Craftiness of a Scotch
The Scotch Gambit is a particularly tricky opening, especially in faster time controls. This miniature is a perfect illustration of what can happen if you're on unfamiliar territory in the Scotch Gambit.
4. Bc4 is the main move in the Scotch Gambit. Possibilities after 4. Bc4 include moves such as Be7, Bc5, d6, but my opponent opted for the aggressive (but risky!) Bb4+
After the exchange of pawns on c3, the bishop is under fire and has to retreat to a5.
6. Qf6? is met by Bg5 - 7. Bxc3+ Kf1! and black has to part with either of the two pieces under attack
Be7 is instantly punished with the straightforward blow Qd5 and black has to give up a knight to survive
6. Bc5 is a viable option but runs into Bxf7+ which yields white a somewhat more comfortable position after Qd5+
However, in the game, my opponent played Bd6, a rather questionable move as it blockades the d pawn.
My first instinct was to throw in Qd5 and threaten checkmate on f7, but I discarded that option as it would be met with Qd7 which would throw all of my positional advantage out of the window.
Having castled, the contrast between my pieces and those of my opponent is stark.
It was just a matter of time before things started going south for black; the light-square bishop cannot be developed anywhere, the dark-square bishop is occupying a strange square and has little to no importance in the battle for the e5 square as the king is still in the center of the board, the queen's dark-squared pathway is already under control of the white bishop that is ready to be shifted to g5, and the rooks will likely never see the light of day.
After 7. O-O, black was looking to develop the remaining knight toward the center, but in doing so overlooked e5!, a tactical shot which wins a piece after a couple of moves.
14. h5 was an attempt of achieving counterplay with Bxg4 had I taken the knight - however, as that was black's last resort, I simply ignored it and took on c7 to unlock access to the d8 square for the queen.
After black gave a check on move 15, he finally decided to develop the light-squared bishop to f5.
Unfortunately, that idea was executed a little too late as Qd8+ is a checkmate in 2 moves despite the rook's control over the eighth rank.