41.Qxd4 Nf3+ and 42...Nxd4

41.Qe8 Qf6 or 41...Qxd3 42.Qxf7+ Bg7

41.Qd7 Qxd3 42.Qxf7+ Bg7

Black gains a Knight by capturing the Knight:

Black can pain his opponent with the old sac-and-fork:

<<•>40. ...Qxd4* >

If 41. Qxd4, Nf3† 42. K any, Nxd4 and Black is a piece ahead.

<Patriot> Nice and Thorough!

<Phony Benoni> Interesting way of looking at it, sort of like saying "Well, d4 is the best square for the Black Queen, so I'll just move there...wow, I win a piece"

<Adbel Irada> This is what I thought when I looked up the player's ratings: (1) Black is an actual GM, so that factored into this game & (2) How many times have we heard someone comment "Geez, how did this game with these lower-rated players get in the database?" Or this or that was a huge blunder, and on and on...

I figured it really doesn't matter that much when its a puzzle to solve.

You never know when two 1800-rated players will sit down and create a game of imperishable beauty.

It's not an easy decision. For one thing, there's the cost. There's lots of you and only one of me. Then there's the political correctness thang. For all I know, you may not celebrate Christmas. And I don't know what to get you. What do you give the man who has everything? Penicillin.

So I thought I'd give you a chess gift. And what could be better than a new way to win more games and make fewer blunders? So, laydeez and gentlemen, my gift to you is ... the chesscon system.

This is how it works. You sit down at the table and shake hands with your opponent. Write your name on the top of the scoresheet. Try to remember the date. You are now at chesscon 5. Remain seated, retain all underwear and write in blue.

Play a few moves until you get to the first move that you don't recognise. You are now officially out of book. For some of us this comes fairly quickly in the game. I know, I know, modesty forbid, it's a gift. At this point, you should imagine a deep soldierly voice saying "moving to chesscon 4".

Now the rules of chess that we should not make any notes as we play, so we need a way of remembering that we are at chesscon 4. I recommend removing your shoes - socks, tights and stockings too at your discretion. Let your toes wiggle in the air as a reminder that we are now at chesscon 4. This is the time to start thinking.

Chesscon 3 happens when one of our pieces is undefended. Or one of our opponent's. This is to remind us that LPDO - loose pieces drop off. Again, we are not allowed to take notes, so to remind ourselves that the defcon status has changed, we should swap our blue pen for a red pen. Sneaky huh? Again, add the sound effect of Tommy Lee Jones if that helps.

At this state of readiness, we need to be on the alert for combinations.

Chesscon 2 comes when one of our pieces is attacked, even if we think it is adequately defended. Attacked pieces can often be won with a cunning combo wot we have not spotted. This also includes sacrifices on h7, f7 and any potential checks by a knight.

To denote this heightened state of tension, I recommend that you stand on your chair. Yup, climb up high. This has several effects. First it will intimidate your bemused opponent (and may therefore cause him to lose on time). Secondly it will give you a helicopter view of the battlefield. Thirdly, it will remind you that you are now at chesscon 2.

The ultimate state of alert is when either your king or your enemy's is in mortal peril. A stalemated king. Lots of pieces swarming around his majesty. At this point, you should remove an item of underwear and place it on your head. Moving to chesscon 1. Now you should examine every threatening move, no matter how silly it looks. It's okay to dream about that queen sac you always wanted to play.

And there you have it - the chesscon system. If you follow it in every game you play you will make fewer errors and find more combinations to play against your opponent.

And we will all be treated to the sight of whole rooms full of chessplayers standing on their seats with their undercrackers around their ears. Who said chess wouldn't work on television?

Fourthly, it'll attract the disapproving attention of the tournament director, who will presumably advise you, "Chesscon 2 or no chesscon 2, if you don't sit down, you're forfeited."

<At this point, you should remove an item of underwear and place it on your head. Moving to chesscon 1. Now you should examine every threatening move, no matter how silly it looks. It's okay to dream about that queen sac you always wanted to play.>

On behalf of my client, <whiteshark>, I hereby advise you to <cease and desist> to avoid prosecution for copyright infringement under the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Your story reminds me of another funny story regarding my brother. (Why do funny things happen to him at tournaments?)

My game ended early, so I was looking forward to a Bar-B-Q, football on the telly, beer and chess. I headed over to his board and saw he was also finished and was packing up.

"How'd you do?" I asked. He responded "I won", but with not too much enthusiasm. "You don't look too happy?" I said, and he replied, "He threw the board at me" "What?!" is all I could utter when he added "And the pieces" "Right in the middle of the playing hall?" "Yes" he said.

I said "Show me the game", so we went to a side room and set up the pieces. While we were setting up the board he elaborated, "This guy was weird. He had a fat pencil with a strip of white gauze tape wrapped around the end. Printed on the tape, in large red letters, was the word 'WAR'. After each move was recorded, he would carefully position the pencil so I could see the word 'WAR'". I replied "You're kidding me...what a nut job"

In any case, the game was an exciting affair. My brother's style is to fling all the pieces out quickly before any captures are considered. The opponents style was much the same. By move 15 or so, the board was a maze of complications. My brother struck first, sacrificing on <f7>; He followed up with an ingenious Bishop check on <e8> forcing the Black King to <f6>. Black then returned the piece and achieved some stability.

But, my brother cooly and calmly walked his d & e pawns straight up the middle of the board, both arriving side by side on the 7th rank.

I then asked "Tell me what happened when he threw the board at you"

He said "Well, once my pawns got to the 7th rank, he just stared down at the board...everything stopped...He didn't move, just stared...and so I stared too...and so we both sat staring for quite awhile"

Now, I'm on the edge of my seat asking excitedly "So, when did he throw the board at you?"

He said "I looked up and he wasn't too happy looking. Slowly he grabbed each end of the board and flung it upwards, pieces flying...a rook hit me in the forehead"

"Good god, right in the middle of the playing hall?" It was surreal, hard to believe

"Yeah, right in the hall" he said and added "The funniest part was we both came out blitzing and slamming our clocks. (Time limit was 40/2hr)

I had to laugh at the contrast of 150 serious chess players calmly and quietly moving in the opening, and over here these two guys blitzing and slamming away from the get go.