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Maczynski vs Wilfred Henry Pratten
"General Pratten" (game of the day Jan-30-2009)
Portsmouth (1948), Portsmouth ENG
Italian Game: Classical. Closed Variation (C53)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Aug-07-07  Timothy Glenn Forney: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bb6 7. b4 Bg4 8. a4 a5 9. b5 Nd8 10. Ba3 f6 11. Ra2 Ne6 12. dxe5 fxe5 13. Qd5 Bxf3 14. Qxb7 Qg5 15. Qxa8+ Ke7 16. g3 Nf4 17. Re1 (17. Bxd6+ cxd6 18. Qb7+ Ke8 19. Qc8+ Qd8 20. Qxd8+ Kxd8 21. gxf4 Nf6 22. Nd2 Bxe4 23. fxe5 dxe5 24. Re1 Bb7 25. Bf1 Kc7 26. Bg2 Bc8 27. Rb2 Re8 28. Nc4 e4 29. Rd1 Bg4 30. Rd6 Re6 31. Rc6+ Rxc6 32. bxc6 Nd5 33. Bxe4 Nxc3 34. Nxb6 Nxe4 35. Nc4 Bc8 36. Nxa5 Nc5 37. Rb4 Ba6 38. Kg2 Nd3 39. Re4 g6 40. Nb3 Kd6 41. f4 Nb2 42. Na5 Nd3 43. h4 Nc5 44. Rd4+ Kc7 45. h5 Ne6 46. Rb4 Bc8 47. hxg6 hxg6 48. Kf3 Nd8 49. Rb1 Nf7 50. Ke3 g5 51. fxg5 Nxg5 52. Rc1 Bh3 53. Nc4 Kxc6 54. Kf4 Nf7 55. Ne5+ Kb6 56. Nxf7 Ka5 57. Ra1 Bg2 58. Nd6 Bc6 59. Ke3 Ka6 60. Rb1 Bg2 61. Kd4 Bc6 62. Rb5 Bg2 63. Rc5 Kb6 64. a5+ Ka6 65. Kc4 Bf3 66. Kb4 Ka7 67. Rc7+ Kb8 68. Re7 Bh1 69. Kc5 Bf3 70. Kb6 Bh5 71. Rb7+ Ka8 72. Nb5 Bf3 73. Nc7#) 17... Qh5 18. Nd2 Nf6 19. Qxh8 Qxh2+ 20. Kxh2 Ng4+ 21. Kg1 Nh3+ (21... Bxf2+ 22. Kf1 Bg2#) 22. Kf1 Nh2# 0-1
Mar-15-08  johnlspouge: <<MaczynskiPratten> wrote: Thanks TGF for the alternative mate>

The alternative mate is elegance beyond words! Thanks to you both.

May-24-08  addiction to chess: Wow! A double rook and queen sac! Now that's amazing!
Dec-30-08  TheaN: <TGF: for a "Pure Mate">

With all due respect for the poster and the players of this game, neither mates you proposed are pure.

In the game's mate, mate one, ♙f2 is already there to block the King, but it is also defended by both ♗b6 and ♘h3. All other squares are purely defended: ♔f1 = ♘h2‡, e1=♖e1 block, e2/g2 = ♗f3, g1 = ♘h3.

In the second mate, after 21....Bxf2† 22.Kf1 Bg2‡, e1 is the square that is destroying the pure mate: it blocks the King due to the White Rook but it's also defended by ♗f2. All other squares are once again only defended once, in a completely different matter than the first pattern: ♔f1 = ♗g2‡, e2 = ♘f4, f2 = ♘g4, g2 = ♘f4, g1 = ♗f2.

Both mates are still cool, but this <pure> mate would have even been better:


click for larger view

Jan-30-09  YoungEd: Is taking both rooks with your queen EVER a good idea? :)
Jan-30-09  Chicago Chess Man: Who cares whether the mate is pure or not? It's just some arbitrary phrase cooked up by people who have too much time on their hands. Winning the game is the only thing that matters.
Jan-30-09  mike1: To me it looks like 19. Qxh8 is the loosing move. 19. Bxd6+ is stronger than 18 Bxd6 because Nxf3 is possible now. e.g. 19 Bxd6+ cxd6 20.Qb7+ Ke8 21. Qf7+ Qxf7 22.Bxf7+ Kxf7 23.Nxf3
winning for white.
Jan-30-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  al wazir: 16. Bxd6+ also looks like saving white. (I was going to post some analysis, but I see that it's much the same as the lines following 17. Bxd6+.)
Jan-30-09  dito: What about 18... Qh3, 19. Bf1, Bg2 ? If Black captures the bishop on f1, I do not see defense for mate on g2. Or maybe there is some counter-attack for White?
Jan-30-09  chopin4525: Well, this is tragic. It's the first time a chessgames pun made me laugh. ^^
Jan-30-09  Timothy Glenn Forney: Back in 2005 I found the mate in some book I was reading and they called it a pure mate, which later I found out was wrong through wikipedia, anyway, it is a great game to analyze.
Jan-30-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  kevin86: A big game for the Cavaliers or Springers,if you are German.

This is a top five game for me in this kind of mate. There is a more symetric mate in a minature game with both knights and both bishops involved in the mate.

Jan-30-09  Hugh the Drover: Was this not the lost checkmate which the master failed to find in "Night Moves" starring Gene Hackman? (I say this having done no research.)

Major artistry is seen with the black Knights in this game, with an assist by the Bishop.

Jan-30-09  jovack: There a lot of fun ways to end this game.

Blame white for not getting any defenses to his king's aid and just taking black's irrelevant pieces.

Jan-30-09  waustad: Patton's affinity for cavalry makes the pun particularly appropriate. Hr did, after all save the Lipizzaner stallions.
Jan-30-09  WhiteRook48: nice sacrificial game
Feb-23-09  MaczynskiPratten: Thanks chessgames.com for making this a Game of the Day (personally think it could have been earlier?). When everyone's forgotten it again, the position after White's move 19 might make a nice Tuesday/Wednesday puzzle.
Feb-23-09  MaczynskiPratten: <mike1>; Although 19 Bxd6+ is good against cxd6, Black now has the option of Kxd6 because White no longer has the square d2 available for a Rook check. White can rescue his Queen with 20 Qc6+ Ke7 but I can't see any more checks and Black has lots of threats, including the game continuation. However 21 Nxf3 Qxf3 22 gxf4 may be OK for White as the R on a2 protects the weak f2 square.

Although Chessgames' title "General Pratten" is a nice pun, I still prefer Chernev's title "The English Immortal", especially as, like the Immortal Game Anderssen vs Kieseritzky, 1851, it involves a double rook and queen sacrifice.

Feb-23-09  MaczynskiPratten: <dito>; 18..Qh3 19 Bf1 Bg2 is certainly interesting - quite an unusual pattern. But the simple 20 gxf4 looks to me as if it holds for White; after 20..Bxf1 21 Rxf1 Black seems to have run out of active pieces. The neat feature of 18..Nf6 is that it brings another piece into the attack as well as threatening White's Queen.
Mar-29-09  WhiteRook48: this is an elegant finish by Black
Sep-20-09  morphyesque: Yes, you will find this game in Irving Chernev's 1954 book "The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess", when he quotes the BCM in which magazine the game was published in 1948 (I have both sources).It was appropriate the BCM enthusiastically dubbed it "The English Immortal" echoing Anderssen's offhand, oft repeated, win against L.A.B.F. Kieserisky during the 1851 first international chess tourney.
Nov-12-09  MaczynskiPratten: <morphyesque> is correct, the English Immortal title was coined by the BCM. Chernev endorsed it but did not originally suggest it, as mistakenly implied in my earlier post.
Aug-21-10  sevenseaman: White Q on an effete capturing spree and Black just ignores it disdainfully.
Dec-25-11  kasparao: the last few moves look exquisite
Oct-05-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  Bubo bubo: < <kevin86:> This is a top five game for me in this kind of mate. There is a more symetric mate in a minature game with both knights and both bishops involved in the mate.>

You think of this game: Dodge vs J R Houghteling, 1904 ?

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