Two Rooks Behind a Pawn

The game, move by move

An English, and a wing advance

1. 1. c4 c4 — the English
2. 1… e5 e5, taking the middle
3. 2. Nc3 The knight out
4. 2… c5 c5, symmetrical
5. 3. g3 g3, for the bishop
6. 3… d6 d6
7. 4. Bg2 The bishop to g2
8. 4… Nc6 The knight out
9. 5. d3 d3
10. 5… f5 f5, gaining space
11. 6. a3 a3, preparing b4
12. 6… Bd7 The bishop to d7 It stands there for fifty half-moves and it is taken on the second-to-last move of the game.
13. 7. b4 b4 — the wing
14. 7… Rb8 The rook to b8
15. 8. b5 b5, at the knight
16. 8… Na5 Na5 — out of play The knight goes to the rim to keep the pawn off and never comes back. Black is a piece short on the side where the game happens.

The bishops traded on f6

1. 9. Bd5 The bishop to d5
2. 9… Nf6 The knight out
3. 10. Bg5 The bishop to g5
4. 10… Be7 Be7
5. 11. Bxf6 The bishops come off on f6
6. 11… Bxf6 Recaptured
7. 12. Rc1 The rook to c1
8. 12… Qe7 The queen to e7
9. 13. e4 e4, closing the centre Which is the point: with the middle shut, the only place either side can play is a wing, and White has both of them.
10. 13… g6 g6
11. 14. Rb1 The rook to b1
12. 14… Rf8 The rook to f8

The pawn wedged on h3

1. 15. h4 h4 — the file that decides it
2. 15… f4 f4, sealing the kingside
3. 16. Nge2 The knight to e2
4. 16… Bg7 The bishop to g7
5. 17. h5 h5, offered
6. 17… gxh5 Taken
7. 18. gxf4 The pawns come off on f4
8. 18… exf4 Recaptured
9. 19. f3 f3, holding e4
10. 19… h4 h4, coming down
11. 20. Kd2 The king walks to d2 White never castles. With the centre shut there is nothing to castle away from, and the king on d2 is safer than a king on g1 behind an open file would be.
12. 20… h3 h3 — the wedge The pawn stops here. It is the only black piece on the h-file and it is what two white rooks spend the next sixteen half-moves lining up behind.
13. 21. Qa4 The queen to a4
14. 21… b6 b6
15. 22. Bc6 The bishop to c6 It never moves again. At the end it is the piece covering d7 and b7 — the two squares that make the last rook move a mate.
16. 22… Qh4 The queen to h4

Two rooks down the h-file

1. 23. Rh2 The rook to h2
2. 23… Qh5 The queen to h5
3. 24. Rg1 The other rook to g1
4. 24… Bh8 The bishop to h8, defending
5. 25. Rgh1 And doubled on h1 Two rooks on one file with one enemy pawn in it. This is the position the whole game was played to reach.
6. 25… Qxf3 The queen takes f3
7. 26. Nd5 The knight to d5 On the far side of the board, and it is the piece that gives mate thirteen half-moves later.
8. 26… Bd4 The bishop to d4
9. 27. Rxh3 The pawn on h3, taken at last
10. 27… Qf2 The queen to f2, with the check
11. 28. R3h2 The rook steps back to h2
12. 28… Qf3 The queen to f3
13. 29. Rxh7 The pawn on h7, taken The file is now empty from h1 to h8 and there is a white rook at each end of it.
14. 29… Qf2 The queen to f2
15. 30. Re7+ The rook swings to e7, with check Off the file it spent the game on, onto the rank the king is on.
16. 30… Kd8 Kd8
17. 31. Rxd7+ The rook takes d7, with check The bishop that has stood on d7 since move six, and the rook cannot be taken: the bishop on c6 covers d7.
18. 31… Kc8 Kc8 — the corner
19. 32. Ne7# Checkmate, on e7 The knight steps to e7 and covers c8. d8 and c7 are covered by the rook on d7; d7 and b7 by the bishop on c6; and b8 is Black’s own rook, which has been there since move seven.