There's nothing wrong with 10...gxh6 11. Qxh6 Rf7
The Best Defense is Offense
Sort:
White playing d3 without Bc4 first pretty much blunts his initiative.
28... Qf7 29. Rh3 Qxa2 30. Rg2 Kf8
khpa21 wrote:
There's nothing wrong with 10...gxh6 11. Qxh6 Rf7
Yeah that could be another variation. Initally I was thinking the idea of 10...Ng4 was to:
- Guard h6, avoiding Qh6
- Make way for the bishop to guard g5, hoping that it prevents moves like Ng5
- Although might not be substantial, block white's g-pawn from advancing
Thanks for the thoughts 
cornedbeefhashvili wrote:
White playing d3 without Bc4 first pretty much blunts his initiative.
Agreed. Bc4 was doing nothing much, moved just once (20.Bh5) and then got captured (23...Nxh5).
Thaddeus_Samson wrote:
28... Qf7 29. Rh3 Qxa2 30. Rg2 Kf8
Thanks for your idea. From your suggestion I came up with the exchange variation:
28...Qf7 29. Rhxg5+ Rxg5 30. Nxg5 Qf4+ 31. Rg3 hxg5. Black's queen is now more active than it was in the actual game.
If white decided to decline exchanging pieces, black might then exploit his queen to win materials/support pawn march/win the game
mtbz wrote:
Thaddeus_Samson wrote:
28... Qf7 29. Rh3 Qxa2 30. Rg2 Kf8
Thanks for your idea. From your suggestion I came up with the exchange variation:
28...Qf7 29. Rhxg5+ Rxg5 30. Nxg5 Qf4+ 31. Rg3 hxg5. Black's queen is now more active than it was in the actual game.
If white decided to decline exchanging pieces, black might then exploit his queen to win materials/support pawn march/win the game
Maybe this will give you another idea.
28... Qf7 29. Rhxg5+ hxg5 30. Nxg5 Rf2+ 31. Rg2 Qf4+ 32. Kh3 Qf5+ 33. Kg3 Rf1 34. Kh2 Qf4+ 35. Rg3 Rf2+
The title, as suggested, might sound a little cliche. But that's what describes the game I played against a higher rated player (~200 points difference).
I opened up with the Latvian Gambit, which eventually destructed my king's side after white sacrificed his bishop on move #11 ( 11.Bxg7).
Despite having a vulnerable king side, I tried to defend while trying my best to strike my opponent. That was achieved by continuously keeping an eye on h6 and g5 so that the white queen would not be able to land any checks.
10.Ng4 was definitely a useful move. Not only does it protects h6, it also has attacking opportunities. Also, as a result of the opening, the dark square bishop at e7 guards g5.
A series of attack was unleashed starting from move 13 onwards. Although I may have not played the best moves, the middle game favored me and as I reached the endgame phase, I decided to trade off pieces. My opponent resigned straight away after an imbalanced R+P vs Q+P endgame.
GG.