B01 Scandinavian Defence (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Be2 Bxe2 5.Qxe2 Qxd5 6.Nf3 e6 7.O-O Nc6 8.c3 O-O-O)

The first big mistake of this game was seen when I chose to play 14.Ne1. It was another passive move that could have cost me one of my games. Not sure what I thought would happen in case I move my knight to g5, maybe I thought it would be lost, but once again, I would have been wrong. There would not have been any way for my opponent to take advantage of the knight on g5, the knight would have threatened a fork on f7 and because Gluecifer7 would have needed to protect f7, I would have had time to protect my knight. Retreating with the knight to e1 hampered the coordination of my pieces, my rooks were not connected anymore.

In order to take advantage of my blunder, Gluecifer7 should have replied with 14...Nxe5 and the continuation 15.dxe5 Qe4 does not look good for me as all of my pieces would be badly placed. Luckily for me, Gluecifer7 played 14...Rh6 for some reason that I do not fully understand, maybe it was only made so that the knight on f6 could move freely again. It did not take long for me to blunder again, with my 16th move Qe3, my position went down the drain again.

It did not matter, however, because Gluecifer7 was not able to find a strong move in reply. Both 16...h3 and 16...Nxe5 would have meant huge problems for me, but Gluecifer7 played 16...Rdh8, which let me off the hook as it only defends the rook on h6 instead of going for the attack. I continued the game with 17.c4, which basically forced the queen to retreat, since 17...Qe4 is answered with 18.Qxe4 Nxe4 19.Bxh8. My opponent went all the way back to d8 with the queen, which was one square too far as it made the reply 18.Nb5 look a bit more annoying. Gluecifer7 thought it best to protect the c7 pawn with 18...Bd6 and had I taken on d6 with my bishop, I could remained on the clearly favorable side of the board, since I would have been the one with the initiative. The problem with Nxd6 was that after cxd6 I could not play Qf4 and thus increased pressure towards d6. In the game I had to move my bishop and I chose to move it to f4, which was better than taking on f6. My final mistake saw the light of day when I played 26.Qd2.

The queen moved out of the defence and in an awkward square that the reply 26...Nd4 would have taken advantage of. In some situations the knight would have threatened to go to f3 and fork the queen and king, though it probably does not quite work immediately. In the game Gluecifer7 chose to play 26...h3, to which I replied by moving my g-pawn one square forward. It left the square f3 unprotected so naturally my opponent continued with 27...Nd4. The game did not last long after that as I resigned after 29...Qe4.

[Event "Great Viking Warriors vs. LullabyVisca"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.05.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Gluecifer7"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "1843"] [BlackElo "1935"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Be2 Bxe2 5. Qxe2 Qxd5 6. Nf3 e6 7. O-O Nc6 8. c3 O-O-O {B01 Scandinavian Defence} (8... Bd6 9. b4 Qh5 10. Re1 O-O 11. b5 Ne7 12. c4 Nf5 13. Bb2 c5 14. bxc6 bxc6 15. Ne5 Qxe2 16. Rxe2 c5 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Ba3 Rfd8 19. g4 Rd1+ 20. Kg2 Bxa3 21. gxf5 exf5 22. Rd2 Rxd2 23. Nxd2 {Bak,A (2048)-Mulleady,P (1912) England 2015 1/2-1/2 (37)}) 9. Bg5 (9. Be3 Bd6 10. Nbd2 Qh5 11. h3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Rfe1 Nd3 14. Reb1 Rhe8 15. Nc4 Nf4 16. Nxd6+ Rxd6 17. Qc4 Nxh3+ 18. Kf1 Re4 19. Qc5 Nf4 20. Qxh5 N4xh5 21. Rd1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Nd7 23. Ng5 Re7 {Laznicka,V (2480)-Krivoshey,S (2493) playchess.com INT 2005 1-0 (45)}) 9... h6 10. Bh4 $146 (10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nbd2 h5 12. b4 h4 13. h3 Bh6 14. Ne4 f5 15. Nc5 Rdg8 16. Nd3 Rh7 17. Nde1 Bf4 18. a4 Ne7 19. c4 Qe4 20. Qxe4 fxe4 21. Ne5 e3 22. N1d3 exf2+ 23. Kxf2 Bg3+ {1/2-1/2 (23) Stergar,L (1738)-Schaefer,H (2042) Goch 1997}) (10. Bxf6 $5 gxf6 11. Nbd2 $11) 10... g5 $15 {Black threatens to win material: g5xh4} 11. Bg3 h5 12. Be5 { White threatens to win material: Be5xf6} Be7 13. Na3 g4 {Black threatens to win material: g4xf3} 14. Ne1 $2 (14. Ng5 Rhg8 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Nxf7 Rd7 $11) 14... Rh6 $4 {Black loses the upper hand} (14... Nxe5 $142 {Black clearly has the better chances} 15. dxe5 Qe4 $19) 15. Nd3 (15. Nc4 Rg8 $11) 15... h4 (15... Bxa3 $142 16. bxa3 Qc4 $17) 16. Qe3 $2 (16. Bxf6 $142 Rxf6 17. Qxg4 Bxa3 18. bxa3 $11) 16... Rdh8 $4 {not a good decision, because now the opponent is right back in the game} (16... Nxe5 $142 {Black would have gained the upper hand} 17. Qxe5 Bxa3 18. bxa3 h3 $19) 17. c4 $14 Qd8 (17... Qd7 $5 $14 {is worth consideration}) 18. Nb5 $16 Bd6 19. Nxd6+ (19. Bxd6 $142 $5 cxd6 20. Qf4 $16) 19... cxd6 $11 20. Bf4 {White threatens to win material: Bf4xh6} Rg6 ( 20... Rh5 21. Rfd1 $11) 21. b4 (21. Rac1 a5 $14) 21... Ne7 (21... Kb8 $142 $15) 22. Bg5 $4 {letting the wind out of his own sails} (22. d5 $142 {would allow White to play on} Kb8 23. dxe6 $16) 22... Nf5 $17 23. Qf4 Rh5 (23... g3 24. h3 Rhg8 25. Bxf6 Qxf6 26. Rad1 gxf2+ 27. Rxf2 $17) 24. Bxf6 Qxf6 25. d5 e5 26. Qd2 $4 {leads to further unpleasantness} (26. Qe4 $142 Nd4 27. Rad1 $17) 26... h3 ( 26... Nd4 $5 {keeps an even firmer grip} 27. Qe3 h3 28. g3 $19) 27. g3 Nd4 28. Qd1 $4 {simply worsens the situation} (28. f4 $142 gxf3 29. Kh1 $19) 28... Qf5 $19 29. Rb1 (29. Kh1 {what else?} Nc2 $3 {Deflection: f3} 30. Rc1 $19) 29... Qe4 (29... Qe4 30. f3 Nxf3+ 31. Rxf3 Rf5 $19) 0-1

The top five rated games that I was able to find in my reference database can be seen below.

[Event "YUG Cup"] [Site "Ulcinj"] [Date "1997.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Jovanovic, Sasa M"] [Black "Filipovic, Branko"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2355"] [BlackElo "2425"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "1997.??.??"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "YUG"] [SourceTitle "EXT 1999"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1998.11.10"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Be2 Bxe2 5. Qxe2 Qxd5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O O-O-O 8. c3 e6 9. Bf4 h6 10. Nbd2 Qf5 11. Bg3 Bd6 12. Rfe1 Bxg3 13. hxg3 Ng4 14. Nc4 g5 15. Nfe5 Ngxe5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Qxe5 Qxe5 18. Rxe5 Rd6 19. Rae1 Kd7 20. g4 f6 21. R5e3 b6 22. b4 h5 23. Rh3 h4 24. g3 c5 25. bxc5 bxc5 26. gxh4 gxh4 27. dxc5 Rd5 28. Kg2 Rxc5 29. Reh1 Kd6 30. Rxh4 Rxh4 31. Rxh4 Rxc3 32. Rh3 Rc4 33. Rd3+ Ke5 34. Kg3 f5 35. Re3+ Kd5 36. gxf5 exf5 37. Ra3 Rc7 38. Kf4 Kc4 39. f3 Kb4 40. Re3 Rc5 41. Re5 Rxe5 42. Kxe5 Ka3 43. Kxf5 Kxa2 1/2-1/2 [Event "October GM"] [Site "Ukraina"] [Date "1999.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Kozel, Roman"] [Black "Vlassov, Nikolai"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2361"] [BlackElo "2454"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "1999.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "UKR"] [EventCategory "7"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2002"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2001.11.25"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Be2 Bxe2 5. Qxe2 Qxd5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O O-O-O 8. c3 e6 9. Nbd2 g5 10. Nc4 h6 11. Nfe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Rh7 13. f4 gxf4 14. Rxf4 Be7 15. Be3 Rg7 16. Raf1 Rdg8 17. g3 Ne4 18. Qc4 Nxg3 19. Qxd5 Nxf1+ 20. Kxf1 exd5 21. Rf5 Rg2 22. Bf2 Rxh2 23. Rxf7 Rf8 24. Kg1 Rxf7 25. Nxf7 Rh5 26. Kg2 Bf6 27. b3 Kd7 28. Be3 Bg7 29. Bf4 Rf5 30. Ne5+ Bxe5 31. Bxe5 Rxe5 0-1 [Event "Champions Challenge 92nd"] [Site "playchess.com INT"] [Date "2005.04.30"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Laznicka, Viktor"] [Black "Krivoshey, Sergei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2480"] [BlackElo "2493"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2005.04.30"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2007"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2006.11.23"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Be2 Bxe2 5. Qxe2 Qxd5 6. Nf3 e6 7. O-O Nc6 8. c3 O-O-O 9. Be3 Bd6 10. Nbd2 Qh5 11. h3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Rfe1 Nd3 14. Reb1 Rhe8 15. Nc4 Nf4 16. Nxd6+ Rxd6 17. Qc4 Nxh3+ 18. Kf1 Re4 19. Qc5 Nf4 20. Qxh5 N4xh5 21. Rd1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Nd7 23. Ng5 Re7 24. Nxh7 f6 25. g4 Ng3+ 26. Kg2 Ne4 27. g5 f5 28. Bf4 g6 29. Rh1 b5 30. f3 Nec5 31. Nf6 Re2+ 32. Kg3 Rxb2 33. Rh6 Rc2 34. Rxg6 Rxc3 35. Rg8+ Kb7 36. Nxd7 Nxd7 37. g6 Nf6 38. Rh8 Ne4+ 39. Kg2 Rc2+ 40. Kg1 Nf6 41. g7 Re2 42. Rf8 Re7 43. Bh6 Re1+ 44. Kf2 Rh1 45. Rxf6 1-0 [Event "Alushta Autumn 2nd"] [Site "Alushta"] [Date "2010.09.21"] [Round "10"] [White "Yandemirov, Valeri"] [Black "Iljin, Timofey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2435"] [BlackElo "2398"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2010.09.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "UKR"] [EventCategory "4"] [SourceTitle "CBM 138 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.10.29"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Be2 Bxe2 5. Qxe2 Qxd5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O O-O-O 8. c3 e6 9. Bf4 Qf5 10. Bg3 g5 11. Nbd2 h5 12. h4 Bh6 13. hxg5 Bxg5 14. Nxg5 Qxg5 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 h4 17. Bf4 Qh5 18. Rad1 Rhg8 19. c4 Qg4 20. Rfe1 Nxd4 21. Kf1 f5 0-1 [Event "PHI-ch"] [Site "Manila"] [Date "2015.10.30"] [Round "10"] [White "Antonio, Rogelio Jr"] [Black "Bersamina, Paulo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2478"] [BlackElo "2361"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2015.10.24"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "PHI"] [EventCategory "6"] [SourceTitle "Mega2015 Update 52"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2015.11.20"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Be2 Bxe2 5. Qxe2 Qxd5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. c3 e6 8. O-O O-O-O 9. b4 Bd6 10. b5 Qh5 11. Re1 Ne7 12. Be3 Ng4 13. g3 Nf5 14. Nbd2 Qg6 15. Nc4 h5 16. Nxd6+ cxd6 17. Bf4 h4 18. b6 a6 19. Rab1 Kb8 20. Rb4 hxg3 21. fxg3 Rh3 22. Rc4 Rdh8 23. Qg2 Nxh2 24. Ng5 Qxg5 25. Bxg5 Rxg3 26. Qxg3 Nxg3 27. Kg2 Nhf1 28. Bf4 Rh2+ 29. Kf3 1-0