The fourth world champion Alexander Alekhine is considered by many as one of the greatest chess players ever. He has the dubious distinction of being the only player to have died as the reigning world champion, unfortunately because his final years coincided with the second world war.
One of the greatest strengths Alekhine had was his ability to evaluate the playing strength & limitations of his lesser opponents & act accordingly. Here’s a legendary story about Alekhine’s exploits.
Following position was reached in a game during a simultaneous exhibition given by Alekhine against a group of German officers in 1943. He was playing white.
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| BLACK TO MOVE – “I RESIGN, MY POSITION IS HOPELESS” |
Being the genius that Alehine was, he understood the limitations of his opponent. So, to the Army officer’s surprise & great delight, instead of accepting the resignation, Alekhine turned the board around, took the black pieces himself & told his opponent to play the white pieces. While his opponent was still wondering about the his good fortune, Alekhine played Black’s next move.
1. … Rh4
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| AFTER 1. … Rh4 |
The officer, now playing white, thought for a few minutes & played
2. Nxh4
Obviously 2. Rxh4 is followed by 2. … Qe1#
Then Alekhine quietly played
2. … Qc3
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| AFTER 2. … Qc3 – “I RESIGN AGAIN” |
The German officer, unable to see a proper defense against the threatened mate on the long diagonal, resigned again. ( After 3. Kc1 Qa1+ white loses the Rook & the pinned Knight on h4) Then to his utter astonishment, Alekhine offered to turn the board around (again!!).
Then Alekhine played...
3. Qh8 +
Alekhine's opponent resigned (again!!!!) as he saw the finish.
3. … Kxh8
4. Ng6 + Kg8
5. Rh8 #
Poor German officer was flabbergasted, justifiably so.
REPLAY THE MOVES
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