I Beat a Chess Master in Online Bullet

Above is the final position of my best rated victory on Lichess. It was against an International Master in a bullet game. I felt like there might be something that I could learn from analyzing this game but then again, this was a bullet game so there's really not much to actually pick up from it other than the fact that I probably made the right move at the right time and pressured my much stronger opponent such that he got flustered and started making mistakes. In any case, I'm going to post the full game below.

Now, upon closer inspection, the real reason why I won this game was because my opponent just wanted to throw in the kitchen sink right from the start. I mean, he probably just wanted to let off some steam and give a poor, hapless amateur like me the hope that I could win against a world-class international master like him. And I'm taking it because there's no other way for me to win against a chess master in any ordinary means possible unless I give up on everything I have and focus my whole life in getting better at chess, only to get disappointed in the end because I don't have the talent for the game. But enough of the cynical self-pity. Let's get into the analysis.

As I said, his position was already slightly worse with 3. Nxf7. Mind you, I have played against people who have done this on purpose. I'm not sure if they're just trying to challenge themselves and boost their pride when they beat somebody who's clearly less skilled and knowledgeable in the game than they are, but they just do it. I won't get into the psychology of such actions but suffice to say that such things actually happen, albeit only in rare occasions. If you happen upon someone like that, be wary of their initial sacrifice. They usually just want to pump you up and get you overconfident about your chances only to dismantle the idea that you have a slight chance of winning against them because they gave you an opening handicap.

I was unfazed however, and I continued playing as solidly as I can. Remember, since my king had to take the knight, it lost its castling rights and would have to take time to get to safety. That's the real strategy behind this sacrifice, especially if you've only seen it once. You would take time trying to figure out the catch when in fact, they're just baiting you to spend too much time overthinking about the position to look at what's in front of you and what's ahead. So, my advice, just take the free piece and get on with the game.

In all fairness to him, he was able to fight but unfortunately for him, I've seen this tactic one too many times to be tricked by its tomfoolery. Nevertheless, he fought until the end but I kept a solid stance against him. Another advice in these games is that you should just trade down your pieces because you are up a piece and that will make things a lot simpler for you. Make sure to watch out for the time as this is, as I have said, the way they beat you. We played several more moves and then, he just ran out of time.