A Very Silly Stalemate Trap...
Stalemate, a situation where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. When this happens, the game is declared a draw. Some people believe that this rule is unfair and instead of a draw it should be a win! I disagree since if they were to change this, every chess player would have to re-learn their endgames. Today, we'll see the Eric Rosen Stalemate Trap, How to stalemate in 10 moves, one of my games from the K-12 Showdown where my opponent fell for a silly stalemate trap, and a few stalemate puzzles.
1. The Eric Rosen Stalemate Trap
Although the title of the video is a little misleading, @IMRosen tricks his opponent by moving the king into the corner instead of taking the queen which was what Paehtz expected. Eric Rosen has become very famous for using this trap many times. Here is another game where he used the same trap! Against a different International Master.
Wow, that was dirty! This obviously only works in online chess since, over the board, your opponent can't premove. Although I guess it could work OTB although the chances are slim. Let's see how you can stalemate in 10 moves, along with a funny story from a summer camp.
2. How to Stalemate in 10 Moves?
Stalemating in 10 moves sounds impossible! Stalemates almost ALWAYS happen with very few pieces on the board. This stalemate is absolutely nuts, Sam Loyd was able to discover this 10-move sequence.
I actually did this with my friend @Sep-Gol (Go Checkout his Profile and Blogs!) in a blitz game. Although I have a funny story about this which happened at a summer place. I went to a summer camp hosted by the San Diego Surfers a former Pro Chess League team. There were 3 instructors, all IM's Keaton Kiewra (@Keaton87), Joshua Sheng (@jjosu), and Craig Hilby (@TheNomNomFactor). In the summer camp, one day we had a blitz tournament. In one round, Joshua Sheng and Craig Hilby faced each other. Instead of playing "actual" chess, they played the exact 10-move sequence (the one you saw above) and ended in a stalemate. After the game, it was hilarious, everyone was laughing since a bunch of REAL IM's who are serious chess players played out this 10-move game. Joshua Sheng was even laughing on the floor.
3. A Very Silly Stalemate Trap from the K-12 Showdown!
Remember, this was a real tournament. Online USCF-Rated against a player with an OTB USCF Rating of 1788. Not a bad player, but sadly fell for my only resource in the position. Take a look at my silly stalemate trap from the K-12 Showdown!
Wow, I was laughing so hard when the game ended, that was honestly brutal. Now let's take a look at some insane stalemate puzzles!
4. Stalemate Puzzles!
It goes from easiest to hard! Tell me in the comments about how much you could solve?
Thank you guys for reading, hopefully, you learned something or had fun solving some puzzles. If you have any games where you had a stalemate trap or if you have any stalemate puzzles put them in the comments below, another blog will come out soon so stay tuned for that. Thank you guys so much, happy holidays, and peace!
