Gibbins-Wiedehagen Gambit [2]

Number of moves where my opponent was in his comfort-zone: 1.

The Gibbins-Wiedehagen Gambit is an uncommon reply to the Indian Game, where White forces Black into unknown territory as soon as move 2. See here for my first blogpost about this opening. In my previous game Black declines the offer, but this time Black took the bait. 

White is happy to offer Black a “free pawn” but gets the advantage of a quicker development in return. This in combination with playing an opening you’ve prepared, in contradiction with Black who’s probably never seen a 2.g4!?, gives White excellent fighting chances. Here’s how my last “GWG” game went.

Puzzle 1: Improve upon my blunder and find the best line.

Puzzle 2: Finish the game with the quickest mate.

Conclusion

The prize of a simple pawn allowed me a nice development and excellent attacking chances. Black struggled the whole game to get out of is cramped position, and didn’t manage to castle his king out of the battlefield. Interesting is the position after my two errors in move 16 and 17. The computer slightly favours Black (due to the pawn advantage) and rates the situation at -0,14. But I’d rather choose the White pieces there who are all in excellent attacking positions, over the Black army that has difficulties getting organised and has plenty of opportunities to mess up – which is exactly what happened.