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The Great Pawn Hunter
Chess Tutorial

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A page from the paper seemed to have a life of its own, as it whirled down the center of town. First past the pizza parlor, then the train station, and finally coming to rest, in the gutter, by the door of the pub...

The bartender was on duty today serving up "Freedom in a Glass". He didn't notice as a small mysterious figure crossed the street and picked up the paper. On it was the chess section...

A barman saw the figure from a window. He came down from upstairs to see the action. "There's trouble," said the barman, with a wink, to the bartender. The bartender stared intently as the door creaked slowly open.

"Come to finish me off?" said the bartender. The Great Pawn Hunter smiled to the bartender and asked "Did ya make a move yet?" answering a question with a question. The bartender brought out a chess set from behind the bar. The pieces had already been set up and were engaged in ...mortal combat. "Give me a second to think," said the bartender. He looked down at the board and tried to make believe he had not studied the position.

Displayed are the moves and the board:
1) e4, e5
2) Bc4, d6
3) Nf3, Bg4
4) Nc3, g6?

Well, the bartender had been thinking about the game for a week and his anticipation was bouncing off the glasses! "Now, let me see" and he quickly made his move...
5) Nxe5!

The Great Pawn Hunter was startled and then his eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. He flew his bishop down the diagonal and quickly captured the queen in half of a heartbeat...
5)... Bxd1

Well, the Great Pawn Hunter saw his mistake, all too late, and he tried to put the queen and the bishop back on their squares...and when he did...he heard those words, the kind of words that make the hairs on a chess player's neck stand up... "Touch Move!" said the bartender with a friendly smile. "What do you mean?" asked the Great Pawn Hunter. "You see, when you touch a piece you have to move it. It's a law of chess." mentioned the bartender.

6) Bxf7, Ke7

Well, the look on the Great Pawn Hunter's face could tell the whole story. But, I'll try to put it into words. You see, many of the greatest chess players of our time had fallen for this same sacrifice of the queen. Giants of the game, such as Capablanca, Chigorin, and Tarrasch were just a few who had been victims to moves such as these.
7) Nd5 checkmate

The Great Pawn Hunter shook hands, opened the door and stepped out onto the street. However, before he left, he scribbled a message on the paper he had picked up earlier and dropped it in the gutter.
It read:

And after he had left, the wind picked up and whirled the paper down the street to a another small figure, with chess set in hand, as she made her way toward that very same doorway.