Post your best miniatures here

that was not luck

Nice game but…. In what world was that a miniature?

Sorry, my English is not good, I don't know what you mean.抱歉我英语不好，不明白你的意思。

Too many moves. Should be about 25 moves or less.

Yes

There hasn't been a clear or fixed definition of what is a miniature. In old books you could see games with 20 or less moves to be called miniatures, some even considering only those games where mate is delivered or imminent. Of course this would make miniatures a total rarity nowadays, except for really bad games by patzers.

The most common modern definition is "in general games with 25 moves or less". However there's plenty of games presented in articles and books as miniatures that are 25- bellow 30 moves, so I go by that, slightly more flexible, definition.

I think I've seen a game here recently with 33 moves being called a miniature. I wouldn't certainly call a game of mine that long a miniature, but as long as the spirit of a what a miniature means (a short game) is there, who cares really?

A Scandinavian.

In working with definitions, one must be precise. Otherwise, you’ll find that definition something in the spirit will lead to misuse or overuse of the word, which generally allows the definition of that word to become useless.

A miniature is a game that is 25 moves or less. Ideally, it should be something that one can learn from or be entertaining, but that is not always the case.

Sometimes a player wants expand this definition to more than 25 moves because he wants to show it off and so claims, “It’s a miniature because I want it to be. And since I’m free to define the number of moves it should be classified as a miniature. There have been games in this forum that are 30+ moves long, 40+ moves, and even a few that reach 70+ moves.

Some players want to expand their definition because of a book by Karpov says so. But if you look at his book, you’ll find many games by him that are over 25 moves long. An obvious case of self-promotion. But why believe him?

Do you know of any other writer who agrees with this definition? All the miniatures books I own, by Wall, CCGM Harding, FM Hansen, GM Soltis, and others, adhere to the limit of 25 moves for a miniature. If one has a question about the definition of something, then it is best to ask a master of the subject. In this case, it’s already been answered.

No, like some others I simply do not care whether the game is a miniature, since what we're doing here is of our own will which supersedes what the OP / yourself have to say.

@ crazedrat1000

LOL ! 

Then why post your game in this forum, titled “My Favorite Miniatures”? 

It’s because you want to promote your game, even when you know your game is over 25 moves, and yet claim it is a miniature. Otherwise, why post here? There are many other forums that are titled, “Sacrifices, “Brilliant Games”, and so on, where your game would probably be more appreciated, admired, and appropriate.

Thank you for proving my point! 

OBTW, I didn’t come up with the definition, It is, however, the definition used in Informant and this very website, chess.com.

As lukeluke00 points out in post 16817, there isn't really a set definition of miniature, and what gets called a "miniature" can depend upon where you look. When I was young books often kept them to games less than 20 moves, but some of the chess magazines would present games under 25 moves as miniatures. Within the context of this thread, the general consensus (though not universal), is that a game of under, but not including 30 moves (so 29 moves or less) is in the spirit of the thread. Personally, I think if the game ends in mate on the board in 29 or fewer moves then it's a miniature (for this thread), but for a win by resignation (without a forced mate under 30), that probably should be under 25. But that's just me. There are other opinions. If you don't like the one I offered, ask me again, I've got others ( )
But in the end, this thread is about sharing some games where they just went "your way" very quickly. Any "miniature" will inevitably involve mistakes by the opponent, or a very lop-sided level of skill between the players, but in my view they are still enjoyable to view. There's something beautiful in seeing a game that just unfolds in a clear overrunning of the other side, or one that is tense and balanced but suddenly explodes in a display of fireworks after a slight miscalculation by one side that gets pounced upon suddenly and with very decisive results.

I only play bots now, and generally only get such short games against the very poor ones, which make such bizarre blunders that I don't really think they are miniatures so much as the computer just giving the game away early. Like White's 5th and 11th move in this game (the first of this month's "theme bots"); the computer is begging you to finish this off in under 30.

The lack of a set definition of a miniature, if true, is a consequence of a world where facts no longer exist. No credible book of miniatures has games lasting more than 25 moves. To find ambiguity in a resignation where there is forced checkmate that goes past the 25th move is comparable to finding a lack of consensus among climate scientists because a nuclear physicist has an opinion that differs.

Most books and articles cap the length of miniatures at 20 moves, for instance, https://sahovski.com/Encyclopaedia-of-Chess-Miniatures-volume-2-p430443098

You do realize you're just presenting another case of this ambiguity regarding what is a miniature... 20 or 25 moves what is it, who's correct?

I, for one, just accept that ambiguity as it is, not good or bad, just how the concept has evolved with the years passing, and have showed articles from this page and other sites where 25+ to below 30 are called miniatures.

I'm not trying to convert anybody (lol), this is not some sacred forum where a dogma is imposed by anyone. Just share some short games and have fun 😊.

There is an upper limit of 25. That's not ambiguous in my comment, nor in the literature. Some disagreement within that limit does exist.

The attacking themes an engine can come up with is crazy sometimes.

Because what people do in a thread, and what the title of the thread says, do not always remain in alignment, especially after 840+ pages... because we are not librarians.

No, once again I have not claimed the game I posted is a miniature, I have told you I do not care whether the game is a miniature. There's a difference, pay attention.

Two things. 1) this thread has 16000+ posts, and is far and away the most popular thread in the games showcase section of the forum. Its scope has exceeded what the OP originally intended, and what your dogmatic conception insists upon. And you have already acknowledged this 2) more importantly, I don't owe you any explanation for why I do things, since my impulses are my own, and are not under your control.

All you've done is stated your own rigid assumptions and reaffirmed them to yourself. 
I'd like to point out that you're very much under the sway of the female Animus. That's a psychological construct:

"A woman who is unconscious of her masculine side, but identifies with her animus, soon loses contact with her feminine nature and behaves as an inferior man. She becomes opinionated, rigid, and aggressively bitter, becoming more interested in power than in relatedness. Jung said that a woman overtaken by her animus is obstinate, lays down the law, harps on principles, is a word-mongerer, and is argumentative and domineering."

In your case it takes the form of insisting that others adhere to the "rules of the library", which makes you kind of a nightmare librarian.

Yet there are plenty of GMs and official commentators that use the miniature term for games with the length I mentioned, because they know it's not something written in stone as a chess rule like what a check is f.example.

If far more stronger and experienced players use the term loosely, who are we, low levels, to contradict them? Unless of course you're some color font guy here that believe he's the "master" at gatekeeping nonsense.

Most recent miniature. Enjoy!