Mating Position
A mating position which has not been discussed up to now but
which occurs frequently enough in the actual game to warrant its
special mention is one in which the King is deprived of all
mobility by his own men who surround him and in which a hostile
Knight can check the King. Diagram 42 offers an example.
White on the move can force the mate by (1) R-d8, a very
surprising sacrifice indeed, for not only can Black take the Rook
with either Queen or Rook but he can also take White's Queen. In
the latter case, however, he would be mated in two moves by (2)
Rxe8+, Q-g8; (3) Kt-f7. This is one example of the "throttled
mate" by the Knight. Another one, which is really the typical
one, occurs if Black takes the Rook instead of the Queen.
The mating process then is: (2) Kt-f7+, K-g8; (3) Kt-h6 double check,
K-h8; (4) Q-g8+, Rxg8; (5) Kt-f7+/-. White could not have played Q-
g8+ right on the second move because then Black would have taken
the Queen with the King, while he could not do so with White's
Knight on h6.
Sacrifices made with the view of a direct mating attack are, as a
rule, the easiest to figure out, as there is no guesswork
connected with them. In those cases the player does not face the
question as to whether the position attained after the sacrifice
will be strong enough to insure a gain of material at least
equivalent to the amount of material sacrificed, a question which
to answer correctly sometimes requires a good deal of instinct
trained by experience; all that is necessary if to ascertain
whether the opponent can be mated in a definite number of moves
or not.
If the mate cannot be clearly foreseen, the sacrifice
must not be made. The possibility of a sacrifice with consequent
forced mate is always indicated if a greatly superior force is
available for attack at the part of the board where the opposing
King is located. An example is offered by the position reproduced
on the book cover.
+---------------------------------------+
8 | | | #Q | | #R | | | #K |
|---------------------------------------|
7 | #P | #P | | | | | #P | #P |
|---------------------------------------|
6 | | | | | | #B | | |
|---------------------------------------|
5 | | | | ^R | | | ^Kt| |
|---------------------------------------|
4 | | | ^Q | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
3 | | | | | | | ^P | |
|---------------------------------------|
2 | ^P | ^P | | | | | | ^P |
|---------------------------------------|
1 | | | | | | | ^K | |
+---------------------------------------+
a b c d e f g h
DIAGRAM 42.
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