The Queen Given on h2

The game, move by move

The Scotch Gambit

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e5 The same claim
3. 2. Nf3 The knight out
4. 2… Nc6 And Black’s
5. 3. d4 d4, at once
6. 3… exd4 Taken
7. 4. Bc4 The bishop rather than the pawn The Scotch Gambit: White leaves the pawn on d4 and develops at f7 instead.
8. 4… Bc5 Facing it
9. 5. O-O White castles
10. 5… d6 d6, holding
11. 6. c3 c3, at the pawn
12. 6… Bg4 The bishop to g4 Pinning nothing and aiming at f3. Two moves later it takes there, and both black knights and rooks end up using that square or that file.

Two bishops for a rook

1. 7. Qb3 The queen to b3, both barrels at f7
2. 7… Bxf3 The bishop takes f3 A piece for a pawn and the g-file, offered before White has taken anything. Steinitz knows what he is buying.
3. 8. Bxf7+ The bishop takes f7, with check
4. 8… Kf8 Kf8 — the king stays out of the corner
5. 9. Bxg8 And takes the knight on g8 Two bishops for a rook and a knight. On the count White is fine; the count is not what this game is about.
6. 9… Rxg8 The rook recaptures Onto g8. It never moves off the g-file, and thirty-six half-moves later it gives mate at the other end of it.
7. 10. gxf3 The pawn takes back on f3 Which puts a white pawn on f3 and leaves g2 with one defender: the king.
8. 10… g5 g5, coming down the file

The knight to f3

1. 11. Qe6 The queen to e6
2. 11… Ne5 The knight to e5, at f3
3. 12. Qf5+ Check from f5
4. 12… Kg7 Kg7
5. 13. Kh1 The king to h1 Out of the check on the g-file — and onto the square he is mated on eleven half-moves later.
6. 13… Kh8 Kh8, out of the way of the rook
7. 14. Rg1 The rook to g1, contesting the file
8. 14… g4 g4, offered
9. 15. f4 f4, at the knight
10. 15… Nf3 The knight to f3 — the square It is never taken and it does one thing: it covers g1. Every move from here depends on it.

The queen for the g-file

1. 16. Rxg4 The pawn on g4, taken
2. 16… Qh4 The queen to h4 Onto the file the mate is not going to come down, so that h2 can be reached.
3. 17. Rg2 The rook steps to g2, holding the file
4. 17… Qxh2+ The queen, given on h2 She cannot be declined: leaving her there is the loss of the rook and the game. And taking her moves the rook off g2 — which is the only reason she went.
5. 18. Rxh2 Taken
6. 18… Rg1# Checkmate, on g1 The rook comes the length of the file it has stood on since move nine. g1 is covered by the knight on f3, so it cannot be taken; g2 is covered by the rook itself; and h2 is White’s own rook, standing where the queen made it stand.