Solitaire Chess: Ruy Lopez aka Spanish Torture Tricks Again!

More crazy tricks in the Spanish opening!  I could write hundreds of articles on the Ruy Lopez because it has so many awesome tactics!  Try your hand at finding the best move in this game, by Mrs Jessica E Prescott (aka BoundingOwl).  Get out a pencil and a piece of paper, and no peeking till you've chosen your move!  You might want to see this article first...

 

 

 

 

The Ruy Lopez always starts this way.  Then black gets to decide how to respond to white attacking his/her knight.  Remember that white doesn't always win just because he/she gets to go first!  In this game, black will have the upper hand.

 

 

 

 

 

Question #1.  Move 5.  White is offering an interesting trade.  What should black do?  A.)  Accept with ed (pawn captures pawn).  B.)  Play Nxd4  C.)  Play a6.  Choose your best legal choice now!

 

 

 

 

 

Did you get it?  Now what?  Question #2.  Three choices!  Move 8 of the game.  A.)  Nxf3  B.)  Bxf3  or C.) Nxb3?

What do you like best?  Write your answer down!

 

 

 

 

Ah-hah!  Question #3.  Move 9.  Your bishop is under attack!  Should you play A.)  Bh5, B.) Bh3, or C.) Bxf3?

 

 

 

Question #4.  Move 10.  White is being tricky!  What should you do now?  A.)  Bxf1  B.)  Qf6  C.) Nf6?  (Black is being tricky, too!)

 

 

 

Uh-oh!  Did you notice that your move sacked a rook?  But amazingly, it's ok!  What is better than a rook?  Checkmate of course!  Find the mate in two and then check your score at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you see it?  This is a very famous checkmate you can do once the g-file is open like that.

 

 

 

 

 

Answers!

1.  C.)  a6 is best, 5 points!  Kick the bishop!  A.) ed is fine, but really just a trade.  White will get that pawn back soon.  3 points.  B.) Nxd4 is ILLEGAL!  Yell  -1 point!  The knight is pinned!!

2.  A.)  Nxf3 is best, 5 points!  This leaves the bishop on the board, which you are going to want to attack g2.  The bishop, I think, is just a little bit better.  If you chose B.) Bxf3, you get 4 points.  Only because the checkmate possibilities are greater when you leave the bishop on the board.  Not bad!  Make sure you capture the white bishop on b3 next, if that was your choice.  C.)  Nxb3 0 points.  You missed it!  We want to break open white's castle!

3.  B.)  Bh3 of course!  5 points.  This cuts off white's king like a seatbelt!  A.)  Bh5 2 points because you are pinning the pawn to the queen.  But going for the king is better!  C.)  Bxf3 -2 points.  That pawn is protected!

4.  B.)  Qf6 is best!  10 points!  She guards the f7 square and threatens her own checkmate!  Nice work if you found that move.  Especially if you noticed that it hangs a rook but that DOESN'T MATTER!!Surprised   Other moves lose!  ZERO POINTS.

5.  Did you see Qg6 and Qg2 checkmate?  Nice work!  

25 points total, plus 10 more points if you saw the mate-in-two.  How many points did you get?