Annotated chess game: Traxler with 5.Nxf7

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ANNOTATED GAME

Traxler with 5.Nxf7 - Deadly discoveries!
a_random_guy (1775) vs. jstevens1 (1767)
Annotated by: jotheblackqueen (1200)
Chess opening: two knights defence (C57), Wilkes Barre (Traxler) variation

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1. e4	Hi everyone! I seem to be following one bad game with one good game and vice versa! I lost a game to a 1900+ player called Paolo playing white in the Traxler and dropped 6 rating points. Luckily I got them back plus a little more in this game when, as with Pawnstar, the e column proved a death trap to the white king, and yet again, Glenda was the instigator. Gameknot analysis is as follows:- http://gameknot.com/analyze-board.pl?bd=15111303&fb=1&rnd=0.23920012303562282



1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Bc5 5. Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6. Kf1	6. Kf1 - moves 1-5 have followed fairly standard lines. KxB has been played and in fact I tried it against Paolo and went on to lose.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 30-Dec-10: Jo is speaking in the context of the opening in this Mini-Tournament. The Traxler - or Wilkes-Barre - Variation (for those unfamiliar with it) is a very bold gambit line. Black gives up huge material for the sake of piece activity and a strong attack. This MT makes a feature of the Knight capture on f7 at move 5. White could choose the possibly safer 5.Bxf7ch (contenting himself with a secure, though modest, material gain), or the non-committal 5.d4. By taking with the Knight, White defies Black to do his worst. His worst is actually pretty good: the Bishop sac at f2, busting open the King's position. This time, White is more circumspect, but 6.Kxf2 is playable if White doesn't mind living dangerously.


6... Qe7 7. Nxh8 Bb6	7. ..... Bb6 - I have had some good results with this line so I decided to retreat Fou Lenoir to b6 where he is bearing down on the WK.
	2 comments a_random_guy (1985) on 30-Dec-10: Good move, this bishop will prove to be much useful later in the game. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 30-Dec-10: This was played against me by paolo2504. Although I felt I got a very good game early on, the ending proved a deal trickier than I had anticipated. At one stage I thought I might even lose! The game eventually settled to a finely balanced draw. (I hope to annotate this one shortly, unless my opponent gets in first!)


8. d3 d5 9. exd5 Bg4	9. ..... Bg4 - I can ignore the threat to my knight by one move, a developing move attacking the Wicked Witch of the West.



10. Qd2 Nd4 11. d6 cxd6 12. Nc3 O-O-O	12. ...... 0-0-0 - Henry tucks himself away on the queenside and now a black rook is ready to join in the attack on the WK. Over the last few moves my pieces have been swarming in!



13. Nf7 Rf8 14. Ke1 e4 15. Nxd6+ Qxd6	15. ..... Qxd6 - this knight has been sacrificed to lure Glenda off the e column, but alas for white, she returns there one move later to pin a knight.
	1 comment a_random_guy (1985) on 30-Dec-10: Here, I first planned to play 16.Qf4, but I saw that it fails to Nxc2+!!, winning the game for black.


16. Nxe4 Qe7 17. Rf1 Re8	17. ..... Re8 - pile on.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 30-Dec-10: Had her king stood at b8 (instead of c8), Black could have played this at move 16: 16...Nxe4! (this would have been good anyway) 17.dxe4 Nxc2ch 18.Qxc2 Bxf2ch 19.Kf1 Bg3ch 20.Kg1 Qd4ch etc. Unfortunately, as it is the whole party gets spoiled by 20.Bf7ch! However, after 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.dxe4, Qf6 seems to lesd to a strong attack: e.g. 18.Rf1 Qh4ch 19.g3 Rxf1ch 20.Kxf1 (20.Bxf1 Nf3ch) 20... Bh3ch with a plethora of threats. If, say, 21.Ke1 Qxe4ch! 22.Kd1 Bg4ch 23.Be2 Bxe2ch 24.Ke1 Nf3#.


18. Rf4 Bf5	18. ...... Bf5 - more pile on.



19. Kf1 Bxe4	19. ..... Bxe4 - might as well get rid of the knight.



20. dxe4 Nxe4	20. ..... Nxe4 - out of this deal I manage to win back a pawn but I am still the exchange for pawn down. I must attack, attack, attack!
	2 comments a_random_guy (1985) on 30-Dec-10: A few important things to note in this position: Every black pieces are geared towards the white king, the black knight on e4 is the only piece preventing Qe1# in this position and my queen is attacked. What to do? archduke_piccolo (2340) on 30-Dec-10: Yes: up at the sharp end, White is lacking rook and bishop. If he survives the onslaught, he'll win. If he survives...


21. Qd3 Nxc2	21. ..... Nxc2 - this move claws back a further pawn because if QxN then Ng3+, PXN then Qe1#. My opponent spotted the mate, counter sacrificed his light square bishop and said, "nice try"!
	3 comments a_random_guy (1985) on 30-Dec-10: Although the plan did not work as planned, neither player got an advantage out of this... archduke_piccolo (2340) on 30-Dec-10: White's Q move had to get out of the Knight's attack, and cover the threat of ...Ng3ch (among other, less tangible, threats Black has in the position). The decoy sac at c2 is a very nice piece of tactics. Was Jo pinning all her hopes upon White's taking the Knight? I don't think so. Suppose White thought 'Oo - better save my rook' and now played 22.Rb1?? Then comes 22...Ng3ch!! 23.Qxg3 Qe1ch 24.Qxe1 Rxe1# - a fine finish! black_cat_hamlet (1531) on 30-Dec-10: Black is slowly crawling back in material, and she still holds a great spatial advantage!


22. Be6+ Qxe6 23. Qxc2+ Kb8	23. ...... Kb8 - Henry tucks himself further away from the centre.
	1 comment a_random_guy (1985) on 30-Dec-10: I would like to do the same, but that pesky bishop prevents me to do it!


24. Ke2	24. Ke2 - whaaat? He walks his king right into Glenda's line of fire. Now in order to avoid copping Old Matey, Etienne must now sacrifice his rook by interposing it onto e4. He will find himself, after a forced exchange of queens, a clear piece down in an endgame.
	2 comments a_random_guy (1985) on 30-Dec-10: I took my my time to analyse this position, and I concluded a few things: 1.Ng3+ is still deadly 2.I could exchange doen material with 24.Rxe4 Qxe4 25.Qxe4 Rxe4, the material becomes equal but I would have a slightly backward position. 3.I could try to sneak out of my jail cell and escape via f3, as the knight discovery cannot attack another piece. Unfortunately for me, I tried to use my "free out of jail card" and it failed... Good game! archduke_piccolo (2340) on 30-Dec-10: I think I might have gone for the endgame as representing White best chance to save the game. It looks a s though Black would have little choice about whether or no to go along with it (24.Rxe4 Qf5ch 25.Bf4ch - ouch). Note, too, that at the end of the exchanges, it's White to play, and his K is closer to the centre. Pawns would be exactly symmetrical (two degrees of symmetry, at that). Black would be hard put to it to win such an ending, methinks. [Having said all that, it seems to me that Black has gone wrong some time earlier, so strong did her game seem. The culprit seems to be the loss of time at move 16...]


24... Nd2+	24...... Nd2+ - I decided to put this knight here because it can only be taken by the WK. Crucially this move stops white from developing his dark square bishop. The white king eats my knight but this allows #2. I announced 26. Qe1# on the next move, giving my opponent the choice of resignation. No doubt he moved his king to d1 hoping for a finger slip, alas for Etienne, I set up the move as a conditional so there was no way out for him - Glenda got her man!
	2 comments a_random_guy (1985) on 30-Dec-10: The correct move: blocking the f3 square, where I would have been relatively safe. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 30-Dec-10: Very neat, and problem-like. Not only does the Knight block the bishop, but also the WK's route to the K-side. Interposing a rook loses a rook, and the alternative K moves just allow mate on one: 25.Kd3 Qe3#.


25. Kxd2 Qe3+ 26. Kd1 Qe1#
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 30-Dec-10: Very well played, Jo. Not a bad defence by White until he allowed his King to come under a crossfire at the end. The ending he mentioned at move 24 represented his best chance of holding out for a draw, and a very good chance it was too...