Opening: Pirc Defence Result: 0-1 (Checkmate) Time Control: 3 min + 2 sec increment (Blitz) Rated

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Game Overview

Not too much to say about this one. I play the Pirc Defence and go for a thematic bishop sacrifice to open the g-file. I blunder my queen on a defended square, but decide to keep attacking with three pieces around the king. White takes a free rook, but it doesn’t matter. The knights and remaining rook deliver checkmate.

Opening and the Bishop Sacrifice (Moves 1-11)

1. e4 d6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 g6 4. d3 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. h3 e5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. a3 h6 9. Be3 Kh7 10. b4 Nh5 11. Nd5 Bxh3

After 11...Bxh3
After 11...Bxh3: The thematic bishop sacrifice. I give up my bishop to rip open the g-file and get at White's king.

I like the opening here. It’s the Pirc Defence, and I go for the thematic bishop sacrifice on h3. The idea is to rip open the g-file and get at White’s king. White has to take back with the g-pawn, and now that file is wide open.

The Queen Blunder (Moves 12-13)

12. gxh3 Qg5+

After 12...Qg5+
After 12...Qg5+: Queen goes to g5 with check, but I didn't notice that g5 is defended by the knight on f3.

This is the blunder. I bring my queen to g5 with check, which looks great, but I didn’t check that g5 was defended by the knight on f3. So White takes my queen with the knight. Queen blundered for a knight.

13. Nxg5+ hxg5

After 13...hxg5
After 13...hxg5: My queen is gone. I'm down a queen for a knight. Not ideal, but the position is still messy.

So now I’m down a queen for a knight. Not ideal. But I figure the position is still messy and White’s king is exposed, so I decide to try and make it work with what I’ve got.

Three Pieces and a Plan (Moves 14-21)

14. Bxg5 Bh6 15. Bxh6 Kxh6 16. Nxc7 Rac8 17. Nd5 f5 18. exf5 Rxf5 19. b5 Nd4

After 19...Nd4
After 19...Nd4: Knight hops into d4. I'm getting three pieces around White's king.

The plan is to get three pieces surrounding the king. My knight hops into d4.

20. Ne7 Rf3

After 20...Rf3
After 20...Rf3: The rook swings to f3, attacking the h3 pawn and eyeing the king.

The rook swings to f3, attacking h3.

21. Nxc8 Rxh3

After 21...Rxh3
After 21...Rxh3: White takes my free rook on c8, but I take the h3 pawn. The attack is coming together.

White takes the free rook and I take the h3 pawn. Now I’ve got a rook on h3 and two knights ready to come in.

The Checkmate (Moves 22-23)

22. Nxd6 Nf3+

After 22...Nf3+
After 22...Nf3+: Knight check on f3. White plays the natural Kg2.

Knight check on f3. White plays the natural move 23. Kg2, and now the second knight comes in.

23…Nf4#

After 23...Nf4#
After 23...Nf4#: Checkmate. The two knights and the rook on h3 combine to deliver mate.

Checkmate. The second knight drops into f4, and with the rook on h3 covering the escape squares, there’s nowhere for the king to go. Pretty satisfying to win with two knights and a rook while being down a queen.

Reflections

What went well:

  • Going for the bishop sacrifice to open the g-file. It’s a thematic idea in the Pirc and it worked well here.
  • Not giving up after blundering the queen. I kept looking for attacking chances and it paid off.
  • This was a good motivator during a rough day of losses. Sometimes you just need a fun win to keep going.

What to work on:

  • I need to stop putting pieces on defended squares. The queen blunder on g5 is becoming a pattern I need to break.

Full PGN:

1. e4 d6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 g6 4. d3 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. h3 e5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. a3 h6
9. Be3 Kh7 10. b4 Nh5 11. Nd5 Bxh3 12. gxh3 Qg5+ 13. Nxg5+ hxg5 14. Bxg5 Bh6 15.
Bxh6 Kxh6 16. Nxc7 Rac8 17. Nd5 f5 18. exf5 Rxf5 19. b5 Nd4 20. Ne7 Rf3 21. Nxc8
Rxh3 22. Nxd6 Nf3+ 23. Kg2 Nf4# 0-1