Dufresne, Mated in the Middle

The game, move by move

The Evans Gambit

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e5 The same claim
3. 2. Nf3 The knight out
4. 2… Nc6 And Black’s
5. 3. Bc4 The bishop at f7
6. 3… Bc5 Facing it
7. 4. b4 The Evans Gambit The same pawn Anderssen offered Dufresne in the Evergreen Game, and the same one Morphy opened with for ten years.
8. 4… Bxb4 Accepted
9. 5. c3 c3, asking
10. 5… Ba5 Ba5 — the defence with his name on it The bishop steps to a5 rather than back to c5, keeping the pressure on c3. Anderssen played it as Black often enough that it is called after him.
11. 6. d4 d4, the centre
12. 6… exd4 Taken
13. 7. O-O White castles instead of recapturing Two pawns down and the king safe. It is the trade the gambit is: material for the four files in the middle.
14. 7… d3 d3, pushing on

A knight to e6, and it stays

1. 8. Ng5 The knight to g5, at f7
2. 8… Nh6 Nh6, holding f7 from the rim
3. 9. e5 e5, taking d6 away
4. 9… d5 d5, blocking the bishop
5. 10. Bxd3 The pawn taken back
6. 10… Bf5 The bishop to f5
7. 11. Bxf5 The bishops come off
8. 11… Nxf5 Recaptured with the knight
9. 12. e6 e6 — a pawn offered on the square It cannot be left there and it cannot be taken safely: the knight on g5 is behind it.
10. 12… fxe6 Taken
11. 13. Nxe6 The knight lands on e6 Where it stands for the next nineteen moves. It is never taken, and at the end it is the piece that takes on c5 to open the last check.
12. 13… Qd6 The queen to d6

Both rooks to the e-file

1. 14. Re1 The rook to e1
2. 14… Nce7 The second knight to e7
3. 15. Ba3 The bishop to a3, on the diagonal
4. 15… Qd7 The queen back to d7
5. 16. Nd2 The last knight comes out
6. 16… g6 g6, at the knight on e6
7. 17. Rc1 The rook to c1
8. 17… c6 c6, propping up d5
9. 18. g4 g4, holding f5
10. 18… Nd6 The knight to d6, blocking
11. 19. Bxd6 Taken by the bishop
12. 19… Qxd6 Recaptured by the queen
13. 20. Nc4 The knight to c4, at the queen
14. 20… Qd7 Back to d7
15. 21. Qd4 The queen to d4 Onto the square her own knight is mated from twenty half-moves later.
16. 21… Rg8 The rook to g8
17. 22. Nxa5 The bishop on a5, taken
18. 22… b6 b6, at the knight
19. 23. Nb3 Back to b3
20. 23… c5 c5, gaining space and blocking nothing It looks like a gain of space. At the end it is the pawn that has to be taken to open the check, and its rook then stands on c5 in the king’s way.
21. 24. Qf6 The queen to f6
22. 24… Rc8 The rook to c8
23. 25. Re3 The rook lifts to e3
24. 25… Rc6 The rook to c6
25. 26. Rce1 Both rooks on the e-file e3 and e1, behind a knight on e6 that has stood there since move thirteen. Nothing in Black’s position can be traded off that file.
26. 26… h5 h5, on the other side

Mated on c6

1. 27. Rf3 The rook swings to f3
2. 27… Qc8 The queen to c8
3. 28. Qf7+ Check on f7 The first of three checks in a row, and each one takes something.
4. 28… Kd7 Kd7 — the only square
5. 29. Nexc5+ The knight takes c5, with check The knight from e6, at last. The rook has to take it, and taking puts the rook on the square the king needs.
6. 29… Rxc5 Taken — and now c5 is blocked
7. 30. Qxe7+ The queen takes the knight, with check A piece and a check, and the king cannot come back: d8 and c7 are hers from e7.
8. 30… Kc6 Kc6, in the open
9. 31. Nd4# Checkmate, on d4 The knight steps to d4 and covers b5. The queen on e7 holds d6, c7, d7 and b7; and b6, c5 and d5 are Black’s own pawn, rook and pawn. A king mated on the sixth file with a full board still on it.