Elite Coaching

[Event "Danish Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kupferstich "]
[Black "Andreassen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C27"]
[Annotator "Cordover,David"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2004.02.21"]

{In any primary-age tournament, you see a few games in which the white player
tries the “4-move” checkmate on f7. Sometimes mate is threatened more than
once, usually by moving the queen first to h5, and later to f3. And sometimes
it works. But once we learn how to defend this mate, we see that bringing the
queen out too early can help black to gain a lead in development. So surely
top adult players don’t still try for the early mate on f7? In this game
between two Danish internationals, White tries the f7 mate threat not once,
not twice, but five times in the first 9 moves, and actually gets a good
position! Afterwards, although neither player plays perfectly, the tactics
never stop lighting up the chessboard. There is an amazing series of
“windmill” checks, and a remarkable imprisonment of the black king and rook.
One chess writer called it the most entertaining game ever played!} 1. e4 e5 2.
Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 {Now if 4.Nxe4, Black regains his piece with the pawn fork
4…d5. White chooses instead to threaten mate on f7.} 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6
6. Nb5 {Threatening Nxd6+ and then Qxf7 mate.} g6 7. Qf3 {
Again threatening mate in 2 with Nxd6+.} Nf5 $2 {Not the best way to block the
threat. Since this game was played, it has been shown that Black can get a
good development advantage by sacrificing his rook by} (7… f5 8. Qd5 Qf6 9.
Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8 b6) 8. Qd5 {
Diagram # White is obsessed with that f7 pawn!} Nh6 9. d4 {White threatens
mate for the 5th time, by Bxh6 and then Qxf7! This time Black cannot escape
without loss of material.} d6 10. Bxh6 Be6 11. Qf3 Bxb3 12. Bxf8 Ba4 13. Bg7
Rg8 14. Bf6 Qd7 15. Na3 Nxd4 16. Qh3 {Diagram # The dust has settled and
White now has an extra Knight for 2 pawns. Black wants to collect more pawns
as compensation.} Qxh3 17. Nxh3 Nxc2+ 18. Nxc2 Bxc2 19. Rc1 Be4 20. Ng5 Bxg2 {
20…Bc6, stopping the White rook from coming to the 7th rank, is necessary.
Understandably though, Black wants another pawn, and he now expects 21.Rg1,
leaving time for Bc6. He didn’t expect White to let him capture the rook.} 21.
Rxc7 $1 Bxh1 {Diagram #} 22. Nxf7 $2 ({After this move, White still has a
great position, but he missed a forced mate with} 22. Re7+ $1 Kd8 (22… Kf8
23. Nxh7#) 23. Nxf7+ Kc8 24. Nxd6+ Kd8 (24… Kb8 25. Rxb7+) 25. Rxh7# {
with discovered mate}) 22… Bd5 {To prevent 23.Nd6+, Kf8; 24.Rf7mate} 23.
Nxd6+ Kf8 24. Bg5 (24. Be7+ {is even stronger}) 24… Rh8 {
Bh6+ is threatened and the king needs an escape square} 25. Bh6+ Kg8 26. Rg7+
Kf8 27. Rxb7+ Kg8 28. Rg7+ {This is known as a “windmill attack” or a “see-saw
check”. The rook is able freely to pick off any pieces in its path, each time
returning like the sails of a windmill!} Kf8 29. Rxa7+ Kg8 30. Rxa8+ Bxa8 {
Why on earth would White exchange his destructive seesawing rook for the
passive Black rook that has not yet moved from its starting square? Let’s
have a look at the position. Diagram # A closer look shows us that,
with the rooks off the board, Black is helpless. A unique “prison” has been
set up in the corner of the board on g8 and h8, where the Black king and rook
are completely and permanently locked up. The White knight and bishop are the
prison guards, controlling all the exits! As both pieces stand on dark squares,
there is nothing the only free Black piece, the bishop on a8, can do about it!.
White now has to be careful of just one thing – Stalemate! If he were to try
to use his king to support the advance of his a and b pawns towards the 8th
rank, Black could try advancing and sacrificing his e and g pawns, and then
try to sacrifice his bishop for the a or b pawn to get stalemate! But White
has a much quicker and prettier way to win. He doesn’t even bother trying to
get a new queen! Instead, he simply marches his king up the dark squares to
e7, where it can take over the knight’s prison guard duties.} 31. Kd2 Bc6 32.
Kc3 e4 33. Kd4 g5 34. Kc5 Ba8 35. Kb6 g4 36. Kc7 g3 37. hxg3 e3 38. fxe3 Bc6
39. Kd8 $1 {White must not carelessly take the bishop, giving stalemate} Ba8
40. Ke7 {With the new prison guard in position, the knight is free to deliver
checkmate on f6, which it can reach via either e4 or e8} Bc6 {Diagram # c6
is the only square from which the Black bishop can stop the knight from going
to both e4 and e8. Any pawn move now wins for white} 41. a3 {
Black is in “zugzwang”. His bishop will have to leave c6} Be8 42. Ne4 Bc6 43.
Nf6# {A beautiful and unusual finish to an amazing game!} 1-0