Instructive, Entertaining Miniatures for Juniors

[TomChivers]

Thanks for the two new suggestions Jon & Christopher. I think these kinds of games may well have their uses - I'll have to try them out.

I forgot that Chess magazine used to run a column about miniatures. In fact I think I had one published there myself - must have been 15+ years ago.

[Richard James]

Thanks for the two new suggestions Jon & Christopher. I think these kinds of games may well have their uses - I'll have to try them out.

I forgot that Chess magazine used to run a column about miniatures. In fact I think I had one published there myself - must have been 15+ years ago.

Indeed: I was one of the authors! Your game isn't in my Addicts' Corner database, I'm afraid. Must have been before I started keeping an online record of them.

Mike Fox and I were thinking of doing a book of miniature games at one point, based partly on those in Addicts' Corner, but didn't in fact do so, partly because Graham Burgess, who was much better qualified than us, wrote a similar book (The Quickest Chess Victories of All Time (Cadogan 1998)) which would be an excellent source for you if you can get hold of a copy.

The fact that we never started writing the book, never signed a contract or entered into any serious discussion didn't stop Batsford (I think) advertising it. You can still try to order a copy via Amazon here!

The other obvious thing to do is search Bigbase/Megabase, putting a filter on game length, result, checkmate (if you want) and, again if you want, opening code.

[Richard James]

I'm not sure how instructive it would be for juniors, but I won a game in 9 moves once. Richard will remember it because he published it in his column in CHESS. About short games in general, I find that club players tend to overlook killer moves in the opening if they are on autopilot. I find it worthwhile, if the opening moves look like they are in the wrong order, or things look a bit loose, to invest a bit of time checking for non-obvious moves that might finish the game quickly (it's either that or the computer shows you later).

[Event "EDCA APA"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kreuzer, Christopher"]
[Black "David, Barry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C55"]
[PlyCount "17"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ng4 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Ng5+ Kg8
8. Qf3 Ngxe5 9. Qd5+ 1-0

It would be interesting to ask your students what they would play for Black on move 8. My computer tells me that Bb4+ is the only move to refute White's combination.

The identical game was played in 1993: Falk Koenig - Matthias Ewert GER-Ch Int U20. (source: Bigbase 2010)

8...Bb4+ 9. c3 Ncxe5?? (...Ngxe5!) 10. Qd5+ Kf8 11. Ne6+! 1-0 was Muratov-Baranov Corr. 1963 (Burgess op cit)

[Christopher Kreuzer]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ng4 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Ng5+ Kg8
8. Qf3 Ngxe5 9. Qd5+ 1-0

It would be interesting to ask your students what they would play for Black on move 8. My computer tells me that Bb4+ is the only move to refute White's combination.

The identical game was played in 1993: Falk Koenig - Matthias Ewert GER-Ch Int U20. (source: Bigbase 2010)

8...Bb4+ 9. c3 Ncxe5?? (...Ngxe5!) 10. Qd5+ Kf8 11. Ne6+! 1-0 was Muratov-Baranov Corr. 1963 (Burgess op cit)

There was an identical game played in 1993? We can still call it the Kreuzer variation, can't we?

Thanks for the Ncxe5 line - nice tactic there. I fired up my years-old creaking version of Fritz to look at the Ngxe5! line and I like the look of 8...Bb4+ 9. c3 Ngxe5 10. Qd5+ Kf8 11. O-O as the threat of f5 should hopefully still win the piece back. Some players would immediately force the queens off, but White's knights are a bit rampant (I particularly like 17.Bd2, though sadly Black should just avoid taking the bishop).

[C55] Offhand analysis, 13.08.2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 Ng4 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Ng5+ Kg8 8.Qf3 Bb4+ 9.c3 Ngxe5 10.Qd5+ Kf8 11.0-0 dxc3 12.f4 Qe7 13.fxe5+ Ke8 14.Nxc3 Qc5+ 15.Kh1 Qxd5 16.Nxd5 Ba5 17.Bd2 Bxd2 18.Nf7 Rf8 19.Nxc7+ Ke7 20.Nd5+ Ke6 21.Nc7+ Ke7 22.Nd6 Rxf1+ 23.Rxf1 Nxe5 24.Nf5+ Kd8 25.Nxa8 1-0 (the knight eventually escapes)

[TomChivers]

One fresh off the press!


Nakamura, Hikaru - Van Wely, Loek
4th NH Chess Tournament Amsterdam NED (7), 2010.08.19
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.Bxf6 Nxf6 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Nd7 13.Nd5 Qc5 14.Nb3 Qc6 15.Na5 Qc5 16.Nxb7 Qc6 17.Rb6 1-0

[IM Jack Rudd]

This one any good to you?

Rudd, Jack - Sturt, Raven
Uxbridge Masters B Denham ENG (9), 2010.08.15
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Ng4 5. Qe2 Qc7 6. Nb5 Qb8 7. d4 cxd4 8. Bf4 f6 9. Bg3 Ngxe5 10. O-O-O d6 11. Nfxd4 a6 12. Nc3 Kf7 13. f4 Bg4 14. Qe4 Bxd1 15. fxe5 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 Bh5 17. Bc4+ Ke8 18. exd6 Qa7 19. d7+ Kd8 20. Bc7+ 1-0

[TomChivers]

Thanks Jack. That's a nice kill.