The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

**Paul Bonham** · Thursday, 5th March, 2015, 12:48 AM

Re: The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

Originally posted by Hugh Brodie View Post

Not many games end in mate, but I am wondering if there are any others which ended with (or at least threatened) Knight moving to a corner square giving mate. There was one I witnessed, and another which was posted at another site....

What must be REALLY rare is for the corner Knight delivering mate to be the result of a pawn promotion! i.e. Ph7-h8=N#

**Felix Dumont** · Thursday, 5th March, 2015, 12:50 AM

Re : The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

I did a quick search in my database and found quite a few games ending by Nh1, but only one other where it is mate. I'm sure there must be others though.

[Event "Buryatia-ch"]
[Site "Ulan Ude"]
[Date "2012.09.27"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Maximov, Vadim"]
[Black "Dondukov, Sengdorji"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "1932"]
[BlackElo "2356"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2012.09.22"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.10.19"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. f3 Bf5 5. c4 e6 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 exd5 8.
c5 Be7 9. Ne2 O-O 10. O-O b6 11. b4 a5 12. cxb6 axb4 13. bxc7 Qxc7 14. Bf4 Qc4
15. Qe3 Nc6 16. Nd2 Qb5 17. Nb3 Rfe8 18. Nec1 Nh5 19. Bg5 Bd6 20. Qd2 Bxh2+ 21.
Kf2 Qb8 22. Ne2 Ng3 23. Bf4 Rxe2+ 24. Qxe2 Qxf4 25. Qe3 Qh4 26. Qe1 Kf8 27. Qb1
Re8 28. Qb2 Nh1# 0-1

**John Upper** · Thursday, 5th March, 2015, 10:17 AM

Re: The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

Probably the most famous game ending in ...Nh1 (not mate though) was this win by Kasparov:

[Event "GCG_083"]
[Site "Tilburg"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Piket, J."]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E99"]
[WhiteElo "2525"]
[BlackElo "2755"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "1989.??.??"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventCountry "NED"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5
Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. Be3 f5 11. f3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. b4 Nf6 14. c5 Ng6 15. cxd6
cxd6 16. Rc1 Rf7 17. a4 Bf8 18. a5 Bd7 19. Nb5 g4 20. Nc7 g3 21. Nxa8 Nh5 22.
Kh1 gxf2 23. Rxf2 Ng3+ 24. Kg1 Qxa8 25. Bc4 a6 26. Qd3 Qa7 27. b5 axb5 28. Bxb5
Nh1 0-1

**John Upper** · Thursday, 5th March, 2015, 10:50 AM

Re: The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

Attached is a PGN with the 59 N-to-corner= mate:

There's a Morphy (R odds game) and one by Marshall, and a Canadian game too:

[Event "New Orleans"]
[Site "New Orleans"]
[Date "1849.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy, Paul"]
[Black "Le Carpentier, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/1NBQKBNR w Kkq - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "1849.??.??"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.11.10"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. O-O cxb2 7. Bxb2 Bf8
8. e5 d6 9. Re1 dxe5 10. Nxe5 Qxd1 11. Bxf7+ Ke7 12. Ng6+ Kxf7 13. Nxh8# 1-0

[Event "Monte Carlo"]
[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "1903.03.13"]
[Round "23"]
[White "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Black "Moreau, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C37"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "1903.02.10"]
[EventRounds "26"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. O-O gxf3 6. Qxf3 Qf6 7. e5 Qxe5 8.
Bxf7+ Kd8 9. d4 Qxd4+ 10. Kh1 Bh6 11. Bd2 Qg7 12. Bb3 Nc6 13. Bc3 Ne5 14. Qd5
d6 15. Rd1 Bd7 16. Ba4 Bc6 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Qxe5 Qg4 19. Na3 Kd7 20. Nc4 f3
21. Rxd6+ cxd6 22. Qxd6+ Kc8 23. Qxc6+ Kd8 24. Rd1+ Ke7 25. Qd6+ Ke8 26. Re1+
Kf7 27. Ne5+ Ke8 28. Ng6+ Kf7 29. Nxh8# 1-0

[Event "Quebec-chB"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "1987.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Ibrahim, Anthony"]
[Black "Saint Pierre, Benoit"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B28"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "1987.??.??"]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.11.10"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. e4 a6 7. Nxc6 dxc6 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. e5 Nd7 10. f4 f5 11. Be3 Kc7 12. Be2 b6 13. O-O-O Bb7 14. g4 g6
15. gxf5 gxf5 16. Rhg1 Bh6 17. c5 Nxc5 18. Bxc5 bxc5 19. Kb1 Rag8 20. Rgf1 Bf8
21. Bc4 Bc8 22. Na4 Rg2 23. Rf3 Rhg8 24. Rb3 Rg1 25. Bf1 R8g4 26. Nb6 c4 27.
Na8# 1-0

**Mathieu Cloutier** · Thursday, 5th March, 2015, 10:58 AM

Re: The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

Interesting. Thanks for the .pgn John.

I remember that game by Andres. He's a regular at the Montreal CC. And a sneaky fellow. Be careful if you're paired against him.

**Hugh Brodie** · Thursday, 5th March, 2015, 11:38 AM

Re: The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

My database shows the Marshall-Moreau game ending with 26. Re1+ Be3 27. Rxe3+ Qe6 28. Qxe6+ Kd8 29. Ba5#
This variation is also the one appearing in "Marshall's Best Games of Chess" (page 48).

**John Upper** · Thursday, 5th March, 2015, 03:58 PM

announced mate in 11!?

Originally posted by Hugh Brodie View Post

My database shows the Marshall-Moreau game ending with 26. Re1+ Be3 27. Rxe3+ Qe6 28. Qxe6+ Kd8 29. Ba5#
This variation is also the one appearing in "Marshall's Best Games of Chess" (page 48).

In Marshall's "My Fifty Years of Chess" he says that he announced mate-in-11 before he played his 21st move.

I don't know the rules for announcing mate, but because it was an announced mate it is possible that the game ended without any one particular variation being played to become "the" game line. Furthermore, several of the lines are the same length, so if they were shown but not played there is no single line which ought to count as the "real" game.

Adding to the confusion, Marshall was correct to announce the forced mate, but (as Stockfish and other good engines will confirm) Black could have played a move which turns it from a #11 to a #12. I wonder if they had found it whether it would have been scored a loss for Marshall!?

Below is the score from "My 50 Years...", plus some variations checked with Stockfish:

[Event "Monte Carlo"]
[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "1903.03.13"]
[Round "23"]
[White "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Black "Moreau, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C37"]
[Annotator "Upper,John"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "1903.02.10"]
[EventRounds "26"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. O-O gxf3 6. Qxf3 Qf6 7. e5 Qxe5 8.
Bxf7+ Kd8 9. d4 Qxd4+ 10. Kh1 Bh6 11. Bd2 Qg7 12. Bb3 Nc6 13. Bc3 Ne5 14. Qd5
d6 15. Rd1 Bd7 16. Ba4 Bc6 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Qxe5 Qg4 19. Na3 Kd7 20. Nc4 f3 {
Marshall writes that he announced mate-in-11 here.} 21. Rxd6+ $1 cxd6 22. Qxd6+
Kc8 23. Qxc6+ $8 Kd8 24. Rd1+ (24. Qxa8+ {is equally fast.}) 24... Ke7 (24...
Bd2 $1 {breaks the announced mate in 11, and turns it into a mate in 12.}) 25.
Qd6+ $2 (25. Re1+ $1 {is faster:} Be3 26. Rxe3+ Kf7 27. Ne5+ Kg7 28. Nxg4+ Kf7
29. Nh6+ Nxh6 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Qg7#) 25... Ke8 (25... Kf7 $1 {makes the mate
take one move longer.}) 26. Re1+ Kf7 (26... Be3 $1 {again, this
"spite-anti-check" makes the mate one move longer.}) 27. Ne5+ Ke8 28. Ng6+ Be3
{My 50 Years of Chess continues like this:} (28... Kf7 29. Nxh8# {is the
Chessbase Mega2014 version}) 29. Rxe3+ Qe6 30. Qxe6+ (30. Rxe6+ Kf7 31. Nxh8# {
- this line would fit Hugh's original request: a game won by the threat of
N-to-corner mate.}) 30... Kd8 31. Ba5# 1-0

**Hugh Brodie** · Thursday, 5th March, 2015, 04:42 PM

Re: The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

For the uninformed - "Marshall's Best Games of Chess" is the "unabridged and unaltered" Dover 1960 reprint of "My Fifty Years of Chess" (1942).

The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

The search for Knight to a corner square - mate

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