… and the reason I love it is that speed chess is ridiculously entertaining.
… and the reason I hate it is that speed chess magnifies all of my worst tendencies.
Both of these reason were on full display in a mind-boggling sp...
… and the reason I love it is that speed chess is ridiculously entertaining.
… and the reason I hate it is that speed chess magnifies all of my worst tendencies.
Both of these reason were on full display in a mind-boggling speed game that I played with Linnea yesterday after the Aptos Library chess club was over. Here is the position where the mind-bogglingness started. I’m playing Black, Linnea is White, and it’s my move.
Position after 1. g3. Black to move.
FEN: r2q4/2p3k1/pb4r1/1p1pP1pp/3P1pnp/2PQ1NP1/PP3P1N/5RRK b – - 0 1
Up to this point I’ve been having a merry old time pushing all of my kingside pawns, but after Linnea’s move 1. g3 I started to get a whiff of trouble in paradise. On any pawn capture, the lines start opening up in an uncomfortable way around my king. And the knight on g4 is just in the way, making it hard for me to avoid the pawn captures. Is there anything I can do about this?
Here I found what Rybka says is Black’s one and only correct move: 1. … Nxf2+! According to the computer, Black is now +1.9 pawns, and on any other move I would have been 0.0 or worse. So, huge props to me, right?
Well, not so much. The problem is that after finding the only way out of trouble (temporarily), I didn’t think very hard about what got me into trouble in the first place. I played the next couple of moves on auto-pilot. Linnea played 2. Rxf2 g3 3. R2g2! and now we got to the most crucial position.
Position after 3. R2g2. Black to p lay and lose.
FEN:r2q4/2p3k1/pb4r1/1p1pP1pp/3P1p2/2PQ1Np1/PP4RN/6RK b – - 0 3
John Emms’ The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book has a great chapter called “Find the Wrong Move!” This chapter is full of positions where somebody plays a move that seems completely natural and plausible, and yet is practically the worst move on the board. The above position would be a perfect one for that chapter. Find the wrong move!
We were playing speed chess, remember. So I gave this position about 5 seconds thought, if that much, and played 3. … gh?? The “automatic recapture.” The only reason I even thought that long is that I had to check and make sure I wasn’t getting mated after 4. Rxg5. (I’m not getting mated because I play 4. … hgQ+, queening with check and removing the guard all at the same time.)
What I missed is that Linnea can simply recapture on h2: 4. Rxh2! At this point my reaction went through the five stages of grief.
Denial: Okay, she’s threatening to take on h5 and she’s threatening to take on g5 and she’s threatening Nh4 (the real killer), but surely I can do something about those things, right?
Anger: This is ridiculous, how could I be losing this game? I’ve been winning for like 20 moves, and now all of a sudden there’s nothing I can do?
Bargaining: Okay, how about if I give back a little bit of material. Say, … Qd7 or … Qh8?
Depression: I have got to be the worst speed chess player in history. How can I pretend to be a “teacher” when I do things like this?
Acceptance: Oh well, it’s only speed chess. I played 4. … Kh6 5. Nh4 Rg8 6. Nf5+ and resigned.
The computer, of course, doesn’t go through the five stages of grief. Rybka simply says that after 4. Rxh2 White stands at +1.8 pawns. That’s right, one “automatic recapture” transformed the position from 1.9 pawns in Black’s favor to 1.8 pawns in White’s favor. Rarely have I ever seen a position where the seemingly obvious move was so radically, outrageously wrong.
As I drove home in my car, it hit me that of course, there was no need for me to take the knight. It’s not going anywhere. I could have played 4. … g4, which puts another knight under attack and, more importantly, clears a path to h4 for the queen. It’s critically important for Black to keep the four pawns on the board until he can bring up rei
