A Decisive Sacrifice

I used a decisive sacrifice to defeat my opponent in a game of speed chess at chess.com.  He was Pindours of France who played black.  Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. e4 d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 Nbd7
4. f4 e5

I play f4 to gain more control of the centre and black immediately challenges it.

5. Nf3 c6
6. Bd3 Qc7
7. 0-0 Be7

With the black king in the centre, I decide to begin a series of captures to create open lines of attack.

8. fxe dxe
9. dxe Nxe5
10. Nxe5 Qxe5
11. Bf4 Qd4+

The check is harmless.

12. Kh1 0-0
13. e5 Bg4

Though the black king is attacked, black hopes to gain time by forcing my queen to move.  The problem for black is that the black queen is unprotected and I have a move at my disposal to take full advantage.

14. Bxh7+

I sacrifice my bishop to gain the black queen.  With no desire to continue without the queen, black resigns.  His failure to protect his queen is the reason for his quick defeat.

Chef's Salad

A delicious and simple dish to make is the chef's salad.  This salad can be served with one or more varieties of meat and a variety of dressings.  I like it with ham and a vinaigrette.

Here is a traditional recipe for the chef's salad:

8 cups lettuce
1 cup ham, julienne strips
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup Swiss cheese, julienne strips
2 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and sliced
salad dressing

Tear the lettuce into small bite-sized pieces and put in a large bowl.  Add the ham, tomatoes, cheese and hard-boiled egg.  Before serving, add a dressing of your choice.  This recipe makes four servings.  The chef's salad can even be a full meal.

Victory with the King's Gambit

The King's Gambit is an opening for white that consists of the moves
1. e4 e5 2. f4. It is an exciting opening that sacrifices a pawn for quick development. In a game of speed chess at chess.com versus Luokun1984c2 of England, I used the King's Gambit successfully. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. e4 e5
2. f4 Nc6

More common moves for black are exf and d6.

3. Nf3 d6
4. Bc4 Nge7

Black's king bishop is trapped.

5. Ng5 d5

I target f7.

6. exd Nxd5
7. 0-0 e4
8. Nc3 f5

Black protects the e-pawn but the d5 knight is underprotected.

9. Bxd5 Bc5+
10. Kh1 Qf6
11. Bf7+ Ke7

Black fails to see the fork.

12. Nd5+

I fork the black king and queen. Already down a piece, black decides to resign. My ability to take advantage of the exposed king leads to a quick resignation.

Closed Game

I played a closed game of speed chess against Charlie33 of the USA who played black. Closed games often last several moves, but this game is rather short. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. e4 c5
2. d4 e6

To my surprise black does not play cxd.

3. d5 d6
4. Nc3 e5
5. f4 f5
6. Nf3 h6

Black has yet to move a piece.

7. h4 Be7
8. g3 Nf6
9. Bd2 Ng4
10. Bh3 0-0

With few pieces on the kingside and the weakened pawn structure around the king, black makes a move that exposes his king more.

11. Qe2 h5

Black leaves a hole on g5 for my knight.

12. 0-0-0 a6

I castle to connect my rooks and develop a kingside attack.

13. Ng5 Bxg5
14. hxg5 Nd7
15. Bxg4 fxg4

Black's kingside is not well-defended.

16. f5 Qe8

Rxh5 is stronger.

17. g6 Nf6
18. Bg5 Rb8

I prepare to remove a key defender.

19. Bxf6 Rxf6
20. Rxh5 b5
21. Rdh1 Qd7

Black wants to save his queen but he cannot prevent mate.

22. Rh8#

In this closed game, black makes the mistake of castling kingside where I have a powerful attack. He also fails to develop his pieces and generate threats. This allows me to deliver a quick victory.