Originally posted by Wonder Man
chess for 1 year olds is when they get a pony ride.
I used to be scared of those things.
My mom told me that, way back when, likely when Riv was just a 20-something, they had pony rides for little kids. My dad put me on one and I just started crying.
She's got the home movies to prove it.
Even so ...
Originally posted by riv6672
... the Knight chess piece is often the defining piece in the set. This piece offers the most chance for variety and uniqueness in a chess set and it is often the piece with the most detail. When it comes to the game of chess, the Knight chess piece is often the favorite ...
... it's probably equally true, that, even as Riv's info here alludes, as does your own comment, many a chess player became intrigued with the game initially almost entirely because of the cool-looking "horsie" in the set, with the other pieces making it seem even more striking by contrast.
Still in my mind's eye I can see the first chess set I ever came across, a plastic beige pegged travel set with these beautiful creamy-white figures and their equally beautiful black counterparts ...
I must have been around 4 or 5 at the time, and it would take until I had the proficiency to read the chess book in my mom's collection before I started playing, but my interest was piqued from that day on.
But it was definitely a liking for horses that sparked that.
Even if my first experience with the real thing wasn't quite so enjoyable.
I'm probably going to see if I can tutorial through a game with the info I've linked from Riv in the previous posts on this page. In the meantime, however, in STARTING to get the base board for beginning a black game, I visited chess base dot com and ... accidentally played through a game.
Hard to resist. He was ranked more than 400 points higher.
I take matches against higher-ranked people almost every chance I get.
Here's the algebraic log for the game.
If there's time, I'll illustrate it as well.
[WhiteElo "1789"]
[BlackElo "2216"]
[PlyCount "141"]
1. e4 {[%emt 0:0:8]} e5 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 2. f4 {[%emt 0:0:2]} exf4 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:0:2]} h6 {[%emt 0:0:1]} 4. Bc4 {[%emt 0:0:2]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:0:5]} 5. Bxf7+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} Kxf7 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 6. e5 {[%emt 0:0:13]} Qe7 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 7. d4 {[%emt 0:0:3]} d6 {[%emt 0:0:5]} 8. Bxf4 {[%emt 0:0:3]} Bg4 {[%emt 0:0:4]} 9. 0-0 {[%emt 0:0:13]} dxe5 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 10. Nxe5+ {[%emt 0:0:6]} Kg8 {[%emt 0:0:10]} 11. Nxg4 {[%emt 0:0:5]} Nxg4 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 12. Qxg4 {[%emt 0:0:3]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:0:4]} 13. Be5 {[%emt 0:0:11]} Qg5 {[%emt 0:0:21]} 14. Qe4+ {[%emt 0:0:8]} Qg6 {[%emt 0:0:10]} 15. Qxb7 {[%emt 0:0:12]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 16. Qxa8 {[%emt 0:0:28]} Bxe5 {[%emt 0:0:2]} 17. dxe5 {[%emt 0:0:8]} Qb6+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} 18. Kh1 {[%emt 0:0:11]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:0:2]} 19. Rf8 {[%emt 0:0:13]} Rxf8 {[%emt 0:0:13]} 20. Qxf8 {[%emt 0:0:3]} Qxb2 {[%emt 0:0:4]} 21. Qf5+ {[%emt 0:0:4]} Kh8 {[%emt 0:0:5]} 22. Qf8+ {[%emt 0:0:6]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:0:5]} 23. Qf5+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} Kg8 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 24. Qe6+ {[%emt 0:0:14]} Kf8 {[%emt 0:0:9]} 25. Qf5+ {[%emt 0:0:14]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:0:7]} 26. Nd2 {[%emt 0:0:10]} Qxa1+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} 27. Nf1 {[%emt 0:0:4]} Qxe5 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 28. Qxe5+ {[%emt 0:0:11]} Nxe5 {[%emt 0:0:5]} 29. Ne3 {[%emt 0:0:3]} Ke6 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 30. Kg1 {[%emt 0:0:14]} g6 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 31. Kf2 {[%emt 0:0:7]} a5 {[%emt 0:0:2]} 32. Kg3 {[%emt 0:0:12]} g5 {[%emt 0:0:14]} 33. h4 {[%emt 0:0:8]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:0:9]} 34. Nd5+ {[%emt 0:0:6]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 35. Nxc7 {[%emt 0:0:16]} gxh4+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} 36. Kxh4 {[%emt 0:0:4]} Nc4 {[%emt 0:0:11]} 37. Nd5 {[%emt 0:0:19]} a4 {[%emt 0:0:10]} 38. g4 {[%emt 0:0:13]} Na3 {[%emt 0:0:16]} 39. c3 {[%emt 0:0:10]} Nc4 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 40. Nf4+ {[%emt 0:0:15]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 41. Kh5 {[%emt 0:0:5]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 42. Ne6+ {[%emt 0:0:13]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 43. Nc5 {[%emt 0:0:12]} a3 {[%emt 0:0:4]} 44. Ne4 {[%emt 0:0:13]} Ne5 {[%emt 0:0:8]} 45. Nd6 {[%emt 0:0:14]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:0:7]} 46. Nf5+ {[%emt 0:0:6]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:0:22]} 47. Nxh6 {[%emt 0:0:3]} Nf3 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 48. Ng8+ {[%emt 0:0:9]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 49. Nh6+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:0:11]} 50. c4 {[%emt 0:0:5]} Ne5 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 51. c5 {[%emt 0:0:7]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:0:4]} 52. Nf5+ {[%emt 0:0:5]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 53. Ne3 {[%emt 0:0:6]} Nb4 {[%emt 0:0:11]} 54. Nc4 {[%emt 0:0:11]} Nxa2 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 55. Nxa3 {[%emt 0:0:2]} Nc3 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 56. c6 {[%emt 0:0:9]} Nd5 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 57. g5+ {[%emt 0:0:8]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:0:4]} 58. Nb5 {[%emt 0:0:3]} Nf4+ {[%emt 0:0:8]} 59. Kg4 {[%emt 0:0:5]} Ne6 {[%emt 0:0:9]} 60. c7 {[%emt 0:0:3]} Nxc7 {[%emt 0:0:4]} 61. Nxc7 {[%emt 0:0:2]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:0:2]} 62. Nd5 {[%emt 0:0:4]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:0:6]} 63. Kf5 {[%emt 0:0:2]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 64. Ne7 {[%emt 0:0:4]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 65. Nd5 {[%emt 0:0:7]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:0:3]} 66. g6 {[%emt 0:0:4]} Kg8 {[%emt 0:0:5]} 67. Kf6 {[%emt 0:0:4]} Kf8 {[%emt 0:0:12]} 68. g7+ {[%emt 0:0:4]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:0:11]} 69. g8=Q+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:0:2]} 70. Qe6+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} Kd8 {[%emt 0:0:9]} 71. Qe7+ {[%emt 0:0:3]} 1-0
How is there so much endgame?
The game algebraically logged above has me playing as White and opening with the King's Gambit*, which my opponent accepts*.
After he does so, I immediately move my knight to guard against any Queen shenanigans, and he makes the interesting choice of advancing a King's Castle pawn*, which, note, I am NOT actually using to mean his King's Rook pawn, though it is also that in this case. I presume he either wants to limit, or plans to pressure, my knight ...
Note: Asterisked (*) items are terms I'm thinking to illustrate as "micro" tutorials in the near future.
How is there so much endgame?
I kamikaze my bishop to force my opponent's king into the action.
It works; it can't do otherwise.
I then have one of my pawns attack his knight.
That doesn't work so well; my opponent just moves his Queen onto the King file, pinning that same pawn. It can't go after the knight anymore without exposing my king to attack.
However, this gives me the opportunity to give that pawn a 2nd defender.
Soon this also lets me target the pawn that accepted my gambit to begin with.
He moves to pin MY knight now ...
How is there so much endgame?
First things first.
Castling relieves the pin on my pawn.
As for the pin on my knight?
Well, it's not REALLY pinned, not in the absolute way my pawn was.
I can still move it legally, and my opponent would have to be willing to lose his own queen if he wants to deal with that knight properly, since the move I make with it now is an unblockable check on his king, which must be respected.
He can't use his "discovered" bishop attack on my own queen this turn.
Or ... can he? It's a blitz game, the best solutions don't always present in time.
In a slower match, he might have seen taking my checking knight with his queen put him slightly on the better side of the inevitable exchanges which must then follow, instead of merely evening us up. But, alas for him, it is a blitz match, with only a 10 minute clock for each side ...
Having played many hundreds of games now over the years, I can set up or encourage sequences that would all but mystify beginners. For instance, WITHOUT a Queen's involvement, I can generally setup the "Gotcha!" exchange of knight reversing that "discovered" bishop attack on a Queen, shown in the previous post. It's almost part of the King's Gambit for me because I've played through that scenario with so many people.
Yet I know there are people with SUCH an affinity for this game they can see many times farther than THAT, owing to playing thousands and perhaps even 10s of thousands of games and exercises and could (and some masters literally DO) play through stuff like that blindfolded.
Judging from move 13 of the algebraic log for this game, which reads
13. Be5 {[%emt 0:0:11]} Qg5 {[%emt 0:0:21]}, my opponent probably very deliberately setup what I THOUGHT was a fortuitous opportunity for me.
For that time stamp says he thought longer on the next move than any move he would make for the next 30 turns. It's magnificent if so, 'cause it starts out LOOKING like I might have won a free rook and pawn from him:
How could a player ranked more than 300 points higher than me miss such a thing? Well, most likely ... he didn't.
One move later I find myself in check and mulling over how much material my "free" grab will cost ...
One move after that, I realize I might be in a LOT of trouble ...
2nd impact. My queen was only the 1st target ...
... and this 2nd trap is more dangerous than the first.
Note that the rook, though a legitimate target, is bait.
An inconsiderate move gets me checkmated in one.
For the space of more moves than scans shown here I try to find a way to keep him off balance with king checks, searching for a square I can link to that will let my queen save her court. But ... it's useless. That rook is gone.
If I persist, I risk losing my knight, too, to say little of my king, and the game entire. I cut my losses. If trap that was, it was a good one:
You might think with rooks, bishops, and queens gone, and the number of pawns halved, and each side only having the knight as a formal piece that a game would resolve very quickly.
But exactly the opposite was the case, which is why I entitled the first posts of the illustration for this game "How is there so much endgame?"
It was anything but boring to play through, though, and the last set, though it was over 40 moves, and longer than all that I've previously shown and described, really came down to 4 or 5 key plays, nearly all of them successful forks, or the threat of forking, from my knight.
Here's the first:
