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chess noob Quick Wins! is a series of short videos, to demonstrate very quick wins! As a beginner, you become aware of the Scholar’s Mate and the Fool’s Mate, but neither of these show up in real games. However, there are tricky quick checkmates and wins that occur, even at the intermediate level of chess.

Every once in a while, one can get a flash of inspiration; a moment of clarity where you can see the next sequence of moves and how your opponent will respond!

This occurred to me in this Team Australian tournament match against a fellow Aussie @RGranjan7. I had the black pieces and played for New South Wales, and they played for Western Australia. The game started with a Ruy López Opening: Jaenisch Gambit, Exchange Variation (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Bxc6 4. dxc6).

After the exchange, White played a “delayed” accepting of the gambit with (5. exf5?!) which is an inaccuracy as (5… e4), threatening White’s knight is a forcing and powerful move. However, in this game, I opted to play a different variation, by immediately capturing White’s f-pawn (5… Bxf5) and ostensibly playing a second gambit of my e5-pawn, opening the centre files.

However, White hesitated to accept a second gambit, and opted to play more conservatively (6. d3) and then castled (7. O-O). I used the opportunity to develop my pieces (6… Nf6), including my dark square bishop to a tricky square (7… Bd6). At this point, the possibilities I saw included a potential Greek Gift Sacrifice, as well as an “ICBM gambit” like manoeuvre with my dark square bishop giving check, revealing an attack on White’s queen.

And then, White played (8. Re1), their best move in the position. And suddenly, I saw it! It was a strong sense of empathy; a deep intuition that I knew what my opponent was thinking and what they were planning.

He sensed it, the race consciousness that he could not escape. There was a sharpened clarity, the inflow of data, the cold precision of his awareness. He sank to the floor, sitting with his back against rock, giving himself up to it. Awareness flowed into that timeless stratum where he could view time, sensing the available paths, the winds of the future… the winds of the past: the one-eyed vision of the past, the one-eyed vision of the present and the one-eyed vision of the future – all combined in a trinocular vision that permitted him to see time-become-space.
– Frank Herbert, Dune

In my mind’s eye, I had foreseen that White would calculate that after (8… e4? 9. dxe4!), they would use the pin down the e-file to cleanly win one of my pieces. However, I had already seen the trap beyond the trap! After (9… Bxe4), White will play (10. Ng5) to “place pressure on the pinned piece” – the bishop to my king. And then, (10… O-O) short castles, White had two attackers on my e4-bishop to my one defender and so will initiate the capture (11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Rxe4??)!

And the game was indeed as I predicted… and then the killer blow (12… Bxh2+!), check! White’s king must respond to check, leaving their queen exposed down the d-file. Emotional damage, good game, GG!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/643443313

[Event "2024 ANZ U1500 R3: NSW vs WA - Board 10"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2024.04.08"]
[Round "-"]
[White "RGranjan7"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Match "https://www.chess.com/club/matches/1606169"]
[CurrentPosition "r2q1rk1/ppp3pp/2p5/8/4R3/8/PPP2PPb/RNBQ2K1 w - - 0 13"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C63"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Ruy-Lopez-Opening-Jaenisch-Exchange-Variation-4...dxc6"]
[UTCDate "2024.04.08"]
[UTCTime "00:03:15"]
[WhiteElo "1103"]
[BlackElo "1224"]
[TimeControl "1/259200"]
[Termination "vitualis won by resignation"]
[StartTime "00:03:15"]
[EndDate "2024.04.10"]
[EndTime "09:51:46"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/daily/643443313"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/279429083.8fb53017.50x50o.915bcb78bbd4.jpg"]
[WhiteCountry "17"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 {[%clk 69:00:41]} 1... e5 {[%clk 71:56:57]} 2. Nf3 {[%clk 71:59:39]} 2...
Nc6 {[%clk 71:59:51]} 3. Bb5 {[%clk 64:25:03]} 3... f5 {[%clk 71:58:44] Ruy
López Opening: Jaenisch Gambit} 4. Bxc6 {[%clk 71:59:34] Exchange Variation
[+0.1]} 4... dxc6 {[%clk 71:39:50]} 5. exf5 $6 {[%clk 59:59:33][%c_arrow
b1c3;keyPressed;none;from;b1;opacity;0.8;to;c3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c3;persistent;false][%c_effect
f5;square;f5;type;Inaccuracy;keyPressed;undefined;persistent;true] An inaccuracy
[-0.7]} 5... Bxf5 $6 {[%clk 71:52:19][%c_arrow
e5e4;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;e4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false][%c_effect
f5;square;f5;type;Inaccuracy;keyPressed;undefined;persistent;true] I decided to
try this variation, but it's an inaccuracy which returns the position mostly to
equality [+0.1]} 6. d3 $6 {[%clk 58:51:40][%c_arrow
f3e5;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false][%c_effect
d3;square;d3;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] White, however, was feeling
skittish and didn't want to take [-0.6]} 6... Nf6 $6 {[%clk 71:04:13][%c_arrow
e5e4;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;e4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false][%c_effect
f6;square;f6;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] While I had decided to play a less
aggressive approach in this daily game also $1 🤣 [+0.2]} 7. O-O {[%clk 58:33:18]}
7... Bd6 {[%clk 71:52:13]} 8. Re1 {[%clk 71:04:41]} 8... e4 $5 {[%clk
71:06:01][%c_effect e4;square;e4;type;Interesting;persistent;true] And here, I
saw the potentially of a really cool trap, from the perspective of having a
flash of insight into how White was going to respond to the next few moves $1 This
move is technically a mistake [+3]} 9. dxe4 $1 {[%clk 70:02:10][%c_effect
e4;square;e4;type;GreatFind;keyPressed;undefined;persistent;true] Logical move}
9... Bxe4 {[%clk 70:33:41] Oh no, the bishop is pinned $1} 10. Ng5 $2 {[%clk
70:48:06][%c_effect g5;square;g5;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d1d4;keyPressed;none;from;d1;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false] I expected this as it
follows the tactical heuristic, \"place pressure on the pinned piece\". However,
it's all part of the trap. At this point, I new that White was likely to be
caught $1 [+3 $37 +1.1]} 10... O-O $1 {[%clk 71:58:30][%c_effect
g8;square;g8;type;GreatFind;persistent;true][%c_highlight
g8;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;g8;persistent;false] White still has two
attackers to my one defender of the e4-bishop...} 11. Nxe4 $4 {[%clk
71:59:30][%c_effect e4;square;e4;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false] White bites $1 [-3.5]}
11... Nxe4 {[%clk 71:57:40]} 12. Rxe4 $4 {[%clk 71:54:26][%c_effect
e4;square;e4;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false] White thinks that won
the exchange to the penultimate move... [-5.6]} 12... Bxh2+ $1 {[%clk
71:59:26][%c_effect
h2;square;h2;type;GreatFind;persistent;true,g8;square;g8;type;Winner,g1;square;g1;type;ResignWhite][%c_highlight
h2;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;h2;persistent;false] Emotional damage $1 Good
game, GG $1} 0-1