The Knight That Would Not Stop

The game, move by move

A Réti, and the bishops off

1. 1. g3 g3 — a first move that is not a pawn to the middle Réti’s own opening. Both of his games in this library open like this and neither of them puts a pawn on e4 or d4 in the first three moves.
2. 1… e5 e5, taking the centre
3. 2. Nf3 The knight out, at the pawn
4. 2… e4 e4, pushing past
5. 3. Nd4 The knight to d4
6. 3… d5 d5
7. 4. d3 d3, at the pawn chain
8. 4… exd3 Taken
9. 5. Qxd3 The queen recaptures
10. 5… Nf6 The knight out
11. 6. Bg2 Bg2 — the long diagonal It shuffles between g2, f3, h1 and back for eight moves in the middlegame, and at the end it is the piece that has to take on f3 and let Black’s bishop in.
12. 6… Bb4+ Check from b4
13. 7. Bd2 The bishop blocks
14. 7… Bxd2+ The bishops come off
15. 8. Nxd2 The knight recaptures
16. 8… O-O Black castles

Bishops shuffling on the h-file

1. 9. c4 c4
2. 9… Na6 The knight to a6
3. 10. cxd5 Taken on d5
4. 10… Nb4 The knight to b4
5. 11. Qc4 The queen to c4
6. 11… Nbxd5 The knight recaptures on d5
7. 12. N2b3 The second knight to b3
8. 12… c6 c6
9. 13. O-O White castles
10. 13… Re8 The rook to e8 Onto the file it is offered on eighteen moves later.
11. 14. Rfd1 The rook to d1
12. 14… Bg4 The bishop to g4
13. 15. Rd2 The rook to d2
14. 15… Qc8 The queen to c8
15. 16. Nc5 The knight to c5
16. 16… Bh3 The bishop to h3, at the bishop
17. 17. Bf3 Bf3
18. 17… Bg4 Bg4
19. 18. Bg2 Bg2
20. 18… Bh3 Bh3 again
21. 19. Bf3 Bf3
22. 19… Bg4 Bg4 Six half-moves of two bishops asking each other the same question. Neither wants to trade and neither wants to be the one that gives way.
23. 20. Bh1 Bh1 — into the corner
24. 20… h5 h5

A rook offered on e3

1. 21. b4 b4
2. 21… a6 a6
3. 22. Rc1 The rook to c1
4. 22… h4 h4, coming down
5. 23. a4 a4
6. 23… hxg3 The pawns come off on g3
7. 24. hxg3 Recaptured — and the h-file opens A white king on g1 with nothing on the h-file, and Black has a bishop and a knight looking that way.
8. 24… Qc7 The queen to c7
9. 25. b5 b5, at the pawn
10. 25… axb5 Taken
11. 26. axb5 And recaptured
12. 26… Re3 Re3 — the rook offered It steps onto a square a knight on f3 will cover and a bishop can take. This is the first move of the combination and it is nine moves from the end.
13. 27. Nf3 The knight to f3, at the rook
14. 27… cxb5 The pawn takes b5
15. 28. Qxb5 The queen takes it back
16. 28… Nc3 Nc3 — the second offer A knight to c3, hitting the queen and the rook and standing where two pieces can take it. Alekhine is now offering a rook and a knight at the same time.

Nine knight moves

1. 29. Qxb7 The queen takes b7
2. 29… Qxb7 The queens come off
3. 30. Nxb7 The knight takes b7
4. 30… Nxe2+ The knight takes e2, with check — the tour begins Nine moves with this knight, and the rook on e3 and the bishop are hanging for most of them.
5. 31. Kh2 Kh2
6. 31… Ne4 The knight to e4
7. 32. Rc4 The rook to c4
8. 32… Nxf2 The knight takes f2
9. 33. Bg2 The bishop back to g2
10. 33… Be6 The bishop to e6 It moves off the h-file and onto the diagonal it gives mate threats from. On the last move of the game it comes to d5 on the same diagonal.
11. 34. Rcc2 The rooks doubled on c2
12. 34… Ng4+ The knight to g4, with check
13. 35. Kh3 Kh3
14. 35… Ne5+ The knight to e5, with check
15. 36. Kh2 Kh2
16. 36… Rxf3 The rook takes the knight on f3 The rook that has been offered since move twenty-six finally takes something, and it is the knight holding White’s position together.
17. 37. Rxe2 The rook takes e2
18. 37… Ng4+ The knight to g4, with check again
19. 38. Kh3 Kh3
20. 38… Ne3+ The knight to e3, with check
21. 39. Kh2 Kh2
22. 39… Nxc2 The knight takes the rook on c2 Six knight moves and it has taken a pawn, a pawn and a rook and given four checks. It has one more capture left in it.
23. 40. Bxf3 The bishop takes the rook on f3
24. 40… Nd4 The knight to d4, at the bishop
25. 41. Rf2 The rook to f2, holding it
26. 41… Nxf3+ And the knight takes on f3 — the ninth move
27. 42. Rxf3 The rook recaptures
28. 42… Bd5 Bd5 — and White resigned The bishop steps onto the long diagonal against a rook that cannot move off it and a king that cannot defend it. Nothing is forced any more; the rook is simply lost and with it the game. Twenty legal moves, and Réti played none of them.