Annotated chess game: King's Gambit

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ANNOTATED GAME

King's Gambit
idldice81 (1445) vs. cmberman (1382)
Annotated by: cmberman (1200)
Chess opening: KGA (C37), Lolli gambit, Young variation

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1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4	This game came out of a thematic mini-tournament. King's Gambit Accepted was the starting ground for all games. It leads to rather sharp and chaotic positions, which I tend to love.



3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4	Nothing out of the ordinary here.



5. Bxf7+	This startled me. I had just come out of a draw with the player after a VERY strenuous match, so I knew he was competent. After a short time I saw the threat, and was almost on the verge of resigning. Because...



5... Kxf7 6. Ne5+ Ke8	What now? I'm a piece ahead, but as long as he keeps throttling at my kingside, mate is an inevitability. Truth be told, defense is not exactly my strongest point, and I did not see how I could possibly turn this around. Still, I played on, curious to see how the line would develop.



7. O-O	Now those pawns on f4 and g4 look silly.



7... d6	There's no saving the g4 pawn, but I can open a few lines here.



8. Nxg4 Qg5 9. h3 Nh6	I typically hate putting Knights on the edge of the board, but I needed my Bishop to cover it instead of relying upon my Queen. Tempi were all-important here, and I couldn't afford to squander any.



10. Nxh6 Bxh6 11. Qf3 Rf8	I knew the f-pawn would be vital, so I began to protect it and focus on the f-file. Though my queen is still entirely exposed, the opponent is rather underdeveloped, and his earlier Castling move now allows me a few opportunities to cramp his king.



12. d4	Preparing to put a cramp on my Queenside, and opening up another attacker on the f-pawn.



12... Qg7	Otherwise, Black loses the pawn on f4.



13. d5	Restricting c6 for the Knight, and keeping my Bishop largely at bay.



13... Nd7 14. Nc3 Ne5	I always feel a little silly making two Knight-Moves to attack a Queen, but here it made sense.



15. Qh5+ Kd8 16. Ne2 f3	! Offers an exchange (favorable for Black, as he is ahead on material), threatens mate on g2 (Qxg2#), and destroys communication between White's pieces.



17. Ng3 Bxc1 18. Raxc1 Qxg3	Otherwise, the f-pawn is lost.



19. Rf2	Really, the only saving move.



19... Qg6	Encouraging the Queen exchange.



20. Qxg6	20. Qh4 is no real threat. White realizes this, and accepts the exchange.



20... hxg6	And here White resigned, down on material and without a positional advantage to justify further play. Black, with a series of counter-attacks and well-placed pieces, managed to stop White's assault.