Back in 2019, IM Jay Bonin beat me in Round 1 of the New York State Championship. Recently, we played a pair of chaotic online blitz games:
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.09.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wilson, Matthew"]
[Black "Bonin, IM Jay"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2477"]
[BlackElo "2566"]
[Annotator "Wilson,Matthew"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2026.??.??"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 {
The Stafford Gambit, a favorite of IM Eric Rosen} 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 Bc5 6. h3
Qd4 7. Qf3 Be6 8. d3 O-O-O 9. Be3 Qb4 10. O-O-O Bxe3+ 11. Qxe3 Qa5 12. Kb1 Rhe8
13. Be2 b5 14. Qc5 (14. a3 {is simpler}) 14... Nd7 {
I had overlooked this move, but I'm still winning} 15. Qxc6 b4 16. Nb5 $2 (16.
d4 $1 Nb8 (16... bxc3 17. Ba6+) 17. Qb5 $18) 16... Ne5 (16... Qxa2+ $2 17. Kc1
Qa1+ 18. Kd2 {leads nowhere. Black can't deal with the threats of Qxc7# and
Nd6+ followed by Qb7#}) 17. Qc5 Qxa2+ $2 {The queen has to keep an eye on c7} (
17... Bxa2+ 18. Kc1 Kb8 19. b3 Bxb3 20. cxb3 Nd7 {
is a wild variation from the engine. After} 21. Qxa7+ Qxa7 22. Nxa7 Kxa7 {
White is slightly better}) 18. Kc1 Nc4 $2 {
A blunder, but Black was busted anyways.} (18... Qa1+ 19. Kd2 Nc4+ 20. Ke1 {
looks scary, but Black runs out of checks and several things are hanging} Qa5)
19. Qxc7# 1-0
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.11.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wilson, Matthew"]
[Black "Bonin, IM Jay"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C63"]
[WhiteElo "2463"]
[BlackElo "2481"]
[Annotator "Wilson,Matthew"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2026.??.??"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Nc3 Nf6 $6 {
This is a known variation, but objectively it isn't good} 5. exf5 e4 6. Nh4 Bc5
{I haven't seen this move before.} (6... d5 7. d3 $16 {is in my prep}) 7. O-O
O-O 8. d3 exd3 9. Bxd3 {
White's extra pawn is secure and Black is struggling to show any compensation}
d5 10. Bg5 Ne5 11. Re1 $4 (11. Nf3 Nxd3 12. Qxd3 c6 13. Rfe1 $16) 11... Neg4 $2
{Now the game gets completely crazy} (11... Bxf2+ $1 12. Kxf2 Nfg4+ {
followed by ...Qxg5 regaining the material}) 12. Re2 c6 $6 (12... h6 13. Bxf6
Qxf6 14. g3 c6 15. Qd2 g5 $1 16. Ng6 Bxf5 17. Nxf8 Rxf8 18. Bxf5 Qxf5 19. Rf1
Ne5 20. Kg2 Qf3+ 21. Kg1 Qf5 {with a repetition. But two humans aren't going
to find all this during a blitz game}) 13. h3 (13. g3 {is more accurate. After}
h6 14. Bd2 {, the h4-knight is secure}) 13... Nxf2 $2 (13... h6 14. hxg4 hxg5
15. Ng6 Nxg4 16. Nxf8 Qxf8 17. Na4 Bd6 {
and Black has compensation for the Exchange}) 14. Rxf2 Qb6 15. Qd2 Bxf2+ 16.
Qxf2 Qxb2 {I thought I was busted, but then I found} 17. Qe1 $8 Re8 18. Be2 {
My position is very awkward but I can hang on} d4 19. Bxf6 Qxc3 (19... gxf6 20.
Bc4+ Kf8 21. Ne2 $18) 20. Bg5 $4 (20. Qxc3 dxc3 21. Bc4+ Kf8 22. Bxc3 {
and White wins}) 20... Qxe1+ $4 (20... Rxe2 $1 {The White queen is overloaded})
21. Rxe1 Kf8 22. Kf2 Bd7 23. Bf4 Re4 $4 24. Bd6+ $1 {The king has to move to a
light square, and then a discovered check picks up the rook. Another wild game
against Jay!} 1-0
