Short games of chess, showing all the types of tactics you need to know.
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[Event "1.1 Take a piece for nothing"] [White "Daniel"] [Black "Gericke "] [Site "corr BDF, "] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "A free gift"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7?! 4.Bc4 h6 5.Nc3 c6 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.0-0 {# The simplest idea of all} 7...Bd6? 8.Qxd6 Qf6 9.Rd1 1-0 [Event "1.1 Take a piece for nothing"] [White "Jackson,J"] [Black "Kozlov,V "] [Site "corr Atars mem, "] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "A unique opportunity"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nc3 fxe4 4.Nxe5 Qf6 5.d4 exd3 6.Nxd3 Qe6+ 7.Qe2 Qxe2+ 8.Bxe2 Bb4? {#} {Black finds the only move on the board to lose a piece for nothing} 9.Nxb4 1-0 [Event "1.2 Take a more important piece"] [White "Simler,K"] [Black "Avguarde "] [Site "Fremont, "] [Date "1992"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Bargain"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Ne4 7.Qxd4? Bc5 8.Bxc6+ bxc6 9.Qd2? {# Not a free gift, but a good swap for Black} 9...Nxd2 0-1 [Event "1.2 Take a more important piece"] [White "Brown,D"] [Black "Kirshner,M "] [Site "Palo Alto, "] [Date "1992"] [ECO "C58"] [Annotator "Profit"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Ba4 Bc5 9.0-0 Qb6 10.c3 Ba6 11.Re1 Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 {# Black makes a profit on the following exchange:} 12...Bxe1 13.Qxe1 Ng4 14.Qe4 Nf2+ 0-1 [Event "1.2 Take a more important piece"] [White "Slothouber,F"] [Black "Huitt Jr,P "] [Site "IECG, Cat-D (m/"] [Date "1995"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Confused"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nc3? {# White got the right moves in the wrong order} 4...dxc3 5.e5 cxb2 6.Bxb2 f6 7.exf6 Nxf6 8.Bc4 Qe7+ 9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.0-0 Qxe2 0-1 [Event "1.3 More attackers than defenders"] [White "Sneiders,E"] [Black "Grosshans,R "] [Site "Corr, "] [Date "1987"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Easy as 123"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5!? 6.dxc6 bxc4 7.Qe2 Qd5 8.0-0 Bd6 9.Qf3 Qd4 10.Ne4? {# Queen takes Knight, Queen takes Queen, Knight takes Queen} 10...Qxe4 0-1 [Event "1.3 More attackers than defenders"] [White "Grewe,B"] [Black "Kutzner,S "] [Site "RL-chJ U15 Mendig, "] [Date "1994"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Outnumbered"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3?! Nxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Bb5 dxe4 7.Nxe5 Qg5 8.Bxc6+ bxc6 {# White needs a safe square for the Knight} 9.Ng4? Bxg4 {Not that one!} 0-1 [Event "1.3 More attackers than defenders"] [White "Knorr"] [Black "Schmidt "] [Site ""] [Date "1990"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "A lonely knight"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Nxe4?! {# White uncovers a defence to the Knight on g5, but it's not enough} 5.d4? Nxg5 6.Qh5 Ne6 7.dxe5 d6 8.exd6 Bxd6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bb3 Ned4 0-1 [Event "2.1 Forks"] [White "Granatella Adam"] [Black "Power Mike "] [Site "CL-5.1, IECC (1), "] [Date "1995"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Protection by a fork"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 d6 4.Nc3 g6?! 5.Ng5 Be6? 6.Bxe6 fxe6 7.Nxe6 Qe7 {#} 8.Nb5 {and Black dare not take the Knight on e6} 8...Nxe4 9.Nexc7+ 1-0 [Event "2.1 Forks"] [White "Walker,J"] [Black "Havill,E "] [Site "Torbay Juniors vs. Exeter Juniors, "] [Date "1995"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "A family fork"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4?! Bc5 5.0-0 d6 6.d3 Be6 7.Bxe6 fxe6 8.Bg5 d5 9.Qd2 Qe7? 10.exd5 exd5 11.Nxd5 Qe6? {# Black attacks, but..} 12.Nxc7+ 1-0 [Event "2.1 Forks"] [White "John Head"] [Black "Richard Bladek "] [Site "Class N.019 IECG, "] [Date "1996"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "A right fork"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Ng5?! Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Nxd2 d6 {# f7 is useful not just for checkmates} 8.Nxf7 Bg4 9.f3 1-0 [Event "2.1 Forks"] [White "Greco,G"] [Black "NN "] [Site "Italy?, "] [Date "1801"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "An ancient Queen fork"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.h3?! Nf6 4.c3 Nxe4? {# After the Knight, the piece that is best for forks is the Queen} 5.Qa4+ c6 6.Qxe4 1-0 [Event "2.1 Forks"] [White "Morgado,J"] [Black "Szmetan,J "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1968"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Setting up a fork"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.c4 d5 6.cxd5 Bf5 7.Nc3 Bc5? {# White can prepare the same idea:} 8.Nxe4 1-0 [Event "2.1 Forks"] [White "Wall,B"] [Black "Bell,T "] [Site "North Carolina, "] [Date "1979"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "A reinforced fork"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nge7 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7!? Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke8? 8.Bxd5 Qe7 {# White gangs up on c6, intending to fork King and Rook} 9.Bxc6+ 1-0 [Event "2.1 Forks"] [White "Svendsen,T"] [Black "Borrmann,F "] [Site "corr Atars mem, "] [Date "1986"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "A checkless fork"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5?! 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nc4 b5?! 6.Ne3 a6 7.exf5 Bxf5? {# No noise, just a deadly quiet move} 8.Qf3 1-0 [Event "2.1 Forks"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Two Knights"] [Date "?"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "A freeing fork"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] {Here is a very common idea. Black does not gain any material but gets a fine free game by this trick} 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3?! Nxe4! 5.Nxe4 d5 {# Do look for chances to play this idea. It wouldn't work if Black had already played ...Bc5, of course} 1/2-1/2 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Sturell"] [Black "NN "] [Site "Boras, "] [Date "1956"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "A terrible pin"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.Qa4 dxe4 5.Nxe5 Qd5 6.Nxc6 Qxc6? {# Black hopes to swap Queen for Queen} 7.Bb5 1-0 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Nudling,H"] [Black "Gagsch,H "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1986"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Another terrible pin"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5?! 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nc4 fxe4 6.Be2 Qg6? {#} Same idea, other side} 7.Bh5 1-0 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Davis,M"] [Black "Calabria,J "] [Site "E Lansing ch-MI opB (1), "] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C48"] [Annotator "A long pin"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 d5? 5.Nxe5 Qd6 6.0-0 Qxe5? 7.exd5 Ng4 {# White's next move pins across the whole board} 8.Re1 Qxe1+ 9.Qxe1+ 1-0 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Djuric,A"] [Black "Jelisavac,M "] [Site "Jezero Open Belgrade YUG (3), "] [Date "2003"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Stabbed in the heart"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4?! 5.Qxd4 b6 6.f3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Bb7 8.Bd3 Be7 9.Qe3 0-0 10.0-0? {# White's position looks safe, but Black stabs through the lines} 10...Bc5 0-1 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Bandyopadhyay,S"] [Black "Misner,R "] [Site "IECG, Cat-D (m/"] [Date "1994"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "An unusual pin"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 h6? 5.Nxf7 Qe7 6.Nxh8 Qb4 7.b3 Nxe4? 8.Qh5+ Kd8 9.Nf7+ Ke7 {# This is an unusual pin:}10.Ba3 1-0 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Bell,R"] [Black "Wall "] [Site "Statesville,NC, "] [Date "1979"] [ECO "C43"] [Annotator "A bad pin"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Nxe5 Qe7 5.Qd3 d5 6.Nc3? Nxc3 7.Qxc3 {# White's Knight cannot move, so it cannot escape} 7...f6 0-1 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Tarrasch,S"] [Black "Simonson "] [Site "Berlin, "] [Date "1887"] [ECO "C47"] [Annotator "Poking a pinned piece again"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 Bb4 5.d5 Ne7 6.Nxe5 Nxe4 7.Qd4 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Nf6 9.Bg5 Ng6 {# The same idea; a pinned piece cannot escape its attackers} 10.Ng4 1-0 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Ahrens,M"] [Black "Dyckhoff,E "] [Site "Germany, "] [Date "1937"] [ECO "C56"] [Annotator "Pin and counter-pin"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Nc3 dxc3 8.Bxd5 Be6 9.Rxe4 {#} White is relying on a pin to hold up his Bishop, but the White Bishop is also pinned!} 9...Ne7 10.bxc3 Nxd5 0-1 [Event "2.2 Pins"] [White "Bobras,P"] [Black "Hedke,F "] [Site "9th Bavarian Open Bad Wiessee GER (8), "] [Date "2005"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Two pins"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bg5 Bg7 7.Qd2 0-0 8.0-0-0 Nc6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.e5 {# neither the Knight nor the pawn dares move} 1-0 [Event "2.3 Skewers"] [White "Morgado,J"] [Black "Torres,J "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1968"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "A simple skewer"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qh4 4.exf5 d6 5.Nf3 Qe4+ 6.Be2 Bxf5 7.Nc3 Qg4 8.Nd5 Kd8 9.Ne3 Qe4 {# White reaches through the Queen to take the Bishop} 10.Bd3 1-0 [Event "2.3 Skewers"] [White "Richter"] [Black "Bigott,M "] [Site "Porz (5), "] [Date "1991"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "A modest skewer"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 b6 6.Bc4 Bb7 7.0-0 Qf6 8.Be3 Qc6 {# White's skewer is a small move to win a small piece, but it's enough to win the game} 9.Bd5 1-0 [Event "2.3 Skewers"] [White "Robins,E"] [Black "Anders,W "] [Site "corr Betins mem, "] [Date "1970"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "The last word"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 d5 4.Bxd5 Nf6 5.Bb3 Nxe4 6.Nxe5 Nxf2 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Bf7+ Ke7 {# Black has dodged well but cannot avoid the final skewer} 9.Qg5+ Kd6 10.Qxd8+ 1-0 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "Koltanowski,G"] [Black "Nolan,W "] [Site "San Francisco (4), "] [Date "1960"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "No retreat"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Bc4 d6 5.d3 Ne7 6.h3 Ng6 {# Black is trying to build up an attack, but..} 7.Bg5 1-0 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "Frazer"] [Black "Taubenhaus "] [Site "Paris, "] [Date "1888"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Caught out"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Nf5 Qh5 7.Be2 Qg6 {# Black's wandering Queen has wandered into a net} 8.Nh4 1-0 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "Cochrane,R"] [Black "Kennedy,C "] [Site "Troon Open (1), "] [Date "1992"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "A lost Queen"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d6 3.Nf3 f5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Nxh7 Qh4 7.Ng5 Nxd4 8.c3 Nc6 9.g3 Qg4 {#} Asking for a swap?} 10.Be2 1-0 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "NN"] [Black "Van Mil "] [Site "Eindhoven, "] [Date "1973"] [ECO "C48"] [Annotator "Caught at home"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Nxe5 Qe7 6.f4 Nxb5 7.Nxb5 d6 8.Nd3 Bg4 {# White's Queen did not move out too early: it didn't move out at all!} 0-1 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "Van Loo,G"] [Black "Demoulin,J "] [Site "14th Open Leuven BEL (1), "] [Date "2002"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Net by a knight"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.a3 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Kh8 10.b4? {# Oh dear} 10...Nc3 0-1 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "?"] [Date "?"] [ECO "C60"] [Annotator "The Noah's Ark Trap"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.d4 b5 6.Bb3 exd4 7.Nxd4 Nxd4 8.Qxd4? c5 9.Qd5 Be6 10.Qc6+ Bd7 11.Qd5 {# A net of a Bishop... This happens a lot: remember it!} 11...c4 0-1 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "Braksa,H"] [Black "Cordero Valdez,V "] [Site "(3), "] [Date "1991"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Net of a rook"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Be3 Bb6 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.Bxd4 d6 8.Bc4 Be6 {# Black did not wait for 9.Bxg7, trapping the Rook in the corner} 0-1 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "De la Paz,F"] [Black "Wohl,A "] [Site "XXXVI Capablanca Mem Premier II Havana CUB (12), "] [Date "2001"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Hop skip and net"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Be7 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 0-0 6.Bb3 Nbd7 7.0-0 Re8 {# } 8.Bxf7+ { If 8...Kxf7 9.Ng5+ and 10.Ne6 } 1-0 [Event "2.4 Nets "] [White "Goldenov,B"] [Black "Nekrasova,E "] [Site "Minsk, "] [Date "1953"] [ECO "C17"] [Annotator "A tricky net"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.dxc5 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Nc6 7.Qg4 Nxe5 8.Qxg7 {# Black hopes to save the Rook by Qf6, but White has a trick to take it after all} 8...Qf6 9.Bh6! 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Wall,B"] [Black "Hamilton,H "] [Site "North Wilkesboro,NC, "] [Date "1976"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Jumping Knight"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bg4 5.Nc3 Nxe4 6.Nxe4 d5 7.dxe5 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Nc6 9.Bxd5 Qxd5 {# White's Queen would like to jump over the white Knight to take the black Queen, so the white Knight jumps out of the way with check!} 10.Nf6+ 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "NN"] [Black "Greco,G "] [Site "Italy?, "] [Date "1801"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "An ancient jump "] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qe7 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Nxg6 Qxe4+ 6.Kd1 Nf6 7.Qh3 hxg6 8.Qxh8 Ng4 9.Qh4 {#} 9...Ne3+ 10.dxe3 Qxh4 0-1 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Komarek,L"] [Black "Korn,A "] [Site "Oberwart op (4), "] [Date "1992"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "A modern jump"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.Qa4 Qd6 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Bc4 Qe4+ 7.Kd1 Bd7 {#} 8.Bxf7+ 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Ruel,C"] [Black "Le Henaff,J "] [Site "Open Saint Lo FRA (9), "] [Date "2003"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "A Scotch discovery"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Nf6? {# White's last move had a hidden point} 6.Nxc6 {7.Bxc5 will follow, if Black does not allow 7.Nxd8} 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Petroff's Defence "] [Date ""] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Pinching a piece"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bb5+ Nc6 7.Ne5 Bd7 8.Qf3 {# White picks on the weak spot in Black's position. Can you spot the weak spot in White's?} 8...Nxe5 9.Bxd7+ Nxd7 { It was the undefended Bishop on b5!} 0-1 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Hamblin,J"] [Black "Pitt,G "] [Site "corr CompuServe, "] [Date "1994"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Pinching a pawn"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 8.Nbd2 Bf5 9.c4 {#} 9...Nxf2 { Just a pawn, but White thought he would start again} 0-1 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Wall"] [Black "Reyes,J "] [Site "San Antonio,TX, "] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Discovered checkmate"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Ng5+ Kg6 8.Qxg4 Ne5 9.Qf5+ Kh6 {#} 10.Nf7# { That's a discovered check as well, making double check and mate!} 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Schiffer"] [Black "Janny "] [Site "Budapest, "] [Date "1898"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "From behind the front line"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Be2 Bc5 4.Nxe5 Bxf2+ 5.Kxf2 Nxe5 6.d4 Qf6+ 7.Bf3 Ng4+ 8.Kg3 h5 9.h3 {# Neither member of Black's army delivering the final unmasking have yet moved} 9...h4+ 10.Kxg4 d6# 0-1 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Miller"] [Black "Chernev "] [Site "New York, "] [Date "1935"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Two untouchables"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Nf5 d5 7.exd5 Ne5 8.Nxe7 Qxe7 9.Bxf6 {# Black's next move is very neat} 9...Nf3# { Both checking pieces are en prise, but White can't take both at once, so it's checkmate} 0-1 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Curdo,J"] [Black "Kochman,K "] [Site "Massachusetts, "] [Date "1974"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Jumping pawn"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Nf6 4.d5 Ne7 5.Nxe5 Nxe4 6.Qf3 Nf6 7.Nc3 d6 8.Bb5+ c6 9.dxc6 Rb8 {#} 10.c7+ 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Wall"] [Black "Ortiz,V "] [Site "Palo Alto, "] [Date "1989"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Pick your spot"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2 d5 5.d3 Ng5 {# White can move the Knight anywhere, but which square is best?} 6.Nc6+ 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Krejcik,J"] [Black "Baumgartner "] [Site "Troppau, "] [Date "1914"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "An improved jump"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Nxe5 Bxf2+ 4.Kxf2 Qh4+ 5.g3 Qxe4 6.Qe2 Qxh1 7.Bg2 {# White waits with the discovered check until the Black queen comes into range on h2} 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Maurer"] [Black "Zaugg "] [Site "Bern op, "] [Date "1987"] [ECO "C56"] [Annotator "A silent discovery..."] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc3 Qh5 9.Nxe4 Be7 10.Bg5 0-0 {# Black did not wait for 11.Ng3, hitting the Queen and unmasking an attack on the Be7} } 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Ripley,R"] [Black "El_Messiry,R "] [Site "corr IECC CL5-"] [Date "1997, "] [ECO "C56"] [Annotator "Unmasking attack, unmasking defence"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Bd3 Be7 {# White moves the Bishop on d3, uncovering an attack on d4 by the Queen, but..} 8.Bxe4 dxe4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 0-1 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Knoppel,B"] [Black "Hogwall,D "] [Site "Rilton Cup (6), "] [Date "1995"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "The Mill"] [Result "1-0"] Sorry about the daft opening..} 1.b4 b6 2.Bb2 Bb7 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.a3 Be7 6.c4 0-0 7.Nc3 d6 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.h3 h6 10.Be2 c6 11.Rg1 d5 12.g4 c5 13.g5 hxg5 14.Nxg5 Ne4 15.Ncxe4 dxe4 16.Nxe6 fxe6 {# White's sacrifice was to allow this monster attack:} 17.Rxg7+ Kh8 18.Rxe7+ Kg8 19.Rg7+ Kh8 20.Rxd7+ { White will take one more Bishop before coming back for the Queen } 1-0 [Event "3.1 Jumps"] [White "Pinter,G"] [Black "Nixon,T "] [Site "13th S&WYM Millfield School ENG (9), "] [Date "2003"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "A diagonal mill"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Nd2 Bc5 7.Bd3 d6 8.a4 Ng4 9.0-0 Qh4 10.Nf3 {# Black can ignore the attack on his Queen, because he gets White's Queen and more} 10...Nxf2 {Resigns, for If} 11.Nxh4 Nxd1+ 12.Kh1 Nf2+ 13.Kg1 Nxd3+ 0-1 [Event "3.2 Undermining"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Ruy Lopez"] [Date ""] [ECO "C65 "] [Annotator "Removing the guard"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 a6 {# White doesn't usually get to carry out this idea in the Ruy Lopez:} 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nxe5 1-0 [Event "3.2 Undermining"] [White "Levy"] [Black "Vaca "] [Site "Skopje ol, "] [Date "1982"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Kicking away the ladder"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 d5 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Bg4 8.Be2 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 Qxd4 {# Black's Queen is guarded, but:}10.Bxc6+ { The check means that Black can't take White's Queen first} 1-0 [Event "3.2 Undermining"] [White "Colias,B"] [Black "Ronco,J "] [Site "Illinois, "] [Date "1987"] [ECO "C47"] [Annotator "A little nudge"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5 6.Be3 Nxd4 7.Bxd4 Qe7 8.Be2 0-0 9.e5 Ne8 {# White undermines the Bishop} 10.Nd5 1-0 [Event "3.3 Overloading"] [White "Cebis,P"] [Black "Nemec,V "] [Site "ProMoPro Open Prague CZE (4), "] [Date "2004"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Overloaded"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.0-0 a6 8.Bc4 b5 9.Bb3 Be7 {# Black's Bishop on d7 can block the attack on f7, but it is already doing the job of defending c6} 10.Qd5 1-0 [Event "3.3 Overloading"] [White "Converset,J"] [Black "Hobaica,J "] [Site "Buenos Aires Najdorf (9), "] [Date "1994"] [ECO "C63"] [Annotator "An overworked pawn"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.d4 Nxd4 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Qxd4 c6 7.Be2 fxe4 8.Bh5+ {# If 8...Ke7, then 9.Qe5#, but the pawn on g7 needs to stay put} 8...g6 9.Qxh8 1-0 [Event "3.3 Overloading"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Damiano defense"] [Date ""] [ECO "C40 "] [Annotator "Overload"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6 3.Nxe5 fxe5 4.Qh5+ Ke7 5.Qxe5+ Kf7 6.Bc4+ d5 7.Bxd5+ Kg6 8.h4 h6 {# White has sacrificed to get an attack, but is it good enough? Well, Qf5 would be mate if not for the Bc8, so} 9.Bxb7! {wins (9...Bd6!? 10.Qa5!)} 1-0 [Event "3.4 Interference"] [White "Campora"] [Black "Eslon "] [Site "Puebla Casalla, "] [Date "1991"] [ECO "C66"] [Annotator "Poking a nose in "] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 d6 5.d4 Bd7 6.0-0 Be7 7.Re1 exd4 8.Nxd4 0-0 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Qf3 Re8 11.e5 Ng4? {#} 12.e6 {The name for this is interference; White gets in the way of the defence} 1-0 [Event "3.4 Interference"] [White "Vlastimil Hort"] [Black "V Zheliandinov "] [Site "Havana, "] [Date "1967"] [ECO "C69"] [Annotator "Too clever"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 c5 8.Nb3 Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Bd6 10.Na5 Bg4 11.f3 0-0-0 {# Black refuses to retreat, and instead counterattacks with the idea...Bxh2!? winning White's rook by a discovered attack. But White's interference move wins a piece}12.e5 1-0 [Event "3.4 Interference"] [White "Maroczy,G"] [Black "Vidmar,M "] [Site "Ljubljana, "] [Date "1922"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Masterly interference"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.0-0 Nf6 6.e5 d5 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 Qd5 10.Nc3 Qf5 11.Nce4 Bf8 12.Nxf7 Kxf7 13.Ng5+ Kg8 14.g4 Qxf6 15.Rxe6 Qd8 16.Qf3 Qd7 {#} 17.Re7 Qxe7 {If 17...Bxe7, 18.Qf7# is mate} 18.Qd5+ Qe6 19.Qxe6# 1-0 [Event "3.5 Decoy"] [White "Greco,G"] [Black "NN "] [Site "Italy?, "] [Date "1801"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "An ancient decoy"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qf6 3.Bc4 Qg6 4.0-0 Qxe4 {# White invents a fork using a decoy of the Black King} 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.Nxe4 1-0 [Event "3.5 Decoy"] [White "Metz,H"] [Black "Schmeusser,M "] [Site "Baden Baden op (2), "] [Date "1990"] [ECO "C30"] [Annotator "Pinching a pawn"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.Bc4 Be7 5.fxe5 dxe5 {# This is a common trick, based on a jump and a decoy} 6.Bxf7+ 1-0 [Event "3.5 Decoy"] [White "Moreno,F"] [Black "Padula,R "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1980"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Possible after all"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.d4 Qf6 5.Nc3 Nxe5 6.Nd5 Qc6 7.dxe5 d6 {# White has a pin on b5, but surely it can't work yet? Ah, there is also a fork} 8.Bb5 1-0 [Event "3.6 Clearance"] [White "Johann Nepomuk "] [Black "Berger Frohlich "] [Site "Graz -, "] [Date "1888"] [ECO "C46"] [Annotator "Out of my way!"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bb5 Bg4 5.Nd5 Nge7 6.c3 a6 7.Ba4 b5 8.Bb3 Na5 9.Nxe5 Bxd1 {# Any check is mate, so:}10.Nf6+! gxf6 11.Bxf7# { That's called a clearance sacrifice, opening up a line} 1-0 [Event "3.6 Clearance"] [White "Totsa,D"] [Black "Mascero,N "] [Site "Berlin, "] [Date "1896"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "You're in my seat"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 fxe4 5.Nxe5 d5 6.Qh5+ Ke7 7.Qf7+ Kd6 8.Qxd5+ Ke7 {# White really wants to play Qe5+} 9.Ng6+ hxg6 10.Qe5+ {[If 10...Be6 11.Qxe6# or 10...Kd711.Qe6#] } 1-0 [Event "3.6 Clearance"] [White "Miskinis,G"] [Black "Kuebler,A "] [Site "corr EU/M/GT (64), "] [Date "1984"] [ECO "C47"] [Annotator "A quiet clearance"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bg5 d6 {#} White would like to play Nd5 and Qd4, pinning, so the Knight vacates} 7.Nxc6 1-0 [Event "3.7 Intermezzi and Zwischenzuge"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Bishop's opening"] [Date "2000"] [ECO "C24, "] [Annotator "An in-between move"] [Result ""] 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qxd4 Nd6 6.0-0 Nxc4 {# Black expects simply to swap off White's dangerous Bishop, but:}7.Re1+ Be7 8.Qxg7 Rf8 9.Bh6 {winning: There is no easy English name for this idea: we use either the Italian intermezzo or the German Zwischenzug} 1-0 [Event "3.7 Intermezzi and Zwischenzuge"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Two Knights' Defence"] [Date ""] [ECO "C55 "] [Annotator "Another in-betweener"] [Result "1-0"] {In a very tactical variation..} 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxe4 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qd5+ Kg7 {#} 9.Nxc6 {Now Black hopes to save his other Knight by an in-between move:}9...Nf6!? {The idea is that 10.Nxd8 Nxd5 and Black will take the knight and be ahead. But White has an in-between move which saves the Queen and wins Black's Queen} 10.Bh6+! Kh6 11.Qd2+ {and 12.Nxd8} 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Kulaots,K"] [Black "Geller,J "] [Site "Aeroflot Open Moscow RUS (5), "] [Date "2002"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Jump and nudge"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Be3 Nge7 {# Two ideas In sequence} 7.Nf3 Qh5 8.g4 { A jump and an overload } 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Wall"] [Black "Tauber,A "] [Site "Los Angeles, "] [Date "1969"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "The coup de grace"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 d6 5.0-0 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.Nxe5 Nxe5 8.dxe5 Nb4 {# Overloading and then a skewer} 9.Bxf7+ Ke7 10.Bg5+ 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Ruy Lopez"] [Date ""] [ECO "C67 "] [Annotator "Caught in the middle"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 a6 6.Bd3 d5 7.c4 exd4? {#} Black's Knight is not properly supported} 8.cxd5 Qxd5 9.Re1 {Undermining then a pin} 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Sergeant,E"] [Black "Senneck,F "] [Site "Nottingham-B2, "] [Date "1946"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Netted"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nc3 d6 4.d4 Nf6 5.dxe5 Nxe4 6.Nxe4 fxe4 7.Ng5 Bf5 8.Qd5 Qd7 {#} 9.Qxb7 {Resigns: White nets the Rook; Black now sees that the planned defence by} 9...Qc6 {fails to the pin} 10.Bb5 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Petroff's Defence "] [Date ""] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Overload and undermine"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.e5 Ne4 6.d3 Bc5 7.dxe4 {# Both ideas are used to win the Queen} 7...Bxf2+ 8.Ke2 Bg4+ 0-1 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Reti"] [Black "Dunkelblum "] [Site "Vienna, "] [Date "1874"] [ECO "C46"] [Annotator "Super-fork"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Nxe5 Nxe5 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Qxd4 Qf6 {Black hopes for a discovered check..} 7.Nb5 Kd8 8.Qc5 {# White's Queen has a little threat on c7 and big one on f8. It's not a fork of pieces but a fork of threats} 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Bejaoui,A"] [Black "Kujovic,M "] [Site "ch-SVK Nove Zamky SVK (7), "] [Date "1999"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "No place to rest"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Bf5 {# Black's defence against White's pin can be undermined} 6.Qe2 Qe7 7.Nd5 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Kmoch,H"] [Black "NN "] [Site "Vienna, "] [Date "1934"] [ECO "C60"] [Annotator "Any check is mate"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 4.0-0 g6 5.d4 Bg7 6.dxe5 Nxe5 7.Nxe5 Bxe5 8.Bh6 Bxb2 9.Nd2 c6 10.Rb1 Bd4 11.Nc4 Bc5 {#} 12.Qd4 { The mate threat Nd6 allows the Black Bishop to be overloaded and forked with the Rook} 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Soderstrom"] [Black "Tzannetakis "] [Site "corr WER, "] [Date "1981"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Why, for two pins, I'd..."] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7 Kxf7 5.d4 Nxe4 6.Qh5+ Ke7 7.Qe2 Kf7 8.Qxe4 Qe7 9.Bc4+ Be6 {# White steals a Bishop} 10.Qf5+ {If 10...Qf6 11.Bxe6+} 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Muir,W"] [Black "Johnson "] [Site "Virginia, "] [Date "1987"] [ECO "C43"] [Annotator "A proper pickle"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 Qe7 5.Be2 Ne4 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Re1 b6 8.Bc4 Nc5 {# A net that includes a pin} 9.Bg5 {If 9...f6 10.exf6} 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Abrahamsson,D"] [Black "Printzlau,J "] [Site "Politiken Cup Copenhagen DEN (2), "] [Date "2005"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Next in line"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nc4 fxe4 6.Nc3 Qf7 7.Qe2 Be7 8.Nxe4 Nf6 {# A fork that works because of a pin, and because White has reinforcements} 9.Nexd6+ 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Forman,A"] [Black "MacDonald,J "] [Site "corr Betins mem, "] [Date "1971"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Too much pressure"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.Nc4 fxe4 5.Nc3 d6 6.d3 exd3 7.Bxd3 Bf5 8.Nd5 {# Black's Queen is trying to hold onto f5 and c7, but it can't do everything} 8...Qe6+ 9.Nce3 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Belova"] [Black "Epstein "] [Site "USSR, "] [Date "1981"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "No time to defend"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.a4 a5 8.Ne1 c6 9.f4 exd4 10.Qxd4 {# Black unmasks not a pin but the threat of a pin} 10...d5 0-1 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Repkova,E"] [Black "Babar,F "] [Site "Dortmund op (8), "] [Date "1995"] [ECO "C63"] [Annotator "One more or less"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.Qe2 Bc5 7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.Nxe5 Qe7 9.Nd3 {# Black's next move has the effect of removing a defence of the Bc5, because of a pin} 9...Nxe4 10.f3 1-0 [Event "4 Combinations"] [White "Andersen,T"] [Black "Hansen,C "] [Site "Romo, "] [Date "1975"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Cut your losses"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bg5 d6 8.Nd5 {# Black wants to win a pawn by decoy and fork, instead White loses a Queen to a skewer} 8...Bxf2+ 9.Ke2 Bg4+ 0-1 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Lapinskaite,S"] [Black "Kaula,I "] [Site "Rimavska Sobota, "] [Date "1992"] [ECO "C48"] [Annotator "Simple as that"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2 {# White's Bishop on b5 is attacked once and defended once, so..} 6...Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Nxb5 0-1 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Wall"] [Black "Russell,C "] [Site "North Augusta,SC, "] [Date "1970"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "A choice"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 4.Bc4 Ne7 5.dxe5 Nxe5 6.Nxe5 dxe5 {# White can take on d8 then on f7, or..} 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 1-0 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Wohlrabe,J "] [Black "Fraenzel,M "] [Site "ch-City Solingen GER (7), "] [Date "2004"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Step by step"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qf6 5.c3 Bc5 6.Be3 Nge7 7.Be2 0-0 {#} White has a discovered attack but it needs thinking through} 8.Nxc6 Bxe3 9.Nxe7+ {The capture with check means that Black cannot fight back with...Qxf2#} 1-0 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Svensson,F"] [Black "Adler,B "] [Site "corr Tch-SWE, "] [Date "1980"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Two way traffic"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd6 6.d3 0-0 7.dxe4 Re8 8.Bg5 Bb4 {# It's surprising how often this happens; Black misses a defence that White can't do right now!} 9.Bxf6 Bxc3+ 10.Bxc3 1-0 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Sholic,K"] [Black "Chiktakhian,S "] [Site "EuYouth U12 Girls, Tallinn EST (2), "] [Date "1997"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "An important threat"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.h3 Nbd7 7.d3 c6 8.Bg5 Qc7 9.Qd2 Re8 10.d4 b5 11.Bb3 b4 {# White is in trouble, but the next move makes it worse! When Black takes on c3, the White Queen will be threatened} 12.Bxf6 bxc3 13.Qxc3 Bxf6 14.d5 c5 15.Ba4 Rd8 16.b4 Nb6 17.Bc6 cxb4 0-1 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Galic,A"] [Black "Lesko,I "] [Site "TCh-BIH w Jahorina BIH (1), "] [Date "2003"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Pinching a pawn goes wrong... "] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.dxe5 Nxe4 5.Bd3 Nc5 6.Bc4 Bg4 {# White remembers the decoy idea} 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Ng5+ Qxg5 9.Qd5+ Be6 10.Qf3+ Qf5 0-1 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Nigel Short"] [Black "Pentala Harikrishna "] [Site "Montreal International CAN (2), "] [Date "2007"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Oops"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 Nf6 6.d4 d5 7.Bd3 Bd6 8.0-0 0-0 9.h3 h6 10.Nc3 c6 11.Re1 Re8 12.Rxe8+ Nxe8 13.Ne5 Nd7 14.Bf4 Nf8 15.Qh5 Be6 16.Rb1 f6 17.Ng6 Bf7 18.Bxd6 Nxd6 19.g4 {#} 19...Ne4 { Can you work it out?} 0-1 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Hedrick,R"] [Black "Cannady,P "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1980"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Out of my way"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nd4 6.c3 Nf5 7.d4 exd4 8.0-0 dxc3 {# A whole cascade of ideas that we have met before: can you follow it?} 9.d6 {clearance} 9...Nxd6 10.Nxf7 {fork} 10...Nxf7? 11.Bxf7+ {overloading} 11...Ke7 12.Re1+ Be6 {pin} 13.Qxd8+ {overload} 1-0 [Event "5 Counting and calculating"] [White "Petrov"] [Black "Mordvinov "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1982"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Fork on fork"] [Result "1-0 "] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nc4 fxe4 6.Be2 c6 7.d5 Ne7 8.Nc3 cxd5 9.Nxe4 Qe6 {#} 10.Ncxd6+ {If 10...Kd8 11.Ng5! when White will land on f7 with one knight or the other} 1-0 [Event "5.1 Defending"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Ruy Lopez"] [Date ""] [ECO "C65 "] [Annotator "Defence by a fork"] [Result ""] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 {# White has carried out the 'threat' to win the e-pawn but Black has two Queen forks to win a pawn back:} 5...Qd4 { Winning the central e-pawn is best; otherwise 5...Qg5} [Event "5.1 Defending"] [White "Tromp,R"] [Black "Gonzalez Davila,R "] [Site "36th Olympiad Calvia ESP (1), "] [Date "2004"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "One way out"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 fxe4 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.d4 Qxg2 6.Qh5+ g6 {# White comes up with a neat checkmate idea on f7, but Black can clear a square then take the White Queen} 7.Bg5 Bb4+ 0-1 [Event "5.1 Defending"] [White "Kaula,I"] [Black "Van Steenwinckel,I "] [Site "WchJW-U12 Szeged (3), "] [Date "1994"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "The netter netted"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Nb5 Qxe4+ 6.Be2 Qe5 7.f4 Bb4+ 8.c3 Qc5 9.Nxc7+ Kd8 10.Nxa8 b6 11.cxb4 Qxb4+ 12.Bd2{#} Black hopes to take the Rook on a1} 12...Qxb2? 13.Bc3 1-0 [Event "5.1 Defending"] [White "Ali,D"] [Black "Norrish,I "] [Site "Exeter Lions vs. Exeter School, "] [Date "1997"] [ECO "C46"] [Annotator "Defence with forcing moves"] [Result ""] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Bc4 f6 5.d3 Nge7 6.a3 d6 7.b4 Bd4 8.Be3 Bxc3+ 9.Nd2 Kf8 10.Ra2 Bd7 11.b5 Na5 12.Qh5 g6 13.Qh6+ Ke8 14.Qg7 {#} 14...Rg8 { But 14...Rf8 15.Bh6 Bxd2+ 16.Kxd2 [Or else Black plays 16...Bxh6 ] 16...Nxc4+ wins for Black } 15.Qf7# [Event "5.1 Defending"] [White "Holze,G"] [Black "Hohlfeld,W "] [Site "BL2-N "] [Date "1983"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Giving up"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Be7 5.c3 dxc3 {#} 6.Qd5 {Black resigns, but there was a defence! If 6...Nh6 7.Bxh6 0-0 8.Bc1? Nb4!} 1-0 [Event "5.1 Defending"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Ruy Lopez"] [Date ""] [ECO "C68 "] [Annotator "Defence by counterattack"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qf6 7.e5 Qg6 8.0-0 Bb7 {#} 9.e6? fxe6 10.Ne5? {Black fights back to go two pawns up with a wicked discovered check} 10...Qxg2+ 11.Kxg2 c5+ 0-1 [Event "5.2 Counterattacking"] [White "Christensen,J"] [Black "Andersen,J "] [Site "Denmark, "] [Date "1966"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Great when it works"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 {#} 8...Nd4? 9.Bxd5+ 1-0 [Event "5.2 Counterattacking"] [White "Somerset,B"] [Black "Devon "] [Site "U14 Chepstow (2.12), "] [Date "2004"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Count to success"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nd5 Be6 8.Nxf6+ Qxf6 9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.Qh5 {#} Black is ganging up on f2, and it's check, so White can't checkmate yet..} 10...Bxf2+ 0-1 [Event "5.2 Counterattacking"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Elephant Gambit"] [Date "?"] [ECO "C40 "] [Annotator "Attack and counterattack"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nxe5 dxe4 4.Bc4 Qg5 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.d4 Qxg2 7.Rf1 Bh3 8.Bc4 Nf6 9.Nf7? {# White's Bishop is doing a lot of work, and} 9...b5! {pushes it over the edge} 0-1 [Event "5.3 From bad to worse"] [White "Head,J"] [Black "Bladek,R "] [Site "Corr IECG Class N, "] [Date "1996"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Stop digging"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Ng5 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Nxd2 d6 8.Nxf7 {# Black's Queen is attacked, so Black counterattacks White's Queen} 8..Bg4 9.f3 { Now Black has three pieces en prise. If you're in a hole, stop digging!} 1-0 [Event "5.3 From bad to worse"] [White "Wall"] [Black "Burton,C "] [Site "Wichita Falls, "] [Date "1971"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Poke and counter-poke"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Nf6 6.Bc4 Be7 7.e5 c5 {#} Instead of moving the Knight, Black chases the Queen, but the Queen moves to pin the Knight} 8.Qf4 1-0 [Event "5.3 From bad to worse"] [White "Tuvshintgs,B"] [Black "Croise,I "] [Site "WchJW-U12 Szeged (5), "] [Date "1994"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Another unwise poke"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Na5 5.Qxd4 Nxc4 6.Qxc4 Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.e5 {# Black chases the Queen to a place she wants to go!} 9...d5 10.Qh4 h6 11.exf6 gxf6 12.Bxh6 f5 13.Qg3+ 1-0 [Event "5.3 From bad to worse"] [White "Mazuchowski,T"] [Black "Good,G "] [Site "Detroit ch-MI op (6), "] [Date "1974"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Right and wrong"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.c3 Nf6 6.0-0 0-0 7.cxd4 {Black now decides not to dodge but to counterattack} 7...Na5 8.Bd3 {# Black makes the same decision, but this time it goes badly wrong} 8..d5? {The idea is 9.dxc5 e4 and Black gets the piece back} 9.e5! { Black has two pieces threatened: out of the frying pan into the fire!} 1-0 [Event "5.3 From bad to worse"] [White "Angermann,F"] [Black "Morgado,J "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1969"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "The last word"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nf3 fxe4 {# White' could move the Knight but decides to counterattack. This leads to a long sequence of blows, but in the end, Black has a choice of pieces to take} 6.Bg5 Qf5 (double attack) 7.Qe2 (pin) Be7 (block) 8.Qb5+ Qxb5 9.Bxb5+ c6 10.Bxe7 Nxe7 0-1 [Event "5.4 Traps"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Evans' Gambit "] [Date ""] [ECO "C51"] [Annotator "A fork trap"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Nxb4 5.Nxe5 Qf6 6.d4 {# White makes a bold move in the centre, and Black makes a bolder reply!} 6...Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Nxc2+ 0-1 [Event "5.4 Traps"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "Mortimer's Trap"] [Date "?"] [ECO "C65 "] [Annotator "One trap, two forks"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Ne7?! () 5.Nxe5? (White falls for it) 5...c6 {# Now if 6.Ba4, Qa5+ is a winning Queen fork} 6.Nc4! (threatening smothered mate!) 6...Ng6! 7.Ba4 b5! {The last trick is a winning pawn fork} 0-1 [Event "5.4 Traps"] [White "Feuer"] [Black "O'Kelly "] [Site "Liege, "] [Date "1934"] [ECO "C73"] [Annotator "Unclassified"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.d4 f6 7.Nc3 Rb8 8.Qd3 Ne7 9.Be3 Rxb2 {#} 10.dxe5 fxe5 11.Nxe5 dxe5 12.Qxd8+ Kxd8 13.0-0-0+ { A remarkable trap to catch Black's Rook; a fork or a jump?} 1-0 [Event "6 What makes a combination work? Checks/Captures"] [White "Boehm,T"] [Black "Krueger,A "] [Site "JBL NW95/96 (6.4), "] [Date "1995"] [ECO "C43"] [Annotator "Preparation"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 Ne4 5.Qxd4 d5 6.Nc3 Bc5 7.Qxd5 {# Black would like to take the Nc3 then the Qd5, but 7...Nc3 is met by 8.Qxd8+, so Black chivvies the White king onto a white square, so 7...Nxc3 will be check} 7...Bxf2+ 0-1 [Event "6 What makes a combination work? Loose pieces"] [White "Diaz Diaz,A (2122)"] [Black "Reynes Gonzalez,M "] [Site "III Open Bajada de la Virgen ESP (7), "] [Date "2005"] [ECO "C47"] [Annotator "If only..."] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d6 8.Bg5 0-0 9.0-0 Bg4 {# If only there were no Knight on f6, White could take it with the Queen. This way of thinking will often give you ideas!} 10.Bxf6 1-0 [Event "6 What makes a combination work? Loose pieces"] [White "Kraiko"] [Black "Kreie "] [Site "Biel, "] [Date "1979"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Loose pieces drop off"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.0-0 d5 6.exd5 Na5 {#} Black's Knight on a5 has no defenders. Because of the open position of the King, White has a fork} 7.Qe1+ Be7 8.Qxa5 {" Once I played 100 games against Mike Cook at 10 minutes (for him) vs 5 minutes (for me). At that time, Mike was about 2300 strength. About half-way through the series (which I eventually won 88-12) he explained his disappointment: "I thought that I would see lots of advanced strategic concepts in these games, but actually all I've learnt is LDPO." "LDPO?" "Loose Pieces Drop Off." (John Nunn)} 1-0 [Event "6 What makes a combination work? Unsafe King"] [White "Gerschwieler"] [Black "Salzmann "] [Site "Switzerland, "] [Date "1965"] [ECO "C47"] [Annotator "Combined operations"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5 h6? 6.Bf4 d6 7.Nxd4 Ne5 8.Bxe5 dxe5 9.Bb5+ Nd7 {# A net succeeds because of a checkmate threat, and the checkmate is there because the king is vulnerable. 10.Ne6 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "W"] [Black "B"] [Site "?"] [Date ""] [ECO "C20"] [Annotator "Scholar's mate"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 (2...g6? 3.Qxe5+ Qe7 4.Qxh8) 3.Bc4 Nf6? {#} 4. Qxf7# {This happened to me in my first game in a chess club...playing Black! Even if your opponents know it, don't forget it, because the pattern turns up all the time:} 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Dedier,R"] [Black "Harrison,R "] [Site "IECG, Cat-C (m/1923/02), "] [Date "1995"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Back to school"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke8 8.Bxd5 Bd7 {# Black protects c6 but:} 9.Qf7# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Bensdorp,L"] [Black "Van Huit,K "] [Site "AKN Open Haarlem NED (3), "] [Date "2000"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Mate with a Bishop"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 f6 4.Bc4 Nge7 5.dxe5 Nxe5 6.Nxe5 fxe5 7.Qf3 c6 {# White has a choice:}8.Bf7# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "O'Brien,G"] [Black "LauerSmith,J "] [Site "Australia ch girls (5), "] [Date "1995"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Queen and Knight "] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Nxe4 5.Nxf7 Qf6 6.Nxh8 {# White liked the look of Black's Rook, but not Black's reply} 6...Qxf2# { This is like Scholar's Mate, but the job of the Bishop is done by the Black Knight} 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Nijsen,F"] [Black "Van Diepen,P "] [Site "Uitgeest, "] [Date "1973"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Queen supported by a Rook"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Kg1 Qh4 8.Qf3 Rf8 9.Bd3 {# This time the Rook helps} 9...Rxf7 10.Qxe4 Qf2# 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Madronic,M"] [Black "Boroshova,Z "] [Site "U10 Girls, Tallinn EST (6), "] [Date "1997"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "A scholarly Black"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Bb3 dxe4 7.Ng1 Bc5 8.h3 0-0 9.f3 {# White has weakened the King's side} 9...Qh4+ 10.Ke2 Qf2# 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Kofoed,K"] [Black "Pape,R "] [Site "Denmark, "] [Date "1986"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Mate with a pawn"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.c4 Bc5 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Ng1 Bg4 8.f3 exf3 {# White saves the Queen but loses the King} 9.Qd3 f2# 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Masseg"] [Black "Freidl,A "] [Site "Austria, "] [Date "1987"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Greed doesn't pay..."] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nxe5 dxe4 4.Bc4 Qg5 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 Bg4 7.f3 exf3 8.Nxh8 {# Black's next quiet move creates an unstoppable threat} 8...Be7 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Pritchard"] [Black "Hempel,J "] [Site "Radio (2), "] [Date "1967"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Chivvying out the King"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6 3.Nxe5 fxe5 4.Qh5+ Ke7 {# Black doesn't want to play 4...g6 because of 5.Qxe5+, winning the Rook on h8} 5.Qxe5+ Kf7 6.Bc4+ 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Schachtler,W"] [Black "Grabowski "] [Site "Badenweiler op (8), "] [Date "1985"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Running away... "] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bb4+ 5.c3 dxc3 6.bxc3 Be7 7.Qd5 d6 {# Black's King can dodge, perhaps?} 8.Qxf7+ Kd7 9.Be6# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Reuter,P"] [Black "Schlenker,R "] [Site ""] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "No escape "] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 e5 3.Nf3 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.c3 d3 6.Ng5 Ne5 7.Nxf7 Qf6 8.Qh5 {# White has some threats but it's Black's turn first!} 8... Qxf2+ 9.Kd1 Qc2+ 10.Ke1 Qxc1+ 11.Qd1 Qe3+ 12.Kf1 Qf2# 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Clarisse,E"] [Black "Van Dijke,P "] [Site "op, Vlissingen NED (5), "] [Date "1996"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Queen and Bishops"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.d4 e4 7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 {#} 9.Bxd5+ Kg7 10.Bh6+ { It's mate after 10...Kf6 11.Qg5#} 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Wall,B"] [Black "Vargas "] [Site "San Antonio, "] [Date "1979"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Mate with a knight"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0 h6 6.Nh4 Nxe4 7.Qh5 g6 {# The main line is mate in three} 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Qxg6+ Ke7 10.Nf5# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Hoffmann"] [Black "Hellmann "] [Site "Berlin, "] [Date "1904"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Smothered mate"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0 Be7 6.Nxd4 Nxe4 7.Nf5 g6 {#} 8.Qd5 Rf8 9.Ng7# {Gruesome...} 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Kranzle"] [Black "NN "] [Site "Mannheim, "] [Date "1939"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Another smother"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Nd5 Qd8 8.Nd4 Ne7 9.Nxf5 c6 {# That was the wrong pawn to touch!} 10.Nd6# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "NN"] [Black "Elbrond Pedersen,M "] [Site ""] [Date "1990"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "A clever smother"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nd4 6.d6 Qxd6 7.Nxf7 Qc6 8.Nxh8 Qxg2 9.Rf1 Qe4+ 10.Be2 {# White did not want to lose the Queen but this is worse!} 10...Nf3# 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Holloway,C"] [Black "Senff,D "] [Site "CES Northeim GER (3), "] [Date "2005"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Defending the smother"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nd4 6.d6 Qxd6 7.Nxf7 Qc6 8.Nxe5 Qxg2 9.Rf1 Qe4+ 10.Be2 {# White has f3 covered this time but must still lose a Queen} 10...Nxc2+ 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Goncharov"] [Black "Frenkel "] [Site "Moscow, "] [Date "1901"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Mate in a few moves"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bb4+ 5.c3 dxc3 6.0-0 cxb2 7.Bxb2 Nge7 8.Ng5 0-0 9.Qh5 h6 {#} 10.Bxf7+ {[If 10...Kh8 11.Qxh6#] or [10...Rxf7 11.Qxf7+ Kh8 12.Qxg7#]} 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Greco,G"] [Black "NN "] [Site "Italy?, "] [Date "1801"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Mate with a rook"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qf6 3.Bc4 Qg6 4.0-0 Qxe4 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 {Black refuses the Bishop:why?} 6.Re1 Qf4 {# Black's Queen has been nothing but trouble} 7.Rxe5+ Kd8 8.Re8# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "NN"] [Black "NN "] [Site ""] [Date "1801"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Contact mate"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qf6 3.c3 Bc5 4.d4 Bb6 5.Be3 d6 6.dxe5 dxe5 {# Black picks the wrong way to dodge after White's next move} 7.Bg5 Qg6? 8.Qd8# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Shirley,D"] [Black "Ellena,B "] [Site "Dayton,OH, "] [Date "1981"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "A deadly diagonal"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Kg8 8.Bxd5+ {# Black can put the Bishop in the way, but mate cannot be stopped} 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "De Groot,N"] [Black "Bosma,B "] [Site "ACCOM III (5), "] [Date "1988"] [ECO "C46"] [Annotator "Black's deadly diagonal"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Nxe5 Bxf2+ 5.Kxf2 Nxe5 6.d4 Qf6+ 7.Kg1 Ne7 8.dxe5 Qb6+ {# Just the same: White can delay but not escape the checkmate } 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Wall"] [Black "NN "] [Site "Federal Way,WA, "] [Date "1968"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Two mates"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Nxe4 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Kg8 8.Ng5 {# Black avoids the 'Scholarly' mate on f7..} 8...Qxg5 9.Qd5# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "NN"] [Black "Zukertort,J "] [Site "Posen (1), "] [Date "1862"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Mate with minor pieces"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Nxe5 d5 5.Bb3 Qg5 6.0-0 Qxe5 7.d3 Bd6 8.g3 Ng5 9.Re1 {# White must have been happy to think about taking the Black Queen, but Black doesn't need the Queen!} 9...Nf3+ 10.Kf1 Bh3# 0-1 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Hopkins"] [Black "N.N. "] [Site "London, "] [Date "1932"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Another minor mate "] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nge7 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bg5 Bg7 7.Nd5 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Nxd4 {#} (It's still mate if Black castles: 8...0-0 9.Nf6+ Kh8 10.Ng4+ Nxd4 (10...f6 11.Bxf6+ Kg8 12.Nh6# or 11...Rxf6 12.Qxf6+ Kg8 13.Nh6#) 11.Bf6+ Kg8 12.Nh6#) 9.Nf6+ Kf8 10.Bh6# 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "De Legall"] [Black "Saint Brie "] [Site "Paris, "] [Date "1750"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "An awesome mate"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6 {#} 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5# { Just fantastic. This idea is called Legall's mate to this day } 1-0 [Event "7 Checkmates"] [White "Elldin,V"] [Black "Anderson,G "] [Site "Eskilstuna, "] [Date "1915"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "It works for Black too!"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bc5 6.Bg5 Nxe4 7.Bxd8 Bxf2+ 8.Ke2 Bg4# {#} Not exactly the same arrangement but the same idea} 0-1 [Event "7.2 Checkmating the castled King"] [White "Lin"] [Black "Hussain "] [Site "USA, "] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Queen and Knight"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Ng4 5.0-0 Bc5 6.Ng5 Qxg5 7.Nb5 Qh4 8.Nxc7+ Kd8 9.Nxa8 {# White is not paying attention to Black's ideas!} 9...Qxh2# 0-1 [Event "7.2 Checkmating the castled King"] [White "Webber,T"] [Black "Flynn,S "] [Site "EJCC match (3), "] [Date "2002"] [ECO "C46"] [Annotator "Not just f7"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Nge7 5.Ng5 0-0 6.Qh5 {# The f7 square is attacked, so Black defends it} 6...g6 7.Qxh7# 1-0 [Event "7.2 Checkmating the castled King"] [White "Torre,M"] [Black "Wall "] [Site "Wichita Falls, "] [Date "1970"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Queen and Bishop"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.0-0 Qd7 5.Nc3 Nh6 6.d4 exd4 7.Qxd4 Bxf3 8.Bxh6 {# That was a bad idea} 8...Qg4 9.g3 Qh3 {10...Qg2# cannot be stopped} 0-1 [Event "7.2 Checkmating the castled King"] [White "Stone,R"] [Black "Boyer,M "] [Site "E Lansing ch-MI opB (3), "] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Queen and Bishop again"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Be2 d6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d3 Nf6 6.Na3 Nd5 7.Nc4 Qf6 8.c3 Qg6 9.d4 Bh3 {# White sees that moving the g-pawn loses the Rook for a Bishop} 10.Re1 Qxg2# 0-1 [Event "7.2 Checkmating the castled King"] [White "Parkes,S ("] [Black "Wilson,J "] [Site "Exeter Juniors vs Torquay BGS (4), "] [Date "1999"] [ECO "C65"] [Annotator "Removing the guards"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.0-0 Bd6 6.d4 Qe7 7.Bg5 0-0 8.Re1 Ba6 9.Nh4 c5 10.Nf5 Qe6 11.d5 Qe8 {#} 12.Bxf6 g6 (12...gxf6 13.Qg4+ Kh8 14.Qg7#) 13.Nh6# 1-0 [Event "7.2 Checkmating the castled King"] [White "Nakamura,H"] [Black "Romanov,E "] [Site "WCh U12 Boys Oropesa del Mar (9), "] [Date "1999"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Castling into trouble"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.Nxc6 Bxe3 7.fxe3 dxc6 8.Qd4 Qg6 9.Nc3 Bd7 10.0-0-0 {#} 10...0-0-0 11.Qxa7 1-0 [Event "7.3 King hunt"] [White "Kuhn,A"] [Black "Schlenker,R "] [Site "Flintbek, "] [Date "1959"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "A chase"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 4.Bc4 h6 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Kf6 8.Qd5 Bd6 9.Qf7+ Kxe5 {# Resigns: White catches the King in the middle} 10.Bf4+ Kd4 (10...Kxe4 11.Nc3+ Kd4 12.Qd5#) 11.Qd5# 1-0 [Event "7.3 King hunt"] [White "Beaver Michael"] [Black "Adler Keith "] [Site "Trio, "] [Date "1996"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "A foolhardy King"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Nxf7 Kxf7 5.Qh5+ Kf6 6.Qf3+ {White wants to get back his knight} 6...Ke5 7.d4+ Kxd4 {# Black should have let the Knight go, because now White cuts off the retreat} 8.Qf5 Qg5 9.c3+ Nxc3 10.bxc3# 1-0 [Event "7.3 King hunt"] [White "Schuettrich,H"] [Black "Grobe,E "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1976"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "One more move"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Bc4 Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2 Qd4+ 8.Kg3 f4+ 9.Kxf4 Ne7 10.Qe2 Rf8+ {#} White chooses to lose in 13 moves, not 12} 11.Bf7+ Rxf7+ 12.Kg3 Qe5+ 13.Kh4 Ng6# 0-1 [Event "7.3 King hunt"] [White "Magerciak"] [Black "Mathon "] [Site "corr CSSR, "] [Date "1988"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "A long way from home"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 6.Bd5 d6 7.Nf7 Qf8 8.Nxh8 Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 10.Ke3 Qf4+ 11.Kd3 Nb4+ 12.Kc4 Nxd2+ 13.Kb5 {# Resigns:} 13...Bd7+ 14.Bc6 Qc4+ 15.Ka4 Nxc6+ 16.Ka3 Qa6# 0-1 [Event "7.3 King hunt"] [White "Potter"] [Black "N.N"] [Site "London "] [Date "1870"] [ECO ""] [Annotator "Looking ahead (Remove White's Queen)"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Na5 5.Nxe5 Nxe4 6.d3 Nc5 {# White now announced mate in eight moves. White saw ahead more moves than he played!} 7.Bxf7+ Ke7 8.Bg5+ Kd6 9.Nb5+ Kxe5 10.f4+ Kf5 11.Nd4+ Kg4 12.h3+ Kg3 13.Ne2+ Kxg2 14.Bd5+ Ne4 15.Bxe4# 1-0 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Werner,G"] [Black "Kutzner,S "] [Site "RL-chJ U15 Bad Marienberg, "] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C57"] [Annotator "Another deadly diagonal"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7.Ke1 {# The diagonal to the near side is open this time} 7...Qh4+ 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Rf1 Nh1+ 10.Ke2 {Resigns} (10.Rf2 Qxf2#) 10...Qe4# 1-0 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Schulder"] [Black "Boden "] [Site "London, "] [Date "1860"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Mating the King castled on the Queen's side"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 f5 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.d4 fxe4 6.dxe5 exf3 7.exf6 Qxf6 8.gxf3 Nc6 9.f4 Bd7 10.Be3 0-0-0 11.Nd2 Re8 12.Qf3 Bf5 13.0-0-0 d5 14.Bxd5 {#} 14...Qxc3+ 15.bxc3 Ba3# { This beautiful idea is still called Boden's Mate} 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Reti,R"] [Black "Tartakower,S "] [Site "Vienna, "] [Date "1910"] [ECO "B15"] [Annotator "The best checkmate of all"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qd3 e5 6.dxe5 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qxe5 8.0-0-0 Nxe4 {#} That wasn't really a free gift} 9.Qd8+!! Kxd8 10.Bg5+ {discovered, and double, check} 10...Ke8 11.Rd8# 1-0 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Goulding"] [Black "Brown "] [Site "England, "] [Date "1960"] [ECO "C49"] [Annotator "Getting through the wall"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.d3 Nd4 6.Bc4 d6 7.0-0 Bg4 8.Bg5 Qd7 9.Bxf6 Bxf3 {# White resigned, not waiting for 10.gxf3 Qh3 when White's Queen will have to be sacrificed to avoid mate} 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Dubois,S"] [Black "Steinitz,W "] [Site "London, "] [Date "1862"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "A Queen for a King "] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 g5 8.Bg3 h5 {#} 9.Nxg5 h4 10.Nxf7 hxg3 11.Nxd8 Bg4 12.Qd2 Nd4 13.Nc3 Nf3+ 14.gxf3 Bxf3 15.hxg3 Rh1# 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Nixon,W"] [Black "Walker,J "] [Site "Teignmouth Handicap "] [Date "1998"] [ECO "C68"] [Annotator "No free lunch"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.hxg4? hxg4 {# Black has offered a Bishop to open the h-file against the White King} 8.Nxe5 Qh4 9.f3 g3 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Privalov"] [Black "Malaniuk Vladimir "] [Site "Tallinn, "] [Date "1974"] [ECO "C68"] [Annotator "No escape"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.d3 Qf6 8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.Re1 Ng6 10.d4 Bd6 11.hxg4 hxg4 12.dxe5 Bxe5 13.Nxe5 {# White's Knight can't stand it any longer!} 13...Qh4 14.f4 g3 15.Kf1 Nxf4 { Black's Knight cuts off the escape } 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Medsen"] [Black "Mitchel "] [Site "London, "] [Date "1978"] [ECO "C69"] [Annotator "Nifty decoy"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.Re1 Qf6 8.hxg4 hxg4 9.Nxe5 Qxe5 10.Qxg4 Bd6 11.d3 {# White's King plans to escape after 11...Qh2+, but he is dragged back to be checkmated} 11...Rh1+ 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Volosnikov"] [Black "Romanov "] [Site "Ishevsk, "] [Date "1980"] [ECO "C69"] [Annotator "Not a draw"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.c3 Qd3 8.hxg4 hxg4 9.Nxe5 Bd6 {#} Black is content with a draw after 10.Nxd3 Bh2+ 11.Kh1 Bd6+. White decides to go for a win, but..} 10.Nxg4 0-0-0 11.Qf3? {Have a think about what you would play here} 11...Rh1+ {The check forced the King away from the defence of the Rook. I don't know what to call that idea: Undermining? Or overloading? Deflecting is another word we use} 12.Kxh1 Qxf1# 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Bouwmeester,J"] [Black "Van Rijkom,E "] [Site "corr, "] [Date "1993"] [ECO "C69"] [Annotator "A Rook in reserve"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.d3 Qf6 8.Nbd2 Bd6 9.b3? Ne7 10.Re1 Ng6 11.Bb2 Nf4 12.hxg4 hxg4 13.Nh2 {# "The master places a Knight on f4; mate follows by itself," said Tartakower} 13...Rxh2! { If 14.Kxh2 Qh4+ 15.Kg1 0-0-0! and White is helpless against 16...Rh8} 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "NN"] [Black "Jack Stephenson "] [Site "Wales Junior Inter-County Cardiff (2.12), "] [Date "2008"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Back rank mate"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bb4 5.a3 Bxc3 6.dxc3 0-0 7.0-0 Nxe4 8.a4 d5 9.Bxd5 Nf6 10.Bxc6 Qxd1 11.Rxd1 bxc6 12.Nxe5 Bg4 13.Re1 Rfe8 {# Black encourages the Knight to move:} 14.Nxc6?? Rxe1# { Probably the most common error I see, certainly one of the most painful!} 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Bohm,H"] [Black "Hernandez,R "] [Site "Amsterdam IBM (3), "] [Date "1979"] [ECO "C69"] [Annotator "Crowded"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.d3 Qf6 8.Be3 Ne7 9.Nbd2 Ng6 10.hxg4 hxg4 11.Ng5 Nf4 12.Qxg4 {#} White's King seems surrounded by friends, but that's the problem!} 12...Qxg5 13.Qf3 Qxg2+ 14.Qxg2 Ne2# {That's a very neat overloading of the Queen to finish off} 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Auger"] [Black "McMillan "] [Site "corr GB, "] [Date "1985"] [ECO "C69"] [Annotator "Anything to get at the King!"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.c3 Qd3 8.hxg4 hxg4 9.Nxe5 Bd6 10.Nxg4 Nf6 11.Nxf6+ gxf6 12.e5 0-0-0 13.exd6 Rdg8 14.f4 {# Black has sacrificed huge amounts to get at White's King, but one more sacrifice is needed} 14...Rxg2+ 15.Kxg2 Rg8+ 16.Kf2 Qg3+ 17.Ke2 Re8# 0-1 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Smith Chuck"] [Black "Chillakanti Pratap "] [Site "Quad #31, IECC (1), "] [Date "1995"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "A Greek gift"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 dxc3 5.Bc4 cxb2 6.Bxb2 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Na5 8.Bd3 Be7 9.0-0 d6 10.Nb5 Nf6 11.e5 dxe5 12.Bxe5 Bd6 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Qe1+ Qe7 15.Nxd6+ cxd6 16.Qxa5 0-0 17.Rfe1 Be6 {#} 18.Bxh7+ {If 18...Kxh7 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Ng5; and if 18...Kh8 19.Qh5 This sacrifice is known as the Greek gift, after the way the Greeks tricked their way into the city of Troy with a gift of a wooden horse. White offers the gift of a Bishop to get into Black's castle } 1-0 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Chiburdanidze M"] [Black "Malaniuk Vladimir "] [Site "09, Kusadasi op, "] [Date "1990"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "A Greek King hunt"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Qf6 7.Qe2 Nge7 8.Be3 Nd4 9.Qd2 Nxb3 10.axb3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Nc6 12.Nd5 Qxb2 13.Rd1 0-0 14.Bd3 Nd4 15.0-0 Ne6 16.e5 (clearing the way) Kh8 {#} 17.Bxh7 {Resigns. Black could see ahead and realise everything loses. I had to work it out myself..} 17....Kxh7 18.Qh3+ Kg8 (18...Kg6 19.Ne7+ Kg5 20.f4+ Nxf4 21.Rxf4 Kxf4 22.Qf5+ Ke3 23.Qf3#) 19.Ne7# 1-0 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Ross,E"] [Black "Avery,B "] [Site "corr USA, "] [Date "1980"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Unacceptable"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Nd5 7.Bd3 Bc5 8.0-0 0-0 9.Nd2 Re8 10.Ne4 d6 11.Bg5 Qd7 12.Re1 Nb4 13.Nf6+ gxf6 {#} 14.Bxh7+ Kf8 (14...Kxh7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Bxf6 Qf5 17.Qh8#) 15.Qh5 dxe5 16.Qh6+ 1-0 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Sundstrom"] [Black "Holm "] [Site "Stockholm, "] [Date "1912"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "A busy pawn"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bd3 0-0 8.h4 Re8 9.Be3 Nc6 {# Notice how White's h-pawn does lots of jobs here: supporting the Knight, threatening to open the h-file, and chasing the King!} 10.Bxh7+ Kxh7 11.Ng5+ Kg6 12.h5+ Kf6 (12...Kh6 13.Nxf7+; 12...Kf5 13.Qf3+ Ke5 14.Qe4+ 15.Nh7#) 13.Qf3+ Bf5 14.g4 Qc8 15.Ne4+ Ke5 (15...Ke6 16.Qxf5#) 16.Qf4+ Kd5 17.0-0-0+ Kc4 18.Nxd6# 1-0 [Event "7.4 Longer checkmates"] [White "Fritsche"] [Black "Luckert "] [Site "corr DDR, "] [Date "1989"] [ECO "C43"] [Annotator "A longer battle"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Bd6 6.Nc3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 Nd7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 Bxe5 10.dxe5 Re8 {# White's classic sacrifice only just works} 11.Bxh7+ Kxh7 12.Qh5+ Kg8 13.Bg5 Re7 14.Re3 Qe8 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Rh3 f6 17.Qh8+ Kf7 18.Rh7 Qf8 19.e6+ Kxe6 20.Re1+ {Resigns: [If 20...Kf7 21.Rxg7+ Qxg7 22.Qe8#]} 1-0 [Event "8 Lots of ideas at once! "] [White "Prugel"] [Black "Dyckhoff "] [Site "Corr., "] [Date "1899"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Unlocking the secret"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Qd3 Nf6 6.Nd2 Ng4 7.g3 Qf6 8.N4f3 Nce5 9.Qc3 {# A hard one. Black undermines the defence of f3, because then there is a fork of f2 and h1: } 9...Bb4 {Resigns} 10.Qxb4 (10.Qb3 Nxf3+) 10...Nxf3+ 11.Nxf3 Qxf3 1-0 [Event "8 Lots of ideas at once! "] [White "Archan,D"] [Black "Leclair,M "] [Site "WchJW-U12 Duisburg (2), "] [Date "1992"] [ECO "C58"] [Annotator "Four in one"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.Nc3 0-0-0 9.d3 h6 10.Nf3 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Qxd5 12.0-0 Bd6 13.b3 e4 {# If 14.Ne1 we see that the pawn vacated the e5 point for the Queen: 14...Qe5 forks a1 and h2; If 14.dxe4 Bxh2+ and either:}15.Kxh2 Qh5+ and 16...Rxd1 or 15.Kg1 Qxd1} 0-1 [Event "8 Lots of ideas at once! "] [White "Georgiev,K"] [Black "Trivizas,M "] [Site "Ano Liosia op Athens GRE (2), "] [Date "1997"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Just a pawn"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.d3 Nf6 7.Bg5 Nbd7 8.Nc3 c6 9.Ne4 Ne5 {#} Undermining, counting and unmasking all combine to make White's next move work. } 10.Nxd6+ 1-0 [Event "8 Lots of ideas at once! "] [White "Meulders"] [Black "Schuurmans "] [Site "Mechelen, "] [Date "1978"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Surprise, surprise"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.a4 Qh4 7.Qe2 d6 8.Nc3 Bg4 9.Qd2 Nb4 10.Bc4 {# A startling net based on a pin (f2) and a fork (c2) which works because of a decoy; White must have fallen off their chair!} 10...Be3 0-1 [Event "8 Lots of ideas at once! "] [White "Becerra Rivero,J"] [Black "Velez,N "] [Site "Cuba, "] [Date "1992"] [ECO "C60"] [Annotator "It all comes together"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.d4 exd4 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Bxc6 dxc6 9.Qxd4 c5 10.Qe5 Be6 11.Nc3 0-0-0 {#} 12.Nd5! {Resigns... Not easy to see coming but you can see that it works: two pins and an overloading! } 12...Nxd5 13.exd5 Rxd5? 14.Qxh8+ 1-0Download all these games (PGN file below)