English Chess Forum

In the absence of a most bizarre or worst category I'm posting this here:

rnb1k1nr/ppppbppp/4p3/8/5P1q/1P4P1/PBPPP2P/RN1QKBNR b KQkq - 0 4

After black's best move and white's most tempting reply black has a move that leads to a truly bizarre but good for black position. I saw Eric Rosen showing this on Twitch and it seemed too funny/bizarre not to share.

I'm guessing 1...Qxf4 2.Bxg7 Bh4 is the line.

IM Jack Rudd wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 05, 2023 9:41 am

I'm guessing 1...Qxf4 2.Bxg7 Bh4 is the line.

Yes, not much of a challenge for you I'm afraid

Am positive I would have got that, because it shows a motif that I don't have a name for, but involves the optically impressive feat of putting two pieces en prise to the same pawn (not as impressive as it seems, as the second 'sacrifice' involves pinning the pawn, so only one capture is ever possible).

I wonder if problemists have a name for these general types of motifs? What would people here call it?

The reason I would recognise it is because it appeared in one of my games that I have posted here before (I failed to win, but that is not the point):

[Event "4NCL (D3), Wessex vs CU3"] [Date "06.05.2012"] [Round "10"] [White "Rutter, N"] [Black "Kreuzer, C"] [Result "½-½"] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 h6 9.Bh4 Qc7 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.Be2 b5 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.e5 Bb7 14.Qg3 dxe5 15.fxe5 Ne4 16.Nxe6 Qxc3 17.Qxg7 Ba3 18.Rd8+ Ke7 19.Rd7+ Kxd7 20.Nc5+ Ke7 21.Nxe4 Qxb2+ 22.Kd2 Qd4+ 23.Bd3 Rhg8 24.Qf6+ Ke8 25.Ng3 Be7 26.Qxe7+ Kxe7 27.Nf5+ Kf8 28.Nxd4 Rxg2+ 29.Ke3 Re8 30.e6 Re2+ 31.Bxe2 Bxh1 32.Bh5 Rxe6+ 33.Nxe6+ fxe6 34.Kd4 Bd5 35.a3 Ke7 36.Ke5 Bc4 37.Bf3 a5 38.c3 Bf1 39.Bc6 Bc4 40.Bf3 Bf1 {(=)}

This is the position (after move 17) that I was thinking of, with White to play:

r3k2r/1b3pQ1/p3N2p/1p2P3/4n3/b1q5/PPP1B1PP/2KR3R

As Black, I have just played 16...Qxc3 and 17...Ba3, which is the same Q+B being placed en prise to the same pawn motif as above.

Back then, Roger De C was kind enough to look up some previous occurrences of this motif in that specific opening line:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4361&p=89924#p89967

I am wondering if the same methodology can be used to look up positions where pieces are placed en prise to the same pawn within a few moves of each other? I don't think it is that easy to set up the right query, but if it can be done, would be interested to see the results.

There was a game Miles-Nunn in the second Master Game where black played ...Neg4 and ...Ne4 on consecutive moves with a white pawn on f3.

Check out Gary's 11th and 12th moves here -
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessga ... =1#reply22

I managed to perform this queen and bishop en prise to a pawn trick when my opponent fell into a fairly well-known opening trap many moons ago...

[Event "County match Bucks-Surrey"] [Site "Bourne End"] [Date "1977.10.08"] [Round "1.18"] [White "Keene, A."] [Black "Saunders, John C"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D86"] [WhiteElo "1944"] [BlackElo "2136"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "1977.10.08"] [EventType "team-match"] [EventRounds "1"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "John Saunders"] [SourceDate "1998.12.19"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.12.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Surrey"] [BlackTeam "Buckinghamshire"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Bc4 Bg7 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qa5+ $6 {Other than luring White into an opening trap, this move doesn't have much merit. I was well aware of this when I played it, I'm ashamed to tell you.} 11. Bd2 Qa3 12. Rb1 O-O 13. d5 $2 ({ If White now plays} 13. O-O {Black will have difficulty justifying his opening choice.}) 13... Ne5 14. Bb4 $4 {White had no sooner pressed his clock before the seemingly trapped queen flashed across the third rank...} Qf3 $3 15. Kf1 $2 (15. O-O {is better but} Qxe4 {is a solid extra pawn.}) 15... Bh3 $1 {[#]} 16. Rg1 Ng4 17. Bc5 Nxh2+ 18. Ke1 Bc3+ 19. Nxc3 Qxc3+ 0-1

Wonderful game by John! Not the style I came to know...

A nice game, but the concept of Qf3!! in these Gruenfeld positions was known long beforehand.

"A nice game, but the concept of Qf3!! in these Gruenfeld positions was known long beforehand."

Yes - I know. I think the " Not the style I came to know..." should have alerted readers to the fact that John's later career had a more positional basis. When I played him or saw him in action, his normal reaction to having a piece on the 6th rank on move 11 would have been to retreat it as quickly and as far as possible.

I do apologise to members of the forum for making the mistake of thinking you can compliment someone without fear of retribution.

Matt Mackenzie wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 16, 2023 12:17 am

A nice game, but the concept of Qf3!! in these Gruenfeld positions was known long beforehand.

I was playing in the match (Bucks v Surrey) where John uncorked 14 .. Qf3. He had not long returned from studying/working in Spain, so this may have been one of his first games back in his previous home area.

Hartston gives the .. Qa3 line as a variation in Chapter 2 of his 1971 Batsford, with the .. Qf3 trick mentioned on page 16. He describes it as "an old, but still pretty, trap".

I wonder when the trap was first sprung. I can find a game from the Polish Championship of 1955 where White spotted the problem and just gave up a pawn with 15. 0-0

I think it goes back at least a decade before that, and its hardly "retribution" to point out it was played previously.