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1. e4
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Welcome to day two of the Space City Open. After a night of tequila, a lumpy hotel mattress, and a roomate whose snores can be heard from space, I am sufficiently hung over, sore, and tired enough for some more chess. I enter the tourney room, and immediately check out the wall chart. I'm struck by two interesting facts - one, I have the black pieces yet again (I had figured on playing white in round 4), and two, my opponent is yet another kid of about 12. Believe me when I say I really want to win this game - for two reasons. The obvious - I need the full point to have any chance to cash; the other reason is that this kid yesterday exhibited some of the worse sportsmanship I've ever seen at a chess tournament. Some of the things that came out of this kids mouth were just shameful - especially comments directed towards opponents he had beaten (he was 2/3 entering round 4). I won't go into specifics, but suffice it to say that every player in the Reserve section was rooting for me. This kid needed to be put down hard, and I was just ornery enough on this morning to do it. He drops a rook early, and I tell myself that if given the opportunity I will give him a taste of his own medicine. Call me insensitive - or a bad guy - if you like, but circumstances dictated that I crush him to teach him a lesson. While I take no real pride in the quality of the game, it was satisfying to put him in his place. White opens with 1. e4. |
 
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1... d5
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Once again, I play the Scandi. |
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2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5
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My favorite Scandi variation, which I have seen 1000's of times. |
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4. d4
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This is now REALLY my favorite line. Black's d pawn may very well end up being a target. |
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4... c6
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Creating an escape route for my queen, which may give me the chance to pick up his d pawn. |
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5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Bd2 Qd8
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I couldn't have scripted this any better. Little does my opponent know that of all of the opening variations possible in chess, this is the one that I am most familiar with. |
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7. Bf4
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Moving a piece twice in the opening....another good omen for me. |
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7... Bxf3
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A simple tactical victory. |
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8. Qxf3 Qxd4 9. Rd1
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Ahead in development, white gains tempo with an attack on my queen. One of the intersting things about the Scandinavian is that white usually can gain a developmental edge, but black can neutralize it quite easily with correct play and just sit back and wait him out. |
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9... Qb6
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Protecting my queen and keeping his DSB out of c7. |
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10. Qd3
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White is apparently seeking a quick knockout down the d file, but he will come up short, as blacks developmental catch up protects his vulnerable squares. |
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10... Nf6 11. Na4
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Trying to somehow trap or otherwise harrass my queen. However..... |
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11... Qa5+
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Slows him down. |
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12. c3 Nbd7
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Circles the wagons and introduces the idea of 0-0-0 that white must consider. |
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13. b3
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Protects the hanging piece while giving it a new square to jump to. |
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13... e6 14. g3
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I felt that his 10th was a little premature, and this move (in his mind IMHO) goes to answer the question of his LSB. However, it does open a line towards his Rh1. |
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14... Qd5
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d5 is such a sexy square in the Scandinavian Defense. Blacks queen and both knights have access to it rather quickly, and here I utilize it to force an exchange of queens. |
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15. Qc2
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?? Thinking this discovered attack on my queen is powerful, my opponent totally misses his hanging rook. |
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15... Qxh1
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Being given the gift of such an enormous early advantage, I tell myself to refocus, get pieces off of the board, and put him away. |
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16. Qd3
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? Is he focused on d7 for some reason? My opponent now gives me yet another gift as I can remove the queens. |
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(1734)