Annotated chess game

The link is here: gameknot.com

very nice mate

Yes it is but not the best because of your next move.

The surprise is just how popular this line is. I've never played it, myself.

Philidor. @archduke_piccolo me neither.

Grabs the centre and threatens to win at least a pawn by exchanging pawns and queens, and then knight takes on e5.

I agree, the Q's out before developing his pieces. And, he's about to be punished for this with your next move.

Which is what I'm also thinking, at the same time. Yes, this tempo gain is going to do a lot of damage for black.

There is a very nasty little trap embedded in here. Black will be lucky if he doesn't shed a pawn.

I'd give it the same thing since it'll cost black a pawn.

Better was indeed 4...Qe6, but even then Black would have had to take care: 5.dxe5 dxe5?? 6.Qd8#. But Black keeps his pawn (just) after 4...Qe6 5.dxe5 Nc6. So White might decide to forget about the 'trap' and simply develop, 5.Nc3, instead.

Yes, this loses, at once. But, even if he didn't capture, and played something like 5...Nc6, after 6.exd6, even if 6...cxd6, despite not knowing all of the variations from there, I think that black is much better. Although not passed, I think that there'd be potential the e4 pawn to become quite dangerous. At the time, I thought that pawns needed to be passed to become that. But, that's not so as later on, they can. I forgot when it was, but about 2-4 years ago, I studied a variation with Jack where we didn't have a passed pawn, but he illustrated how center pawns can become dangerous and why one also to take note of.

5...Qxe4ch, maybe?

That was really good. It shows the consequences of abandoning the general guidelines without a good reason. And, considering that this was blitz is a plus because I would've found this mate but not in a blitz game. In fast play things go by so quick that I'm known to miss important tactics and opportunities, like this.

Black will never play 3...Qf6 again.