A Speartip Thrust to the Throat
You know what I miss? The wild, often unpredictable chess games of my early years as a chess commander. When you are just starting out on your chessic career, many games are won and lost by a single, speartip thrust to the throat. Such games were thrilling affairs; battles filled with Hollywood-styled heroics where the war was won with a seeming flash of genius and sword. Of course, it was not genius, but the inexperience of an opponent who left himself open for such devastating attacks.
Unfortunately, freewheeling games such as those quickly begin to fade once you work your way up the chess hierarchal ladder. No longer are opponents so accommodating to your supposed genius – they actually fight when attacked and mount formidable defenses! Warfare on the 64-square battlefield becomes less about swift thrusts at the throat and more about lengthy sieges and wars of attrition.
Every now and then, a veteran player, due to the vagaries of a tourney, finds himself matched against a less experienced player. Needless to say, the opportunity to unleash another spear is often irresistible. Chivalry will give way to a chance at glory!
This recently happened to me. Matched against two less experienced players, I couldn’t restrain myself from winning the games with the flash of a speartip thrust to the throat.
Game #1
Game #2 Now, in both my cases, the speartip thrust was made possible only by my opponents’ inexperience. However, occasionally, an experienced player will leave himself open for a quick kill. Perhaps one of the most prominent examples is the famous game between Edwin Ziegler Adams and Carlos Torre-Repetto. Using his Queen with merciless efficiency, Adams brings down his opponent in short order.
Now that is the way to thrust the speartip at the neck!
