1. d4 c5
2. d5 Nf6
3. Nf3 c4

This is the Habichd (“Hawk”) Stephan Buecker’s companion to his Vulture (1. d4 c5 2. d5 3. c4 Ne4).

4. e4 ...

4. Nc3 is the main line, if an opening like the Hawk can be said to have one. A game between Azaris and me with 4. Nc3 is in the comments here: A Caoili vs M Wegener, 2001.

4. .... Nxe4
5. Bxc4 b5

The idea of …b5 and …Qa5+ is to make it hard for White to support the d5 pawn. 6. Bxb5 Qa5+, of course.

6. Bd3 Qa5+
7. c3 Nf6
8. Bg5

Bg5 is a novelty from Gameknot so far as I know.

8. ... Bb7
9. Bxf6 gxf6

I can’t say 9. Bxf6 is a bad move, since now it is going to be hard for Black to castle on either side of the board. But it’s noteworthy how Black’s KB winds up dominating White’s remaining knight in the ending. BxN is never a move that should be made lightly. I suspect White can do better than 9. Bxf6 and 10. Be4 in this opening.

10. Be4 e6

In the other GameKnot game with this opening I found, Black played the positionally horrible 10. ...e5, which surrenders f5 and blocks his bishop’s best diagonal. 10....e6 is much more sensible.

11. O-O f5?

An inaccuracy; Black should have played 11....Bg7.

12. Bxf5! Bxd5

Not 12. Qd4 fxe4 13. Qxh8 exf3, of course. Black can’t take the bishop: 12....exf5 13. Qd4 Rg8 14. Re1+ Kd8 15. Qf6+ and White wins.

13. a3?

Here 13. Qd4 forces …Rg8. After 14. Bxh7 Rg7 15. Be4 Nc6 16. Qe3 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 0-0-0 Black has some play for the pawn, of course, but probably not nearly enough.

13. ... Nc6
14. Re1 Be7
15. Be4 Bxe4
16. Rxe4 f5
17. Re1 Qc7

17....0-0-0 made me nervous. I think both Black and White were struggling to figure out what to do around here.

18. Nd4

I am not sure whether this move is good or bad, but I suspect it’s a mistake. I can see how the threat of Qh5+ (which I completely overlooked, by the way) attracted my opponent. But 18. Nd4 has downsides for White, too. After 18….Nxd4 19. Qh5+ Kd8 20. cxd5 Black has lost the right to castle, but White has an isolated pawn and is still lagging in development (which is partly the fault of 13. a3). Black’s king turns out to be not too badly placed on d8, and his rooks are able to get into the game. So the normally serious consequences of not being able to castle turn out not to be so bad here.

18. ... Nxd4
19. Qh5+ Kd8
20. cxd4 Rb8
21. Nc3 b4

Activating the rook.

22. axb4 Rxb4
23. Re2?

Based on an oversight.

23. ... Rxd4

Because 24. Nb5 can be met with 24...Ra4!

24. Qf3 Qb8
25. Qe3 Bf6

The bishop comes into his own.

26. g3 ...

This is passive and invites Black’s riposte, which gets his other rook active. Black was struggling to get coordinated after grabbing the pawn, and it seems that White should have been able to do better around moves 24-26. After my 26th move, I finally began to feel confident about winning the game.

26. ... h5
27. Ra4 Rxa4

I spent a long time trying to find a winning combination involving 27....f4?!, and found some interesting lines, e.g. 28. gxf4? Qb7! 29. f3 Rxa4 30. Nxa4 Qb4 (intending ...Bd4) 31. Qe4(?) Bd4+ 32. Kf1 Qxa4 and Black wins. But 28. Qf3 is very unclear. Since I now had the initiative to go with my extra pawn, I decided to be sensible.

28. Nxa4 h4
29. h3?

Losing another pawn and leading to a hopeless ending.

29. ... hxg3
30. Qxg3 Qxg3+
31. fxg3 Rxh3
32. Kg2 Rh8
33. Rc2 d6
34. Rc6 Kd7
35. Ra6?

Now White's knight and rook get into a terrible tangle.

35. .... Bd4

See the comment to 9. Bxf6 gxf6.

36. Nc3 Rb8
37. Na4 Rb4!
38. Kf3 Kc7
39. Ke2 Kb7
40. Ra5 Bf6!

Threatening ...Bd8 and so winning a third pawn while forcing the exchange of rooks.

41. Nc3 Rxb2+
42. Kd3 Rb3
43. Rb5+ Rxb5
44. Nxb5 Be5
45. Nd4 Bxd4