Every Piece at Once

The game, move by move

An English, both sides solid

1. 1. c4 c4 — the English
2. 1… e6 e6
3. 2. e3 e3
4. 2… Nf6 The knight out
5. 3. Nf3 The second knight
6. 3… b6 b6, for the bishop
7. 4. Be2 Be2
8. 4… Bb7 Bb7, the long diagonal
9. 5. O-O White castles
10. 5… d5 d5
11. 6. d4 d4, the full centre
12. 6… Bd6 Bd6
13. 7. Nc3 The knight out
14. 7… O-O Black castles
15. 8. b3 b3
16. 8… Nbd7 The last knight
17. 9. Bb2 The bishop to b2 And it does not move again until move thirty. When it does, it takes on e5 with check and then goes to g7, and the game is over.
18. 9… Qe7 The queen to e7 She stays on e7 for the rest of the game and is taken there on the last move.
19. 10. Nb5 The knight to b5, at the bishop
20. 10… Ne4 The knight to e4
21. 11. Nxd6 The bishop on d6, taken
22. 11… cxd6 Recaptured — and the pawns are doubled
23. 12. Nd2 The knight to d2, at e4
24. 12… Ndf6 The other knight to f6

The pawns roll: e4, e5, f4, f5

1. 13. f3 f3, asking
2. 13… Nxd2 The knights come off
3. 14. Qxd2 The queen recaptures
4. 14… dxc4 The pawn taken on c4
5. 15. Bxc4 The bishop takes back
6. 15… d5 d5, at the bishop
7. 16. Bd3 Bd3 — the diagonal to h7 The other bishop takes its place. It takes on e4 on move twenty-five to open the file, and everything that follows uses the squares it was covering.
8. 16… Rfc8 The rook to c8
9. 17. Rae1 The rook to e1
10. 17… Rc7 The rook to c7
11. 18. e4 e4 — the pawns begin Four pawn moves over the next ten: e4, e5, f4, f5. They are the whole plan and they open every line the finish uses.
12. 18… Rac8 The second rook to c8
13. 19. e5 e5, past the knight
14. 19… Ne8 The knight back to e8
15. 20. f4 f4
16. 20… g6 g6, holding f5
17. 21. Re3 The rook lifts to e3
18. 21… f5 f5, offered
19. 22. exf6 The pawn takes on f6
20. 22… Nxf6 The knight recaptures

A pawn to h7

1. 23. f5 f5 again, at g6 The second pawn arrives, and now the g6 pawn has to take or be taken. Either way the file opens.
2. 23… Ne4 The knight to e4
3. 24. Bxe4 The bishop takes it
4. 24… dxe4 Recaptured with the pawn
5. 25. fxg6 The pawn takes g6
6. 25… Rc2 The rook to c2, counter-attacking
7. 26. gxh7+ The pawn to h7, with check A white pawn on h7 beside the black king, one square from a queen and never taken. It is the piece that makes the rook on f8 unanswerable.
8. 26… Kh8 Kh8

The rook on f8

1. 27. d5+ d5, with check — the diagonal opens
2. 27… e5 e5, blocking
3. 28. Qb4 The queen to b4
4. 28… R8c5 The second rook to c5, holding e5
5. 29. Rf8+ Rf8+ — the rook offered to three pieces The king can take it, and so can either rook. Every one of the three loses to a different move, and Zukertort has all three ready: a queen check on e4, a bishop check on e5, and a pawn on h7.
6. 29… Kxh7 The king takes the pawn instead
7. 30. Qxe4+ The queen takes e4, with check
8. 30… Kg7 Kg7
9. 31. Bxe5+ The bishop takes e5, with check From b2, where it has stood since move nine. It has taken forty half-moves to get a diagonal and it takes one move to use it.
10. 31… Kxf8 The king takes the rook at last
11. 32. Bg7+ The bishop to g7, with check
12. 32… Kg8 Kg8 — the only square
13. 33. Qxe7 Qxe7 — and Black resigned The queen takes the queen that has stood on e7 since move nine. Blackburne is a rook and a bishop down with a mate coming on f7 and h8 and nothing that stops either. He was one of the best players alive and he stopped here.