Dive Bombers, Tanks and Pins.

The top 20 players from the RHP 2012 Championship.

Then all the usual Championship disasters including one happy lad who
missed a mate in one and was mated themselves a move later.
Also another lad missing a potential Double Rook Sacrifice.

The Dive Bomber is the term given to a discovered check by Rueben Fine.

A Tank is a Rook on the 7th Rank.
If you overhear some chess player saying: "I had tanks on the rank."
It means they had both Rooks on the 7th Rank.
Tanks on the Rank rarely lose. (the exceptions of course are on RHP).
Blind Swine is when Tanks on the Rank cannot mate.

So if you hear a chess player say:
"I had tanks on the rank but blind swine."
You will know he cocked up a win. 😉

A Pin is....a pin.

"The Pin is mightier than the sword" - Fred Reinfeld said that.

"A pin on a King is a win. A pin on a Queen is a dream." - I said that.

It's illegal to move a piece pinned to a King. It is dead wood.
A piece pinned to a Queen can move. It's a Queen sacrifice waiting to happen.

Blog 4

Originally posted by greenpawn34
The top 20 players from the RHP 2012 Championship.

Then all the usual Championship disasters including one happy lad who
missed a mate in one and was mated themselves a move later.
Also another lad missing a potential Double Rook Sacrifice.

The Dive Bomber is the term given to a discovered check by Rueben Fine.

A Tank is a Rook on the 7th Rank d to a Queen can move. It's a Queen sacrifice waiting to happen.

Blog 4

My opponent had tanks on the rank in this blitz game and i managed to escape with his help,

Love your blogs. Keep up the good work..!

Cheers KS.

I thought after 7 weeks the fun blunders would start to dry up and
I'd be left with a whole load of minor blunder games. But no, not yet.

And finding that position.


White to play.

One player (St40) spotted the winning of the a8 Rook and another player
(albinos) missed it.

I just knew by kicking off with that one I would have a good time doing that blog.

In non-Championship games that trick has been missed 18! times.
Including twice by snjortp Game 6786787 and Game 7397640
Who won one game and lost the other.

And twice by ZorrotheFox Game 7043552 and Game 7995955
(After shunning the win of a piece Zorro lost one game and drew the other.)

Hi Robbie.


Yes indeed 1..Bxf3 is an excellent blitz trap. Good for OTB and CC chess as well.

Tubseller - Beton RHP 2009

Has an example from a setting with Tanks on the Rank.


Black played 21...Rd1+ 22.Rf1 dis ch. 1-0.

Back here in your game:


Black played 27...Bb5.

You say: "not sure the point of this move..."

It has all the makings of a mouse slip. Possibly going for 27...Ba4+.

That is the trouble with looking at Blitz games. (I very rarely do, especially any over 20 moves.).
So much gets missed, Mouse slips and perhaps as in the above game
there is no 3 fold rep checker. We don't know the state of the clocks which
is what blitz is all about and can explain 90% of the decisions.

The Black Rooks (Tanks) can draw...


...he just keeps a Rook on d2 and keeps checking with the other.
(Although ...a6 and as Black I'd be going for a win knowing the draw is always there.)

I don't look at Blitz games?
I enjoy playing blitz but the result really means nothing. It's a lottery.
I'm up for posting them if there is an opening trap or a smashing tactic.
I skim through a few but have rarely been grabbed. The 'other' influences which
I mentioned above come into play.

I can have a good stab at explaining why a player makes a blunder in a normal game.
In the first diagram.
The move 7.Qd5 was missed because White has already made two moves with this Queen.
Most players know too many Queen moves in the opening can be fatal.
The thought of making another two Queen moves never twigs.
That is why good players spot this shot (St40) and so do less experienced players.
(a little knowledge is sometimes worse than none at all).
Like gbjmaes (1400). He saw it Game 6989473. albinos (1950) missed it.

The most famous blitz game in chess history is 100 years old.
Lasker - Thomas, London 1912.
Next comes a Korchnoi - Fischer game that still finds it's way into opening
books on the KID. ( 😕 )

But now I am ranting and people will now stop posting blitz games.
I cannot win. Do what you want and post what you want.
I do. 🙂

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
My opponent had tanks on the rank in this blitz game and i managed to escape with his help,

[pgn]1. e4 d6 2. d4 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. c3 d5 5. e5 f6 6. exf6 Nxf6 7. Bd3 Bd6 8. O-O Qe7 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Re1 Bd7 12. Ne5 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Bc2 O-O-O 15. Na3 Bc6 16. Qd4 Nc4 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. Nxc4 dxc4 19. Rxe6 Rd2 20. Bf5 Kb8 21. Rxf6 Rg8 22 ...[text shortened]... 29. Bg6 {pinning the pinned piece} a6 30. Rxe8+ Ka7 {ouch! and i make my escape} 31. Rxe2 [/pgn]

30. Re8? loses to 30..... Re8
31. Be8 Rf1 btw