Attacking play in chess often has plenty of foreshadowing. The players will castle on opposite sides, or someone will mount a menacing pawn storm (when a player systematically advances pawns towards the enemy king), or a player might waste time in the opening and be justly punished. But not always!
Does this position, arising from the Italian Game, look conducive to attacking play? Both players have gotten their pieces out and castled on the same side. No one has flaunted the principles of the opening, sacrificed material, or aggressively advanced their pawns. You might expect some quiet maneuvering to follow. And yet, in the game we’re going to look at, white had launched a winning attack within 4 moves of the diagram position.
Continue reading “The Italian Game: Ambush”