A Queen Given on d8

The game, move by move

A French, exchanged

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e6 The French
3. 2. d4 The centre
4. 2… d5 d5, the point of e6
5. 3. Nc3 Developing
6. 3… Nf6 The knight out
7. 4. exd5 Taken
8. 4… Nxd5 Recaptured with the knight
9. 5. Nf3 The second knight
10. 5… c5 c5, hitting the centre
11. 6. Nxd5 The knights come off
12. 6… Qxd5 Recaptured with the queen Black now has one piece developed and it is the queen, in the middle of the board, three moves in a row.

The pawn on g2

1. 7. Be3 Developing with tempo
2. 7… cxd4 Taken
3. 8. Nxd4 Recaptured
4. 8… a6 a6, a waiting move
5. 9. Be2 The bishop to e2 It offers the pawn on g2 — not as a trap exactly, but as an invitation to spend two more moves on material.
6. 9… Qxg2 The pawn on g2, taken A pawn, and the queen is now on g2 with nothing else of Black’s past the fourth rank. Every white piece gains a tempo on her from here.
7. 10. Bf3 The bishop to f3, gaining time
8. 10… Qg6 The queen retreats to g6
9. 11. Qd2 The queen to d2 Preparing to castle long, so that the rook lands on the file the black king is still standing on.
10. 11… e5 e5, hitting the knight

Castling into the file

1. 12. O-O-O White castles long Rook on d1, and the black king on e8 with a queen on d2 behind it. Black has moved his queen five times and developed nothing else.
2. 12… exd4 Taken
3. 13. Bxd4 Recaptured with the bishop And that bishop, on d4, is the one that walks to f6 in two moves and gets taken there.
4. 13… Nc6 A piece out at last
5. 14. Bf6 The bishop, on f6 Offered to the queen. Taking is close to forced — the threat is Bxc6 and Qd8 — and taking is what stops the queen from guarding the e-file.
6. 14… Qxf6 Taken

Two pieces offered

1. 15. Rhe1+ The rook comes to e1, with check Both rooks are now on the two files that matter, and the black king has never moved.
2. 15… Be7 Blocked with the bishop The only interposition, and it puts a bishop on e7 — which is the square that has to be cleared for mate.
3. 16. Bxc6+ The bishop takes the knight, with check
4. 16… Kf8 Kf8 — the only square
5. 17. Qd8+ The queen, on d8 Given to the bishop on e7, which is the only piece that can take her. Taking pulls the bishop off e7, and e7 was the last thing blocking the file.
6. 17… Bxd8 Taken
7. 18. Re8# Checkmate, on e8 The rook drops onto e8 held by the bishop on c6. It covers g8 and e7; f7 and g7 are Black’s own pawns. The pawn on g2 cost him nine moves and the game.