This is a diagram of a game that was played nearly 150 years ago. White castles long (on the Queen’s side) and is completely lost, something that’s clear within two more moves. See if you can suggest what black’s two next moves are.
Club Troppo
Fearlessly dispensing political, legal and economic analysis (and some whimsy) since 2002
How can white castle queenside when black’s bishop on f5 is covering b1?
Because castling long involves the king ending up on c1. Whether you castle kingside or queenside, the king moves two squares.
1. Black talks about the negative impact of White’s castling policy on Working Families. White then repeats its prior claims about Black’s lack of experience, and the fact that it’s front rank is mainly composed of pawns.
2. Black king moves slightly to the right on centre, flanked by a bishop and a queen. White concedes, blames the loss on Black pawns, and suggests that the real problem is that people are sick of chess. The White king is replaced by a rook.
Can you put that in algebraic notation, Guise? I’m a chess player, not a freakin’ genius.
The first thing that occurs to me is that 1 … Bg6 is a real threat.
1. O-O-O, d6-d5!
Then white has a choice of Bxd5, Qxd5, or a bishop retreat. Black’s next move in all of these cases is the same:
2… Qxc3+!!
3. bxc3 (if he doesn’t take it’s checkmate), B-a3 mate.
Who was playing in this game, btw?
Nice one Tim.
R Schulder vs Samuel Standidge Boden which this site says is a tad over 150 years ago – the source I was using said 1860 but this one says 1853 and is probably right.
Here’s the final position.
Oh – and the pattern turns up in games from time to time – and is for that reason known as ‘Boden’s mate’.
Nice one.