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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.

Today, we have a very lovely 7-move checkmate from my subscriber @TFossS using the Black pieces!

My subscriber played the especially venomous Charlick Gambit (1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 d6) – a double-gambit system out of the Englund Gambit against the Queen’s Pawn Opening! I have a soft spot for the Charlick Gambit as it’s named after Henry Charlick, the second Australia Chess champion in the late 1800s.

The goal of the Charlick Gambit is not only to trade material for rapid development, but a tactical decision to immediately open the centre files which can result in rapid and unexpected attacks on the opponent’s king. We see this in this game!

White opts not to accept the second pawn and the game has a brief respite despite the tension as both my sub and their opponent developed normally. However, on move 5 my sub recaptures in the centre (5… dxe5) opening the d-file with the queens looking at each other. The queens are traded, and my sub controls the d-file with their rook (6. Qxd8+ Rxd8) – a rather unusual situation in the opening. White, oblivious to the danger, captures the seemingly hanging pawn in the centre, a blunderous mistake [-M1]. Because (7… Rd1#) – White’s king was standing next to the drafty open door and is assassinated on this throne!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/live/79398026623

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.06.01"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Frumpet1"]
[Black "TFossS"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "A40"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Englund-Gambit-Hartlaub-Charlick-Gambit"]
[UTCDate "2023.06.01"]
[UTCTime "22:33:54"]
[WhiteElo "1230"]
[BlackElo "1208"]
[TimeControl "600"]
[Termination "TFossS won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "22:33:54"]
[EndDate "2023.06.01"]
[EndTime "22:35:18"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/79398026623"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/218722517.6c76d732.50x50o.7735242fa6de.png"]
[WhiteCountry "162"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[BlackCountry "2"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. d4 {[%clk 0:10:00]} 1... e5 {[%clk 0:09:59.3]} 2. dxe5 {[%clk 0:09:57.6]}
2... d6 {[%clk 0:09:58.9] Charlick Gambit - a spicy double-gambit variation of
the Englund Gambit $1 [+1.4]} 3. Nf3 {[%clk 0:09:53.9]} 3... Nc6 {[%clk
0:09:57.4]} 4. Bf4 {[%clk 0:09:47.5]} 4... Bg4 {[%clk 0:09:50]} 5. e3 $2 {[%clk
0:09:44.5][%c_effect e3;square;e3;type;Mistake;persistent;true] A mistake [-0.4]
and Black now has a substantial position advantage $1  Keep an eye on the
trickiness down the d-file...} 5... dxe5 {[%clk 0:09:17.8]} 6. Qxd8+ $1 {[%clk
0:09:40.1][%c_effect d8;square;d8;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} 6... Rxd8
{[%clk 0:09:13.7]} 7. Nxe5 $4 {[%clk 0:09:35][%c_effect
e5;square;e5;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f4g3;keyPressed;none;from;f4;opacity;0.8;to;g3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g3;persistent;false] A blunder [-M1] -
checkmate down the d-file is often just not expected $1} 7... Rd1# $1 {[%clk
0:09:05.2][%c_effect
e8;square;e8;type;Winner,e1;square;e1;type;CheckmateWhite,d1;square;d1;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]
GG $1} 0-1