A tactical game

Yesterday, as Black in a club championship game, I had lost a pawn in the opening. Or should I say I sacrificed it? No, it was not planned, but it came out that I had quite a compensation for it. Just look at this position after black Rook attacks Bishop and white Queen protects it, move 18.



Black to move.

I have five developed pieces against his only two. And even more important, his King is still in the center. Thus, I thought that the Knight sacrifice on e4 must be good. Interestingly, Shredder sees me as winning after Nxe4, but my feeling at the board was quite different as soon as I realized that I do not win his Bishop and I am a full piece down. I thought that I was struggling against loss! On the other hand, I had the impression that my opponent had the feeling of winning because he seemed not to be very concerned about the danger of his King. This has been a very important experience, learning more about the power of a compensation.

Despite some weak moves of mine I managed to keep the upper hand and, due to his weak defense, gained material back. And here is the beautiful finish after 32. Bf4.



Black to move. My final blast makes use of the overworked Queen. I guess you see it.