The most beautiful and devastating tactical concept

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

For me the most beautiful and sometimes totally devastating tactical concept is the horse fork. They can be nasty. VERY nasty.

Before applying a violent move like that I like to send the opponent the message:

"Nasty horse fork".

And then: WHAM!!

That'll teach them.

http://tiny.cc/beware-fork

[Offramp]

Garbage.

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

On Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 8:24:25 PM UTC+2, Offramp wrote:
> Garbage.

Bs"d

I'm sorry the game does not meet your high standards, but because of my limited mental capabilities there is only so much I can do.

I hope you can show some consideration for that.

http://tiny.cc/bad-chess-day

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

I see that also with this post I didn't give the game. At least that fits good with blundering away queens and castles.

The opponent resigned right after the fork. What happened to fighting spirit?

https://lichess.org/V029Flp4sXVa

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

Nasty horse fork on move 13. Also devastating.

But that didn't stop the opponent from playing on till mate on move 43.
But that's no problem. It is always nice playing with a 13 point advantage.

https://lichess.org/qnRMO13JJFqY

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

So I said to the opponent: "Nasty horse fork", and WHAM! I forked him nasty with my horse. The opponent did one more move and when the full scope of the devastation became clear to him, he resigned.

https://lichess.org/5EIXUrxo9Xmu

http://tiny.cc/wait-mistakes

[Offramp]

That was an up and down game. I think Mohamad could have won at one point.

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

That wouldn't surprise me. I play blunderfull.

http://tiny.cc/blunders-all-there

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

Also here https://lichess.org/WcYdnxzmn5wD we see that a horse fork ends the game.

Horse forks are great things, as long as you are on the giving side of it.

http://tiny.cc/horse-fork

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

Also about horse forks the saying holds true which says: "It is better to give than to receive."

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

Missed the horse fork on move 24. :( https://lichess.org/ib7FxtuWv975

I got another fork on move 25, but I narrowly escaped not being able to make the fork. When his king would have gone to h1, I couldn't have taken the castle with check, and I would not have been able to make the fork because my queen was en prise.

http://tiny.cc/horse-fork

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

A horse fork ended this game, but there was a simple escape from the fork.

Is that not a real chess fork?

Anyway, it did win the game, and that's what counts.


http://tiny.cc/firing-squad

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

OK, let's face it: If one horse fork is beautiful, then TWO horse forks, one right after the other, is VERY beautiful. I really like them.

https://lichess.org/BAbK6ZXFPwjq

The opponent didn't like them so much, he resigned.

Well, you can't make everybody happy.


http://tinyurl.com/chess-steroids

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

In this game https://lichess.org/0CKrx44q/white#29 a Caro-Kann gone wrong, I caught him partially in a trap, and managed to make two horse forks in the game. The opponent resigned on move 17.

Nastyhorsefork lived up to his name.

HalleluJah!!

http://tiny.cc/horse-fork

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

So on move 11 I told him: "Nasty horse fork!" after which I forked his king and queen.

This didn't stop him from playing on until move 40, on which I mated him.

That'll teach him.

http://tiny.cc/keepcalm

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

Forgot the game: https://lichess.org/GuAz9KbJDvnz

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

And here is a cruel horse fork which right away ended the game:

https://lichess.org/eKJHGLcrmdcB


http://tiny.cc/hard-to-win

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

And yet another heartwarming juicy horse fork that made the opponent resign right then and there: https://lichess.org/SGw1M6iCwwZy

Isn't chess great?

http://tiny.cc/chess-happy

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

So I typed the famous words: "Nasty horse fork", but before I even could make the fork, the opponent resigned: https://lichess.org/xjafkX7XlUpu

http://tiny.cc/WT4k

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs'd

Also this game ended with a nasty horse fork: https://lichess.org/Ldr9mFKcDbPD

Like I said; It's a devastating tactic.

http://tiny.cc/4k-with-u

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

I LOVE it when I can utter the beautiful but for the opponent so devastating words: "Nasty horse fork"!

https://lichess.org/yYbvYUEtG0ps

He played a few moves on after the fork, but finally realized the futility of it all, and he resigned.

"The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”…"
Ecclasiastes 1

http://tiny.cc/horse-fork

[nastyho...@gmail.com]

Bs"d

So in this game: https://lichess.org/p3YeaQv2/black#29 through an unfortunate turn of events, I lost my queen on move 15. Did I throw the towel in the ring? Did I resign?

NO!

I fought on with whatever little material I had left, and proceeded to mate the enemy on move 38, greatly helped in that endeavour by a nasty horse fork on move 32.

Thank God for horse forks!

It is so satisfying to be able to type the words "Nasty horse fork" and then to proceed with actually making the fork.

I should do that more often. It brightens up my day. It brings joy in my life. The happy glow lasts for a long time.

HalleluJah!!

http://tinyurl.com/funny-game

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

So in this game: https://lichess.org/wbVo5zJ9AGNo I told the opponent on move 19 the famous words: "Nasty horse fork" and forked him.

That costed him a full bishop.

Then on move 23 he positioned himself again for a nice horse fork, even though I had to get him on the rebound. I told him: "Another nasty horse fork", and my horse checked him first, and then with the next jump I forked two rooks.

So what is better than a horse fork? Right! TWO horse forks!

The opponent struggled on with one horse against two horses and a castle until move 35, on which he resigned.

http://tiny.cc/2-4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

So first the opponent fell victim to a simple pawn fork on move 14: https://lichess.org/wvnJYKL8TU77 happens a lot these days, don't they see something that simple coming?

And then, right after I consumed the pawn fork, I told him: "Nasty horse fork", and I proceeded to fork him with my horse, on move 16.

Beware the forks!

http://tiny.cc/chess-happy

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

A nasty horse fork providing a family check ended this game: https://lichess.org/9uU3RifEFnTf


https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

After I lost my queen I played on, after all I got a castle and a horse for it, so I went down only one point: https://lichess.org/LS6pb5FEgVIa

Then, at the end of the game, I made a nasty horse fork which netted me a full castle, and it was me, even without my queen, who had a comfortable material advantage. Then, two moves later, the same horse forked both king and queen, and the opponent resigned.

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

While looking at the game again, (without Stockfish) I see that I went through the eye of the needle. First, on move 40 I played Be4, and that was a big blunder, because the castle could just take the bishop, because the pawn that protected it was pinned by the queen on the king. I saw that right after I moved, but fortunately the opponent didn't see it. Then when I made the first fork, same story. I forked king and castle, but the queen could simply have taken the horse, because the bishop guarding it, was pinned on the king by the castle. Also this the opponent didn't see. Me neither, until after the game.

Just another blunderfull game.

https://tinyurl.com/blunders-all-there

[Eli Kesef]

On Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 6:03:56 PM UTC+3, Eli Kesef wrote:
> On Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 5:54:18 PM UTC+3, Eli Kesef wrote:
> > Bs"d
> >
> > After I lost my queen I played on, after all I got a castle and a horse for it, so I went down only one point: https://lichess.org/LS6pb5FEgVIa
> >
> > Then, at the end of the game, I made a nasty horse fork which netted me a full castle, and it was me, even without my queen, who had a comfortable material advantage. Then, two moves later, the same horse forked both king and queen, and the opponent resigned.
> >
> > https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u
>
> Bs"d
>

> While looking at the above game again, (without Stockfish) I see that I went through the eye of the needle. First, on move 40 I played Be4, and that was a big blunder, because the castle could just take the bishop, because the pawn that protected it was pinned by the queen on the king. I saw that right after I moved, but fortunately the opponent didn't see it. Then when I made the first fork, same story. I forked king and castle, but the queen could simply have taken the horse, because the bishop guarding it, was pinned on the king by the castle. Also this the opponent didn't see. Me neither, until after the game.

>
> Just another blunderfull game.
>
> https://tinyurl.com/blunders-all-there

Bs"d

The above "win" gave me another 4 points, bringing me to 1996. I'm wondering; how is it possible to make it to 2000 with such rotten play??

https://tinyurl.com/last-mistake

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

This game https://lichess.org/TbKOYAZ8OSi4 was finished by means of a horse fork on move 18.


https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Also in this game https://lichess.org/umQ3sBNvFHqm a horse fork inflicted heavy damage, after which the opponent limped on for a few moves before he resigned.


https://tinyurl.com/horse-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

A nasty horse fork ended this game abruptly: https://lichess.org/NFNREPV2gjx4

I LOVE those horse forks!

https://tinyurl.com/4k-kidding

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

A nasty horse fork ended this game: https://lichess.org/gxs0843k

Watch out for horse forks!


https://tinyurl.com/horse-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

I make the fork; the opponent resigns.

https://lichess.org/VvEiPc03lVte

HalleluJah!!

https://tinyurl.com/TGodFC

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

A simple & obvious horse fork, and the opponent resigns: https://lichess.org/ipYPkPlXCi5s

:D :D

https://tinyurl.com/what-t4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

So on move 26 I set him up for a horse fork, and I did the same on move 32. After the second fork he got the picture, and resigned

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

The game: https://lichess.org/DXDHlyNGJhdu

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

A horse fork finished off the opponent: https://lichess.org/swQluZVp2GSX

Live is good with many horse forks.

https://tinyurl.com/what-t4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a horse fork finished off the game: https://lichess.org/kYXhFsbQ4qz9

My opponent was an 1829. 1800'ds are really too strong for me, but nowadays lichess doesn't give me the option to exclusively play against people at least 200 points weaker than me. Who said life is easy....

In this game too I was knee deep in the smelly stuff, I lost my queen, an oversight, and suddenly there was nowhere to go any more. But I made sure I got a horse and a castle in return, so the damage was limited, but still I had the bad end of the stick.

And then suddenly; I see it! Not just a horse fork, but a beautifully forced horse fork. The fork was made on move 27, but I started making it possible on move 25, by driving his king into the corner. After that I checked him with my bishop, which he was forced to take, no other place to go, and with that he set himself up for the fork, which hit him on the next move, after which the game was over.

After that fork I heard angels singing. The smell of holiness was in the air. And intense feeling of gratitude overwhelmed me.

I humbly and quietly shout out: HALLELUJAH!!!

http://bit.do/hall-van

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

This game ended with a horse fork: https://lichess.org/xlz1smkst5Et The horse caused a family check, both the king and the queen were attacked with one jump of the horse, and the king was far away from the queen, meaning the enemy wouldn't even get a horse in return for the queen.

He did the wise thing, and resigned.

Horse forks are terrible things.

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a friendly neighborhood horse fork ended the game on move 15: https://lichess.org/NdMk2Zd4gwXR

http://tinyurl.com/board-4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Even though I set the highest rating for my opponents on Lichess on +0, still the thing gives me sometimes opponents higher rated than me. Here https://lichess.org/8JWBIHLbBYCK I play a 1945, but a horrific fork, forking castle, queen and king, ends the game.

All is well that ends well. :D

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game my horse didn't need to make a fork. The threat of the fork was enough to make the enemy resign: https://lichess.org/kgLCB7UUH1P7

https://tinyurl.com/threat-stronger

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a family check, the horse forking the king and queen, decided the game: https://lichess.org/giE2fYFQmRe2

The enemy wanted to see the fork happening, so I obliged him, and then he resigned.

Life is good when you are on the good end of horse forks. :)

https://tinyurl.com/4k-kidding

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a sneaky horse fork ended the game: https://lichess.org/T93tkgyQtpHM

https://tinyurl.com/what-t4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Once during a tournament, the opponent of Nimzowitsch took out a cigarette case and put on the chess table. Nimzowitsch hated cigarette smoke and called the director and filed a complaint.
The director said, "He has not lit a cigarette and there is no smoke. So your complaint is noted but it is not valid."
“I know”, Nimzowitsch replied, “but he threatens to smoke, and you know as well as I that in chess the threat is often stronger than the execution”.

Threats are nasty things, but the most nasty threat is the threat of a nasty horse fork. In this game: https://lichess.org/eMCvcAwSoHAo I was on the good side of such a threat. After I sacrificed a castle in exchange for a bishop and a pawn in front of the enemy king's castling fortress, I got this nice position in which after a check I might get this nasty horse fork. I was not totally sure I would get this position, because, as always, the possibilities were too many for my feeble brain to oversee, but the sacrifice looked good so I invested a castle, and hoped and prayed for the best.
Thank God, I did get the best, and the only acceptable way to get out of the check would leave him wide open for a gruesome fork upon his king an queen. I admit, there were a few possibilities for him to avoid this fork, one was by blocking the check with his queen, after which my castle would take his queen. Another option to avoid the nasty horse fork was to push the resign button, which was the path that my opponent took.

Chalk up another one for the good guy!

https://tinyurl.com/threat-stronger

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here another example of "The threat is stronger than the execution": https://lichess.org/FDdCive5VY6g

My horse attacked his castle and his bishop. Not so dramatic, because the castle could move to b3 and then protect the bishop.

BUT; with that move he would set himself up for a horse fork on d2.

So there was no fork yet, but the threat of the not yet existing fork was enough to make the enemy press the resign button.

Horse forks are terrible things.....

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[azigni]

Well done!

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here I fell victim to a nasty horse fork: https://lichess.org/WwdANmtmyGVs and I lost and exchange. But I didn't give up, I fought on. I was helped in this decision by the fact that the enemy had blundered away a bishop on move 2, so technically I was still a point ahead. And then I got my change, and I made a horse fork, which was going to cost the enemy a full castle, and he resigned on the spot.

Horse forks all over the place.

https://tinyurl.com/love-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox a royal fork forking the king and queen ended the game.

Amazing how often horse forks decide the game.

On my level a horse is a lot stronger than a bishop, because of those sneaky forks which pop up all over the place.

http://tinyurl.com/board-4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

The irony is, in the above game the enemy saw on move 39 that I was threatening to make a fork on f6, forking his king and castle. In order to prevent that he moved his castle aside, and so prevented the fork on f6, attacking his king and castle. HOWEVER, with that move not only did he prevent me to make that fork on f6, but, he also gave me the opportunity to make another fork on e7, forking his king and queen.

Oops!

Isn't chess incredibly funny?

Sometimes anyway.

http://tinyurl.com/funny-game

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Sorry, wrong link. Here is the right one. (I hope) https://lichess.org/N9xs5dm3sTaP

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

I didn't hope hard enough. I'll try this again. Sooner or later I should be successful: https://lichess.org/N9xs5dm3sTaP

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

I think this time I got it right.

https://tinyurl.com/hallel-26

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game a horse fork ended the game: https://lichess.org/bIOqPXiRg6pI

I love my horsey!

https://is.gd/pure_lov

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here I had to sacrifice a bishop in order to make my horse fork: https://lichess.org/yKEQLVY2F9TX On move 27 I removed the protection from my bishop which was under attack by an enemy castle, in order to defend a pawn which was under attack. But I had already seen that if the castle would take my bishop, then he would set himself up for a horse fork, so I was hoping that the enemy was thinking that I was just blundering, and so he did. He threw his castle upon my bishop, after which I happily forked him with my horse, and won the exchange.

It was not so strange that the enemy thought I was blundering, because this was one of my more blunderful games. On move 24 the enemy gave me the option to take one of his horses for free, but I just didn't see it, I was to preoccupied with winning a pawn right next to that horse which was standing there en prise. Happens. I think that that blundering is not too much of a problem, as long as I win with it.

Anyway, the horse fork came through for me. Again.

That reminds me of one time I was sitting in a bar, and a girl started to talk to me, and at one point she asks me: "Do you like to spoon?" So I say, "No, I'm more into forks." She asks: "How do you do that?" I say: "With a horse." She looks weird at me, and walks away.
Who can ever understand a women? I guess chess is more for men.

https://tinyurl.com/love-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

This game was decided by a royal fork, forking the king and queen: https://lichess.org/a08qE92VIEiS on move 22.

https://is.gd/always_check

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

A horse fork is one of the most beautiful things in life.

One of the most horrible things in life is a beautiful royal horse fork which never saw the light of day. That's what happened to me in this game: https://lichess.org/gPhRnLb0lDdU

I could make a a royal fork on move 21, forking king and queen, and only saw it after I made some inferior move. The horror....

The fact that I mated him on move 30 was a very small consolation. Missing such a thing of beauty hurts. A lot.

Who said life is easy?

https://lichess.org/gPhRnLb0lDdU

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game https://lichess.org/XOBGdfCVAYh8 I had on move 16 an option for a royal fork, forking king and queen on d2, if only the pesky horse of my opponent on b3 wasn't protecting that square. So I sacrificed my horse on a5, a painful decision not taken lightly, because euthanizing an honest trusty horse is not something one does lightly. But, for the greater good, in this case the greater good being the royal fork, he had to go. Fortunately for the horse, but unfortunate for the royal fork, the enemy refused the offer. He must have realized that taking my free horse would have costed him the queen. He also realized that once my horse would take his horse, the royal fork would again be on the table, so he decided to move away his queen, thereby cancelling the royal fork. Even though he was successful in canceling the royal fork, unwittingly he set himself up for another fork. Mind you, not a royal one, but for the enemy still a painful one, and for me a very enjoyable one. I love being on the giving end of horse forks!
After all; it is better to give than to receive, a dictum which especially holds true in the case of horse forks.

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

After a long and bitter fight MahmoudMahmoudi fell victim to a nasty horsefork which was going to cost him a full castle in an endgame situation.

This proved to be enough to make him push the resign button.

My trusty horse came through for me. Again.

https://is.gd/dog_fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game https://lichess.org/BlAUHuBVckcC the enemy fell victim to a Boden-Kieseritzky gambit. He didn't react well to it, I got the pawn I invested back, his king had to move, no more castling for him, and then he overlooked a nasty horse fork which costed him a full horse, because of which he played the rest of the game being 5 points down.
He surrendered unconditionally on move 28.

tinyurl.com/traps-kill

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a royal horse fork ended the game on move 17: https://lichess.org/t3KVX2EUUlk0

https://tinyurl.com/love-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

And here the THREAT of a royal fork made the enemy push the resign button. There was no fork, but the threat of it, him knowing is was going to come, and he was going to lose his queen because of it, made him despair so much that he threw the towel in the ring. On move 8: https://lichess.org/G4bCRfC588Kr

Watch out for horse forks!

https://tinyurl.com/4k-kidding

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

And yet another one: https://lichess.org/RFVxsaiQtfpA Before I even can begin to make the horse fork the enemy throws himself on his own sword, and kills himself by pressing the resign button. The threat of a horrible royal fork was more than he could bear.

The threat truly is stronger than the execution.

But then again; this is not just a threat, but a threat with a ROYAL HORSE FORK.

Just typing out these words sends shivers down my spine.

May the fork be with you.

https://tinyurl.com/love-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a royal fork I played the other day, a fork which proved immediately decisive: https://lichess.org/2gOuDgtn4VCG

https://tinyurl.com/horse-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game https://lichess.org/a3X0jdl6GlCR things took a gruesome turn for me when the enemy had the audacity to skewer my queen and castle. My queen had to run, and then I had to wave goodby to my castle.
My righteous indignation was aroused, and I was looking for ways to exact painful revenge from the enemy. I couldn't find any forced sequence to punish the enemy, so I settled for a swindle, hoping the enemy wouldn't notice. So when my queen had to run, I planted her on the g-line, thereby pinning the g7 pawn in front of the castled enemy king. Then the enemy bishop took my castle. And then, in stead of me taking the enemy bishop, my horse standing on d2 took an enemy pawn on e4. The enemy then fell for the swindle by retracting his bishop to safety. That was all I needed. My horse on e4 jumped to f6, making a royal fork on the enemy king on g8 and queen on d5, this thanks to the pin on the g7 pawn, who could not take the horse on f6.
This nasty horse fork so discombobulated the enemy that he pushed the resign button.
Not really necessary if you ask me. For his queen he would get a castle and a horse in return, that is 8 points for the 9 he was going to lose. Plus the pawn on e4, that would mean that he would only be 2 points behind in material. Still a lot of play left.
But the shock of going from 2 points up to being 2 points down, including the shock of losing his queen, was probably too much for him, and he ended it all.

Saved by the fork.

Again.

HalleluJah!!

https://tinyurl.com/pin-mighty

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Got another nice little royal fork, forking the king and queen: https://lichess.org/18J7ZoXxywMp

The enemy was behaving very irritating, forcing an exchange of queens, because my queen was trapped on g2, and there was no way out but exchanging. But then I saw that I could at least win a pawn on f2, a pawn which was protected by both his queen and king. But his king couldn't take it, because my queen was also attacking it, and his queen taking it, would mean that he would lose his castle on h1. Worked out beautifully.
So I took his pawn on f2, his king had to walk, lost his castling rights, so I thought: At least I have a pawn out of this mess, and he can't castle anymore.
But then I saw that he set himself up for a nice little horse fork. So my horse jumped forward, forked king and queen, which were standing close together, and the enemy right away surrendered unconditionally.

I love horse forks!

Well, at least as long as I am on the giving end of 'm. After all: It's better to give than to receive. :)

https://is.gd/pure_lov

[Geeknix]

On 2021-04-12, Eli Kesef <nastyho...@gmail.com> wrote:
> But then I saw that he set himself up for a nice little horse fork. So my horse jumped forward, forked king and queen, which were standing close together, and the enemy right away surrendered unconditionally.

Very nice moves, it all came together for you. A bit weak of your
opponent not to try a few more moves after the fork.

--
Don't be afraid of the deep...
--[ bbs.bottomlessabyss.net|https|telnet=2023|ssh=2222 ]--
--[ Remove the fruit and digits for valid email address ]--

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Wow, it's dead here if I don't post. So let's correct that unfortunate situation.

I didn't play for a while. It comes in waves. I played so much that I got totally fed up with it, and then sometimes I don't play for months, until it starts to itch again.

Back to the subject; horse forks. A friendly neighborhood horse fork ended this game: https://lichess.org/EWMcf7K53X1h

Thank God for being on the giving end of horse forks!

I played 5 games over the board games on shabbat. The opponent also plays regularly on Lichess, has chess books, used to play in tournaments, and was far from a raw beginner. He arrived with a very neat fold up wooden (looking, finish) magnetic chess board, on which the battles took place.

The beginning went great, I won the first two games, but then he won the next two games, so it was 2-2. The fifth game would be the decider.
First, true to my style, I blundered away a piece, but the opponent messed up the opportunity I gave him, and I was able to save my piece.
Then I let him skewer my queen and king, which costed me my queen, but I got a horse, bishop, and a castle in return for it, so materially I was just fine, and I managed to win that game.
All is well that ends well.

Here another action photo of me. You can see me playing a game with my neighbor:

https://tinyurl.com/bajes-schaak

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

And here a gruesome combination of my new reply to an attempted fried liver and a royal fork: https://lichess.org/TNL2alBKs6Cz

The fork happened on move 7, and that was the end of it. HalleluJah!!

https://tinyurl.com/gloeiogen

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here an 1849 bit the dust after a royal horse fork forking king and queen on move 11 in a tame four horses opening: https://lichess.org/FZEr0t0nUnUz

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

And yet another royal fork that ended a game in a brutal way: https://lichess.org/VPWMo6Elz4im

https://tinyurl.com/love-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

And here a lovely horse fork, popping up out of nowhere: https://lichess.org/rpuYwO1qlDfd

I saw it coming before I played Qb1+ The opponent apparently not. :D

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

And here the enemy fell victim, not to one horse fork, but to TWO (2) horse forks, one after the other: https://lichess.org/nxkxeOs0JvkB

The first fork gained me a bishop, the second gained me an exchange, so for my horse I got a castle and a bishop, so the game was about over.
The enemy played on to the mate, but that came only four moves later.

https://tinyurl.com/twin4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

And here a cute little horse fork. I didn't gain that much, I got a queen for a horse and a castle, but I forced him into the fork, and that's nice. (or I like to think so) https://lichess.org/dcHM5ocndbFU

The rest was a mop up operation, my queen went on a rampage, until I exchanged her for a younger model and, oh, sorry about that, until I exchanged her for two castles, and he was left with one pawn, against a bishop and six pawns, and then he surrendered unconditionally.
Chalk up another one for the good guy.

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-u

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here the enemy lost his queen because of a trap in the opening: https://lichess.org/bRedTv5KbGYU Technically the score was even, he had two castles for my queen, but I had a horse more, but he made up the difference in pawns. But then a sneaky horse fork relieved him of an exchange, and two moves later he resigned.
For my 22th move I was considering putting my queen on f3 or h5. But I thought: "If I put my queen on f3, then I have a double attack on f7, and then there is a serious chance that he will play his castle to e7 in order to protect f7, and then the f7 pawn is pinned by my queen, because his king was behind it, and then my horse can fork king and castle on g6." So I played Qf3, and yes, he played castle e7, and yes, then I forked him!
Two ply after me taking his castle he resigned.

https://tinyurl.com/horse4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here I used a royal horse fork as a tactical tool in order to exchange pieces: https://lichess.org/2YdZzYC3TgIf I didn't get anything out of it except that I could exchange a horse and my queen for my enemy's counterparts, but since for reasons unclear to me the enemy had blundered away a bishop, the order of the day was exchanging.
And it looked also nicely weird, me sacrificing my queen for a horse. :D
Considering the speed with which he took my queen, I guess he'd never seen that royal fork coming. :)

My moves from 15 to 18 also look weird, but I had that all planned in advance. All in all it was a nice weird game.

https://tinyurl.com/two-plus-two

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game: https://lichess.org/XkyU9RcgI9jT I threatened a simple horse fork on move 13 on c7, forking king and castle. The enemy saw that, and moved his king to make the fork impossible, and succeeded in that plan. The fork on c7 was out the window.
Unfortunately his move of Kd7, allowed me a horse fork on b6. That fork right away ended the game. :D

https://tinyurl.com/horse4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game: https://lichess.org/RXoAYTuaT0Nc I fell victim to a horse fork, and had to part with an exchange.

But after I myself handed out a few horse forks to the enemy he resigned, and everything was as it was supposed to be.

All is well that ends well. :)

https://tinyurl.com/what-t4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a nice royal fork, forking king and queen, finished off the enemy: https://lichess.org/5yCHKfbkEJhT

I was hoping for him not to see it, and, he didn't see it. Thank God!

https://tinyurl.com/love-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

A simple straight forward royal family check by means of a nasty horse fork finished of this 1889 player: https://lichess.org/xffmGTRCd2GW
https://tinyurl.com/God-wint

That will teach him!

The inherent beauty of a horse fork does not stop to amaze me and still gives me that warm fuzzy feeling in my gut.

It goes of course without saying that that only holds true when I am the one making the fork. :D

https://tinyurl.com/TGodFC

[Eli Kesef]

On Friday, October 15, 2021 at 2:21:31 PM UTC+3, Eli Kesef wrote:
> Bs"d
>
> So I switched from the Englund gambit to the Budapest gambit. It is not as spectacular as the Englund when that leads to a mate on move 8, but sometimes it works nicely. Like in this freshly played game: https://lichess.org/PDZoXjYnmQah Here the enemy had to part with his queen on move 8, and got in return only two light pieces. And I got the invested pawn back, plus one pawn interest, so I was 4 points ahead. He still had 4 light pieces and two castles, so there was a lot of play left for him, and I had to proceed with extreme caution. But simply exchanging everything I could exchange worked very well, and victory was mine. HalleluJah!!
>
> https://is.gd/trappy_gamb

Bs"d

I tried the Budapest gambit quite a few times, but it just doesn't happen often enough. So I switched back to the Englund gambit, prepared to deal with the rotten positions if the enemy doesn't fall for the trap, but lo and behold, the first time I tried, the enemy did fall for the trap: https://lichess.org/4fjRvNI81RFv
The enemy was an 1876, not exactly a grandmaster, but far from a novice. And he fell for the trap.
He didn't take the shortest route, the one of the mate in 8 moves, but he had to part with a horse and a pawn in the opening anyway. So even though I started my very first move by giving him a free pawn, I ended up with a pawn more than him, and a horse to boot.
He reacted in weird way to my attack, and I had to win his horse in weird way, by me sacrificing my queen, and winning his queen two moves later, by means of horse fork. And then later I made yet another horse fork, on move 12, and then the enemy surrendered.

Those are the games I like. :D

https://lichess.org/4fjRvNI81RFv

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this amusing game a 1917? fell victim to a sneaky horse fork forking his royal pair, and he right away threw in the towel: https://lichess.org/76iF7AIXumKL

Horse forks are awesome things....

https://tinyurl.com/4k-with-you

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this mediocre game an innocent little horse fork relieved the enemy of an exchange: https://lichess.org/HwHFP3MSc30B

The game continued for another 18 moves before the enemy surrendered.

https://tinyurl.com/horse-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a serious fork, forking a queen and two castles, ended the game: https://lichess.org/yn8t2lNJU6FO

https://tinyurl.com/love-fork

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Lot's of horse forks in the air today. They dropped like flies: https://lichess.org/ol0bB5dQBI3t

https://tinyurl.com/what-t4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

This Englund gambit was over on move 7, because of a nasty horse fork: https://lichess.org/7eBFg6bA2Qg7

https://tinyurl.com/what-t4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Here a friendly neighborhood horse fork made the enemy resign: https://lichess.org/m3VhG9cCkqPg

This horse fork was funny: https://lichess.org/xB3AD2jnUDXB The enemy was under the mistaken impression that he was going to win a piece. It looked like it for a while, and technically he did win a bishop, the only problem for him was that he lost his queen in exchange for that bishop.
First I thought I was going down a piece, and then I saw the beautiful royal fork that would come into the game if he would take my bishop.

The enemy obviously didn't see it, and that was that. He did soldier on without his queen, but, of course, in vain.

Please note that in this game I had already a horsefork on move 20, but I decided not to consume that fork, I saw something more funny, and that led in the end to the other royal fork. :)

https://is.gd/pure_lov

[William Hyde]

On Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at 1:21:17 PM UTC-5, Eli Kesef wrote:
> Bs"d
>
> Here a friendly neighborhood horse fork made the enemy resign: https://lichess.org/m3VhG9cCkqPg
>
> This horse fork was funny: https://lichess.org/xB3AD2jnUDXB

Ahhh! My eyes! They Burn, they Burn!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

ROFLOL!! https://tinyurl.com/SmileyROFL

At least this board is coming a bit to life. :)

http://tinyurl.com/funny-game

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game https://lichess.org/SaDXK3ghzpc6 the enemy was kind enough to let me make a royal fork on move 7. On move 8 he had to part with his queen. On move 15 he resigned.

Isn't chess a very funny game? :D

https://tinyurl.com/horse4k

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

In this game https://lichess.org/7b22Dl363uwr a royal fork decided the game. After the fork the enemy surrendered.

The trouble with this fork is, I had something better. I know, it is hard to believe that there is something more beautiful than a royal fork, but I had here a mate in three, which included a queen sacrifice. And THAT is beautiful!

Something in my head kept on nagging me about this game. I went back, checked it, and saw it. I opened analysis board, and yes, it was correct. I had a mate in three, with queen sacrifice.

That takes the fun out of this beautiful horsefork.

https://tinyurl.com/love-fork

[Ken Blake]

On 1/3/2022 9:42 AM, Eli Kesef wrote:

> In this game https://lichess.org/7b22Dl363uwr a royal fork decided the game. After the fork the enemy surrendered.
>
> The trouble with this fork is, I had something better. I know, it is hard to believe that there is something more beautiful than a royal fork, but I had here a mate in three, which included a queen sacrifice. And THAT is beautiful!

Incredibly beautiful. It might have taken me a whole three or four
seconds to see it.

[William Hyde]

On Monday, January 3, 2022 at 11:42:41 AM UTC-5, Eli Kesef wrote:
> Bs"d
>
> In this game https://lichess.org/7b22Dl363uwr a royal fork decided the game. After the fork the enemy surrendered.

I am shocked, you won without playing a gambit.

I know this guy. He belongs to a religious order in which one must vow never to move the king's knight. That's why he's only 1750. If he could move all his pieces he'd be a GM at least.

> The trouble with this fork is, I had something better.

Emanuel Lasker's advice more than 100 years ago - when you see a good move, don't just play it, look for something
better.

William Hyde

[Ken Blake]

Good advice. But that advice pertains even more to Go than it does to Chess.

[Eli Kesef]

Bs¨d

Emanuel Lasker was a Go player??

[Eli Kesef]

Bs¨d

Well, I did look at it during the game, but I thought that when the bishop would take my queen, en then the rook comes to the first row, that the king could step in the place where the bishop came from. I didn´t realize the horse made that impossible, so I didn´t play it because of that miscalculation. But it was nagging me after the enemy resigned, I felt I had missed something, so I checked it, and then I saw it.

Happens.

https://tinyurl.com/queen-sac-striking

[Ken Blake]

No, but Edward Lasker (a distant relative) was. His book "Modern Chess
Strategy with an Appendix on Go" was the first place I ever heard of Go.

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Got another royal fork: https://lichess.org/xldvMAYqPyAy

The enemy limped on for 2 more moves, but then realized that all resistance was futile, en surrendered.

https://tinyurl.com/violent-sport

[Ken Blake]

On 1/4/2022 3:36 PM, Eli Kesef wrote:
> Bs"d
>
> Got another royal fork: https://lichess.org/xldvMAYqPyAy
>
> The enemy limped on for 2 more moves, but then realized that all resistance was futile, en surrendered.
>

It's hard to believe that you won a game against a player with such
incredible skills in the opening.

[Eli Kesef]

Bs"d

Also a blind chicken sometimes finds a kernel of grain.

https://tinyurl.com/calm-win