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."

Christiansen beats the Gabridoodle... But it takes 65 moves !

Many of you may already be hip to this, but Grandmaster Larry Christiansen, a former US champion, gives a monthly simul at Boston's South Station. Today's game between the Gabridoodle and the GM was a 65 move epic.  The GM won, as usual, but this time he really had to earn it (we should allow that the Gabridoodle was careful to follow Father Lopez's advice and sit such that the sun was in his opponent's eyes).

The highlight of the game, at least from the Gabridoodle's standpoint was move 25, where he skewered Christiansen's knight and rook. As GM Christiansen himself lamented, "I stepped into that one."  Thus the Gabridoodle wins an exchange but still has some pawn issues.

At move 31, the Gabridoodle, determined to do some pawn hunting, decided it was time to give back the material, allowing him to snaffle up the white b-pawn.

The Gabridoodle subsequently managed to get a grip on the pawn situation, although Christiansen stubbornly clung to a one pawn lead.  The remaining rooks and eventually all but one pawn came off the board.  That last pawn was a runaway locomotive.  However, at move 62, Gabridoodle did have a stalemate trick: if white advances the pawn and promotes to queen, it's a draw !

But the grandmaster didn't fall for it.  Mate ensued several moves later.

The whole game...

Christiansen - Gabridoodle, 1-0

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Nde2 Nf6 7. Ng3 Be7 8. Bc4 O-O 9. Bg5 Nd4 10. O-O a6 11. a4 Bd7 12. a5 Rb8 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nd5 Bc6 15. c3 Ne6 16. Nf5 Nc7 17. Qd3 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 Be7 19. Rfd1 g6 20. Ne3 Bg5 21. Nc4 Qe7 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Qxd6 Qxd6 24. Rxd6 Rbc8 25. Nxe5 Bf4 26. Nc4 Bxd6 27. Nxd6 Rb8 28. Nc4 Rb7 29. f3 Rd7 30. Kf2 Rfd8 31. Ra4 Rd2+ 32. Nxd2 Rxd2+ 33. Kg3 Rxb2 34. Rc4 Rb5 35. Rxc6 Rxa5 36. Kf4 Ra4 37. h4 h5 38. c4 a5 39. Rc7 Rb4 40. Kg5 Kg7 41. e5 Rb6 42. c5 Re6 43. f4 a4 44. Ra7 Rc6 45. g4 hxg4 46. Kxg4 Rxc5 47. Rxa4 Rc8 48. Ra7 Re8 49. h5 gxh5+ 50. Kxh5 Rh8+ 51. Kg5 Re8 52. Ra5 Rd8 53. f5 Re8 54. f6+ Kh7 55. Kf5 Rf8 56. Ra1 Rh8 57. Rh1+ Kg8 58. Rxh8+ Kxh8 59. e6 fxe6+ 60. Kxe6 Kg8 61. Ke7 Kh8 62. f7 Kh7 63. Kf6 Kh8 64. f8=Q+ Kh7 65. Qg7# 1-0 

Mates on the board at Derby Joe

The onset of a horrendous snowstorm didn't stop us from descending on Derby Joe -- a snug, cozy café on Derby Street in Salem -- for some battles over the chessboard.

Gabridoodle beats the Chess Pirate

The Chess Pirate, a notorious action junkie, wanted a three minute game and that's what she got.  At one point, the Gabridoodle informed the Pirate that she could have captured en passant.  This elicited the quote-of-the-game: "I don't play French !"  Hilariously, the Gabridoodle later left his queen en prise but the Pirate didn't notice ! In the end, with less than 20 seconds left on the clock, the Gabridoodle delivered mate on the board.

The Armenian Eagle beats the Gabridoodle... with bishops !

In a game with the Armenian Eagle, the Gabridoodle fell victim to a rapacious bird of prey.  The Eagle was made to earn his victory (in no small measure thanks to the Pirate's "Marines never give up" kibitzing).  The Eagle eventually delivered an artful mate with his bishops.

Derby Joe menagerie

Just two days before Halloween, things were crazy in downtown Salem.  Derby Joe, a chess-friendly café on Derby Street, was jam-packed with tourists, in particular Pennsylvanians.

After losing a game on time, the Gabridoodle proceeded to demolish the Chess Pirate in three brisk but non-clocked games.  As a result, he won three new friends, George the baboon, Garry the gibbon, and Bruce the lavender log cabin elephant.

The Gabridoodle poses with his dear new friend George

The whole gang.

A couple of amusing mates:

Sudden death for the Gabridoodle at Derby Joe (30 Jul 2016)

At Derby Joe in Salem, the Chess Pirate won The Shiny with a quick checkmate -- a classic bishop-queen battery that even a patzer like the Gabridoodle should have seen.  Here's the Pirate's poetical account of the event:

The beautiful Chess Pirate wore a sweetly flowered light blue print shirt, to compliment her blue eyes. Her golden locks were long and flowing. She sat down and smiled, angelically. The Gabridoodle also sat and the timer was set. Who knows what for ? The game only lasted 46 short seconds, with a brilliant checkmate stunningly played by a cool and collected Pirate.

Horsing around with the grandmaster

As always, we extend hearty thank-yous to grandmaster Larry Christiansen and the Boylston Chess Club for organizing the monthly simultaneous exhibition at South Station.

In both of today's games, but particularly the first one, the grandmaster did have to pause for a few seconds of thought on several occasions.  This at least gives the Gabridoodle one small achievement to boast of.

Game 1

In the first game, GM Christiansen gave the Gabridoodle a jolt by opening with d4 rather than the usual e4. This wasn't the first time he'd opened with d4, but it's the sort of thing that ruffles the Gabridoodle.

By move 25, a pair of horses was off the board.  Prior to this phase of the game, however, there had been quite a few knight moves by both players.  Here, Christiansen is offering a free horse, but the Gabridoodle smelled a rat and moved his king instead.

Next, the grandmaster offers a free bishop.  With a tone, but not the actual act, of resignation, the Gabridoodle took it, not that he had any choice.

The game ended with a funny mate.  Christiansen's e5 reveals a check, which isn't mate, but blocking with his bishop was the Gabridoodle's only legal move.  The recapture was all she wrote.

Game 2

The first game went a respectable 30 moves.  The second was over after 21, qualifying it as either an outright miniature or a near-miniature, depending on how we define it.  At least the grandmaster opened with e4, allowing the Gabridoodle to respond with the very Sicilian c5, his "best" strategy against him.

Horses again !  By move 18, GM Christiansen's ponies have infested the Gabridoodle's position.

The grandmaster could have taken the vulnerable d-pawn at his leisure, but he had higher priorities. Here he offers the Gabridoodle an entire queen.  The Chess Pirate would have instacaptured, but the Gabridoodle didn't: he saw that if he did, the rook would be headed to h3 with disastrous consequences.  Christiansen asked, "You didn't like my generous offer ?"  The Gabridoodle replied, "No, it just wouldn't be fair to take it."

The Gabridoodle was promptly forced to wave the glorious white flag, as there's really no defense.

There's usually more than one way to get out of check

This is a little lesson for the beginners...

We won't name any names, but the Gabridoodle had an amusing 16-move miniature in a game with a member of Salem CHESS CLUB played at Chess.com. 

What happened

The game had a very sharp opening.  The unnamed player panicked a little and swapped a piece for a pesky pawn.  However, the Gabridoodle was then given a few scares by his opponent's rampaging queen.  After some fancy footwork, he found a way to bail out, forcing a queen trade.  Or so he thought...

For once in his life, the Gabridoodle was gallant and messaged his opponent a hint: don't panic and consider there may be more than one way to get out of check.  Despite this helpful advice, his opponent responded to the check with a fatal mistake: Kd1.

At first, the Gabridoodle was all excited about the prospect of taking his opponent's queen for free.  But then he saw that he could deliver instamate instead.

As they say: when you see a good move, look for a better one.

They also joke that if you have a choice between taking your opponent's queen for free and checkmate, take the queen.  There is small grain of truth to this: the mate you see might turn out not to be mate, while if you take the queen, you'll probably end up winning.

What should have happened...

When you're in check and it isn't mate, you'll have one, two, or three ways of getting out of check:

* Moving the king.

* Interposing a piece between the king and the attacking piece.

* Capturing the attacking piece.

Had the unnamed opponent simply captured the Gabridoodle's queen, he'd have recaptured with the bishop and the game would have continued.

An amusing, brutal, pin-it-to-win-it mate

This is from an on-line game with a CHESS CLUB member I shan't name.

First some bait: I move my a-rook to b8.  My opponent snaffles it up with the bishop and I recapture with my other rook.

Next up: I give check with rook to b1. The poor devil's only legal move is to block with the queen !

A grandmaster recently joked that if you have to choose between capturing your opponent's queen or giving mate, capture the queen.  However, I stick with orthodox chess theory.  My brutal intermezzo queen to e4 gives check and forces the king to f1 (note that blocking with the queen isn't an option because of the pin).  Pin-it-to-win-it, indeed !  Now I can take the queen with my rook, simultaneously delivering 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 !

South Station beatdown: pawn finale

Nothing terribly interesting at South Station this time, just the usual beatdowns administered by GM Larry Christiansen.

For his grand finale, Christiansen mated the Gabridoodle with a freakin' pawn ! 

Provoking Fritz to suicide

Here's an amusing little sequence from a game with Fritz.  The Gabridoodle falls behind but comes fighting back in true CHESS CLUB spirit.

Fritz pulls a clever bishop sacrifice with bxg3.  The Gabridoodle takes back with the f-pawn and promptly loses a rook to the discovered attack.  The Gabridoodle is now down the exchange and two pawns.

The Gabridoodle nevertheless soldiers on, moving his horse to c6 and then exchanging the rooks at f8.  Rightly or wrongly, he's determined to get his queen to e4.

The Gabridoodle uses his h-pawn to give Fritz's horse a kick and manoeuvres his queen to e4.

Next, the Gabridoodle strikes the fatal blow, using horsey to snaffle up the d4 pawn.

Fritz's queen can't take the horse and if he doesn't move the rook or king, the Gabridoodle's horse will hop to e2 and fork them fatally.  Whichever Fritz does, the Gabridoodle would then deliver instamate at g2. 

An alternative for Fritz would have been to send his queen to f2.  This at least would have guarded the crucial g2 square.  However, Fritz would have suffered the uncompensated loss of his rook and his queen would soon have been in difficulties after the Gabridoodle's horse went to d3.

So instead Fritz starts suicidally flailing...

...and then some !

Fritz finally eliminates the instamate threat by sacrificing his queen for the Gabridoodle's bishop.  Roar.

Moar roaring: the Gabridoodle was so worked up at this point that he missed the obvious mate, queen takes horse.  Instead it was horse takes horse.  Fritz resigns all the same.