KG as Black

Well Fritz 12 had black up about -.90, I would assume from the fact of whites king position with majority of his pieces on the queenside. I know I am not highly rated but i think black could get a nice attack on the kingside, but would have to disregard a queenside defense. But hey, isnt that what the KG is all about...tactical games

Dashkee, so, you think Black is positionally better? or at least has compensation for the pawn?   I'm a bit like Morphy but without the talent. I love active pieces (and therefore gambits) and open fields where material isn't the most important consideration.  But sometimes it's hard to see where it's all leading.

"Well Fritz 12 had black up about -.90"   Does this mean Fritz doesn't count material for much, as Black is down a pawn?

Both sides have 6, Black has four on the kingside and two on the queenside and white is vice versa

Durn, you're right.  I was counting the two pawns on the f file as one.  No wonder I can't play chess.

I do like black, but I do think that their attack should come quickly. Maybe even a nifty minor piece sac might work

What it is is that while black has many weaknesses, it's difficult for white to generate any activity off of them.  As Bronstein said, "It's only a weakness if it can be exploited."  And white has weaknesses that black can address, notably (in the final position) d3.  So, in that case, yes, I'll say that black is better positionally, but it's due to a better cooperation of pieces, so it's tactical in nature.  A sort of tactical positional superiority.  But by it's nature it's transitory, and so must be realized when possible.  Keep approaching these positions like a Traxler and you'll do fine.  Bishops are strong in these openings.  And all of these lines are time versus material, right?

"however 18.Bxf4?! was interesting as well, but should offer [still] decent drawing [endgame] chances."

Yeah, for Black.

According to Houdini: Yes, to put your rook or queen in the center (-0.65) was the best idea. Even simply taking the pawn on e4 would have given you the edge you need for good pressure. I think for Blitz 13. Kh1 Bxd4 is not a mistake though (-0.45). But after 17. dxc6 bxc6 the chances are equal. 18. b4 (0.00) or a5 (-0.20 would be fatal to capture) are White's best moves.

have you tried the Nimzovich Counter Gambit ?  it's a fun one to counter the king gambit,  not sure if it's solid as other defenses for black but it's a fun line

anyway , white d3 pawn is a weakness if game went on your plan should have been attacking it . 

Thanks for taking time to look at this game.  It's hard to remember what I might have been thinking in a blitz game from 2 weeks ago, but knowing myself, I was probably looking more at the pin the Q move would create and hoping to potentially stumble over some way to take advantage of it - a lot of blitz is intuitve and some moves are, for me, made in anticipation of finding something later. The pressure on f2 was likely more or less a bonus incentive to make the move.  Strategy in blitz often devolves into incorporating complexity, making your opponent have to think (to use up time) or to giving your opponent a choice (which also erodes his time), not necessarity in order to win on time (but that works too), but really to position your opponent to have to make quick moves in critical positions later on.   I think most of my wins come from my opponents' gross errors than from any forceful play on my part.

At the end, and despite what the computers can say, I prefer the black pieces by far.

An obvious plan is to pile on the d3 pawn with the minor pieces (...Bh5-g6, ...Nc5) and it's not clear at all to me what the computer pulls out of his hat against that.

Well, that's why I asked people and not some computer. Lines are fine, and possibly more conclusive, but I think in plans, not lines (except maybe short tactical ideas), so human insight is more valuable to me than computer insight.  I thought the end position was interesting and the game ended unnaturally due to timeout, leaving me unsatisfied.  Thanks for your input in this.

but white has still better pawns after loosing? this pawn d3, 

( on 3. ..h6 I play at once and maybe to early 4.h4 )

In your diagram, 19...Bg6 ?? is just a tactical blunder. 19...c5 is better.

I must admit White has some counterplay though, I thought he couldn't push the d pawn that easily.

Black's plan : ...Bg6, then put the rooks on center files.

White's plan : develop the Bc1 "somehow". The problem is to find a satisfying 'somehow'. What is your list of good moves ?

OK, back to real calculations : 19...c5, your move. There is no trapping of the knight anymore, and ...Bg6 is threatened in one move.

If 18. h3, c5.  Then if 19. hxg4, cxd4; and if 20. cxd4, Nxg4 with Qg6 and Qh5+ to follow.  Where can the N go?  If 19. Nb5 (say), Bf5 hammering d3, and Qg6 (piling on d3) & Qh5 (attacking the weak k) is still a threat.  White's developement isn't cooperating and his k-side is almost stripped of defenders.  It only takes black 2 to 3 moves to implement some strong ideas; it takes white a few moves longer to do the same.  But black must approach this position with some energy, or white will have an excellent game in a couple of moves.  But I feel that the push c5 soon followed by Qg6 and/or Bf5 give black the advantage here.

pfren, do you mean the diagram in post 44?