The Horror... The Horror...

From a game played today in the EPSCA Under 11 Zonal tournament in Hampshire:



White was an Oxfordshire player, Black a Wey Valley player. White played 1. d8=Q.

ouch! I have a feeling I would've been on the white side of this.

Oh No - an under 11 year old....was there tears?

(if you can, PM me the full game - I don't need the names).

There were no tears. The White player is made of strong stuff and he went straight back out after this game to win in the last round.

White had asked me to go over the game in the team room, and as he got more and more material up I kept asking him how he managed and he muttered that Black had "launched a pawn storm". By the time we got near the final position eight of his teammates were watching and I asked all of them what White's best move was. Seven of them wanted to promote the d-pawn to a queen, and the eighth, correctly surmising that it was a trick question, wanted to promote to a knight.

I may be able to get the scoresheet, if I do I'll send you the moves.

There was another game played in the same round in which the Oxfordshire player was Black:



Black played 1. ... Rxg2+ and after 2. Kh1 Rg4+ 3.f3 eventually managed to win some twenty or so moves later. I told her that she had missed a mate in two and left her to find it, which she did about five minutes later! Hopefully she'll recognise this pattern next time.

Did black see b5+ in the game?
Rg1++ is quite nice, it took me a couple of minutes to see that - I thought you were wrong about the mate, at first, what with the bishop being en prise

Oh yes (it's b4+ though). He played like a chimp up 'til then, but found the two move mate when it was handed to him on a plate.

The Rg1+ is just something you're automatically looking for once you've been shown it. The girl's father was amazed at my tactical prowess, but my chess brain hardly engaged at all. It's just a case of "I wonder if that old Rg1+ trick works... yes it does".

My team mate Will Burt played something similar recently which Mr GreenPawn published:
http://www.chessedinburgh.co.uk/chandlerarticle.php?ChandID=311

Number 1 rule for becoming a top-rate club player - learn lots of mating patterns.

Originally posted by Fat Lady
The Rg1+ is just something you're automatically looking for once you've been shown it. The girl's father was amazed at my tactical prowess, but my chess brain hardly engaged at all. It's just a case of "I wonder if that old Rg1+ trick works... yes it does".