Very interesting games,thank you !!

In the last game black could have played 11. .. Kg8h8 to avoid checkmate.

Thank you for the instructive and entertaining articles.

Thanks for an interesting and interactive article. I'll study Vienna game furthermore.

What is it? Name of this article is Openings for Tactical Players: The Vienna Game.

So I read this article becouse (what a surprise!) I want to know something about opening for tactical players - Vienna game. I didnt want to see some tactical puzzles.

The Vienna can be nasty ! 

As a bishops opening player, a lot of my games move into vienna territory.  If my memory serves me, the Vienna was the source of the 'White to Play and Win  with e4' noise in the 1970's. 

The Vienna is tried more often in CC games. It can lead to wild tactical complications.Here is the Frankenstein-Dracula Variation:

3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3(Now 5…Be7 as in the game above is a quiet and reasonable alternative).5…Nc6!? 6.Nb5 g6 7.Qf3 f5 8.Qd5 Qe7 9.Qxc7+Kd8 10.Nxa8 b6 11.d3 Bb7

To my knowledge no clear verdict has been reached even after 300+ games played during the last 75 years. This is only for info.

Caution: This variation is not for the very young players who have just learned to play openings, rules of development and simple tactics. Nor is it for the faint hearted and the unprepared. It’s better to study more games from a database like ultraCorr.3 before trying it out.But if you are an uninitiated White player and sense that your experienced opponent is going to enter this line, you can upset his apple cart by playing 5. Qxe5+. After 5… Qe7 6.Qxe7 Bxe7, it’s just a level position as pointed out in the article here. So do preserve this last line as an insurance against emergencies.

I hate the Vienna.  I would like to crush it when I play Black.  The f4 move is dangerous but queenside and central counterplay will beat it.

I never play e4 but this time I will try vienna on a practice thanks for your article... good job

Vienna game is cool

Like many of these sharp but none too subtle openings, especially those with a lengthy history, if you find yourself against someone who uses an openings database you're stuffed, but if you're playing someone who's just using their brain you've got a good chance.  Either way you're in for an entertaining game.

very nice article but I prefer Mieses' treatment of 3. Bc4 than Spielmann's 3. f4.  I think the former was also Larsen's choice when he was playing the Vienna, e.g. v. Lajos Portisch 1968 (?) Candidates....

I thought the Vienna was a conservative type openning by white, with a slow build up, but vow! what aggressive play we see here. But of course it is a great maestro who is doing it. But anyway  I think all of us should pay some heed to this openning.

Pentagram: If my history is correct, the move that turned the Vienna into, as GM Serper describes it, a "forgotten" opening, is 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5!  White still has many ways to try for an advantage, of course, but with accurate play Black seems to get full equality in all of them.  

With that said, you can make pretty much the same statement about any opening, so that's no reason not to play the Vienna.  From my experience, it's an opening that's fun to play, and, as GM Serper says, often leads to tactical middle games.  If combinations are your forte, you should do well with it.

its a beautiful article.very agressive play by whites

Does White get a slight advantage in all variations of the Vienna or there are Black defences which lead to equality though?

i like the vienna :P

I like Vienna game. You've chose very good games, thanks for good article.

This appeals to me. Cheers