King hunt

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In chess, a king hunt is a tactical motif in which the opponent's king is exposed and subjected to a series of checks. Sometimes the king is drawn across the board and is mated in enemy territory. It is critical in such situations that the entire sequence is forced and the opponent is not given an opportunity to organize a defense. [1]

Contents

Example

One of the most famous king hunts occurred in LaskerThomas, 1912. [2] In the position in the diagram, Lasker played 1.Qxh7+; the entire sequence is forced and the final move 8.Kd2 delivers mate. Lasker could also have mated by castling queenside (8.0-0-0#).

abcdefgh
8
Chessboard480.svg
Chess rdt45.svg
Chess ndt45.svg
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Chess kdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess bdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess qdt45.svg
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Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
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Chess nlt45.svg
Chess qlt45.svg
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Chess nlt45.svg
Chess blt45.svg
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Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
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Chess klt45.svg
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8
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abcdefgh
1.Qxh7+ Kxh7 2.Nxf6+ Kh6 3.Neg4+ Kg5 4.h4+ Kf4 5.g3+ Kf3 6.Be2+ Kg2 7.Rh2+ Kg1 8.Kd2#
abcdefgh
8
Chessboard480.svg
Chess rdt45.svg
Chess ndt45.svg
Chess rdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess bdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess qdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess nlt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess nlt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess klt45.svg
Chess blt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess rlt45.svg
Chess rlt45.svg
Chess kdt45.svg
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Final position after 8.Kd2#

See also

References

  1. George Huczek (2017). A to Z Chess Tactics. Batsford. pp. 1–349. ISBN   978-1-8499-4446-5.
  2. "Edward Lasker vs. George Alan Thomas (1912), London, England". ChessGames.com . Retrieved 23 December 2020.