Promoting a pawn early in a game

[Geoff Chandler]

And thank you....

http://www.redhotpawn.com/blog/blogread ... gpostid=47

[Malcolm Clarke]

Interesting to read the Chandler Cornered articles which seem to be very well received by the Scottish chess playing community.

Having mentioned my game with the French Defence in which I queened early in the game I think that one important feature was playing the moves in the right order. I played both Bb4 and dXc3, but I think the order in which I played the moves affected the likelihood of my opponent being able to spot the fact that cXb2 is discovered check, and means that whatever he is threatening I get in first. I can think of other games where it has been helpful to play the moves in exactly the right order to make it harder for the opponent to detect your threats.

We have also discussed the plight of footballer Peter Marinello on this thread. Peter was a player of great flamboyance and secured a big money move to Arsenal, where he was soon labelled the second George Best. However after a promising start he lost his first team place, and later on ended up bankrupt after a business venture failed. I think he wrote a book Fallen Idol. This also made me think as to whether there has been a chess player who at one stage has been referred to as the second Bobby Fischer, but has found it difficult to live up to expectations.

[Justin Hadi]

Josh Waitzkin is the classic "young Fischer" story. He gave up chess while an IM and went on to become a world champion in a totally different sport - http://www.joshwaitzkin.com/

[Jonathan Bryant]

This also made me think as to whether there has been a chess player who at one stage has been referred to as the second Bobby Fischer, but has found it difficult to live up to expectations.

Gosh, there must be loads of those. Mecking springs to mind for a start.

[Matt Mackenzie]

This also made me think as to whether there has been a chess player who at one stage has been referred to as the second Bobby Fischer, but has found it difficult to live up to expectations.

Gosh, there must be loads of those. Mecking springs to mind for a start.

Illness did for him more than anything, though - he got into the top 10 on a regular basis before that.

For an example that admittedly pre-dates RJF, there is of course Arturo Pomar. Or in the ex-USSR - and here's a bit of an obscure one - Mikhail Shteinberg

[John Constable]

Bringing the thread back to topic I played this game at Brighton in 1994 allowing my opponent to queen a pawn on move 9 before he resigned on move 38 when I had two queens on the board!
Constable,John,Smith,Ken W.
Brighton Weekend (3)
12.11.1994 1-0
C29: Vienna Game: 2...Nf6 3 f4
1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 f4 exf4 4 e5 Qe7 5 Qe2 Ng8 6 d4 Qh4+ 7 g3N fxg3 8 Nf3?? g2+ 9 Nxh4 gxh1Q 10 Nf3 Be7 11 Be3 Bh4+ 12 Bf2 Bg5
13 Ne4 Bf4 14 Bg3 b6! 15 c4 Ba6∓ 16 b3-+ Nc6??= 17 Rd1?-+ Nb4= 18 Bxf4 Nxa2 19 Bd2 d5??+- 20 Ng3 Qxf1+ 21 Qxf1 dxc4 22 bxc4 c5
23 Ra1 Nb4 24 Bxb4 Bb7 25 Ng5 Nh6 26 Nf5 0-0-0 27 Nd6+ Kb8 28 Ngxf7 Rdf8 29 e6 Nxf7 30 Nxf7 Rhg8 31 Qf4+ Ka8 32 Qc7! cxb4
33 Nd6 Rb8 34 e7 Rgc8 35 Nxc8 Rxc8 36 Qd7+- a5 37 e8Q Kb8 38 Qexc8++- 1-0
Interesting but not exactly a top quality game from either player!

[Leonard Barden]

This also made me think as to whether there has been a chess player who at one stage has been referred to as the second Bobby Fischer, but has found it difficult to live up to expectations.

Gosh, there must be loads of those. Mecking springs to mind for a start.

Illness did for him more than anything, though - he got into the top 10 on a regular basis before that.

For an example that admittedly pre-dates RJF, there is of course Arturo Pomar. Or in the ex-USSR - and here's a bit of an obscure one - Mikhail Shteinberg

How can you say that? Steinberg died, probably after a couple of years of cancer, at age 24.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Actually I knew he had died young - but not *that* young

Wasn't he one of the trio of great Soviet "hopes" that emerged in the 1960s (the others being Vaganyan and, of course, Karpov)??

So he goes in the same category as Charousek, Junge, and - last but certainly not least - Gordon Crown (did you know him, Leonard?)

[Michael Jones]

I have never converted a pawn into a knight in a competitive match, although I think I may have converted one into a rook to avoid stalemate.

I've done it twice, although neither early in the game. The first was a spite check which only postponed my resignation by a couple of moves, but the second actually changed the result:

Simpson, B - Jones, M
BUCA 2007



It hadn't been the greatest of games: I blundered a piece in the middlegame, he returned the favour a few moves later, I messed up a rook endgame which I should probably have won and ended up playing on with P vs R in the hope of a swindle. White had just played 64. Ra8-h8 and was sitting there with a smug look on his face in the knowledge that 64...b1Q loses on the spot to 65. Rh1#. I played 64... b1N+ and offered a draw, which was accepted. A standard endgame trick, but one which was rather useful in the context of the match as the half point thus swindled was the difference between a win and a draw in the match.

[Rob Thompson]

I have underpromoted to a knight in two games. The first was in a junior tournament where my opponent wouldn't resign Rook, Knight + 6 against king bare. So i sacked the rook and mated with 7 knights.

The second was on an occasion where i could have promoted to a queen, which would have had to be taken by my opponents rook. However, promoting to a knight gave a check that would lead to forced mate if it were not taken. I found this considerably more elegant