A Queen That Never Moved

The game, move by move

A Semi-Tarrasch

1. 1. d4 Queen’s pawn
2. 1… d5 The same claim
3. 2. c4 The Queen’s Gambit
4. 2… e6 e6, declining
5. 3. Nc3 The knight out
6. 3… Nf6 And Black’s
7. 4. Nf3 The second knight
8. 4… c5 c5 — the Semi-Tarrasch Black hits the centre at once. It is a good opening and it needs the pieces to come out in a particular order.
9. 5. Bf4 The bishop to f4 On the diagonal that runs to c7 and b8. At the end it is what covers g5 and e5 from four squares away.
10. 5… Nc6 The knight out
11. 6. e3 e3, propping up d4 A pawn move that looks like nothing. In the final position it covers f4.
12. 6… Bd7 Bd7 — the wrong bishop’s square It develops the piece and it leaves the light squares round the king to White. Everything after this is forced.

The knight to b5 and c7

1. 7. cxd5 The pawns come off on d5
2. 7… exd5 Recaptured
3. 8. Nb5 The knight to b5, at c7 The square the bishop on f4 has been looking at since move five.
4. 8… a6 a6, at the knight
5. 9. Nc7+ The knight to c7, with check It is not saving itself; it is checking. And the king cannot take it — b8 and c7 are both on the bishop’s diagonal.
6. 9… Ke7 Ke7 — the only square

The king walks to f5

1. 10. dxc5 The pawn takes c5 Quietly, in the middle of a mating attack, and it opens the diagonal a1–h8 nothing needs. What it really does is give the knight on c7 somewhere to go.
2. 10… Ne8 The knight back to e8
3. 11. Nxd5+ The knight takes d5, with check A pawn, and a check, and the king has to walk forwards: e8 is his own knight now.
4. 11… Ke6 Ke6
5. 12. Ng5+ The knight to g5, with check The second knight arrives. It covers e6 and e4, and there is one square left on the board.
6. 12… Kf5 Kf5 — the fifth rank, on move twelve
7. 13. Bd3# Checkmate, on d3 The bishop steps out to d3 and covers g6 and e4. The bishop on f4 holds g5 and e5; the knight on d5 holds f6 and f4; the knight on g5 holds e6 and e4; the pawn on e3 holds f4 as well — and g4 is covered by the queen, who is standing on d1 and has not moved all game.