ 41. Kf2 Qg3+ 42. Kf1 Qg1#) 41. Ke4 Qg6+ (41... Qg5 42. Kxd4 Rfxd6+ 43. Ke4 Re8+ 44. Kf3 Rf6#) 42. Kd5 (42. Kxd4 {is no salvation} Rfxd6+ 43. Ke3 Re8+ 44. Kd2 Rxe2+ 45. Kxe2 Qg2+ 46. Kd1 Rxd3+ 47. Kc1 Qb2#) 42... Rfxd6+ ( 42... Re6 43. Kc4 Rxe2 44. Kb3 Rxd6 45. Ka4 Qxd3 46. cxd6 Rb2 47. b5 Qxb5#) 43. cxd6 (43. Kc4 {does not win a prize} Re6 44. Qc2 b5+ 45. Kb3 Rde8 46. a4 Re2 47. Qb1 R8e3 48. axb5 axb5 49. Qc2 Qxd3+ 50. Ka2 Rxc2+ 51. Ka1 Qd1#) 43... Qxd6+ 44. Kc4 (44. Ke4 {doesn't get the bull off the ice} Qg3 45. a4 Bh6 46. Qf3 Qh4+ 47. Qg4+ Qxg4+ 48. Ke5 Qe6#) 44... Qd5# 0-1 [Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.09.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Igwiz"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1349"] [BlackElo "1895"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "20"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 a6 {C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} 5. O-O d6 6. d3 Nf6 (6... Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Re1 Qd7 10. Bg5 h5 11. Be3 hxg4 12. hxg4 Qxg4+ 13. Kf1 Bxe3 14. fxe3 Rh1+ 15. Ng1 Rxg1+ { 0-1 (15) Galeano,J-Rebellato,R (1751) Foz do Iguacu 2015}) 7. Nd5 $146 (7. Be3 Bg4 8. Bxc5 dxc5 9. Nd5 Nh5 10. h3 Be6 11. Ng5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Qxg5 13. dxc6 bxc6 14. Re1 Nf4 15. Qf3 Qf6 16. Re4 Rb8 17. g3 Nxh3+ 18. Kg2 Qxf3+ 19. Kxf3 Ng5+ 20. Ke3 Nxe4 21. dxe4 Rxb2 {Ferrere,S-Payet,A Etang Sale 2000 0-1}) (7. h3 Na5 8. Bb3 c6 9. Be3 Nxb3 10. axb3 Qe7 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. Qe2 O-O 13. Nd2 g6 14. Qe3 Nh5 15. Na4 Nf4 16. Nf3 Ne6 17. c3 f6 18. Nb6 Rb8 19. Nxc8 Rbxc8 20. g3 Rcd8 21. Rfd1 Rd6 {Machlik,J (1891)-Becham,K (2122) Caleta 2014 1/2-1/2 (49)}) (7. Nd2 Bg4 8. Ne2 Nd4 9. Nf3 Nxf3+ 10. gxf3 Bxf3 11. Qe1 Qd7 12. Qd2 Qg4+ 13. Ng3 Qh3 14. d4 Qg2# {0-1 (14) Bassini,E (1350)-Kocausta,A (1320) France 2011}) 7... Nxd5 8. Bxd5 Bd7 9. Ng5 {White threatens to win material: Ng5xf7} O-O $4 (9... Qf6 $142 $14 {the only rescuing move}) 10. Qf3 (10. Qh5 $142 {and White has reached his goal} h6 11. Nxf7 Rxf7 12. Bxf7+ Kf8 13. Bd5 $18) 10... Qe7 (10... Qe7 11. Qh5 h6 $18) 0-1 [Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.09.11"] [Round "1"] [White "dooser2004"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1664"] [BlackElo "1914"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 a6 {C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} 5. d3 d6 (5... h6 6. Be3 Bb4 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nd5 Bd6 9. c3 O-O 10. Nd2 Na5 11. b4 Nxc4 12. Nxc4 Nxd5 13. exd5 b5 14. Nxd6 cxd6 15. c4 Bb7 16. a4 f5 17. f3 Qh4 18. Qb3 bxc4 19. dxc4 Rf6 20. c5 {Delic,J (1987)-Bjelopoljak,S (2084) Sarajevo 2015 0-1 (36)}) 6. Be3 (6. h3 Na5 7. O-O Nxc4 8. dxc4 Nf6 9. Qe2 h6 10. Rd1 Qe7 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Qxe3 b6 13. b4 Bb7 14. Rab1 Nd7 15. Nd5 Bxd5 16. cxd5 O-O 17. Nd2 Kh7 18. c4 g6 19. Nb3 f5 20. c5 f4 {Korman,M (2151) -Huschenbeth,N (2417) Germany 2009 1-0 (37)}) 6... Nd4 $146 (6... Nf6 7. a3 O-O 8. O-O Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. g4 Nxg4 11. hxg4 Bxg4 12. Kg2 Kh8 13. Qd2 f5 14. Rh1 Bxe3 15. Qxe3 f4 16. Qd2 Bxf3+ 17. Kxf3 Nd4+ 18. Kg2 Qg5+ 19. Kf1 Rf6 20. f3 Rh6 21. Rxh6 {Pitschka,K-Kreuzer,M Abensberg 1987 0-1}) (6... Ba7 7. Bxa7 Rxa7 8. h3 Na5 9. Bb3 Nxb3 10. axb3 Ne7 11. d4 f6 12. Qd2 Ng6 13. O-O-O O-O 14. h4 Bg4 15. Rdg1 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Nf4 17. Ne2 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 b5 19. Qe3 exd4 20. Qxd4 c5 21. Qd5+ {Caroff,F-Salami,R (2262) Fouesnant 1999 1/2-1/2}) (6... Bxe3 7. fxe3 Na5 8. Bb3 $11) 7. Bxd4 exd4 8. Ne2 {White threatens to win material: Ne2xd4} Qf6 9. h3 {Controls g4} Be6 (9... Ne7 10. Qd2 $11) 10. Bb3 O-O-O (10... Ne7 11. Qc1 $11) 11. Qd2 Ne7 12. O-O-O Bxb3 13. axb3 Nc6 14. Qg5 Qxg5+ 15. Nxg5 Rdf8 16. f4 h6 {Black threatens to win material: h6xg5} 17. Nf3 f5 18. Rde1 ( 18. exf5 Rxf5 19. g4 Rf7 $11) 18... Rf7 (18... fxe4 19. dxe4 Re8 $15) 19. g3 $4 {throwing away the advantage} (19. exf5 Rxf5 20. g4 Rf7 $14) 19... Re8 (19... fxe4 $142 20. dxe4 Re8 $17) 20. exf5 $11 Rxf5 21. Kd1 {White king safety dropped} Rf7 22. Nc1 Rfe7 23. Rxe7 Rxe7 (23... Nxe7 24. Re1 $11) 24. Re1 Kd7 25. Rxe7+ Kxe7 {A minor pieces endgame occured} 26. Ne2 Kf6 27. g4 g6 28. Kd2 Bb6 29. Kd1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Glacial Super Casual"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.09.13"] [Round "1"] [White "dooser2004"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1664"] [BlackElo "1914"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 a6 {C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} 5. O-O d6 6. d3 Nf6 (6... Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Re1 Qd7 10. Bg5 h5 11. Be3 hxg4 12. hxg4 Qxg4+ 13. Kf1 Bxe3 14. fxe3 Rh1+ 15. Ng1 Rxg1+ { 0-1 (15) Galeano,J-Rebellato,R (1751) Foz do Iguacu 2015}) 7. Be3 (7. h3 Na5 8. Bb3 c6 9. Be3 Nxb3 10. axb3 Qe7 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. Qe2 O-O 13. Nd2 g6 14. Qe3 Nh5 15. Na4 Nf4 16. Nf3 Ne6 17. c3 f6 18. Nb6 Rb8 19. Nxc8 Rbxc8 20. g3 Rcd8 21. Rfd1 Rd6 {Machlik,J (1891)-Becham,K (2122) Caleta 2014 1/2-1/2 (49)}) 7... Nd4 $146 (7... Bg4 8. Bxc5 dxc5 9. Nd5 Nh5 10. h3 Be6 11. Ng5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Qxg5 13. dxc6 bxc6 14. Re1 Nf4 15. Qf3 Qf6 16. Re4 Rb8 17. g3 Nxh3+ 18. Kg2 Qxf3+ 19. Kxf3 Ng5+ 20. Ke3 Nxe4 21. dxe4 Rxb2 22. Rd1 {Ferrere,S-Payet,A Etang Sale 2000 0-1}) (7... Bxe3 8. fxe3 Na5 9. Bb3 $11) 8. Bxd4 Bxd4 9. Qd2 ( 9. Nxd4 exd4 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. Bxd5 O-O $11) 9... Ba7 10. Nd5 c6 {Prevents intrusion on b5} 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. Qg5 (12. c3 Bg4 $15) 12... Qxg5 $15 13. Nxg5 O-O 14. Kh1 h6 {Black threatens to win material: h6xg5} 15. Nf3 Bg4 16. Nd2 Rad8 17. f3 {White threatens to win material: f3xg4} Be6 (17... Bh5 18. Bb3 $15) 18. Bb3 (18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. g3 g5 $11) 18... d5 $15 19. exd5 cxd5 20. f4 $2 (20. Rae1 $142 $15 {and White can hope to survive}) 20... exf4 $19 21. Rxf4 $4 {an oversight. But White was lost anyway..} (21. c3 $142 $19) 21... Be3 (21... Be3 22. Rb4 Bxd2 23. Rxb7 d4 $19) 0-1