Shortest legitimate games

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JustinHorton
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Shortest legitimate games

Post by JustinHorton » Mon May 31, 2021 4:20 am

I was just surprised to find myself winning in just three moves.



This beat my previous record, which as I recall went like this:



I can't offhand recall my quickest OTB win, though I've definitely lost in six in tournamemt play (details to follow maybe) and of course I lost to Scholar's Mate as a kid. I don't recall ever delivering it though.

What are your quickest wins and losses (not draws please) in OTB, online and offhand play?

(By "legitimate" in the title I mean, for instance, not obvious deliberate losses by your opponent for sandbagging or other purposes, nor one-move resignations etc.)
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon May 31, 2021 7:49 am

JustinHorton wrote:
Mon May 31, 2021 4:20 am
What are your quickest wins and losses (not draws please) in OTB, online and offhand play?
Both the Falkbeer and From Gambit quick wins are well known. Rarer ones are perhaps part of a player's opening secrets. Sometimes you might use a move order that checks to see if your opponent is awake. For example if aiming for the position which arises after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 you might use the Falkbeer move order ( 1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 exf4 4. Nf3 ). I'd suspect most players regularly using the Falkbeer order have met the 3. fxe5 blunder. It even showed up in the 1974 Olympiad when John Cooper of Wales won instantly in what I think was the team's first match.

Other ones are that line in the Albin where Black promotes to a Knight and the Cambridge Springs where White plays Bd3 in circumstances where .. dxc4 wins a piece.

At lower levels of chess and particularly where there's some compensation, these early disasters can sometimes be reversed.

Here's one of mine.
Position before White's move 7

White wins a pawn with Bxf7.

Position after move 17
White about to be mated




Theory on the opening is that you should probably flick in 5. .. Qf6. The variations got long when Kasparov started playing the Scotch.

Matthew Turner
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Matthew Turner » Mon May 31, 2021 7:54 am

I have two short OTB wins that I remember, both against players in the 140's

1. F4 e5 2. F5 d5 3. G4 Qh4 ++

That is a club 5 minute blitz, but it is a bit bizarre

1. E4 e5. 2. Nf3 nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. D4 Bd7 5. 0-0 N(g)e7 6. Nc3 a6 7. Ba4 g6 8. Bg5 Bg7 9. Nd5 Bf8 10. Nf6 ++

That is a long play game where both players took their time and my opponent was significantly higher graded than me.

Joseph Conlon
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Joseph Conlon » Mon May 31, 2021 8:21 am

In online blitz I have had several times (and in bullet many times)

NN-JC
1.e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. c4?? (premove) Bxd1 -+

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JustinHorton
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by JustinHorton » Mon May 31, 2021 8:29 am

Ha ha that's excellent
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Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Mon May 31, 2021 9:24 am

Also in the From Gambit, after 1.f4 e5, 2.fxe5 d6, 3.exd6 Bxd6, 4.b3 (or Nc3 etc) 4....Qh4+, 5.g3 Qxg3+, 6,hxg3 Bxg3 Mate (I have managed Justin's win as well...)

After seeing one of those Qxg3 wins, John Nunn said the finish was an "unnecessary flourish".

Thurlow - AN Other 1982, 1.e4 c5, 2.Nf3 Nc6, 3.d4 cxd4, 4.Nxd4 Nf6, 5.Nc3 e5, 6.Ndb5 Ne7, (yes, well) 7.Nd6 1-0

Thurlow - AN Other II 1992 (Blitz), 1.Nf3 g6, 2.e4 Bg7, 3.d4 c5, 4.Nc3 Qb6, 5.Nd5 Qd6, 6.Bf4 Qc6, 7.Bb5 1-0

Thurlow - AN Other II 1980 (Blitz) 1.e4 c5, 2.Nf3 g6, 3.d4 Bg7, 4.c3 b6, 5.Bc4 Nf6, 6.e5 Ng8, 7.Ng5 e6, 8.Qf3 1-0

I've also excluded the CC games where someone disappears in the first few moves.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon May 31, 2021 10:08 am

There's also the quick win against the Dragon, which used to be a reason to punt the Levenfish against less experienced players. I sometimes wonder if it would still work against the junior players of today.

This runs


6. .. Bg7 used to be considered a mistake until Mestel demonstrated that 7. .. Nh5 was playable. Even after 7. .. dxe5, engine opinion is that 8. .. Nfd7 is acceptable.

The Caro has a couple of ways to lose quickly. One of them is falling for Qe2, Nd6 tricks. Another is to get the move order wrong when placing a Bishop on g4.

Thus

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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by JustinHorton » Mon May 31, 2021 10:16 am

Roger, you don't fancy showing us your personal quick wins and losses? This thread wasn't intended as a primer on traps in opening theory.
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon May 31, 2021 10:33 am

JustinHorton wrote:
Mon May 31, 2021 10:16 am
Roger, you don't fancy showing us your personal quick wins and losses? This thread wasn't intended as a primer on traps in opening theory.
I've played all the ones quoted in full. Up to a point I have various move orders that set the traps in passing. For stronger players it's just a matter of checking they are awake, but lower rated players can sometimes fall victim.

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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Joseph Conlon » Mon May 31, 2021 10:34 am

It's not ultra-mini, but probably my shortest OTB win, adjusted for quality of opposition, was the below

https://www.365chess.com/game.php?gid=1757132

My opponent won the bronze medal and later went on to reach 2630.

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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by David Sedgwick » Mon May 31, 2021 10:39 am

Online:

1. e4, e5; 2. Nf3, d5; 3. Bc4 and White resigned.

3. Bc4 was of course a pre-move. It gives White a reasonable position against all normal second moves for Black - except 2. d5.

In an Arena, it's bad tactics to fight on in that sort of position.

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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by NickFaulks » Mon May 31, 2021 10:51 am

About 45 years ago, in the meaningless last round of some London weekend congress, I had a game which went



The funny thing was that I spent some time on my 4th move, looking for ways in which he might get comp for his pawn.
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JustinHorton
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by JustinHorton » Mon May 31, 2021 11:07 am

A familiar theme!
JustinHorton wrote:
Mon May 31, 2021 4:20 am
I've definitely lost in six in tournament play
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Roger de Coverly » Mon May 31, 2021 11:21 am

Here's one I played as Black in 1979 against Justin's dad.



That ended the game as a contest between equals although nearly another 20 moves were played.

It was a pre season "friendly" between the Bourne End club and the now defunct Amersham club for the "Bar Trophy".

I reached a similar position against Adam Raoof in the 2009 British except Black had already castled. He spotted the trick and played Bh4.

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JustinHorton
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by JustinHorton » Mon May 31, 2021 11:34 am

Not sure this "shortest game" concept is entirely cuttong through
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