C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Be7 5.c3 Nf6 6.e5 Ng4 7.cxd4)

This is one those lines that may not be that good all the way through, 6...Ng4 is a move that creates problems for Black. If it were possible that the knight could continue on taking on e5, then the move Ng4 would have been justified, but because Gluecifer7 could just reply with 7.cxd4 and prevent me from taking the pawn on e5 in favorable circumstances, my knight was very poorly placed at g4. I tried to be clever and played 7...d5, so that I would provoke the move 8.exd6 in reply. Had that worked, I could have taken back with my bishop and if need be, I would have been able to retreat with my knight to f6. Gluecifer7 did not want to allow me to the improve my options, so my opponent played 8.Bb5 instead.

Then I moved my pawn to h5 in order to protect the square h6 with the rook, so that when my knight needs to move, I would have a decent square to retreat to and I could keep my pawn structure intact. Gluecifer7 then played 9.Qc2, which seems like a logical move that threatens to take on c6 twice and perhaps to win a pawn in case that Black does not properly respond to the threat. The threat was not at all severe, since I was able to reply with Bd7 and the position was only slightly in favor of Gluecifer7. The next time when I chose a path to ruin was when I played 14...Qb4.

The queen was moved to b4 in order to add pressure towards the pawn on d4, but it was a rather futile move, since it was replied with Bd2 and my queen had to retreat. Therefore I just basically gave my opponent a free move to catch up on development. The game continued with the moves 15...Qd6 16.Bf4 Qd7 and then Gluecifer7 played 17.Nbd2, after which the position should be roughly even again. It did not take long for me after that to make the game losing blunder, which was 18...Re7.

The move 18...Re7 may seem quite harmless at first, but it was a rather unnecessary move since I was not going to double my rooks on the e-file, nor was I going to need further defence of c7. Gluecifer7 played 19.Nc5 and the rest of the game was rather smooth sailing for my opponent apart from maybe the move 21.Nd3, which was unnecessary retreat of the knight. The knight was placed there in order to prevent the loss of the exchange, but there was a better way to do it, which started with the move 21.Rxe7+. The rook trade would have given the rook from f1 time to move and not be in the bishop's scope anymore.

[Event "Great Viking Warriors vs. LullabyVisca -"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.05.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Gluecifer7"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1915"] [BlackElo "1843"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Be7 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 Ng4 7. cxd4 {C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} d5 8. Bb5 h5 9. Qc2 $146 (9. Nc3 a6 10. Ba4 Kf8 11. O-O Be6 12. Be3 g5 13. Rc1 Na5 14. Bb3 c6 15. Nd2 Nxb3 16. Nxb3 Kg8 17. Qd2 Nh6 18. Nc5 Rb8 19. Ne2 Ng4 20. Rc3 Nxe3 21. fxe3 Qc8 22. e4 b6 23. Nxe6 Qxe6 {Xia,J (2198)-Sasdelli,M (1897) Mirandola 2011 1-0 (36)}) (9. h3 Nh6 10. O-O Be6 11. Qc2 Qd7 12. Be3 a6 13. Bxc6 Qxc6 14. Qxc6+ bxc6 15. Rc1 Kd7 16. Nbd2 Rab8 17. Nb3 Rb5 18. Rc2 Bf5 19. e6+ Bxe6 20. Ne5+ Kc8 21. Nxc6 Kd7 22. Nxe7 Kxe7 23. Rxc7+ Kf6 {Ivanec,D (2171)-Hari,B (2061) Celje 2008 1/2-1/2 (59)} ) (9. O-O Bd7 (9... a6 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Nc3 Be6 12. Na4 Rb8 13. Bd2 Nh6 14. Rc1 Bg4 15. Bxh6 Rxh6 16. h3 Bd7 17. Ne1 Qc8 18. Kh2 Bg5 19. f4 Bh4 20. Nd3 Bg4 21. hxg4 hxg4 22. g3 Qf5 23. Nf2 Bg5+ 24. Kg2 {Gutschenreiter,D (1811) -Heinemann,G (1852) Leck 2014 1-0 (49)}) 10. Nc3 Nb4 11. Bxd7+ Qxd7 12. a3 Nc6 13. b4 O-O-O 14. Qa4 h4 15. h3 Nh6 16. b5 Nb8 17. Qxa7 Rdg8 18. b6 c6 19. Bf4 Qe6 20. Nb5 g5 21. Nxg5 Bxg5 22. Bxg5 Rxg5 23. Nd6+ Qxd6 {Morais Carreras,J (2098)-Canovas Prats,E (2057) Santa Eulalia de Roncana 2015 1-0 (32)}) 9... Bd7 10. Bxc6 {White forks: d5+b7} Bxc6 11. e6 (11. Nc3 Qd7 $14) 11... Bf6 (11... fxe6 $5 {deserves consideration} 12. Qg6+ Kf8 $11) 12. exf7+ $14 Kxf7 13. O-O Qd6 14. g3 {Consolidates h4} (14. Rd1 Rae8 15. Nc3 a6 $16) 14... Qb4 {Attacks the isolani on d4} (14... h4 $142 $5 {should be examined more closely} 15. Bf4 Qd7 $11) 15. Bd2 Qd6 16. Bf4 Qd7 17. Nbd2 (17. h4 Nh6 $16) 17... Rae8 (17... h4 18. Nb3 Rae8 19. Rac1 $14) 18. Nb3 (18. Bg5 $142 $16) 18... Re7 $2 (18... h4 $142 $11 {and Black hangs on}) 19. Nc5 $18 Qc8 20. Rae1 (20. Rfe1 Kg8 21. Rxe7 Bxe7 $18) 20... Bb5 (20... Rxe1 21. Rxe1 (21. Nxe1 $6 Bb5 22. Ncd3 Kg8 $11 ( 22... Bxd4 $143 23. h3 $16)) 21... h4 22. h3 hxg3 23. fxg3 (23. hxg4 $4 { simply loses} Qxg4 24. Qe2 Qxf4 $19) 23... Rxh3 24. Ne6 $18) 21. Nd3 $4 { throwing away the advantage} (21. Rxe7+ $142 {makes it even easier for White} Bxe7 22. Re1 $18) 21... c6 $4 {an oversight. But Black was lost anyway.} (21... Rhe8 $142 22. Rxe7+ Bxe7 $16) 22. Rxe7+ $18 Kxe7 (22... Bxe7 {doesn't get the cat off the tree} 23. Nde5+ Nxe5 24. Nxe5+ Kg8 25. Re1 $18) 23. Re1+ Kf7 24. h3 (24. Nde5+ {and White can already relax} Nxe5 25. dxe5 Re8 26. exf6 Rxe1+ 27. Nxe1 Qh3 $18) 24... Nh6 $4 {a blunder in a bad position} (24... Bxd3 $142 25. Qxd3 Nh6 26. Ng5+ Bxg5 27. Bxg5 Re8 28. Rxe8 Qxe8 29. Bxh6 Qe1+ 30. Kg2 gxh6 31. Qh7+ Ke8 32. Qxb7 Qe4+ 33. Kh2 Qxd4 34. Qxc6+ Ke7 35. Qb7+ Kf6 36. Qa6+ Kg7 $18) 25. Nde5+ Kg8 26. Kg2 (26. Ng6 $142 {seems even better} Qf5 27. Qxf5 Nxf5 28. Re8+ Kf7 29. Rxh8 Kxg6 30. Ne5+ Bxe5 31. Bxe5 Ne7 $18) 26... Qf5 27. Qc5 b6 $2 (27... Nf7 28. Qxa7 Ba6 $18) 28. Qd6 Qc2 (28... Nf7 {does not help much} 29. Qb8+ Kh7 30. Qxa7 Nxe5 31. dxe5 $18 (31. Bxe5 Bxe5 32. Rxe5 Bf1+ 33. Kxf1 Qxf3 $14) (31. Nxe5 $6 Rf8 $16)) 29. Rc1 (29. Qe6+ Kh7 30. Bxh6 Rf8 31. Nd7 Bf1+ 32. Kxf1 Qc4+ 33. Kg1 Kxh6 34. Nxf8 Qb4 35. Qe8 Qxf8 36. Qxf8 Kg6 37. Nh4+ Bxh4 38. gxh4 b5 39. Re7 b4 40. Rxg7+ Kh6 41. Qh8#) 29... Qxb2 (29... Qf5 {desperation} 30. Nd7 c5 31. Nxf6+ Qxf6 32. dxc5 Nf7 33. Qxf6 gxf6 $18) 30. Ng6 (30. Ng6 Kh7 31. Nxh8 $18) 1-0

Four game examples from much better players than I am that also reached the position after 7.cxd4.

[Event "Oslo-B"] [Site "Oslo"] [Date "1992.??.??"] [Round "5"] [White "Borge, Nikolaj"] [Black "Bjerke, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2335"] [BlackElo "2285"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1992.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "4"] [SourceTitle "CBM 028 ext"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1992.07.01"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Be7 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 Ng4 7. cxd4 d6 8. h3 Nh6 9. Bxh6 gxh6 10. O-O dxe5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Qxd1 13. Rxd1 Be6 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Nc3 Rd8 16. g3 Kf7 17. Kg2 Bc5 18. Rxd8 Rxd8 19. Rd1 Rxd1 20. Nxd1 Bd4 21. f4 a6 22. Kf3 Kg6 23. Ke4 Bc5 24. g4 Bg1 25. Nc3 Bf2 26. Ne2 Kg7 27. f5 exf5+ 28. gxf5 Bh4 29. Nf4 1-0 [Event "Oberliga Nord N 9899"] [Site "Germany"] [Date "1999.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Jaeckle, Marco"] [Black "Weyrich, Morten"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2270"] [BlackElo "2345"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "1998.10.??"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2000"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.11.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 Ng4 7. cxd4 d5 8. Bb5 a6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. h3 Nh6 11. Bxh6 gxh6 12. Qc1 Rb8 13. Qxc6+ Bd7 14. Qc2 Rg8 15. Kf1 Rg6 16. Nc3 Rgb6 17. Kg1 Rxb2 18. Qxh7 Be6 19. Nd1 R2b6 20. Qxh6 Kd7 21. Qh7 Ba3 22. Ne3 Kc6 23. Kh2 Kb7 24. Rab1 Ka7 25. Rxb6 Rxb6 26. Rb1 Rxb1 27. Qxb1 Be7 28. Nd2 c5 29. dxc5 Bxc5 30. Qd3 Qb8 31. f4 Qb4 32. Kg3 Qb6 33. Nxd5 Qb2 34. Qc3 Qb5 35. Nc7 Qc6 36. Ne4 Qxe4 37. Qxc5+ Kb7 38. Nxe6 fxe6 39. Qe7+ Kb8 40. Qxe6 Qe3+ 41. Kg4 Qe2+ 42. Kg5 Qxg2+ 43. Kf6 Qf2 44. f5 Qh4+ 45. Kg7 Qg5+ 46. Kf8 Qe3 47. Qb3+ 1-0 [Event "NOR-ch"] [Site "Fredrikstad"] [Date "2003.07.12"] [Round "9"] [White "Hansen, Torbjorn Ringdal"] [Black "Fyllingen, Roy Harald"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2305"] [BlackElo "2366"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2003.07.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 095 ext"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2003.09.04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 exd4 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 Ng4 7. cxd4 d6 8. h3 Nh6 9. Bxh6 gxh6 10. e6 d5 11. exf7+ Kxf7 12. Bb3 Bf6 13. Nc3 Re8+ 14. Kf1 Be6 15. Qd3 Kg7 16. h4 Kh8 17. Rd1 a6 18. a3 Re7 19. Ne2 Qd6 20. Ng3 Na5 21. Ba2 Nc4 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. Qc3 Qd5 24. Qe3 Bg7 25. Kg1 Rae8 26. Re1 c5 27. dxc5 Bg8 28. Qxe7 Rxe7 29. Rxe7 Bxb2 30. Kh2 Bf6 31. Re2 Qxc5 32. Ne4 Qc7+ 33. g3 Bg7 34. Rd1 b5 35. Nd4 Qd7 36. Red2 Qe7 37. f3 Qxa3 38. Nf5 Qxf3 39. Nfd6 Be5 40. Re1 c3 41. Rf2 Bxg3+ 0-1 [Event "Marianske Lazne GM"] [Site "Marianske Lazne"] [Date "2009.01.24"] [Round "10"] [White "Roganovic, Milos"] [Black "Ivanov, Mikhail M"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2475"] [BlackElo "2497"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2009.01.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "CZE"] [EventCategory "8"] [SourceTitle "CBM 128 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2009.03.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 exd4 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 Ng4 7. cxd4 d5 8. Bd3 Nb4 9. h3 Nxd3+ 10. Qxd3 Nh6 11. Bxh6 gxh6 12. Nc3 c6 13. O-O Be6 14. a3 Qd7 15. Kh2 h5 16. b4 Bf5 17. Qe3 h6 18. Ne2 O-O-O 19. Nf4 Bg5 20. h4 Bxf4+ 21. Qxf4 Qe6 22. a4 Rhg8 23. b5 Rg4 24. Qe3 Be4 25. g3 Rdg8 26. bxc6 bxc6 27. Rfc1 R8g6 28. Ra3 Qf5 29. Qe2 Kd8 30. Rb3 Ke7 31. Rcc3 Kf8 32. Rb7 a5 33. Ra7 Rf4 34. e6 fxe6 35. Rb3 Kg8 36. Rb8+ Qf8 37. Rxf8+ Rxf8 38. Ne5 Rgf6 39. f4 1-0