It was Thomas Alva Edison who wiped out more ghosts, ghouls and goblins
than Van Helsing when he invented the electric light bulb in the year 1879
Before we all saw the light we had to make do with wax candles and these things
were not to good at lighting up rooms or corridors. They shimmered with the any
soft breeze causing moving shadows on the walls and our imaginations did the rest.
But the mediums began to thrive and these table knockers were putting people in
touch with relatives who had passed over to the spirit world or contacting everyone
from Sitting Bull to Julius Caesar, from Isaac Newton to...Paul Charles Morphy!
And so it came to pass that inside the August 1924 Austrian Chess Magazine the
‘Neue Wiener Schachzeitung', Max Weiss (1857-1927) wrote an article about
a Dr. Streber who presented him with an unknown Morphy game played in 1908.
A picture of me and one of Morphy that I....er...painted.
Now every Louisiana schoolboy knows Morphy died (sorry passed over) in 1884
so this had to be wrong. However Dr. Streber attached, along with the game, a form
signed by three witness’s saying that Dr. Streber had played Morphy’s ghostly spirit!
(why Morphy would want to play the good doctor when he can have a game with
Steinitz, Anderssen, or even Pillsbury in the Afterlife Chess Club is suspicious.
Maybe the only other player to manifest himself that night was Howard Staunton.)
The game was published, people suspected it was a hoax (no kidding!)
and it was discovered that the game Morphy v Dr. Streber was infact:
Josef Krejcik - Konrad Krobot, a casual game played at the Cafe Victoria, Vienna 1908.
Which is indeed a great pity because if it was so easy to summon up the spirit
of a past master then chess books could come with an Ouija Board and the spirit
contact password (a bit like logging onto a chess site but without all the insults
one gets from the forums) we could then get the past master to explains things to us.
Here is the game in question. (It was claimed Morphy was White.)
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 { The Centre Game, there is no record of Morphy ever playing this opening as White.} 3... Nc6 4. Qe3 g6 {I once won an OTB league game when my opponent played 5.Qc3 here to attack the h8 Rook.} 5. Bd2 {5.Qc3 Bb4 and 0-1 This merry mistake has been played 40 times on Red Hot Pawn} 5... Bg7 6. Nc3 Nge7 {6...Nf6 is OK. 7.e5 Ng4} 7. O-O-O O-O 8. f4 {Aggressive but Black can play 8...d5 here with a reasonable game.} 8... a6 {Too slow. 8...d5 is OK. Black never gets d5 in. White eventually sacs a Rook to prevent it.} 9. Nf3 f5 {I thought we were going to see 9...b5 after 8...a6. White now starts with the threats.} 10. Bc4+ Kh8 11. Ng5 Qe8 {When you have a Queen defending weak spots you know things are going badly.} 12. exf5 {12...Nxf5 13.QxQ then Nf7+ and Nd6+ winning.} 12... Rxf5 {12....gxf5 also leads to a grim position with a White attack that plays itself.} 13. g4 Rf8 {Now 14.Nxh2 seems to work but White wants more and is in a creative mood.} 14. Qh3 h6 15. Rhg1 {15.Nd5 is very good here. 15.Rhg1 could have allowed Black to put up a stiffer defence.} 15... b5 16. Nxb5 {The idea is to vacate the c3 square with a gain of time.} 16... axb5 17. Bc3 {With the threat of Qxh6+ and mate. Black is in bother here but they have a d5 idea.} 17... h5 {18.gxh5 d5 and Black is fighting back but White now plays....} 18. Rd6 {A wonderful move stopping d5 which should have been played ages ago.} 18... cxd6 19. gxh5 {The threatened discovered checks win in all variations.} 19... gxh5 20. Bxg7+ Kxg7 21. Nf7+ Ng6 22. Rxg6+ {White is playing an inspired game.} 22... Kxg6 23. f5+ {It's all over, we get treated to a mini King hunt.} 23... Kf6 24. Qh4+ Kxf5 25. Qg5+ Ke4 26. Nxd6+ Kd4 27. c3 {Checkmate. An extraordinary game. 18. Rd6 was a great6 move to find.}
This position (White to play) usually arises after the following six moves.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Bc5 4. Nxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Bxd4 6. Qxd4 Qf6
It has appeared 67 times on Red Hot Pawn and sadly 13 players of the White
pieces have missed that Black has the Queen winning threat Nf6+ and Qxd4.
The chief culprit is the attractive looking 7.Nd5.
Which looks like it forces 7...Qd6 when 8.f4 wins a truck load of material.
Black springs the trap with 7...Nf3+ and Qxd4 and ‘trap’ is the correct term.
A genuine chess trap must have a flaw which if spotted can reverse the roles.
The best way of side-stepping the trap is 7.Nb5 which holds the White Queen and hits c7.
And from here Black has been getting checkmated in a few moves.
Ali Rebai - sallen RHP 2017 (+ a number of other games)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Bc5 4. Nxe5 {Developing with 4....Nf6 is tricky. not trappy, tricky 5.Nxc6 dxc6 see next game.} 4... Nxe5 5. d4 Bxd4 6. Qxd4 {6...d6 is probably the best here....} 6... Qf6 {....but Black is best avoiding this line altogether and go with 4...Nf6.} 7. Nb5 Kd8 {Already Black is deep trouble due to the 6...Qf6 move.} 8. Qc5 {Quite a few RHP games have finished here with 8...c6 9.Qf8 mate.} 8... Ne7 {8....Nh6 has been played but White has won comfortably.} 9. Qxc7+ Ke8 10. Nd6+ {Black has to give up their Queen with 10...Qxd6, the alternative is...} 10... Kf8 11. Qd8 {Checkmate.}
VadimGorovoy - dajackal RHP.2007
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Bc5 4. Nxe5 Nf6 5. Nxc6 dxc6 {Black has been scoring very well from here on RHP.} 6. Bc4 {A common reply but 6.h3 or 6.Be2 to stop Ng4 have better results.} 6... Ng4 {This or 6...Bxf2+ and Qd4+ is good.} 7. O-O Qh4 {Black's game is easy to play, White has castled into an attack.} 8. h3 Nxf2 9. Rxf2 Qxf2+ 10. Kh1 Be6 {Correct. preparing to 0-0-0 with tempo.} 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Na4 {An attempt to close out the dark squared Bishop. it fails by one tempo.} 12... Bd6 13. d4 O-O-O {And the intended 13.e5 is met with Bxe5.} 14. Bg5 {A frequent kind of mistake seen when defending such positions on RHP.} 14... Qg3 {The double attack on h2 with mate and the loose g5 Bishop.} 15. e5 {Stops the mate but the flaw in this move was given a few notes ago.} 15... Bxe5 {White resigned.}
This weeks puzzle is fairly easy. White to play....
....and mate in 70 moves. Gustavus Charles Reichhelm, 1870(?)
Don’t fret, it’s easy to see what to do, it’s just the doing it that is the hard bit.
I spotted the idea fairly quickly but used the solution given instead of solving it.
From the above diagram we have to get to here.
FEN
8/6pp/5p2/k7/3p4/1Q2p3/3prpp1/3Kbqrb w - - 0 1
[FEN "8/6pp/5p2/k7/3p4/1Q2p3/3prpp1/3Kbqrb w - - 0 1"] 1. Qb1 Ka4 2. Qb2 {First we stalemate the Black King to force a pawn move.} 2... Ka5 3. Qb3 Ka6 4. Qb4 Ka7 5. Qb5 Ka8 6. Qb6 d3 {It does not matter which pawn moves. White will force them all to move.} 7. Qb4 {Move back to two squares...} 7... Ka7 8. Qb5 Ka8 9. Qb6 {..so White can force Black to move a pawn.} 9... f5 10. Qb4 Ka7 11. Qb5 Ka8 12. Qb6 f4 {Do you get the idea. The next not will be after all the pawn moves have been exhausted.} 13. Qb4 Ka7 14. Qb5 Ka8 15. Qb6 f3 16. Qb4 Ka7 17. Qb5 Ka8 18. Qb6 g6 19. Qb4 Ka7 20. Qb5 Ka8 21. Qb6 g5 22. Qb4 Ka7 23. Qb5 Ka8 24. Qb6 g4 25. Qb4 Ka7 26. Qb5 Ka8 27. Qb6 g3 28. Qb4 Ka7 29. Qb5 Ka8 30. Qb6 h6 31. Qb4 Ka7 32. Qb5 Ka8 33. Qb6 h5 34. Qb4 Ka7 35. Qb5 Ka8 36. Qb6 h4 37. Qb4 Ka7 38. Qb5 Ka8 39. Qb6 h3 40. Qb4 Ka7 41. Qb5 Ka8 42. Qb6 h2 {Phew!} 43. Qa6+ {Now to force the Black King to h3.} 43... Kb8 44. Qa3 Kb7 45. Qa5 Kb8 46. Qa6 Kc7 47. Qa7+ Kc6 48. Qb8 Kc5 49. Qb7 Kc4 50. Qb6 Kd5 51. Qc7 Ke6 52. Qd8 Ke5 53. Qd7 Kf6 54. Qe8 Kg7 55. Qe7+ Kg6 56. Qf8 Kh7 57. Qf7+ Kh8 {White forces the Black King out of the corner thus...} 58. Qe7 Kg8 59. Qf6 Kh7 60. Qf8 Kg6 61. Qe7 Kf5 62. Qd6 Kg5 63. Qe6 Kh5 64. Qf6 Kg4 65. Qe5 Kh4 66. Qe7+ {The winning move if now 66...Kh5 67.Qg7 with a finish as in the game.} 66... Kg4 67. Qf6 Kh5 68. Qg7 Kh4 {The Black King has no choice, it is being guided towards h3.} 69. Qg6 Kh3 70. Qh5 {Checkmate.}
