The Great Pawn Hunter
Chess Tutorial

The sun was glowing through a crystal blue sky on a clear spring day. The warmth of the sun cut the morning chill in the park where the derby was being held. The Restless Knight and Shrubs were watching the horses from the fence at the side of the park. They were in awe of the speed and swiftness as the riders galloped by, each testing the others metal...and our chess playing friends were doing the same in a heated game of chess. The Restless Knight played black and Shrubs played White in the following game:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 King's Indian
3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.Nf3 Classical
5...c6 6.Be2 d5 7.e5 Ne4 8.0-0 Na6 9.Be3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Nc7 11.Qd2 Bg4 With the center closed, knights are usually more effective than the bishops. So the Restless Knight intends to eliminate Shrub's knight and keep the center closed for her knight. Shrubs will try to open the center for his bishops.
12.Rab1 Rb8 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 b5 with b5, Restless keeps Shrubs from chasing the knight off of d5 with the move c4. This is key to keeping outposts active. Bxd5 would bring the black queen into the center.
16.Bg5 Qc7 17.Rfe1 a6 18.Rbc1 Nb6 19.e6 Nc4 occupying outposts with the knight keeps the white bishops at bay.
20.Qf4 Nd6 21.Qg3 f5 22.c4 e6 and c4 is all about opening files and diagonals (lines) for Shrubs' pieces
22...bxc4 23.Rxc4 Shrubs thinks he can take advantage of Restless's knight on d6 being pinned to its own queen, since the queen is undefended the knight can not move. However, Shrubs doesn't realize that the black queen can move instead to create a double attack!
23...Qa5 24.Rcc1 f4 25.Bxf4 Nf5 the knight dominates the position
26.Qg5 Rb2 getting your "rooks on the seventh" is a popular maxim of chess
27.Re5 Bxe5 28.Bxe5 Shrubs's own queen is unguarded and the Restless Knight uses this to snatch the pawn.
28...Nxd4 29.Rd1 Rb5 "pin it and win it"
30.Qxe7 Rxe5 31.Rxd4 Now Shrub's rook on d4 is unguarded. Do you see the moves?
31...Re1+ 32.Kh2 Qe5+ 0-1

Now after the game was over the Talker approached them from the west. The Talker was always interested in sport...chess that is...just like our friends...at least we can say we all have that in common, God Bless us. As he approached, he could hear the Restless Knight and Shrubs going over the horses' merits. First there was "Lightening". He blew by them in a flash and all they could see was the shine off of his riders boots. The next horse went by so loudly that all you could hear was the rumble hence the name..."Thunder". He was fast too, so fast that, well, lets just say he was faster than a millipede running from a vacuum cleaner. Man that's fast. The Talker picked Thunder to win the Derby cause he liked the name. However there was an even more formidable horse in the barn, so to speak, and his name was "Happiness". He was, at this moment, approaching them from the east. Now this horse lived a meeker life. With a yoke upon his shoulders, he pulled a cart for his keep. This cart was filled with empty bottles that the driver exchanged for five cents a bottle at the local store. The driver was sitting with his legs dangling over the sides of the cart. The Great Pawn Hunter was holding on for dear life at the other end, desperately trying to keep the bottles from popping off of the cart.

The Talker saw the cart approaching. He was in a very good mood. However, you might as well pray for water to boil. For as Old Maestro and the Great Pawn Hunter passed the park, the Talker let out a comment he couldn't help. It just bubbled out of him..."That horse of yours is as good as glue!" said he...a remark perfectly in tune with his mischievous self. Now at that moment, quite by accident, at least we think, a bottle popped off of the back of the cart and beaned the Talker square off of the gippy. The horse and cart trundled past leaving the Talker rubbing his head. Yes, justice was served for the moment. But, it was a terrible waste of a nickel don't you think?

After exchanging the bottles at the store, Old Maestro and the Great Pawn Hunter were on the way back when they heard the bells from the church chiming there melody. Old Maestro raised an eyebrow and looked at the Great Pawn Hunter. The Great Pawn Hunter raised an eyebrow and looked at Old Maestro. For you see, Mass was starting and they were the ones to do the collection. Well, Old Maestro shouted "Giddy Up" and Happiness sped down the road past the field where the derby was. He caught up to Lightening and Thunder in their heat and galloped passed both in a heartbeat to win by a nose. Now, at the end of the track, Happiness didn't stop at the fence. He road on by. Old Maestro pulled in on the reigns to slow Happiness down but the horse seemed determined to hear Sunday's readings from the pulpit. The chess players chased Happiness up the road and each one got on board the cart with a hand up and a little luck. Yes, even the Talker with a bit of running went to Sunday Mass that day.

Days later, Old Maestro was asked a question by a betting man. "Old Maestro, tell me the secret of Happiness" Now, Old Maestro was very wise. He told him he picked the horse because it had the longest legs. However, the chess players knew the secret of Happiness was in the heart.

...and the Great Pawn Hunter leaves you with this piece of wisdom:

Folks, my father (Thomas Fealy)
passed away in January.
There were many a day I would
play him a game of checkers.
He loved to attack from the sides,
He would let me jump a couple of men,
and then in one harmonious movement
sweep the rest of my pieces off of the board.
All the while, complimenting me
for every good move made.
Our lives are like a checkers or chess game.
As we grow the game nears its completion.
My father helped put the good pieces in place.
The rest he left for God to move and adjust
for each of us so that we would be complete
in one living body of unity and love.
My friends, that living body is Jesus Christ.
May God bless you and may you always have
a good move.

The Great Pawn Hunter

I truly want you to become a better chess player.
Let me know what you really think about this web page.
I hope it entertained you.

Click on this line to send mail to Manus Patrick Fealy

The Great Pawn Hunter Chess Tutorial

The Great Pawn Hunter
Chess Tutorial