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Money, queens, and perpetual checks
A blunderful game, played at 3 a.m, with something on stake and a bit of "Hello, hello hello, how low"
So I was watching my friend Peter Balkus' stream (https://www.twitch.tv/peterbalkus) the other day, it was 3 a.m, on a Thrusday night, or I should say it was a Friday morning. The mood was good, real chess and chill as I would say, Peter playing some games, while we suggesting some nice music to listen to, I suggested that we hear "Smells like teen spirit" by Nirvana, one of my favorite bands, then the mood got even better that I had an idea ! I said "Hey Peter, what about we play a 5+0 game and if you beat me, I'll cheer 80 bits" hmm ... and then the song was still playing and it reached the part "Hello, hello, hello how low" ... I got even more excited, so I said "Alright, let's play a 30+0, and if you beat me you get 800 bits" !
OMG, everyone was surprised, Peter started laughing for a while and then ... he accepted the challenge! I went to make myself a cup of coffee, do some pushups and get myself ready for the game, both mentally and physically, as it was 3 a.m and the brains are getting a bit tired, I really wanted to have the edge in the game, so Peter finished the game that he was playing at that moment and then we started our 30+0 classical game, here on Lichess.
The opening phase was pretty normal I would say, I played 1. d4 as I had the white pieces, and then we got a London-like position afterwards. I didn't feel very comfortable about the opening choice as I quickly got into a very dry position, but then Peter put some of his tactical magic into the game by sacrificing a rook ... OMG and then I find myself with a naked king, barely alive, trying to find every possible ressource to save the position. Few moves afterwards I get into an even worse position, with a queena dna knight surrounding my king, checks everywhere and it felt like the end is near... how am I gonna survive this attack... until we reach move 26...
Peter knows that he doesn't want me to put my rook on g1 so he simply plays Nf3 controlling the g1 square, but what he did not consider is that I can still play Rg1! Sacrificing my rook! Followed by perpetual checks with my queen! And the whole sequence was unstoppable!
That was a huge moment of relief... while my favorite song still playing in the background of my subconsciousness...
HELLO HELLO HELLO HOW LOW HELLO HELLO HELLO HOW LOW HELLO HELLO HELLO HOW LOW HELLO HELLO HELLO HOW LOW HELLO HELLO HELLO HOW LOW HELLO HELLO HELLO HOW LOW ...