Under promotions for pawns during a match game

[Kevin O'Rourke]

Has anyone used or had interesting stories of under promotion which of course I mean to a Knight, and did it help you in the game.. was it a mistake?

I recently had a correspondance game where my pawn was sitting on the 7th rank for a while and I could have made it into a knight to give check. I greedily held on to it hoping for a Queen and ended up losing the game. I also lost the opportunity to make it into a knight because my opponant defended the check idea that had come up earlyer. Kind of regret not just making it a Knight for the sheer fun of it (game against a mate) and, as I said, it may well have saved the game.

Unlikely it will come up again for a while.

[IM Jack Rudd]

Nosenko-Rudd, Monmouth 1999. White to play and mate in four.

k7/P7/1PK1N3/8/8/8/7b/8

[Roger de Coverly]

Has anyone used or had interesting stories of under promotion which of course I mean to a Knight

A game between the late Tony Miles and Michael Adams from 1993 comes to mind.

They reached this position with White to move.

8/1P6/P2r4/8/8/K1k5/8/8 w

The Shredder tablebase tells me that Ka4 also draws, but Adams played the amusing and necessary b8=N. That's dramatic as b8=Q allows mate in one.

[Kevin O'Rourke]

These are famous games but what about club or even friendly games. Also like I said, were there any interesting options/threats to do it that influenced the game? Would be great to take someone by surprise when a horsey appears with a devastating fork or check.

[Ian Kingston]

The closest example in my games was this missed opportunity. I played 41...Rxd2 and won easily enough, but there was a mate in three available.

[Date "2005.03.21"]<br> [Round "?"]<br> [White "Messam-Sparks, L."]<br> [Black "Kingston, I."]<br> [Result "0-1"]<br> [SetUp "1"]<br> [FEN "6k1/8/2p5/6p1/PBP5/1P1r4/3R1pPK/4r3 b - - 0 41"]<br> [PlyCount "5"]<br> <br> 41... f1=N+ 42. Kg1 (42. Kh1 Ng3+ 43. Kh2 Rh1#) 42... Ng3+ 43. Kf2 Rf1# 0-1

[Matt Fletcher]

I had a recent game where underpromotion didn't appear on the board, but was a major threat.

Black has just played ...Rg8 threatening mate - White to play.

6r1/3P3p/5k2/1pbq1p1Q/5P2/8/6PP/4R2K

[Jesper Norgaard]

Jesper Nørgaard - Abel Davalos Club Mercenarios 2003

1r4k1/6P1/1n1pN3/1P1Pp2R/4P1p1/8/2p3P1/6K1

White to move and win - actually it seems to be forced that underpromotion is the only winning theme in this position.

The page http://www.chesschat.org/showthread.php ... -checkmate actually shows 5 underpromotions from my games alone. There is an underpromotion from Kevin Bonham. Come to think of it, in my youth I had a sixth underpromotion to a bishop, creating the pair of bishops, which I duly went on to checkmate with. Sort of a protest that he didn't resign. Of course you shouldn't do that, as that only encourages the opponent to play on.

[Kevin O'Rourke]

When playing online I have done an under promtion to a rook just to give checkmate along a rank or file.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I am still trying to solve the mate in 4 from Jack's game...
I haven't solved Matt's poser either (does it start with Qh6+?).
I did get Jesper's one (a good example).

[Roger de Coverly]

I suppose everyone knows the trap in the Albin that leads to a position with three Knights.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. e3 Bb4 5. Bd2 dxe3 6. Bxb4 exf2 7. Ke2 g1N

4.e3 is a little inaccurate as you have to accept the position with pawns on e5 and e3 with 6. fxe3

[MJMcCready]

Who came up with the term 'underpromotion'? In, albeit rare, circumstances where its advantageous to 'underpromote' it's something of a misnomer to call it that as the piece promoted to, for example a knight may have more value than a queen in the position at hand. If promoting to a knight can deliver mate, for example, shouldn't we call it overpromotion rather than rely on a singular generic term.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I haven't solved Matt's poser either (does it start with Qh6+?).

Very nice puzzle! It does start with Qh6+, and I was stuck for a while on how to meet the Rg6 defence, but have got it now (EDIT: though some of the lines end in draws? Is it a win for White or a draw?).

[Simon Brown]

I suppose everyone knows the trap in the Albin that leads to a position with three Knights.

Amusing story - back in the 1970s I was playing as a 12 year-old in a section of the Kent Championship, when games were arranged between individuals, and often played at one player's home. My father gave me a lift to Chatham one evening to play a chap who didn't know this trap; he played Rxg1 and resigned after Bg4+, total game time about 5 minutes. Unfortunately my father was on his way home to Petts Wood, expecting to pick me up several hours later, only to arrive home to a call instructing him to turn round and drive another 45 minutes back to Chatham - no mobile phones back then. A slightly awkward evening for all.

I saw Jack's mate in 4 immediately. Was trying to create a mate in 3 but Nd4 fails.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I saw Jack's mate in 4 immediately. Was trying to create a mate in 3 but Nd4 fails.

Does it start with Kb5?

[LawrenceCooper]

I saw Jack's mate in 4 immediately. Was trying to create a mate in 3 but Nd4 fails.

Does it start with Kb5?

No.