Duolingo is something of a family addiction so I was very excited to see chess added to the Duolingo menu! One nice feature of the course is the ability to play a game against Duo, or rather Oscar to be precise! Even more thrillingly, you gain 50XP by doing so (even 150 XP during a triple points period) which as any “Duolinguist” will tell you, is a prize well worth suffering for!
The level of the engine is quite variable. I’ve had a queen given away right away and I’ve had strong play throughout that left me helpless! My impression is that normally a couple of blunders are thrown in somewhere but spotting them is not always trivial! The most recent game played however was quite nice and I thought I’d grab the world premiere of annotating a game between DuolIngo and a grandmaster! 😉 The game took just a few minutes as you do tend to hurry through your courses when locked in battle for a high placing in the Diamond League 😉
Sadler,Matthew D – Duolingo [B13]
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4
The London system and Trompovsky have become my go-to openings in bullet recently, influenced by an excellent book on the latter by English IM and theoretician Richard Palliser.
2…c5 3. e3 cxd4 4. exd4 Nc6 5. c3 Bf5 6. Qb3
Normally a good reaction to …Bf5, but here it should be ineffective.
6…Bc8
The first sign of a weakened engine! It’s not disastrous – it just wastes a little time which leaves White with a stable advantage.
6… Qd7 is much better. Normally you reach such positions with knights already on f3 and f6, and Ne5 is then awkward reply due to …Nxe5, dxe5 hitting the knight on f6 and threatening Bb5 pinning the black queen to the king. Here however, Black can just meet} 7. Nf3 with 7…f6 with a very pleasant position for Black.
7. Nf3 e6 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. Bg3
A novelty!! …but very natural of course. White always likes to maintain the tension between the bishops for a while as …Bxg3, hxg3 opens the h-file for White’s rook and covers the f4-square which is a pleasant target for Black’s knight surprisingly often.
9…Nge7 10. Nbd2 a5 11. a4
10…a5 sought to drive away the queen from b3 with …a4 so it seemed sensible to prevent this. White also fixes the b5-square as a possible future outpost for his pieces.
11…f6 12. O-O g5
A very aggressive plan from Oscar, but quite a well-known one. Since not that much is happening in the centre at the moment, Black feels able to take more liberties by gaining space on the wing.
13. Rfe1 h5 14. h4
I liked this move, trying to punch some dark-square weaknesses into Black’s structure but the engines pointed out the interesting idea of 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. Nb1 intending Nb1-a3-b5 – using the b5-outpost weakened by Black’s 10…a5 – and then a later central break with c3-c4.
14… g4 15. Nh2 f5
Very aggressive play from Oscar, threatening …f4 trapping the bishop on g3.
16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. Qa3
A nice idea to offer the exchange of queens just as Black is getting aggressive on the kingside. If refused, the queen cuts across the black position along the a3-d6 diagonal which came in very handy later!
17…Qd8 18. Nhf1 O-O 19. Re2
19. f4 was something I weighed up but I wondered whether Black might be able to get a knight to the e4-outpost via …Kg7 and then …Ng8-f6-e4. I decided to delay the decision but I ran into some snazzy Oscar tactics!
19… e5 20. dxe5 Ng6
This wasn’t Black’s best idea apparently, but it is scary! Black is threatening …Ncxe5, …Nf4 and …Nxg4 or …Qxh4!
21. Rae1 Nf4 22. Re3
I was a little oblivious of danger here… and Oscar strikes!
22…Nxg2 23. Kxg2 f4
Very nasty as 24. R3e2 is met by 24…f3+. I decided therefore that it was time to switch to desperate counterattack mode! Doesn’t normally stand any chance against an engine of course, but I hoped Oscar’s moustache might obscure his tactical vision…. 😉
24. e6 fxe3 25. Rxe3
Threatening e7 forking queen and rook.
25…Qf6
Counterattacking strongly against f2. However, there is no threat of immediate mate so I can continue with my wild play!
26. e7 Qxf2+ 27. Kh1 Qxh4+ 28. Kg1 Qf2+ 29. Kh1 Qh4+ 30. Kg1 Re8
After a couple of repetitions to let me know he has at least a draw, Oscar continues the game. Now however, for the first time in the game I have a proper threat!
31. Qd6
31…Rxe7
Finally! The blunder I needed, though it would be a very natural move for a human player! 31… Qg5 was the best, covering the g6-square and preparing to capture the e7-pawn in greater safety.
32. Qg6+ Kh8 33. Qh6+
White also has at least a draw, but a neat combination of some standard tactical patterns gives him a lot more!
33…Kg8
34. Bh7+
Surprisingly painful for Black!
34…Kh8
34… Rxh7 is met by the nasty check 35. Qg6+ when Re8+ will mate any response 35…Kh8 36. Re8#
The attempt to run with 34… Kf7 fails to 35. Qg6+ Kf8 36. Qg8#
35. Be4+ Kg8 36. Bxd5+
A well-known switchback manoeuvre to attack the king from another angle.}
36…Be6
36… Rf7 37. Re8#
37. Rxe6
It’s finished now as 37… Rxe6 38. Bxe6#
37…Qf2+
There is only Oscar’s desperation left!
38. Kxf2 Rf7+ 39. Kg1 Rg7 40. Rf6+ Rf7 41. Bxf7# 1-0
Thanks Oscar! 😊