Shortest legitimate games

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Roger Lancaster
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Roger Lancaster » Mon May 31, 2021 8:44 pm

Same opening variation, many years ago in the then British Championship semi-finals: 1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Qf3 de 4 Nxe4 Nd7 5 Qe2 Ngf6 6 Nd6++. My opponent was a very nice chap and I felt really bad about making him look rather foolish.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Tue Jun 01, 2021 1:49 pm

Seen that one (tho with 2 d4 rather than 2 Nc3) played a couple of times personally. The victims always looked mortified :)

(ISTR that Keres pulled it off successfully at least once at master level)
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Jonathan Bryant
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:12 pm

Talking of pre-move issues, I believe I’ve won after

1 b3 g6, 2 Bb2 Bg7

Around half a dozen times in online blitz.


I’ve also taken advantage of

1 d4 g6 (instant)
2 Bh6 Bg7
3 Bxg7

More than once - although that does involve more risk. Never ended up with egg on my face though.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:23 pm

There's a line in the Berlin which runs 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Ne7 5. Nxe5 c6, losing the Knight to Qa5 check. I've never played it , but sat at the next board in a Congress. The victim was a 160 player. If he spots the problem after .. c6, White can try to make a game of it by sacrificing the Knight on f7.

NickFaulks
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by NickFaulks » Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:32 pm

Other than to lay that trap, why would you play 4...Ne7?
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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:34 pm

There's also a "counter trap" that goes 6 Nc4 cb5????????? 7 Nd6 mate.

Never seen anybody fall for that one mind, though I'm sure someone has.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Tue Jun 01, 2021 7:04 pm

There's a famous postal game, where Black replied to 1.e4 with "1....b6 and whatever you play, 2....Bb7" After white's, 2.Bh6 Bb7, 3.Bxb7, he never heard from his opponent again.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Jun 01, 2021 7:12 pm

NickFaulks wrote:
Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:32 pm
Other than to lay that trap, why would you play 4...Ne7?
An idea is to play the Knight to g6. Also you can chase the Bishop away with .. c6, if it doesn't retreat of its own accord.

It was first seem in Victorian times, but Tony Miles was one of the earliest to give it a punt in more recent years. With the popularity of the Berlin, there are a number of more recent examples.

Joseph Conlon
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Joseph Conlon » Tue Jun 01, 2021 9:26 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Tue Jun 01, 2021 7:04 pm
There's a famous postal game, where Black replied to 1.e4 with "1....b6 and whatever you play, 2....Bb7" After white's, 2.Bh6 Bb7, 3.Bxb7, he never heard from his opponent again.
I always felt that the deserved response to such a low blow would be to play the game out until mate, playing every single move of K+Q vs K at three days a move.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Tue Jun 01, 2021 10:11 pm

NickFaulks wrote:
Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:32 pm
Other than to lay that trap, why would you play 4...Ne7?
You may well wonder about that.

Nobody above beginner level should fall for the Blackburne Shilling Gambit either, but they still do.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Tue Jun 01, 2021 10:41 pm

"I always felt that the deserved response to such a low blow would be to play the game out until mate, playing every single move of K+Q vs K at three days a move."

Better than just disappearing... I meant Ba6 of course.

Thomas Rendle
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Thomas Rendle » Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:14 am

JustinHorton wrote:
Mon May 31, 2021 4:20 am

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




What are your quickest wins and losses (not draws please) in OTB, online and offhand play?
I think I've mentioned before I played in a 'thematic' event at Hastings Chess Club around 2000 with unusual openings. The first 'starting position' was after 4...g5 and most of the players joked about 'a couple of moves to be avoided'. This didn't stop a player with White (rated ~150) going 5.h3, effectively losing in one move!

Thomas Rendle
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Thomas Rendle » Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:24 am

For my own (FIDE) rated games I think 13 is my record for a win, surprisingly in a French Exchange. Perhaps this also makes it my most successful opening, I only played it one other time, for a draw vs Mikhail Gurevich and only GM norm.


Shortest loss was as Black in a French. I remember having a very long think on my 14th move and being pleased at finding a move that 'solved' all my problems.


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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Thu Jun 03, 2021 11:35 am

Good of you to post that loss. It is amazing what can happen over the board. I once missed a mate in one (that I could have given) in (not very severe) time trouble.

As for shortest wins, I have a 9-move win somewhere that appeared in the 'Short and Sweet' series of the Chess Addict column in CHESS. I can't remember the moves, unfortunately, and don't have the game to hand right now. I don't know what my shortest loss has been. I remember some games under 20 moves against strong players where a small slip is remorselessly seized upon and my whole position collapses rapidly (because they were strong players!).

Alistair Campbell
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Re: Shortest legitimate games

Post by Alistair Campbell » Thu Jun 03, 2021 4:01 pm

My records appear to be (ignoring defaults or mysterious abandonments).

Wins:

3 moves in a casual game at school – it started something like 1.e4 g5 2.d4 f6
7 moves in an online rapid game – delivered mate.
12 moves in a (“long” play) OTB game.

Losses:

10 moves in blitz (mated – yikes). I may have resigned earlier in a chess.com game but mercifully can’t find it – one of those Bxf7+ followed by QxQd8 traps.
16 OTB a few times. I’ve been totally lost a few moves earlier, but somehow feel that soldiering on until 16 is less embarrassing.

I think I managed to lose in 13 in a correspondence game, which takes some doing.

An unexpected Qa4+ or Qa5+ seems to be a theme in early cessations.

There was one half-memorable game I won in 8 (I think) moves. Nearly 30 years ago I took my team to HMP Edinburgh to play a friendly match against the inmates. On top board I was white in a Philidor and with my bishop on c4, I responded to black's ...Bxf3 with the natural Qxf3. At this point, to my horror, I noticed that although there wasn’t a unique WMOTB there were several equally disastrous alternatives, one of which black found. Before responding it briefly crossed my mind to enquire whether my opponent's incarceration was related to a crime of violence…

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