One Minute Each

The game, move by move

A Grand Prix Attack

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… c5 The Sicilian
3. 2. Nc3 The knight out
4. 2… d6 d6
5. 3. f4 f4 — the Grand Prix The pawn goes to f4 before anything is developed, and the plan is f5 and a queen on the h-file. At one minute a game it is a plan you can play without thinking.
6. 3… g6 g6
7. 4. Nf3 The knight to f3
8. 4… Bg7 Bg7 — the long diagonal
9. 5. Bc4 The bishop to c4
10. 5… Nc6 The knight out
11. 6. a3 a3, making room
12. 6… e6 e6, holding f5
13. 7. O-O White castles
14. 7… Nge7 The second knight to e7
15. 8. d3 d3
16. 8… O-O And Black castles Onto g8. Twenty-two half-moves later he is mated one square away from it.
17. 9. Ba2 The bishop tucks into a2
18. 9… Rb8 The rook to b8

The queen to h4

1. 10. Qe1 The queen to e1, on the way to h4 The whole point of the opening: the queen goes e1–h4 rather than d1, so she arrives on the diagonal without blocking anything.
2. 10… b5 b5, counter-attacking
3. 11. f5 f5 — the pawn goes
4. 11… exf5 Taken
5. 12. Qh4 The queen to h4 And she does not move again. From h4 she covers e7, and e7 is the one square in the final position that is not one of Black’s own pieces.
6. 12… Ne5 The knight to e5
7. 13. Bg5 The bishop to g5
8. 13… Rb7 The rook to b7
9. 14. Nd5 The knight to d5 — one move from f6 It cannot be taken and it is aimed at f6, where the queen on h4 is already looking.
10. 14… Re8 The rook to e8 And it stands on e8 at the end, in its own king’s way.

Mated on f8

1. 15. exf5 The pawn taken on f5
2. 15… Bxf5 The bishop takes it back
3. 16. Rae1 The second rook to e1
4. 16… h6 h6, at the bishop It asks the bishop a question and it opens h7, which is the square the knight mates on.
5. 17. Nf6+ The knight to f6, with check It cannot be taken: the bishop on g7 is holding the diagonal and taking with it opens everything.
6. 17… Kf8 Kf8 — off the corner
7. 18. Bxh6 The bishop takes h6 A bishop for a pawn, and it takes g7 away from the king by attacking the bishop standing on it.
8. 18… Ng8 Ng8, defending — and blocking The knight comes back to g8 to hold the position together, and it fills the last square the king had.
9. 19. Nh7# Checkmate, on h7 The knight steps to h7. g8 is Black’s own knight, e8 his own rook, f7 his own pawn, g7 his own bishop — and e7 is covered by the queen who came to h4 fourteen half-moves ago and never moved again.