Sunday Chessbrunch #1: A Soft Launch

This puzzle comes from the excellent blog Futility Closet. White to mate in two moves.

I have a habit of falling out of interests before picking them back up years later. I drifted in and out of soccer fandom for a long time before getting back into it in a big way in 2012–13. Within a couple years I was able to parlay my love for the game into a career as a sportswriter.

A couple months ago I poked my friend Benjamin to ask if he wanted to play some chess over email. At first I just saw it as a fun and low-impact way to hang out with a friend during the week (since we’re both pretty busy). Playing correspondence games seemed like something we could do during the day when we’re both working and have a couple free minutes; games end up lasting days or even weeks, and that seemed like a decent enough speed.

But because I have zero chill, I started getting really into it again. And when I get into something, I can’t just enjoy it — I have to do something with it.

So I’m going to try and start writing about it. Hence this new blog project of mine — Intermezzo.

(In chess, an intermezzo is a move that a player makes instead of an expected move, usually a recapture. This intermediate move is meant to pose a threat which the opponent must resolve immediately. Once that’s out of the way, the player then plays the move expected all along. This is also called a zwischenzug.)

Broadly speaking, this blog is going to serve a few aims.

First, I’m going to try and pen a regular chess column. (I’m aiming for weekly posts, but I have a lot going on so I’m not going to pin myself to that.) Newspaper chess columns are rapidly disappearing — the New York Times and the Washington Post have both killed theirs in recent years — for a variety of reasons, and you can make the argument that between the vast landscape of chess websites and social media and YouTube/Twitch, these columns have become somewhat superfluous. But so are email newsletters, and they managed to come back. I really like the format of these chess columns — traditionally chess columns feature some news and updates from recent tournaments, a notable game, and a puzzle to solve — and I want to try and see what I can do with it.

Second, I want to try and produce some longer form essays about particular issues in the sport, with a focus on the culture and politics of the game. And because I try to stay #onbrand, I really want to discuss gender issues and queer representation in the game.

And third, I want to use this as a sort of training blog. I’ve decided I want to try and play in a rated tournament sometime this year. Potentially in the next couple of months. To that end, I’m in the process of developing a study and training routine to be able to compete. I want to try and document my progress to that end, both for my own purposes to measure my improvement over time and because I think projects like this benefit from some external accountability. Some people train for marathons when they hit their mid-30s; I do this, apparently.

I’m sure the blog will change over time, and if I’m being honest with myself I have to admit that this project may be short-lived. But I want to try and make what I can of this.

James Bridget Gordon v Benjamin Apollo Dionysus, Chicago 2018

This is a recent game I played with Benjamin, and it’s definitely one of the more interesting games we’ve had so far. I had one goal heading into the game (apart from getting a good result), which is that I wanted to try and identify early on where Benjamin’s position was strongest and then try and build some counterplay somewhere else. As you’ll see in a bit, it worked, and I would’ve considered this game a success even if I lost.

(This is a pretty solid guide to reading algebraic chess notation. And if you want an interactive board to work with, I put the game up on Lichess.)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 c6 7. Bd3 b6 8. Nge2 Ba6 9. O-O

Position after 9. O-O. The game turned into a bloodbath after this.

9. …b5 10. cxb5 cxb5 11. b4 Nc6 12. a3 e5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Bc5 Ne7 15. a4 Bb7 16. Nxb5 a6 17. Nd6 Rb8 18. Nxb7 Rxb7 19. Bxa6 Rd7 20. Qb3

Position after 20. Qb3. My attack on Black’s queenside worked like a charm.

20. …Rd2 21. Rad1 Nh5 22. g3 Bh6 23. h4 Qa8 24. Bb5 Nc6 25. Bxf8 Kxf8 26. Rxd2 Bxd2 27. Qd5 Qa7+ 28. Kh1 Nd4 29. Kg2 Bxb4 30. Nxd4 exd4 31. Rc1 Qb8 32. f4 Bd2

Position after 32. … Bd2. I had a stronger position but it sure didn’t feel like it at the time.

33. Rf1 Be3 34. e5 Qc8 35. Be2 Qc2 36. Qa8+ Kg7 37. Qa6 f6 38. e6 g5 39. Kh3 Kg6 40. Bd3+ Qxd3?? 41. Qxd3+

Position after 41. Qxd3+, in which Black sacrificed his queen. His best option for Move 40 was likely …f5.

41. …f5 42. g4 1–0

Position after 42. g4. Black resigned.

I really like playing with Benjamin, not least because we’re pretty evenly matched. Even when I lose to him, I tend to lose in interesting and educational ways. (Our mid-game banter is also a lot of fun.)

Solution to puzzle: 1. Qb1! Black is mated no matter what they do. If they capture White’s rook, the follow-up is 2. Qxb7#. If they play … Re8+, White responds with 2. Re7, blocking the check and creating a discovered mate. (And if Black moves the rook anywhere else on the eighth rank, White simply moves their rook somewhere else on the seventh.) And if they play … a2, White captures the pawn and topples the Black King.