Double Attack
Come Back Little Sheba
John Healy
Clive Soley MP
House of Commons, 1983
I usually have little time for politicians, but I do have a special fondness for this Labour Member of Parliament. He used to be my probation officer, but when I cleaned up my act, it left him redundant, so I suppose he had to take whatever job he could to keep the wolf from the door! Anyhow, he must have been day-dreaming of becoming Prime Minister when he let that rook wander out to g4.
1.Bxh7+!
Luring the black king onto a square where the white queen can execute a check and simultaneously attack the rook on g4.
1…Kxh7 2.Qh5+ Kg8 3.Qxg4
1-0
Showing the danger of leaving unprotected pieces loitering around.
Incidentally, White was giving odds of a knight in this game.
Never Interrupt Your Opponent when He’s Making a Mistake – That’s Bad Manners
P. Speen
John Healy
Café Mozart, London 1987
1…Nxg4! 2.hxg4 Qf6
Another double attack. Now Black hits both rook and knight, and back came the speedy reply …
3.Qc2
Thinking that White had left the rook en prise through sacrificial shock, I was about to grab it and would have done so, except that my opponent looked so calm, I became suspicious. Then I spotted the trap! 3…Qxa1? 4.Bb2 Qxa2 5.Ra1 and the queen is lost. But …
3…Qxf3 4.Qd1 Qxd1 5.Rxd1 dxc4 6.bxc4 Rad8
And Black was a safe pawn to the good.
Double Trouble
John Healy
M. Lia
Barbican Open, 1980
White (to move) is a piece down and threatened with the exchange of queens. If White moves his queen away, then his knight is doubly attacked by Black’s queen and bishop. How, in this seemingly desperate situation, can White turn the tables?
1.Rxb7 Qxd6
If 1…Qxb7 2.Qd8+ Be8 3.Qxe8+ Bf8 4.Qxf8#.
2.Nf7+ Kg8 3.Nxd6
And White won on material. The knight is particularly adept at multiple attacks. It is quite capable hitting several pieces at the same time. If it simultaneously forks king, queen and rook, it is known as a royal check.
Changing Patterns
Ian Bowman
John Healy
Hardman Championship, Hampstead 1993
1…Rxd2!
Removing one of the defenders of the e4 pawn.
2.Rxd2 Nfxe4 3.Nxe4 Nxe4 4.Rb2 Ng3+
The point. There was a latent fork in the position.
5.Kg1 Nxf1 6.Kxf1 Ra7 7.Ke1 Ke7 8.Kd2?
Now the play is more or less forced.
8…b5 9.cxb5 cxb5 10.Bxb5
Not 10.Rxb5? Rxa2+ 11.Ke1 Rxe2+ 12.Kxe2 Bc4+.
10…Rxa2 11.Rxa2 Bxa2
And Black won with his extra pawn.
The Harder They Fall
John Healy
Alan Paul
Hardman Championship, Hampstead 1978
Earlier during the game, I had offered to swap queens with this opponent, partly because he had the reputation for being a good KO artist (attacker), and partly because the position seemed to warrant it. Now, however, positionally it looks as though the queen’s file is begging for White to place a rook there. But a closer look shows a quick win. Can you spot it?
1.Nxg7 Kxg7
Black is unaware of the danger. His king has been decoyed to g7, which leaves his f6 pawn unable to move because this would leave his king in check to the bishop on b2.
2.Ng5!
And Black resigned.
If Black tries to stop the threatened mate with 2…Rh8 (or 2…h6), then White carries out his second threat of 3.Ne6+, winning the enemy queen.
Retreat
John Healy
John Reti
Load of Hay pub, Hampstead 1995
In this position, a pawn up against the Hungarian coffeehouse veteran, White had paused to take stock, when the old warhorse, with a look of almost ceremonial sadness, sighed aloud: “I used to be able to play this game once!” “Oh yes, when was that?”, quipped one of the kibitzing wits.
Does White have to go into the endgame with his extra pawn, or is there a shorter route to the win?
1.R6e4
isn’t hard to find, and Black resigned, since 2.g4+ is threatened. Black must lose a piece, as after 1…Rfd5, 2.g4+ Kh4 3.g5+ wins the bishop on f6, because Black must give priority to getting out of check. This is called a discovered check.
Fear Is the Only Darkness
When a discovered check is also a double check, it usually has catastrophic consequences for the attacked king.
John Healy
G. Wright
Birmingham University, 1976
Better an end with horror than horror without end (Schiller). Playing blindfold against my sighted opponent, one can easily see that I have been outplayed (at least up to here!) and after my last move Nh6+ Kg7, both my queen and knight are attacked. What can White do? The answer is …
1.Ndf5#
It’s a lethal double check.
“Anyone Could Fall for That!”
Duncan Kerr
John Healy
London YMCA Championship, 1978
In the first round of the YMCA Championships, junior international Duncan Kerr had just played 1.a4, to discourage Black’s threatened freeing of his queenside, since it appears that 1…b5 2.axb5 axb5 3.Rxa8 bxc4 would lose Black the exchange. However, a closer look revealed that
1…b5 2.axb5 Nxc4!
lures the queen onto a square where she can be attacked by Black’s recapturing pawn.
3.Qxc4 axb5
And White lost a whole rook, because suddenly there is a discovered attack on the rook on a1, as well as the threat to capture the white queen. Now White did what many others would not have done, he resigned.
On checking the results at the end of the tournament, I noticed that Kerr was amongst the runners-up. Congratulating him on his score, I made the comment that a number of players would have dragged out our game, in the hope that their opponent might blunder. “Yes”, the youngster smiled, “but that way, if they do not get the expected blunder, they may end up tired out for their next game – I preferred to be fresh!”.
The Beguiled
When an opponent begins to realise defeat may be possible, that is when losing becomes imminent, such players usually make one final all-out attack. But strong metal only bends in a certain way. So at such times you must be at your molar-grinding best, because hospitals have informed FIDE that this is the point when possessors of the so-called won game are most prone to suicide.
Queen’s Pawn Game
John Healy
Paul Hirner
Hampstead club tournament, 1993
1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 e6 3.Bd3 c5 4.c3 b6 5.Nd2 Ba6!
To swap off White’s attacking bishop.
6.Qe2 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 Qc7
A more solid plan would be 7…cxd4 8.exd4 d5.
8.Ngf3 Nc6 9.0-0 Be7
Painfully slow. Again, 9…cxd4 10.exd4 d5 would be easier, but Black seems to have psyched himself up to passive defence.
10.e4!
If you give up the centre, I’ll take it (Mieses).
10…d6
Again Black should have played 10…cxd4.
11.Re1 Nd7?
Beguilement, hoping to lure White into over-extending his centre with the aggressive thrust 12.e5.
12.d5 Nce5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Qg3 0-0 15.f4 Ng6 16.Nf3 exd5 17.exd5 Rfe8 18.f5 Ne5 19.Nxe5 dxe5
It seems that Black has finally achieved a reasonable position. He intends to consolidate with moves like …f6, …Kh8, …Rg8 and …g6, and although White would retain the better position, it wouldn’t be so easy to break through.
20.Bh6!
20.Qxe5 Qd7 would give Black counterplay.
20…Bf6
Black could have staved off defeat for longer by 20…g6. Instead, he plays what looks like a dual-purpose defensive move, but …
21.Bxg7! Bxg7 22.f6
1-0
Exercises 5-8
Solutions on back of the book.