Donkey chess, or a funny mate at South Station

As always, we thank Grandmaster Larry Christiansen, the Boylston Chess Club, and their other partners for hosting the monthly simulaneous exhibition at South Station.  Today's event was a make-up for the not-quite-a-blizzard blizzard earlier in the month.

In pre-game chitchat, the GM recommended the Old West history book A Tenderfoot in Tombstone, which, he noted, includes an account of a donkey being cut in half by a lightning strike !  In one game, the Gabridoodle said, "Lightning... Donkey" when capturing the GM's horse, prompting a grandmasterly chuckle.

Game 2 featured a funny checkmate, shown it its full glory below, with Christiansen's move indicated by the red arrows and the Gabridoodle's by the green.

St. Valentine's Day massacre

Perhaps due to recent snow events, there was only a small crowd at Boston's South Station for this month's simultaneous exhibition given by grandmaster and three-time US champion Larry Christiansen.  The result, of course, was very brisk play.  A dead-ender like the Gabridoodle was able to get five games in.  Christiansen started doing his trademark leg pump fairly early, and indeed, he was out to destroy us all, Valentine's Day or no Valentine's Day.  At one point, the Gabridoodle joked to a neighbor, "There's a 20 move quota today."

Game 1

A 20 move miniature with the Gabridoodle resigning when mate became unstoppable.

Game 2

Another quickie -- this time a mere 19 moves.  The Gabridoodle resigned before Christiansen's material lead became even more yawning.

Game 3

This game was actually somewhat reasonable.  The Gabridoodle made Christiansen work for it, even winning The Exchange at one point.  It ended with Christiansen inflicting a pretty mate at move 30.  Ever the gentlemanly grandmaster, Christiansen did allow, "You had a good game going."

Game 4

With Christiansen sporting a two-piece advantage after 24 moves, the Gabridoodle decided to visit Resignsville and move on to another game.

Game 5

This one began with the Gabridoodle conceding, "You refuted the French, so we'll do the Sicilian."  As in game 3, the Gabridoodle kept Christiansen on his toes and the game even reached an honest-to-goodness endgame.  The Grandmaster's two-pawn edge was sure to grind out the victory (and the king at g4 obviously meant business), so the Gabridoodle resigned with a touch of bravado: "Luckily for you, I have a train to catch."

Surviving a frightening position

After a hiatus of several months, the Gabridoodle was finally back at Boston's South Station for the monthly simultaneous exhibition given by Grandmaster Larry Christiansen. There was a full house, so the Gabridoodle only got in two games.  He lost both but each went more than 30 moves, a small achievement.

In the second game, he managed to survive this frightening position.  Oh, sure it looks tame enough, but in fact, all hell is threatening to break loose.

Simul at South Station: a passerby demands the notation

Once a month, Grandmaster Larry Christiansen gives a simultaneous exhibition at Boston's South Station.  Salem CHESS CLUB thanks the GM, the organizers, and the sponsors for making the event happen.

Here, in the first game, the Gabridoodle got a bit cocky and tried his new move -- he learned it from videos on teh interwebs, of course.  When placing a knight on a good outpost, screw it in like a lightbulb !  Needless to say, Christiansen had seen this before.

The Gabridoodle lost the first two games, the second a very brisk miniature.  He also lost the third, but in that one he mounted a spirited defense.  In fact, a passerby asked to photograph the notation !  This left the Gabridoodle chuffed but he managed to stop himself from puffing.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Ne5 10. Bb3 a6 11. h4 b5 12. h5 Nc4 13. Bxc4 bxc4 14. Bh6 Bd7 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. hxg6 fxg6 17. Qh6 Kf7 18. O-O-O Rh8 19. Nd5 Qf8 20. Qe3 Nxd5 21. exd5 Qg7 22. Rh4 Raf8 23. Ne6 Bxe6 24. Qxe6 Ke8 25. Rxc4

ended with:

Here are some more snaps from the event...

Meanwhile, on the Twitter, someone posted video of the GM in action.

Grandmaster versus Commander: the impossible happens

What everyone at Salem CHESS CLUB thought was impossible has happened: the Gabridoodle has claimed his first grandmaster scalp !  GM Larry Christiansen was giving a simultaneous exhibition at Boston's South Station when he suffered this shocking and scarcely believable defeat at the sweaty hands of the Gabridoodle.

Once again, we thank the Boylston Chess Club for organizing the event.

Bonus: someone on the Twitter caught me in direct confrontation with the GM.

We aren't in the habit of publishing entire games, perhaps due to Piratical shyness, but we're making an exception for this one.

Christiansen, Larry - Gabridoodle, 0-1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. Bxd7 Nxd7 7. Ne2 Ngf6 8. Nbc3 Be7 9. Ng3 O-O 10. O-O h6 11. Qf3 a6 12. Nf5 Ne8 13. Nd5 Bf6 14. Rd1 b5 15. Qg3 Bg5 16. h4 Bxc1 17. Raxc1 Kh7 18. c4 Ndf6 19. Nxf6 Qxf6 20. Rxd6 Nxd6 21. Nxd6 Qxd6 22. c5 Qe6 23. c6 Rac8 24. c7 Qd6 25. Qc3 Rfe8

After a sharp Sicilian opening, Christiansen developed some concrete threats by move 14.  Severe danger is lurking on the g7 and e7 squares (highlighted in yellow).  The bishop is eyeing the pawn at h6 and the queen is ready to scoot over to the g file.  It's going to take some fancy defensive footwork for the Gabridoodle to survive this onslaught.

Sometimes a counter-attack is the best way to meet an attack.  Here the Gabridoodle concluded it was time to pull the trigger and went a bit berzerk, moving his bishop to g5.  Christiansen, a famous pawn-pusher, responded with h4 (green arrow).  The Gabridoodle continued the counter-attack, grabbing the bishop at c1.  After Christiansen recpatured with the rook, the Gabridoodle moved his king to h7 (yellow arrows).  This was perhaps the key defensive move, getting his king off the horrendous g file.

Some more fancy defensive footwork came at moves 18 and 19.  Our friend the pawn pusher pushed his c-pawn; the Gabridoodle ignored this and thrust his knight to f6 (yellow arrows).  Christiansen took (green arrow) and the Gabridoodle recaptured with his queen (red arrow).  Note that the black knight at e8 absolutely could not be moved because it was defending the critical g7 square.  After all this, the Gabridoodle's position remained precarious, but two attackers (the dangerous bishop and a pesky knight) were eliminated and a lot of pressure taken off the e7 square.

At move 20, Christiansen made a hideous blunder, capturing the d6 pawn with his rook (green arrow).  At first the Gabridoodle thought his queen was trapped but then saw the obvious: he could simply capture the offending rook with his knight (red arrow) !  Note that this knight, previously unmovable, was free to move now that the queen was defending g7.  Christiansen, expressing frustration non-verbally, recaptured with his knight, which the Gabridoodle in turn captured with the queen (yellow arrows).  With the second knight out of the way, that critical g7 square could now be defended by the king !

With Christiansen down a rook, the Gabridoodle now had a winning position.  Perhaps the grandmaster could have tried to soldier on, playing for tricks, but with the scheduled end of the simul approaching, he decided to throw in the towel at move 25 and give the Gabridoodle his prize: a free tournament entry at the Boylston Chess Club.

The Gabridoodle's triumph on the actual board:

And the scoresheet:

The other game:

The Gabridoodle's triumph came in the day's second game.  Here in the first game, GM Christiansen waltzed to victory, although it took 31 moves.  In a downright instructional moment, Christiansen has used his bishop, along with the f and h pawns to toss the Gabridoodle's king in jail and throw away the key

Horsing around, a funny mate, and Boston Magazine at South Station

There was excellent turnout at today's simultaneous exhibition at South Station given by grandmaster Larry Christiansen -- so much so that he and the Gabridoodle only played two games (needless to say, the grandmaster won both).

In a true, if non-theoretical, novelty, Boston Magazine had a reporter covering the event. Here's the post at their blog:

Boston Magazine article.

There was also coverage by the Boston Globe:

Boston Globe article.

In game 1, Christiansen subjected the Gabridoodle to a quick strangulation

The only really notable thing about the game was that the Gabridoodle made 12, count 'em, 12 knight moves in a row.

The Gabridoodle resigned at move 17. It's not quite mate, but it might as well be.

Game 2 was more interesting and one in which the Gabridoodle survived much longer.

At move 7, the Gabridoodle is already in trouble. Christiansen has a powerful, potentially deadly bishop-queen battery aiming at f7. Without much else to do, the Gabridoodle sends a horse to the glue factory and then castles.

At move 21, the Gabridoodle has a chance to "play for tricks." He can move his horse to c6 with impunity since, if Christiansen captures it, a back rank mate would ensue.  Needless to say, the grandmaster didnt't fall for it. However, I can think of at least one greedy, aggressive member of CHESS CLUB who would have.

Christiansen wins the game at move 39 with a funny mate.

South Station: taunted by a grandmaster

As always, Salem CHESS CLUB extends a hearty thank-you to the Boylston Chess Club for organizing the simultaneous exhibitions given by grandmaster and former US champion Larry Christiansen at South Station.  These events usually take place on the second Tuesday of the month from 5:00 to 7:00. This one had to be rescheduled due to ongoing commuter chaos.  It was a small crowd and the games were brisk.

Game one can be written off as a warm-up.  This miniature went all of 15 moves, the Gabridoodle resigning before the inevitable mate.

Here, in game two, after Christiansen's pawn push, the Gabridoodle exhibited a bit of classic CHESS CLUB bravado and said, "Sure, I'll spot you a pawn," before moving his horse out of the way.  Christiansen replied, "It's the book."  Indeed it was: he gains a pawn after knight takes knight, pawn takes, queen takes.

This game was something of a marathon, going 34 moves and reaching something of an endgame.  That queenside pawn duo was unstoppable, however.

Game 3: the Gabridoodle gets all torn up.

Game 4: at move 16 it isn't quite mate yet, but the Gabridoodle surrenders.

For Christiansen, game 5 was a nice little mate-in-16.  Note that the grandmaster didn't lose his rooks: toward the end of the game, he voluntarily removed them from the board, giving the Gabridoodle a well-earned taunting !

No theoretical novelties at South Station

After missing the March event, the Gabridoodle returned to Boston's inimitable South Station to take part in a simultaneous exhibition given by grandmaster and former US champion Larry Christiansen.  Salem CHESS CLUB extends its hearty thanks to the grandmaster and the Boylston Chess Club for organizing this once-a-month event.

Because the "simul" was bumped from its usual Tuesday to Wednesday, turnout was light and the games proceeded briskly.  The Gabridoodle, much as would be expected, went 0 and 3.

The Gabridoodle's neighbor did manage to set a clever stalemate trap which the grandmaster avoided by means of underpromotion.

Also of note, though not directly relevant to today's event, the grandmaster told a kibitzer that he's played as many as 16 simultaneous blindfold games.

Game 1: Christiansen, Larry - Gabridoodle, 1-0

Here, at move 18, the grandmaster strikes the decisive blow. Out of concern for pawn structure, the Gabridoodle felt unable to capture the knight that was sent to e5.  He retreated his queen instead and Christiansen snaffled up the horse on h5.

The Gabridoodle managed to stay alive until move 30.  Christiansen's rook, pony, and d-pawn are working together all-too-nicely.

Game 2: Christiansen, Larry - Gabridoodle, 1-0

Ignoring the attack on his c5 knight, the Gabridoodle captured Christiansen's d-pawn, announcing "Maybe this is a theoretical novelty."  In response, the grandmaster quipped, "I wouldn't go that far."

The Gabridoodle also lived to see move 30, although here Christiansen's pawns are, true to form, unstoppable.  The Gabridoodle resigned several moves later.

Game 3: Christiansen, Larry - Gabridoodle, 1-0

At this point, the Gabridoodle was in a state of collapse.  Only 14 moves in, he resigned rather than suffer massive loss of material and swift defeat.

There's no pawn like a tall pawn

Once again, Salem CHESS CLUB extends its thanks to the Boylston Chess Club and Grandmaster Larry Christiansen for organizing the monthly simultaneous exhibition at Boston's South Station.

As we would expect from a notorious woodpusher, the Gabridoodle lost both games.  He did manage to make a few interesting moves in the first game but in the second, the grandmaster was fully in command.

Christiansen, Larry - Gabridoodle, 1-0

The key moment in the game occurred at move 16.  Christiansen's move of his horse to c6 preheats the oven in which the Gabridoodle's goose is soon to be cooked.  The Gabridoodle has to save his queen (which won't have much scope anyway) and Christiansen snaffles up the pony at f6 with his rook. The Gabridoodle at least knew not to recapture that rook; he avoided a deadly trap but also lost material.

A bit of gallows humor at move 25...  The Gabridoodle remarks, after moving his bishop, "There's no pawn like a tall pawn."  Christiansen shot back, "It's not that tall."

Here we are at move 28.  The Gabridoodle resigns, since it's clearly time to move on to the next game.

Christiansen, Larry - Gabridoodle, 1-0

Again, Christiansen has the white pieces, as is the custom at these exhibition games.  Here, at move 7, the Gabridoodle has been caught napping.  A simple pawn push by Christiansen traps the bishop.

The Gabridoodle never really recovered from that early blow, so it was all over at move 20.  This wasn't the first time Christiansen used a pawn to torment the Gabridoodle in this fashion.