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Baby Shoes for Sale. Never Worn.

Baby Shoes for Sale. Never Worn.

Gserper
| 51 | Tactics

As the well-known legend goes, Ernest Hemingway once won a bet that he could write a short story which would have just six words. You see this story as the title of this article. It is a perfect story indeed: it has a beginning, a middle and an end!

And just like any good story it shows a wide range of human emotions: hope, joy, tragedy, agony...

Yes, I remember, this is a chess web site, so the point I am trying to make is 'short' doesn't mean inferior. Sometimes a short chess game can be similar to that Hemingway story. We can see how a chess player anticipates a great battle, he gets his pieces out ready to strike, but... Here comes the tragedy! An unexpected move of his opponent instantly finishes the game!

Besides their aesthetic value, such games are usually very instructive. By learning from somebody else's mistakes we are trying to make sure that such debacles are not going to happen in our own games.  Today our guide is the great World Champion Alexander Alekhine who was famous for his sharp style. Try to guess how he beat his opponents in the following short games of his:

 

 

When you are done with all the positions, I recommend you to go back and replay all the games from the beginning in order to understand what caused each catastrophe. In many cases it was not just one bad move, it was a faulty strategy. So, if these games will help you to remember why it is so important to develop your pieces in the opening, not engage your Queen in a risky mission too early, pay attention to the safety of your King, then I am sure you are not going to end up on the receiving end of such short stories!
Good luck!
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