Ah, the game itself! Finally worked it out!
White lost this game because of a poor opening plan. He did not systematically develop his pieces; e.g. if the Bishop had been developed, his King would have been protected from back-rank mates.
Also, he got so single-mindedly focussed on what he was intending (finish me off with a check mate) , that he lost sight of Josh Waitzkin's "the now" or "the whole board"
I hope this example of resilience in the face of 6 consecutive checks, plus a sense of "the whole board" (I new Rd1 was checkmate), had me alert to Rd1 as soon as the checking sequence stopped.
Game: Spencer200 v Socrates44 (me)
Venue: Itsyourturn.com
Date: May 5, 2013
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I felt relieved!
I was so lucky that my opponent tried to do everything with one piece, his Queen. He left a Bishop and Rook on his back rank, not only not contributing, but also making his King unsafe!
I thought that my opponent had me. I was hanging on as deftly as I could.
Out of the corner of my eye (I was focussed on protecting my Black King), I could see his pawn-locked locked White King, If only .....
And then it happened ... perhaps, he was over-confident in his Queen. But I had a free move, while not in check.
And .. Rd1!
I did not mind his frutile Knight and took it. Checkmate.
What is the lesson?
For players around my level - oscillating in the 1100-1300 range - we make mistakes. We don't play accurately. We don't calculate the continuations, except for maybe the next 2 moves.
In this instance, I had a sense of an opportunity. And was "being aware", while trying to protect my King. So I played as hard as I could for that - not quite a Tattslottto break, but a - release of tension on my King. And then I struck back with my Rook, rescuing Black from the depths of oblivion.
So, don't give up. Fight to the death! And learn what you can from the endgame.