Aggressive Castling as a Tactic-- OTB Examples

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Aggressive Castling as a Tactic-- OTB Examples
Compiled by ChessCoachClark

Newer students to chess need to realize that chess privileges and special moves are not just basics to be learned like the moves of the chessmen. The simplest tools of chess can be much more powerful than these players may imagine. Not only do special moves have versatility, but they can be used as tactics with devastating effects!

Of course, the most dramatic and decisive effect possible from any tactic is checkmate. This game collection is intended to show a wide variety of dynamic maneuvers that may be effected by Castling, one of the most fundamental applications of the rules of chess. The point is to spark the imagination and foster creativity in students.

This game collection is specifically bringing attention to castling being applied with motifs that include check, discovered check, double attack, En Prise, En Garde and others. They can be leveraged into advantages on the board, even checkmate immediately. No matter whether Kingside or Queenside castling, black chessmen or white chessmen, the value of being alert for opportunities to use castling as a tactic is a worthy effort!

There is a fabulous chess writer and commentator on Chess.com whose handle is BatGirl. See her article, WHEN CASTLES ATTACK, for some interesting points. It was the resource for some of the games provided here.

Also, there is a game collection by FSR, MATE BY CASTLING, that provided some of the games listed here. Several games in his collection were in common with BatGirl's article. Both efforts are limited to checkmate by castling, but thanks to you both!

Castling for checkmate usually, but not always, requires a King Hunt-- the defending King is pushed all the way to the home rank of the other team. This process may be just as startling as the Castling Mate itself for the first few times being observed. Although not at ChessGames.com yet, BatGirl showed NN vs E. Znosko-Borovsky, which was part of a simultaneous exhibition set of games in Dundee during 1930. The last bit of the game scoring is given here, where a King Hunt and two Discovered Checks are capped off by a Castling Mate on the Queenside:

1. hxg3 hxg2+ 2. Kxg2 Bh3+ 3. Kxh3 Ng4+ (Discovered Check) 4. Kxg4 Qd7+ 5. Kg5 Be7+ 6. Kxg6 Rg8+ 7. Kh7 Bf6+ (Discovered Check) 8. Kxg8

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8. ... O-O-O#

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There are also a few games here that exemplify the value of Castling late, due to the support to the position, possibly even thwarting the other player's plans abruptly.

Several of these games demonstrate the Thornton Castling Trap, which is new to me for that naming, but the tactic has been in my toolbox for quite a while-- un-named, that is. A greedy Rook that grabs the b2 Pawn is 'chopped off' by Queenside castling with check.

ChessCoachClark (CCC) originated this game collection and he updates it on occasion. This project is a work in progress, culling games from various sources, including several chess training books and personal research. The games are ordered by date (oldest first), not by importance.

Be well.
Be safe.

Game ends with a Castling Mate!
Morphy vs A Morphy, 1850
(000) Chess variants, 18 moves, 1-0
Queenside Castling puts so on much pressure that Black resigns
Morphy vs A Meek, 1857
(A43) Old Benoni, 12 moves, 1-0
Game ends with Castling Mate tactic
A Kvicala vs NN, 1869
(B20) Sicilian, 18 moves, 1-0
This game named the Thornton Castling Trap.
G H Thornton vs W H Boultbee, 1884
(C30) King's Gambit Declined, 24 moves, 1-0
Game ends with a Castling Checkmate.
G Spencer vs NN, 1893
(C37) King's Gambit Accepted, 14 moves, 1-0
Queenside Castling locks up the King, ready for mate>> resigns
Marshall vs Burn, 1907
(A46) Queen's Pawn Game, 20 moves, 1-0
Queenside castling makes a Relative Pin against Bishop to Queen
C Hartlaub vs W Benary, 1911
(D32) Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch, 19 moves, 1-0
Game variation 18. O-O-O# is available, also!
Ed Lasker vs G Thomas, 1912
(A40) Queen's Pawn Game, 18 moves, 1-0
Ends as Queenside Castling for Double Attack on Rook with Check
Dunbar vs Chawkin, 1925
(C45) Scotch Game, 11 moves, 1-0
14. O-O-O+ is a Double Attack as both Rook threat and Check!
H Mattison vs R Millers, 1926
(B20) Sicilian, 14 moves, 1-0
18. O-O-O+ is a Double Attack as both Rook threat and Check!
NN vs G Abrahams, 1929
(D31) Queen's Gambit Declined, 11 moves, 0-1
Game ends with a Castling Mate
NN vs C Meyer, 1931
(A01) Nimzovich-Larsen Attack, 18 moves, 0-1
13 O-O-O+ is a Double Attack as both Rook threat and Check!
O Feuer vs O'Kelly, 1934
(C73) Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense, 13 moves, 1-0
Game ends with Castling Double Attack with Check
Borbely vs Kovacs, 1948
(B53) Sicilian, 14 moves, 1-0
Continuation Kf6 Qf5 Kg7 Qg6 Kh8 O-O-O#
L Prins vs L Day, 1968
(B28) Sicilian, O'Kelly Variation, 28 moves, 0-1
Castling Mate on the Kingside ends this game
O Seuss vs H Hurme, 1969
(B09) Pirc, Austrian Attack, 19 moves, 1-0
Game ends with a Castling Mate on the Kingside
Steinbach vs Chess Champion Super System III, 1982
(C40) King's Knight Opening, 13 moves, 1-0
Game ends with a Castling Mate on the Queenside.
A Fomez vs M Lanzani, 1988
(B96) Sicilian, Najdorf, 32 moves, 1-0
Queenside Castling breaks Absolute Pin AND protects Bishop!
K Hallier vs T Winckelmann, 1989
(B00) Uncommon King's Pawn Opening, 11 moves, 0-1
Castling strengthens Black's side so much that White resigns
Kasparov vs Ivanchuk, 1995
(C16) French, Winawer, 31 moves, 0-1
13. O-O-O+ Castling Double Attack with Check (Rook endangered)
Adams vs Dreev, 1997
(B58) Sicilian, 54 moves, 1-0
Kingside Castling strengthens Black so much that White resigns
Timman vs Kasparov, 1998
(D15) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 30 moves, 0-1
Kingside Castling makes his opponent resign right away
Anand vs Svidler, 1999
(D97) Grunfeld, Russian, 31 moves, 1-0
Game ends with a Castling Mate on the Queenside
U Capo Vidal vs E Gonzalez Chavez, 2001
(A54) Old Indian, Ukrainian Variation, 4.Nf3, 19 moves, 1-0
Castling breaks an Absolute Pin (on a Knight)
M Yilmaz vs J Jirka, 2003
(C61) Ruy Lopez, Bird's Defense, 37 moves, 0-1
Kingside Castling on ply 20 by Ivanchuk makes check
Ivanchuk vs X Bu, 2008
(A15) English, 32 moves, 1-0
19. O-O-O+
Navara vs Sasikiran, 2009
(B25) Sicilian, Closed, 25 moves, 1-0
21... O-O-O makes the d4 Pawn become En Prise.
S Khorramnasab vs R Scholz, 2012
(A03) Bird's Opening, 67 moves, 1-0
25. O-O-O attacks the greedy Rook at b2.
Gelfand vs Adams, 2013
(D37) Queen's Gambit Declined, 54 moves, 1-0
Game ends with a Castling Mate on the Kingside
NN vs Ryan Marcelonis, 2014
(B20) Sicilian, 10 moves, 0-1
Castling Checkmate on the Queenside by FSR himself!
F Rhine vs NN, 2014
(A40) Queen's Pawn Game, 19 moves, 1-0
Game ends with the Thornton Castling Trap.
D Arond vs R Murphy, 2015
(B13) Caro-Kann, Exchange, 19 moves, 1-0
13. O-O-O+ wins the Black Rook (Thornton Castling Trap)
I Mestek vs A Voscilla, 2016
(C73) Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense, 21 moves, 1-0
33 games

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