Using the Bird Opening

Here's a game just completed which I won with the Bird Opening. All things considered I think I did fairly well. I know I had a couple blunders here and there but overall it was a solid game. Several variations in the endgame, so check the move list for possible variants.

Typically the bird goes 1.f4, 2.Nf3, 3.b3, 4.Bb2, 5.e3... So  you deviated by foregoing the queenside fiancetto, which is crucial to the strategy, and by playing e4 instead of e3, leaving the pawn on f4 undefended and the g1-a7 diagnol to your king open.

I have played the bird many times myself, and haved transformed by playing e4 on certain occasions, but this usually dictates castleing queenside so as not to leave the king vulnerable. Also, whenever you open with f4 beware From's Gambit and black playing 3.Bx(N)f3, both of which can lead to a very quick loss of you don't know how to play them.

You had the mate a move earlier but great job spotting it anyway.... 31 Rxf5+! Kg4 32.Rg5+ Kh3 33.Qh6+ Nh4 34.Qxh4#

But I think you might even have played 30.Rxf5! (gxf5? Qxg5#) and if he declines he's got to find an answer to Qf8# -- but does he have some crafty resource with a Queen check inbetween something? -- I don't see it -- but why play a fancypants move thant might snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Your safer 30.Qf8+ is a much more practical line to victory... but still, I think Rxf5+ is worth looking at ;)

 -- 12.Ba2 "well, that worked out well..." I can't say I agree. I don't know why you would think the Ba2 is well placed. It's inert. Your pieces are all shut in and in each other's way, but at least the same goes for your opponent! I think black is slightly better at move 12.  He's got the c5 freeing push in his pocket when he needs it, and I think he can generate some play on the Queen's side.  When you got to this position I thought: "well, the guy who figures out how to use his N's best should get the advantage here."  It's sort of the generic thing to think with a closed center and it may not be right here, I think perhaps the guy who figures out how to open files on the queenside to his advantage is the guy who wins here...  it's an interestesting position and I would love to see how a master would handle it, from either side. Black wastes a tempo with 12...b6

I think you're right that 20.Bxc6 was a bad move. You traded away your newly activated Bishop for a N that wasn't doing much and didn't have anywhere very interesting to go. I think 20.c4 with the idea that if he trades you get a pair of connected passers in the center AND if he doesn't trade your c5 pawn blocks his pawnpush ...c4 discovered check.

Man letting him get 22... Nxf4 -- you're losing there! I think so, anyway. Now, instead of 23...Re8 I think he maybe c4 is better.

24...Bxe5 wow -- what does an engine do there!? I don't trust myself to calculate it accurately. 

25. c4! What a great move. He really needed to prevent that move...  I don't think taking the bishop is all that good for him but he has to, because not taking is a disaster)

28...Nxg2! "Odd move that doesn't accomplish much?" Lol... come on, he's completely lost in that position and he somehow manages to find a desperation move that gives him the faintest hope of winning... I give him big props for finding that desperation move...real fighting spirit! And in a blitz game it might just win, too! If you play the automatic (okay, brain-dead) Kxg2?? -- it's mate in 2.

Well, for the 12. Ba2 move, the whole comment regarding it working out well was following up on my move to a4 earlier. I knew that with a certain pawn push (either b5 or d5) I was going to need SOMEPLACE to put my bishop without losing it. Of course I could have done Bb3 instead since the Black c-pawn hadn't been developed yet.

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking when I moved the bishop to allow Nxf4. Boneheaded move by me for sure since it means essentially three pieces are targeting g2 (queen, bishop, knight).

Also there was no way I would even try capturing the knight on g2 after move 28. I'd been wary of the queen-bishop combination for the past 10 moves(-ish) and was constantly reminding myself to not put myself in the situation of being mated by it. So Kxg2 was completely out of the question from the beginning. The comment that it didn't accomplish much comes from the fact that it really didn't accomplish much, especially after moving Nf4 a couple moves later.

I'll take a look at 30. Rxf5+ and see what can become of it, thanks for the tip. :)

Oh... I just looked at 19.Bxd5+?!... I think that's an error. He should have answered with 19...Nxd5 and now after the recapture 20.Qxd5+ Kh8 you've got a move to work with, and you need it, because he's got all sorts of tactics -- a discovered attack on the Queen, and the discovered check pushing the c-pawn, for starters. He's got Rd8 coming. Your queen is in a minefield of tactics.  

And his 23.Re8?! == I prefer 23.g5!? (threatening g4) I think it would have caused problems for you.