Schneider Atila-The Art of Giving Mate PDF

ATTILA SCHNEIDER
THE ART OF GIVING MATE
(or a Very Rude Chess Book)
CAISSA CHESS BOOKS

Copyright © Attila Schneider
Caissa KFT, 2003
Translated from the Hungarian

and edited by Zoltan Molnar
Cover by Zoltan V am os
I dedicate this book to Andrea Szego
Editor: Caissa KFT
Hungary 6000
Kecskemet Gyenes ter 18
Tel/fax: 36/76/481-685
E-mail: caissa @ mail.matav.hu
CONTENTS
PAGE
Prefatory Discourse 7
Pawn Mates 11
Pawns Going on a Journey 15
The Black King Calls on the Enemy's Camp 19
When It Is the White King that Calls on the

Enemy's Camp 21
Pmvn Mate with a Queen Sacrifice 23
Pawn Mates Along the 2nd (or 7th) Rank 25
Pawn Mates with a Queen Sac in Postal Games

29
Pawn Mates to Kings Mislaid on the 4th Rank 31
Bishop Mates 39
A Clear Image in a Mirror 43
Beautiful But Not Tme 57
The Strength of the Bishop 63
Astounding Mates 69
Knight Mates 75
Smothered Mates with Alternate Colours 81

Tales About Bolting Knights 85
Queen Sacrifices Tantamount to an Invasion of

Locusts 89
When Human Stupidity is Tamed into Mate 107
Rook Mates 121
Oversights ofRook Mates on Not Top-Grade Level 125
Rook Mates Seasoned with a Queen Sacrifice 131
Queen Mates 143
Interesting Queen Mates to Similar People 149
The Case of the Poisoned Rooks 157
Fatal Oversights 171
Double Checkmates 183
Double Checkmates, or the "Hold on, Reader" variation 187

PREFATORY DISCOURSE
At the time when I was laying out Grandmaster Bilek's splendid book
entitled In Perpetual Check Till Death, it was myself who wrote the
foreword to it. Pennit me to start this one also in the same manner.
I don't like humans. I don't like them, because I don't know them.
It is the epitaph of the Hungruian writer Milan Fiist that I agree with:
"He liked few people, and even them he hated". I want this insctibed
on my grave, too. Nor do I like myself, either, though it's a fact that I
do not know myself.
You are holding an unusual book in your hands. lts subject is
checkmating, the path leading to mate, or the avoidance of it. The
better understanding of the grunes is assisted by innumerable
diagtruns, analyses and annotations. About this latter, some words are
indispensable.
I have introduced a new kind of style into the book, that's why its
sub-title is "or a very Rude Chess Book". To put it more clearly, I
have created two sorts of caricatures: that of the brilliant writer, and
that of the fatuous reader. I accuse the readers, while entertaining them
with the spectacles of games and mates one more beautiful than the
other, with the most primitive mental aberrations; whilst I, the writer,
run infallible. The reader is ignorant, dumb and is usually regarded as
one who does not know his ass from a hole in the ground, whilst the
writer is brilliant and is probably the greatest thinker of our century,
and I could yet enumerate futther instances of pompousness, one more
repellent than the other. Yet, if someone is fond of black humour, and
is listening to what I say, and is just laughing at the H·ay I say it, (s)he
cru1 easily fall in love with the book.
Since it frequently occurs that I impartially express my opinion of
such things, too, which seem to have nothing to do with the art of
giving mate, I do solemnly declare that apart from my constant
pecking at you, you are wrong again. In this work everything has to do
with the subject of the work, you just fail to notice it. The subject of
the work is mate-giving, but as you are already accustomed to it that
even the most voluble chess book writers content themselves with
such stereotypies as "White stands better" or "Black stands better", it is
possible, I admit, that the sometimes philosophical thoughts I expose,
the quotations helping better understanding, and the new, refreshing
tone I'm using may seem to be unusual and may mislead the reader.
Therefore, in order that you can better understand what I am just
setting forth, permit me to use a quotation:
"That Christ had faith and He taught it, is clear, but it is not that He
Himself wanted to be the subject of the faith."
Kant
If you turn this quotation over in your mind and understand it, then
you will also understand the work you are holding in your hands.
c2\ttile� �ehoeit.ler
" ...a thing qualifies its author"
Sallustius
The lines I'm citing now from my favourite author
do not deal with me, but they might as well do:
'"When I was young,

I was so gay and mean,
And I drank and chased the girls,
Just like young St. Augustin.
Saint Augustin,
He got to be a saint,
So, if I get to be one, also, please,
Mama, don't you faint."
Kurt Vonnegut (Cat 's Cradle)

Pawn Mates
Itze-Reine
Mut·hau 1925
"Why do you cry? Did you think that I am immortal?"
King Louis XIV ofFrance
11
At the end of the fol l owing chapter, as you wil l see, I warn you
against philosophizing. I do this merely out of love, because I
don't want you to have the same experience as the drunkard of
Cocteau had. I quote it: "With drunken people it is not rare to ...
meditate. They forget about the mediocrity of their mi nd, and
want to solve eternal philosophi cal problems."
12
Some Thoughts on Pawn Mates
The mate given with a pawn is a rare and interesting

spectacle. The question immediately cropping up is
this: how does it arise? On the basis of my experience
(which, of course, I gained neither by giving nor
receiving pawn mates, but by studying them) there are
two ways:
1) The victorious side thrusts a pawn near the enemy
king, and by way of some treacherous machination
(see, for example, the queen sacrifice preceding mate)
checkmates it.
2) The victorious side chases his opponent's king
out (mostly by sacrificing a piece) as far as possible
from the pieces protecting it, and then dishes it up for
his pawns by way of a snack, as it were.
Whoever claims to know a third solution as well -
apart from the exceptions - in tournament chess, in the
early stage of the opening, is either lying (he is, by the
way) or deserves Nobel prize.
Inasmuch as all mates can come about only as a
result of some kind of mistake on the opponent's part,
in this respect the pawn mates do not differ from other
mates. In another respect, however, there is a remark
able difference. The mate given with a pawn is as rare
as a polite policeman, a benignant tax controller or an
incorruptible statesman - according to your taste. The
losing party, in consequence, is supposed to make a
13
greater mistake than in the event of other mates. The
kind of pawn mates, where the opponent's king is
almost always driven off quite a way from its back
rank and then an insolent infantryman gives it the last
check of the game, is similar to the mates to be found
in the other chapters, the only exception being,
perhaps, the chessman delivering the mate.
In the case of pawn mates, however, where a pawn
sneaks forward, giving mate is almost always preceded
by a queen sacrifice overlooked by the opponent.
Out of both types we shall see some fme examples.
You must have found it peculiar that on this page I
have not disparaged you. Just cheer up: in the
forthcoming chapters I shall amply compensate you for
it.
14
"STUPID
Airhead, arse, ass(hole), berk/burk, bimbo, birdbrain,
blockhead, blubberhead, bonehead, cabbage, cement
head, chump, clot, deadhead, dickhead, dingbat,
dipshit, dimwit, dope, duffer, dumb-ass, dumbbell,
dumb cluck, dumb(-)head, dum-dum, dumb-dumb,
dummy, fathead, gink, goof, goon, jackass, jerk,
lamebrain, lug, meatball, meathead, moron, nana, ning
nong, nit(wit), noodle, pinhead, poop, prat, saphead,
silly bugger, simp, stupe, thick-head, thicko, turkey,
twat, twit, wally/wolly, yo-yo."
(Hungarian-English Thesaurus ofSlang)
I cited this quotation so that you can distinguish, and if

you might fmd me impolite or (God forbid!) rude for
rightly scourging you though unnown to you, then
instead of thinking of the mental aberrations I may be
suspecting you of, you should consider the great number
of all those things of which I do not suspect you.
15
Greco-Amateur thus his name is not lost in the mists of
Rome 1875 time, and even centuries later the game
will give great delight to the large
A pawn mate is just like a black swan. camp of chess players all over the
Many have already heard about it, but world, supposing that some blockhead
only a few of us have seen it. The will not blow it up, which, however, is
reader' s lack of culture to this effect will quite probable. About this latter the
now be abundantly repaired. First of all, reader need not worry, especially if
we go back to the era of romanticism, (s)he is old enough. Anyway, Black ' s
with a view to edification, as it were. correct play would have been 1 1 . . ..
1. e4 e5 2. ctJf3 ctJc6 3. �c4 �c5 4. !Llf6 1 2 . 'i!!h4 J::iffl 1 3 . Ji,h6 exd4 1 4.
c3 'ir'e7 5. 0-0 d6 6. d 4 �b6 7. �g5 kxffl ">i'xffl 15. �f4 dxc3 1 6. !Llxc3
f6 8. k h 4 g5 9. tt:1xg5!? �d8.
White sacrifices a piece. The two 12. ke6+! �xe6 13. 'i¥e8+ tt:1ge7 14.
pawns received in return are insufficient, d5 mate.
but the attack is, depending on the
opponent, either enough or not. In our
instance it will prove to be even too
much.
9. fxg5 10. �h5+ 'Ot>d7?!
•.•
As the reader may rightly wonder about

what would have happened after 10 . .. .
�d8, I reveal it: I would have thrown
the game to the waste-paper basket even
in the course of collecting material to
this book, as I had done with more than
a thousand games. 11. i.xg5 'Wig7?? He The stupid stare of the e6 king re
is making use of the unwritten privilege minds me of what B rahms said : , .. .
of amateurs and overlooks the mate in modesty easily puts on a f atuous
three moves. The good of it is that face, and prefers being silent .. . "
16 Pawns Going On a journey

Saulson-Philipps This is what makes even a relatively
Chicago 1907 weak che!>�s· player dangenms.
8. kb5+ c6
In the course of annotating the
previous game I have made some very
witty remarks. One of these gave me
the idea to look for a game which
rhymes, as it were, to the preceding
one. The task is as follows: before us
is the initial position, sitting opposite
us is the opponent, who is, at least for
the time being, quite optimistic. lle
black king is to be driven to the e6
square, and then checkmated with the
f2 pawn. It is easy to say so, isn't it'J
Well, with words anyone can give 9. dxc6 ! !
mate, but now old Saulson actually Mate is inevitable, and in this game
does it. the white queen is no longer needed.
1. d4 0'lc6 2. e4 e5 3. d5 Ci:Jce 7 4. f4 9 .. �<kxdl 10. cxb7+ �e7
. .
d6 5. 0'lf3 jt_g4 6. tilc3 0'lg6 7. h3 Stouter would have been 10. �1d7
. . .
11 bxa8'l:W+ (or !'\+) We7 12. 0:�d5+

�je6 13. f5 mate.
11. 0'ld5+ 'lile6 12. f5 mate.
kxf3??
On this, White checkmates the stuffing
out of Black, but the secret of the art of
giving mate lies not in that the losing Pawn mate from the right! One can
party blunders (this is an evidence), but observe some symmetry to the final
in noticing and executing the possibility. position of the previous game, as I had
Pawns Going On a journey 17

promised. And now - though myself, have at least eight lines on this page,
too, dislike verbosity - partly to make let me quote from the immortal Shakes
the two galleys equal, and partly to rec peare, who died in 16 1 6: "To be slow
tify your defective education, and partly to in words is a woman ' s only virtue."
18 Pawns Going On a journey

Fritz,A-Amateur After 10 .... �e5 11. IJWd5 mate it
G ermany 1885 would have been White who would have
stood better.
The odd thing about the following 1 1. tl:Jc4+ <t.lc5 12. 'it¥d5+ <t.lb4
pawn mates is that though the victorious Besides the game continuation, I have
side, using various tactical means, has to at first sight found four additional
chase out the enemy king to the 4th (or possibilities as well, namely the moves
5th) rank, but after this there is no 13. c3+, 13. kd2+, 13. a4 and 13. ti'\c3,
longer need for him to tire his wrist with after which mate is also inevitable.
some discus-throwing movements, for 13. a3+ 'iit'a4 14. b3 mate.
to give mate, a sole pawn push will be
sufficient.
1. e4 e5 2. tl:Jf3 tl:Jc6 3. d4 tl:lxd4 4.
tl:Jxe5 tl:Je6 5. ..tc4 f6??
Once again the old saying,
according to which amateurs will be
amateurs, proves true. By the way, 5 .
... 'lWf6 should have been played.
6. '*'h5+ g6 7. ti'lxg6 tl:Jg7?
He does not undertake the decisive
material disadvantage after 7 . . .. hxg6 8.
'!Wxh8, thus overlooking the neat mate in
seven moves. Subsequently, one may ask how such
a game, in which Black made an
immediately losing move on move 5,
could get into this ambitious work which
is held even at this moment in the greasy
hands of the dear reader. I tell you the
reason. True, Black has made a gross
blunder, but White spotted that he could
give mate in seven moves by way of a
piece sacr(fice, a double check, and a
further piece sacrifice. Assuming only
for the sake of argument that you have
also created a similarly beautifull game
8 ..\tf7+!! <t.lxf7 9. tLle5++ <t.le6 10.
• already, do send it to me, and I will
'i¥f7+! <t.l d6 surely publish it.
The Black King Calls on the Enemy's Camp 19

Ginzburg-Schuster ,F
Buenos Aires 1 9 92
I took the liberty of running forward a

period of 107 years in time in order to
find a similar mate. The fact that I
succeeded goes to prove that people not
only fail to leam from their own
mistakes, which may perhaps be due to
psychological reasons, but even from
those of others, either, which, however,
is stupidity, and as such, is liable to be 10 . ... 0'\f6
prosecuted. For this I do not blame him, for
1 . e4 e5 2. 0Jf3 d6 3. d4 f5?! 4 . .tc4 though he has committed himself to the
fxe4? path leading to mate, his other
The Philidor Defence, even in the possibilities are not better, either:
event of Black's correct play, does not A) 1 0 . .. . dxe3 11. 0��a4+ �aS 12.
lead to positions of Mona Lisa-like �e5+ c5 13. ''¥Vc3+ \t'xa4 14. 'li'a3
mate.
beauty (if you know what it is at all), but
B) 10 . 0Jc6 11. i2"Jd5+ ·.;t;cs 12.
. . .
Black's last two moves... I would

0-0-01! -.�xc4 13. �xd4+ fi:\xd4 14.
rather not say anything. ··�xd4+ \t'b5 15. ii',c3+ and White
5. 8xe5 dxe5 6. 'ii h5+ '.i?d7 7. 'iVf5+ wins the queen.
�c6 8. 'iVxe4+ ®b6 9 . jl_e3 exd4 10. 11. i2::\a 4+ WaS 12. 'ii e5+!! c5 13.
i2::\c3!! ik'.d2+ W xa 4 14. a3 .�e6 15. b3 mate.
A morally refining move, especially
because I summon you to learn this,
instead of how to steal! This being a
chess book, I add that Black has no
longer any satisfactory defence.
If you cast a glance to the left, the

likeness of the checkmates is well
marked.
20 The Black King Calls on the Enemy's Camp

Opiela-Jaskowski A gross blunder, especially if we
Warsaw 1973 notice that after 1 0 . .td2 White would
have maintained his extra piece.
As I had at that time already put it 10 . ... tl'ld4+ 11. <Jl?c3?
very wittily in my work entitled Chess Walking right into mate. After 1 1.
Cafe (Open from 2 to 10 Moves) 'JJ d 1 .\kxg 1 1 2. thg 1 ? t:T'ib3 + 1 3 . .\kd2
achieving world-wide success: "Man had .:i'lxa I Black would have had a
come down from the tree, straightened winning position, but there is no mate.
out, learned to play chess, and ever since 11. ... tl'le4+ 12. <Jl?b4?
that time he has always overlooked all Bismarck once asserted that only an
kinds of mates." Although this may seem ox is consequent, but he was wrong
a rough simplification of the Darwinian because White is also characterized by it
theory of evolution, in broad outlines Be it said in his excuse that nobody likes
this was what happened. Moreover, if to move into a discovered check, yet the
you take into account your petty life lesser evil would still have been 1 2. <;;t; d3
fraught with everyday lies, you must 51
admit that the above-mentioned thought
is at least true.
It's a fact that the two mates just seen
were really given, but what about
reflections? Does Black never give such
a mate? Of course he does, here it is:
1 . e4 d5 2. exd5 tl'lf6 3. c4 e6?! 4.
dxe6 �xe6 5. d4 tl'lc6? 6. d5 .tcs 7.
dxe6 .�xf2+ 8. <Jl?e2 'iYxdl+ 9. <Jl?xdl
0-0-0+
and now threatened is 13 . . '2'ib3+.

.
12 . ... tl'lc2+ 13. <Jl?a4

I do not give it a question mark, since
he prefers quick death to a slow one,
which is a matter of taste, and I have a
better taste than to argue about tastes.
At the same time, I consider it my dear
duty to inform the reader about the
consequences of the continuation 13 .
<Jl?b3 •tixal+ 1 4. \i;;>a3:
When it is the White King That Calls on the Enemy' s Camp 21

him."l5 . ... b6 mate.
after 14.... l':td6! 15. c5 Sl..xc5+ 16. b4

::::l:b6! 1 17. bxc5 ii:Jc2+ 18. Wa4
?�xc5+ 19. WaS CZ:\d4
In the games hitherto seen, either of

the parties always made at least one,
mostly serious, mistake. Without this it
would be difficult to give mate, as the
important thing is to immediately
recognize and exploit these mistakes.
What strikes one, however, is that in the
game just discussed, Black has taken an
irrea/ly great risk in the interest of
victory. We should, therefore, look upon
every piece sacrifice with suspicion, and
White is mated on next move.
should check up on it' When our king is
13 . ... il'lc5+ 14. Wb 5 c6+ 15. WaS
already being chased, then it is too late.
The b7 pawn which, in contrast to the The other lesson to be drawn is that
majority of you, is a civilized one, can sometimes we, too, may take a risk like
now proudly quote Racine's lines: " ... that, but on(y if we know our opponent
my opponent will suffocate if I embrace �t·e/1, and are fully aware of his limits.
22 When it is the White King That Calls on the Enemy's Camp

Mlotkowski-Deacon d4 8. tLifl 'i'f6 9. �gS! 'i'xe6 10.
Philadelphia 19 13 t2Jxh8 also leads to White's win, as the
c3 knight cannot be taken with the
It is always a pleasure to season mate pawn in view of the mate threatened
with a queen sacrifice. The basic on d8.
requirement for the opponent is to 8. bxc3 t2:'1h6 9. 'i¥h5+ 'iit>f8 10. �a3+
overlook it in a bad position anyway. 'iit>g8
Now it is games like this that we are
about to see; an additional point of
interest is that in some of them even the
mating side fails to perceive the
possibility of the queen sacrifice leading
to immediate mate. This also calls for
brilliancy, only not the kind we mean in
traditional usage.
1. e4 e5 2. t2:'1f3 d6 3. d4 f5? 4. dxe5
fxe4 5. t2:'1g5 d5 6. t2:'1c3!
Grandmaster Keres casts his vote
for the move 6. e6!, but in my opinion 11. 't!Vf7+! t2:'1xf7 12. exf7 mate.
the game continuation is also good. A la guerre comme a la (That's war),
6. ... �b4 7. e6! as the French quite rightly say.
7 . �xc3+?
•.•
He's heading for disaster, but 7. It was a nice, long game.
Pawn Mate with a Queen Sacrifice 23

Blake-Hooke
England 1988
1 . e4 e5 2. tl'lf3 d6 3. �c4 f5?! 4. d4

ClJf6 5. tl'lc3 exd4 6. 'i!Vxd 4 .td7?! 7.
tLlg5 tl'lc6??
Black overlooks the mate in five,
but White does not notice it either, as
he does not give it.
8 . .tf7+ <Jile7
A sly move; White is confident that

his opponent is unable to count even
to three - with good reason.
1 1 . ... hxg5??
Black once more overlooks the mate
he is threatened, but now there is no
quatter given. After 11 . Vil'c8 he
would have stood better.
12. Wkxe5+! dxe5 13 . �a3+ We6 14.
exf5 mate.
9. 'iWd5??
White could die of this hunt for
beauty if his opponent was a better
player. Of course, the slightly
concealed 9. \l.!fxf6+! ! ·;;!;fxf6 (On 9.
gxf6 10. (,-',d5 is mate) 10. £'2:'id5+
\:DieS 11. ��·f3+ -J;;·xe4 12. ��c3 mate
would have been the worthy finish of
the game.
9 . . h6 10. �g6 0_\e5 1 1 . b3
..
24 Pawn Mate with a Queen Sacrifice

Alekhine-Forrester 13 .txd7+ ®d8
•
Glasgow 1923
I. e4 e5 2. tl:JO tl:Jc6 3. i.b5 a6 4.

•�a4 tl:Jf6 5. tLlc3 i.c5 6. tl:Jxe5
tl:Jxe5 7. d4 ..tb4 8. dxe5 tl:Jxe4 9.
'ir'd4 tLlxc3 10. bxc3 ..ta5 11. .it..a3
b6??
What made Black play this - darned
if I know. Two thing are sure. To
commit so big an error is unadvisable
even against a weaker player, let alone
the future world champion! On the
other hand, after 1 1. . %\VgS 1 2. 0-0
. .
1 4. �c6+!
b5 1 3 . .:ii.b
. 3 Jl,b7 Black would have Alekhine could, of course, gain
had a satisfactory position. the queen with 1 4. e7+?, but he
naturally finds it too little. Let the
reader take an example by him. When
(s)he can win the queen, let her/him
have a look round first, maybe there is
mate, too.
14 . . �xd4 15. e7 mate.
. .
12. e6! 't!Vf6??

Overlooking checkmate, but after
1 2 .... c5 1 3 . �xg7 J::l:f8 1 4. exd7+
.:txd7 15. 0-0-0, too, he could safely
resign.

Bookter-Fioyd the world of chess problems.
Columbia 1979
And now here is an amusing

miniature which was committed in the
country of drugs, assassins and
charming women.
l. e4 e5 2. tl:\f3 tt:lc6 3. ..tb5 d5? ! 4.
..txc6+? bxc6 5. b3?
An inexplicable error which loses in
several manners.
5. ... dxe4 6. tt:lxe5?
10. llf2?? 'ikgl+ 11. l':tfl f2 mate.
6 'i!t'g5
. •• .
Of course, 6 .... �d4 wins a piece,

but Black wants more than that. It was, perhaps, to comfort White
7. 0:'1xc6 'i.fxg2 8. l::Ifl ..tg4 9. f3 exf3 that Russel wrote: " . . . to do more than
White has a lost position, but the this is not possible in a world in which
following self-mate belongs rather in mistakes can occur."
26 Pawn Mates Along the 2nd (or 7th) Rank

Trobatto-Soto 6. d4! 'i¥e7 7. tt'lc4+ Wc6 8. d5+
Postal game 1975 Wb5
1. e4 e5 2. tt'lf3 f5? !
A bold but rather weak move which
today is seldom adopted. Permit me to
engage in a short essay on the name of
this opening, which is particularly timely
since the Letts have become Letts again.
Messrs Panov and Estrin write about
it the following: "In the last century this
pawn sacrifice had been called
>>Backhanded King's Gambit«, but as it
was the chess players of Riga who dealt
with it in detail, it has been introduced 9. a4+!
into the chess literature as Latvian Would you believe that this pawn
Counter-Gambit." Personally, I prefer will be the mate-giver?
the name "Backhanded King's Gambit", 9. .. Wa6 10. tt'ld6+ b5
.
but I yield to the unrelenting logic of Or 10 . . �b6 ll. f2'\xc8+, gaining

. .
Messrs Panov and Estrin's reasonong, if the queen.

only for the sole reason that they are 11. axb5+ Wb6 12. ke3+ c5 13 .
right. But when I also find out that the bxc6+ ®c7 14. tt'lb5+ Wd8 15. c7
name Keidanski Gambit is also incorrect, mate.
for it was first played by Sergei Urusov,
or that the Pirc Defence is actually
Ufimtsev Defence, and instead of the
name Benko Gambit one should use
Volga Gambit, because the wood
cutters alongside the river Volga, in the
hours of rest - instead of getting
besotted on vodka - had often adopted
it between themselves as far back as the
beginning of the century, I begin to
suspect.
3. tt'lxe5 fxe4?? 4. 'i!'h5+ We7 5.
'ii!Yf7+ Wd6 If you receive a slap in the face, give it
The king is in the middle, "all" you back fourfold, not caring on whose
have to do is mate it. face it smacks. (Chateaubrian)

Itze-Reinie
Murhau 1925
1. f4 e5 2. e4 exf 4 3. tl:Jf3 g5 4 . .tc4

g4 5. tl:Je5? !
In this variation of the King's Gambit
more common and better is the line 5. 0-
0 gxf3 6. �x£3, first played by master
Muzio, and then Polerio, towards the
end of the 1 5 00s, and had been
introduced into chess literature as the
Muzio-Polerio Variation. I have been so 1 1 . ... .txh3 ! !
greatly inspired by it (at that time I had An organic part of the art of giving
not hated humans as much as I do now) mate is to sacrifice, for the sake of
that together with my fiiend Laszl6 Sapi checkmate, all our pieces (if need be)
(nearly ten years ago) we wrote a highly except for the one that gives mate.
successful article about it entitled 12. �xh3 �xh3 13. gxh3 g2 mate.
"Doing Justice to Messrs Muzio and
Polerio". The article had been circulated
in the world press, and I received a
congratulatory letter even from a reader
in Argentina!
5 . ... �h4+ 6. �fl ��g 7 ! 7. tl:Jxf7?
d5 8. �x d5 .td4 9. �e 1 g3 10. h3 f3
1 1. tl:Jx h8 ??
Better is 1 1. e5 ii:.f2 1 2. �d 1 fxg2+
13. Wxg2 Ci"Je7 14. �-2ixh8 �i:Jxd5 with
complications favorable to Black.
Now, let us try to sum up in a nut-

shell what is required to giving mate:
1 ) A knowledge of opening theory.
2) A blunder on the opponent's part.
3) The recognition and merciless
exploitation of the latter.
4) The fact that the opponent does
not resign before mate.
5) And what is most impm1ant: the
simultaneity of the tirst four points,
Let's see how the game went on. i. e., luck, luck, luck and luck.
28 Pawn Mates Along the 2nd (or 7th) Rank

Asselin-MacGregor An interesting psychological mo
Postal Game 1944 ment. Although Black discerns the
threat of mate in two, it is not t2::Jb5+
1. e4 c5 2 . d4 cxd4 3 . ctJf3 e5?! he's guarding against, but the mate
It is not worth retaining the pawn, �dS succeeding after that.
for after the pawn blast c2-c3 White 10 . ... 0:'le7?? 11. ctJb5+ <JJc6
comes to an enormous piece play, and
Black's only coffee-house trick is
rarely overlooked.
4. �c4!
And not 4. ti'ixeS (which, no doubt,
you would play), because 4 . ... �aS+
would win the knight.
4 . ... f6?! 5. c3 ii.c5?? 6. b 4?
Let us be sincere, this is really a case
of "the blind leading the blind". At
once winning is 6. 0"Jxe5! fxeS 7 .
'*'hS+ 'JJ e 7 8. 'i'xeS+ 'J;;f8 9 . '%¥xc5+
d6 10. '%¥xd4. 12. '*'d5+! t2:Jxd5 13. exd5 mate.
6 . ... �b6? 7. ti'lxe5 fxe5 8. 'it'h5+ <JJ e7
9. �f7+ <JJd6 10. 0:'la3
Next time take better care, fathead!
Pawn Mate with a Queen Sac in Postal Games 29

Mariott-Arnold me, with two or three days allowed for
Postal game 1945 thinking, it's not particularly difficult
to avoid threats like this.
Here is another postal game with
further morals. About postal games you
should know that sometimes several
weeks pass between the moves, so
errors committed in such games are of
greater moment, there being plenty of
time to consider the moves.
l. e4 e6 2 . d4 d5 3. tl:JcJ .tb4 4. e5
c5 5 . .td2 cxd4?!
He's undertaking a risky continuation
instead of the more common 5 . . .. tl:Je7,
emphasizing, as it were, that he is not
I
afraid. In order that the reader be
12. 1i'h6+ tl:Jxh6 13 . .txh6+ �g8 14.
edified, which, if ( s)he has the good
f7 mate.
sense to listen to reason, may play an
important part even when choosing the
opening, pennit me to quote a thought
which had been committed to paper by
Darwin: " . .. many a coward has
considered himself brave until he found
himself face to face with his opponent."
6. tl:Jb5 .tc5 7. b4 .ltb6 8. 'tlig4 g6?
Loosening his own king's position,
and perceptibly weakening the dark
squares on the king's wing. 8 . '�f8
was the lesser evil .
9. ClJd6+ �f8 10. 'ii'f4 f6??
After 10 . . . . 'i¥c7 1 1 . ll:\G tl:Jc6 12. The lesson to be drawn from the last
tt�g5 0:�d8 1 3. kd3 White would have
four games is as follows: A mate with a
stood splendidly, although a win or -
particularly - mate would have been queen sac is easy to overlook. About
out of the question . tlus yet more will be said in the
1 1. exf6 .tc7?? following chapters, so, ·for the time
It's inexplicable how he can move being, just keep in nlind the scout' s
into three-move mate, as in a postal ga- slogan: "Be prepared !"
30 Pawn Mate with a Queen Sac in Postal Games

Diebert-Rundle
Chicago 1991
1. d4 tLlf6 2. tl::\ c 3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. f4
�g7 5. tl::\f3 0-0 6. e5 tLlfd7 7. h4?
White is experimenting with the
sharpest, in fact, most ill-famed
variation of the Pirc Defence.
7 . ... c5 8. h5 cxd4 9. hxg6 dxc3 10.
gxf7+
Out of a professional interest I
checked the database of my favourite 11. l::t x h7+! 'JJ x h7 12. tl::\ g5+ 'JJ g 6
computer, and I have found 66 games Nor is the more stubborn-looking
featuring this position, in which Black, 12 .. . . 'JJ h 6 of any help, because after
1 3 . if d3 tLlf6 14. exf6 l::t h 8 15. f5 !
without exception, played 10 . . . . I:Ixt7,
jt_xf5 1 6 . 'ilfxf5 there is no defence t o
and, in the majority of cases, won. As
mate.
it turned out, I, too, lost from this
13. 'iVd3+ 'ltlh5 1 4. �e2+ 'JJ h 4 15.
position with White in 1 976, but
g3 mate.
whether I had been sick or drunk at
the time, I am now unable to recollect.
1 0 . ... 'JJ h 8??
He is immensely suspectless, and yet
in case of a chess player this is a capital
crime. Since I am writing this book at
least as much to your edification as to
my own amusement, I can't emphasize
often enough that you should always
suspect everyone. In life, your
emotionally nearest, and in chess, pray,
at least your opponents. By doing so,
you will spare yourselves serious Victor Hugo wrote : " Suspicion is
disappointments. Anyway, Black is like wrinkles on a face. Vigorous
about to be inevitably mated, which, to youth has no wrinkles." Do not listen
us, will be the source of joy and to the chatter of the senile old chap .
amusement, and to him, that of sorrow. For a chess player it is obligatory to
It' s quite all right this way! be suspicious.

Mackenzie--Hollins Black would stand considerably better
London 1893 due to his dangerous kingside pawns,
but an enormous fight would be yet to
A jump of 98 years in time, but now come.
backwards. At that time the players'
learnedness in opening theory had yet
been, quite understandably, wretched,
but it was owing to the very opening
errors of the opponent that they gave
eye-filling mates.
1. e4 e5 2. tl'lc3 tl'lf6 3. f4 d5 4 . fxe5
tl'lxe4 5. tl'lf3 tl'lc6 6. a3?
A sizeable rubbish of which I
disapprove not because it makes no
sense at all, but because it is bad
concretely, too.
6 �c5 7. d4 ti'lxd4! 8. tl'lxd4
10. . .. �f2+ !! 11. ®xf2 tl'le4++ 13.
• ..•
'i¥h4+ 9. g3 i?Jxg3 10. ti'lf3? ?

®e3li¥f2+ 14. ®f4 g5 mate.
Overlooking mate. Better would
have been 10. hxg3 , because after 10 .
. . . ''i!Vxg3+ ll. �d2 "ikxd4 1 2. {£\xd5
�xeS 13 . ·�e 1 ke6! 1 4. 'li'xg3 .ikxg3
Unpleasant, but a king should not be

strolling about.
32 Pawn Mates t o Kings Mislaid on the 4th Rank

Noordijk-Landau Believe it or not (not that it would
Rotterdam 1927 matter, anyway), White gives mate in
each variation!
I. e 4 iL'If6 2. e5 tl:Jd5 3. tl:Jf3 d6 4. 7 . 'it'xg5 8. 'it'f7!! g6 9. d 4+ 'it'h5
. . .
.� c4 iL'Ib6 5 �xf7+??
• •
10. 'iVf4 h6 1 1 . h3 g5
Should this move be good, nobody Or 11. ... )i.g7 12. g4+ �h4 1 3.
would play Alekhine's Defence. Earlier, ·�g3 mate.
when I had said that sometimes, in 12. 'iit7+ 'lt>h4 13 . g3 mate.
perfect knowledge of the opponent's
playing strength, we may possibly
take even an irreal risk, this was not
exactly what I had in mind.
5. 'lt>xf7 6. tl:Jg5+ �g6??
.•.
I must admit that White had been

right when sizing up his opponent,
who has now committed himself to the
course leading to mate. Before we
would start taking a great delight in
analyzing the position, let's take stock
of Black's possibilities: 6. ... \t>g8 7.
�f3 �e8 8 . e6, and now: Let us be serious. Let's disregard
A) 8. ... h6?? 9. �t7+ 'i¥xt7 10. White's move 5. kxt7+, as from the
ext7 mate occured in a Powers-Dake point of view of the theme of our book it
game, USA 193 7, or is of no particular importance. White has
B) after 8.... g6, his attack having run too big a risk, and it has been worth
faded off, White was knocked into a his while. He could also have lost, as I
cocked hat in the Schmidt-Hein postal have already pointed out. What is really
game. important is the two magnificent silent
7. 'iff3!! moves (7. '1!1Vf3!1 and 8. �t7! ! )
conunitted against the black king
sauntering about in the middle. Without
these the mate would have failed to
materialize, while the making of them
has endowed the play with an artistic
character'
For your edification, I have found a
quotation from Baudelaire: "The art
which is at all times appreciated most
is the one that fills the most urgent
needs." Well, this is the reason why
chess is not too greatly esteemed.
Pawn Mates to K ing s Mislaid on the 4th Rank 33

Cougar-Georgopoulos did not make light of it, and the
Champ 1993 ambulance crew, when seeing that he
was really taking a direction towards the
1. d4 e5? 2. dS ? tL\f6 3. �gS � cS 4. Parliament, decided that running
tl:\c3?? barefooted in the snow is injurious to
health, so they tucked him into the
ambulance car, and off they dashed
with him to the close ward of one of
the hospitals. I sent in to him a book
of mine published at that time, with
the following dedication in it:
"Madness is certainly a pleasure, but
one which is known only by madmen."
This applies to the above game too
(4. i1.'Jc3??, 6. C;,"Jb5??), but bef�re I
forget, do you think that he has taken
offence? No. On April 30, 1998, I
This loses outright. As for what, if received from Andnis a copy of our joint
anything, White had in mind when book entitled Odd Moves, with the
making a move like this, one hasn't the following dedication in it: 'To Attila
foggiest idea. Still, I can supply you with Schneider (alias Attiluska), my co
an example taken from life. author and eo-madman, with love and
A couple of years ago, an interesting gratitude. Andnis Admjitn."
co-author of mine, A Ad01jitn, in a
winter afternoon, barefooted, a muzzle 4 . ... �xf2+ S. �d2 .i:t..d 4 6. tLlbS? ?
on his head, shackles on his hands his tl:\e4+ 7. �d3 'tikxgS 8. t:Uxc7+ �d8
dog named Gyula Horn (a Comm�nist 9. l2Jxa8 'tike3+ 10. � c4 ClJd6+ 11.
politician- Translator's note) at his side, ®b4 t:Ua6+ 12. ®as i.b6+ 13 . 'lit'a4
accompanied by a populous crowd of tlJcS+ 14. 'lit'b4 aS mate.
onlookers, as well as the sincere interest
of the gendarmerie and the ambulance
crew (this latter have accompanied him
in person too, in a police- and ambu
lance-car), had been threatening to
perform a protest run from Mechvart
Square to the Parliament.
It was, perhaps, the then existing
regime or some other, quite insignificant
(but to him important), thing that he had
been protesting against, but the authority
34 Pawn Mates t o Kings Mislaid o n the 4th Rank

Mingreila-Amateur The reason I'm asking this is that we are
Hamburg 1892 just about to see one. If I might make a
suggestion, you would do well to hold
I. e4 e5 2. tLlc3 tLlc6 3. t;Jo ti'lf6 4. on to something.
.�.c4 ..\tb4 5. tLld5 tLlxe4 6. 0-0 0-0 7 . 9. t2Jh4 ??
d3 tLlc5?? Someone went off his rocker? After
Hitherto all that we have seen was 9. 0.:\xf6+ ��h8 10. 0�ixh7 'li¥e8 11.
suggestive of a weak or mediocre :1"ixf8 "'W'xf8 12. (�\xe5 White would
game of chess, but this horrible move have won at least the queen . Do hold
- in the e ven t of White 's correct play on once again!
- loses outright Now you may 9 . ... g6 ??
perhaps be surprised at my stressing Were it not for my piety .toward the
such a self-evident thing; but later you chess players of the last century, I would
will understand it. Black's correct play, write that stupidity is infectious, but
by the way, would have been 7.... 0�'f6 reverence towards our ancestors makes
8 . .;;�\Xb4 9. 1'2Jxe5 d6, after which he me merely say that the players must have
has no particular problems.
gone too many times to the theatre to
8. �tgS! f6
see Shakespeare's play The Comedy of
Or 8 .... i!We8, whereupon 9. ��lxc7
Errors. After 9. . . (>,e6 Black would
.
would gain the black queen.

have stood considerably better.
10. t?'le7++ <:J:Jg7 ? 11. .�.h6+! <tJxh6?
12. ti\hf5+! 'i!Jg5
Or 12 . . . gxf5 13. :�;ixf5+ \i:Jg5 15.
.
h4+' ;;txf5 16. '¥'ih5+ J"c?f4 17 . �JJf3

mate.
13. h4+ ®f4 14. g 3 mate.
Let ' s take a close look at the position

arisen. The fact that with a discovered
check White can crush the black king ' s
position t o its atoms is, I suppose, even
to your thinking, beyond doubt. Any
contrary opinion?

Stasko--Ewert after 12 .... �h4+ 13. g3 Ji�xc3+ 14.
Postal game 1978 kxc3 ��xe4+ 15. �f2 �xhl 16.
0Jxa8 '*'xh2+ 17. ;tg2 Ji..h 3 18. 1Wg1
1. b3 e5 2. �b2 d6 3. c4 t"Llf6 4. t"Llc3 �xg2+ 19. 'tWxg2 .�.xg2 20. l�b6
t"Llc6 5. e4 g6 6. f3 �g7 7. t"Llge2 0-0 (threatening 21. 0'\d7) 20.... .lk�h3 I 21.
It is obvious that White has been all (:,']d5 t;-\e5
along endeavouring to carry out the
move d2-d4, which in itself makes no
matter yet, supposing that he would
not play it after all.
8. d4? exd4 9. t"Llb5 t"Llxe4!!
the endgame is easily winning for

Black.
12 . ... �h4+ 13. <Jdd2?!
Not reconciling himself to losing a
rook after 13. g3 ��xc3+ 14. kxc3
10. fxe4 d3 1 1 . t"Llec3 a6
·�Jixe4+ 15. 'iJf2 �xh 1, he prefers
getting mated.
13 . .. . =��h6+ 1 4. 'it'xd3 tilb4+ 15.
�t?d4 c5 mate.
1 2 . 0'la3
Nor would the considerably stouter
12. �;'.Jxc7 be too joyful for White, for
36 Pawn Mates to Kings Mi slaid on the 4th Rank

Geller-Hansen,S 14 . .:kxd7 would touch Black on a sore
Reykj avik 1978 spot. ) 14. kxc6 c;·\xc6 15. �-d5+ Wg7
16. e6 11:'Jb4 ! 17 . 'lWxa8 �xa8 18.
Weak chess players, such as you, ?.:Jxa8 kxd6 19 . exd 7 ti\:e7 20. 0-0
are more i nclined to blunder against flxa8 21. li.e3 l:d8 Black would be
a better, well-known op ponent t han fighting for draw, but would still be
against an unknown one. This in alive.
it self can be yet understood, but 1 1. tl:Jxc7+ Wf7 12. iVd5+ �g6 13 .
experience shows t hat if during the tilh4+ �h5 14. 'Yi'f3+ �xh4 1 5. g3
game, after the initi al difficulties, mate.
they unexpectedly obtain counter
chances, they fai l to notice t hem, but
instead, bending beneath the weight
of respect of authority, they walk
volunt a rily into the mate, just like a
spell-bound rabbit . Now we shall see
a game of this ki nd.
I. c4 c5 2. 0'\fJ 0'.1c6 3. l'ilc3 tilf6 4.
d4 e6 ? 5. d5 exd5 6. cxd5 0'la5 7. e4
b6 8. e5 0'1g8 9. d6
What' s the moral of the above game?

That at least in chess you should be
nihilists, if in the whole field of life you
cannot be ones, like me. Keep in mind
and obey Turgenev' s words: "A Nihilist
is a man who admits no established
authorities, who takes no principles for
granted, however much they may be
respected."
This, of course, applies to evetything,
9• f6 ? !
••• from religion to philosophy, but it is only
10. 12\d5 l'\b8?? in reference to chess that I recommend it
He resignes himself to mate, although to your attention. By the way, the more
after 1 0 . ..,;;�b7 1 1 . (;':c7+ -J./f7 1 2 . difficult words can be found m your
j;,a6 ��c6 1 3 .kbS g6 (on 13 . . . . ":kb7?
. . Dictionary of Definitions.
Pawn Mates to Kings Mi slaid on th e 4th Rank 37

Fried-Schlech ter 10 . . .. gxf3! ! 1 1 . �xd8 f2+ 12. 'l!!e2
Vien na 1 894 kg 4+ 13. �d3 tt\b4+ 1 4. 'itlxe4?
Of course, he ought to have
In the following game the excellent reconciled himself to being left a piece
Austrian grandmaster plays a joke on his down after 1 4. ':!Jc4 .4l.xd l , but White is
opponent with a queen sacrifice. At the not willing to bargain.
time of committing the game he was 1 4 . . . . f5 mate.
only twenty years old, and could
evidently not yet sunnise that in 1 9 10 he
would play, as a party equal in rank,
against Lasker for the world title ( 1 win,
1 loss, 8 draws! ), and still less could he
sumuse that he would be only 44 when
the Grim Reaper would come tor him.
The tragedy of this I can, perhaps, feel
more fully than you, as I have already
buried almost all my friends, both male
and female, and I am 44 years old.
I . f4 e5 2. fxe5 ct\c6 3. tt\f3 d6! ? 4.
exd6 ��.xd6 5. d4 tt\f6 6 �.g5? h6 7.
. •
Right now, having reached the end of
.�.h4 g5 8. .�f2 0Je4 9. e3 g4 1 0. the first chapter of the book, I give
-�-h4?? notice that in the second part, which I
Black has exe1ted proper pressure in the compiled according to entirely specific,
interest of the control of the dark squares, individual aspects, you are yet to meet
which is sufficient to counterplay, but to plenty of pawn mates. For this it is
not more than that if White had played necessary tor you to understand what
the natural move 1 0 . ;�;\fd2. you have so far seen, and to be able to
put up with my cheeky manners. If you
understand that what I stress objectively
is 1vi1L1l I say, and what subjectively, is
the H'CIJI I say it, then we'll get along
Jine, and you '11 emich yourselves with a
masterpiece.
38 Pawn Mates t o Kings Mislaid o n the 4th Rank

B i shop Mates
Teichman,R-Amateur
Berlin 1 9 1 4
"Let's make death proud to take us. "
Shakespeare
39
An appropriate quotation about the relation of the
Reader and the Author:
" It has never yet actually happened that a stupid m an
liked a wise man . "
Pavlenko
40
Meditation Over the Nature of B i shop Mates
Bishop mate is a curious but by no means dying out species

of animals. You must have already heard about the "advantage
of the bishop pair", by which one usually means that if the
position is open, then the player possessing the bishop pair has
the better chances, because his bishops are, as a rule,
sufficiently effective. This is a general ization which i s true in
all stages of the game, thus also in case of the bi shop mates I
discuss, ensui ng in the opening.
A po int of interest: in 80-90 percent of the bishop mates given
in the opening the victorious side sacrifices a queen ! Of thi s you
can also ascertain in the course of studyi ng this chapter, and do
bel ieve me that I was not tendentious in selecting the games, at
l east not from thi s point of view.
The subchapters are :
A Clear Image in a Mirror
For the more educated thi s reference i s , no doubt, quite
pl ain, but j ust for your sake l give here the rel evant quotation :
"What we see now i s like a dim i mage in a m i rror; then we
shall see face to face. What I know now i s only partial ; then i t
wi l l be complete - a s compl ete a s G od ' s knowl edge o f m e . "
Apostle Paul 's First Letter to the ( 'orinthians, 1 3. 1 2.
If I can be frank with you, I must admi t that I have been
always annoyed by Apostle Paul ' s verses, because even from
these quoted l ines it becomes q uite evi dent how much better the
old religious m an had been at writing than me. The only thing l
can blame him for is that he does not badger the reader as often as
I do. Reverting to the subchapter, without el ucidati ng to you the
rebus j ust q uoted, it i s image in a mirror that I regard as one of
the most effecti ve instruments for developi ng mem ory in chess ,
especially if the i m ages are of alternate colours. Inasmuch as, in
41
contrast to pawn mates occuring in the stage of the opening, in
case of the bishop mates there is a quite frequent occurence of
images in a mirror, therefore I discuss them on seven pages, in
connecti on with fourteen games.
Beautiful But Not True
My favourite subchapter within the theme. What it deals
with i s that (to quote myse l f) : "In one kind of the mates the
winner is ready even to make considerable materi al sacrifices,
he is at great length preparing for it, actual ly admini sters it, and
maybe never real izes that in fact he was only bl uffing. " Few
themes are more interesting than thi s, but in this masterpiece I
exercise my favourite pastime, viz. , exposing bluffers, under
other headwords as wel l .
The Strength of the Bishop
Under the above headword I discuss only games, with the
exception of two, in which the strength of the bi shop is demon
strated by way of a queen sacrifice. The one I l ike most of them
is the Weich-Amateur game, London 1 940, because it is not an
active but a strong bishop that decides the outcome of the
game. From thi s results that thesis of mine, according to which
a strong b ishop need not necessarily be active, too .
A stounding Mates
The title speaks for itself, if you read the subchapter, you
will (perhaps) understand it.
42
Rudolph,W-Amateur �f6 1 2 . 'i!'xf4 'iWf6 1 3 . �xf6 gxf6 1 4
.
Germany 1 9 1 2 tL\xfl :C:g8 1 5. ilJdS :C:g7 16. d5 would

have ensured White's endgame edge.
Mates given by a bishop ar e often pre 9. "i!Vh5 h6 1 0 .txf7+ 'l!lh8??
.
ceded by a queen sacrifice on the vic Overlooking mate, true, already in a

tor's part. Just to put you in the mood, totally lost position. Being a typical
let's see the same motif, first with one, motif, it is required to be remembered
and then the other colour. well!
I. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3 .tc4 1i.c5?
.
Even as a general rule, it is a

mistake to give a tempo to the
opponent, but in the King's Gambit,
where a tempo can settle the outcome
of the whole game, it is sheer
madness.
4. d4 'i:Yh4+ 5. 'l!lfl $,.b6 6. tL\13
'i¥d8 7. �xf4 tL\e7 8. tL\gS
11. 't!Vxh6+! gxh6 12. $,.e5 mate.
8 . ... 0-0??
Losing outright. He should have tried
8 . . . d5, after which 9. exd5 i1�ixd5 1 0.
.
'!We2+ 'iiiiffS 1 1 . %Yf3! 0'\xf4 1 2 . �xf4

Amateur-Biackburne tiJf6 1 0. b3??
London 1 880 Well, here you are ! Blackbume has
sized up his opponent in an excellent
"Before me is my successor", Black manner: he made a losing move
bume might say, but in the course of already. But on the simple 10. '<Wd8 he
editing this book I prefer wins attained would have been made mince-meat of.
with White to the chronological order. This is what the risk consisted in.
1. e4 e5 2. tiJf3 tiJc6 3 . ..tc4 ..tc5 4. 10 . ... tiJg4 1 1 . h3 ..txfl+ 1 2. �h 1
�xf7+??
This move, even in the era of
romanticism, had been considered an
incredible cheekiness, especially against
the brilliant English master who, just in
view of his numberless games won with
Black, was nicknamed "Black Death"
by his admirers.
4 . ... 'it>xf7 5. tiJxe5+ tiJxe5 6. 't!Vh5+
g6?
A faulty move; 6 . �f8 7. �xeS
. . .
d6 would have won without

complications. I was unable to find out 1 2 . ... .tf5! 13. 'ifxa8
whether this game was played in a Although White overlooks mate, he
simultaneous exhibition, because in did not have a real defence, because
this case Blackbume must have by after 1 3 . ">!i'c3 j,xe4 1 4 . �b2 'it'e6 ! !
now downed four or five glasses of he could do nothing against 1 5 . . . .
whiskey, an established habit of his �d4, winning the queen.
according to the evidence of his 1 3 . ... l!N.xh3+! 14. gxh3 .txe4 mate.
contemporaries, while in the event of a
serious game, it (that is to say, the
downing of whiskeys,) had been
merely probable.
I am, by the way, convinced that it
was a deliberate awumption of risk on
his part, because while studying his
games I found that against amateurs he
had constantly taken unreal risks, with a
surprisingly good result.
7. 'ifxe5 d6 8. 'ifxh8 'ti'h4 9. 0-0
44 A Clear Image in a Mirror

Angel-Buschke ic smile, there is a devilish wickedness.
New York 1 940 12 • .•• 'i!Vd8??
I am convinced that in contradistin

ction to a mirror, the mirror-image in
chess is one of the most efficient
pedagogical means to keep the attention
awake, as well as to develop memory. It
is very important that (if possible) the
images be of alternate colours, and to
comply with this requirement there is
mostly a fair chance, because what had
already been once overlooked with
Black, had been almost certainly 13. 'i!Vxf6! ! gxf6 14. tl.'lxf6+ ®f8 1 5.
overlooked with White, too. it.. h 6 mate.
1. e4 tl.'lf6 2. e5 tl.'ld5 3. tLlfJ d6 4. d4
..tg4 5. Se2 c5
This being a text-book, let's sum up

what we saw: Angel has set a mating
trap with a queen sacrifice, and Buschke
A bit unusual move in this line of
has overlooked it. It would be
Alekhine's Defence, but is not worse
interesting to know whether White had
than the defence itself
known this trap even before the game,
6. 0-0 'i!Vb6 7. exd6 exd6 8. l:Ie1 ..te7 or he spotted it at the board. Why? You
9. �c4 it..xf3? have at last asked it ! Because the art of
By surrendering the bishop pair of giving mate often lies in work done at
his own free will, he lends a helping home and the knowledge of motifs.
hand to White. Motifs like this are collected by
10. 'i¥xf3 tl.'lf6 1 1. tl.'lc3 tl.'lc6 12. tl.'ld5 someone, such as myself; and learnt by
Behind the move, made with an angel- someone, such as you.

Denicki-Borowski Then a trembling for his life followed,
Postal game 1 993 for if someone died while playing,
then, according to the chess rules of
1. d4 tt'lf6 2. c4 e5! that time, the final result was
The Budapest Gambit ! Black's 2nd automatically a draw. Fortunately,
move is terribly dangerous, as for how Zsig6 survived, so young Paul6 won
much, I now illustrate with an example the game.
taken from life: l have a kindly fiiend, 3. dxe5 tt'lg4 4. 'i!kd4?! d6! ? 5. exd6
J6zsef Szentgyorgyi (alias Paul6), the �xd6 6. 'i!ke4+ 'it'e7 7. 'iixe7+ �xe7
well-known translator and the author of 8. �d2 i.e6 9. e4 tt'lc6 10. �e2 tt'ld4!
the very successful GREA T BOOK 1 1. i.d 1 tt'le5 12. b3 0-0-0 13. tt'le2?
Wim PA ULO. I am particularly fond of tt'lef3+ ! ! 1 4. gxf3?
him on account of an interesting After 14. � ClJxd2+ 1 5. t2Jxd2 0Jc2 ! 1
coincidence: 5 1 years ago he was born I 6 . kxc2 llxd2 Black wins a piece.
on the very day, October 23, when my 14 . ... tt'lxf3+ 15. � ..th3 mate.
parents swore eternal fidelity to each
other in the church on the Square of
Roses.
But here is the story I h ad promised .
The young Paul6 (then yet J6zsi), in
1 963 was just playing the first team
championship game of his life. His oppo
nent, a certain Istvan Zsig6, had White,
and under the influence of some mental
pressure he was rocking his chair on the
tloor, slippery enough anyway. When
Paul6 made the move 2. e5 1 , Zsig6
Occasionally, as you could notice, I
jerked up both his hands in the air with
use quotati ons, but if you suppose that
an affected alarm . T h i s was the sort of
I only want to polish your extremely
thing he ought not to have done. I defective education, you are wrong.
don 't know if you have ever tried to For the most part, quotati ons serve
make such a movement when balancing pedagogical purposes, like they do
on the two rear legs of a chair, but if you now, when I am comparing the reader
have, you must know from experience to a rose, with the assistance of
what had happened. The legs of the Angelus Silestius: "A ros e never
chair had slipped ou t and White knocked probes, it just blooms because it
his head against the floor so that the blooms, is unaware of itself, does not
ambulance had to be called out at once. ask and does not argue."

Teichmann,R-Amateur He has fallen for it ! Black is, to put
Berlin 1 9 1 4 it mildly, suspectless, and this childlike
naivety of his gets immediately
I. e 4 d5 2 . exd5 'iVxd5 3. 'Llc3 'YWd8 rewarded with mate. The
4. 'Llf3 .tg4 5 . .tc4 e6 6. h3 .txf3 7. complications arising after 1 1 .
'ifxf3 c6 8. d3 'ii'f6 9. 'i!Vg3 'Llh6? 10. .i.b4+ 1 2 . c3 fljfS 1 3 . 'irc7 0-0 would
-�g5? have been more favourable to Black .
Previously, I have already many times 1 2. 'ii' x b8+ ! ! ldxb8 13. ��xb5 mate.
drawn the reader' s attention to the
interesting fact that an amateur often has
the same effect on "more serious" chess
players as a red rag has on a bull. (Don't
fall for this apt comparison, as bulls are
colour-blind, and it is not the colour of
the rag, but the nerve-racking waving of
it that irritates them.) For the sake of a
trick they are willing to sacrifice even
nicely worked-out positions, saying: a
patzer will overlook it anyway. And it is
annoyingly often that they are justified -
in our case, too. Let's see what I am
talking about: up to this point, White has Now a couple ofwords about White. At
been playing well, but now, for the sake the time of the game, Richard Teichmann
of an undoubtedly neat trick, he sacri was 87 years old! Thus one can much
fices all his former achievements. After better undestand the trick he played on his
the thematic I 0. 'il'c7 ! Black's position opponent. A player, who at the age of 87
would collapse. was in possession of such a mental
10 . ... 'i:¥g6 1 1 . 'Llb5 alertness, must have also seen the move
1 0. Vc7!, and it is highly probable that he
was urged by the desire to create
something magnificent - perhaps for the
last time in his life. Well, in this he
succeeded . Aged as he was, he had the
guts to exchange a cheap win (of which he
may have grown sick already) for the
chance of a rare mate.
In honour of Richard Teichmann, let
me put in a quotation from Rivarol :
"An opinion should be attacked with
its own weapons: at ideas you cannot
11 . .. cxb5??
. shoot with a gun."

Srnivas-Ravikumar easily won after the simple insertion of
India 1 984 1 2 . i.d3 ! : 1 2 . . . . i.b4+ 1 3 . �c3
�xd3 1 4 . 'ifxg4 .txc3+ 1 5 . bxc3
Seventy years later, with reversed "iVxc3+ 1 6 . We2, and White emerges
colour, the same motif occurs again, with from the deal with an extra piece.
an even greater assumption of risk, but
12 . ... I:rab8 13. l!kxa7? 'ikxb l + ! ! 13.
with the same success. Ghostlike, isn't
'i!ld2
it?
"' And you believe in ghosts?' a After 1 3 . trxb 1 .tb4 mate we could
student asked. once again admire the final position of
' Of course I dorr't, ' replied the the previous game:
lecturer, slowly melting away into thin
air." (Monday Begins on Saturday by
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky)
1. d4 e5? 2. dxe5 d6 3. exd6 i.xd6 4.
c3 tl'lf6 5. �g5 tl'lc6 6. e3 0-0 7 •
.txf6 �xf6 8. �f3 �g6 9. tl'le2 :t:i:e8

1 0. tl'lg3 tl'ld4??
1 4 . ... i.b4 mate.
It begins ' Black strives to conjure up

on the board the mating scheme we have
ju st seen. lt' s a pity that his move is not
sound .
1 1 . cxd4 J&g4 1 2. l!Yxb7??
A losing move. White would have

Duz Hotimirsky-Amateur with 1 8 . . '/Mig 1 + and to exchange
. .
Ham burg 1 9 1 0 off i nto a materially won endgame.
I . e4 e 5 2 . f4 exf4 3 . tilfJ Jl.e7 4 •
.11f. c 4 Ji.h4+ 5. g3! ? fxg3 6. 0-0 gxh2+

7. 'lit'h 1
White' s strategy is remarkable and is
in pertect accordance with the spirit of
the King' s Gambit. In this opening
White wants to achieve an edge with a
quick attack and an active piece play, the
number of pawns not being of a real
i mportance neither in the opening nor in
the middle game. It is, of course,
unpleasant if his attack is checked, but 1 1 . 0"1xf7 ! ! \:Yxf7 1 2. d6+ \t/f8 1 3.
tor the time being he is attacking, and it �h5 "ii' e8 1 4. tlxf6+! gxf6 1 5.
is just the bl ack h2 pawn that defend\ "ii' x h6+ ��(xh6 1 6. ��.xh6 m at e .
th e white monarch.
7 . ... d5 8. exd5?
It is illogical to immure the light
squared bishop I d o not like to refer
to aut horities, because, on the on e
h an d I do not think much of them, on
,
the other, they are often w ro n g .
However, i f a chess pl ayer, end o we d

with such an excellent tactical sense as
Morphy, had captured on d 5 with the
b i shop , then presumably it i s t he
bi shop one must capture wit h .
8 . ... J;.f6 9 . d 4 li'le7 I 0. 0"1g5 h6??
"Here' s the b ad pan you l on ged for", Let ' s draw the lessons, if t here are
as my friend Peter Hardicsay u sed to say any, from the game just seen. T h e way I
w hile playing blitz chess in our late see it is that White ' s sharp handl ing of
youth, whenever he felt that his the opening was a good c h o i c e .
opponent severely blund ered . The Al t h o ug h h i s 8 t h was an a11li-chesv
right move was I 0 . ,�J5 1 , u p on move, this was the very move he has
which after 1 1 . d6 ��"xd6 1 2 txt7+ . .
bewildered his opponent with. He has
'"';;f8 1 3 . .i�b3 h6 1 4 . 1 \xf5 :'; xf5 1 5 . found the winning combination, and t h e
:·;-,,e6+ 'lc'5-e7 1 6 . .;.1..f4 � c6+ 1 7 . d 5 finish is, to say the least, pretty On the
.
'#Yb6 Black t hreatens t o trade qu ee n s whole, it wa� a good game.
A Clear lmage i n a M irro r 49

Langley-Burt also favours Black. Let's see how the
Wales 1868 game went on:
I. e4 e5 2. f4
The farther back we travel in time,
the more King's Gambit we shall find,
and the more games we look at from
the recent years, the more frequent the
Ruy Lopez opening will be.
2 . . . d5 3. exd 5 e4 4. Jit�b5+ ? ! c6 5.
.
d xc6 bxc6 6. �a4 'iYd4 7. c3?

lt is better and more natural to
develop via 7. ;,;,-d, which does not
weaken the d3 square.
7. ... �d 6 8. tile2 j_g4 9. 0-0 �d3 1 1. .. . i!Wf3+ ! !
JO.l:Ie1 .�c5+ 1 1. <e+,;>fl? ? Don't make such a surprised face,
This is certainly an oversight of dear reader, you may also play such a
mate, and how pretty it is' Anyvvay, move yet I All it takes is brains and a
the better 11 Wh1 j.J'2 12. ;oi(c2 ·�a6 combinative ability.
13. h3 h51 1 2. gxf3 ..th3 mate.

Eliascheff-Amateur promising attack m return for the
Paris 1948 sacrificed piece.
1 0. � c4 �e8
I. f4 e5 2. fxe5 d6 3. exd6 �xd6 4.
t,;\fJ g5 5. d4 g4 6. ti1g5 f5 7. e4
-�-e7?!
1 1 . 'i¥h 6 +
Naturally, 1 1 . ;;h.h6+ would also
lead to mate.
The fate of White's g5 knight is 1 1 . .. tiJxh6 1 2. },kxh6 mate.
.
seemingly sealed, but the experienced

reader, who has had the pleasure of
seeing the previous two mating
schemes, apparently expects the move
that follows.
8. �h3 gxh3?!
8. .. . fxe4 9. •2J2 :';\,f6 10. c�,c4
would favour White, because he can
jurably prevent Black from castling.
Still, this was the game presenting
1tself to Black.
�- 1Wh5+ 'lt>f8??
-
Overlooking the mating scheme almost An advice to Black from Boccaccio:
ridden to death by this time. However, "My dear girl, if you hate so much the
dl:er 9.· . . �'d7 10. 'Yfxf5+ �Je8 11. hateful ones as you say, then don't
�h5+ o;;ljd7 n 'YUxh3+ �;es 13. 'i¥h5+ look into the mirror so you can live a
.ild7 14. kc4 <';\f6 15. �f3 White peaceful lite." About the same holds
.vould have three pawns and a true of images in a mirror, too .

Amateur-Nersow 10. . . tild3+!
.
Berlin 1940
I. c4 e5 2. tilf3 e4 3. 0�d4 0.Jc6 4.

ti:lc2 tilf6 5. �c3 St.c5 6. a3 a5 7. g3 ·
0'1e5 8. b3?
A lemon. deserving a bad mark on
assessment of the position Although
White stood worse, this error is going to
prove fatal, as Black's development
advantage can no longer be
conpensated.
1 1 . exd3 exf3
Those bally realities again! Accord
ing to human calculation, White
should lose his queen, but he refuses
to resign himself to this.
1 2. �c2? f2+ 13. �fl �.h3 mate.
8. . . d5!! 9. cxd5
.
Nor is 9. d4 of any help because of

9 .... exd3 1 0. exd3 '* e7!.
9 • ... :�.g4 I 0. f3
Now that we have seen these neat

checkmates, I was wondering about
how it feels to receive them. The
answer was given by Socrates: "Death
is a torment, but one which puts an end
to torment as welL"

Canal-Amateu r 11. axb4! 'ifxa l+ 12. �d2 �xh 1
France 1934 Nor is 12 . <2:1e5 of any use, because
. . .
after 13. kxeS 'iYxhl 14. �xt7 (;�e7

There is a kind and pretty mating 1 5 . '{Wxe6+1 l:id7 16 �g4 J:hd8 1 7.
. •
motif which first appeared on the sky �d 6

of chess-playing in 1 86 0, and, oddly
enough, was overlooked in the 1 930s
as much as three times. N ow this is
what we are about to imprint on the
reader' s mind.
I. e4 d5 2. exd5 'if'xd5 3. 0J c3 't!ka5
4. d4 c6 5. 0Jf3 �g4 6. �f4 e6 7. h3
:�. xf3 8. �xf3 �b4 9. �e2 0Jd7 1 0.
a3 0-0-0??
Up till this point nothing interesting
has happened in the game of
Scandinavian Defence, but now hell is
there is no defence to mate.
breaking loose. By the way, after 1 0 .
13. 't!Vxc6+!! bxc6 1 4. �a6 mate .
. . . ke7 11. 0-0- 0 0'Jgf6 Black would
have had a fairly g ood g ame. In the
psychology of chess this over sight also
seem s to have a part, because it has
been several times overlooked already.
Nice, isn't it?
A Clear lmag e in a Mirror 53

Sch ulder-Boden M odestly, Black would like to win
London 1 860 merely a piece, but W hite does not see
the real threat .
W e r eturn to the origin of the mat 1 4 ..t xd5?
•
i ng motif just seen. Str angely enough, Com e what may !

it had popped up as the unexpected
punch line of a very weak game.
1. e4 e5 2. t;Jo d6 3. c3? !
Putting player s with Black i n the
mood for the otherw i se not too
presentable Philidor D efence.
3. f5 4. .t c4 tl:Jf6 5. d4 fxe4 6.
..•
dxe5 exf3 7. exf6 'ir'xf6 8. gxf3 tl:Jc6

9. f4 kd7 10 . .te3 0-0-0 ll. tl:Jd2
kle8 12 . 'i!ko .tr 5 1 3. 0-0-0??
1 4 . ... li' xc3+ ! ! 1 5. bxc3 .t a3 mate.
In the open i ng White fell into a bad

position, but with his last move he has
proved his own poverty.
13 . d5!
... What am I to say? It' s unpleasant.
54 A Clear Image in a M irror

Tau be-Finotti of immediate mate, yet the male he
H amburg 1939 does is the very; mate he has
overlook
not overlooked. After 13 . ·�b4 14.
. . .
Now once again the previous motif �xa7 .ikd6 Black would have got off
ft>llows, only this time it "stutters". with a mere pawn-deficit.
I. e4 e5 2. ti:lfJ tl:lf6 3. ti:l xe5 d6 4 .
ti\fJ ti:\ xe4 5. 't!Ye2 't!Ye7 6. d3 tt'lf6 7.
,il.g5 j, e6 8. 0:Jc3 ti'l bd7 9. d4 d5 1 0.
0- 0- 0 c6 1 1 . \t> b l h6?! 1 2. �f4 0- 0-0?
An oversight of a pawn, which is the
result of the mating motif already
known to the reader.
1 3. � a6! !
14. � xc6+ bxc6 1 5. �a6 mate.
13 . •.. ti:\h5??
Maybe I a m not overstating things i f I
describe Black's move as a fatal over
sight. The reason why it cannot be
understood is that he saw that he To a new-born baby every joke 1s
could not take the white queen in view new.

Romanovsky-Zou barev 14 • .•• 't!k xc3+! !
Soviet U n ion 1930
I. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. 0Jc3 dxe4 4. 0J xe4

0\f6 5. t,":� xf6+ gxf6 6. tt'lt3 .tg4 7 .
.te3 e6 8 t c4 i. d6 9. 't!V e2 'it' a5+ 10.
• •
c3 0\ d 7 1 1 . 0-0-0 0-0-0 1 2 . h3 i.h5 1 3.

g4 i.g 6
Hitherto we have seen a very boring
game, but now a problem-like position
arose. The task is: White is to play and
be mated in two moves. The easiest
way for the reader to find the solution
is to put the question to (her)himself: 1 5. bxc3 .il. a3 mate.
what would I play in this position?
/. ·Ji
' i -� � /j. /"'';
ii..'i.t%;
kB -« 8
8 Jt tLJ 8--
88 .. 'i¥8
-
<J;Jtr
In the future the reader will have a
14. CJ\d2?? fair chance of not overlooking the
typical mates just seen, in fact, even of
*E I possibly administering them. But a
'' ,.. i i thing you should by all means take

into consideration is that the bishop
i.tii.t mates so far seen were characterized
by a fJelfecl
unohservance q( materi
j;_� 8 al equality By this I mean that he who
8 � does not keep weighing mate1ial, can
88 tz:J i¥8 notice a queen sacrifice more easily.
�g

Aaltio-Pi ukker .txb6 mate.
G ausdal 1974
ln one kind of mates the winner is

even ready to undertake considerable
material sacrifices, he is for long
preparing for it, does administer it,
and, perhaps, never realizes that what
he actually did was just bluffing. Now
we are about to see mates like this.
I. e4 e5 2 . ti:\f3 ti:\c6 3. �b 5 f5 4. d4
f xe4 5. ti:\ xe5 ti:\x e5 6. dxe5 c6 7 .
•� e2? This is certainly unpleasant . The finish
Who would believe that here White show s a ghostlike resemblance to the
is already pondering over mate? The situation written in a novel by Jeno
common move is 7. ti:\c3!? cxb5 8. Rejto, entitled Dirty Fred, the Captain,
:�{Je4, with enorm ous complications. the last sentence of which has since then
7 . ... 't!Va5+ 8. �d2 'YW xeS 9 .tc3 • become a household word. The story
't!V e7 10 . .thS+ 'l!ld8 1 1 . 'i!:V d4 ti:\f6?? told in a nutshell is as follows: the hero
This is what White was waiting for of the book, Flap-eared Jimmy, is
like a spider in its web. After the simple working as a steward on board the
1 1 . . . . 'il'"g5! 1 2 . g4 'I!Wcl+ 1 3 . %Yd 1 luxury steamer Honolulu-Star under the
'!il'xdl+ 1 4 . �d1 0Jf6, however, in pseudonym Jose Pombio, and in one of
case of a mutually correct play, he the harbours he comes to high words
would have been beaten into fits. with a Malay built like an ape who, to
the greatest delight of the passengers, is
demonstrating the holds of the Japanese
jiu-jitsu wrestling to the sailors. After a
chivalrous battle of words, the Malay
calls upon Flap-eared Jimmy to hit him
Being interested in self-defence of jiu
jitsu kind, Jim.my does as requested. The
Malay, after recovering from the conse
quences of the dreadful slap, complains:
"Ain't no fair! You is left-handed. I
waited blow from the right ."
Jose shrugged.
"One can't station a traffi c cop to
12. �aS+ b6 13. 'iVxb6+! axb6 14. every slap."
Beautiful But Not True 57

Baldursson-Sveinsson 9 . i.xd3??
Reykj avik 1982 Of course, losing outright An
anthropomorphous chess player (i.e, one
I. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 e4 4. c4? ! who is capable of calculating two or
Giving too much of a chance t o Black three moves ahead) would not have
who can now take the squares d4 and d3 taken the queen, and thus would have hit
upon the continuation 9. �a4+1 .lid7
under control.
1 0. 'i¥xb4 'i:Wxfl+ 1 1 . r!xfl i.xb4 1 2.
4. ... c6 5. 0Jc3 tt'lf6 6. dxc6 tt'l xc6 7.
<'2lf2 0-0 l3. b3 �"-f5 1 4 ib2 I:lad8 15.
. •
g3 t2Jb4 8. tt:\h3?!
0-0-0 llhe8, where, in spite of White's
extra pawn, the position is characterized
by a dynamic equilibrium, and yet it is
Black who fights for the draw .
9 . . .. i2J xd3+ 1 0. \t>e2 F\it.g4+ U. We3??
After 1 1. <M1 kxh3+ 1 2 . �e2 �g4+
White loses a piece.
1 1 . .. . i.c5 mate.
'8 . . . . 'YW d3!
The king l oafing in the mi ddle is a

bad omen, as a lot of us, and even
world-class players, can witness.
58 Beautiful But Not True

Schnitzer-Aiexandre 13.-tci, winning the queen?
P aris 1 879
I. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3! ? dxc3 4 .

.W. c4! ? cxb2 5 . ..txb2 'ii' g 5?
In Danish Gambit this is practically
the only serious possibility tor Black
to blunder. 5 . d 5 or 5 . . .. d6 are
equally good .
6 . tl:JfJ! 'iV xg2 7 . .txfi+ ! ? 'iil d8 8.
T!gl -�� b4+. 9 .. 0:\cJ � h3 I 0. l:r g3
'tit' h6 1 1 . 't!V b3 .txc3+ 1 2. 'it'xc3 0:\f6
1 3 . ... hxg6??
Overlooking fool' s mate. Aft er 13 .
.. . '1!1¥xg 6 14. �� xg 6 hxg6 1 5 . 0e5 llh4
1 6 . f3 it is decidedly White who has
the initiative, yet it is a far cry from
mate.
1 4. 'it'xf6!+ gxf6 1 5 . .txf6 mate.
1 3.U g6?
It happens almost with a maddening
frequency that once a player attains a
won position, he makes an extremely
stupid move, with which he squanders
all his hard-g otten attainment s, and by
doing so, confuses his opponent to
such an extent t hat he plays something
immediately losing. Let the reader put A queen sacrifice, a neat mat e, an
his hand on his heart and confess:: oaf of a reader, a brilliant aut hor.
would it not h av e been better to play What else do you want?
Beautiful But Not True 59

As hley-Tolit
Birmingham 1 923
l . e4 e5 2. tL\13 CDc6 3 . .tc4 .tc5 4. d3

d6 5. o-o tt:1f6 6 .tg5 h6 7. �h4 g5 s.
•
.tg3 h5 9. tt:1xg5 h4 1 0. CDxfi hxg3
1 5 . hxg3 �h 1 mate.
1 1. CDxd8??
I must admit, I am at a loss. I think
that after 1 1 . i.'2lxh8 ! kxf2+ 1 2 . �h 1
�g4 1 2 . 'i!'d2 i.'2lh5 1 3 . kt xf2 gxf2 1 4 .
�xf2 white' s win cannot b e doubted,
yet the diagrammed position had been
undertaken with Black by such
excellent chess players .as Steinitz, D ubois-Steinitz, Londo n 1862.
Chigorin (you may hav e heard about 1 3 . ... CDe2+ 1 4. Wh1 k!xh3+ 1 5.
them already), or, weaker than them, gxh3 .tn mate.
Kurt Ri chter, who was German
Champion in 193 5 and was considered
an expert theorist. It is a pity that in
the critical position their o pponents
had also captured the queen, so there
is no way of knowing what they had
planned on the move recommended by
me, 1 1 . 0'lxh8 ! . It must have been
either a bluff or a deliberate
assumption of risk on their part.
1 1. .tg4 12. �d2 CDd4 13. h3
•.•
Or 13. CDc3 0::\D+!! 14. gxf3 gxD

Amateur-T eichmann Or 12. i/.d2 �xd5 1 3 . il.d3 '!Wxg2 1 4 .
Germany 1 990 il.xb4 il.g4+, and Black remains with
a decisive material advantage.
I. e4 e5 2. f4 dS 3. exd5 e4 4. 12 . 'it'xd5+ 13. il.d3
•.•
tl:Jc3 tL'lf6 5. 'ti'e2 .td6 6. d3 0-0 7.

dxe4 tL'lxe4? ! 8. tL'lxe4 l!C e8 9. 'JJ d 1
,�fS
13 • •.. il.xd3 1 4. 'iYxdS ,�e2 mate.
1 0. tL'lf6+?
This is certainly a perfect misin
terpretation of the position. It is
probable that the thought of the self
evident queen sacrifice with 1 0.
0.xd6 ! has not even occu red to White,
after which 10 . . . J:\xe2 1 1 . 0"Jxf5 ::tt2
.
1 2 . .;oRd3 k'!xg2 1 3 . £2je3 l::\f2 1 4 . tl"Je2

follows, with good winning chances
for him.
10 • •..gxf6 1 1 . 'tWhS ? ?
So this i s what the whole fi.t ss was Do not forget Thomas M ann ' s
about. It ' s a pity, as it loses the queen . words: " . . . what is not interesti ng is
1 1. ... ,� b4! ! l2.tL'lf3 always a bit uncanny . "
B eautiful But Not True 61

Amateur-Berkowitz the h8 rook on the head.
New Y ork 1 962
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. e4
tlJ c6 5. f4 tlJxeS? 6. fxe5 �h4+ 7 .
�d2 �xe4 8 . ..t d 3 'it'xg2+ 9 . tl.J e2
..t b4+ 1 0. '>t> c2 � d 7 1 1 . �g1 �h3
1 2. 1W xg7 0-0-0
Black stakes everything on one card,
and gains a glorious victory.
1 3. 'ikxh8??
The patzer syndrome. He does not
see Black's threat, and, to make a
comparison taken from a card-game 13 . ... 'it'xd3+! 1 4. �xd3 ..trs mate.
called Black Jack or, if you prefer,
from the Hungarian card-game called
Twenty-one, he is asking for a card on
twenty. It is easy to see that after the
primitive 1 3 . 8f4
Bear in mind: a deliberate

assumption of risk is often merely a
bluff Especially in cases when the
undertaking of material disadvanta
ge is just�fied· only �� the opponent
seriously blunders. Whatever the
White wins in all variations, because on result should be, it does not alter the
the following move he can safely conk fact of the bluff itself.

W elch-Amateur 'ti'a5+ 7. cJ tl:J g8 8 . ..t e3 ! e6? ! 9.
London 1 940 tl:Jd2 tl:Je7 ? ? 1 0. �c4 'it'dS 1 1 . tiJ d6+
Wd8
There are many things I have already
talked about in connection with bishop
mates, but upon the evidence that we
may call "the strength of the bishop" I
have not yet dwelt in a direct manner. A
bishop may be a very active piece, but,
paradoxically, when mating, it may be
just as little active as when it is still
standing in its initial position. Bishop
mates, and all other mates too, are
merely the consequences of some series
of events. It may be that at the moment
of giving mate, a bishop. which in an 12. 'Yi' b6+! axb6 13. j>,xb6 mate.
ideal case can simultaneously control or
attack 13 squares, attacks only three, but
one of these is occupied by the enemy
king. In view of the above-mentioned,
we must make a distinction between an
active bishop and a strong bishop. An
active bishop controls many squares; a
strong bishop is, tor example, just giving
mate, but it can occur that even in the
moment betore giving mate it was not
active. Why did I write this? Because
chess players, especially when they are
This is w ha t I was talking about When
atta ck ed (at such times they see less
viewing the previous diagram, we saw a
anyway than when they are the attacking
moderately active bishop. Only now, aft er
party), are inclined to watch out for the
the mate beginning with a queen sacrifice,
active bishop of their opponent, while
does it tum o ut how strong piece it
the threats (!f the more passive, but for
actually was. Then it looked as if the d4
them more dangerous, bishop they tend queen was only narrowing down the range
to entirely disregardfrom time to time. ofthe e3 bishop, although what it did by its
1 . e4 c5 2. tiJf3 tiJc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. standing aside (12. 'lib6+!), was only
�xd4 0:\x d 4 5. 't!Vx d 4 0:\f6 ? 6. e5 proving its strength.

Z uckertort-Anderssen that he makes a losing move.
Breslau 1 865
The encounter promises to be an

interesting one, and the scene is not
accidental, either. Anderssen, whom
,>Jith some exaggeration we may esteem
as a combinative genius, had taught
mathematics in Breslau, and Zukertort,
Polish by origin, had also been studying
in this town. He went regularly to the
chess school founded by Andersen, and
the combinative style of his trainer made
a deep impression on him, and remained
a constant source of inspiratrion during 8. tLi xf7 ! �xf7 9 . .kc4+ We7?
We often gaze in wonder when a
his whole chess career, contributing to
world-class player makes such a big
no little extent to his subsequent mistake in the early stage of the opening.
successes. The following game, which This can be accounted for by the fact
he played at 23 against his 47 years old that - apart from the late Petrosian, who
master. may as well serve as an evidence was unequalled in this respect - every
of the fact that he had been listening chess player, including even the
attentively in training sessions, and that strongest, plays a lot more weakly when
respect of authority in tournament chess under attack than in the reverse case. 1 0.
was not at all characteristic of him. 'it'e8' 1 0. �5 �f6 1 1 . t't exd4 12.
. . .
Anyway, this is one of the chief merits of f5 0Je5 13. fxg6 .kg4! 14. kf7+ '<1iJe7
was necessary, with mutual chances.
a real chess player, without which he
might as well not sit down to play. He 1 0. �h5 l!Ye8?? 1 1. �g5+ ! hxg5 1 2.
can respect his opponent as a man, even �� xg5 mate.
more as a chess player, but at the chess
board this re.\]Ject must at once cease to
exist.
1. e4 e5 2. tL\f3 tl:\c6 3 . .t b5
White is taking his task seriously,
and instead of the fashionable gambits
of the time he plays a Ruy Lopez.
3 . .. tLige7 4. c3 d6 5. d4 �d7 6. 0-0
.
tL\g6 7. ti:lg5 h6
He walks into the piece sacrifice of
his disciple, and then gets so confused
64 The Strength of the Bishop

Maass-T errazas
El Paso 1 973
I. e4 c6 2. d4 d6 3. �fJ ..t g4 4. � c3
0\ d7 5 . .1t.c4 e5 6. dxe5 �xe5?
The answer is that simple. Black is

under the simultaneous threat of mate
and �gS+, winning the queen.
9 . .. 'ika5??
.
Overlooking two-move mate. After

9. . . . dxeS 1 0. �gS+ �e8 1 1 . kxd8
7 . � xe5! ! l:Ixd8 1 2 . J:lxdl l:Ixg8 1 3 . We2 Black
Let's be fair-minded: this was easy could have "got off' with a pawn
to overlook, for the simple reason that deficit and a lost position.
Black's pawn stands on c6, so there 10. kg5+ �e8 1 1 . .tf7 mate.
was no fear of a "Legal's mate" via 7 .
... .:txdl 8. kxt7+ �e7 9. i.';ijdS.
7 . ... kxd l 8 . .txf7+ <tle7
Although the number of the Won

ders of the World is Seven, I took
such a fancy to White's point with 9 .
The tactically untrained reader kxg8 that now I arbitrarily declare it
may now rightly ask: if there is not the Eighth Wonder of the World.
mate, then what's to be done next? You will at most say that it's
9. kxg8 ! ! applesauce.

A mateur-Dieme r 3. exd5 e4 4. 'ike2 'ife7 5. t2Jd4 '1!ie5
Correspondence game 1 978 6. tl:Jb3?!.f5! 7. d3 tl:Jf6 8. dx e4 fx e4
9. f3 .td6 1 0. fxe4 .tg4 1 1 . 'i¥ b5+
1 . e 4 e 5 2. tl:JfJ d5?! tl:Jbd7 1 2. 'ikx b7? tl:Jxe4 1 3. '1!ixa8+
The Bartos Counter-Gambit. (Geza It was already all the same, since
Maroczy, in his Manual of Modern after 1 3 . .te2 0-0 14 . .te3 .txe2 1 5 .
Chess, for lack of anything better 'iit>x e 2 '*'h5+ 1 6. <;t>d3 CZJe5+ 1 7. <;t>d4
refers to it as "Queen Forward c5+! ! White receives mate in at most
Counter-Gambit", and warns the five moves.
reader against it, just as I do.) The 13 • .•• <;t>n 1 4. 'i¥x h8
origin of the name B artos Counter
Gambit dates back some 25 years
ago. In those days, for years on end,
every day from 3 to 9 o'clock in the
afternoon, myself and my friends used
to play blitz chess in the Coffee-house
"Belvarosi" with all kinds of repulsive
looking strangers from whom we
mostly won their money and then
mocked at them. Playing there was
Mihaly Bartos, the "Professor", a man
who enjoyed a legendary respect
among us, and who, despite being well 1 4 . ... �g3+ 1 5. hx g3 .txg3 mate.
on in years, constantly played the
move 2. . . . d5? ! with a youthful
ardour; and with such an exceptional
combinative ability was he endowed
that he won a great number of games
with it. Among those he was
"instructing" in Bartos Counter
Gambit (for a stake of one forint)
were such master minds as myself or
Gabor Knisch. He was known not only
as an excellent chess player, but also
as a composer of evergreen song-hits. White is left with no fewer material
And now, after this brief nostalgic advantage than a queen, two rooks and
digression, let's see how the game a pawn up. But all this is insufficient
continued. against the strength qfthe g3 bishop.

Belle-Gamme cal that if White notices this, then his
C orr espondence game 1 995 Dostoyevskian sense of justice should
respond with mate.
I. e4 e5 2. ti:J f3 ti:J f6 3. tl:'lc3 tl:'lc6 4.

d4 exd4 5. tl:'ld5 tl:'lxe4 6. i.c4 tl:'lc5
7 . j.g5
1 0. tl:'l f6+! gxf6 1 1 . 'i¥xf7+ tl:Jxf7 12.

�xf7 mate.
7 • tl:'l e7 ? ?
•••
A losing move, after which mate can

only be parried with a queen sacrifice. 7 .
... f6 8. ?.:Jh4! hS! 9. Jl.e2 �! 10.

�hS+ �g8 was necessary, with baftling
complications for the reader.
8. tl:J e5! tl:'le6 9. 'i¥h5 tl:'lxg5
Those of you (no doubt, few in
number) who have read Dostoyev
sky's Crime and Punishment, and
understood its eternal teaching, will Black can safely quote Raskolnikov's
relatively easily admit that a sin, if words: "I have never yet seen as clearly
detected, is mostly followed by punish as now, and never understood less, why
ment. Black has committed the sin of it is a crime what I did." Yet aU Black did
overlooking mate, so it is only logi- was striking himselfdead.

Pere nyi-E perj esi Si:.a6! 1 5. �f3 Si:.xcS! Black has a
Budapest 1 975 good game.
13. tlJc6 't!Vc7
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. tlJcJ dxe4 4. Little did Black dream that instead
tD xe4 tiJd7 5. i. c4 tlJgf6 6. tlJg5 e6 of the long-range game he had
7. 'i¥ e2 tiJb6 8. i. dJ h6 9. tiJ5f3 c5 spiritually prepared himself for, he
10. dxc5 tiJbd7 1 1 . b4! ? b6 12. tl:\d4! receives mate in two moves.
I have it straight from White - who
was one of the few people I liked
(unfortunately he is already dead)- that
he invented this novelty on the morning
of the game, expressly for Black, who is
a good international master and is
possessed of an excellent sense of
position, but even in his heyday he was
capable of incredible oversights when his
king was under attack. And against so
cunning tricks like this he was
considered to be totally defenceless.
1 4. 't!Vxe6+ ! fxe6 15 .tg6 mate.

•
1 2 . ... bxc5??
Quite unsuspectingly, he overlooks
his queen. According to theory, after
12 .... ?:jdS! 13 �b2 0"Jxb4 14. ,;_�e4!?
. •

Raphael-Montgomery On 7. . �f7 8. 0:\gS+ the black
. .
USA 1856 queen cannot capture on g5, as the

f4 pawn recaptures with a check.
Astounding mates are always the 8. f xe5 .Jixf3 9. � g5+ W d 7 10.
consequences of so serious over e6+ �c6? ?
sights after which the mate that So far it i s only an oversight of
follows astounds the suffering side queen, but Black does not see the real
in the same manner as it does the threat He thinks that he is trading
reader. queens, which, if we have a look at
l. e4 c5 2. f4 e5? ! 3. CZJf3 ti:lc6 4. the final position, is true. Relatively
.Jic4 d6 5. d3 .Ji g4 6. 0-0 tZ:'id4? better was 1 1. ... Wc8 12. �d2 Ji..e7
13. Ji..xe7 'i¥xe7 14. gxf3 0::\xe6 15 .
.:lll.x
. e6 'i¥xe6, and Black has no
compensation for the pawn.
Not more than a simple oversight

of a pawn, but the process leading
to mate often begins like this.
7. �xfi+! l . Ji.. xd8 kxd l 12. ke8 mate.
7 ... We7 Hanged ifl ever dreamt of such a mate.
Astounding Mates 69
Fahndrich-Schlechter 9 . . tl:lb4! 1 0. 'Lla3 'LidS 1 1 . ..t ct
..
Vienna 1 903 .tb4+ I 2. �f2 e3+
When I write about astounding ma

tes, I don't necessarily mean the asto
unding nature of the final position.
More than once, it is the path leading
there that serves as the object of
bewilderment, or, at other times, the
last move of the loser, when he, in an
incomprehensible manner for
everyone - including the loser -
moves into the mate, though he
would have other choice as well.
Here is a game like this. Black is secretly hopeful of 13.
1 . d4 d5 2. e4? ! dxe4 3. f3 e5! ? 4. kxe3 tLl.xe3 14. 'Ot'xe3 .:kc5+ 15.
dxe5 ? ! 'ifxd l + 5. Wxdt tl:l c6 6. f4
�e4 f5+ 16. exf6 l::!he8 mate.
kg4+ 7. tl:Je2?! 0-0-0+ 8. �et
13. �g3?? .te1 mate.
tl:Jh6 9. keJ ?
A vast error, as thus one of the
black knights can drive away the
bishop with a tempo, and if then
Black comes to the pawn push e4-e3,
White will be very much repressed .
Such a blunder would be, perhaps,
exploited even by you, let alone
Schlechter, about whom I had already
drawn up some beautiful and noble
thoughts a couple ofpages ago.
And now something which is quite

beside the point - a confession you
have nothing to do with, and that's why
it is interesting. I am not particularly
fond of Jews, but if I hear someone
abusing them, I'd rather be a Jew, a
Czigany, an· Arab, a Palestinian, a
Negro, or a Slovak, despite the fact that
I was born a Hungarian.
70 Astounding Mates
M archand-Reiss What can I say t o this? Black does
New Y ork 1 954 not see too much. I 0. ... 'iVb6 was
called for, and after 1 1. .txd7+
I. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. ti:l cJ dxe4 4.
ti:Jxd7 12. tLlx£8 tLlx£8 1 3 . 0-0 White
t/) xe4 ti:lf6 5. ti:l xf6+ g xf6 6. ti:l e2 is "only" considerably better because
of the black king stuck in the middle,
e 5?
and his better pawn structure:
He is consistent in disfiguring
his own pawn position, which is
di sadvantageous in the event of an
endgame, whereas we know that he
will not get as far as that.
7 . .teJ exd4 8. 0J xd4 c5 9. A b5+
.td7
Let's see the game further.

1 1 . 'tii' h5+ � e7 1 2. i.xc5 m ate.
10. ttle6!
The most fitting words concern

ing the fine tact with which I did
not go so far as to mention idiocy in
connection with Black are, perhaps,
Moliere's: "To speak quite frankly
is, in many cases, ridiculous and
10. •.. fxe6? ? perhaps unpardonable as well .. . "
Astounding Mates 71
H eindrich sen-Metger
Berlin 1 896
1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. d4? ! exd4 4.
1i' xd4 dxe4 5. 1W xe4+ i. e7 6. tLl cJ
tlJf6 7. 'it'a4+?
White is jumping to and fro with
his queen, developing Black's pie
ces with tempi. Thus, instead of
gaining development advantage, he
is left behind in development.
7 . ... i.d7 8. 1i' b3 tt:lc6 9. 'it'xb7?? After this pretty digression, let
Let's admit that we have already the game follow again:
counted on something like this.
1 4 . ... tLlf2+
9• .•.tt:ib4 I 0. tD b5 kc6 1 1 . 'ii'x c7 White receives mate in all
tLlx c2+ 1 2. �f2 tLle4+ 13. �f3 variations, his only choice being: he
can ask it in one or two moves.
1 5. Wg3 kh4 mate.
13 .tDel + 1 4. �g4
•..
Or 14. We2 �d3+ 15. �e1

.:tb4+ 1 6. t2lC3 ..txc3+ 17. bxc3
'iVxc3+ 1 8 . Wd1 ..ta4+ 19. We2 The likeable little mazochist
kb5+ 20. Wd1 t2Jf2 mate: asked it in one.
72 Astounding Mates
H ahlboh m-Moorman 8 • tl.J e7 ? ?
•••
Ch icago 1 917 He did not notice that the death,

instead of swallowing, has merely
I.e4 e5 2. tl.Jf3 d6 3. d4 tl.Jd7 4. cleared its throat. After 8 .... 'il'e8!
t c4 h6 ? 5. dxe5 dxe5
•
it is Black who stands better.
9. 'i!t'f7+ �xe5 10 . .tf4+ �d4 1 1.

6 . .txf7+!
'ii' e6 ! tl.J c5
The beginning of a witty combina
Or 11 . .. . <J.?c5 12. .te3+ �b5
tion. The plan, at any rate, is ex
13. tt::lc3+ �b4 14. a3+ �a5 15. b4
cellent; at the cost of some material
mate.
sacrifice, he chases Black's king out
12. i.e3 mate.
to the middle, and then, if possible,
checkmates it.
6 . �xf7 7. tl.J xe5+ �f6 8. 'ii' d 5?
•••
Faulty. So far he has had a tight

grip on Black's throat, but now he
lets go of it. White's correct and
advantage-ensuring move was 8.
'il'd4!, upon which 8. ... c5 9.
CZJxd7++ �e7 10. 'i¥xc5+ Wxd7 1 1 .
'i'b5+ cJ:Je7 12. tt::lc3 would have
followed, with excellent attacking
chances for White.
Astounding Mates 73
Shaw-Whitney be joyful for White, but mate would
P ostal g am e 1949 have been avoidable after 9. g3
kxg3+ I 0. I:If2 '{i'h4 11. .te3 exf4
l . c4 e5 2 . tl:'lc3 tl:'lf6 3. e4 tl:'l c6 4. 12. 'i"d2 fxe3 13. 'i"xe3 tlJeS,
f4 d6 5. d3 it.. e 7 6 . .teJ? tl:'l g4 7. whereas Black's win is beyond
it.. d2?? doubt.
This loses. He ought to have
accepted the consequences of the
error committed on move 6 after 7.
'i"d2 tl:'lxe3 8. 'i"xe3 tl:'ld4.
9 . ... tl:'ld4+ 10. �e3 exf4+ 1 1.

�xd4 't!Vf6+ 12. Wd5 .te6 mate.
7 . .•. tl:'lxh2 ! ! 8. llxh2 .th4+
Don't be sorry for the white king,

you should rather stamp on your
mind, if you are able to, Gorki's
9 . �e2 words: "There would not be even
Nor would 9. :t:i:xh4 'ihh4+ 1 0 . God if there were no one willing to
We2 cL\d4+ 11. We3 '¥Vxf4 mate die for him, to the glory of him."
74 Astounding Mates
Knight Mates
Corel-Blake
USA 1963
"And I say to the parents, especially to the rich ones:

Don't give money to young people.
Give them, ifyou can, a horse."
Churchill
75
"I was a phenomenon even to myself, my son Tahtur; I knew
somewhat more of myself than others did, but I cannot even say
that it. was a lot more. In certain respect it was even less : for
example, as far as my looks are concerned, I am sure that I knew
less. But I have even dreamt about this, that is, about how ignorant
I am in this respect. I dreamt that a stranger-looking figure was
leaning out of some window, and this not too likeable figure has
turned out to be myself in my youth. ' Am I like this? ' I exclaimed.
' What do you mean? Didn 't you know that you are repulsive? '
somebody asks me.
' That I am repulsive to myself, this much I was aware, but that
to others, too? This disheartens me, ' I answered in a sad voice."
Milan Filst
76
Brooding Over Knight Mates
Knight mates given in the opening occur with a similar

frequency as bishop mates dealt with in the previous chapter. The
reason why this is odd is that in principle a knight mate is
easier to overlook. While a bishop moves in a manful, open and
honest manner only along squares of identical colour, the
extremely sneaky knight j umps in different directions, and often
behaves like a squint-eyed butcher : he does not bring his cleaver
down on the spot where he ' s looking at. The suffering party, for
example, guards against a check-queen, and recovers his wits only
after finding out that what the knight had had in mind from the
outset was a smothered mate with a queen sacrifice, which the
winner actually delivers. You should, therefore, be very careful if a
knight is lurking around your king, because the casual way it is
swaying its hips usually makes you think that it has j ust happened
to be passing that way, although enormous mates are inclined to
pop off in view of its presence. This is what this chapter is about.
Smothered Mates with Altern ate Colours
I have little to tell about them. They are mostly preceded by a
queen sacrifice, and the maj ority of them is typical.
Tales about Boltin g Kn ights
Since this is not the first time I introduce a new term with a
new definition into chess literature, I would do best to quote
myself as for what I mean by that : "Either a knight which gives
mate from some unusual place, or one which appears with the
speed of a supersonic aircraft, and decides the struggle in favour of
one of the sides."
Queen Sacrifices Tan tamoun t to an In vasion of Locusts
In this subchapter there are solely knight mates introduced with
a queen sacrifice. What they also have in common is that not more
77
than the debris of the king's position are left behind them, and the
final positions are magnificent.
When the Raging ofHuman Stupidity is Tamed into Mate
This is a subchapter abounding in splendid occurences; for the
most part, both of the parties blunder (sometimes even several
times), and the winning side is the one which makes the last but
one mistake. This is very interesting, and while regarding them I
sometimes felt as if I had got an insight into the pitch of human
stupidity.
78
The Fox and the Raven
There's a hunk of cheese in the fox's mouth,

the half of which he has already downed.
Perched on a lime-tree the raven is grim with hunger,
as he spots his fable-mate under.
He, too, at once starts racking his brain,
striving to outwit the old mate.
He plots and he plans and he schemes,
and this is what he finally concieves:
'If this hen-thief does not know Aesop's fable
then that bit of cheese is attainable.'
So he says, strangely croaking:
'Oh, fox, don't believe I'm just mocking.
Your red fur is nicer than a royal robe,
they strip it off before you might feel it a bore;
yet your respect is damaged by the sad deed
that your voice falters in the high C.'
To refute this insult the fox promptly gaped,
yelling out a horrowful scale.
Yet I must say that the cheese
has not dropped up the tree.
(by the poet J6zse.fRomhanyi)
Hey, folks! The moral of this poem is that although by means of

the same gambit, with which somebody had played the dirty on
you on a former occasion, you can attain the same occurence, it is
not sure that the result will be the same.
79
80
W itt-W ilke 8 • 'it'h4??
•••
Neureichenau 1 947 Overlooking smothered mate. One

can easily see that after 8.. . . l!i' e8+ 9.
With the term smothered mate we C:U eS+ c;t> h8 10. 'iWxcS C:Uxh 1
refer to such mates where the king of
the aggrieved party is prevented from
tleeing by his own pawns or pieces
(harmful chessmen). I have a great
mind to lie to you that a smothered
mate can only be given with a knight,
but as I myself have also given smoth
ered mate already with a pawn, and
what ' s more, my chess culture is of a
very high level, I refrain from telling
such a lie. It is a fact, however, that
typical smothered mates are given with
the knight, and so are the 96,5 percent
of all the smothered mates. Here are 1 1. �xf8+1 ·�xf8 12. i:21D+ c;t> g8 1 3 .
four of them. .(":Jh6++ 'Obh8 14. 0.'Jf7+ White is
l. e4 e5 2. d4 c5? ! 3. dxc5 �xc5 4. compelled to hold perpetual check.
ti'lf3 ti'lf6 5. �c4 0-0 6. tLlx e5 tLl xe4 9. t;'j h6 + + Wh8 1 0. 'iV g8+ ! � xg8 1 1 .
7. 'i:Yd5 tl:J xf2 8. tLl xf7 ti'lf7 mate.

Amateur-Grim m teur lies in that while the former thinks it
possible that his opponent will err, the
Constantinople 1 864
latter takes itfor granted. This is why I
sometimes grumble about the fact that
It may strike you and other the latter are annoyingly often justified.
incompetent persons as interesting that 1 1 . 813??
the typical mate just discussed had been Upon this the already known
known already 83 years before the strangled mate follows. The only
foregoing game, but according to the possible defence would have been 1 1.
evidence of the games I know, it had �e3 '1Wxh2+ 12. �fl 'tlfhl+ 13. �e2
already occured - though in a different �xg2 14. tl:k3 �xe3 15. �xe3 f5!,
form - as far back as 18 14, in the game with somewhat better chances for
Vavrak-Fiolek. Obviously, even that Black, in my authoritative opinion.
game has unrecorded forebears, but 1 1 . ... 'ikxfl+ 12. �h l 'iYgl+! 13.
these are, alas, unknown to us. t!xgl �fl mate.
1. e4 e5 2. 813 8c6 3. .tbS a6 4.
�a4 8f6 5. 0-0 �.c5 6. c3 �a7 7.
J:re1 tl:Jg4 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 8xd4!
I 0. 8xd4 't!Vh4
I don't know if you have ever given

a mate like this. I think it probable that
you haven't. 1 have, once, but it may
have been the last, too. At any rate,
the more progress we are making in
With his witty piece sacrifice Black has
this masterpiece, the greater number
scared White stiff Both the masters and
of mating schemes you will keep in
the hasardeurs of chess are well aware
that two pawns and a further attack are mind, and, presumably, it will be of
mostly sufficient compensation for a more use to you than it is to the wind,
piece. The only difference between the which can only turn over the pages,
master player and the adventurous ama- but cannot read.
82 Smothered Mates with Alternate Colours

Bird-Amateur 13. 'i¥e8+ !
L ondon 1 869
I. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. tl:Jf3 g5 4. d4?!

g4 5. tl:J e5 't!k h4+ 6 . g3? ?
I guess I am not revealing a secret
when I point out the fact that here
somebody has gone off his rocker.
6 . ... fxg3 7. li'xg 4
13 . ... �xe8
Or 1 3. <i:1xe8 14. {ijf7 mate.
. . .
1 4. tl:J f7 mate.
7 . .. . g2+ 8 . 't!Vxh4 gxhl 'i¥ 9 . tLlc3 �e7

10. l!kh5 tl:Jc6??
Either the self-conceit of a layman, or he
fails to see White's threat. Neither can be
acc epted as an excuse, as all he ought to
have seen was that after lO. . . tLlffi 1 1.
.
�xf7+ � d8 he remains a rook up.

1 1 . tLlxf7 tLlf6 1 2. tl'l d6++ �d8 Although a mirror serves the aim that
while you are taking delight in the sight of
your unattractive fuce, you can be
possessed by a false feeling of
omnipotence, the image in a mirror, which
I am so fond of, serves quite diffr e ent
purposes: learning and edification, if you
know what I mean. Since from one of the
preceding chapters it twned out that "what
we see is like a dim image in a mirror",
now, by a clear image in a mirror, let us
see fuce to face. Do, therefore, gaze at the
following page, and listen.

Samsonov-Nesm etdinov 1 0 . ... j,xg2 1 1 . .te2??
Kazakhstan 1 929 Overlooking the typical mate by this
time almost ridden to death. The given
1 . e4 e5 2. tlJc3 tlJf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 continuation I 1 . �xg2 i!Wh4+ I 2 .
tlJxe4 5. tL\fJ j.b4 6. 'ike2?! �xc3 7. �e2 l!i'f2+ 1 3 . �d 1 0-0 14. �xe4
bxc3 �g4! 8. 'ikb5+ ? ! dxe4 1 5 . :tle 1 �f3 + would have led to
The seemingly attractive 8 . ka3 ? perpetual check.
tLlc6 9. 0-0-0 tLlxe5 1 0. 'i¥b5+ c6 1 1 . 11. .•. 'i!Vh4+ 1 2. �d 1 tlJf2+ 13. �e1
0:\xeS? would rise from an entire mis tlJd3++ 1 4. �d 1
apprehension of the tactical potentia
lities of the position, because Black
would leave the white queen alone,
and after the simple I 1 . '!i'c7 ! ! he
would wipe the floor with White.
8 . ... c6 9. 'i¥xb7
1 4 . ... 'it'el +! 1 5. llxe1 tlJf2 mate.
9 . ... �xfJ 1 0. 'i¥xa8

Faulty would be I 0. gxf3 ?, because
after I 0 . . . . '?J#h4+ I I . �Jd I i.��\f2+ I 2 .
'�:Ve2 0\xb l 1 3 . �c8+ �!Vd8 I4. 'l4¥xd8+
�ifxd8 I 5 . :kg2 hJe8 Black remains
with a won endgame .
84 Smothered Mates with Alternate Colours

Morphy-Le Carpentier He opts for the quick and beautiful
New Orleans 1849 death.
13. t2::1x h8 mate.
If there is someone among the one
time greats of chess-playing over whom
it is worth going into raptures, then one
of them is surely the brilliant conductor
of the white pieces. All the same I don't
do it because I am of the opinion that a
game characteristic of a man tells more
about him than ten self-important
fatheads. All I do is drawing your
distracted attention to the fact that Mor
phy's knights had been particularly
inclined to "bolt", if the opponent had
allowed them to. Of this you can make
certain in the final position. Be frank, my reader, and since you are
1 . e4 e4 2. t2:Jf3 tDc6 3. d4 exd4 4. $..c4 by no means interested in lying, confess
..tb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. 0-0 cxb2 7. $.. xb2 that you have had an unique experience,
.trs? 8. e5 d6 9. klel dxe5 1 0. 0Jxe5 as you must have a sense of beauty if
�xd l you are turning over the leaves of this
+
book. An interesting data: at the time of
the game the brilliant American young
man was 1 2 years old !
Anyway, a word about bolting
knights. As this expression is not used in
chess, I tell you what I mean by it. Either
a knight which gives mate from some
unusual place, or one which appears
with the speed of a supersonic aircraft,
and decides the struggle in favour of one
of the sides.
Inasmuch as a lot of you live in
1 1. J�.xf7+ We7? ? marriage, here is a quotation from
This tiny favour was yet necessary, Chamfo rt : "In the matter of marri ages
as after 1 1 . . . .\i�?d8 1 2 . i':i:\xc6+ bxc6 the only honest thing is what is
1 3 . l::!xd l + \i..Je 7 1 4 .\tb3 1 (;:'lf6 1 5 .
. sensible, and the only interesting thing
,�;\c3 White would have have had is what is senseless. The rest is mean
"merely" an excell ent game in return self-seeking . "
for the sacrificed pawn. I a m loath to write a book t o mean
1 2. tl:lg6++ Wxf7 people, so do divorce.

Moren�Ingles
Postal game 198 1
t . e 4 e 5 2. tL'l f3 tL'lc6 3. i.c4 tL'lf6 4 .

tL'lg5 i.c5 5. tL'lxf7 i.xf2+
One of the variations of Traxler
Gambit, favouring Black. The interesting
thing about the opening .is that Within ten
years I had twice written about it a long
winded series of articles, which had, one
after the other, appeared in Hungarian,
English, French and Argentine chess
magazines. The second one had, I can 14 . .•. l::t f2 ! 1 5. gxh4 tL'lf3 mate.
say without boasting, created a
sensation. The reason for this was that
the manuscript I wrote first got lost
during a moving, and I, being too lazy to
procure the earlier journals, was
compelled to remusicalize, as it were,
the opening. And so it came about that
of variations I had previously considered
good I claimed that they were bad, and
vice-versa.
6 . \t>n 'ir'e7 7. tL'lxh8 d5! 8. 'i¥13
i.h4 9. i.b5 i.g4 1 0. 'ir'a3 tL'lxe4 1 1 .
'ir'xe7+ �xe7 12 . g3 !:rf8+ 13. �gl
We have been eye-witnesses to a
tL'ld4!
game perfectly demonstrating the
The bolting of the knight begins.
danger of the Traxler Gambit. A point
The move upsets White so much that
of interest, of which you may or may
he overlooks mate.
not have taken notice, is: I paired the
1 4. h3??
previous page with the present one in
The last possibility to flee was 14. such a manner that on each there
i2:Jc3 1 , after which 1 4 . . . . �"'.lxc3 1 5 . should stand a white knight on h8. I
dxc3 i2:Jxb5 1 6. gxh4 I:rxh8 follow, did it on behalf of you, hoping that
with complications somewhat more you would be able to make a
.
favourable for Black in view of his distinction between them, whereas
perilous minor pieces. they look just like twin brothers.
86 Tales About Bolting Knights

Potter-Matthews 1 2. tl:Jg6 ++ �f7 13. tl:Jxh8 mate.
London 1 86 8
I. e 4 e 5 2. d4 exd4 3. c 3 c5? 4. tl:Jf3

d6 5. �c4 tl:Jc6 6. 0-0 d3 7. l:Iel �g4
8. e5
To say· the truth, here Black ought
to have smelt a rat already, just as
some of you did.
8 . ... tLlxe5??
Well done, boys ' Considering that

even you may easily become the
passive party of a similar two or three
move combination, it does no harm if I
say some words about the psychology
of such oversights. The first of the
reasons is that almost beastlike
greediness by which nearly all of us
are overcome when a queen is
9. tl:J xe5! �xd l 1 0 . .tbS+ '!le7 1 1 . exposed to capture. At such occa
�g5+ f6? sions, in fact, even before them, you
Or 1 1 . �e6 12. i1Jc6+ Wf5 1 3 . should brood o ver things. The other
t:21xd8, and White emerges from the reason is that if a double check is
bargain with at least an extra piece. Also threatened, it should also be studied,
imposing would have been the because there are very few double
astounding 1 1 . f;�jf6? 1 2 . i1Jg6 mate.
. . . checks which do not win!

Foulger-Dij on rior position with a pawn deficit. The
France 1 994 Leninian question cropping up now is:
"What ' s to be done next, comrades?"
1. e4 tLlc6 2. d4 d5 3. tLlc3 e5? 7• •..t2lxd5?? !
Black is not a coward.
8. j.xd8 j,b4+ 9. �e2?
An error, because he lets go the
almost certain-looking win out of his
extremely sweating hands. After 9. c3 1
dxc3 1 0 . exdS cxb2+ 1 1. �e2 bxa J ilJ¥
1 2. i!i'xa l 8xd8 1 3 . i!i'xg7 there
would have been no mercy.
9• ••• tLlf4+ 1 0. �fJ 0-0 1 1 . kh4
kd6 1 2. g4 0.Je5+ 13. �g3 tLlh5+
1 4. g xh5? ?
A solemn moment : human stupidity
Already on move three he wants to
has itself crowned. 1 4. �h3 fz:"_if4+ I S .
confuse his opponent . As for how
successfully, I leave it to you to ®g3 0'Jh5+ was necessary, with
decide, though I doubt that you can do perpetual check .
it . If you succeed - "even a blind hen 1 4 . ... tl:JfJ+ 1 5. �g2
finds a cock" - so much the better. Leibniz was perfectly right, when
4. dxe5 d4 5. tLld5 f5 6. exf6 tLlxf6 7. saying (although he didn't know about
kg5 thi s game) : " . . . the present carries the
future in its womb . "
1 5 . ... 0.:lxh4 mate.
Black has fought his way to an infe-
88 Tales About Bolting Knights

Vallicella-Madaczky
USA 1 990
I. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. tl::l c3 dxe4 4.
0Jxe4 j_rs 5. t1Jg3 ..tg6 6. t;Jo h6?
This is now unnecessary and bad .
7. c4?
"Every Jack gets his Jill." The correct
se.quence would have been 7. t:c'Je5 .4�h 7
8. i!WD �f6 9. ·�3 �xd4 10. �xb7
'i!'xe5+ 1 1 . j>,e3 . . .
1 4. 'i!Nxh 7 ! !
Even more unpleasant than cyanide !
1 4 . ... tilxh7 1 5. 0Jxg7 mate .
. . . after which White wms almost

without resistance.
7• ... t1Jd7 8 ..lif4 e6 9 . .£i>.d3 .tb4+
•
10 . .td2 �xd3 1 1 . ��xb4 .£t.xc4 ? !

Public opinion holds that an invasion
1 2. t1Jh5 llh7 13. �c2 tl:Jgf6??
He' s a bit suspectless, 1 3 . . . . g6 was of losusts is generally a fairly long
necessary. It is, however, a damn good process. Apart from the fact that this
horse that never stumbles. He that has is not quite true, I might add that
never yet erred let first throw a stone essentially nothing is left over after it;
at him. see diagram.
Queen Sacrifices Tantamount to an Invasion of Locusts 89

Thom pson-Mackenzie Neither does 1 2 . �d2 help i n view
Eng land 1 868 of 1 2 . . . . 'i'e3+ 1 3 . Wc3 .:i.l.g7 14. e5
.1i.xe5+ 1 5 . Wc4 d5 mate:
In those days Steinitz had endea
voured to introduce a new approach
to chess, viz. that he does not castle
with his king, but starts to attack with
it already in an early stage of the
openmg . This he had sometimes
actually done in some variations of the
King ' s Gambit, and won a surprisingly
great number of the games balancing
on razor-edge. This style had gained
adherents too, and now we shall see a
reminiscence like this.
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. t2::\ f3 g 5 4. d4 g4 Let ' s see how the game went on:
5. tl:Je5? 'i¥h4+ 6. �d2 'i¥f2+ 7. 12 . ... .:i.l.g 7+ 13. e5 .txe5+ 1 4. �e4
�c3 tl:Jc6 8. a3 d6 9. tl:Jxc6 bxc6 10 . tlJf6 mate.
•td3 l:!b8 1 1 . 1:!0 ? ? 'i¥xd4+ ! !
After the invasion of locusts only

1 2. �xd4 the bare mate remains.
90 Queen Sacrifices Tantamount to an Invasion of Locusts

Saalbach-Pollmacher 1 1 . 'i¥e8+ ! !
Leipzig 1 86 1
I . e 4 c 5 2. tiJfJ e 6 3. ti.Jc3 ti.Je7 4 . d 4

f5 5 . d5 fxe4 6. ti.Jxe4 ti.Jxd5 7. ti.Je5!
g6??
If someone can ever give a check

like this, he can rightly say that he has
not lived in vain.
1 1. •..®xe8 1 2. ti.Jf6+ c..t>d 8 13. ti.Jfi
mate.
This error, in contradistinction to you,

passes my comprehension. Although
Black stands badly, after 7 . 'lilh4 he
. . .
could have yet put up a fight.

8. �fJ 'i¥c7 9. 'iffi+ 'it>d8 � 0 .,tg5+ •
ti.Je7
Upon this he receives a neat mate,
whilst I 0 . . Ji.e7 1 1 . illi¥g 7 loses a rook.
. .
What ' s the moral of the above game?

I do not know. At any rate, I have found
a splendid argument from Bergson (why
would the reader not philosophize?):
"The present contains nothing more than
the past, and what is found in the effect
was already in the cause."

Bohm-Hernandez Naturally, White does not overlook
Amsterdam 1 979 1 3 . '*'xg5 CZJe2 mate.
1 3 . ... 'iix g2+ ! !
Of displacing sacrifices almost every
one has heard already. To refresh our
memory, let us see an example.
1 . e4 e5 2. t!JO tiJc6 3. �b5 a6 4.
21�xc6 dxc6
The exchange variation of the Ruy
Lopez opening. In case of correct play
Black has nothing to fear.
5. 0-0 .�g4? ! 6. h3 h 5
· T h e reason Black can avail himself
of thi s possibility is that after 7 .
hxg4?? hxg4 White would b e mated.
7. d3 �f6 8. 2/,e3? CDe7 ? ! 1 4. 11kxg 2 ti'le2 mate.
Black ' s correct play was 8 kxf3 ,
. . . .
messing up White' s pawn structure.

However, he is playing for mate, and,
as we shall see, rightly.
9. tiJbd2 ti'lg6 10. hxg4?? hxg4 1 1 .
ti'lg5 CZJf4 12. 'i¥.xg4
For my many foregoing imperti

nences (whereas they were justifiable)
let me recompense you with a quota
tion from Thomas Mann : "We come
out of the dark and go into the dark
again, and in between lie the experien
12 • ... 'tlkxg 5 ! 1 3. 'tWO ces of our life."

Waii-Adams,W knowledge."
USA 19 76 10• ... t2:'lxh5?!
Overlooking two-move mate, but
Since this book deals with the art of after 1 0 . . g6 1 1 . �6 .ii�xh 1 1 2. 0Jxg6
. .
giving mate, l publish this game with l:re8 1 3 . tileS kb4+ 1 4 . c3 "VIi!e7 1 5 .
particular pleasure. I have already £1._"'1efl he loses the queen, which is also
emphasized it many times that the art not too joyful.
of giving mate consists of the
immediate and merciless exploitation
of the opponent ' s oversights. How
ever, there are oversights, the
exploitaiion of which is like a fairy-tale
or a chess problem. To notice and
exploit such errors is indeed an art,
and it justifies the title of this book.
1. d4 f5 2. tl:Jc3 ti:lf6 3. e3 e6 4 \li>. d3
. •
fi.. e 7 5. tl:Jf3 0-0 6. e4 fxe4 7. iilxe4

b6 8. tl:Jeg5?! fi.. b 7 9. tl:Je5 ��xg2?
1 1 . fi.. x h7+ '!lh8 12. tl:Jg6 mate.
1 0. �h5! !
Although once I have already warned
you that this is what you should learn Permit me to contradict Grimmels
and not how to steal, I now do it again, hausen: "Don't take a silk yam to what
because, according to a Hungarian you can emroider with a thread . "
proverb: "Repetition is the mother of I continue to work with a silk yarn.

Lewis-Dayton 9 . ... 'ti'xf'2+ 10. �h l
USA 19 42 Up to this point, nothing unexpected
has happened, but the real slap is yet
Finding a similarly beautiful game to come.
like the previous one was difficult for 10• ..• li'gl+! !
me, but I did my best, just in order to
force your rusty brains to think.
1 . e4 e5 2. t:Llf3 t:Llc6 3. kc4 t:Llf6 4.
0-0 t:Llxe4 5. k!e1?
The bungling begins . . .
5 . ... d5 6. i.b3 .tcs 7. d4 t:Llxd4 8.
t:Llxe5?
. . . it continues . . .
8• .•. 'tiff6 9 . kxd5? ?
And with this the game has
practically come to an end, whereas
White has obviously still no idea of
what the future holds for him, or else
he would not have played in this 1 1. \t>xgl
manner. Even up till now, his position On 1 1 . f!:xg 1 1 1 . . tLlf2 smothered
.
was far from resembling an arbour of mate is unpleasant .

roses, but with his last move he 1 1 . ... t:Lle2++ 12. \t>fl t:Ll4g3+ 13.
overlooked the otherwise pretty mate. hxg3 t:Llxg3 mate.

Casas-Piazzini 12. 't!Yxh7+ ! !
Buenos Aires 1 952
And now, for variety' s sake, we shall

discuss so unexpected queen sacrifices
t hat the reader will stand agape.
Amongst them there will be gross but
understandable oversights, and also ones
which can be best described as revelries
of stupidity. My last statement may
strike you - especially the oversensitive
- as rude, but on the one hand it is not
my politeness that I am famous for, and,
on the other, the objective minds will
concede that I am right 1 2 . ... <J;.Ixh7 13. hxg5+ <J;.Ig6 1 4. CiJe7
I. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. CiJc3 CiJf6 4. CiJf3 mate .
�.e7 5 . ..tg5 CiJbd7 6. e3 0-0 7. �c2
•
c5? ! 8. cxd5 CiJxd5 9. CiJxd5 �xg5

1 0. h 4 ! ? '{i'a5+??
Let us study the position objectively.
Was Black under the threat of
something monstrous? No, he wasn ' t !
But h e who seeks will find. With this
"ingenious" move of his, Black has
overlooked a piece, but since he fails to
see the real threat, he gets mated.
l l . b4 cxb4
The beastly b>reed with which White

gave the mate reminds me of the lines of
the great Hungarian poet Attila J6zsef
"With a pure heart - that ' s a job:
I may kill and I shall rob .
They ' ll catch me, hang me high
in blessed earth I shall lie,
and poisonous grass will start
to grow on my beautiful heart . "
Queen Sacrifices Tantamount to an Invasion o f Locusts 95

Oudheusden-De Vries 8 . ..• 'tWh4+ ! !
Amsterdam 1 934
The following game is already half

way between the understandable faults
and the human, in fact, chess player' s
stupidity. J t i s a n edificatory example
of how not to play with White, and the
finish, too, is decidedly beautiful.
1. e4 e5 2. tl:Jc3 t?:Jc6 3. f4 .tcs 4.
0:Jf3 d6 5. f5?
This is something he ought not to
have done. Its main defect is that
9 . tl:lxh4 �f2+ 1 0. <Jife2 tL'ld4+ 1 1 .
sooner or later Black executes a centre
�..ld3 tl:Jcs mate.
blast with d6-d5 , and upon this,
according to human calculation,
White' s position collapses. Good
would have been, however, the
customary 5. t2"Ja4 .
5. •..0:lf6 6. h3? dS! 7. tLlxeS tl'lxe4
8. ti'lf3
ln connection with the last two games I

propose that we disregard the blunders of
the losers. J repeatedly draw your attention
to the tact that the wi1mers, who obviously
do not abnormally re.\7JeCI material
equilibrium, sacrificed their queen at the
first given chance, and gave mate.

Baez-Gonzalez, V
Mexico City
I. t•4 e5 2. tl:Jc3 CZJf6 3. �c4 �c5 4.

cl3 0\c6 5. f4 d6 6. CZJfJ CZJg4 7. CZJgS
11-0 8. f5? ! CZJf2??
A big mistake, by which he lets
loose the white pieces on himself.
Afler the simple 8 . .t £2+ 9. ®fl
. . .
· ' \C3+ 1 0. �xe3 �xe3 it is Black who

is better, but thus White hammers the
stuffing out of him .
1 2 . ... fxg6 1 3. CZJe7++ 'i!lh8 1 4.
''· 't!VhS h6 10. CZJdS! CZJxh l
CZJxg6 mate.
Or 10 . . . . hxg5, whereupon after 1 1 .
,.;,..xg5 'i!'d7 12. CiJfb+ gxili 1 3 .txfD
.
Black receives mate with a noble

simpleness.
1 1 . f6 CZJd4
Nice, isn't it? It is not by chance that

urge the reader to study delicious
mating schemes like this rather than
going to burgle, breaking open cars, or
12. 'it'g6 ! ! trying to rob banks. My kindly advice
A move of rare beauty. It not only entails a twofold profit for you: you
renders mate inevitable, but makes the can satisfy your aesthetic claim, and
amusement ofthe reader complete as well. your windows will be devoid of bars.
Queen Sacrifices Ta ntamount to an Inva sion of Locusts 97

Corei-Biake 1 2. li.Je2??
U SA 1 963 A losing move, the only thing to be
done is to exploit it. Will Black succeed?
We have already seen many games 1 2 . .. v&'xfJ+ ! !
.
where the winning side chose the Sure h e does !

weaker continuation, whereupon he, due
to the opponent' s blunder, won outright.
As for whether this is a deliberate
assumption of risk or the result of a
weak play, one can only say in the
knowledge of the concrete position. But
as the above-described are the
consequences of an event taking place in
a head, often one cannot say it even in
the knowledge of the concrete position,
and this is what makes a callous-hearted
pro like me madder than a wet hen.
13. �xfJ 0:.'lh4 mate.
1 . e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3 ..tc4 d5 4. �xd5
•
�h4+ 5. �fl g5 6. g3 fxg3 7. \tlg2

..td6 8. h3 CiJe7 9. ti.JfJ v&'h5 1 0. li.Jc3
ti:Jg6 1 1 . d4 �f4? !
This is what I was just talking about.
Black' s correct play would have been
1 1 . . . . 0:.'lf4+ 1 2 . ��xf4 �xf4 1 3 . i2ie2 c6
1 3 . .:J/..b3 "1i'g6, but there is no way to
find out if Black set a sneaky trap with
the text, or simply made a weak
move.
98 Queen Sacri fi ces Tantamount to an Invasion of Locusts

Germ ann-Wagenheim is that you must aJso know how to take
Riga 1 897 chances.
I found a swell motif which had

been "committed" as many as two
times in the last century, with altemate
colours, in a different scene, and with
only two years between them, which,
at the level the stream of information
had been then, is almost a guarantee of
the fact that the combatants had not
known each other' s games.
I. e4 e5 2. ti:Jf3 0Jc6 3. �c4 �c5 4. d3
ti:Jf6 5. ti:Jc3 0-0 6. �g5 h6 7. h4?
1 0. ti:Jxe5! ti:Jxd 1
After 1 0 . . . . tiJxh l 1 1 . gxf7+ l:l xf7
1 2. �xf7+ \!lf8 1 3 . 'iVhS CLixe5 1 4 .
i!i'h8+ We7 1 5 . ti:J d5+ Black would
lose his queen.
1 1. gxf7+ llxf7 1 2. kxf7+ �f8 1 3.
l:Ih8+ �e7 1 4. CDd5+ �d6 1 5. ti:Jc4
mate.
Giving up a piece for nothing in the

hope of attack, but now we can at
least surmise that it is a deliberate
assumption of risk.
7• hxg5 8. hxg5 tl:Jg4 9. g6 ti:Jxfl??
.•.
He has taken the hook! After 9 . . . .

Jl.xf2+ 1 0. ®e2 �tO White would
have not much to expect, but the matter
Queen Sacrifi ces Tantamount to an Invasion of Locusts 99

Fucini-Oiivari 1 2. tt'lxd8?
Genova 1 895 Overlooking mate. The other alter
native would have been a lost
Here is the predtX:eSSOr of the previous endgame after 1 2 . tl:Jxh8 'i!Vh4 1 3 .
game I have a secondary evidence that the
.
'i!'h5+ �xh5 1 4 . i.f7+.
two fighters from Riga did not know this 12 • •.• gxf2+ 13. l:Ixf2 �xf2+ 1 4. Wfl
game because if they had known it, they
, l:'I h l + 1 5. We2 tt'ld4 mate.
quite simply wouldn't have gone into it, or
Black would have already earlier improved
on his play in the manner proposed by me.
1 . e4 e5 2. tt'lO tt'lc6 3. �c4 �c5 4.
0-0 tt'lf6 5. tt'lc3 d6 6. d3 .tg4 7. b3?!
This move is a puzzle to me. To those
who are interested in the reason of the
move and are believers in there being life
after death, I can suggest a relatively
simple method by which they can find
the answer. Let them jump off the 1 Oth
floor of some high building, and if they
don't survive, let them ask Fucini in
person. Those speaking Italian have an Before you would ponder with
advantage! comparative success over what was
7 . ... a6 8. h3 h5 9. hxg4 hxg4 10. happening in the two games just seen,
tt'lg5 g3 1 1 . tt'lxf7? try to solve one of Hegel' s paradoxes:
After 1 1 . .txt7+ �e7 12 . .te3 White "It is not the brick that strikes one dead,
would easily win, but, as I have already because this effect comes about merely
mentioned, "you must also know how to by way of the acceleration reached - i.e.
take chances". the quantitative relation of time and
1 1 . .. tt'lxe4 ! ! space -; so one is struck dead by time
and space." This peculiar way of
thinking is what you should learn.
1 00 Queen Sacrifices Tantamount to an Invasion of Locusts

Steinitz-Amateur by the next three diagrams.
Philadelphia 1 884
lt is difficult to write in but a few

words about the conductor of the white
pieces, who created so many admirable
games. It was he who not only took it
into his head that the king can be an
attacking piece even in an early stage of
the opening, but in a couple of sharp
games he had actually started moving
with it, when others preferred castling.
Later, with a praiseworthy self-
knowledge, he realized that it had been 1 1 . tLlxe5! ! �xd l 12. tLleg6+!
.mlely the weakness of his opponents to
which he had owed his former brilliant
wins, and it was then that he started to
establish his games positionally. In this he
had adherents as weU, in the person of his
disciple, Lasker, and the excellent
Tarrasch. All through his life he had
been wrestling with financial difficulties,
and finally, in 1 900, at the age of 64, he
died in a madhouse, which fate is
probably in store for all ofyou.
Now we shall view such a characte- 12 • ••• h xg6 1 3 F:\
• "LlXg 6 mate.
ristic game of his which he won with a
couple of light gestures of his wrist.
1. e4 e5 2. tLlc3 tLlc6 3. f4 exf4 4.
CZJfJ �b4 5. CZJd5 �as 6. CZJxf4 d6 7.
c3 .tb6 8. d4 �g4 9 . .\:i.b5 �f8
An inexplicable bloomer, but it ' s a
fact that it is indispensable to mate
receiving.
1 0. 0-0 tlJe5??
A losing move, but the admirable
manner it loses is nicely demonstrated
Queen Sacrifi ces Tantamount to an Invasion of Locusts 101

Gevorgian-Maiorov Every glass will hold only a certain
lsmail 1 973 amount of fluids; give one more drop,
and it will overflow. What we saw now
We are about to see a . game was this very drop. Surprisingly enough,
abounding in errors, but the final posi the queen sacrifice with 1 0. "i¥xe3 would
tion is beautiful, and I analyse the errors have still won after 1 0 . . . . t2ixc2+ 1 1 .
in detail, so the reader can learn from � t2ixe3+ 1 2 . he3 Ilg8 1 3 . t,1jxe5
them if (s)he wishes, or is able to. tih8 1 4. tt:Jfl tig8 1 5 . tiel .
1. e4 e5 2. t2if3 t2ic6 3. i.c4 t2if6 4. 10. - tLixgl+ l l . � 'ti'h3 12. tlJg5
tLigS d5 5. exd5 t2id4 ? ! 6. t2ic3 tLle3++ 13. �e1 't!Vtl+!
t2ixd5 7. t2ixf7 't!Vh4 8. d3?
After 8. ti::lx d5 White would win
unopposed, but one cannot notice
everything.
8 . ... .tg4 9. 'ti'd2?
9 . tLixdS ! ? i.xd l 1 0. t2ixc7+ �d7
1 1 . t2ixa8 tl:.\xc2+ 1 2 . �d l fi::lx a 1 1 3 .
.te3 "!Wg4+ 1 4 . �c l �xg2 1 5 . tid 1
.teS t 1 6 . ..txcS J::tx a8 1 7 . �b l would
have yet given White some winning
chances.
9 . ... tLieJ
1 4. tixfl t2ig2 mate.
1 0. Ab3??

HotTer-Amateur
London 1 9 1 3
I. e4 e 5 2 . CZJ f3 tl:'lc6 3 . .tc4 tl)f6 4.

t. ; \gS d5 5. exd5 tl:'la5 6 . .tb5+ c6 7.
cl xc6 bxc6 8. 'i!Vf3? !
M ore frequent and better is 8 . k e2 1
8 ... 'i¥b6 9. tl:lc3? .te7?
.
Black could have attained an edge

without any particular complications
after 9. . . . kg4 I 0. 'ii'g 3 cxbS 1 1 .
14 . . cxd5? 1 5. CZJf7 mate.
�l!fxeS+ k e7 1 2 . l!i'xbS+ 'i¥xb5 1 3 .
..
'
· . ; \xbS � c8 ! 1 4 . 0Jc3 h6 1 5 . (£jf3 '2l c6,
because there is no defence to the
t hreat of 1 6 . . . . ;�:.xfJ 1 7. gxfJ t2Jd4 .
1 0. d3 h6 1 1 . �.e3 'i!Vc7
Black's play is nicely illustrative of

your pitiful life. From your childhood
on, you have been piling mistakes upon
mistakes, and at the end Death the
Reaper comes for you. Still, don't lose
heart. Among you there may be one (the
1 2. tl:ld5! tiJxd5? 1 3. 'i!Vxf7+ �d8 odds are 1 0. 000 to 1 ) who ' s playing
1 4. 'i!Vxd5+! with white all his life.
Queen Sacri fi ces Tantamount to an Invasion of Locusts 1 03

Nippei-Brieger forest . Here is the final position of the
USA 1 953
1. d4 d5 2. c4 �f5 ? ! 3. tlJcJ e6 4.
tlJfJ tlJf6 5. 'ir'b3 ? ! tLlc6 6. 'i'kxb7??
tLlb4
With his beastlike greed White has
deceived himself He is under the
simultaneous threat of losing his queen
and his rook. What can one do at a
time like this? One is compelled to
make an error look as if it were a
virtue, and to attack.
7. tl:'lb5 tLlg4! 8. tLlxc7+ 'iix c7 ! ! 9 . ... tLlc2+ 1 0. Wd I tLlxf2+ 1 1 . �d2
..tb4 mate.
9 . 'ifxc7
Or 9. �xa8+ 'i!ld7 I 0 . .kg5 tl:'ld3+ I believe that Rollenhagen' s words fit
1 1 . exd3 .ii:.b 4+, and the white queen in well with this game: "He who likes
disappears like a track of game in a danger will perish by it."

Horowitz-Amateur 1 1 . 'i+'xg7+! ! �xg7 12 . .th6+ �g8
Los Angeles 1 940 13. Ug6+!
I. e4 e5 2. tlJc3 tlJc6 3 . .tc4 .tc5 4.

'i+'g4 '11¥f6
Black, who is quite suspectless, is
now in for a bit of surprise.
5. tlJd5! 'ifxfl+ 6. �d 1 �f8 7. tlJh3
'i¥d4 8. d3 .tb6 9. llfl tlJf6??
A losing move. 9. . . . CL1d8 was a
must, whereas I 0. t:2\g5 or I 0. 'iYg5
tlJe6 1 1 . 'iYh5 still gives good
attacking chances to White.
10. J:lxf6! d6
Nor does 1 0 . . . . gxf6 help, since 1 1 . 1 3 . ... hxg6 1 4. tlJf6 mate .
.t h6+ �e8 1 2 . �g7 d6 1 3 . '*'xh8+
Wd7 1 4 : t.i."Jxf6+ �e7 1 5 . .!ffl+ �d8
1 6 . kxd6 mate would follow:
Black is lucky that we do not know

his identity. As Racine wrote : "He that
is not known can hide away more
And now let ' s look at the game. easily. "
Queen Sacrifices Tantamount t o an Invasion of Locusts 105

Pospisii-Kiima 9 . tl:lbd2 was presumably better, beca
Bohemia 1 995 use thus Black checkmates the stuff
ing out of the hapless layman :
Saying goodbye to queen sacrifices 9. .•.i.fS+ 1 0. �b3
tantamount to an invasion of locusts,
now we take a look at a well-known
psychological motif White plays the
opening fairly well, probably attains a
better position, when he unexpectedly
makes such a stupid move that he gets
crushed like a caterpillar. From the
point of view of the reader this is
good, because he can draw a lesson at
the expense of others - I could
recommend this as a life philosophy,
too - and he can take pleasure in the
sight of pretty mating schemes as 10 • c4+! 1 1 . 'l!7xc4 .te6+ 1 2. <;t>b5
...
much as he pleases . t'td5+ 13. <;t>c4

1 . e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 'i!Vxd5 4. d4 1 4 . 'it'a4 l:i: aS mate. And now here
e5! ? 5. dxe5 ... xd l + 6. \t>xd l 0'\c6 7. is how the game continued:
tiJf3 ��g4 8 . .te2 0-0-0+ 9. �c2?? 13 . tt'la5 mate.
•••
I 06 Queen Sacrifices Tantamount to an Invasion of Locusts

Bachmann-Fiechtl the final result, I must point out that in
Regensburg 1 887 his better position White has made a
losing move. The right move was 1 1 .
Now I present to you an odd mixture, l::ie I , with initiative for White.
in almost every game of which both 1 1 . .. f6??
.
sides blunder, so you will guess many And this is the twin brother of it . It
moves. You may find this too small to is easy to realize that after the
be a real sense of achievement, but the thematic I I . . . ii. e6 Black would have
.
spectacle of the uncommon mates will won both material and the game, as
compensate you for everything. 1 2. l:I xe6 may be met by I 2 . . . . ti'Jd4.
I . e4 e5 2. t2Jf3 tZ::I c 6 3. �b5 t2Jf6 4. 1 2. d3 c6?? 13. 't!ixf6+! gxf6 14. �h6+
0-0 tZ::Ixe4 5. l::! e 1 tZ::I d 6 6. il:lxe5 ®g8 15. t2Jxf6 mate.
tZ::Ix e5?!
T h e correct move was 6 . . . . k e 7 .
7. l:rxe5+ ii.e7 8. tZ::Ic 3 tl'lxb5?
This was a brief sample of all that is

yet to follow. It will strike you as a bit
unusual that often both sides blunder,
9. t2Jd5! d6 but as far as the art of giving mate is
Nor does 9 . . . 0-0? help, as after I 0.
. concerned, this is of no real importance.
0xe7+ �h8 I I . 'ii:Vh S (threatening 1 2 . As I am roughly aware of your lack
'iVxh7+! Wxh 7 1 3 . lJh5, a typical mate.) of education, let us see what James
1 1 . . . . h6 I 2 . d3 �h7 l 3 . 'iWfS+ �h8 Joyce wrote (which is, alas, timely
( 1 3 . . . . g6 1 4 . llVf4, and there is no even today) :
defence to mate.) I 4 . �xh6 gxh6 1 5 . 'The artist, like the God of the creation,
'iltf6+ �h7 I 6. l::xh 5 Black gets mated remains within or behind or beyond or
within an inch of his lite. above his handiwork, invisible, refined
1 0. llxe7+ \!ff8 1 1 . ..,0? ? out of existence, indifferent, paring his
Although i t does not i n the least affect fingernails."
When Human Stupidity is Tamed into Mate 1 07

Morgan-Shipley mated, whereas at greater length: 1 2 .
USA 1 893 . . . 0::1c 5+ 1 3 . �d4 0::1xa4 1 4 . c;t>d3
'i¥f5+ 1 5 . �e2 'iVc2+ 1 6 . t.i:Jd2 Iie8+
1. e4 e5 2. 0::1c 3 tl'lc6 3. f4 exf4 4. d4 1 7. �f2 .i.c5+ 1 8 . W£3 .:tb7+ 1 9 .
1!t'h4+ 5. �e2 b6 6. 0:Jb5 0:Jf6?? �f4 'iWg6 1
Black is not a rabbit-hearted chap,
all he' s interested in is attack, not
caring a damn about his rook. This
should, of course, result in a loss, but
by now we have got so much
accustomed to opposite results, that
this trifle will surely not disturb us.
7. 0::1f3 1!t'g4 8. 0::1 x c7+ 'i!?d8 9. tl'lxa8
tl:lxe4
There is no defence to the mates 20 .

. . . �e3 or 20 . . . . �d6.
And now let ' s see how the game
went on.
12 . . . 0::1f2 mate.
.
1 0. c4?
After I 0. c3 White would have
probably won.
10 . ... �b4 1 1 . �a4?? 0:Jxd4+ 12.
�d 1 ?
He opts for the shorter way. Naturally,
on 1 2 . 'it'd3 he would have also been
1 08 When Human Stupidity is Tamed into Mate

Steiner-Stiassy
Austria 1 925
I must confess to you that neither

during nor after collecting material I
could not find out who played this game
with white. It could be Endre Steiner or
his younger brother, Lajos Steiner, but it
could also be Hennann Steiner, all of
whom were born in Hungary, a contry
which gave so many good chess players
8. ... tl:Jd7?? 9. ka5+ b6 1 0. tl:\c6+
and sportsmen to the world, to say
We8 1 1. tl:\c7 mate.
nothing of our great poets, the number
of whom is far greater than that in, let's
say, the incomparably larger United
States of America. A "nation of poets"
we are often tenned.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c5 3. tl:\f3 dxc4 4. tl:\c3
cxd4 5. 'i:Wxd4 'it'xd4 6. tl:lxd4 a6??
A great error, bacause it fatally
weakens the b6 square. After 6 . . . . e5 ! 7.
CLldbS €\a6 8. e4 ke6 9. ke3 tZJfO 1 0 .
kxa7 kb4 1 1 . f3 0-0 Black would have
had teh somewhat better position.
7. tl:\d5 ®d8 8. kd2? And let me add that Endre Steiner
White has now either blundered or, was a manyfold Hungarian Champion,
his younger brother Lajos, a partici
for the sake of a trick, flings away all
pant of Olympiad, was two-time Hun
that he has hitherto attained. As a matter garian and manyfold Australian Cham
of fact, he could have won at once after pion, and their namesake Hermann
8. 0::\b 6 kta7 9. kf4 t.i:Jd7 1 0 . 0-0-0: was three-time USA Champion.
When Human Stupidity i s Tamed into Mate 1 09

Amateur-Bird 10 • ... 'Dxf2!
England 1 850
About White we know nothing, but

we do so much the more about Black. It
was he who devised and developed into
an opening the move I . f4, which was
aptly named Bird Opening. Another
point of interest: in the 1 876th year of
our Lord, in a tournament in New York,
it was he who was awarded the first
beauty prize in chess history! It is
something not to be sneezed at.
In his present game he runs too big a 1 1. �xf2 llel+ 12. j_n tlJd4
risk, but I attribute this to the fact that he
had had no great opinion of amateurs -
with good reason.
1. e4 e5 2. lLJO tLlc6 3. d4 exd4 4.
tLlxd4 'i¥h4 5. tLlb5 �c5 6. 'i!VO 0Jf6
7. tLlxc7+ \!/d8 8. 0Jxa8 �e8 9. �d3
tLlxe4 1 0. 0-0??
13. 'iVxf7? tLle2+ 14. \!/h 1 �xfl+ 1 5.

l:Ixfl tLlg3 mate.
After 1 0 . .:kxe4 �xe4+ 1 1 . \it'd I

White could have won without comp
lications. I am particularly drawing the
reader' s attention to the threat of 1 2 .
.tgS+ ! 'iVxgS 1 3 . 'iVxe4.
Let ' s review the game further.

Nielsen-Ottosen not equivalent to winning.
Herming 1 94 1 10. 'i¥xd4 !
We'll see a n interesting game. After

his gross blunder, Black spots and
tries to avoid the typical mate known
to us too, and receives a rarer one
instead.
I . e4 e5 2. ClJf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4.
ClJxd4 .td7 ? ! 5. tlJc3 g6 6 . .tc4 ClJc6
7. tlJd5 $.g7 8 . .ie3 ClJge7? 9 . .tg5 !
1 0. ... 0-0
Black has noticed the typical mate
possible after 1 0 . . . . t:Llxd4 1 1 . CLlf6+
'i!lffl 1 1 . ii.. h 6, and he avoided it I But
only that one .
1 1 . ctJf6+ �h8 12. ClJg4+ ClJxd4 13 .
.tf6+ �g8 1 4. ClJh6 mate.
White snaps at the tactical opportunity

created by Black when weakening the f6
square.
9 . ... j2,xd4??
At the sight of the threats the second
player has lost his head . After 9. . . .
{2Jxd4 1 0 . li..x e 7 '!i'c8 1 1 . k f6 tLie6
1 2 . JJ..xg7 0Jxg7 1 3 . 'i¥d4 'tlJffl White
would have stood excellently, yet it is
When Human Stupidity is Tamed into Mate 111

Maurian-Morphy 1 0. tl::\ x d4 b4
New Orleans 1 869
A game played by Morphy is always

interesting. For me the present one
contains an unusual surplus as well . At
the peak of his powers (he was 32 at
the time), in a ·manner unusual of him,
he executes a piece sacrifice which
loses almost at once, and then, in a
manner customary from him, he gives
mate three moves later!
I . e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. �c4 'ii h 4+ 4.
�fl b5 5 .tdS tl::\c 6 6. tl::\f3 'i¥h5 7.
•
The punch line of the combination.
d4 ti'lf6 8. �b3 �a6 ! ? 1 1 . 'ii xa6??
H e starts pulling tricks already, though Thus Black ' s task is easy. 1 1 . c4 !
he does not intend them to be 'tricks' . would have given Black serious
9 . 'i¥e2 ti'lxd4?? trouble, as after 1 1 . . . .bxc3 ? 1 2 . �xa6
the b3 bi shop controls d 1 , and after
11. '¥Yc5 1 2 . t2..1f3 there is no
sufficient compensation for the piece.
1 1 . ... 'i¥d l + 1 2. Wf2 ti'lg4 mate.
This surely loses if White can count

to two.

Bey-Boekool
Leiden 1 948
1. e4 c5 2. CLIO CLlc6 3. d4 d5 4.
exd5 'i!t'xd5 5. ti'Jc3 l!Vd8 6. d5 CLla5
7. �f4 'it'b6 8. CLle5?
A bloomer of the first water. The
natural 8. i.Z'JbS I
1 2. l!Vd7+! .txd7 13. cxd7+ �d8 1 4.

tiJxfi mate.
would have won at least a rook, but

White is not so greedy.
8 . ... 'i!t'xb2??
Overlooking mate, and not an
everyday one at that, though on the
About the final position I could
strength of how Black played until
shoot my mouth oft' for quite a time,
now one could already count upon
but the most appropriate thing to say
something like that . After 8 . . a6 the
. .
is, perhaps, "Landscape after the
second player could have for long Battle" . At any rate, we can make it
recalcitrated yet . clear that either giving or receiving a
9 . .2.b5+ CLlc6 1 0. dxc6 'ifxc3+ 1 1 . knight mate is equally a splendid
'i.t>fl 'ifb4 experience, since it is rare.

Amateu r-Bier
Hamburg 1 903
I . e4 e5 2. f4 �c5 3. ti:\13 d6 4. �c4

0Jf6 5. 0Jc3 0Jc6 6. d3 jt.g4 7 . h3
�xfJ 8. 'ii' xf3 tL'ld4 9. 'ii' d l g6? !
9 . . . . 0_\ d7 seems to be more natural .
1 0. fxe5 CDh5
13. '-.i7h I ti:lg3 mate.
1 1. .�.xf7+??
This is also something one can
rarely see. White prepares the mate
he' s about to receive with a piece
sacrifice . Clever' I 0 h4 dxeS 1 1 . .�� gS White has been caught in his own toils
f6 1 2 . )..i, h 6 was necessary with the because he took it for granted that if he
plan of 1 3 . '* d2 and then 1 4 . 0-0-0 . gives a check, Black must move out of
1 1 . .. . Wxf7 1 2. 0-0+?? it. The move 1 2. ("�if3++ has elo
White' s consi stency is indisputable. quently proved how easily notcalculated,
12 . •.. 0Jf3++ routine moves can sometimes lose.

Skouratov-Kossov
Soviet Union 1 963
l . e4 •1Jf6 2. ti'lc3 d5 3. e5 ti'lfd7 4.

'i¥g4 ! ? c5 5. ti'lf3 ti'lc6 6. �e2 f5 ! ?
White' s risky - o r incorrect - play
would have been nicely pointed out by
the move 6. . . . a6. The game
continuation has, however, weakened
the e6 and dS pawns, procuring an
attack tor his opponent.
12. 'Y:Wxg6+ !
8. 'Y:Wg3 a6?
Naturally, 1 2 ��xg6+ also leads to
Black would have had tolerably
mate, but anyone who would play it i s,
good chances after 8 . t-1:\b4 9 . ��d I
. . .
to say the least, a mazochist, to say

•Llb6.
nothing of his non-exi stent sense of
9. ti'lg5! tlJd4?
beauty. My only excuse for this
The last mistake
unusual tact of mine is my objectivity.
12. ••. hxg6 13 . .txg6+ '>!le7 1 4.
�xd5 mate.
1 0. ti'l x e6! �xe6?? 1 1 . �h5+ g6
When Human Stupidity is Tamed into Mate liS

Amateur-Gedult 13. axb4
Morocco 1 924 A pretty deviation would be 1 3 .
gxf3 �'Jd4 1 4 . axb4 ?.2Jcb3 + 1 5 . '*'xb3
1. d4 CLlf6 2. c4 e6 3. tLlc3 i.b4 4. '¥!ta l + 1 6. £2Jb 1 ti'1xbJ+ 1 7 . Wc2
'ii' b 3 c5 5. dxc5 t2\c6 6. tl'\13 tLle4 7. t�d4+ 1 8 . Wc 1 '!i'a4 1 9. k d3 ??
j.d2 tLlxc5 8. 't!Vxc2 0-0 9. e4 f5 I 0. ·�c2+ 1 20. kxc2 £2Je2 mate:
exf5 ! ?
1 0 . e5 ! is certainly a better decision
than to open the f-file for the black
rook.
10 . ... J:.'txf5 1 1 . 0-0-0??
It is a fat-headed idea to castle to
the side where the black pieces are
lining up for attack, and what is even
worse, it loses by force. The right
move was 1 1 . �e2 .
1 1 . ... �a5 12. a3
Let there be no mistake about it, on
1 2 . Wb 1 , too, White would be 1 3 . ... 'iY'a l + 1 4. �bl tLlb3+ 15. Wc2
slaughtered after 1 2 . . . . J::l:xf3 . tLlcd4 mate.

Gedult-Kovacs 'iYxb4 1 1 . 'ti'c8+!
Paris 1 966
I. d4 d5 2. e4! ? dxe4 3. l?Jc3 tl::lf6 4.

f3 exf3 5. 'i'xf3 'it'xd4?!
Better and more frequent is 5 . . c6,
. .
because the game continuation grants

White a superb piece play.
6. i.. e3
1 1 . ... kxc8 1 2. 0.xc7 mate.
6 . ... �b4?
6 . �g4 would have yet provided
. .
some defence.
7. 0-0-0 ..\tg4??
Upon this Black receives mate. As we have yet lots of space to the
bottom of the page, I return to the
remark I made on page I 1 3 in
connection with the game Bey-Ho
ekool, Leiden 1 94 8 , the fine irony of
which you have most l ikely failed to
grasp . O'Neill writes: " . . . people do not
want to be redeemed from themselves,
because then they would have to
renounce greediness, and such a price
they are not willing to pay for freedom."
There is no denying that you are
8. tl::l b 5! 'ti'a5 9. 'i¥xb7 i.. d 7 1 0. b4! really constituted that way.

Rabinovich-Lowenfisch A lemon o f the first water ' He'll be
Moscow 1 927 left fatally behind on material, though
after 7. 0c4 fi:Jxg2+ 8 . ;bg2 iVxc4
Black, who was twice Soviet he would have had only a clearly losf
Champion, knew and played endgames position.
extremely well. He even wrote books 7 . . li' e4+ 8. �e2 tlJxg2+ 9. wn
. .
on them, out of which the best-known, $>.h3 1 0. d3

at least in Hungary, was the one With a noble simpleness he overlooks
entitled The Themy <l the Rook a not too concealed mate, though it is a
F:ndings written jointly with Smyslov. fact that after 10. �Jg l t1:Jf4 1 1 . kbS+
In the following game his opponent c6 1 2 . 02ih4 �g2 he would find himself
does not permit him an endgame, but, a rook and several pawns down as a
as we shall see, he becomes not at all result of his blunder with 4. lii.. e2?.
embarrassed by this. 1 0 . . tlJ h4+ I I. Wet tl:\xfJ mate.
. .
1 . e4 0:\f6 2. e5 0:\dS 3. tiJfJ d6 4 .

•�e2? 0Jf4 5. �fl ? dxe5 6. 0'\xeS
l!id4!!
The final position is beautiful, but it is

interesting to brood on how citizens of
other nations would describe it.
Germans would call it neat. Cool-headed
An extraordinary position in which
Englishmen would term it interesting.
Black, in a higher sense, is won as
French, who blaze up quickly, would
early as move 6. Since, in contrast describe it as magnificent. Russians,
with me, you probably do not possess depending on who was Black, would
a ' higher sense' , you will be obliged to quality it in two different manners: if the
believe this statement of mine upon my winner is a Russian, then it' s the worthy
word of honour. finish of a unified game; otherwise it' s a
7. tlJfJ? ? typical mate known to death.
118 When Human Stupidity is Tamed into Mate

W all-Martinez,L on the final result . The right move was
Okinawa 1 972 1 1 llfl , with good attacking chances.
.
11. •.•'i¥xh 1+ 12. Wd2 llg8 13.

As a worthy finish of our chapter, I tl'lxe6
show you two extremely weak games, Assuming only for the sake of
with pretty final positions. argument that there is a gentle reader
I . e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. tl:Jc3 dxe4 4. who would make the same move as
tl:lxe4 ti:ld7 5. �c4 tLlgf6 6. ti:\g5 e6 Black is about to, I suggest him to
7. 't!Ve2 tLlb6 8. $>�d3 't!Vxd4?! 9. entreat his trainer' s pardon for having
ti:\ I f3 'i!Vd5 1 0. tl:Je5! �xg2 wasted his time on him all in vain, and to
go to work in a coalmine where there is
a similar darkness as in his head.
13. Wxfi??(?) 1 4. 0:'ld8 mate.
•••
1 1 . 0:\exfi??
That Black was won is demonstrated

by the tact that he could even afford to
play 1 3 ilJ;\I xh2 . See diagram
. . . .
White has been seized by a feeling

of false omnipotence. He sacrifices a
rook which loses outright, whereas, as
we could have got accustomed to it by
now, it will have no particular effect

Axei-Lepsicz 1 1 . . �f5 1 2. 'tlt'xb7
. .
Jugoslavia 1 975
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 t2Jf6 3. c4 c6 4. dxc6

t2Jxc6 5. t2Jc3 e5
Since it was for the control of the d4
square that Black has sacrificed the
pawn, his moves may be described as
purposeful.
6. g3 �c5 7 <tg2 tl'lg4 8. ti'\e4 't!r'b6
. •
9. t.Uxc5? ! 't!r'xc5 1 0. 't!r'e2?

One thing seems certain : Black will
never be a world champion, at least as
far as chess is concerned. And he has really overlooked matel
10 . ... tiJd4 1 1 . 't!r'xe4?? 12. 8c2+ 1 3. �d l t.Uxf2+ 1 4.
••.
White' s mazochism seems to be We2 .ltd3+ 1 5. �f3 t2le 1 mate.

unbounded . With his last move he has
overlooked his queen, but starting from
his mental constitution (although it is
not fair to predict with full knowledge
of the final result), he would rather be
mated .
The raging of human stupidity has

been tamed into mate once again.
Please, remember Publius Syrrus'
word s : "If fate wants to destroy a man,
it makes him stupid. "

Rook Mates
S chwarz,A-Hartlieb
Bremen 1 9 1 8
"Wine in a feast is not so joyful

as the mourning of our enemies . "
Madame de Sevigne
121
"A few honest people is better than a crowd. "
Cromwell
Another appropriate quotation about the relation of the

author and the readers. What Cromwell had in mind was
that I, who am standing alone against the crowd of you,
am, even as a few, better than the lot of you, and this is
indeed the case, whether thinking or erudition is the point
in question, to say nothing of morals.
The A uthor
1 22
A Brief Meditation over Rook Mates
Once, on suffering a serious defeat against a near

friend of mine, Bela Lengyel, he said to me: "Listen,
buddy . Now I have beaten you. To me this is a pleasure,
to you a sorrow. " Well, what could I have replied? He
was right.
The same holds true of rook mates, too, or, to be more
proper, of all kinds of mates, only it is rook mates that
remind me of the story.
A rook mate in the opening is relatively rare, so I am
unable to write not only concrete facts but even
generalities about it. All the s ame, that much I can write
that it is often preceded by a queen sacrifice, so the reader
can have a lot of fun if (s)he understands what happens
on the board. In this I am ready to be your co-operator,
with my customary, engaging manners .
I suggest that we put our hand to the plough, and let the
games follow.
1 23
Some commonplaces about the rook, which are worth knowing:
"Rook - a piece which moves along the files and the ranks. Along
these it moves freely until it is blocked by an obstacle. The rook,
together with the queen, constitutes the category of the maj or
pieces. At the beginning of the game, each side have two rooks.
These - after the queen - are the most valuable pieces of the
game. Their full strength mostly blossoms out in the middle-game,
when they get to the open lines. They can even decide the outcome
of the game, when the two rooks penetrate into the 2nd or 7th rank
of the opponent. "
Meye rs Encyc lop edia ofChess
Some oddities about the rook, the knowledge of which is

unnecessary for a practical chess player, and nor does your lack of
education require it, yet they are interesting: "Originally, among
the Indians, the rook had been a chariot, and later a vessel. Even
the name itself had caused much confusion. The Persians had
transformed the I ndian word ratj a i nto ruuhk, but this had been the
name of a 'mythi cal bird. The word survives of the western tenns
for castling (e. g. Roc hade). Since to Italians this had sounded as
rocc a (rock fortress), which had, however, fitted in well with the
medieval image appearing on the chess-board, thus it was brought
into connection with knightly castles and the donj ons and guard
towers (torre) of the towns, so this was from. what the term
' tower' , which is sometimes used even in Hungary, evolved. "
Meye rs E ncyc lop edia of Chess
1 24
Orchard-Thomson 1 0 ... 'it'h l+??
.
USA 1 8 8 1 Being unable to endure t h e immense

nervous strain any longer, Black wins
I n what now follows you will see such the queen and receives mate. Maybe I
rook mates, ensuing in or right after the need not affirm it repeatedly that after 1 0 .
opening, which might be easily avoided . . . jt,e7 White would have had no
by the opponent, but he fails to do so. other choice but to resign.
The reason why this is good is that it 1 1 . �f2 �xd 1 1 2. tiJf6++ �d8 13.
is a splendid amusement to look at l:i:e8 mate.
them, and if you think of your not so
distant death, after which your body
will be possessed by the earth, and
your property by your greedy
relatives, then you will probably admit
that small pleasures (or malicious plea
sures), which this chapter affords, are
well worth being appreciated.
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. g3?
Although the spirit of the opening -
e.g. the opening of the f-file - is truly
reflected by this move there is a limit to
everything. What White should like to The sight of the final position reminds
do is sneaking into B lack ' s country me of what Swift said: "There are such
through the green frontier, to use a brains which can be creamed off only
present-day expression. once. Their owners do well to collect
3 . ... fxg3 4. tiJf3 gxh2 5. jt,c4 tiJf6 6. this treasure cautiously, and econo
llxh2 0Jxe4 7. b!e2 d5 8. .txd5 mize on their meagre supply. " I
"iWxd5 9. tiJc3 'i!Vh5 1 0. tiJxe4 picture to myself the readers giving a
nod of assent . Still, you should not
rejoice too much, because the quota
tion mostly refers to you.
Oversights of Rook Mates on Not Top-Grade Level 1 25

Amateur-Mow 14 . .te2
Copenhagen 1 909
1. e4 e5 2. CZJc3 CZJf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5

tl.Jxe4 5. CZJfJ i.b4 6. �e2 f6? 7. exf6
0-0 8. tl.Jxe4 dxe4 9. �c4+ �h8 1 0.
CZJg5?
14 . •.. �fl+ 1 5. l::t xfl llxfl mate.
Well, he' s an amateur. After the not

too complicated 1 0. 'i!'xb4 exf3 1 1 .
fxg7+ Wxg7 1 2 . �c3 + 'it.'g6 1 3 . gxf3
Black would have not much to expect .
1 0 . ... �xf6 1 1 . 'i¥xb4??
Ah I An oversight of mate. 1 1 . C2Jxe4
would have yet saved him.
1 1. •••'it'f2+ 1 2. Wd l $.g4+ 1 3. tl.JfJ
:!lxfJ If the loser were still alive, I would
recommend· Goethe' s lines to his
attention, but for lack of anything
better I recommend them to your
attention: "The main thing is to
venture, and even if you lose, if sucess
forsakes you, it does not matter
much. " The meaning of this is that you
must not be dead earnest about either
defeat or victory, because you will go
mad, provided that this has not as yet
occured.
1 26 Oversights of Rook Mates on Not Top-Grade Level

Cohrane-Amateur 12 . .td6! ! 'ikxd6
London 1 842 Overlooking mate, but nor would
1 2 . . . . 'iYxdS 1 3 . �xd5 kf6 1 4 . ke5
I . e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. tL:ifJ g5 4. �c4
g4 5. 0-0 gxf3 6. 'it'xf3
If you have a glance at page 1 25 ,
you will see that although both
positions arose from King ' s Gambit,
there is a great difference between
them. While in the previous game the
h 1 rook was moving to and fro like a
lunatic, now White, by means of a
piece sac, is launching a promising
attack against the black king.
6 . ... 'it'e7 ? ! 7. d4 �g7? 8. �xf4!
kxd4+ 9. �h 1 �xb2?? 1 0. tL:ic3 be like licking honey for Black.
i.xa1 13. 'ifxf7+ �d8 1 4. l!kf8+ l!kxf8 1 5.
Nor does 10 . . . d6 help in view of
. I!xf8 mate.
1 1 . CiJd S '!Wd7 1 2 . �g5 , after which
White would mate in a few moves.
1 1 . tL:id5 'it'c5
Chess is a dangerous game, one can

receive mate in it.

Szulc-Szymanski 17 . ... l:IxfJ! 1 8. ti:le6 ti:lxe2+ 1 9.
Poland 1 999 �g2
We have jumped ahead in time by

1 5 7 years in order to see : to what
extent chess players grew in wisdom,
and to find out whether their sense of
danger has improved . More experi
enced readers surely know what the
answer is - considering the fact that
humans are never willing to draw a
lesso ri' from anything. But let us see
the game.
1. c4 e5 2. ti:lc3 ti:lf6 3. ti:lfJ ti:lc6 4.
g3 d5 5. cxd5 ti:lxd5 6. �g2 ti:lb6 7. 1 9 . ... �d5 ! 20. tLixc7 J:txg3 mate.
0-0 �e7 8. d3 0-0 9. �e3 �e6 1 0.
ti:le4 f5 1 1. ti:lc5 �d5 1 2. �c l ? ! l:tb8
1 3. a3 f4! 1 4. kd2? �xfJ! 15. �xfJ
ti:ld4 1 6. �g4 fJ! 1 7. �xfJ??
This certainly loses at once. 1 7 .
��e6 was necessary, followed by 1 7 .
. . . ti:lxe2+ 1 8 . �h l tLixc 1 1 9 . t2:\xd8
l:Ibxd8 20. !!axe 1 c6 21 . �c3 !lxd3
22. �xe5 l,g5 , and Black, being a
pawn up, would stand better.
You can see it for yourselves : man

is like wine. With the passage of time
it goes mouldy. Let ' s take, for exam
ple, my favourite, Zoli Ribli . He' s not
much of a chess player any more;
today he is yet the captain of the
Hungarian Selected Team, but tomor
row he will be already under the
ground. Life is cruel .
1 28 Oversights of Rook Mates on Not Top-Grade Level

Schwarz,R-Labau I ' ve been for l o ng wondering
Germany 1 948 whether or not to put a "?" to Black ' s
move, since h e loses the queen at all
I. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. tt:\c3 �tb4 4. events. The reason why I have finally
�d2 dxe4 5. 1!t'g4 ! ? 'ifxd4 6. tt:\fJ decided on the question mark is that
'*'f6? Black does not see the threat.
An error. Commoner and better is 6 .
. . . f5 or 6 . h5 .
. . .
1 0. �xc6+ !
Well, that ' s the way it must be done.
7. 0-0-0! ! tt:\c6 I 0 . ... bxc6 1 1 . l'Jd8 mate.
7. exf3 ? 8. £�g5 would result in
. . .
the loss of the queen, as Schwarz .R.

hi mself had very shrewdly noticed.
8. �xe4 tt:'lh6??
This is an oversight of the queen,
although Black, as you will see, does
not perceive it. As far as the further
occurences are concerned, let me
quote Madam du Deffand' s words:
"Only the first move is difficult. "
9 . �g5 'it'g6?

Schwarz,A-Hartlieb 8. hxg4 hxg4 9. tlJxg4 tl:Jh5 1 0.
Bremen 1 9 1 8 .te3??
After all, why couldn't it be Black
The previous game was also played who is justified, when we can safely
by a Schwarz, and yet what a say about both patzers that they are no
difference ! relations of ours?
1 . e4 e5 2. tlJO tlJc6 3. .tc4 .tc5 4. 10. 'i!¥h4 11. .txc5?? 'if'hl+!
.••
0-0 d6 5. h3 h5?
Has someone gone mad?
6. tlJh2?
This seertls tb be the "two madmen
make a pair" variation. White should
have sought play in the centre with 6.
c3
6 . ... ClJf6 7. d3 .tg4??
12. Wxh 1 tlJg3++ 13. Wgl Dh 1 mate.
This move is already so deep for the

human mind that even commenting on
it is difficult, yet I try to do it: Black
sacrifices a piece for nothing.
130 Oversights of Rook Mates on Not Top-Grade Level

Tarrasch-Kelz 7 . .. 'it'd4+ 8. \it>hl 'ir'xc4 9. 'it'xf4
.
Nuremberg 1 890 ti:\e7?
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. ti:\f3 g5 4 ..tc4

•
g4 5. 0-0 gxf3 6. 'i!Yxf3 'i!Yf6 7. ti:\c3??
The patzer syndrome ! After 9 . . . .
=�.d6 I 0. ''1Wf3 ?.-Jc6 1 1. d3 'ij!ie6 dr.

Tarrasch could have safely stretched
out his hand to his opponent, because
he would have had only a pawn
Dear Doctor, who is the one to be against two black pieces.
operated on here? Of Tarrasch 1 0. ti:\d5 tilxd5??
(otherwise a practising physician), Do confess that you would also have
who was a splendid theoretician and played this. Apart from this, Black was a
an outstanding chess player of his silly ass (God rest his soul), because he
time, I cannot believe that he has fell for the bluff a second time too. I 0 . . . .
overlooked a piece. I am much more \jjlxfl+ 11. 'IIUxfl Ji.,g7 12. 'We2+ �
inclined to suppose that he had had no would have assured good chances to the
great opinion of his opponent who second player, if only in view of the
must have been the same kind of extra material.
patzer like you. 1 1.'11Vxf7+ *d8

1 2. d3 As you could notice, while
This move reminds me of Ferenc annotating this game I have taken care
Molm'lr's words from his excellent not to reprove Tarrasch. I was guided
novel, lhe Paul Street Boys: "We've
by Flaubert's recommendation (of
had enough of the Putty Club. You
fellows become presidents one after whom this is the first time you hear) :
another, while we keep chewing the "We must not touch idols: the gilding
putty. in vain." Read the book, at least remains on our hands."
you will have something to boast of Since I agree with Flaubert, I have
1 2. 'i¥c6 13. �g5+ Ji..e7 1 4. 'it'xf8! refrained from backbiting Tarrasch,
llxf8 15. llxf8 mate. and preferred to peck at Kelz instead.
132 Rook Mates Seasoned with a Queen Sacrifice

Sanchez-Soto He has hit upon the move that loses at
Mexico 1 948 once. It is interesting that sometimes
even well-known chess players have the
As you evidently do not know, I fixed idea that if they give a check, one
reveal that the capital of Mexico is must either move out of it or interpose a
Mexico. After your first consternation piece, but over the matter of where to
I develop my train of thought (if you interpose it they fail to brood. For the
understand at all what I speak about). sake of objectiveness customary of me, I
The game had been surely committed remark that 13. i2Jxd4 '\i'xd2+ 14.
in Mexico (there are many assassins Wx.d2 l:!xd4+ 15. �c3 k:Id6 16. e3
there), but it is not at all sure that it J::lc6+ 17. �b3 ke6+ 18. �a3 ldc2
had been in the city called Mexico. would also result in a substantially better
1. d4 tl.Jf6 2. �g5 d5 3. tl.Jc3 c5 4. position for Black, but in comparison
dxc5 d4 5. i.xf6 exf6 6. tl.Je4 i.f5 7. to what follows, this might yet be
tl.Jd6+ j.xd6 8. cxd6 'i!Nxd6 9. tl.Jf3 regarded by White as a summering on
tl.Jc6 10. c3 0-0-0 1 1 . cxd4? ! the Bahamas.
The first rubbish. This does not yet 13. ..• tl.Jc2+ ! !
lose, but in the event of errors it is also White' s wish has been fulfilled:
true that "many a little makes a Black interposed a piece.
mickle". After 11. i2Jxd4 tl.Jxd4 12. 1 4. l'.txc2+ $..xc2 1 5. 't!¥xb4
'Yi'xd4 'J.&Ixd4 13. cxd4 llxd4 14. e3 Instead of sacrificing his queen,
lld7 15. :t::rc 1+ �c7 16. J::lxc7+ Wxc7 White gains the queen. It is, no doubt,
17. .tc4 .:k.e6 18. �xe6 fxe6 the a more pleasant sensation to finish a
position is equal. game with an extra queen than to lose
1 1 . ... 't!Vb4+ 12. 'it'd2 tl.Jxd4 13. without it.
Ilc l+?? 1 5 . ... lld 1 mate.

Laurn-M iiller,R White fancies himself a carpenter, and
Mannheim hammers the last nail into his opponent's
coffin. He is in luck, because if he
1. f4 e5 2. fxe5 d6 3. exd6 �xd6 4. fancied himself, let us say, noodles with
tl:\fJ g5 5. d4 g5 6. tl:lg5 g3 7. e4 cottage cheese, and he expressed this
ke7?? view at that, he would get locked up in a
An immediately losing move, but for loony bin, as they had done to me when
the sake of truth (which does not I had been drunk during ten consecutive
appeal to you), I must remark that 7. years, and given voice to my conviction
... gxh2 8. 'IWD 0h6 9 .kc4 would .
that everybody wanted to kill me. My
have also given White a strong attack. release was relatively easy: I lied that
An example: after 9. . �f8 10. t!:Jxh7
. .
I no longer thought what I· had thought
'!Wh4+ 1 1. 'et'fl Black is in a bad way. until then. Those ignorant laymen (if I
may use such a mild expression in
connection with loony-doctors) had
believed it and let me go. Yet even today
I never leave from ,home without a
butcher's knife, especially after writing
this masterpiece. If I meet a nervous
type of reader of mine, a knife under my
coat assures me of being not only
mentally superior.
12 . ... 'it>xg8 13 . ..\;t.h6 l!Vf7 14. tlxf6!
Wk'xh5 15. llf8 mate.
8. tl:lxf7 ! !
This has practically settled the out
come of the game, the rest is but an
ordinary routine.
8 . ... �xf7 9. 'i!¥h5+ �g7 10. kc4
'i!¥f8 1 1. Il0
Each move of the tricky White
threatens something.
11 . ••• ..tf6 12 ..txg8
•

Meriii-Steininger It was mere habit that made me give
USA 1 981 two question marks to White's move.
The endgame beginning with 1 3.
0Jxb7 0Je2+ 14. "i¥xe2 gxh2+ 1 5.
1. e4 e5 2. tlJfJ t2Jc6 3 tc4 i.c5
• .
Whl i.xe2 would have been also won

4. 0-0 d6 5. d3 0Jf6 6. i.g5!? h6
by Black, but not with a mate in two.
7. .th4!? g5 8. i.g3?? 13 • 0Je2+ 1 4. 'it>h 1 llxh2 mate.
...
I'm taking you aback: this move

loses by force. Necessruy was 8.
0xg5! hxg5 9. �Lg5 �g_8 10. h4
.tg4 I I. �jd2 0Jd4 12. l2_jc3 CLJe6
13. $.xe6 fxe6 14. 0.:Ja4 .tb6 15.
0�b6 axb6 16. f3 .th5 17. g4 �f7
18. f4, with superb attacking
chances for White.
8. ... h5 9. t2Jxe5
It made no odds already, for after
9. 8xg5 h4 10. �f7 hxg3 11.
0'1Xd8 .�.g4 12. �d2 11:Jd4 13. 0:Jc3
0.'lf3+ 14. gxf3 i.xf3 Black
mercilessly, though not joylessly, Black has ended up as a fried
mates. tomato. This remark of mine is, I
9. ... h4 10. 0'ixf7 hxg3 11. 0'ixd8 guess, totally unintelligible for you,
Or 11. 0Jxh8 �xf2+ 12. Whl therefore I quote again: "Fried
0�\e5 13. �d2 <J.de7 14. �xg5 tomato. Cut the tomatoes (use
'i¥xh8 15. h4 (J';xc4 16. '¥ixc4 beautiful, large ones for this aim) in
slices and put them on a sifter so that
.$-.e6, and White has no defence
its juice can trickle down. Then roll in
against the menacing 17 .... ilg8.
flour, egg, and crumbs, and then fry in
11. tg4 12. 'Yi'd2 01d4 13.
hot butter, oil or grease." The
... •
'Yi'xg5?? Gastronomist's Receipt-Book (Bu

dapest 1868) What else is this than the
true to life description of the game?
But to change over to a more

serious tone, here is a quotation from
the great German composer Felix
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: "Chess is too
earnest for a game; too much of a
game to be earnest about."

Shoup-Marshall 1 1 . ... 'i¥xg5 12. kxd5+ �e7?!
USA 1906 Instead of slow death he opts for the
quick one. After 12. . .. Wd8 13.
We are about to see an interesting �xc6+ �d6 14. ClJc3 �h6 15. g3
game. A nameless player against an l::rxb2 16. tLie4 kh3 17. �d4 J::i:b 6 1 8.
excellent grandmaster of the time. By tLixd6 cxd6 19. �dS White would
means of this game people may as well have slowly but surely won.
have grown rich in totalisator 13. i.xc6+ Wf8 14. 'it'd8+! i.xd8
agencies, provided that they were 1 5. lle8 mate.
aware of Marshall's two greatest weak
nesses: impatience and the tendency to
collapse quickly. What makes him par
ticularly sympathetic to me is that I
also possess the same two bad charac
teristics, only without the brilliancy
flashing from time to time in him.
Yet don 't be too glad, because I
have still at least as much brains as all
of you put together.
1. e4 e5 2. tl::if3 ClJc6 3. d4 exd4 4.
0::\ x d4 CDf6 5. tLixc6 bxc6 6. .�d3
t'!b8 7. ��g5 d 5 ! ? This game, which the excellent
He's taking chances. The safe play American grandmaster, the inventor of
for him is 7 . . . . h6 8. kc l dS. the Marshal\ Attack, committed with
8. e5 'ile7?? Black, is perhaps not sufficient for us
He ought not, perhaps, underesti to call him - despite all our respect -
mate his opponent this much. After 8. an ignorant fathead, but it had already
.. . h6 9. kxf6 gxf6 I 0. exf6 �xf6 11.
foreshadowed the final result of his
0-0 (On 1 1. 'i!'e2+? �d8 12. c3 ka3! 1
world title match against Lasker in
Black gains the queen after 13. tl:1xa3
IIe8.) 1 1. ... I:Ixb2 12. �el+ ke6 13. 1908, which he lost 0:8, beside eight
<2ld2 kcS 1 4. 0.:Jf3 0-0 15. 'ife2 �h8 unbelievably meagre draws.
16. 'iie 5 '*'xe5 17. tl:1xe5 !lb6 18. Fabula docet, that is - for your sake
:s!ab 1 t!fb8 19. I:Ixb6 I:!:xb6 20. Wf l - the teaching of the fable is: Do not
llb2 2 1. tl:1xc6 I:!:xa2 Black's a-pawn underrate anyone, like I do with you
will in all likelihood march forward to (quite rightly), because you can easily
the basic rank. receive a mate like this, amounting to
9. 0-0 ! ! 'i¥xe5 10. I:!:el tLie4 l l .�xe4 a slander.

Meister-Baumgardt
Correspondence game 1990
Correspondence games, as far as

opening theory is concerned, are
mostly more valuable than tournament
games, because correspondence
players have substantially more time at
their disposal, they can have recourse
to monographs on opening theory,
data bases, and chess programs. In
principle, therefore, the opening of the
13 . ... l:tae8! !
correspondence games is supposed to
' Let the shoemaker stick to his last,'
be played on grandmaster level. Owing
suggests Black's move to White.
to the good offices of White, now we
shall see a refreshing exception. Once, not long ago, I had cracked this
1 . e4 e5 2. tL\fJ tLlc6 3. �c4 tL\f6 4. in a letter 1 wrote to grandmaster
tL\c3 tL\xe4 5. �xf7+ 'it'xf7 6. tL\g3? Andnis Adorj{m, when he started
The fact that White is not a perpetrating verses, being under the
researcher of theory, has turned out delusion that they are poems -
already now, for if he were, then 6. among us, loonies, this is a striking
t?.Jeg5+ would have followed. characteristic of incipient nuttiness -
6 . ... e4 7. tlJg1 h5! ? but here it is also appropriate.
Black's commonest move is 7 . . .. 1 4. fxg4? �xg3+ ! 1 5. hxg3 �xh l
�c5!, upon which I have found 16 mate.
sample games, and all sixteen were
won by Black!
9. tLlxh5? 'i.Yh4 ! 1 0. tL\g3 �g4 1 1 .
tlJ 1 e2 �c5 12. f3??
By now the chess player imper
sonator has become fully exposed!
After 12. d3 tL\d4 13. dxe4 .1t..xe2 14.
tLlxe2 'iYxe4 15. f3 '!Wxc2 16. .i.e3
'i'xe2+ 17. �xe2 i:U xe2 18. .1t..xc5
·8g3 19. l:Ig 1 l'lxh2 20. W£2 0.Jf5 2 1 .
l:Iae 1 White would have "got off' with
a mere pawn deficit.
12
. ..•exf3 1 3. gxf3 How about another game?

Cook-Amateur
Bristol 1 906
I have already many times written it

down in this book that the art of
giving mate lies in the recognition of
the opponent 's error and in the
immediate exploitation of it. Now I
am demonstrating this with two very
typical examples. If you get the hang
of them, so much the better for you.
1 . f4 d5 2. e3 c5 3. b3 e6 4. �b2 tl:Jf6 9 . .. . �xg5 10. 'it'xh7+! �xh7 1 1 .
5. ti'lf3 �e7 6. �d3 0-0 7. tl:Jg5 g6? ! hxg5 �g8 12. l::[ b 8 mate.
A patzer move, drawing White' s
attack on his head, whereas this can yet
be considered a good move in com
parison to the madness to be committed
on move 8. After 7. ... tl:lbd7 8. 0-0 h6
9. t2:Jf3 b6 10. 8e5 j£b7 he would have
been perfectly all right.
8. h4 tl:Jh5??
Capital! He wants to stop White' s
attack by means of exposing a piece to
capture. 8. . h6 9. iiJD 8c6 10. h5
gxh5 11 . 0Je5 tl::ib4 12. 'i!'D tlJxD 13.
cxd3 'JJ!ic7 14. g4 would have also I am citing one of Swift' s gags: "I
been more promising to White, but have heard of a man who had a mind
everything could have happened yet, to sell his house, and therefore carried
like in a fable. a piece of brick in his pocket, which he
9. �xh5 showed as a pattern to encourage
This move I cannot accompany with purchasers." I ' m sure there are many
an ! sign, because on recapturing
" " of you whose buying mood would be
there would follow 10. �xh7 mate. aroused by such a man. And as for the
However, you are able, to take longer mate we have just seen: it may give an
delight in the game, so let ' s do it. aesthetic joy even to the party
After me, reader! receiving it.

Cute-Trap amusing.
And now here is the other fine one.

What both of the games have in
common is the very high ratio of
oversights.
1. e4 d5 2 . exd5 CDf6 3 . c4 e6? ! 4.
dxe6 .txe6 5. d4 .tb4+ 6 . �d2
.txd2+ 7. 'i¥xd2 'i¥e7 8 . 'i¥e3 tLlc6 9.
d5 0-0-0?? 1 0. dxc6 krhe8 1 1 .
'i¥xa7??
White, in the belief that it is he who
gives mate, overlooks a mate. I still do Just for the sake of being factual, I re
mark that after 11. cxb7+ �b8 12. 0.''tc3
not mock at his naive faith, because
'W'b4 13. £e2 il.i'xb2 14. l:!b l �c2 13.
somebody, it may have been Blake,
�cl �xc l + 16.Jlxc l Jl;;,xc4 1 7. t2\f3
said something like if you mock at the 'f:Je7 1 8. �c2 l::lde8 19. 0�\d4 White
faith of a child, you shall be jeered at would have been left a piece up.
even when old and under lumps of 1 1 . ... ..tc4+ 12. ke2
earth. Although I shall not be old, After 1 2. �e3 �4+ Black would
because (I hope) I shall soon die, and have gained at least the queen.
nor shall I be under lumps of earth, for 12 . ... 'i¥xe2+! 13. tLlxe2 1lxe2 14.
I shall be cremated and dispersed to �fl h:Id I mate.
the four winds - I hope you will be
just standing in a place where a dose
of my ashes will be blown in your face,
giving me a last opportunity to make
myself a nuisance to you. Anyway, the
oversight we are just viewing is so
childish that it' s not worth even being
annoyed at. It is about the same as
when I sometimes take the ball away
from little children on the playground.
It is a nasty thing to do, yet lfind it

Bailey-Brown 8 . . .2.e7! 9. tl:JdS 0-0 I0. tl:Jxc6
. .
Sydney 1964 dxc6 1 1. tl:Jxe7+ ®h8 12. 'i¥h5 .te6

9. Ihe5+ j.e7 10. tl:Jd5! 0-0 11.
We conclude this subchapter with two tl:Jxe7+ �h8 12. 'it'h5 ! !
typical mates, without any commentary.
The reason for this is that yesterday (on
February 6, 2000) my friend Peter
Szihigyi came to visit me, and was
honified at reading the teasing
· ·
comments of this book. He claimed that

owing to these nobody would read my
masterpiece. Now, at least, you too can
see how much duller it is this way, than
when I'm getting fresh with your
esteemed person.
1. e4 e5 2. tl:Jf3 tl:Jc6 3. �b5 a6 4.
�a4 t:Lif6 5. 0-0 tl:Jxe4 6. I:te1 t:Lic5 7. 1 2.... d6
t:Lic3 0Jxa4?! 12. . h6 13. d3 d6 14 . .'txh6 .tg4
. .
15. kc l + kxhS 16. I:txhS mate.

13. 'iVxh7+! ®xh7 14. !!h5 mate.
8.0.'\xeS! tl:Jxe5?

Krejcik-Thiring
Vienna 1898
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 d6 3. exd6 .txd6 4.

e4 ilJf6 5 .tgs 0-0 6. 'ii'f3 .tes 7. c3
•
'i¥d6 8. £c4 l::td8 9. £b3
For this boredom express your thanks

to my fiiend Peter Szilagyi who has
about as much sense of humor as the
repulsive old lady on whose toes I had
"accidentally" trampled in the post
office.
Well, just to make the two galleys equal,
here is a brief story. In days long past I
9. .•. .tg4 1 0. 'iie3 'ikdl+! used to go to the "Bern Jozsef'
Special Secondary School. We went to
school three days a week, and two days
to field work. I cannot imagine a surer
way than this to keep pupils from getting
the mastery of the trade or acquiring the
knowledge required for the final exam.
The general relationship between
teachers and pupils was something like
this: Our schoolmistress caught us
playing sn6bli under the desk. "A
goose egg to each of the four Swa
bians !" she screamed. So the quartet
consisting of Habler, Dirner, Wittinger
and Schneider has flopped at the end
11. £xd1 l:Ixd 1 mate. of the term. Is it to be wondered?

In those bygone days, ':lne of my favourite
poets, Villon, had perpetrated some piece of
trickery. I can't remember exactly if he had
stabbed a priest in the street, or it had been
somebody else in a pub, or maybe both, but
as laws had been more severe than they are
now in our country, he had been sentenced
to death. Although, to the benefit of
literature, he had been pardoned, he could
not surmise it yet, and it was then that he
wrote this poem of four lines, which is very
meaningful to those having a quick ear:
THE FOUR LINES OF VILLON

WAITING FOR HIS HANGING
I'm a Frenchman, as sure as hell,

Paris made me (and Ponthoise as well);
An ell of rope will whisper to my brains
How much my ass weighs.
1 42
Queen Mates
Krauthauser-Hermann
Siegen 1934
"The gods are on the side of the stronger."
Tacitus
143
Reflection on the Nature of Queen Mates
There is a vast number of queen mates, although you may

have every reason to believe that this is the sort of mate
which is most difficult to overlook. With regard to their
variousness, dividing them is possible only in an arbitrary
manner, and though I hate arbitrariness itself, I also have
resorted to this method.
The subchapters are:
Interesting Queen Mates to Similar People
I present eight immensely interesting mates,
seasoned with witty comments customary of me. The title
is a bit deceptive, in so far as you believe (it's an innocent
deceit on my part) that you are interesting people. Well,
you really are, but I hasten to state that only in the sense
Thomas Mann put it: " ... what is interesting is always a bit
"
creepy... .
The Case of the Poisoned Rooks
In this subchapter I am dealing with the
consequences of the capture of "poisoned" rooks on seven
pages. If somebody leaves a rook exposed to capture, it
should, at least, give food for thought. He who wants to
find out about the consequences of winning a rook in the
middle-game in such a manner that he captures it, saying
"come what may", is certainly a poop. Here is an example
taken from life: in case of mushrooms gathered in the
woods there are two ways for the gentle reader to
ascertain if they are poisonous (toadstools). One of the
1 44
methods (which is, alas, adopted from time to time) is
that he eats them, and if he survives, then they were
edible. The more expedient method is to show them to an
expert whose opinion will be authoritative. As in chess
you cannot (in principle, at least) ask for anyone's advice,
the part of the expert is played by your ability to calculate
variations. In case you might, by any chance, be
possessed of this ability, please, use it. The more frequent
the better.
Fatal Oversights
In this subchapter I have picked out twelve
oversights which are so incomprehensible that on
replaying them even you will be shaking your head in
disapproval.
1 45
An instructional story throwing light on the right
treatment of the opponent
In 1982, the two chessplaying brothers, Janos Ors6

and Mikl6s Ors6, invited me to their native village, Oros,
which is some five kilometres from Nyiregyhaza, to take
part in the first pig-killing of my life. A great number of
interesting things happened during the two days I spent
there, and one of them was that I could, under very odd
circumstances, make the acquaintance of Kucmag, the
chap next door, who in times past, discovering the two
little boys' talent for chess, had taken them to Nyir
egyhaza to play chess, presumably causing their life to
take a turn of 180 degrees, but that is another story.
As so often happens after a pig-killing, while
drinking beer, wine, but (according to my remembrance)
mostly grape-brandy, there cropped up old memories, as
well as stories and sayings grown into legends. Old Janos
Ors6 (God rest his soul) related the following episode,
which had occured when he had been yet a young man:
"In those days, when I was a lad, there were only
two men who were greatly feared in the village. Myself
and Sanyi Vida. I beat only those who deserved it, but
Vida had picked a quarrel even with dogs. Of me he was
afraid, but all the other lads had been already beaten up
by him once or, some of them, even several times. One
day a dancing party was held in the pub. Sanyi Vida was
also a participant; there he was, cutting. the rug with a
146
girl. All those lads have found the way of how to incite us
against one another. They took turns in going up to Vida
to cut in on the girl. "May I dance with her?" they would
say. "No, you may not!" sounded the curt reply. "But to
Orso you would surely give her up!" they said. "I
wouldn't, either!" he said. Well, it was enough for the
lads, so they came back to me. "Listen, Janos. Vida told
me that he would not let her dance even with you!" they
reported. "What!" I exclaimed, presently stepping up to
Vida. "May I?" I asked. "Yo may not!" Sanyi retorted. It
was more than enough to me: with my fist I hit him so
hard on the head that he swooned. J6ska Mate quickly
unbuckled his belt and with its clasp knocked Vida on the
head. The other lads, too, were coming. "Stop! All of
you," I ordered, "as long as he's lying prostrate, nobody
can touch him!" Having said this, I sat back to my table
to wet my whistle. Since they stood in awe of me, they
didn't insult him, but they did not budge an inch from
there, either. One of them kept gazing out of the pub
windows, and on catching sight of the doctor
approaching, he uttered a loud cry: "Have a go at him, the
doe is here!" The rest of them needed not more than this,
they kicked Sanyi Vida twenty or thirty times, and also
knocked him on the head with the clasp of their belt. So
the doctor has not come in vain. "
What is the teaching of this story? It is, of course,

that when you are playing chess, you should have a
147
watchword with which you can suggest your chessmen,
viz., "Have a go at him, the doe is here!"
I was just on the point of continuing this book with

games, when, thinking of you (I think of you lots of
times), as the parts of humanity, a mild disgust came over
me. And, on the other hand, I noticed that I'm on a left
hand page, and we who know something about page
setting, do not begin a new chapter on a left-hand page.
Luckily for me, a Latvian proverb was just coming
my way, and it was as if it had been written about me: "It
is the boaster who speaks most, and the doer who speaks
least, because deeds are silent."
148
Lobdeii-Gittens a lost position.
Correspondence game 1951 11. tlJd5
A well-known (to some people, at
I. e4 c5 2. CDf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. least) type of motif, on which the
CDxd4 CDf6 5. CDc3 a6 6. .tg5 CDbd7 whole combination is based upon.
7 . .tc4 e6 8. 0-0 11. ..•tt:lxd5 12. 'ikxd5 .tb7??
So far nothing unusual has hap Having been unable to bear the
pened, but now Black - it being a tension any longer, Black overlooked
correspondence game where there is a the mate in three moves. After 12. . . .
lot of time to think - goes mad. tt:lb8 13. CDxf8 'il'c6 14. €le6 'il:Yxd5
8. b5??
••. 15. CDc7+ ®f7 16. tLlxd5 he would
Chasing, as it were, White into have remained "only" a pawn down
winning. and with a totally lost position.
9. �xe6!! fxe6 10. 0:'lxe6 'i!Vb6?! 13. CDc7+!

Choosing the quicker loss. He could He has noticed it' Black can no
have tried (without success) the longer avoid mate.
continuation 10. . . . 'li'a4 1 1. b4 ! 'l&'xb4 13. . . 'iWxc7 14. 'i!Ve6+ Jl..e7 15 . 'iWxe7
.
12. i21d5 ii!Vc4 13. 12Jec7+ ®f7 14. mate.

.:kxf6 t.>'Jxf6 15. £�xa8 �b7 16. tt'.lab6 As it would be unkind towards the
�xe4 17. �e 1 �f5 18. c4 C£\xd5 reader to show him only the path
19.'-L\xdS bxc4 20. €le3 �g6 2 1 . leading to mate, I now reveal how you
�a4, after which h e would have can avoid it: before the opponent gives
remained an exchange down and with it, you should resign.
Interesting Queen Mates to Similar People 149

Mayet-Hirschfeld
Berlin 1861
1 . e 4 e 5 2 . f4 exf4 3 . tl:'l f3 g 5 4.
.tc4 ii..g7 5. d4 d6 6. c3 g4 7. 'ir'b3?
11. cxd4
After 1 1 . !i:f2 krxg2+ 12. �fl
l::txf2+ 13. �el 'i!VgS mate is also
unavoidable.
1 1.•.• llxg2+ 12. �hi .lclxh2+ 13.
�xh2 ifh4+ 14. ®gl ifg3+ 14.
An error, and not a small one at �gl 'it'g3+ 15. ®hi 'ii'g2 mate.
that. Adopting the "throw the helve
after the hatchet" policy, he should
have undertaken the complications of
7. 0-0 gxD 8. 'M¥xf3 t1)f6 9. £.xf4
.4'.g4 10. 'ii1Jig3 hS 11 . .C[jd2 0:�bd7 12.
e5 h4 13. 'iff2 dxeS 14. dxeS tt.lhS 15 .
..W.xf7+ \t'xf7 16. exf6 h3.
7. ... gxf3 8 axf7+ �f8 9 .txg8?
. • •
A bad move, which lets loose

Black's so far inactive rook on his
own king's position. This latter remark
of mine just shows how stupid things
even the wisest man (myself) can do Although this book is the work of a
sometimes. It is to you that I explain what mind which is on the point of
a bad move is, though you have probably a becoming unhinged, it must have
hundred times greater experience in already attracted your notice that I
making such moves than I. often make amazingly sharp-witted
9. l'lxg8 I 0. 0-0??
.•. remarks. Right now this is done in the
He overlooks mate, but we shall not form of an advice: Always keep your
overlook this lapse of his. eyes open for any possibility to check
10 . ii..xd4+! !
••. mate, and if there is one, do it.!
ISO Interesting Queen Mates to Similar People

Wallis-Amateur
USA 1 93 1
1 . d4 d5 2 . e 4 dxe4 3. tL'lc3 tL'lf6 4 .

.tgs .trs 5. 'ike2 tL'lc6? 6. 0-0-0 e6 7.
d5 tL'lb4??
Judging on the basis of his moves,
Black must have been released from an
asylum not long before the game. White
can now choose from several wins.
8. 'iib 5+
Or 8. dxe6 'Wfe7 9. 'iYh5+, winning a 1 1 . ... �xe6 12. Ilxd7! .txd7 13.
piece. 'ifxe4+ .te7 14. 'i!¥xe7 mate.
8 . ... 'i!Vd7 9. 'ifxb7 'ifc8 1 0 . .tbS+
tL'ld7 l l. dxe6!?
He finds the forced 11. .txd7+
�d7 12. 'ib5+ <Ji?d6 13. dxe6 �e6
14. 'i¥c4+ <Ji?e5 15. f4+ exf3
I've given quite a lot of thought to

the question of how to dispel your
inferiority complex. I suppose there is
no way of doing it, because, as the old
German saying puts it: "A dwarf sees
16. 12\xD mate too long. giants everywhere." Too bad.
Interesting Queen Mates to Similar People 15 1

Mayet-Andersen 'ii7xh 1 t2\xf2+,
Berlin 1851
About Black one is supposed to

know a lot, but now let ' s limit our
selves to only this: he was one of the
greatest chess players of his time, a
brilliant tactician, and a practising
teacher of arithmetic. Due to this latter
he took part in tournaments relatively
seldom, but if he did, he usually
finished first. He lost his match
tournaments for the world title, first
but the greedy Adolf is not content
against Morphy, and later to Steinitz.
with less than mate!
1 . e4 e5 2. t2\f3 t2\c6 3. �b5 �c5 4.
c3 tLlf6 5. .txc6 dxc6 6. 0-0 �g4 7.
h3 h5? 8. hxg4 hxg4 9. t2\xe5 g3 10.
d4 tLlxe4 1 1. 't!Vg4??
12. 'ifxe4 .txf2+ 13. l:i:xf2 l!Vd l+ 1 4.

llO l:i:h l + 1 5. �xh l 'ifxO mate.
Although the position arising after

11. fxg3 tl:1xg3 12. l:i:e 1 l:Ih 1+ 13. �f2
�h4 seems formidable, it is easy to
check; after 14. l:i:xh 1 tLlxh I+ 15.
�g 1 t2\g3 16. �g4 '!Wxg4 17. t2\xg4
the bluff would have back-fired
11. �xd4!!
•••
Black could have gained the queen

after 11. . gxf2+ 12. l:i:xf2 l:i:hl + 13.
. .
152 Interesting Queen Mates to Similar People

Andrews-Jansens 1 1 . exf6 ! ! ..tc5
USA 1 934
Now we shall see two such

astounding games which can, I think,
only be described - in contradiction to
you, new primitives - as old primitive.
1. e4 e5 2. ctJfJ ctJc6 3. i.c4 ctJf6 4.
d4 exd4 5. 0-0 i.e7 6. ctJxd4 ctJxd4
7. 'Yixd4 d6 8. f4 b6? !
This move is like most of the beautiful
women - there is not much sense in it.
9. e5 d5??
This amiable naivety is amusing. Black 12. llel+ Wf8 13. fxg7+ ®g8 1 4.
wishes to gain the queen with 10 . .tcs
. . . gxh8ll mate.
without bothering with any calculation.
1 0. il.b5+! .td7
Or 10. ... tiJd7 1 1. �xdS .ltcS+ 12.
Wh 1 I'l:b8 13. J::rd 1, and in view of the
pins White wins a. piece sooner or later.
The final posttJOn may as well be

interpreted as the refutation of the old
Danish proverb: "It is hard to make a
proper garment for an unfortunate man."

Amateur-Perigal 9 ... tl:Jd4
.
London 1 843
1. e4 e5 2. tl:JfJ tl:Jc6 3 ..tc4 ..tc5 4.

•
c3 d6 5. 0-0 ..tg4 6. d4?!

This rather obscure pawn sac is
going to be the root of all evil.
6 . ... cxd4 7. �b3 'ikd7 8. cxd4 .i.xfJ
9. dxc5?
Despite the fact that I deeply agree
with this move, it loses. The possible
way of fleeing is 9. �x£3 tl:'lxd4 10.
'i!'d3 tLlf6 1 1. b4 ..tb6 12 . ..tb2 tLlc6
White might as well resign, because
13. ..txf6 gxf6 14. .i.b5 llg8 15. 'i¥c3 he has no defence to 10. . . . 'i¥g4,
..td4? ! (15. ... 0-0-0! ) 16. ..txc6 bxc6
threatening mate, but he decides on
17. 'i¥xd4
giving some avenging checks first.
10. 'ikxb7 l!Yg4 1 1 . 'i¥xa8+ <j}e7 12 .
.,tg5+ tl:'lf6 13. cxd6+ <j;d7 14. g3
l!Yh3 1 5. l!Yxh8 'ikg2 mate.
17. . . . llxg2+ ! 18. �g2 "-ti'g4+ and

Black holds perpetual check.

Brach-Dvorak 1 4. tLle6 ! !
Briin 1 905
1. e4 c5 2. tLltJ e6 3. ti:Jc3 a6 4. d4
cxd4 5. tLlxd4 .tc5 6 .te3 �f6?
•
We didn't-have to wait long for this

primitive oversight of a pawn. A good
advice: pay attention to what you are
doing!
7. tLlxe6 .txe3 8. tLlc7+ \£7f8
Or 8 .... 'it'd8 9. fxe3 J::ra7 10. t2J7d 5
't!Ve 5 1 1. 't!Vd4 tLlc6 12. �b6+ ®e8
13. .td3 t2Jf6 14. 0-0, with an extra
pawn and attack for White. A nice move. Black's only choice is
9. fxe3 l::ra 7 10 ..tc4 t2lh6 1 1 . I::rfl
. between immediate mate or losing his
't!Vh4+ 12. g3 'i!Vxh2?? queen.
The last oversight, though I am 14 . dxe6 1 5. 't!Vd8 mate.
••.
ready to admit that the mating trap

already set was just as concealed to
Black as to you.
13. 't!Vd6+ ®g8
"Mockery is the pudency of

mankind" - according to Renard
Maybe this is why I avail myself of it.

SpreckJey-Mongredien 10• 'ii'd 2
•.•
Liverpool 1846 Overlooking mate in six moves, but

nor would 10. 'i'el 'it'xel+ 1 1. �e 1
t. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. tl.'lf3 it..e 7 4. ti:Jxc2+ be a bed of roses for White.
�c4 .th4+ 5. tl.'lxh4? 10. tl.'le3+ 1 1 . �g1 tl.'ltJ+
•.•
He's a bit impatient, thereby

bringing so fierce an attack on his
head that even an African chieftain full
to the gills with food would not give
an unripe banana for his position. The
right move was 5. ®fl.
5 . ... 'i+'xh4+ 6. ®0 tl.'lf6 7. 'i+'f3 tl.'lc6
8. d3??
Losing outright. There was no real
defence, because after 8. tl.'lc3 tl.'ld4 9.
�d3 c5 10. 0Jdl 0Jg4 11. h3 tl.'le5 12.
'i!'c3 f3 13. 0�f2 ti:Jxc4 14. �xc4 ti:Je2 12. gxtJ 't!Vg5+ 13. ®f2 'ifg2+ 14.
15. �xc5 '8g3+ 16. ®gl tl.'lxhl 17. 'iit>e 1 'ifxh l+ 1 5. \t>e2 'tWO mate.
V...'xhl 'i\lg3 18. gxf3 \}/dlxf3+ 19. 'lt'gl
�g3+ 20. �fl d6 2 1. '!Wc3 \}/dlxc3 22.
'il'xc3 ��e6 Black would easily win the
endgame.
9. .•.0Jd4 10. 'i+'dl tilg4
It is the pieces surrounding the

white king and hindering it in its
movement that is described in cant as
harmful pieces.

Hector-Konopka
Liibeck 1977
If a piece is said to be "poisoned", it

is as much as saying that in the event
of winning it, the greedy winner of
material is left with a lost position.
The present chapter deals with gains
of rooks where the above-mentioned
event is tolerated with mate. There
will be, of course, exceptions, too: to
these I will always draw the attention mate would be inevitable.
of the extremely absent-minded 11. tLlxh7 tLlxc2+?!
reader. 1 1. ... lJxh7 12. 'Jf!lg6+ 'Jf!lfl 13.
1. e4 tLlf6 2. tLlcJ d5 3. e5 tLlfd7 4.
'Jf!lxh7 il:lxb5 14. il:lxb5 .::Uxe5 14. f4
-e6!? fxe6 5. d4 c5 6. tLlfJ tLlc6 7. il:lc6 15. I/Wh8, and White, in the long
.tb5 e5 8. dxe5 e6 9. tLlg5 tLld4? run, has a winning game, but mate is -
A bold but bad move. After 9. ... in contrast to the game - out of the
tLldxe5 10. �e2 a6 11. .txc6+ .::Uxc6 question.
12 . .::Uxe6 .txe6 13. 'fi'xe6+ 'Jf!/e7 14. 12. �d1 tLlxa1 13. tLlxd5!!
il1Vxe7+ .::Uxe7 15 . .,tg5 0-0-0 16 . .:Lla4 The point ofWhite's lOth'
�d6 17. 0-0-0 �g6 18. f4 h6 19.
.ii.xe7 il..xe7 20. lJhe 1 �d6 21. Cl'Jb6+
Wb8 22. g3 �xf4+ 23. gxf4 lJxb6 24.
t!xd5 1::1£8 25. f5 i.::lbf6 Black would
have equalized.
1o. 't!Vg4!!
White is not of the timorous kind.
10. ... 'it'e7
Well, yes. After winning the
poisoned rook: 10 .... 0.Jxc2+ 1 1 . Wd1
fz:Jxa1 12. t1"Jxe6 'iVaS 13. Ci\xg7+
�xg7 (13 . .. Wd8 14. .:Lle6+ We8 1 S.
.
�hS+ We7 16. Ji.gS+ Wxe6 17. 13. ... exd5 14. .,tg5 'it'xe5??
'i!'xg4+ Wfl 18. e6+ and White gives Overlooking the mate in two, but
mate in two moves.) 14. il1Vxg7 l.:Z£8 from the point of view of the final
15. tLlxdS i!IVd8 16 . .1i.h6 result it made no difference, because

14. ... l:Ixh7 15. Ji..xe7 <J:Jxe7 16. As we could see from the above
'ii'g 5+ �e6 17. �g6+ example, there is a well-marked
likeness between winning a rook and
gathering mushrooms. How many a
case have we already heard about
when daddy or mummy went to the
wood to gather mushrooms, at home
they cooked a fine supper from them,
and by the next morning the whole
family - from the eight-year-old La
cika to the ninety-year-old grandma -
turned their pinkish toes upwards, the
mushrooms being toadstools.
Inasmuch as in chess one cannot -
and the game is practically over in officially - ask advice before winning a
view of the decisive material advan rook, the reader is compelled to throw
tage. himself on his own brain - however
15. 'ii'h5+ g6 16. l!kxg6 mate. short he may be on it. To this I am
about to render help with further
examples.
158 The Case of the Poisoned Rooks

Van den Behaerdt-Gedult
Frankfurt 1971
The game we are now going to see

proves that there are openings which
are a priori based on the concept: just
let the opponent win the rook, and
then (s)he will see what insult will
befall him/her in return.
l. e4 e5 2. CDf3 CDc6 3. i.c4 CDf6 4.
CDg5 8xe4 5. CDxti?
White has taken the bait rather soon. Black stood better in the game Ajeeb
The good move was naturally 5. Divine, New York, 1890.
..txf7+. 6.... i.c5 7. tLlxh8
After 7. d4 8xt2 8. l::ixt2 i.xd4 9.
8xh8 'ii'xt2+ 10. �hl d5 11. �xd5
kg4 12. .1i.f3 kxf3 13. gxf3 0-0-0
Black would win easily.
7... . 8xf2 8. l::rxf2??
The last error of the game, now
there is no turning back. Necessary
was 8. kf7+ �e7 9. l::ix t2 kxt2+
10. �hl d5 I I. d3 ke6 12. kxe6
�xe6 13. t.2ld2 !lxh8 14. t.2lf3 "'li'f6
15. '!i'e2 .'kb6 16. kg5 'i¥f5 17. l::Ifl
�d7 18. kh4 �c8 19. t.2ld2 ·�g6
5 . ... 'i¥h4 6. 0-0 20. "i!'f3 ti:lb4, with the better
After 6. 'i'e2 �c5 7. g3 'Vi'ffi 8. 'ii'xe4? �+ chances for Black. Thus, however,
9. �d1 d5! 10. �d5 .tf5 11. i.xc6+ bxc6 he is ground into clay like Viktor
12. dxe5+?? � 1J '!Wxc7+ Wg8 14. 'tlff4 Orb{m (a Hungarian politician and
'i¥xf4 15. gxf4 �+ 16. 'ii7el J:Je8+ 17. � ex-premier) threatened to do with
� mate (9i!e diagram) communists.

Black will be a rook ahead, as the a 1
rook and the h8 knight will be
knocked offlike a mangy dog.
13 . ... tl:le2 ! !
8 . . 'it'xf2+ 1 0. �h 1 d5 1 1 . .txd5
..
�g4 1 1 . .to kxf3 12. gxf3 tl:ld4
Splendid I I t brings home the bacon

at once.
14. tl:lxe2 'it'xf3 mate.
1 3. tl:lc3
Or the miserable 13. '!i¥g1, whereupon
he is humiliated to the dust after 13. . ..
�xf3+ 14. '!i¥g2 '!i'dl + 15. '!i'g1
'if'xgl + 16. �g1 tl:lxc2+, because

Ortiz-Amilibia
I. e4 e5 2. tl::\f3 f5? ! 3 .tc4 fxe4 4.

•
0Jxe5 'i¥g5?
We didn't have to wait long while
being bored: Black actively commits
himself to the course to defeat.
5. d4! 'i¥xg2 6. 'i¥h5+! g6 7 ..tfi+ •
'I.+Jd8 8 . ..txg6 'iYxh l+ 9. <Ji?e2 c6 10.

t?:'lc3 <Ji?c7 1 1 . ..tf4 ! !
Black would lose:
A) 13.... b6 14. ti'Jb5+ <Ji7b7 15. ti'Jxd6+
�c7 16. ti'Jxe4+<Ji7b717. CL\d6+<Ji?c7 18.
fi§J+ �b7 19. 8d8+ �a6 20. ..td3+ b5
21. 'i¥a3 mate, or
B) 13. ... M4 14. (2lb5+ <Ji7xd7 15. 'IW5+
�d8 16. 'i¥£8+ 'tt>d7 17. k£5 mate.
12. 'ik g 5 'ikxa 1 ? ? 13. tl::\fi+ �b6 1 4
•
..tc7+ ! ! ®xc7 15. 'tWd8 mate.
White is far from being shy. I t is

worth bearing this position in mind:
he's already sacrificing his second
rook in return for a measly mate.
11. hxg6
•• •
After I I. ... 't!t'xa l 12. tl::\x d7+ .td6

U. �c5!!

Abbes-Van Schaik 11 • ••• tlJg3+ 12. �xf2 tlJxhl+
Amszterdam 1 995
Now we shall see a cuckoo's egg; it

might as well have been played by you.
1 . e4 e5 2. tlJt3 tlJc6 3. .tc4 tlJf6 4.
d4 exd4 5. tlJg5 .tb4+??
It's losing. Better and substantially
commoner is 5. . .. tlJe 5 or 5. . .. d 5.
6. c3 dxc3 7. bxc3 .tc5 8. tlJxf7 '&'e7
9. tlJxh8 .txf2+ 1 0. �0 ? !
H e does not venture to capture,
though after 1 0. � ue4+ 1 1. � 13. �g1 ??(?)
'i!Vc5 1 2. .t£7+ �d8 13. �B d5 1 4. Overlooking the mate in three
.te3 'iib 5+ 1 5. �g 1 'iib 2 16. .txd5 moves. After 13. �fl �f6+ 1 4. �B
0:Jf6 17 . .txc6 'i'xa 1 18. 'i'dl+ White White would have easily won.
could have a basketful of extra pieces. 13 'iVel+ 14 .to 'ii'f2+ 1 5. �xh 1
• ••• •
10 • •.. tlJxe4 1 1. 1i'd5 \WxO mate.

Bernstein-Amateur As they said in the motion-picture
Paris 1 927 entitled Back tQ the Future Ill- which
you evidently didn't see, because it is
At the time of the game Bernstein neither a porno nor a karate film -:
Osip Samoilovich was 45 years old "This is the point from where there is
(like I am now), and he had been living no turning back."
in Paris for seven years already, which, 9. "t!Vxc3+ 1 0. �d 1 'i!Vxal+ ll.
•••
after living in the Soviet Union, must �d2

have seemed to him at least an With a joint effort, the combatants
amusement park. Two interesting have served up the black king by way
data: In 1 93 3 he played a match with of a snack, as it were.
Alekhine, which ended with 2:2( ! ) . At 1 1. �d8 12. 'i!Vf8+ �c7 13 . .td6+
.••
the age of 72 he still played, under �b6?

French colours, at tlte Chess By way of saying good-bye, he yet
Olympiad, and even after this he lived overlooks the fool ' s mate, but after
for eight years till the Reaper came for 1 3 . �b7 1 4 . .ta6+ �a6 1 5 . llxa1
. . .
him. CZJf6 1 6 . 'Yi'xh8 tl:Jxe4+ 1 7 . 'it'd3 CZJxd6

l. e4 c5 2. CZJc3 tl:Jc6 3. .5l:Jge2 e6 4. 1 8 . �xg7 he would lose his queen and
d4 cxd4 5. CZJxd4 .tb4 6. tl:Jxc6 the game .
.txc3+? ! 7. bxc3 bxc6 8. .ta3! 14. "t!Vd8+ Wb7 15. 'i¥c7 mate.
"t!Va5?· ?
Black would like to gain material, in
which, to his sincere regret, he will
succeed.
In consideration of the level of the

game, Black must have agreed with
the German proverb according to
which: "One eye is necessary, two are
9. 'it'd6!! a luxury."

Taylor-Stewart 9 . ... exO 10. j_xd5
Correspondence game 1 992 Or 1 0 . d4 i.e7 1 1. j_e3 £2+, and
Black wins the queen.
1. e4 e5 2. tl:JtJ f5? ! 10 • j_e7 1 1. l:lxtJ
..•
The Latvian Counter-Gambit. It re Putting up with mate rather than

gained its timeliness after the losing the queen. Well, it' s a matter of
disintegration of the Soviet Union, when taste.
Latvians became Latvians again.
3. j_c4 b5 4. j_bJ fxe4? 5. tl:Jxe5
'it'g5 6. CiJf7 'ii'xg2 7. l::tfl d5 8.
tl:Jxh8 j_g4
11 . ..• j_b4+ 12. l:lg3 'i¥g1 mate.
9. tJ??
On this he gets swatted like a fly.
Mandatory was 9. 'i¥xg4 't!Vxg4 1 0 .
.txdS c6 1 1 . .txg8 tLld7 1 2 . .tf7+
�e7 1 3 . d4 g6 1 4 . .tb3 .tg7 1 5 . tLlt7
.1t.xd4 1 6 . .tgS+ �e8 17. c3 tL\eS 1 8 .
tLlxeS .txeS 1 9 . .te3 .txh2 20. CDd2
l::t d 8 2 1 . l::t h 1 'i¥g2 22. 0-0-0, with fa
irly good winning chances for White.
1 64 The Case of the Poisoned Rooks

Nielsen-Qvortrup Although h e is lost, h e finally
Stavanger 1 988 overlooks mate, to my genuine
delight. After 1 2 . .tx£3 .tc5+ 1 3 . �
1 . e4 e5 2. tl:Jc3 tl:Jc6 3. f4 exf4 4. d4? 'il'h4 1 4 . 'il'e 1 'iVxe l + 1 5 . �e1 �£8
An incomprehensible bloomer, ex Black would easily win the endgame
posing his own king to persecution. with two extra pawns.
4 1!Yh4+ 5. �e2 b6! 6. a4 �a6+
• . ••• 12• �c5+ 13. �fl
••.
7. tl:Jb5 'i¥h5+ 8. tl:Jf3 g5!
13• 'il'h4!
.•.
Forward, dogs! We are confronted with a typical

9. �f2 .txb5 1 0. axb5?? example of unavoidable mate. Now a
A losing move, upon which White bit of stall for time follows yet.
gets conked out. Necessary was 10.
14. 'it'xa8+ �e7 1 5. g3 'it'h3 mate.
hb5, followed by 1 0 . . . . g4 1 1 . hc6
Since during this wonderful master
dxc6 12. tl:Je5 tZ:J£0 1 3 . �d3 �4+ 14.
� kh6 15. �c4 0-0 16. �xc6 �ad8 piece I badger the reader quite a lot, I
1 7 . c3 I:!d6 1 8 . �7 { 1 8 . 'Wixc7?? hope that many will take a loathing to
tl:Jxe4 1 9. tl:Jd3 £3, and Black mates. ) me, but I'm afraid that even more
1 8 . . . . tl:Jh5, with good attacking come to like me. But take note of
chances to Black. Strindberg's eternal saying: "Humour
10 . ••• tl:Jxd4! ! 1 1 . .te2 tl:Jxf3 1 2. speaks two languages: that of the satyr
1!Yd5? ? and the monk."
The Case of the Poisoned Rooks 1 65

Sosna-Muron 'i!Vf5+ 24. �g2 �c2+ 25 . �g3 �g6+
Spain 1 987 26. �h2 �d6+ 27. �g2 i.f5, with
excellent winning chances for Black.
l. e4 e5 2. tlJfJ tl:Jc6 3. i.c4 tl:Jf6 4. 12 • tt:'le5! 13. i.e2 tt:'lg5 1 4. 'iVf5? !
•.•
tl:Jg5 i.c5 5. tl:Jxf7 .txfl+ 6. � The only thing w e can bring u p in

tl:Jxe4+ 7. �g1 'ifh4 8. g3 tl:Jxg3 9. White ' s defence is that he no longer
.
d4? had a defence, because after 1 4 . �g2
Ah, an error. Better would have 'i¥f4 1 5 . i.h5+ g6 1 6 . �e2 ti:Jgf3+ 1 7.
been 9. hxg3 �xg3+ 1 0. �fl l::!: £8 1 1 . i.xf3 tt:'lxf3+ 1 8 . �g2 tt:'ld4 he would
�h5 ti:Jd4 1 2 . l::!:h3 �f4+ 1 3 . 'it'g2 d5 have lost his queen.
14. i.xd5 i.xh3+ 1 5 . 'i¥xh3 c6 1 6 .
ti:Jc3 ! cxd5 1 7. ti:Jd6+ �d8 1 8 .
ti:Jxb7+ �e8 1 9 . ti:Jd6+
14 • tt:'lef3+ 15 .txf3 'iVt2 mate.

..• •
I might as well say, quotating

and as Black' s king cannot move to e7 Raymond Chandler, that mates like this
in view of losing the queen, he is are as rare "as a Negro at the
compelled to reconcile himself to engagement party of the president' s
perpetual check. daughter", but this would not b e
9. •••tt:'le4 1 0. i.e3 exd4 ll. tt:'lxh8 wholly true.
dxe3 12. 'iffl It is, however, a fact that any time it
Or 1 2 . 'it'f3 tl:Je5 1 3 . i.£7+ �f8 1 4 . is possible to win a rook in the games
�xe3 �g4+ 1 5 . �fl �d l + 1 6. �g2 dealt with in this chapter, it is won
'i'xc2+ 1 7. �g 1 tt:'lx£7 1 8 . tt:'lx£7 without thinking. Conclusion: If our
'i'd l + 1 9 . �g2 �g4+ 20. � opponent leaves a rook exposed to
Wx.£7 2 1 . tt:'lc3 tt:'lxc3 22.bxc3 d5 23 .h3 capture too lightly, then let us think.

Turchinovich-Schmidt,P 29. 'l.t>x:g2 �d5+ 30. Wg3 'i¥e5+ 3 1 .
Correspondence game 1 972 Wh3 g6 32. tl:Jxg6 hxg6, and the
position is equal. Doing this analysis
1. e4 e5 2. tl:Jt3 tl:Jc6 3 ..tc4 ti:Jf6 4.
• took me two hours. I wonder what
tl:Jg5 ..tc5 5. tl:Jxf7 ..txf2+ 6. � you have been doing during this time
'iie 7 7. tl:Jxh8 d5 8 . ..te2? besides running about for money, or
Commoner and better is 8. exd5 . racking your brain about idiocies.
8. ..th4 9. d3 tl:Jd4 10 ..tfJ? !
•.. • Reflect on this, it will be of use to you.
Seems t o b e a blooper, but the 10• ••.dxe4 1 1 . dxe4 ..tg4 12. c3??
position is so intricate that it is easy to Overlooking the threat, which - it
get lost in it. I show you a rather being a correspondence game - indi
astounding example which, for lack of cates a hereditary abnormality, and I
anything better, let's call the avenue of was yet too polite.
escape: 1 0. g3 .th3+ 1 1 . We1 dxe4 12. .••tl:J xfJ 13. gxfJ
1 2 . gxh4 exd3 1 3 . cxd3 0-0-0 1 4 . tLlc3 Or 1 3 . �a4+ c6 14. g3 �d7 1 5 .
e4 1 5 . ..te3 tLlxe2 1 6. �xe2 exd3 1 7 . gxh4?? �d3+ 1 6 . �£2 <8xh4, and
i¥£3 d2+ 1 8 . W£2 tLlg4+ 1 9 . We2 mate is inevitable.
tLlxe3 20. iYxh3 + 13 . ... �c5 ! !
That simply!
1 4. �e2 it.h3+ 1 5. �g2 'it'f2 mate.
20 . . . . tLlg4+ 2 1 . Wd 1 'i\fe6 22. 'i�VD

tl:Je3+ 23 . We2 d 1 'ilf+ 24. <8xd 1
tLlxd l + 25. Wfl tLle3+ 26. � �d2+ This was human stupidity in action, in
2 7 . Wg 1 �g2+ 2 8 . 'i\fxg2 tLlxg2 1 5 moves, in a game that really occured.
The Case of the Poisoned Rooks 1 67

Hamburger-Heuacker have had a won position.
Nuremberg 1934
I should not have dreamt, yet it' s a

fact that there was hamburger even as
far back as 1 934. I hope that after
reviewing this game you will leave off
that ugly and unhealthy habit of yours
that you tuck into them like a pig.
I. f4 e5 2. fxe5 d6 3. exd6 .txd6 4.
tiJO g5 5. d4 g4 6. tLle5 tLlc6 7.
tLlxc6 bxc6 8. i.e3?! 'Wie7 9. 'Wid3
i.a6??
12 . ... tLlf6 13. 'Wixh8
Behold a proud and stiff-necked
man. He would sooner be mated as
give up his queen!
13 . ... 'ir'cl+ 1 4. �f2 tLle4+ 1 5. �gl
'ir'e3 mate.
10. 'Wixa6 'Wixe3 1 1. 'i¥xc6+ �e7 12.

'i:fxa8??
He is, to say the least, unsuspecting,
though he should know that a ship
should not be saved from sinking by
means of throwing the passengers
overboard. After 1 2 . tLld2 tLlf6 At the cost of not more than two
1 3 .'ii'c3 �g5 1 4 . e4 White would have poisoned rooks, Black gave mate.

Keres-Menke glass of fine port is poisoned or not
Correspondence game 1 933 would be to drink it, then I would
(contrasted with you, greedy
Paul Keres. Is there anybody who creatures of God) offer it to a
does not know this name? He is repulsive acquaintance of mine.
Estonian by birth, and took second 7. tlJxc7+! ? �d8 8. tLlxa8 tlJeS 9.
place four times in World Champion h3??
Candidates' Tournaments, three-time A losing move on the 9th ! From a
USSR Champion, ten-time participant in 17-year old kid it' s nothing to sneeze
the Olympiad, now under Estonian, at . 9. 'i!Vel ttJx:f.3 10. 'i!Vxh4+ tLlx.h4+ 11.
now under Soviet colours, depending Wd3 .td6 12. h3 ke6 13 . b3 wd7 14.
on where he was living, whereas he kb2 tLle7 15. kxg7 :t::l:xa8 16 . .tf6
had never left his domicile. According t2Jhg6 17. c3 was necessary, with an
to the data taken from Mayer' s Chess unclear position of mutual chances.
Encyclopedia: "He is the first 9. ... .txf3+ 10. gxf3 'iig3 1 1 .
grandmaster of the world to have had l!Ve1 ?? ?(?)
the privilege of having his portrait on a As for this move, words fail me.
banknote (in Estonia)." 1 1. ... 'ifxf3 mate.
l. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. tLlc3 'ifh4+ 4.

�e2 d5 5. tLlxdS .tg4+ 6. tLlO tLlc6
If there is someone among you (which

I believe not) who is interested in what
would have happened after 11. :t::l:g I,
Another poisoned-looking rook sac. If (s)he should analyse the line 11. . . .
the only way for me to decide if a 'i'xf3+ 12. We1 'i'xe4+ 13 . lt.e2 tLln+.

Petterson-Ortiz 2 1 . f4 .txg5+ 22. 'iYxgS tl:\e4 23 .
Correspondence game 1 970 'iYeS 1!Vxe5 24. fxe5 tl:\f2+ 25 . �g5
tl:\xh 1 Black would win with ease.
1. e4 e5 2. tt:'lfJ f5 3 .tc4?! fxe4 4.
• 13 • tt:'lxc2+ 14. �fl lld l+!
•••
tt:'lxe5 tt:'lf6 5. tt:'lf7 'ii e 7 6. tt:'lxh8 d5

7 .te2 tt:'lc6 8. d3 .tf5 9. dxe4 tt:'lxe4
•
1 0. 'iix d5? I:rd8! !

A brilliant recognition! Material no
longer counts in the position arisen,
more important is to develop attacking
pieces against the king stuck in the
middle. It is in tiny recognitions like
this that the art of giving mate resides.
1 1. 'i¥xf5 tt:'ld4 12. ¥i'h5+ g6 13.
tl:\xg6?
Though he receives mate, there was
no excuse any longer, for after 1 3 .
.tbS+ c6 1 4 . tl:\xg6 tl:\xc2+ 1 5 . �e2 15 .txd1 tl:\g3+ 16. hxg3 ¥i'e1 mate .
•
tl:\c3+! 1 6. � 't!i'fl+ 1 7 . �g4 'i¥e6+

1 8 . �h4 hxg6 1 9. 'i¥g4 .te7+ 20 .
.tgs Ild4 ! !
Once even the longest game comes

to an end.

Schlenker-Frick 1 6. l::rxf8 mate.
Tubingen 1981
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. tl:Jf3 tl:Jf6 4. e5

tl:Jh5 5. d4 g5 6. �c4 g4 7. 0-0 d5
After the more natural-looking 7. . . .
gxf3 8 . �xf3 �h4 9 . �e2 Cjjg7 1 0.

i.xf4 Cjjf5 1 1 . �e4 tl:Je7 1 2. t;jc3
c6? ! 1 3 . i.c4 White obtained excellent
attacking chances in Sanarov
Sirotenko, Krasnodar 1 997, in view of
the underdeveloped black position.
8. exd6 i.xd6 9. l::r e l+ 'i!i>f8? ! 1 0. g3
fxg3 1 1. �h6+ 'i!i>g8 12. �d2 gxf3?? 13. i.f8 14. �g5+ Cjjg7 1 5. �xg7
..•
mate.
Capital ! In a won position Black has

overlooked two mates at the same After Black's fatal oversight White
time. Winning is, however, 12. gave a spectacular mate. Despite this, or
gxh2+ 13. 'i!i>hl Cjjg7. just for this reason, remember Rey
13. l::re8+ mont's words: "It is easier to strike a
Or 1 3 . 't!igS+ �xgS I S . l::r e 8+ �f8 man dead than to give birth to him."

Mazei-Botvinnik 1. c4 CDf6 2. t:Dc3 e6 3. e4 c5 4. f4? !
Sotchi 1 963 tl:Jc6 5 . tl:J f3 d5 6 . e 5 tl:Jg4 7 . cxd5
exd5 8. 't!Vb3? CDb4! 9. a3??
Black was an interesting figure of Astounding as it may seem to your
chess-playing. What made him unique stagnant mind, this loses ! Against
was that he, with some exaggeration, Mikhail Moiseyevich there can no
became world champion as an amateur. longer be excuse here.
He interpolated rather long pauses
9 c4!
between his tournaments in order to
• •••
be able to indulge in his love . for

heavy-current technics as well as
power plant construction. He lost his
world title three times: in 1 95 7 it was
Smyslov who confiscated it from him
with a score of +3 -6 = 1 3 , but in the
return match he regained the title with
a result of +7 -5 = 1 1 , and then went
back to the power plants. In 1 960-6 1 ,
Tal, the "Magician of Riga", crushed
him like a caterpillar by +6 -2 = 13,
but i n the return match h e regained his
world title from him too, achieving a
result of + 1 0(!) -5 6, and then again
=
In the diagrammed position, Black's
the power plants could follow. The threat, 't!Vb6, is clearly visible.
third failure occured against Petrosian, 1 0. 't!Va4+ i.d7 1 1 . 'it'd 1 't!Vb6 12.
in 1 963 , when he lost by +2 -5 = 15, 'i+'e2 tl:Jd3+ 13. �d1 't!Vb3 mate.
but in view of the red-tape he could
not regain his title, because the Inter
national Chess Federation had simply
annulled the rule ensuring the
possibility to play a return match. In
1 970 he founded his world-famous
chess school in Moscow, which has
yielded two future world champions, a
certain K.arpov, and then Kasparov.
These names are presumably familiar
even to you, and if they are not, then
take note of them.
1 72 Fatal Oversights
Perez-Fernandez fact according to which a turn of 1 80
Aviles 1 947 degrees would have taken place in the
game after the not too concealed 1 2 .
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. tl:Jc3 �b4 4. . . . l:ih8 1 3 . i.h6+ tl:Jxh6 1 4 . �g5+
tl:Jge2 dxe4 5. a3 .i.d6? ! �ffi 1 5 . 't!Vxh6+ �e7 1 6. 0-0-0 �ffi
Better and commoner is 5 . . . . .i.e7, 1 7. 'i¥114 �d8, and White would have
but Black seeks new paths, in which - collapsed as if conked with a sandbag
unfortunately for him - he succeeds. - see Brecht ' s Threepenny Opera.
6. tl:Jxe4 tl:Je7 7. tl:J2g3 tl:Jbc6 8. tl:Jh5 (Well, a fat lot of good it does to
0-0 9. il:Jhf6+! ! recommend it to you of all people . . . )
Anyway, let's see the finish:
13. �xh6+ tl::lx h6 1 4. 't!Vg5+ �h8 15 •
... xh6 mate.
An excellent recognition, which, in

case of White 's correct play, must
result in a win.
9. •..gxf6 1 0. tl:Jxf6+ <:tlg7 1 1 . 'tikh5 While going to your working place,
tl:Jf5 12. �g5?? with a slice of bread and drippings, a
White has gone mad and let his oppo folding rule, and a Sports News in your
nent out of his grasp. After 1 2 . i.h6+! briefcase, remember the German
�h8 1 3 . i.g5 h6 14 . .txh6 �xf6 1 5 . proverb, which applies with equal
i.g5+ <JJg 7 1 6 . ..txf6+ �6 1 7 . c3 force to the above-seen game and the
he would have finished the deal with a art of giving mate, or, if I may put it
decisive material advantage. so loftily, the game with kings: "The
12 • h6??
•.. best general is the one who makes the
Black has become so embarrassed that fewest mistakes."
he does not perceive the irrefutable It is certainly so.
Fatal Oversights 1 73
Aurich-Stork 14. �??(?)
Holland 1 992 I think we can agree in that this goes
beyond even the bounds of fatal
1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. ti:ld2 c5 4. g3 oversights, and the proper place for
ti:lf6 5. i..g2 ti:\c6 6. f4 dxe4 7. dxe4 White, just like for many of you,
b6 8. ti:\gt3 i.a6 ! ? 9. c4 'i¥d3 10. would be a loony bin. It is easy to see
·
'ii a4 b5! ? that after 1 4 . <Joid l tLle3+ 1 5 . <Jole 1
ti:\c2+ 1 6 . 'it'd 1
Black's natural play is preferably 1 0.

. . . �e3+ 1 1 . <Joid l kb7, but the Black would be compelled to hold
extremely likeable draw Schieber perpetual check.
wants only a draw. 14 . 'it'e3+ 15. �0 'it'e1 mate.
••.
1 1 . 'it'xa6 ti:lb4 12. 'it'xb5+ <Joid8 13.

ti:\e5 ti:\c2+
The moral: He who plays only for

a draw, as in our instance Black
does, can win for all that.
*In Hungarian chess slang a player
whose only ambition is a draw.
Espedal-Winslow won after 8 . . . . ClJg4 ! 9. g6 �xt2+ 10.
USA 1 977 �e2 d5 ! 1 1 . gxf7+ � 12. tl:Jxd5
�g6 ! .
1 . e4 e5 2. tl:JtJ tl:Jc6 3. i.c4 tl:Jf6 4. 9. g6 d5
tl:Jc3 i.c5 5. d3 0-0 6. i.g5 h6 7. After 9. .. . tl:Jg5 I 0. tl:Jxg5 "!Wxg5
h4?? 1 1 . gxf7+ l:i:xf7 1 2 . 'ir'f3 'ir'f4 1 3 .
�xf7+ � 1 4 . 'ir'xf4+ exf4 1 5 . tl:Jd5
tl:Jd4 1 6. tl:Jxc7 tl:Jxc2+ 1 7 . '\t>d2
tl:Jxal 1 8 . tl:Jxa8 �b4+ 1 9. '\t>c l b6
20. �b l .ta6 2 1 . �al .txd3 22. f3
White would win the endgame with
ease.
10 . .txd5 tl:Jf6 1 1 . tl:Jg5 tl:Jxd5? !
In his lost position he gives
preference to mate, and his impartiality
is best characterized by the fact that it
is he who receives it. This is what is
called objectivity.
A nice, bold move; it' s a pity that it 12. l:i:h8+ �xh8 13. 'i!kh5+ �g8 1 4.
loses. Well, not the game - it would 'i¥h7 mate.
call for a suitable opponent - only the
position.
7• hxg5 8. hxg5 tl:Jh7??
...
He has lost his way already, the little

mazochist. Since all you know about
the meaning of this word is that it' s a
sexual aberration - which you
presumably practice as well
therefore I'm quoting the wider
interpretation of the Austrian writer
Sacher Mazoch, which is all the more
authoritative as the word derives from
his name: "The delight found in Although this book deals with the art
suffering, self-torment and self-humi of giving mate, it tries to assist you in
liation." After this witty association of becoming human with a great number
ideas, returning to the game, we can of quotations. Here is one from
establish that Black would have easily Novalis: "To be human is an art . "
Lazarus-i>obrinine
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. ClJt3 ..te7 4 .

..tc4 ClJf6 5. e5 ClJg4 6. ClJc3 j_h4+ 7.
'it'fl 0-0 8. 'ii'e2 'it'h8 9. ClJxh4 'ii'x h4
1 0. ClJd5 ClJxh2+ 1 1 . Wg1
After the more logical-looking 1 1 .
l:Ixh2 l::i e 8 1 2 . tlJxc7 b5 1 3 . ..td5 tlJc6
1 4. t2Jxa8 �e8 1 5 . e6 fxe6 1 6 . .txc6
dxc6 1 7. �e5 ..tb7 1 8 . CZJc7 c5 1 9 . 12. gxf3??
�g5 f3! 2 0 . gxf3 li!£8 This is certainly the "He that likes
mate cannot be a bad man" variation.
The lesser evil would have been 1 2.
'ti'fl , whereupon 1 2 . . . f2+ 1 3 . 'i¥xf2
.
'it'xc4 1 4 . ClJe3 'tl¥e4 1 5 . l:Ixh2 'ifxe5

would follow, and Black, in
possession of his extra pawn, could be
quite optimistic about the future.
12 . ... 'i¥g3+ 13. 'i¥g2 ClJxt3+ 1 4. �fl
'i¥e1 mate.
White would be mated, but my

analysis is not necessarily authentic
because there are a lot of deviations I
have not touched upon. This will
already be a task set for you, lazy
creatures of God.
l l ... t3!
.
Nadei-Margulies 1 1. .tb5+ We7?
Berlin 1 922 The madness of overlooking mate,
which consistently runs through the
1. d4 d5 2. tl:JtJ tl:Jf6 3. c4 c6 4. tl:Jc3 whole subchapter, has broken out
dxc4 5. a4 �f5 6. tl:Je5 c5 7. e4 tl:Jxe4 again. One cannot even blame Black,
8. 'ifxt3 cxd4?? as it was earlier that he went off his
Although it was Homer himself who onion, and he would have lost anyway,
claimed that . . .I say that from fate no
" only more slowly.
one can run away, whether mean or 12. tl:Jd5+!
noble he may be, after his mother gave
birth to him.", nevertheless I present a
counter-example: after 8 . e6 9. g4
. . .
"iVxd4 I 0. gxf5 tl:Jxc3 1 1 . �xc3 tl:Jc6

1 2 . �xd4 tl:Jxd4 1 3 . �b l tl:Jxf5 1 4 .
.txc4 .i.d6
12 . ... exd5 13. tl:Jg6+ hxg6 14. 'ife5

mate.
chances would have been mutual, as

Black has three pawns in exchange for
White's extra bishop.
9. 'it'xf5 tl:Jd6 10 .i.xc4 e6
•
Neither does 1 0 . . . . �a5 help

because of 1 1 . .tb5+ Wd8 1 2 . tl:Jxf7+
tlJxf7 1 3 . 'ti'xf7 tl:Jd7 14. Wi'd5 .
Fatai Oversights 1 77
Szenasi-Sudan "The art of giving mate". White has
Chamberg 1 978 committed a blunder, and Black has
at once swooped dawn on it like a
1. b3 e5 2 .tb2 tZ:Jc6 3. e3 tZJf6 4. d3?!
• guinea-jaw/ does on snot. You are
Apart from the fact that one must requested to bear this in mind, because
not play so passively in the opening, this "at once " is one of the keys that
this also weakens the e3 pawn, which, unlock the box of mate, to avail myself
in case of serious chess players, would of a mixed metaphor quite unusual of
be of no importance, but in our case it me.
will be the cause of White' s every 12. fxe3??
future trouble and grief He can't keep still, after all. On 1 2 .
4. .•..te7 5 .te2 0-0 6. tt:'ld2 aS 7. c4
• t2lgf3 CLld4 1 3 . tl:lxd4 ..txd4 1 4 . ..txd4
..tcs 8. a3 d6 9. h3 d5 10. cxd5 exd4 1 5 . 0-0 I:Ie8 1 6 . .tf3 tl:lc3 Black
tt:'lxd5 1 1 . 'ii'c2? ? would have had only a won position,
N o doubt, you know from expe but it would have been possible for
rience the moment when your mind White to draw the game out long.
slips a cog (I am excessively courteous 12 . tl:lxe3 13. 'i¥c5 'ilt'h4+ 1 4. g3
•.•
when I only say "a cog") or, if you 'ii'xg3 mate.

prefer, changes into neutral. I guess
this is what must have happened to the
extremely likeable (to Black) White,
too. By the way, after 1 1 . tt:'lgf3 i.xe3
1 2 . fxe3 tt:'lxc3 1 3 . 'i'c 1 tt:'lxg2+ 1 4 .
'it'f2 t2lf4 1 5 . 'ifc 3 White would have
obtained a play of full value which is,
although it does not much credit in an
early stage of the opening, better than
losing.
1 1 . ... ..txe3! !
Reitz-Heuberger but he wants to win, that is to say, he is
Wurzbug 1 995 tempting fate which, as we know, partly
does not exist, and is partly "nothing else
"Fate? This notion is nothing else but mystique and nonsense".
but mystique and nonsense", as one of 9. dxe6 fxe6??
your mental fathers, Comrade Stalin, Another fatal blunder, after which
the infamous mass murderer once Black can safely roll down the
declared self-confidently. To be quite shutters, close the shop, and throw
frank, I would not even deign to away the key. The preceding sentence
mention this rubbish (if he were still is so expressive that I don't add
alive, I would, of course, lay low like anything to it, even though he could
shit in the grass), but fatal oversights yet flee from his creditors, and
being the very subject of our emigrate to America. 9 . . . . tl:'l£8 ! 1 0 .
subchapter, I just could not miss the exf7+ �xf7 1 1 . $.. c4+ �e8 1 2. tl:JxgS
opportunity to kick a dead man, which tl:JdS 1 3 . tl:JD $.. e6 was necessary, and
is, (in contrast to you) not a habit with · hell knows who is better. Probably the
me. Or, to be more exact, not a stronger player.
general habit. 1 1. tl:Jxg5 'ife8?
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. tl:'lc3 tl:'lf6 4. j.. g5 Or 1 1 . . . . tl:Jes 12. dxeS 1 3 . �xe8+
c6 5. tl:'lt3 tl:'lbd7 6. e3 j..e 7 7. 'ifc2 tl:Jxe8 1 4 . tl:Jf3 , and in possession of
h6 8. cxd5! ? his extra pawns White would be on
velvet.
1 2. tl:Jxe6+ �g8 1 3. 'it'xg7 mate.
8• hxg5 ! ?
•••
Black's natural move was 8 . . . . exdS,
Amateur-Bronstein, �c4 1 3 . b3 ! �c6 1 4 . ii.b2 'iVxf3 1 5 .
Kiev (Simul game) 1941 gxf3 .tg7 1 6 . 0-0-0 White would have
got good attacking chances.
Bronstein is also not a chess player 7 . ... 'ii'h 4+ 8 ..t>n .te6 ! ?
•
you can just walk past without a word, A better solution would have been
though it' s a fact that you could do it. 8 . . . . tl:Jg3+ 9. 'Ot>g1 tt:1xh 1 1 0 . ..tx£7+
He was born in 1 924. He was a two <Jile7 1 1 . ii.h5 tl:Jf2 1 2. �e2 ii.e6 1 3 .
time USSR Champion ( 1 948, 1 949), .to c6 1 4 . �xf2 �xf2+ 1 5 . <J;;x£2 g5,
and then, with Boleslavsky, he tied for with an easy win for Black.
first place in the 1 950 Budapest World 9 . ... ii.xe6? ?
Championship Tournament. In the tie After 9. ii.b5+ c 6 1 0 . tl:J f3 'i!Vd8 1 1 .
breaking match tournament he won by ..te2 g6 1 2 . d3 ii..g 7 1 3 . tl:Je 1 tl:Jf6 14.
7, 5 : 6,5, and this fact (I suppose) .txf4 0-0 Black would have stood
played an important part when later he only somewhat better.
married Boleslavsky's daughter. When 9 . ... tl:Jg3+ 10. <Jilg1 ??
he challenged Botvinnik for the world Jumping into mate with a jack-knife
title, he faced him as a party of equal dive! True, after 1 0 . hxg3 'i!Vxhl + 1 1 .
rank (as far as playing strength is �f2 i.c5+ 1 2 . d4 �xd 1 1 3 . ..tx£7+
concerned, I mean), but in the game <:JiJe7 1 4 . tLlxd 1 i.xd4+ 1 5 . <:JiJf3 ..txe5
before last he lost, so in the last game 1 6 . gxf4 ii.d6 Black would, of course,
a draw was enough to his opponent to win the resulting endgame.
achieve a final result of 1 2 : 1 2, with 10 . ... ..tc5+ l l . d4
which he defended · his world title. Here White must have smelt a rat
After this, Bronstein yet tried his hand already, but it' s too late:
four times at different world cham 1 1 . ... ii..x d4+ 12. 'ii'x d4 tl:Je2+ 13.
pionship tournaments, but he could tLlxe2 li'e1 mate.
never again come so near to the
possibility of obtaining the title. Now
let's take a look at one of his simul
games.
l. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. tt:1f3 tt:1f6 4. e5
tt:1h5 5. tl:1c3 d6 6. ii.c4 dxe5 7.
tt:1xe5?
He already starts ruining his own fate. 7 .
..tx£7+ ! was necessary, and· after 7 . . . .
<JiJx£7 8 . tLlxe5+ �g8 9 . �xh5 g6 1 0.
�f3 �-d4 1 1 . tl:Jd3 ii.h6 1 2 . tl:Je2
Gedult-Tisserand White would have had some attack for
Vittel 1 974 the sacrificed pawn.
1. d4 d5 2. e4? ! 'ifxe4 3. tl:Jc3 tl:Jf6 4.

�g5 �f5 5. �xf6 exf6 6. 1!¥e2 1!¥xd4
7. tl:Jf3 1!¥b4 8.- 0-0-0 �e7
10. tl:Jc7+ �f8 1 1 . l:ld8+! �xd8 1 2.

'i¥e8 mate.
9. tl:Jd5!
I do not think I exaggerate when I say
that we have arrived at the most critical
stage of the game. We might rightly
expect of Black to give his following
move a careful consideration, however,
as the majority of you also fail to see the
mating scheme Black is threatened, we
may forgive the weak patzer.
9• ••.exf3?? In case you would also like to give a
After 9 . . l!!'a 5 10. tl:Jh4 c6 1 1 . tl:Jxe7
. . pretty mate like this, stick to the old
�e6 1 2 . l!!'xe4 �e7 1 3 . �c4 tl::ld 7 English proverb: "First deserve, and
1 4 . llhe1 tl:Jc5 1 5 . tl::lf5 + �f8 1 6 . l!!'e3 only then desire ! "

Krauthauser-Hermann while wntmg about queen mates, I
Siegen 1 934 have taken a fancy to them. Oh, never
mind ! I shall soon indulge in the chap
l. f4 e5 2. fxe5 tt::\ c 6 3. tt::\t3 d6 4. ter dealing with double checkmates, in
exd6 �xd6 5. e4? which you will find so blatant over
The good continuation for White sights that I hope you will shriek your
was 5 . e3 ! g5 6. �b5 . heads off with joy. The right move for
5 • g5!
.•• White was 9. 'iixf.3, and after 9 . . . .
After 5 . . . . 'i¥e7? ! 6. d3 tt::\f6 7. tt::\c3 .te7 1 0 . 'iixc6+ j_d7 1 1 . 'iic 3 ..te6
..tg4 8 . ..te2 0-0-0 9 .te3 .tc5 1 0 .
. 1 2. 1Wc6+ �f8 1 3 . tt::\c 3 �g7 1 4 . d3
'i¥d2 Black would have n o sufficient J::[b 8 chances are at least mutual.
attack for the pawn sacrificed. 9• ••• 'ifh4+ 10. �n
6 . ..tb5? g4 7 . .1i.xc6+ bxc6 8. e5? 1 0 . g3 would have been met by 1 0 .
After 8. tt::\g l ! 'iih4+ 9. �fl .ta6+ . . . 'i!fe4+ 1 1 . �f2 'iid4+ 1 2 . �fl
1 0. d3 'iif6+ 1 1 . �e l 'iih4+ 1 2 . � ..th3+ 1 3 . �e l t2+ 14. �e2 .tg4+,
'i¥f6+ 1 3 . �e I Black would be politely calling upon White to repent.
compelled to swallow the bitter pill of 10 • •••fxg2+ 1 1 . �xg2 .th3+ 1 2.
having to hold perpetual check. 'iit>g l
8. gxt3
••. Or 1 2. �f.3 �g4+, and White not
only loses his queen, but gets mated as
well - sooner or later.
12 . ••.'i¥d4 (a rare) mate.
9. exd6??
The last fatal oversight of the chapter,
and I'm a bit sorry to say so, because
Double Checkmates
Helms-Tenner
New York 1942
"Humans are," said Mr. X, " stupid animals, if I judge by

myself. "
Chamfort
183
It was roughly five or six years ago that I renounced the
world; since then I have kept away from chess players
and men.
The Author
"People often get anno yed with writers who renounce the
lordly world. They want them to take interest in this
company which is of almost no use to them; they want to
force them to perpetually take part in a lottery for which
they have no ticket. "
Chamfort
1 84
On Checkmates Given by Way of a Double Check
A double check of which the king receiving it cannot

move out is called checkmate. Or, to be more precise,
double checkmate, provided that we
_ should like to
distinguish them from other checkmates .
Double checkmates also have several, or rather two
types . One of them is (the more frequent type) when it is
simply overlooked in one move. The other one - after one
of the parties had prepared it (even with a queen
sacrifice) - consists of the execution of this preparation.
The chief merit of both types of mate resides in the pretty
fmal position. To talk about them concretely is difficult;
the player either notices them or not. As a rule, only weak
players receive it, often in a very amusing manne r. And,
this being the last chapter of the first part of the book, you
do deserve this much, if only for having got as far as this
in reading.
1 85
"dou ble check - two check-giving pieces simul
taneously attack the enemy king. This is rendered
possible by the preliminary creation of a battery.
Thereafter the opening piece moves away with a
check, at the same time clearing the file or diagonal
of another piece, which latter ('the piece in
ambush ' ) also gives check. Double check is a
special instance of double attack.
·
Meyers Chess Encyclopedia
186
Bernstein-Argueso 1 1 . ..tfi+ 'iiid8 12. i.g5 tlJf6
Paris 1 93 1
Some neat double checks follow, of

which the king of the suffering party
cannot move out. This is briefly called
mate. What is particularly interesting
about mates like these is mostly not
the path leading to them, but the final
position. Just for this reason, in the
course of selection it was the neatness
of the mates that I considered a matter
of vital importance, preferring enter
13. Z:Ixf6 ! !
taining to instruction. I believe that in
Let the cannons thunder !
an ambitious work like this, such
1 3 . ... 'tWxe4 1 4. i'(d6 mate.
degree of relaxation is yet allowable.
Well, then, let us relax !
1 . e4 e5 2. tl:\fJ tl:\c6 3. t;_jxe5 tl:lxe4
4. 'i¥e2 �e7 5. 'i.Vxe4 d6 6. d4 f6?
Commoner and better is 6 . . . . dxe5
7 . dxe5 tl:\c6.
7. f4 ClJd7 8. i.c4 fxe5 9. fxe5 dxe5
10. 0-0! exd4??
Black feels that he could do with a
mate already, and, as we shall see,
White agrees with him in this respect.
Double Checkmates, or the "Hold on, Reader" Variation 187

Alam Shazad-Dwyer Daniel
Gentling Highland 1998
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4.
tl:lc3 tl:\f6 5. tl:\f3 tl:\c6 6. ��g5 tl:\e4 7 .
..tf4 e6 8. a3 'ir'b6 9. tl:\a4 'ir'a6 10.
b4 tl:\xb4??
A losing move without a reprisal, as
we could already get used to it. The
right move was 10 . ... b5, whereupon
after 1 1 . i2Jc5 £.xc5 1 2. ·�xc5 0-0 13.
e3 '14Vb7 14. kd3 aS 15. €\d4 axb4 16.
The last coffee-house trick during
t2.-:Jxc6 'ilixc6 17. axb4 .tb 7 1 8. 0-0
krxa l 19. 'il'xa1 i�d2 20. lle l (after 20. the game; with a sound mind one can
:!:id 1?? d4 2 1. e4 0�xe4 22. £3 c?ic3 it hardly believe that White would
would be White who fights for draw. ) overlook the mate.
20. ... <Llc4 21. e4 White would stand 14. klxa6??(?)
but slightly better. I cannot even imagine how White
11. axb4 kxb4+ 12. tl:ld2 will account for this move with Allah.
14. ... ti:\f3 mate.
12. ... b5 13. tl:\c5 tl:lxd2
188 Double Checkmates, or the "Hold on, Reader" Variation

Helms-Tenner 9. j(�a3 0Jxe4 10. 'it'e2 t?.:'lxf2?
New York 1942 Black's correct continuation was 10.
. .. .�.xf2+ 1 1. �d1 f5 12. afl J:ha5 13.
1. e4 e5 2. CL\f3 CL\c6 3. ii.c4 Sf.cs 4. j>,xc6 dxc6 1 4. lclxf2 0:\xf2+ 1 5. �xf2
b4 i.b6!? e4.
I suppose it is better to accept the 1 t . ti'l x e5 ! t2'ld4??
pawn sac invented and introduced into
tournament practice in 1824 by
Captain Evans. If I am wrong, then it
is not better.
5. a4 a6 6. aS ii.a7 7. b5? axb5 8.
Ji.xb5 0Jf6?
He ought to have tempted fate with
the continuation 8. . . . 0xa5 ! 9. l:l:xa5
Ji.xf2+ 10. 'it?xf2 k!xa5 1 1 . fi:\c3 c6 12.
r�e2 0Jf6,
Black has - as probably you, too,

would have done - overlooked the
mate in two moves.
12. 0Jd7+! tilxe2 1 3 . 0\f6 mate.
because Black, in addition to his slight

material advantage, would have brutish
tactical threats at his disposal, to
mention only the moves 'il'h6+ and
ti:lg4+
Double Checkmates, or the "Hold on, Reader" Variation 1 89

Bartuschat-Hirsch Even after 14. 't!Ve1 tl:Jxc2 1 5.�c2
L u n ebu rg 1 935 tLlf2 16. 't!Vxf2 .txf2 17. 'ii7xf2 b4 1 8.
tLle4 dS 19. tl:JgS h6 20. tLlf3 'i!/e7 2 1 .
1. e4 e5 2. f4 i.c5 3. tl:Jf3 d6 4. d4? 'iifg3 cS 22. �d2 "YWfl5 23 . 0Je5 l:IxeS 24.
exd4 5. tLlxd4 tLlf6 6. tLlc3 0-0 7. fxe5 '!i'xe5+ 25. �4 �xb2 26. I:!hc1 c4
tl:Jf3 I:te8 8. i.d3 i.g4 9. h3 .txf3 1 0. 27. �h2 a5 28. il..c7 a4 29. �1 �xa2
't!Vxf3 tLlc6 1 1. 'iiifl 30. l:Ixb4 a3 Black would win:
After 1 1 . i.d2? tl:Jd4 1 2 . 'il'd 1
tLlxe4 1 3 . tl:Jxe4 dS White would lose
in a few moves.
1 1 . tl:Jd4 1 2. 't!Vg3 b5 13. 't!Vh4?
..•
On the ground that "Poor people

cook with water", necessary was 1 3 .
a3 aS 1 4 . tl:lxbS tl:lxe4 1 5 . �xe4 I:!xe4
1 6 . 0Jxd4 �xd4 1 7. c3 �f6 1 8 . �g 1
"V/Jie7 1 9 . �h2 l::r e 8, even though here,
too, Black would be much better.
13 . ... tl:Jxe4!
14 • ..• lLlg3+ 15. \!Jg1 ? tl:Jf3 mate.
1 4. 'i¥xd8
1 90 Double Checkmates, or the "Hold on, Reader" Variation

Gowland-Gillespie
Scotland 1 987
l . e4 c6 2. c4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. cxd5

tl::if6 5. i.b5+ tl::i b d7 6. tl::i c3 a6 7 .
..te2 ! ?
Commoner are both 7.'!i'a4 and 7.
.:tb5+.
7 . .•.tl::i b 6 8. tl::ifJ tl::i b xd5 9. 0-0 g6! ?
Without reproving this move, I
remark that for a weak player a wiser
continuation is 9 . ... e6, and then 10. 1 2. ti'lxb5! axb5??
. .. ke7, in 9rder that there might be Although after 1 2. . . . .:td7 13.
no chance of his king in the middle t;,_)xd7 'i!'xd7 14. d4 Ji.. g 7 15. CLlc3
being badgered. In short, he will be 'i¥xa4 16. 0'\xa4 0-0 1 7 . t2:'lc5 one
better off, if he does not create a posi cannot see Black 's counterplay for the
tion where he can overlook something. overlooked pawn, it would be better
1 0. tl::ie 5! ..te6! than the game continuation, even if it's
Or 10. ... b5. ' one-eyed' and ' humpbacked' .
1 1 . 'ti'a4+ ? ! 13. kxb5+ 0:\ d 7 1 4. 0:lxd7 l:':4xa4
Gaining the queen in an early stage
A bit o f a bluff. I n case of Black's
of the opening ! How can White be
correct play White will be somewhat
saved?
worse, but if by any chance Black
1 5. tl::if6 mate.
erred . . .
1 1. •.. b5? ?
It has happened. Up till now, Black
has been playing well, but now he has
made a losing move. Necessary was
1 1 . ... tl::id7, and 12. Ji.D b5 13. Wb'e4
tl::i7f6 14. 'iih4 �c8 15. a4 b4 16.
t2:'lxd5 t2:'lxd5 gives a more than
pleasant game for Black. This was the
risk White had run.

Miiller-Otto 1 1 . ... l:Ixd3 12. �xb6??
Magdeburg 1936
I . e4 e5 2. tDc3 sf6 3 ..tc4 tDxe4 4.

•
tDxe4 dS 5 . ..txdS 'ikxdS 6. 'ikfJ ..te6

7. d 3 tDc6 8. c4?
So far White has been playing only
passively, but now he has made a (by a
higher standard) losing (by your own
standard : bad) move, for he has fatally
weakened his d3 pawn, the d4 square
and, in general, his whole position.
8 . ... �b4+?!
All everyone can think of i s that White can be content, he wins at
bally mate . . . the lower the level, the least an exchange.
truer this is. Necessary was 8 . 'i¥d7 !
. . .
1 2 . ... ..txc4! 13. �xaS
9. 0::ie2 0-0-0, and the d3 pawn is a And what's more: a queen !
goner. 13 . . . hld 1 mate.
.
9. \t'n ...as 10. �e3 0-0-0 1 1. a3?

White is setting a trap - to his own
self.
1 92 Double Checkmates, or the "Hold on, Reader" Variation

Demby-Cohen Black's last blunder, after which he
London 1932 becomes unidentifiable, for he gets
wiped off from the ground without
1 . e4 c5 2. tiJf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. leaving so much as a fingerprint
ti:\xd4 a6 5. j_e2 'ir'c7 6. 0-0 tLlf6 7. behind.
t.i:Jc3 d5? 1 1 . tLlxe6 fxe6 12. j_b5+ g6
Naturally, the good move forBiack
would have been 7. . . . ii..e7, but let's
not be over-particular.
8. l:Ie1 ?
The error gave birth to another error.
After 8. exdS exdS 9. �f3 Black's
position would have putrefied like a
tree-trunk.
8 . ... dxe4 9. j_gs tiJd5?
After 9. Ji.b4 ! I 0. 'W'd2 e5 1 1. ti'lb3
. . .
�xc3 12. bxc3 .ie6 13. I:!adl ti'lbd7

one cannot see White's counterplay for
the pawn sacrificed, and, in addition,
:tic8 is threatened, grabbing the c-pawns.
10. ti'lxe4 tLld7?? 1 3. 'Yi'xd5! exd5? 1 4. t1\d6 mate.
Double Checkmates, or the "Hold on, Reader" Variation 193

Sentman-Anonguy 1 1 . Ilael ldg6 12. tL\eS
Internet game 1997
1. d4 tlJf6 2. c4 e6 3. tlJc3 i.b4 4. e3

b6 5. i.d3 kb7 6. tL\f3
Here I used to play the incorrect 6 .
tl::lge2 with a n excellent result. The
trouble is that the concept invented by
me is 6 . . . . Ji.b7 7. Il:g 1 i.e 4 8 . a3
$.xc3+ 9. t2."Jxc3 $.g6 10 . e4,
12 . ... l:!xg2+ 13. Wxg2 'ti'g5+ 1 4.

Wh 1 ? ?(?)
A temporary fit of insanity? After
14. �h3 '\i'hS+ 15. -JJg2 �gS+ 1 6.
®h3 'iVhS+ Black would hold
perpetual check.
14 . . 0\xf2 mate.
..
with a strong centre and the bishop

pair in return for the sacrificed pawn,
but after Adorjan' s recommendation,
7 . . ld3 , White can throw the whole
. .
variation away.
6 . ... cl:Je4 7. 'ti'c2 f5 8. 0-0 .�xc3 9.
bxc3 0-0 1 0. �a3 ! ?
Driving the opponent's rook into
attack on his own king. Odd .

Blumentai-Amateur 9 • 'ifxd5
...
Germany 1990 After 9. . . . f6 10. 'iJ!hS+ 'ltle7 11.

lde J l ! wins for White.
l .e4 e5 2. ttlf3 ctJc6 3. c3 ctJf6 4. d4 10. llet ti::\e6
tt.Jxe4 5. d5 ctJb8 6. i.d3 ctJc5 7.
tt.Jxe5 WNe7?
The right continuation for Black
would have been 7. t2:Jxd3+ 8 .
tt.Jxd3 i.e7 9. 0-0 0-0 .
s. o-o WNd6??
A losing move, which is followed by
an elegant exploitation. After 8. . . .
dxe5 9 . l:!e1 8xd3 1 0 . lclxe5+ £':2\xeS
11. 'i:!Ve2 d6 1 2. f4 f6 1 3 . fxe5 dxe5
Black would have stood only
somewhat worse.
l l . ctJxf7 ? !
Even faster was I I . )..�g6 '#Yxd I 1 2.
kxt7 mate.
1 1 . ... t\g8 1 2. ��.g6 't'Nxd l 1 3. tild6 mate.
9. i.g5!!
A nice quiet move, upon which Black's
position collapses like the Berlin Wall.

Muii-Lauer 1 3 . ... �xf7
West Germany 1 986
l. e4 e5 2. ti.JtJ tLlf6 3. ti.Jc3 ti.Jc6 4 .

..tc4 j.,cs 5. 0-0 d6 6. h3 h5?!
To put it mildly, he underrates his
opponent.
7. �e2
7. tilg5 0-0 8. tiJd5 g6 (after 8. . ..
tilxd5 there follows 9. 'i¥xh5 t2lf'6 10.
�xf7+ l:Ixf7 1 1. 'iVxf7+ �h8 12. 'I:Wg6
'I:We8 13 . 'I:Wxe8+ ClJxe8 14. c3 with an
endgame of winning prospects for
White. 1 4. fxg3+ ti.JtJ mate.
7• �g4?
•••
A brave losing move which, on your

level, might be as well regarded as the
beginning of incalculable complications.
8. hxg4 hxg4 9. ti.Jg5 ti.Jd4 1 0 . ..txf7+
�e7 1 1 . 't!Vd l ?
After 1 1. �d3! g3 12. "/Wxg3 LL':Ixc2
13. ti.Je6 l:rh1+ 14. 'i!?xh I 'i!'h8+ 15.
'i!?g1 ti.Jxa1 16. t2:Jxc5 'i!?xf7 1 7. ti.Jd3
Black might safely surrender.
1 1 . .. g3 12. tLla4 tLlxe4 1 3. tLlxe4
.

Epilogue
You have been reading an unusual book, because writers, to help

saleability, or simply out of pol iteness, endeavour to please the
reader. With me, as you could experience, thi s was not the case.
I have often used quotations, as I would have l iked to improve
your erudition and perspective which, I guess, is not too great. I
have also made comments on the quotations, but i f you have not
understood them either, I beg you not to di sturb yourselves, as
"There is no such law according to which a person who has no ear
for music shall be beaten with a stick. "1
All through the chapters I have inserted sharp-witted explana
tions and dropped repeated hints - in a very wi tty manner - and
related anecdotes, which not only made l earni ng for you more
entertaining, but also one or another of them m ust have got
through to your brain, and thus, by and by, you may be abl e to pick
up some wi sdom . In case you have not comprehended everything,
please, don ' t be annoyed, j ust reflect on the gag according to
which "A woman with fair opportunities and without a positive
hump, may marry whom she likes. "2
I have di scussed the games with due profoundness, and as
clearly as possible, therefore you may have fo und it superfi c i al .
If i n thi s l ast sentence of mine you think that you detect self
contradicti on, I can as sure you that you are wrong, if only
because "To speak out things in a way they are - in short, to speak
out the truth in a true manner - seems superficial; and to speak out
things in a way they are not - in short, to speak out the truth in an
untrue, inverse manner - seems profound. "3 Since for me words
signify themselves, I speak out things in a way they are, and by
1Emmanuel Geibel : Meister Andrea

2William Mak:epeace Thackeray: Vanity Fair
3Ludwig Feurbach: Preliminary Theses to the Reformation of Philosophy
1 97
doing so I undertake the semblance of superficiality. I am certain
that you have often misunderstood me, so all I can do i s quote the
pithy saying of my favourite bluestocking, accordi ng to which " . . .
old masters do not like di sciples who understand even what i s not
explained to them . "4 Anyway, I find solace in the tho ught that I
general ly don ' t like humans, which - if you examine yourselves,
you must admit - proves a deep insight into human nature on my
part.
You have never yet laid your hand on such a marvelous work as
thi s . You have every reason to ask : i f you are so anti pathetic to me,
tho ugh I don ' t even know you, then why have I presented You
with thi s treasure? To thi s ali i can say is that "An audience never
knows what it really wants. "5
You could experi ence several times that I do not accept any
assertion without controll ing it, even if it originates with the best
l i ving or - alas - already dead chess pl ayers . I prosecute dogmas
i nsi sted on for centuries and found erroneus by me, undertaking
thereby the adj ective ' n ihilist' , according to which "A Nihil i st is a
man who admits no established authorities, who takes no
pri nciples for granted, however much they may be respected. "6
I am writing in an incredibly cheeky manner, and in case I
succeeded in making you angry with my pompous-l ooking
remarks, then I have attained my end, as during my chess career of
thirty-one years I have gained enough experience to know that this
i s how one can generate in readers - pupi l s - the very antipathy
which incites them to original thinking, and tempts them to strive
to refute the statements of this sel f-conceited, megalomaniac
bl ockhead - in our case : the brilliant writer of this book. If it will
be so, and you wil l really try, I wi ll have already won, and whereas
your awkward try wil l not succeed, derive consolation from the
4George Sand : Consuelo

5 Arthur Honegger: I am a Composer
6Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev: Fathers and Sons
1 98
following thought: " . . . the time Columbus was happy was not when
he di scovered America, but when he had been j ust seeking for
it. . . "7
You can now rightly ask: if you are thi s cl ever and know th i s
much, why didn ' t you becom e worl d champi on, or a t l east a weak
grandmaster? The answer is simple: during fixed time I cannot
make good use of my knowledge at the chess-board. I am a bad
type of competitor, I get excited and see but l i ttl e in criti cal
situati ons. It is not mere chance that with so weak competitor' s
makings I could earn the title of Hungarian Cham pion only twice.
This does not mean, of course, that I don ' t have as m uch brain as
all of you taken together; no, all i t means i s that my main asset l i es
in solitary thinking of unfixed tim e .
You have certai nly not understood everything, because I thi nk
differently from you. "I f the writer of the book is not wi ser than
you, it i s not necessary for you to read it at al l ; i f he i s wi ser, he
wi l l th i n k differently in many respects from you . "8
I ask the dul l-witted, therefore, that if after reading the
foreword they would have a deep antipathy, then pray, don ' t let
them read the work itself I shal l be glad of it: "For me, success is
not an obj ect, at most a result . "9 There wi l l al so be, I'm sure, such
persons who - unl i ke the fatheads j ust menti oned - read thi s
sensational work with a great del ight, and l i ke it, i f only because
"in some mom ents of l i fe it may happen even to the most faithless
i ndividual that he becomes a beli ever of the rel i gion wh ose church
i s j ust the nearest. " t o
An advice to the readi ng of this book : "What we stress
obj ective l y is what we say; and what we stress subj ectively i s the
7Dostoyevski Fyodor Mihailovich : The Idiot

8John Ruskin : Sesame and Lilies
9 Gustave Flaubert: To Maxime du Camp
10Victor Hugo : The Notre-Dame of Paris
199
way we say it. " 1 1 Just in order that You, too, can understand it:
What I stressed obj ectively was what I said, and it was only
subj ectively that I jarred on your nerves. To put it more clearly:
what you had to listen to was what I said, because it was the
essential part, and you should have cared less about the frequently
occuring pompous, self-idolizing guise, that is to say, about the
way I said what I said, because it was non-essential, or played a
part only for pedagogical reasons.
Finally, I am saying good-bye to You with a quotation: "Even the
finest wines have dregs. " 1 2 You can take it, i f you wish, a s referring
to either the book or me; I won't take it amiss.
d\trilA ,.Sehoei�er
International Master,
Twice Hungarian Champion
July 1 4, 2000, Budapest
1 1 S0ren Kierkegaard : On the Concept of Irony, with Constant Regard to

Socrates
12Victor Hugo: Ninety-three
200

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ATTILA SCHNEIDER

THE ART OF GIVING MATE

(or a Very Rude Chess Book)

CAISSA CHESS BOOKS

Translated from the Hungarian

Pawns Going on a Journey 15

The Black King Calls on the Enemy's Camp 19

When It Is the White King that Calls on the

Pmvn Mate with a Queen Sacrifice 23

Pawn Mates Along the 2nd (or 7th) Rank 25

Pawn Mates with a Queen Sac in Postal Games

Pawn Mates to Kings Mislaid on the 4th Rank 31

A Clear Image in a Mirror 43

Beautiful But Not Tme 57

The Strength of the Bishop 63

Smothered Mates with Alternate Colours 81

Queen Sacrifices Tantamount to an Invasion of

When Human Stupidity is Tamed into Mate 107

Rook Mates 121

Oversights ofRook Mates on Not Top-Grade Level 125

Rook Mates Seasoned with a Queen Sacrifice 131

Queen Mates 143

Interesting Queen Mates to Similar People 149

The Case of the Poisoned Rooks 157

Fatal Oversights 171

Double Checkmates 183

Double Checkmates, or the "Hold on, Reader" variation 187

'"When I was young,

Kurt Vonnegut (Cat 's Cradle)

"Why do you cry? Did you think that I am immortal?"

King Louis XIV ofFrance

The mate given with a pawn is a rare and interesting

I cited this quotation so that you can distinguish, and if

As the reader may rightly wonder about

16 Pawns Going On a journey

11 bxa8'l:W+ (or !'\+) We7 12. 0:�d5+

Pawns Going On a journey 17

18 Pawns Going On a journey

The Black King Calls on the Enemy's Camp 19

I took the liberty of running forward a

Black's last two moves... I would

If you cast a glance to the left, the

20 The Black King Calls on the Enemy's Camp

and now threatened is 13 . . '2'ib3+.

12 . ... tl'lc2+ 13. <Jl?a4

When it is the White King That Calls on the Enemy' s Camp 21

after 14.... l':td6! 15. c5 Sl..xc5+ 16. b4

In the games hitherto seen, either of

22 When it is the White King That Calls on the Enemy's Camp

He's heading for disaster, but 7. It was a nice, long game.

Pawn Mate with a Queen Sacrifice 23

1 . e4 e5 2. tl'lf3 d6 3. �c4 f5?! 4. d4

A sly move; White is confident that

24 Pawn Mate with a Queen Sacrifice

I. e4 e5 2. tl:JO tl:Jc6 3. i.b5 a6 4.

12. e6! 't!Vf6??

Pawn Mates Along the 2nd (or 7th) Rank 25

And now here is an amusing

10. llf2?? 'ikgl+ 11. l':tfl f2 mate.

Of course, 6 .... �d4 wins a piece,

26 Pawn Mates Along the 2nd (or 7th) Rank

but I yield to the unrelenting logic of Or 10 . . �b6 ll. f2'\xc8+, gaining

Messrs Panov and Estrin's reasonong, if the queen.

ceded by a queen sacrifice on the vic Overlooking mate, true, already in a

I am convinced that in contradistin