The Pawn Left on a7

The game, move by move

The Fajarowicz

1. 1. d4 Queen’s pawn
2. 1… Nf6 The knight out
3. 2. c4 c4
4. 2… e5 e5 — the Budapest Gambit A pawn offered on the second move so that the knight can come to e4 or g4 with time.
5. 3. dxe5 Taken
6. 3… Ne4 Ne4 — the Fajarowicz The rarer of the two knight jumps and the sharper one. It is named after a Leipzig player who used it in the twenties.
7. 4. Nd2 The knight to d2, at it
8. 4… Nc5 The knight to c5
9. 5. Ngf3 The second knight out
10. 5… Nc6 And Black’s
11. 6. g3 g3, for the bishop
12. 6… Qe7 The queen to e7, at the pawn
13. 7. Bg2 The bishop to g2 On the diagonal that runs to c6. It takes there on move twenty-eight and that trade is what empties the queenside.
14. 7… g6 g6
15. 8. Nb1 The knight back to b1, out of the way
16. 8… Nxe5 The pawn on e5, taken back
17. 9. O-O White castles
18. 9… Nxf3+ The knights come off with check
19. 10. exf3 Recaptured with the e-pawn
20. 10… Bg7 Bg7 — the long diagonal

The knight to d5 and back

1. 11. Re1 The rook to e1
2. 11… Ne6 The knight to e6
3. 12. Nc3 The knight out again
4. 12… O-O Black castles
5. 13. Nd5 The knight to d5, at the queen
6. 13… Qd8 The queen back to d8
7. 14. f4 f4
8. 14… c6 c6, at the knight
9. 15. Nc3 Back to c3
10. 15… d6 d6
11. 16. Be3 The bishop to e3
12. 16… Qc7 The queen to c7
13. 17. Rc1 The rook to c1
14. 17… Bd7 The bishop to d7
15. 18. Qd2 The queen to d2
16. 18… Rad8 The rook to d8
17. 19. Red1 The second rook to d1
18. 19… Bc8 The bishop back to c8

A pawn to a7

1. 20. Ne4 The knight to e4
2. 20… Nc5 The knight to c5
3. 21. Nxd6 The knight takes d6
4. 21… Na4 The knight to a4
5. 22. c5 c5, and the b-file opens
6. 22… Nxb2 The knight takes b2
7. 23. Re1 The rook back to e1
8. 23… b5 b5, blocking
9. 24. cxb6 The pawn takes b6 The passed pawn is born here, on the sixth rank with two squares to go.
10. 24… Qxd6 The knight on d6, taken
11. 25. Qxd6 The queens come off
12. 25… Rxd6 Recaptured with the rook

Everything traded, and mate

1. 26. bxa7 The pawn to a7 — and there it stays One square from a queen, and the rook on a8 is the only piece that can stop it. For the next eleven half-moves that rook does not move, and cannot.
2. 26… Bb7 The bishop to b7, holding the rook’s square
3. 27. Bc5 The bishop to c5, at the rook on f8
4. 27… Rdd8 The rook back to d8
5. 28. Bxf8 The bishop takes f8
6. 28… Kxf8 The king recaptures And now the king is on f8 rather than g8 — which is the square he is mated on eight half-moves later.
7. 29. Bxc6 The bishops come off on c6
8. 29… Bxc6 Recaptured
9. 30. Rxc6 The rook takes back Everything is off except one rook each, and Black’s is nailed to a8 by a pawn.
10. 30… Ra8 The rook to a8 — where it has to be
11. 31. Rb6 The rook to b6, waiting On the b-file, one move from b8. As long as the rook on a8 cannot leave, the back rank is White’s.
12. 31… Rxa7 The pawn on a7, taken at last And the moment the rook takes it, a8 is empty and the back rank has nothing on it. There was nothing else to play.
13. 32. Rb8# Checkmate, on b8 The rook steps across to the rank the pawn kept clear. g8 and e8 are covered by the rook itself, e8 also by the rook on e1; f7 is Black’s own pawn and g7 his own bishop. The pawn on a7 never promoted and never needed to.