A player in this position must remember that too many pieces surrounding their king can be dangerous. The Smothered Mate is a notorious checkmate that arises when a king is enclosed by its own pieces, leaving no room for escape. The defense is named after Elias Stein, a Frenchman who lived in the Netherlands and claimed it to be the best reply to 1.d4. Perhaps its most notable appearance was in the 1951 World Championship match between Mikhail Botvinnik and David Bronstein. The Dutch Defense typically commences with the move 1.d4 f5, with black occasionally playing 1…e6 followed by 2…f5 to avoid the Staunton Gambit.ĭespite its limited popularity among top-level chess players, the Dutch Defense has been utilized with success by prominent figures such as Alexander Alekhine, Bent Larsen, Paul Morphy, Miguel Najdorf, and Hikaru Nakamura. However, this opening is distinct from the Sicilian, as it aims to secure more space on the kingside while risking certain weaknesses. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in learning other checkmate patterns in Chess.The Dutch Defense is a chess opening that can often be misconstrued as a reverse version of the Sicilian, given that both involve using a pawn on the side of the board to prevent the formation of a solid pawn center by the opponent. Try it out in your games, and you won’t be checkmated in the first 10 moves! These are the most fundamental principles you should follow to play chess well. Therefore, it’s extremely important to get your army out on the battlefield and keep your monarch safe. Weakened diagonal of the king (e1-h4 diagonal for White e8-h5 for Black).If you observe the games carefully, most of the checkmates were due to the following reasons – The 3 minor pieces are more than enough to checkmate the Black king in the middle of the board.įor more information, see our guide on the Legal’s Mate. To survive, it was better to capture the Knight with 5…dxe5, and after 6.Qxg4 accepts a pawn down position. White sacrifices their queen, leading to a dangerous mating attack! In the opening, the most important rule is to develop your pieces ready for battle as fast as you can. On g4, the bishop is placed in a vulnerable position. White’s e1-h4 diagonal was so weak, that even a check with a bishop could finish off the game. Instead, it was better to play 4.Nf3 preventing 4…Qh4+ as then Black would lose the queen. White doesn’t spot Black’s idea and gets checkmated. Once again, notice that the e1-h4 diagonal is weak. As mentioned earlier, exposing the e1-h4 diagonal is never ideal!īlack sacrifices a pawn, but gets their pieces to good squares. The Bird’s opening isn’t very popular in professional circles, and there’s a good reason for it. White now checkmates withĪ similar story. Instead, it was better to play 3…Nf6, once again blocking the Queen from attacking the f7-square. Young Beth (the lead character in the TV-series) doesn’t notice it and plays Once again, White is threatening a mate on f7. It’s similar to the one given above but is slightly different. There’s also the popular Queen’s Gambit edition of the Scholar’s Mate. 3) Scholar’s Mate (Queen’s Gambit Edition) Once again, the key is to block the queen from attacking f7-square, which is the weakest spot for Black in the opening.įor more information, see our guide on the Scholar’s Mate. White can play 4.Qf3, renewing the threat of mate, but it’s met with 4…Nf6 now! Instead of 3…Nf6, they could’ve defended the mate after 3…g6! cutting off the Queen from attacking the f7-square. White is aggressive right from the word go! Beginners often fall into both the checkmates.īut don’t worry, here I will show you how to refute both of them. This mate has 2 variations - One which they show in Queen’s Gambit, and the other which is a more direct approach. For more information, see our guide on the Fool’s Mate. In the opening, it’s always important to prioritize piece development.Ī beautiful mate! The e1-h4 diagonal is so weak that none of White’s pieces can jump in, despite surrounding the Black king. This makes it impossible to defend any checks on the weakened diagonal.īetter is to play 2.e4 and open the position of the Bf1. Instead, it’s better to play 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.Nf3, or 1.c4 which leads to standard openings.īlack responds smartly opening the diagonal for his queen.Ī horrible blunder. This mate shows exactly why you shouldn’t do it. As a rule, you should never expose the weak e1-h4 diagonal very early in the game. This is one of the worst ways to start a game of chess. As per conventional chess wisdom, only a fool would fall for such a mate. It happens in only 2 moves from the starting position. This is officially the shortest checkmate in chess. 3) Scholar’s Mate (Queen’s Gambit Edition).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |