Secrets of Trapping Pieces: Knights and Foot Soldiers Hunting Her Majesty

KevinSmithIdiot

Updated: Feb 18, 2024, 5:21 PM | 3

A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
A-hunting we will go.
Elmer Fudd

Queen hunting, a sport for Their Majesties in the Medieval Ages seeking to establish a concord between competing fiefdoms through marriages that supported Affairs of State. Or a tawdry sport in pursuit of male heirs for Kings such as Henry VIII who took six Queens during His lifetime. Henry should not be confused with the chap in the following lyrics:

I'm Henry the eighth I am
Henry the eighth I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before.
Herman's Hermits, 1965.

On the chess board Queens are more often Huntress than prey. But on occasion Queens wander a bit far afield. And on occasion even a solitary Knight and a few Pawns can enfold, disable and eventually capture Her Ladyship.

The diagram below presents some configurations in which the conditions are ripe for a strike against Royalty. The positions are stripped down to bare bones. So much so that I purposely left out a potential pawn on h7 in the upper right hand corner. After all, a Black Knight on f8 could equally well cover the h7 and g6 squares. My reasoning for hewing to thee reduced configurations is to provide broad outlines, shadow puppets that you might then recognize as glimmering opportunities in your own games.

Top Right Corner

How might this happen:

A. These positions usually occurred after the side with the Queen had sought an exchange of the opponent's fianchettoed Bishop.

B. In several instances after a trade of Bishops the side with the Queen pushed their h-pawn (or a-pawn if on the Queenside) to make contact with the g- or b-pawn, respectively, in an attempt to open the file so that Queen and Rook could attack the King.

Some other important features: I discuss these features based on this specific configuration, but the same points apply in the other corners of the board.

A. ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL ASPECTS!! Usually, the Queen isn't going anywhere! That means their opponent can simply ensure She isn't going anywhere and then mount decisive operations elsewhere if the position supports such activities. It's like being a Queen ahead. Quite often there is a Rook in the castled position, on f8 in this case. Usually, the Queen will sacrifice Herself for the Rook. HIGHLIGHT: If the position offers sufficient time, then the Rook should consider sliding out of the Queen's headlights.

Defensive and offensive measures for the side with the trapped Queen:

A. Trade away all the enemy Knights before one of them can reach f7!! Or have a light-squared Bishop that can pin such a Knight to the King.

B. In this instance, if there is an f-pawn, then push it to f4 and attempt to break down the pawn barrier.

C. Sacrifice the Queen!! If there is a White pawn on f5 and a Black pawn on h7, plus a Rook or Rooks on the h-file, then White can consider playing Qg6+ to open the h-file if Black takes the Queen. That sac would take place on the corresponding g3, b3 and b6 squares in the other quadrants. The question being whether the enemy King can survive if the h or a file is opened in pursuit of a Queen. We will see a few games exercising this sacrificial motif. Often the Queen just sits there, waiting to be taken!!!

D. Knight sacrifices on f6 or g5 may deliver a crucial tempo to extract the Queen. And with two pawns for the Knight there may be sufficient compensation to play on.

Bottom Left Corner

Key Difference: The Knight both attacks the Queen and protects the base of the pawn chain.

All other discussion from above remains relevant.

TO THE GAMES!!

Julia, Ernesto 2387 - Ezat, Mohamed 2405 Internet Section 06A g/8' + 2'' blitz 06.03.2004 #1

This is the penultimate position in this game we will investigate. We will start at the end of this transformative entrapment, then work back to the beginning.

Assessment: White has achieved a nigh on perfect version of the configuration described in the diagram above. Black's Queen is immobilized on h3 by both the White pawns on f3 and g4, and by a "friendly" traitor on h5, the Judas Iscariot of pawns...or Benedict Arnold if you prefer military traitors.

Close the loop for us here.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Our first example shows the climax of a multi-move process with the Knight landing on f2 to attack a Queen with no safe flight squares. Note that if a White Knight had been able to safely reach g5 the Black Queen would have been similarly trapped.

B. It is a bit unusual for the side trapping the Queen to have a Knight on g2. If that Knight had not been there Black would probably have sacrificed Herself for the Rook on f1. That Queen for Rook sacrifice is thematic in many of these positions. BUT if White has time, they may be able to slide the Rook away from the trapped Queen's baleful gaze. And the trapped Queen will receive little to no compensation when she is attacked by the Knight.

Julia, Ernesto 2387 - Ezat, Mohamed 2405 Internet Section 06A g/8' + 2'' blitz 06.03.2004 #2

Black just played 16...g5. Can you spot the resource White espied during this blitz game?

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Barricade! The Bishop flung itself onto the Queen's flight path.

B. The Knight on g2 was absolutely vital to the success of this endeavor. But is rather an unusual feature in the games I examined. Still, a nice trick to be aware of. One can never be sure when a similar trick will prove useful elsewhere and elsewhen. (No, of course "elsewhen" isn't a real word. But it should be).

Cucka, Josef - Lastovicka, Jiri YUG U20-ch08 Final A 07.1950 #1

White just played 18.c5?, responding poorly to the threats multiplying across the board. Black had several good moves here. Indeed, White resigned after Black's 21st move.

But Black could have played an even stronger move. What would you play here?

Assessment: Not only does White have minimal material for the Queen, the lack of development and terrible pawn structure will continue to weight him down. Black is simply winning.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. The same thematic moves work when the basic configuration is in place. In this case: White Queen on h6; White pawn on h5; Black pawns on h7, g5 and f6; Black piece protecting the f6 pawn; Black King on g1; and delivering the coup de grace, a Black Knight on f7. The placement of other pieces has clearly changed.

B. The side with the trapped Queen frequently receives a Rook as partial compensation.

C. The idea of White playing Qg6+ had to be considered by both sides in this game. That White Rook on h1 makes it a possibility. However, White's lack of development doomed any such efforts. And the fact some minor pieces had already exited the board certainly did not help White's tattered chances of a miraculous save.

D. Over the board, or presented without a contextual theme, one might be equally tempted by snagging the White pawn on f5 instead of hunting down the Queen immediately. As was seen in the game.

Cucka, Josef - Lastovicka, Jiri YUG U20-ch08 Final A 07.1950 #2

White just played the forcing move 15.Nf5. How should Black respond?

Assessment: Not only does White have minimal material for the Queen, the lack of development and terrible pawn structure will continue to weigh him down. Black is simply winning.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Given the nature of this opening with a fianchettoed g7 Bishop, I suspect Black was aware of how to take advantage of situations where White thought they were gaining an advantage by trading dark squared Bishops on h6.
B. By completing a number of puzzles where the underlying structure of the trap is the same we train our brain to recognize those outlines. And take advantage of them...or avoid them if it would place us on the losing side!
C. Finding the very strongest path is far from easy. I suspect you attempted many alternative winning moves. I've mentioned the very best of those in the notes within the puzzle. Grant yourself full credit mentally if your attempts made that "next best" list. I also mention a few lines that might seem tempting but that have some downsides when examined more closely.

Cucka, Josef - Lastovicka, Jiri YUG U20-ch08 Final A 07.1950 #3

White just castled long. How can Black secure their Kingside and even claim a slight advantage.

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. KEY ISSUE SHOWN: The question of whether or not it is good, bad or indifferent to seek a trade of a fianchettoed Bishop. There are numerous times when it is a perfectly sound maneuver to seek the removal of the opponent's fianchettoed Bishop, particularly if their King is in that corner.

B. KEY INDICATOR for when seeking to trade off that fianchettoed Bishop might lead to a dangerous situation. As seen in this example, White already had a pawn on h5. And Black controlled the g5 square at least temporarily. That meant Black could safely trade Bishops on h6 and then push the g6-pawn to g5. Thereby also eliminating threats of White opening the h-file with hxg6. And leaving White's Queen a bit incommunicado!

Debowska, Teresa 2005 - Gerold, Arnold IBCA Wch blind 09th 06.07.1998 #1

White just played 13.f5. How would you respond?

We stick with the thematic strike. Though it still requires significant calculations if White poses the most difficult test and responds with 14.Qg6. This attempt poses a brain strain that I chose not to explore further in this forum. The sacrifice is thematic, but objectively fails badly here. But proving that is outside the confines of this effort. Note simply that in the game Black did NOT capture the Queen immediately. After all, She isn't going anywhere. So look for strong play elsewhere!!

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. There are a number of strong Black moves here. That is because the White Queen is not going anywhere!

Debowska, Teresa 2005 - Gerold, Arnold IBCA Wch blind 09th 06.07.1998 #2

White just played 12.f4. That both prepares to open lines and takes the e5 square away from Black's Knight. From e5 the Knight would have had access to either f7 or g4 to then consume the tasty tidbit on h6.

Given that option is unavailable at the moment, how can Black increase the pressure on White?

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Find another plan! White's f4 pawn push cut off one Knight rerouting to give a final tickle to the Queen. Ok, what other squares are available? Well, a White Queen on h6 can be attacked by a Black Knight on g8, f7, f5 or g4.

Debowska, Teresa 2005 - Gerold, Arnold IBCA Wch blind 09th 06.07.1998 #3

White just played 10.Qxh6, completing a trade of the dark-squared Bishop for Black's valuable defender, the fianchettoed Bishop so recently departed from the g7 square. Threats? Well, Black's dark squares look a bit weak and it is clear White wants to push the h-pawn followed by a quick mate down the h-file.

Is there a safe path forward for Black? Was trading Bishops on h6 a bad idea?

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Flexibility in maneuvering of the pieces is critical. When your opponent closes one path, find another. Or create another.

B. Sometimes you have to push pawns in front of His Majesty to increase His security. The move 11...f6 clearly is a key element in the outlines sketched by our diagram showing a few critical configurations. But pushing additional pawns in front of your King is anathema for many of us.

Debowska, Teresa 2005 - Gerold, Arnold IBCA Wch blind 09th 06.07.1998 #4

The fourth and final puzzle in our series taken from this informative game. Time to put all the pieces together.

White just played 9.h4. That initiated what looks like a nasty, gathering attack. And it seems White's King can quickly flee to the Queenside where Black does not have a similarly fast wing attack brewing.

How did Black defang White's concept?

Lessons learned or revisited:

A. Seeing the bare bones configurations is useful, but it is absolutely necessary to understand how you get there from here! Once you see a faint trace of those outlines you need to stay alert to opportunities that firm up those outlines. Eventually they may develop into a fully formed trap. And if not, then they should have allowed you to keep the balance by not allowing your opponent to build up too great a head of steam. After all, they may also be fully aware of these would-be configurations, shadows that seek to coalesce into reality yet often remain only analytic artifacts.

B. Please review the note after Black's 9th move. That was THE correct time to relinquish the fianchettoed Bishop. And that was when the outlines first started to morph into a potential reality.

Secrets of Trapping Pieces: Knights and Foot Soldiers Hunting Her Majesty

KevinSmithIdiot’s Blog