King walk
Inchess,aking walk,also known as aking march,steel king,orwandering king(Dutch:wandelkoning,literally "wanderking" ), is a maneuver where thekingtravels a large distance to a different part of the board in themiddlegameoropening.During a king walk, the king may travel along its own side of the board (fromkingsidetoqueenside,or vice versa) to reach a safer position. Alternatively, it may travel up theboard,often involved in amating attackagainst the opposing king.[2]
Activating the king before theendgameis a highly unusual occurrence; before the endgame, the safety of the king is considered paramount, and players are recommended to keep it out of harm's way.[3][4]In contrast,Wilhelm Steinitz,often known as the father of modern chess, was renowned for hismaximthat "the king is a fighting piece".[5][6]Dutch chesshistorianandauthorTim Krabbéhas documented over one hundred such games.[2]
Because of the rarity of suchtactics,those that reap rewards for the attacking player often havebrilliancy prizesbestowed upon them.[7][8]Perhaps the most famous in recent history,[9]whereNigel ShortdefeatedJan TimmaninTilburgin 1991, was voted as one of the hundred greatest chess games in a list compiled bymasterGraham Burgess,andgrandmastersJohn NunnandJohn Emms.[10]
Example games[edit]
- Short vs. Timman, Tilburg 1991.Alekhine Defense:Modern,Alburt Variation (B04),1–0.[11]Short ties up Timman's pieces and his king can advance.
- Alekhinevs.Yates,London 1922.Queen's Gambit Declined:Orthodox Defense, Main Line(D64),1–0.[12]Alekhine conjures up an attack in the endgame, and his king joins the fray.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Agadmator:Nigel Short's King March Creates a "Mental Blockage" in Chess Engineshttps:// youtube /watch?v=jHcMY3Jvo2s
- ^abKrabbé, Tim(1985),Chess Curiosities,London:George Allen & Unwin,ISBN0-04-794021-2
- ^"Chess; Theory aside, the king safety is foremost",Robert Byrne,The New York Times,September 7, 1986
- ^"Ten Tips to Winning Chess – 7. Keep your king safe"Archived2007-08-19 at theWayback Machine,Arthur Bisguier,United States Chess Federationwebsite
- ^"Wilhelm Steinitz (1836–1900)"Archived2008-06-19 at theWayback Machine,Jeremy Silman
- ^"Chess; Girding the king",Robert Byrne,The New York Times,June 27, 1982
- ^"Steel king from Utrecht",Open Chess Diary, July 11, 2003
- ^"Steel King goes all the way",Open Chess Diary, July 4, 2007
- ^"The outrageous king walk",Dennis Monokroussos,ChessBase,April 2, 2006
- ^Burgess, Graham;Nunn, John;Emms, John(October 1998),The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games,Carroll & Graf,ISBN978-0-7867-0587-0
- ^"Nigel Short vs. Jan Timman, Interpolis 15th (1991), Tilburg NED, rd 4".Chessgames.
- ^"Alexander Alekhine vs. Fred Dewhirst Yates, London (1922), rd 10".Chessgames.
External links[edit]
- "His Majesty steps out"capanegra,Chessgames
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