Full Game

 

I played the white pieces.

 

Black opened the game with a gambit. More specifically, by move 4, the position is an Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Adler Variation. At the highest level of chess, this gambit is not played by black at all as it gives white the temporary extra pawn and it is hard to get back the pawn without a forcing set of moves that lead to a slight advantage for white. In this is position in 2021 as white, I am 5-1 which shows that even at a somewhat high level, this gambit does not work if white memorizes the best moves in the position.

 

However, in similar positions, white can be in deep trouble if they are not careful with their move choice or more order. One example of this is provided below and you should scroll through the example moves to see the common tactic in the position.

 

In my game, moves 6 through 9 are not completely forced, but they are the most common moves in the position, and it prevents losing to the basic tactic. Move through move 4 to 9 to see the line.

 

The next crucial moment of the game was on move 14. I considered 2 moves, c5 and b4. b4 has the obvious benefit of protecting the central pawn that could be very important later in the game, but also, if black trades pawns would allow me to challenge on the a-file. c5, however is a little less obvious. c5 directly challenges the d6 pawn which needs to be protecting the knight on e5. It also would allow me to put lots of pressure on the knight or d6 pawn depending on black’s next move. I played 14. c5. In response, black moved their knight back to c6. I played Rfd1 to continue putting pressure on the pawn but also to get my rook to a semi-open file that holds many advantageous tactical ideas. Look at white’s move 14 and 15.

 

The game developed normally as I made sure I didn’t get mated on the back rank with 18.h3. On move 19, black made an offer to trade rooks, but I declined in favor of keeping the tension on the board and I just simply protected it with Rc1. I felt that a rook remained on the c-file would allow me to either ruin black’s pawn structure or simply win the c pawn.

 

The game transitioned into a position in which the black knight was captured, allowing me to win the pawn advantage, and a set of rooks were traded off the board. In the position below, white is completely dominating. The computer gives an evaluation of +4.4 which essentially means white’s position is worth 4.4 pawns up over black’s position.

 

Just a few short moves later, black’s position crumbled which led to their resingnation. The only way for black to prolong the game would be to capture the rook and give up the queen, which would leave me with a massive advantage.

1-0

 

Key Takeaways:

Gambit lines can be dubious or lead to unsound positions so be careful when playing them or playing against them.

Attacking a centeral piece, directly or indirectly, with a pawn is usually a good idea.