Amazing clearance sac

My daughter, 7, playing white, was playing in the local library scholastic tournament and got to a position similar to this one.

At this point she made the most amazing move I have ever seen. Nxc7+!!! Capturing her own pawn and winning the queen for a knight and the pawn. Her opponent, baffled and stunned, moved the king but did not question the move. White won easily a few moves later.

After the game neither girl believed that anything wrong had happened.

While it was the most amazing sac I had ever seen, I was relieved that neither girl was in the running for a prize at the end of the tournament.

Also hits the rook. Best move on the board, imo.

Originally posted by byedidia
My daughter, 7, playing white, was playing in the local library scholastic tournament and got to a position similar to this one. [fen]r3k2r/ppP2ppp/4qnb1/1N6/1B2P3/8/PP3PPP/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 1[/fen]

At this point she made the most amazing move I have ever seen. Nxc7+!!! Capturing her own pawn and winning the queen for a knight and the pawn. Her opponent, ...[text shortened]... n, I was relieved that neither girl was in the running for a prize at the end of the tournament.

I assume her opponent got out of mate with ...Kxf7!!! ?

Oops. Obviously I got the position wrong. Probably the pawn on f7 was not there. Or perhaps the white queen was somewhere else.

Now that I think of it, I am pretty sure the white queen was on f3 and blacks bishop was a dark square bishop. I think she played Ke2.

There's nothing like the power of wishful thinking!

I'm blaming the dad, it was him who taught her the moves.

Kholmov (2550) Lutikov (2500) Dubna 1976
(grades at the time the game was played.)

White to move....


...played 12.Qxf3.



His opponent objected, (why he is a piece up?).
White bound by the touch move rule (he touched the Knight first) had to make
a Knight move, so he put the Queen back on d1, the captured Knight
back on f3 and played 12.Ne1. White went onto win.

Originally posted by greenpawn34
I'm blaming the dad, it was him who taught her the moves.

Kholmov (2550) Lutikov (2500) Dubna 1976
(grades at the time the game was played.)

White to move....

[fen]rnbq1rk1/ppp2pbp/3p1np1/1B1Pp1B1/2P1P3/2N2N1P/PP3PP1/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 12[/fen]
...played 12.Qxf3.

[fen]rnbq1rk1/ppp2pbp/3p1np1/1B1Pp1B1/2P1P3/2N2Q1P/PP3PP1/R4RK1 w - - 0 1[/fen]
...[text shortened]... the Queen back on d1, the captured Knight
back on f3 and played 12.Ne1. White went onto win.

Reminds me of when I first started playing chess and had an N on e6 stopping black from castling. Black did it anyway and I could not resist the temptation to play NxR so I did. (I was very materialistic then.)

Well, if I taught her and she plays like a 2550 player, I think I didn't do too badly.

There was a famous game played in the Oxford League a few years ago between Marco Zhang and Derek(?) Edwards:

It ended 10. Nxd6#

Apparently White was trying to show some people the game in a pub after the match and couldn't quite remember the winning combination, so he fished the scoresheet out of his pocket and played it through and only then realised what he had done.

Puny earthlings.

Hi Fat Lady,

That is the game I was trying to recall to post. I remember seeing it
shortly after it was played. I think you sent it to me.

Swiss G with his Knight on e6 preventing castling reminded me of
A game a Sandy Bells player had in Div 4 in the 90's.
He too had a Knight on e6.
(the lad is actually active on RHP, he's shy and never posts so I won't name him.)

This is not the position but the incident and the idea is right.


Black played 0-0-0.


White (the Bell's player) instead of playing Qxc7 checkmate and thus
ending the game pointed out the error.
The Black King uncastled another move was played. White eventually went on to win.