bluewaterrider
Senior Member
Things get a little more complicated in this second set.
But only a little.
Still the chase theme continues.
Note that it is actually considered a BAD idea to move one piece at the beginning of a game continually to the exclusion of all others.
I'm not sure if that holds in this case, though.
For, in a very real sense, by single-mindedly pursuing my knight after every move I make, my opponent is effectively allowing ME to control his pieces.
At any rate, after sending 3 pawns and 2 bishops after it, my opponent offers me a trade with his own knight, which I do not accept. Far better for me, given I literally haven't moved a single piece save my other knight this whole game, to take out the pawn that would have avenged his knight, simultaneously checking his King. Knight attacks CANNOT be blocked; his King is forced to move:
There is only one move of safety for my knight, but it allows me to capture a 2nd pawn. White empowers his bishop by putting his queen behind it.
My pawn move of e6 blocks the pawn at e5, which in turns stops White's dark-squared bishop from being able to do much.
White retaliates by taking my king's rook pawn, confident my rook won't dare to do anything for fear of his queen. When I move up my King's knight pawn to trap his bishop, he takes that, too:
My knight takes that bishop, avenging the loss of his pawn:
Now White moves to attack with his rook, doubtless thinking I'M thinking my knight safe because "no one would give up a rook worth 5 points for a knight worth only 3" ...
Of course, I DON'T think that, I know better; I know that if I let my knight stay there, he WILL take it out with his rook, even though it would be taken by my king's bishop's pawn, because then his queen could swoop down and take THAT, simultaneously attacking my king, and making things VERY hot VERY quickly.
So I make my knight retreat once more to safety, and when White's king pursues, I move my king's bishop to protect it.
This final move looks unremarkable, but by this point White's forces are in shambles. Only 3 pieces have been taken off the board by me, all by my knight, but its next move will be a discovered check on White's king, due to my bishop moving where it did, giving me initiative to force a truly losing exchange or worse on him. He's lost his ability to castle. His remaining bishop, otherwise excellently placed, is blocked by his own pawn, and looks to stay that way.
Most importantly, his King is only 1 step away from the border, open to attacks that promise to be VERY insistent in only a moment or 2.
He resigns on this one, concluding a short but interesting game.
