Apparently 100's of these were on sale at a tournament in Florida in 2002.
The position is correct, so are the names and the place.........but the price?
At Hasting in 1926 Milan Vidmar (1885-1962) sprang a trap that with the
rise in popularity of the ‘new’ King’s Indian Defence had been lurking on
the board just waiting for it’s first hapless victim to come stumbling along.
It has since then caught 20+ players in recorded tournament play, probably
1000’s at blitz both OTB and on the net. Here it has caught 10 R. H.P. players.
The ‘Trap’ (pitfall is a better word.) can be reached by a logical series of moves
G. Norman - M. Vidmar Hastings1926.
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nc6 {Black attacks the d-pawn.} 9. Be3 {White defends the d-pawn.} 9... Nd7 {Black hits the d-pawn again. Best now is 10.d5.} 10. Ne2 {White defends the d-pawn for a 2nd time. The position is now ripe for a pawn winning and positional grip trick.} 10... Nde5 {It does not matter which Knight goes to e5 the trick still works.} 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Qg3 Nxd3+ {Not only winning a safe central pawn White's uncastled King also proves a severe handicap.} 13. Kf1 c5 14. h4 {An understandable reaction trying to make the best of a bad position. Black has to play actively else White may create a chance or two with this pawn thrust.} 14... Qd7 {Note Black does not go nicking the b2 pawn. First he brings the Queen into the fray. There are more juicy targets than the b2 pawn.} 15. h5 Qe6 {Attacking the c and e-pawns.} 16. Rh4 Qxc4 17. hxg6 fxg6 18. Qh3 Nxf2 19. Bxf2 Bd4 {White had seen enough and resigned.}
And of course we just have to add a Red Hot Pawn example.
matisaastamoinen - niiczk RHP 2011
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 O-O 6. Bd3 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nc6 {The exact same move order as the last game.} 9. Be3 Nd7 10. Ne2 Nde5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Qg3 Nxd3+ 13. Kd2 {This is different from the previous game but it is not an improvement.} 13... Nxb2 {With the White King on d2 Black can indulge in this little luxury. The c-pawn is being attacked with a check.} 14. Rac1 c5 15. h4 {The same desperate lunge from the 1926 game.} 15... Qa5+ 16. Kc2 Nxc4 {White needed no more convincing. This is lost and resigned.}
Always on the look out for Hall of Doom subjects I often stumble across
an OTB blunder by a good player and then see if any player on here has
made the same blunder or walked into (as is the case here) the same mate.
The OTB (Over The Board) example that kicked my search into gear was:
A. Hamed - N. Short, The Subotica (it’s in Serbia) Interzonal 1987.
This game has an amusing background story with is worth relating.
Short needed to win this game to qualify directly from this Zonal into the
candidate matches. A draw would result in a play-off, against Mikhail Tal.
Things were not looking too good for Nigel. Infact they were so bad
halfway through the game when news went around Nigel was losing
the entire Russian contingent , including Tal, who just drew his game,
took up the front seats of the playing hall to witness Nigel’s downfall.
FEN
r6k/5bqp/4R1pN/pp1p2Q1/3P4/4P1P1/1P5P/6K1 w - - 0 31
[FEN "r6k/5bqp/4R1pN/pp1p2Q1/3P4/4P1P1/1P5P/6K1 w - - 0 31"] 31. Re7 {One can see right away that Black is all gummed up and White (who finished last in this tournament) is better.} 31... Rf8 {White now has excellent winning chances with 2.Nxf7+ Rxf7 3.Qxd5 Rxe7 4.Qd8+ and Qxe7. There is no way he could lose it and Black would struggle to even draw,} 32. Rb7 {Instead White chases a pawn which Black cannot defend.} 32... a4 33. Rxb5 Be6 {Suddenly Black has some freedom.} 34. Rb6 {White, overawed by his position misses Black's only threat. 4.g4 was the move here.} 34... Bh3 {Heart breaking. The threat of Rf1 mate floors White.} 35. Rb8 {A good attempt in a game that has taken an unexpected turn. It nearly works.} 35... Rxb8 36. Nf7+ Qxf7 37. Qe5+ Kg8 {The rash 7...Qg7 would have resulted in a perpetual after 8.Qxb8+ .} 38. Qxb8+ Kg7 39. Qe5+ Kh6 {The mate on f1 is still on the board. White can only stop it by swapping Queens when it is an elementary Black win. White resigned.}
Nigel Shorts reports the entire Russian party all rose together and left the hall.
So with this pattern in mind....
...I scanned the RHP database looking for such checkmates.
I found 433 and that is without mirror examples (Kings on b1, b8 or g8)
Hall of Doom nominees numbered.....er....433 but I have chosen just one.
Kewpie - 0tt0 RHP 2012
FEN
r4rk1/6p1/2QR1p1p/p2P1b2/P6P/N3PB2/3R3P/6K1 w - - 0 35
[FEN "r4rk1/6p1/2QR1p1p/p2P1b2/P6P/N3PB2/3R3P/6K1 w - - 0 35"] 35. e4 Bh3 {I have saved the reader all the previous move. As you can see judging by the state of material Black's play was not too bright.} 36. Nb5 Rab8 37. Nc7 Rb3 38. Ne6 {White playing on auto-pilot and clearly winning most likely spent 2 seconds on this and the next move.} 38... Rxf3 39. Nxf8 {OOPS! and welcome to the Hall of Doom.} 39... Rf1 {Checkmate.}
Andy Warhol reckoned that everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame.
(personally I’ve never hear of him till 15 minutes ago.)
Lesser known Chess players too get their 15 minutes if they pull off a
fortuitous win against a Grandmaster or produce a classic combination.
One famous example is the Monk Saavedra who one day saw....
The player of the White pieces in the following game misses a win that
produced a final position he would have framed and placed on his wall.
Instead it has ended up here. (well at least I’m keeping it for posterity .)
I like a good chuckle at the blunders we see in the Hall of Doom. Be honest,
we all do. It’s all part of the harmless fun and as 99% of us commit the same
blunders we can empathise. ‘Done That, Been There, Have the Hat and T-Shirt.’
But this one is different. It’s an ‘Oh No’. A once in lifetime position.
The goddess of chess came down from the heavens and touched him.
It does not belong in the Hall of Doom. The blunders there do not keep us
awake at night. But I fear this missed win may haunt Ad Parnassum for a
few sleepless nights to come. Alas he gets 15 minutes in the Hall of Doom.
Ad Parnassum - Helder Octavio RHP 2018
FEN
r1b1k2r/qp2bpp1/p3pn1p/2n3B1/2N2Q2/P1N5/1PP3PP/2KR1B1R w kq - 0 14
[FEN "r1b1k2r/qp2bpp1/p3pn1p/2n3B1/2N2Q2/P1N5/1PP3PP/2KR1B1R w kq - 0 14"] 14. Be2 {White sacrifices (or simply overlooks) a piece for nebulous attacking chances.} 14... hxg5 15. Qxg5 Nfe4 16. Qxg7 Bf6 {Black's turn to make an error. Rf8 was the move. Now White is right back in the game with good chances.} 17. Nd6+ Nxd6 18. Qxf6 Rf8 19. Rxd6 {White has won back his piece and is swarming all over the Black King.} 19... Bd7 20. Rhd1 Rd8 {The Knight on c5 is stopping Rxe6+ and Bh5+ ideas.} 21. b4 Ne4 {White can ignore that and play Rxe6+ which mates Black in 2 or 3 moves.} 22. Nxe4 Qe3+ {The idea behind Black's last move. Black wins back the piece. But in reality White should round about now be giving checkmate.} 23. Kb2 Qxe2 {Rxe6 + and mate on d8 or if fxe6 Nd6 mate.} 24. Nc3 {White missed it.} 24... Qc4 25. Re1 Qc7 {White lost this game by refusing to sac on e6. Here is where we concentrate on the missed brilliancy.} 26. Nd5 {In the actual game White played Qe5 and a few moves later allowed Black to play Qxe5+ 0-1. What we are now looking at is analysis.} 26... Qxd6 {Black has to do this else Qe7 is checkmate.} 27. Qe7+ {Anyway.} 27... Qxe7 28. Nc7 {Checkmate. A mate that would have circled the globe. I would have posted it on at least three major sites. What a shame the lad missed it. The Hall of Doom has many tales of woe. This is one of the saddest.}
That game featured a could have been Knight Checkmate. (An Unheard Melody)
The Hall already has a fine collection of Knight Mates, here are some new additions.
Ruprecht - PXPEP RHP 2013
Black played 31...Ne2 with ideas of Nc3+ and Nxa2.
White mated in one move with 32.Nc2.
progamer56 - de nar RHP 2012
Usually there is only one square for a Knight to go to give checkmate.
White, a pawn up, moved his extra pawn and played 34. f3
Black replied 34...Nd5 Checkmate. The alert reader will note 34...Ne3 is also mate.
moffatcowboy - Mafkees999 RHP 2011
Sometimes, as in the last example, all it takes is one thoughtless pawn move....
.....Black played 34....h5
Unlike the last example only one Knight square checkmates. 35. Ne5
Jeronimo - Odinson RHP 2010
Same theme as last time, the silly pawn move that returns to haunt us.
Black hit the Knight with 36...c4 37.Nd2 and now look at the position.
Black has eight legal moves. 37...f6 was played. None could have prevented...
...Nb1 Checkmate. Beware dear reader. Today it was them, tomorrow it could be you.
We end these nightmares from the Hall of Doom with the joy that was:
Costad - djbrentclark RHP 2011
FEN
8/4k1pp/p4p2/K1p1p3/P7/2n4P/3N1PP1/8 w - - 0 30
[FEN "8/4k1pp/p4p2/K1p1p3/P7/2n4P/3N1PP1/8 w - - 0 30"] 30. f3 {White could have played 1.Kxa6 Nxa4 2.Kb5 picking up the c-pawn} 30... Kd7 31. Nc4 {Now White is planning to win the a6 pawn without giving up the a4 pawn.} 31... Kc6 32. Nb2 Kb7 33. Nc4 Nd5 34. Nd6+ Kc6 35. Ne8 Nb4 { White fails to notice his King is in a mating Net..} 36. Nxg7 Kb7 {And nothing can prevent Black from giving mate next move.} 37. Ne8 Nc6
