The shock of the stalemate!

Rf5 followed by e5 was the mate... but easily missed in all your excitement. No need to move Q.

That's why it's so important to at least glance at what your opponent's responses may be - not only to avoid missing stuff, but to make sure their King can still move!

On move 37, white had mate in 1.

After this has happened to you a few times you get used to making sure that every move is a check once you're that much material up.

This happened on the board next to me in a league game once. Both players were very short of time and after White played Qxg6, Black slammed down Re1+ with a triumphant laugh and started babbling "it's a draw, you can't win now, you've got to accept a draw". His opponent (my teammate) looked shocked for a few seconds and then worked out a way out of it:

Originally posted by Fat Lady
After this has happened to you a few times you get used to making sure that every move is a check once you're that much material up.

This happened on the board next to me in a league game once. Both players were very short of time and after White played Qxg6, Black slammed down Re1+ with a triumphant laugh and started babbling "it's a draw, you can't win ...[text shortened]... Ke5 Kf8 15. Kf6 Kg8
16. f5 Kf8 17. Ke6 Ke8 18. f6 Kf8
19. f7 Kg7 20. Ke7 Kg6 21. f8=Q
[/pgn]

I bet the fellow with black felt rather silly after the game's conclusion

Originally posted by 64squaresofpain
I bet the fellow with black felt rather silly after the game's conclusion

Yes, it was very amusing the way he was almost shouting "it's a draw!" and then sheepishly resigned a few minutes later. This was back in the days when the team I played for consisted almost entirely of young, single men in their twenties and the atmosphere after a match was like a rugby team's post-victory drunken celebration sometimes... OK, perhaps not quite that bad, but there was certainly a good deal of unconcealed laughter as the poor chap slunk out of the room.

Originally posted by Fat Lady
After this has happened to you a few times you get used to making sure that every move is a check once you're that much material up.

This happened on the board next to me in a league game once. Both players were very short of time and after White played Qxg6, Black slammed down Re1+ with a triumphant laugh and started babbling "it's a draw, you can't win ...[text shortened]... Ke5 Kf8 15. Kf6 Kg8
16. f5 Kf8 17. Ke6 Ke8 18. f6 Kf8
19. f7 Kg7 20. Ke7 Kg6 21. f8=Q
[/pgn]

I had that very thing happen online. I was up a pawn for 20-25 moves but my opponent defended solidly and it seemed I had squandered my advantage in a King and Pawn ending. Then he taunts me with, "Hahaha, it's a draw." So naturally, I reexamined the position and to my delight I found a win with an unexpected K move. I messaged him back, "I believe you are talking out your arse, sir - show me how you draw against this!"

He resigned 6 moves or so later with the comment "I really thought that was a draw." One of the happiest moments I have had playing online.

Hi Fat Lady,

There appears to be a quicker way to avoid stalemate in that game of your friend.

Thanks Greenpawn, but you've probably been analysing that game all day with a battery of high spec. computers, all running the latest version of Houdini/Stockfish/RJHinds, and then poring over the output with a magnifying glass in order to find a tiny, unimportant improvement.

In contrast, my friend had, quite literally, five seconds left on his clock when he played Qxg6 and in that time he had to find the refutation of Re1+, promote his pawn and then checkmate with king and rook (I misremembered the game - I recall now that he had to promote to a rook because his unscrupulous opponent's teammates had thrown all of the spare white queens out of the window when they saw the direction the game was taking)

Hi Fat LAdy 🙂

I simply played though the game and spotted it right away.
I play though everything posted.
I was struck by the instrucitve point and the symetrical beauty.


White can take the pesky Rook three ways.
Two enoforce stalemate and only one way wins.

I can't help it if your friend was down to his last few secoinds.
It's not my fault he cannot handle his clock correctly

When showing him my line also point out he could have Queened
one move earlier by playing....


Ke7 here instead of f5.

That is two elementry blunders from one game. What league is this?
Division 'Z' in the Oxford Old Folks Home?

The Queens getting tossed out the window trick.
I've tried that one a few times.

Unfortunatley the rules state if you promote a pawn to a Queen and
there is no extra Queen available the player may stop the clocks till he finds one.
(apparently if you take a Rook and turn it upside down your opponent can,
and I've seen it, albeit as a joke by a GM , insist you have just promoted to a Rook.)

Nrver even thought of that. Does touch piece apply on whichever piece you first touch to replace pawn?

When you replace the pawn with the promoted piece and your hand quits
then the move is complete.

In most circles an upside Rook is allowed but you must say 'This is a Queen.'
if not an opponent can claim you took a Rook.

So once I remove the promoted pawn I can caress the spare pieces to my hearts content with no consequences or even replace the pawn 7th rank and make a king move?

No.

You know the rules, you touched the pawn, so you must move it.

I thought I recognised that name. You were on the blog short list.