Exchanging into trouble

Knowing which pieces to exchange and when is one of the deeper concepts in chess. Below a certain level, exchanges are often used to relieve pressure, to try and gain a tempo, or simply to postpone making a hard decision. Unfortunately, exchanging without assessing the resultant position can leave you in deep trouble, as a game from today's Street Chess tournament demonstrates.


White - Black [C47]
Street Chess, 23.12.2017

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nd5 Nxe4 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 Nd6 8. Qe5+ Be7 9. Qxg7 Rf8 10. Bh6 c6 11. Nf6+ Bxf6 12. Qxf8# 1-0