“An unstoppable series of checks usually instigated to avoid the loss of a game.”
The Oxford Companion to Chess, by Hooper and Whyld.
Not much to go on to kick off an article about perpetual chess.
I was going to re-word their whole chapter and appear very clever,
So nothing else for it but to roll up the sleeves and do some digging.
And I dug up this;
The phrase ‘perpetual check’ first came from a digger.
Architect Prof Scubba McGuff was digging in the Sahara Desert when…
(you surely mean Archaeologist Prof Scubba McGuff…Russ)
Archaeologist Prof Scubba McGuff was digging in the Sahara Desert when
he came across the old bones of a Pterodactyl
He abandoned a game of chess he was winning to check the Pterodactyl
and the term Pterodactyl check has stuck ever since.
Here is b/w picture of Prof Scubba McGuff.
(That is a cartoon…Russ)
That is a b/w picture of a cartoon.
So I scanned the RHP DB looking for Pterodactyl, sorry, perpetuals.
I isolated all the draws and then looked for any game throwing up
a series of 3 checks.
I then sat there flicking through the positions (there was about 6,000 of them
I did about 1,000 till my brain froze up). I was look to see what appeared
only stopping if I saw something interesting.
There are 100’s with this type of set up both as white and black.
1..Kg8 2.Qg5+ Kh8 3.Qf6+ etc.
So lets look at some odds and sods.
This is one of the shortest on RHP.
malinga - Solomon1 RHP 2006
Next I’ll call this section….Blinded by the ½ point.
First look at this perpetual pattern.
Exy - ggoulam RHP 2004
It is a common perpetual theme, the trouble is sometimes
the common patterns hide a missed trick.
We see the whole game it throws up a unique position,
Apee - Slow Racer RHP 2008
Another missed chance.
percival86 - vaibhavk RHP 2006
Here White to play and he settled for the perpetual with Qg5+ and Qh6.
But the Rook lift Re3-Rg3 simply wins. (try it).
This one is a shocking missed win.
dhess - CalWriter RHP 2005
White eagerly took the perpetual with Qh6+ and Qg6+.
What was so hard about seeing Re7 threatening mate on g7 or h7.
I’ve got worse than that!
ggoulam - maxlibra RHP 2003
Black dived out with Qf7+ and Qh5+ .failing to notice QxR+ which wins easily.
New Rule of Thumb No.572
Given a choice it is usually good to pick up a spare Rook with a check.
OK Enough of these disasters.
This next one is the proverbial ‘bolt from the blue’.
bartos - dulszi RHP 2008
This one is wonderful.
erikderredkire - Beton RHP 2007
White to play. Like a good tactician he sees that the Black King
is overloaded having to defend both the attacked f7-pawn and the h7 Knight.
Watch what happens.
This next one caught me out. I thought I was seeing yet another standard
perpetual and skipped past it after a quick glance.
I had a wee nudge and went back because something bugged me.
There are more than 165 ways to skin a cat.
tbogodes - ntss 100 RHP 2007
Black to play, see the perpetual?
Bored?
We finish with this. The three fold rep nightmare.
griffpusher - kinboshi RHP 2008
When griffpusher sleeps his dreams are haunted by this position.
It is how the game finished. ½ - ½.
Halfway through the nightmare Philidor appears and screams..
When griffpusher sleeps his dreams are haunted by this position.
It is how the game finished. ½ - ½.
Halfway through the nightmare Philidor appears and screams..
I've not made it clear what happened.
I'll answer in the thread 137318
Hi Proper Knob.
Something came up chess wise that will take my free time.
It' something I want to do and don't want to make it slap dash.
You seem to have disappeared from the 2011 Championship?!
on g7 and h7, overlooking the Bishop on g7 acts as a pawn.
Or perhaps the lad has never seen it before.
If we are honest I'd say 90% of us had to be shown the smothered
mate when we first saw it.
But once seen, never forgotten.