21 Jul 2013: the amazing double rook snaffle

The Chess Pirate remains on her absurd summer "haitus."  But not to worry !  The famous Highlands Clubhouse served as a venue for a brutal game between the Pink Queen and the Gabridoodle.  Naturally, the Gabridoodle offered a game to the Townie, but he remains coy.

While no CLUB business was discussed, the Gabridoodle did engage in a burping contest with two children in a minivan.

Pink Queen - Gabridoodle, 0-1

Here we are 8 moves into the game.  Commanding the white pieces, the Pink Queen has employed a highly... unorthodox... opening.  Yet again, she was trying to rattle the Gabridoodle with an early assault on the kingside.  The Gabridoodle could only adopt a wait-and-see posture while making some necessary defensive moves.

On move 13, the Pink Queen advanced her c-pawn.  This made an instant monster of the Gabridoodle's dark-squared bishop, allowing it to snaffle up her rook.

Hilariously, and just two moves later, the Gabridoodle made the same error, advancing his b-pawn.  The Pink Queen's light-squared bishop then snaffled up the a8 rook.

Moving right along... At move 33 we have the Pink Queen put in this brutal position.  There's really no way out.

And indeed, a couple moves later, the Pink Queen is finished off by the Gabridoodle's lesbian queens.

11 Jul 2013: Exhibition game at Damata's

The Chess Pirate is on her summer "hiatus" -- some lame excuse about the heat affecting her brain -- so there hasn't been much action at CHESS CLUB of late.  But thanks to an early arrival at a Salem Social Cards cribbage event at Salem's inimitable Damata's, the Pink Queen and the Gabridoodle were able to stage an exhibition game ! It was definitely a coffeehouse atmosphere, complete with children tormenting fish and repeatedly spilling beverages.

Pink Queen - Gabridoodle, 0-1

Fully 24 moves in, the Pink Queen and the Gabridoodle were at a bit of an impasse, having erected a forest of pawns in the middle of the board.  The Gabridoodle has managed to rob the Pink Queen of her castling rights and gotten her king terribly exposed.  She, however, has stuck a bone in his throat on the h-file.

But then there was some action !  Here, at move 27, the Gabridoodle is about to achieve his key breakthrough of the game, moving the bishop to c8, skewering the Pink Queen's rook at h3.  Her queen retreats and the Gabridoodle exchanges his bishop for her rook.

Move 35 truly ushers in the Pink Queen's final collapse.  She's made a game attempt to threaten the Gabridoodle with the battery on the g-file.  But his move of Qe3+ solves two problems at once, simultaneously removing the bone in his throat at h6 and dealing with the g-file threat.

The rest was mopping up and by move 43, the Pink Queen had had enough and resigned.