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My Seventh Chess Tournament, Game 4 (Sharp Two Knights Defense)

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In this game I played an opening that I hadn't tried yet in tournament play, the Italian Game, and in particular the Two Knights Defense. I had tried the Ruy Lopez a couple of times previously in tournament play, only to find myself in tough positions where the stronger player usually comes out on top. Instead of taking that risk again, I chose to play the somewhat quieter Italian Game. When my opponent responded with a variation of the Two Knights Defense that I wasn't too familiar with, we got into a sharp middlegame where I had to fight for several moves to keep my advantage.

I managed to win the last game of this monthly tournament, taking two wins and two losses for the whole tournament. I don't know how to explain my mediocre-ish performance this tournament. Maybe it has something to do with the new venue that my club started playing at at the beginning of this tournament. In any case, it's always good to win a game.

The opponent that I had played against this game happened to be an interesting one for me to be paired up with. My opponent used to play at a different chess club with my father when I must have been much younger (probably around 3-4 years old!). The two of them had played several games against each other, each with their fair share of wins, losses, and draws. The next time I see my father I will have a good story to tell him about this game. Here is the game:

 
 
 
Themes: Decoys and Deflection, Removing the Guard, Sacrifice, Forks, Queen Sacrifice, Pins, Basic Combinations, Opening Lines, Using Knights, Bishop Pair, Initiative, Converting Extra Material, Mating Nets, Attacking the Uncastled King