Mate With the Board Unseen

The game, move by move

A Petrov, blindfold

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e5 The same claim
3. 2. Nf3 The knight out
4. 2… Nf6 The Petrov Black answers a threat by making the same one. It has a reputation for being the safest opening there is.
5. 3. Nxe5 Taken
6. 3… d6 Asking it to move
7. 4. Nf3 Back to f3
8. 4… Nxe4 The pawn taken back
9. 5. Nc3 Developing
10. 5… Nxc3 The knights come off
11. 6. dxc3 Recaptured with the d-pawn dxc3 rather than bxc3, which opens the d-file for the rook and leaves b2 with one defender for the rest of the game.
12. 6… Be7 The bishop out
13. 7. Be3 The bishop to e3
14. 7… Nc6 Developing
15. 8. Qd2 The queen to d2
16. 8… Be6 The bishop to e6 It never moves off this diagonal, and at the end it is the piece covering a2 from four squares away.
17. 9. O-O-O White castles long
18. 9… Qd7 The queen to d7

The bishop chased across

1. 10. Kb1 Kb1
2. 10… Bf6 The bishop to f6
3. 11. Bg5 The bishop to g5
4. 11… Qe7 The queen to e7
5. 12. Bb5 The bishop to b5
6. 12… a6 a6, asking
7. 13. Ba4 The bishop steps back
8. 13… b5 b5, again
9. 14. Bb3 And back to b3
10. 14… Ne5 The knight to e5
11. 15. Bxf6 The bishops come off
12. 15… Nxf3 The knight takes f3
13. 16. Qe3 The queen to e3
14. 16… Qxf6 Recaptured on f6

Both rooks to the b-file

1. 17. Bd5 The bishop to d5
2. 17… Rb8 The rook to b8 Onto the file that decides the game. Both black rooks end up on it.
3. 18. Bc6+ Check, from c6
4. 18… Ke7 The king steps to e7
5. 19. Qa7 The queen to a7, on the seventh
6. 19… Rhc8 The second rook comes out
7. 20. Bxf3 The knight taken at last
8. 20… Rb6 The rook to b6
9. 21. Bb7 The bishop to b7, blocking
10. 21… Re8 The rook to e8
11. 22. Rhe1 The rook to e1
12. 22… Kf8 Kf8, tucked away
13. 23. Bxa6 The pawn on a6, taken
14. 23… Qd8 The queen comes back to d8

Mated on a1

1. 24. a4 a4, trying to shut the file
2. 24… bxa4 Taken
3. 25. Ka1 Ka1 — the corner It looks safe and it is the square he is mated on. There is a rook aimed at b2 and one pawn holding it.
4. 25… Qb8 The queen to b8 Offering the trade. With queens off, the b-file is simply two rooks against one pawn.
5. 26. Qxb8 The queens come off
6. 26… Rexb8 Recaptured — both rooks on the file One on b6 and one on b8, and b2 is defended by nothing but a king in the corner.
7. 27. Bd3 The bishop comes back
8. 27… Rxb2 The pawn on b2, taken And the rook cannot be taken: the king would be walking into the other one.
9. 28. Re4 The rook to e4 — nothing left
10. 28… Ra2# Checkmate, on a2 The rook steps to a2 held by the bishop on e6 that has been standing there since move eight. The other rook covers b1 and b2; there is nothing else on that side of the board. Neither player has seen the position at any point.