A Casual King Chase, Part 1

Most of the games I have shown in my weekly column have been serious games, played in tournaments or matches, with a chess clock by the board ticking away. This game, however, was played under different circumstances. It was a casual game - a game not played in a tournament or match, but rather just in a chess club.

The story goes that in 1912, a chess master named Edward Lasker had travelled to England to learn some English (he only spoke German then). Being - after all - a chess player, he first decided to stop by the local chess club. There the local players found him an opponent. Since he didn't speak any English, he didn't know that his opponent was also a good player - George Thomas - who later became British champion twice.

The game they played ended up being one of the most famous games ever, when Lasker managed to make a queen sacrifice which chased Thomas' king down the board.

By the way, don't confuse the player who had White in this game - Edward Lasker - with the second world champion - Emanuel Lasker. They were, however, very distant relatives.

Here's the position they reached after eight moves:

If you ask someone who does not even know the rules of chess to say who stands better, I think probably he or she will say White does- after all, the White pieces take up four ranks, while Black is huddled in the last three.

However, I think in spite of this, Black has a pretty decent position. His position is very compact and there are no weaknesses for White to attack. Black has two center pawns against one. His open f - file is going to be useful and the bishop coming to b7 will be a strong piece. Mainly he just needs to be careful - White has a lot of pieces that can aim at the kingside for an attack.

White's next move was very aggressive. I would even say too aggressive. He moves a developed piece a second time, hoping to gain an attack.

Here is where I will leave you for now:

Before, White's pieces looked a little more aggressively placed. Now, they are a lot more aggressive. He has a queen, two knights, and a bishop all aimed at the Black king. But Black seems to be ready for the attack. He can meet 11.Nxf6+ with 11...gxf6!, defending h7 by the queen and chasing back the White knight. If White moves the e4 knight to another square (like c5, for instance) then Black can play g6, defending against the mate and counterattacking White's queen.

Can you find the way White broke through Black's defenses? Check out the finish to the game, next week!