03 November, 2011

T50 : Addendum

As a coda to the main show....

Total Draws ?  21 %

Longest game? Actually 3 of them, all with 106 moves : Two draws and one win

One of the draws was an opposite-bishops ending, played as such from move 38.: dedication and stamina !

Shortest game ? The three short,  "GM draws" don't count, so its the mate in 6....

Black has just played 5...Ngf6, and White does not make a mistake !  Just how the Caro-Kann should be disposed of !

White to play and win !

See also T50 Short Games.

5 comments:

From the patzer said...

Pfffft, difficult question. Could it be Nd6#? :-)

Signalman said...

What can I say, you win the prize !

But guess how you would feel if you played Nxf6+ then realised you missed the mate ?

Luckily White didn't.

I shall have to see if there is a shorter mate in TL.

Anonymous said...

It's funny, but that particular game has been played numerous times, even in higher-level competition. Another reason to avoid playing the 4...Nd7 variation of the mainline Caro-Kann. I too would play 5. Qe2 as White if I ever faced it, just to see if it worked.

Also, I have to say, this sort of thing is an excellent argument for studying your openings, no matter how many wise pundits advise players rated below 2200 (or whatever) not to bother.

Signalman said...

Interesting point, about studying the openings. I know that there are a few books out there that concentrate on opening traps in particular.

I'm sure the objectors to studying openings would state that, if you understood chess, and/or thought about your move seriously before playing it, you wouldn't make such mistakes. Its playing automatic moves that lead to such embarrassing mates.

Even more interesting....in my previous comment I said I would look for a shorter mate in TL.

I didn't find one, but I did find another Caro-Kann with a very similar mate in 6 ! I will post it.

BRF Fågelsången said...

I have not suffered from Opening Phobia in weeks but after seing that game I might relapse!