Game #591: Bird's Opening Dutch Variation as Black, and the king walk to h4
On June 19, 2024, in game #591 of my rapid journey, I had Black against Bird's Opening, Dutch Variation, and lost to TheBigVejeta (985) by checkmate on move 38. The last move I made was the worst one: White's rook had just given check on a square my queen could take it on, which the engine scored as -6.26, winning for me. I moved my king instead, straight into a mate in one.
My rating dropped from 988 to 980. It was the last recorded rapid game that day.
Where I was that day
Game #591 sits in week 24 of the journey. On Monday the 17th I had reached 1043. Two losses on Tuesday took me to 1027, and then came Wednesday the 19th: fifteen rapid games, games #577 to #591, with 4 wins, 1 draw and 10 losses. This was the fifteenth. The day ended 47 points lower than it started.
It was also the first game in my history that Chess.com labels Bird's Opening. Bird's Opening is 1.f4: White pushes the f-pawn two squares on move one. After 1...d5, Chess.com calls it the Dutch Variation.
| Game | #591, June 19, 2024 |
| Opponent | TheBigVejeta (985) |
| My colour, rating after | Black, 980 (from 988) |
| Time control | 10 minutes, no increment |
| Opening | Bird's Opening, Dutch Variation (A03) |
| Result | Loss, checkmate on move 38 |
| Accuracy (Stockfish) | Me 48.8, White 50.4 |
| My blunders / mistakes / inaccuracies | 7 / 2 / 2 |
Bird's Opening Dutch Variation: my first ten moves
My opening was fine for nine moves. I answered 1.f4 with 1...d5, developed the bishop to f5 and the knight to f6, played ...e6 and ...Nbd7, and the engine had me slightly better. Then I moved the bishop again, to g4, and traded it for the knight on f3 (an inaccuracy). On move 10 White pushed the e-pawn to e4.
Taking on e4 attacked two pieces at once, the bishop on d3 and the queen on f3. I retreated my bishop to e7 instead, and White's pawn went to e5 and pushed my knight back to e8. The evaluation went from +0.36 to +2.78. Four moves later I made it worse: White's rook swung to h3 to aim at my king, and I answered with ...h6 when the engine wanted ...g6 (+0.94 to +3.73).
So the opening lesson is short. Against Bird's Opening, Dutch Variation, my setup with ...d5, ...Nf6 and ...e6 was fine. What wasn't fine was letting White's e-pawn reach e5 for free. By move 18 I was at +8.01, close to lost.
Moment 1: White's sacrifice, and my rook in my queen's way
White went all in. The bishop took my h6 pawn, I took it back, and the rook took on h6 too. That rook was standing on a square with no defender, and the evaluation swung my way: +6.61 to -2.63.
My queen on b6 already attacked the rook on h6 along the sixth rank. When I re-ran the position, simply taking it with the queen came out about as strong as the engine's rook check on c1. I did neither. I put my rook on c6, which also attacked the rook on h6, but c6 is on the same line between my queen and h6. My rook blocked my own queen. The evaluation went from -2.63 to +2.78.
Moment 2: the pawn grab that let the bishop in
White blundered back on move 21, and again on move 23, when a knight jump let me trade off White's attacking rook. By move 27 I was -5.35, a piece up for two pawns, and "black is winning".
The rook to h4 hit the knight and the queen together. I took a pawn on b2 instead. My queen on b6 had been guarding the whole sixth rank, including g6, and once she left, the engine's move for White was the bishop to g6. -5.35 became +2.92. White played the bishop to e6 instead, I took it, and by move 31 the game was level.
Moment 3: the capture that left my bishop hanging
After more trades, White's queen went off to the queenside and took my knight on b8 and then my pawn on b7. I had a queen, a rook and a bishop; White had a queen, a rook and a knight. On move 33 the engine had it at 0.00.
I took the knight on h3. But White's queen on b7 was already eyeing my bishop on e7, and nothing defended it. Queen takes e5 would have guarded it. After my capture, White's queen took the bishop, and the evaluation went from 0.00 to +7.50. A move later the engine was counting a forced mate for White.
Moment 4: the rook I could take, and the king walk to h4
And then White let me off one last time. White's queen and rook were chasing my king up the board, and on move 37 the rook checked me on g6 instead of the queen check that led to mate.
My queen on e4 could take the rook on g6 along the diagonal: e4, f5, g6. The engine scored it -6.26, winning for me. My recorded clock showed about two and a half minutes. I played my king to h4, and White's queen went to h7. Checkmate.
This position gives me a concrete review exercise: compare legal king moves, blocks and captures of the checking piece. Not every type of reply is available in every position. Here the queen capture is legal and deserves examination before choosing a king move.
Lessons to practise from game #591
Compare the available replies to a check. Move, block, capture. In this position, taking the rook is the candidate to test before moving the king. I can practise finding that candidate with the engine arrow hidden.
Look where your pieces stand guard before you move them. On move 20 my rook blocked my queen's line. On move 27 my queen left the rank she was guarding. On move 33 I grabbed a knight and left a bishop with no defender. Three times, the problem was not the move I made but the job my piece stopped doing.
Use the day's record as context. This was the fifteenth game in a day that ended 47 rating points down. My accuracy was 48.8 for the game and 43.6 in the middlegame. Those figures identify a session worth reviewing; they do not establish tiredness or another cause for the missed capture.
What came next
The next four games, #592 to #595, were wins, with the recorded rating reaching 1012. The week ended at 1020. For another game where checks decided everything, see game #509; for a win I threw away in a pawn endgame the week before, see game #538. The whole series is on the journey page.
If you want the difference between the blunders and mistakes in a game like this, here's a plain explanation. And if you'd like your own games explained move by move, that's what Chess Coach does inside Claude: how the analysis works. You can replay game #591 on Chess.com.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Dutch Variation of Bird's Opening?
Bird's Opening is 1.f4. When Black answers 1...d5, Chess.com labels it the Dutch Variation. In my game White followed with Nf3, d4, e3, c3 and Bd3, a setup with pawns on c3, d4, e3 and f4.
How did you lose game #591?
By checkmate on move 38. White's rook gave check on g6 and my queen could simply take it: Stockfish rated that -6.26, winning for me. I moved my king to h4 instead and White mated with the queen on h7.
How many times were you winning in game #591?
Three stretches. After White's rook sacrifice on move 20 I was -2.63, after move 23 I was -6.17, and on move 37 I was -6.26. My best winning chance in the game was 90.9%.