Featured Game

Here's the fourth entry in my new Featured Game series. You will find on this page:

• A double board puzzle, using a position taken from the game. Try to find a way for WhoAmI and Gnejs to force mate.

• A downloadable annotated version of the game in .bpgn format

If you don't have the BPGN viewer on your machine, then head over to my first Featured Game, which has links that can be used to download the viewer.

Featured Game #4:

In Gnejs We Trust

In this month's game, we see WhoAmI in his element: a top bugger who seems to have a particular talent for creating positions that look attackable but aren't. However, I'd have to say what impresses me most about this game are the conditions under which the game was played. Here is WhoAmI's description of the game:

I remember that game with Gnejs as my partner. I was at work playing without an interface (just style 1 -- ASCII text style) and I couldn't see my partner's board. No worries, Gnejs being the super bughouse God that he is, took care of everything.

Imagine that! WhoAmI can't see his partner's board, so it's up to Gnejs and only Gnejs to co-ordinate play. Gnejs has to watch both boards, making trades that will help his partner and avoiding trades will hurt his partner. Well, I suppose Gnejs isn't the only bughouse player in the World who could pull this off, but the board co-ordination featured in this month's game is something to behold, if only for one remarkable moment...

Ever so trustful of his partner, at one point in this game WhoAmI embarks on an attack that appears to leave his king in some danger -- with a rook drop it looks like Lindegren can pull WhoAmI's king forward, into a mating net. No doubt Lindegren sent a message to inform his partner of this fact. Then, wonder of wonders, the great Gnejs, after a few seconds of thought, actually plays into a position that allows Anky to capture a rook! (It costs Anky his queen, but to get a mating attack against these opponents, what a bargain!)

Ah, but it's all just a devious trick! The rook drop, which looked so good, is actually bad. WhoAmI has little trouble fending off Lindegren's checks, and his counterattack when Lindegren's attack runs out is crushing. The lasting impression is a nice attack by WhoAmI and a terrific piece of board co-ordination by Gnejs. (Okay, that's just about what you'd expect from these guys, I would imagine.) Here's the game.

LINDEGREN 02:20*	Anky 02:12
WhoAmI 02:10	Gnejs 02:28*
* indicates player to move next