Don’t fear Qh4+ in the Vienna Gambit Accepted!

#ViennaGame #ViennaGambit 

At the end of last year, I published a video where I played a perfect 100% in a tournament, with the Vienna Game Accepted, where I used the classic and brilliant trap of Nd5. In that game, I made a gamble in the match as I accelerated the Nd5 but foregoing the typical defensive move, Nf3 to prevent Qh4+, an ever-present risk in the Vienna Gambit due to the move of the f-pawn and weakening of the dark square diagonal to the king. I had hoped that my opponent wouldn’t see Qh4+ – they didn’t – that resulted in the springing of a devasting trap next turn where the opponent loses their queen.

However, when I analysed the game, I was astonished to discover that Stockfish not only had no fear of Qh4+, what I thought was a blunder to allow, but had rated this terrifying looking counterattack by black as the theoretical best move!

Since then, I have never had the courage to allow it, until today! And boy, is it deadly! The best theoretical line for black, which still maintains a good advantage for white, requires a completely inhuman looking computer move that I doubt anyone unprepared will find. The other slightly less terrible moves involve moving the king into the middle of the board and seemingly into mating threats! A completely reasonable-looking and natural move is a +10 blunder!

So, in this one instance, don’t fear Qh4+ in the Vienna Gambit accepted! Black’s escape from the better-known Vienna Gambit trap results in them falling into a second one that is more devious than the first!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/live/47615402893