Vienna Game 2... d6 | MESSY, but WIN IS WIN!
#vienna
This was another Vienna Game, 2... d6, what I've dubbed the "Philidor-ish Defense" (https://www.chess.com/blog/vitualis/vienna-game-2-d6-tricky-game-review-13). The game play in this match was a bit "messy" and undisciplined by me, but a win is a win!
After the usual trade in the centre in the opening, Black played an interested move (4... c5) rather than the expected (4... Nc6) to chase away my queen. I knew that this move couldn't possibly be good as Black has weakened their light squares around the king. The question, however, was how do I exploit this before Black consolidates?
I decided to make a risky and perhaps intemperate forward advance with my queen (5. Qd5). Stockfish thought this was inaccurate, but it worked! Next move, (6. Bb5+) and Black blundered by blocking the check with their own bishop. I end up winning a pawn, but then start to feel a bit uncomfortable as I was worried that my queen will end up being trapped in her adventures in Black's territory. However, by letting go of the pressure, I lose much of my advantage as Black consolidated and managed to get a lead in development.
By move 13, however, I was happy again. After a few messy moves, I managed to extricate my queen, and had rotated it ready to launch a kingside attack. Wanting a spicy game, I opposite side castled. In the early middle game, Black made only one somewhat slow move, and I captured the initiative. On move 17, Black miscalculated. Although their bishop on f6 was indeed defended twice to my two attackers, it held the advantage as the end of the capture sequence would force Black to double their pawns on the f-file, and open the g-file, cracking open their king's defence. Two moves later, (19. Qg3+), "well hello there!"
Black's king was now trapped behind a wall of their own pawns, cut off from their other pieces. On move 22, facing an impending checkmate, Black's best move was to defer the inevitable and trade their queen for my rook and enter a losing endgame. Suffering emotional damage, they resigned. GG!
The big takeaway from this game is that the Philidor-ish Defense isn't good against the Vienna Game, but you need to immediately take the centre with the second pawn and be careful to not overextend.
Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/live/83939447061
