Ep. 6: Long Distance

Real Chess Corner

Zeke's genius game - the Blackburne Shilling trap: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4?! 4.Nxe5? Qg5! 5.Nxf7?? Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3#. The white king is boxed in by its own pieces - a smothered mate. Against good defence 3...Nd4 is just a bad move, so it's a trap, not a plan!

Zeke's not-so-genius game - Fool's Mate: 1.f3?? e5 2.g4?? Qh4#. The fastest checkmate possible: two moves. Lesson: don't open the pawns in front of your king.

Chess around Europe (all real!): In Budapest's Széchenyi Baths people play chess on floating boards in the warm pools. The Lewis chessmen were found on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland around 1831 - most are in the British Museum in London and 11 are in Edinburgh. In 1858 Paul Morphy played 8 blindfold games at once at the Café de la Régence in Paris (6 wins, 2 draws). In Ströbeck, Germany, chess has been a school subject since 1823, and Marostica in Italy stages a living chess game every two years.

Friends far away are still friends - especially if they have a chessboard.