Gioacchino Greco
Gioacchino (Gioachino or Joachinio) Greco (1600 – circa 1634), was an Italian chess player and writer. He was born about 1600 at Celico, near Cosenza in Calabria, the “toe” of the Italian Peninsula. His parents were poor villagers, but Greco, with no education, left home at an early age and earned his living by playing chess. Greco was called Il Calabrese (the Calabrois) from the province of his birth. His surname was Cusentino (Gioacchino Greco Cusentino). Practically nothing is known of his early life until we learn of his being at Rome under the patronage of a number of wealthy individuals
Greco learned the game from the works of Ruy Lopez and Salvio (1604). He improved so rapidly that Don Mariano Marano, a celebrated chess player and Sicilian priest, took him to his home to tutor him. Under his tuition, Greco improved so much that he was nearly equal to his master. Greco became the first known professional chess player.
In 1619, Greco started keeping a manuscript of tactical positions and chess games, and for his patrons, he made extracts from this collection. Some of his manuscripts contained only problems (as many as 19 problems), while others contained a history of the game, explanation of the pieces and how they move, and complete games. The normal method of castling was not adopted until 1623, and some countries recognized castling; others did not. At least 20 copies of his manuscripts are known.
On February 12, 1620, Greco wrote (scribbled) a chess manuscript, known as the Corsini manuscript. He dedicated the manuscript to Monsignor Corsino di Casa Minutoli Tegrimi. On the outside of the yellow leather covers are the Corsini arms. The title is ‘Trattato Del Nobilissimo Gioco De Scacchi.’
In 1620, Greco wrote his next manuscript, called the Casa Orsini (House of Orsini) manuscript. The manuscript is dedicated to the Cardinal of Casa Orsini, Allessandro Orsini (1592-1626). He was created a cardinal in 1615 by Pope Paul V. Cardinal Orsini was a patron of Galileo.
Greco dedicated another manuscript to Monsignor (later Cardinal on April 19, 1621 and Archbishop in 1626) Francesco Boncompagni (1592-1641) of Naples, and to Cardinal Sauelli.
In 1621, Greco wrote a manuscript now called the Lorraine manuscript, which he dated July 5, 1621, but the cover is stamped 1619 in Roman numerals. It was one of the Florentine chess manuscripts. The binding was embellished by the coat of arms of Philip III (1605-1665), the King of Naples.
In 1621, Greco traveled throughout Europe. In his travels, he played the locals for stake money and gave chess lessons to the wealthy. He was at the Court of Henry II (1563-1624), Duke of Lorraine, (known as Henry the Good) in Nancy and gave the duke a beautiful copy of his manuscript, dated July 5, 1621. In Paris, he played and defeated the leading chess players of that city, including Isaac Arnauld (1566-1617) seigneur de Corbeville (colonel of the Carabineers), Duke Enrico Idi Savoia-Nemours (1572-1632), and Chaumont de la Salle.
In Paris, Greco won 5,000 crowns (some sources say it was 5,000 scudi, the monetary coin of Italy and Sicily; another source says it was 50,000 ducats) at the Court of Charles IV (1604-1675), the Duke of Lorraine. While traveling from Paris to London in 1622, he was robbed of his 5,000 crowns and nearly murdered. Crowns were the most commonly used coins, made either of silver or gold. A crown was 60 pennies or pence. 240 pennies made a pound. Greco was robbed of 21 pounds, or about $2,000 in today’s money.
In 1622, Guillaume Polydore Ancel of Nancy translated one of Greco’s manuscripts into French. The manuscript was dedicated to the Duke of Lorraine.
In London, Greco beat all the best players. In 1623, he left copies of his manuscript to Sir Francis Godolphin (1605-1667) and Nicholas Mountstephen of Ludgate, London. It was in London that Greco developed the idea to record entire games, rather than chess positions, for study and inclusion in his manuscripts. Many of the games were not actually played by him, but he probably composed them as good examples of tactical play to teach his students. If they were played, Greco would have played against nobility and wealthy patrons, and he did not wish to document their names as losers.
In 1623, Greco published several manuscripts in London. They were written in Italian, but with an English title. The longest version, written for Nicholas Montstephen, had 429 pages, which included extracts from the works of Ruy Lopez and Salvio. The moves of White were in red; the moves of Black were in black. One of Greco’s manuscripts published in London later came into possession by George John Thicknesse-Touchet (1783-1837), the 20th Baron Audley, who was a chess book collector.
In 1623, Greco adopted today’s method of castling in his manuscripts. The Italians called this type of castling (castling short Kg1 and Rf1, or castling long Kc1 and Rd1) “alla Calabrista” after Greco. At the time, the Italian method of castling, called free castling, was to put the rook and king on any of the intervening squares. Greco also documented a player having two queens after a pawn made it to the 8th rank. Some variations in some countries did not allow a player to have more than one queen at any one time.
Greco returned to Paris (Parigi) in 1624 where he rewrote his manuscript collection to reflect his new ideas, intending to give the manuscripts to patrons as presents. He eliminated the longer and less attractive games, and added more brilliancies. One of his manuscripts, published in Paris in 1624, shows handwriting of the dedication differing from all his other manuscripts. However, the writing of the text is in the same careless scribble as his other manuscripts.
In 1625, he published a manuscript in Paris that was bound in Morocco leather. It consisted of a title page, then the dedication, followed by a history of the game and description of the men and their moves. The handwriting is very set, square, and beautiful. After that, the handwriting changes, getting more and more careless to the end.
Nearly all of Greco’s manuscripts were dedicated to important patrons, and were frequently written by a copyist. The tone of the work varied to suit the taste of the person addressed. One of his manuscripts was entitled: ‘Trattato del Nobilissimo et Militare Essercitio de Scacchi.’ The manuscript was intended for a military officer of high rank, but his name was not mention in the dedication. This work, although written in Italian, was never published in Italian, but many manuscript copies are in existence.
In 1625 he traveled to Madrid, Spain where he played and beat all the court of King Philip IV (1605-1665). While in Spain, he may have defeated his mentor and the strongest player of his time, Don Mariano Marano, who was from Naples. One source, Vespajo, quotes evidence that Marano never played at King Philip’s court. Salvio says that Greco lost to Marano at the Court of Philip IV. Greco returned to Naples, but went back to Spain.
In the late 1620s, while in Spain, he was enticed to traveling to the West Indies by Spanish Jesuits.
He died in the West Indies (some sources have him dying in the East Indies) from a disease that he contracted there in 1634 (Professor Alessandro Sanvito says that Greco died in 1630). He bequeathed his earnings from chess to the Jesuits.
Greco’s earliest manuscripts were in poorly written and filled with bad grammar. Later manuscripts improved in form and grammar. Some scholars suggest that there was such a difference in text and various signatures that it may be doubtful whether all the known manuscripts supposedly written by Greco are actually by him. When a manuscript was intended for a wealthy or powerful patron, Greco had the beginning of the treatise caligraphed and then he wrote the body of the text. Mistakes occur in the caligraphed parts, which experts say indicated that they were written from dictation. His manuscripts usually contained a dedication; a sonnet; an explanation of the antiquities and invention of the game; the shapes, names, and places of the chessmen; how the pieces and pawns moved; worth of the chess pieces; observations in playing the game; chess terms; the laws of chess; and the rules of chess in different countries. It is quite likely that other manuscripts still remain unknown.
Greco offered some practical advice in his manuscripts. For instance, he wrote: “When playing in the daytime, see that your opponent has the light in his eyes. Find out what color of men he prefers, and secure it for yourself.”
In 1656, after his death, his manuscripts were condensed in a book by Francis Beale in London and published by Henry Herringman (1628-1704). The engraved illustrations were done by Peter Stent (1613-1665). Stent ran one of the biggest printmaking businesses of his day. Greco’s work was published under the title, ‘The Royall Game of Chesse-Play, sometimes The Recreation of the late King, with many of the Nobility. Illustrated With almost an hundred Gambetts. Being the study of Biochimo [sic] the famous Italian.’ The late king was Charles I (1600-1649) and a drawing of his head appeared on the title page. The book was dedicated to the right honorable Montagu Bertie (1608-1666), 2nd Earl of Lindsey and contains a long (124 lines) poetical address (Upon Chesse-play) to Dr. D.S. Budden, who translated the book from Italian to English. The book contained 94 gambits (gambetts). The book was reissued in 1750, and again in 1819.
http://books.google.com/books?id=cPxYAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=greco+chess&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cSdLVNuaAvD98AGit4DwAQ&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAjg8#v=onepage&q&f=false
In 1669, the first French edition of Greco’s book was published in Paris, called ‘Jeu des eschets.’ It was republished in 1707, 1713, 1714, and 1741.
In 1714,Claude Robustel (1680-1740) published ‘Le jeu des Eschets, Greco, Giaccino (1600-1634)’ in Paris.
In 1750, another edition was published, entitled, “Chess made Easy, or the Games of Gioachino Greco the Calabrian, with additional games and openings, illustrated with remarks and general rules….’
In 1752, a French edition of Greco was published in London. Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of this French edition.
In 1766, Carlo Cozio (1715-1780) included several of Greco’s games in his treatise, Il giuoco degli scacchi, for the purpose of pointing out errors in the games. His book, in two volumes, was about 700 pages.
In 1784, a German edition of Greco was published by Moses Hirschel (1754-1823), in Breslau. A second edition was published in Leipzig in 1795. The title of the books was Das Schach des Herrn Giochimo Greco Calabrois und die Schachspiel Geheimniße des Arabers Philipp Stamma übersezt, verbeßert und nach einer ganz neuen Methode zur Erleichterung der Spielenden umgearbeitet.
In 1819, William Lewis (1787-1870) translated and edited ‘Gioachino Greco on the Game of Chess: Translated from the French, to which are added, numerous remarks, critical and explanatory.’ The book was reprinted in 1833, and remained the standard English “Greco” edition until Professor Hoffman’s edition of 1900.
In 1854, a Danish edition appeared.
In 1865, a Dutch edition, De Schaakpartijen van Gioachino Greco, was published by Antonius van der Linde (1833-1897).
In 1900, Professor Louis Hoffmann (Angelo Lewis) published, ‘The Games of Greco’ in London.
In 1919, John G. White (1845-1928) published Greco and His Manuscripts, Giochimo Greco, 1600-1634, 300th Anniversary of the Writing of the First Manuscript 1619-1919.
There are at least 41 editions of Greco’s work written in French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, and Italian.
Here are the 78 games that Greco either played or composed, and that he published in his manuscripts. Many of the opening traps are known today and there are hundreds of games that have actually been played, but first introduced by Greco.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 b5 4. a4 c6 5. axb5 cxb5? 6. Qf3 (winning the rook) 1-0
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 b5 4. a4 c6 5. axb5 cxb5 6. b3 a5 7. bxc4 b4 8. d5 e6
9. Nd2 exd5 10. exd5 Bc5 11. Nb3 Bb6 12. c5 Qe7+ 13. Qe2 Qxe2+ 14. Bxe2 Bd8 15.
Bb5+ Kf8 16. c6 Bb6 17. Be3 Bxe3 18. fxe3 Nf6 19. d6 g6 20. d7 Bxd7 21. cxd7
Nbxd7 22. Bxd7 Nxd7 23. Rxa5 1-0
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c5 3. dxc5 Qa5+ 4. Qd2 Qxd2+ 5. Nxd2 dxc4 6. Nxc4 e6 7. Nd6+
Bxd6 8. cxd6 Nf6 9. f3 O-O 10. e4 e5 11. b3 Rd8 12. Ba3 Ne8 13. Rd1 Be6 14. Bc4
Bd7 15. g3 b5 16. Bd5 Bc6 17. Bc5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Nd7 19. b4 a5 20. a3 axb4 21.
axb4 Ra1+ 22. Kf2 Rc1 23. Kg2 Nxc5 24. bxc5 b4 25. Ne2 Rc2 26. Kf2 b3 27. Rb1
b2 28. Ke1 f6 29. Kd1 Rc4 30. Rxb2 Kf7 31. Rb7+ Ke6 32. Re7# 1-0
1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 f5 4. exf5 Bxg2 5. Qh5+ g6 6. fxg6 Nf6?? (6…Bg7) 7. gxh7+ Nxh5
8. Bg6# 1-0
1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Be3 Nc6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. c4 O-O 8. Nc3
e6 9. e5 Ne8 10. g4 d5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. h4 a6 13. h5 b5 14. hxg6 hxg6 15. Qe2
b4 16. Qh2 bxc3 17. Qh7# 1-0
1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. d4 e6 4. a3 bxa3 5. Bxa3 Bxa3 6. Rxa3 Nc6 7. c4 Nf6 8.
e5 Ng8 9. f4 Nh6 10. Nf3 O-O 11. d5 exd5 12. cxd5 Ne7 13. d6 Ng6 14. Qd2 Qb6
15. Nc3 Nf5 16. Nd5 Qb1+ 17. Kf2 b6 18. Rg1 Qe4 19. Nc7 Rb8 20. Bd3 1-0
1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. d4 e6 4. a3 bxa3 5. c4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 d5 8.
e5 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nc6 10. Ne2 Nge7 11. Rxa3 O-O 12. O-O Nf5 13. Rd3 a6 14. f4 b5
15. Bb3 a5 16. g4 Nh6 17. h3 a4 18. Bc2 b4 19. f5 exf5 20. g5 b3 21. Bd1 Qa5
22. Qf4 Qb5 23. Rg3 Bd7 24. gxh6 g6 25. Qg5 f6 26. exf6 Rf7 27. Nf4 Nxd4 28.
Nxg6 Ne6 29. Ne7+ Kh8 30. Qg7+ Nxg7 31. fxg7+ Rxg7 32. hxg7# 1-0
1. e4 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Nh6 5. O-O Bg4 6. c3 e6 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3
Qd7 9. d3 O-O-O 10. f5 Ne5 11. Qe2 Nxc4 12. Bxh6 Na5 13. b4 Nc6 14. Bd2 exf5
15. exf5 f6 16. b5 Ne7 17. Qe6 Qxe6 18. fxe6 Ng6 19. d4 d5 20. Be3 c4 21. Bc1
Re8 22. Re1 Bd6 23. a4 Nf8 24. Nd2 Nxe6 25. Nf3 g5 26. Nh2 h5 27. a5 Rhg8 28.
a6 b6 29. Nf1 f5 30. Ne3 Nc7 31. Rf1 f4 32. Nd1 Ne6 33. Ra2 g4 34. Nf2 f3 35.
hxg4 hxg4 36. Nh1 0-1
1. e4 c5 2. f4 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. c3 d5 5. e5 Be7 6. d4 c4 7. Be2 Bh4+ 8. g3 Be7
9. Be3 Bd7 10. Nbd2 Nh6 11. b3 b5 12. a4 a6 13. axb5 axb5 14. b4 O-O 15. O-O
Nf5 16. Bf2 Rxa1 17. Qxa1 Nxb4 18. cxb4 Bxb4 19. Qb1 Qa5 20. Qc2 Bc3 21. h3 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qe2 d6 4. c3 Nc6 5. f4 exf4 6. Nf3 g5 7. h4 g4 8. Ng5
Nh6 9. d4 Bb6 10. Bxf4 Qe7 11. Rf1 f6 12. Nd2 fxg5 13. Bxg5 Qg7 14. Qe3 Ng8 15.
Bf7+ Kd7 16. Qf4 Nge7 17. Qxg4+ Kd8 18. Bxe7+ Nxe7 19. Qxg7 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qe2 Qe7 4. f4 exf4 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. d4 Bb4+ 7. c3 Ba5 8. e5
Nh5 9. O-O O-O 10. Ne1 Qh4 11. Nd3 g5 12. Nd2 c6 13. Ne4 Kh8 14. Nd6 Na6 15.
Nf5 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qe2 Qe7 4. f4 exf4 5. Nf3 g5 6. d4 Bb4+ 7. c3 Ba5 8. h4
f6 9. hxg5 fxg5 10. g3 g4 11. Ne5 f3 12. Qe3 Nf6 13. Ng6 Qg7 14. Nxh8 Qxh8 15.
e5 Ng8 16. Qg5 Ne7 17. Qh5+ Kd8 18. Qxh7 Qxh7 19. Rxh7 d6 20. e6 d5 21. Rh8+
Ng8 22. Bg5+ Ke8 23. Rxg8# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qe2 Qe7 4. f4 exf4 5. Nf3 g5 6. h4 f6 7. hxg5 fxg5 8.
Nc3 c6 9. d4 g4 10. Nh4 Bxd4 11. Nf5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qf6 13. Bxf4 Qxc3+ 14. Kf2
b5 15. Bb3 a5 16. Nd6+ Kd8 17. Qxg4 Ne7 18. Nf7+ Ke8 19. Qh5 Qd4+ 20. Kf3 Qc3+
21. Ke2 Rf8 22. Nd6+ Kd8 23. Qe8+ Rxe8 24. Nf7# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qe2 Qe7 4. f4 Bxg1 5. Rxg1 exf4 6. d4 Qh4+ 7. g3 fxg3 8.
Rxg3 Nf6 9. Nc3 Nh5 10. Bxf7+ Kxf7 11. Bg5 Nxg3 12. Qf3+ Kg6 13. Bxh4 Nh5 14.
Qf5+ Kh6 15. Qg5# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qh5 Qe7 4. Nc3 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Qxe5 Bxf2+ 7. Kxf2?? (7.Ke2) Ng4+
8. Kf1 Nxe5 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 f5 3. Bxg8 Rxg8 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qxh7 Rg7 6. Qh8 Qg5 7. Qh3 fxe4
8. Nc3 Qf5 9. Qe3 Rf7 10. Nh3 d5 11. Nxd5 Nc6 12. c3 Be6 13. c4 Nd4 14. Qc3 Qg4
15. O-O Ne2+ 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Qf3 b5 5. Bb3 b4 6. Na4 d5 7. d3 h6 8. Ne2 d4
9. Ng3?? (9.Qg3) Bg4 (trapping the queen) 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. f4 Nxe4 4. Nf3 exf4 5. O-O Bc5+ 6. d4 Bb6 7. Re1 f5 8.
Nc3 Qe7 9. Bd5 c6 10. Bxe4 Qf6 11. Bxf5+ Kd8 12. Ne4 Qh6 13. g3 Na6 14. Nd6
Qxd6 15. Ne5 Qf6 16. Qh5 g6 17. Bxg6 hxg6 18. Qxh8+ Qxh8 19. Nf7+ Kc7 20. Bxf4+
d6 21. Bxd6+ Kd7 22. Re7# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nf6 8.
O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nxe4 10. Re1 d5 11. Rxe4+ dxe4 12. Ng5 O-O 13. Qh5 h6 14. Nxf7
Qf6 15. Nxh6+ Kh8 16. Nf7+ Kg8 17. Qh8# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bb6 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4
g5 9. Nxg5 fxg5 10. Qh5+ Kd7 11. Bxg5 Qf8 12. Bf7 Nce7 13. dxe5 h6 14. Bh4 Rh7
15. e6+ Kc6 16. Be8+ Qxe8 17. Qxe8+ 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bb6 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4
g5 9. Nxg5 fxg5 10. Qh5+ Kd7 11. Bxg5 Qg7 12. Be6+ Kxe6 13. Qe8+ Nce7 14. d5#
1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bb6 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4
g5 9. Nxg5 fxg5 10. Qh5+ Kd8 11. Bxg5 Nf6 12. Qh6 Rf8 13. f4 exd4 14. e5 dxc3+
15. Kh1 cxb2 16. exf6 bxa1=Q 17. fxe7+ Nxe7 18. Qxf8+ Kd7 19. Bb5+ Nc6 20. Qe7#
1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bb6 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4
g5 9. Nxg5 fxg5 10. Qh5+ Kf8 11. Bxg5 Qe8 12. Qf3+ Kg7 13. Bxg8 Rxg8 14. Qf6#
1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 Bb6 6. dxe5 Nxe4? (6…Ng4) 7. Qd5 (threatening 8.Qxf7 mate and 8.Nxe4) 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8.
O-O Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bxc3 10. Qb3 Bxa1 11. Bxf7+ Kf8 12. Bg5 Ne7 13. Ne5 Bxd4 14.
Bg6 d5 15. Qf3+ Bf5 16. Bxf5 Bxe5 17. Be6+ Bf6 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Qxf6+ Ke8 20.
Qf7# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8.
O-O Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bxc3 10. Qb3 Bxa1 11. Bxf7+ Kf8 12. Bg5 Ne7 13. Ne5 d5 14. Qf3
Bf5 15. Be6 g6 16. Bh6+ Ke8 17. Bf7# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8.
O-O Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bxc3 10. Qb3 Bxd4 11. Bxf7+ Kf8 12. Bg5 Bf6 13. Rae1 Ne7 14.
Bh5 Ng6 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. Rxe5 g6 17. Bh6+ Bg7 18. Rf5+ gxf5 19. Qf7# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nxe4 8.
Bxb4 Nxb4 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. Qb3+ d5 11. Ne5+ Kg8 12. Qxb4 Qf6 13. O-O c5 14.
Qb5 b6 15. Qe8+ Qf8 16. Qc6 Ba6 17. Qxd5+ Qf7 18. Qxf7# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb6 7. e5 Ng8 8. d5
Nce7 9. d6 Nc6 10. Qd5 Nh6 11. Bxh6 Rf8 12. Bxg7 Nb4 13. Qd2 Rg8 14. Bf6 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. Ng5 O-O 6. d3 h6 7. h4 hxg5 8. hxg5
Nh7?? (8…d5) 9. Qh5 (and White has a mate threat) 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. Re1 O-O 6. c3 Qe7 7. d4 exd4 8. e5
Ng4 9. cxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qh4 11. Nf3 Qxf2+ 12. Kh1 Qg1+ 13. Nxg1 Nf2# 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. Re1 O-O 6. c3 Re8 7. d4 exd4 8. e5
Ng4 9. Bg5 Nxf2 10. Qb3 dxc3 11. Bxd8 cxb2 12. Nc3 Nd1+ 13. Kf1 bxa1=Q 14. Rxd1
Qxd1+ 15. Nxd1 Nxd8 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. Re1 O-O 6. c3 Re8 7. d4 exd4 8. e5
Ng4 9. Bg5 Nxf2 10. Bxd8 Nxd1 11. Rxd1 dxc3+ 12. Kf1 cxb2 13. Nbd2 bxa1=Q 14.
Rxa1 Nxd8 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Qf3+ Ke6
8. Nc3 Nce7 9. O-O c6 10. Re1 Bd7 11. d4 Kd6 12. Rxe5 Ng6 13. Nxd5 Nxe5 14.
dxe5+ Kc5 15. Qa3+ Kxc4 16. Qd3+ Kc5 17. b4# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Nf6? (5…Qd7) 6. Qb3 Nxe4? (6…d5) 7. Bxf7+ Kd7
8. Qxb7 Ng5 9. Bd5 Na6 10. Qc6+ Ke7 11. Qxa8 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Qf6 6. Qb3 b6 7. Nc3 c6 8. Nd5
Qd8 9. Nxb6 Qxb6 10. Bxf7+ Kd7 11. Bxg8 d5 12. exd5 Qxb3 13. dxc6+ Nxc6 14.
Bxb3 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Bg4 4. h3 Bh5 5. c3 Nf6 6. d3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. g4
Bg6 9. Nh4 c6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. h4 b5 12. Bb3 a5 13. a4 b4 14. h5 gxh5 15. g5
Ng4 16. Rxh5 Nxe3 17. Rh8+ Kxh8 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. g6 Re8 20. Qh7+ Kf8 21. Qh8#
1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. h3 Nf6 4. c3 Nxe4? (4…Be7) 5. Qa4+ c6 6. Qxe4 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 (Greco Countergambit) 3. Bc4 fxe4 4. Nxe5 Qg5 5. d4 Qxg2 6. Qh5+ g6 7. Bf7+ Kd8 8.
Bxg6 Qxh1+ 9. Ke2 Qxc1 10. Nf7+ Ke8 11. Qe5+ Ne7 12. Nxh8+ hxg6 13. Nc3 Qxc2+
14. Ke1 Qxb2 15. Nxe4 Qxa1+ 16. Ke2 Qxa2+ 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qe7 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Nxg6 Qxe4+ 6. Kd1 Nf6 7. Qh3 hxg6
8. Qxh8 Ng4 9. d3 Nxf2+ 10. Kd2 Qg4 11. Be2 Qf4+ 12. Kc3 Qb4# 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qe7 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Nxg6 Qxe4+ 6. Kd1 Nf6 7. Qh3 hxg6
8. Qxh8 Ng4 9. Qh4 Ne3+ 10. dxe3 Qxh4 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qf6 4. d4 d6 5. Nc4 fxe4 6. Nc3 Qg6 7. f3 Nf6 8.
fxe4 Be7 9. Be3 Nxe4 10. Bd3 Qxg2 11. Bxe4 Bh4+ 12. Bf2 Qxf2# 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. exf5 e4 4. Ne5 Nf6 5. g4 d6 6. Nc4 h6 7. Bg2 d5 8. Ne3 d4
9. Nc4 b5 10. Nca3 a6 11. d3 Bb7 12. dxe4 Nxe4 13. Nd2 Bb4 14. c3 dxc3 15. Nxe4
cxb2+ 16. Bd2 Bxd2+ 17. Nxd2 Bxg2 18. Rg1 bxa1=Q 19. Qxa1 O-O 20. Rxg2 Qe7+ 21.
Kf1 Qxa3 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6? 3. Nxe5 fxe5? (3…Qe7) 4. Qh5+ Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ Kg6 7. Qf5+
Kh6 8. d4+ g5 9. h4 Kg7 10. Qf7+ Kh6 11. hxg5# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4 4. Qe2 Qe7 5. Qxe4 d6 6. d4 f6 7. f4 Nd7 8.
Nc3 dxe5 9. Nd5 Qd6 10. dxe5 fxe5 11. fxe5 Qc6 12. Bb5 Qc5 13. Be3 Qxb5 14.
Nxc7+ Kd8 15. Nxb5 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Qf6?! 3. Bc4 Qg6 4. O-O Qxe4? (4…d6) 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 6. Re1 Qf4 7. Rxe5+ Kd8 8. Re8# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Qf6 3. Bc4 Qg6 4. O-O Qxe4 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 6. Re1 Qf4 7. Rxe5+
Kxf7 8. d4 Qf6 9. Ng5+ Kg6 10. Qd3+ Kh5 11. g4+ 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Qf6 3. Bc4 Qg6 4. O-O Qxe4 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 6. Re1 Qf4 7. Rxe5+
Kxf7 8. d4 Qf6 9. Ng5+ Kg6 10. Qd3+ Kh6 11. Nf7# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Qf6 3. Bc4 Qg6 4. O-O Qxe4 5. Bxf7+ Kxf7 6. Ng5+ Ke8 7. Nxe4
1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Qe7 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Qxe4+? (6…Bb6) 7. Kf2 Bb4 (7…Bb6?? 8.Bb5+ and 9.Re1 wins the queen or checkmates) 8. a3 Ba5 9. b4 Bb6 10. Bb5+ Kf8 11. Re1 Qf5 12. Re8# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3 Qe6 5. Nf3 exf4+ 6. Kf2 Bc5+? (6…Nc6) 7. d4 Bd6?? (7…Be7) 8.
Bb5+ Kf8 9. Re1 Qf5 10. Re8# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 Bh4+ 5. Kf1 g5 6. g3 fxg3 7. hxg3 Bxg3 8.
Qh5 Qf6+ 9. Nf3 d6? (9…Bh4) 10. Bxg5 Qg6 11. Qxg6 fxg6 12. Bxg8 Rxg8 13. Kg2 (or 13.Rxg7) 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Ne7 4. Qf3 Ng6 5. d4 Qh4+ 6. g3 fxg3? (6…Qf6) 7. Bxf7+ Kd8?? (7…Ke7) 8.
hxg3 Qf6 9. Qxf6+ gxf6 10. Bxg6 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Bc5 5. d4 Bb6 6. Nf3 Qe7 7. Bxf4 Qxe4 8.
Bxf7+ Kf8 9. Bg3 Nh6 10. Nc3 Qe7 11. Bb3 c6 12. Qd3 d5 13. Re1 Qf6 14. Bh4 Qg6
15. Be7+ Kg8 16. Qxg6 hxg6 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. Bxd5+ Kh7 19. Ng5# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Bc5 5. d4 Bb6 6. Nf3 Qe7 7. Bxf4 Qxe4 8.
Bxf7+ Kf8 9. Bg3 Nh6 10. Nc3 Qe7 11. Bb3 c6 12. Qd3 d5 13. Re1 Qf7 14. Bd6+ Kg8
15. Re7 Qf6 16. Nxd5 Qxd6 17. Nf6+ Kf8 18. Re8# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Bc5 5. d4 Bb6 6. Nf3 Qg4? (6…Qh6) 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7??
8. Ne5+ Kf8 9. Nxg4 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Bc5 5. d4 Bb6 6. Nf3 Qh6 7. g3 Qh3+ 8.
Kf2 fxg3+? (8…Nf6) 9. hxg3 Qg4 10. Bxf7+ Kf8 (10…Kxf7?? 11.Ne5+ forks king and queen) 11. Rh4 (trapping the queen) 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 d6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. d4 Qf6 7. e5 Qh6 8. g3
Qh3+ 9. Kf2 fxg3+? (9…Nc6) 10. hxg3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Qd7 12. Qxb7 Qc6 13. Bb5 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 d6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. d4 Qh6 7. g3 g5 8. h4
f6 9. e5 dxe5 10. dxe5 fxe5 11. Qd5 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 c6 13. hxg5 Qxg5 14. gxf4
exf4 15. Bxf4 Qf6 16. Nc3 Bh6 17. Re1+ Kf8 18. Bxh6+ Nxh6 19. Qxf6+ Nf7 20.
Qxf7# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 d6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. d4 Qh6 7. g3 Qh3+ 8.
Kf2 fxg3+ 9. hxg3 Bxf3 10. Bxf7+ Kd8 11. Qxf3 Qd7 12. Rxh7 Rxh7 13. Bxg8 Rh2+
14. Kg1 Rxc2 15. Qxf8+ Qe8 16. Bg5+ Kd7 17. Be6+ Qxe6 18. Qd8+ Kc6 19. d5+ Qxd5
20. exd5+ Kxd5 21. Nc3+ Ke5 22. Qe8+ Kd4 23. Qe4+ Kc5 24. Be3# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Ne7 4. h4 h5 5. Bc4 Ng6 6. Ng5 Ne5 7. Bb3 f6 8. Nh3
g5 9. hxg5 fxg5 10. d4 Nf7 11. g3 fxg3 12. Bxf7+ Kxf7 13. Nxg5+ Ke8 14. Rxh5
Rxh5 15. Qxh5+ Ke7 16. Qf7+ Kd6 17. Qd5+ Ke7 18. Qe5# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Ne7 4. h4 h5 5. Bc4 Ng6 6. Ng5 Ne5 7. Bb3 f6 8. Nh3
g5 9. hxg5 fxg5 10. d4 Ng6 11. g3 fxg3 12. Nxg5 g2 13. Bf7+ Ke7 14. Rg1 Nh4 15.
Bxh5 Bg7 16. Qg4 Bxd4 17. Qxh4 Rxh5 18. Qxh5 Bxg1 19. Qf7+ Kd6 20. Qd5+ Ke7 21.
Qe5+ Kf8 22. Qh8+ Ke7 23. Qg7+ Kd6 24. Nf7+ 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Ne7 4. h4 h5 5. Bc4 Ng6 6. Ng5 Ne5 7. Bb3 f6 8. Nh3
Ng6 9. d4 Nxh4 10. Nxf4 g5 11. Rxh4 gxh4 12. Ng6 Rh7 13. Bg8 Rg7 14. Qxh5 Rxg8
15. Ne5+ Ke7 16. Qf7+ Kd6 17. Nc4+ Kc6 18. Qd5# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Ne5 Qh4+ 6. Kf1 Nf6 7. Bxf7+ Kd8 8.
d4 Nxe4 9. Qe2? (9.Qe1) Ng3+ 10. hxg3 Qxh1+ 11. Kf2 fxg3+ 12. Kxg3 Qxc1?? (12…Be7) 13. Nc6+ Nxc6
14. Qe8# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Ne5 Qh4+ 6. Kf1 Nh6 7. d4 d6 8. Nd3
f3 9. g3 Qh3+ 10. Kf2 Qg2+ 11. Ke3 Ng8 12. Nf4 Bh6 13. Bf1 Qxh1 14. Bb5+ c6 15.
Bxc6+ bxc6 16. Qxh1 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Ne5 Nh6 6. Nxg4 Nxg4 7. Qxg4 d5 8.
Qxf4 dxc4 9. Qe5+ Be6 10. Qxh8 Qh4+ 11. Kf1 Qf4+ 12. Kg1 Qxe4 13. h3 Bd5 14.
Qg8 f5 15. Qg3 f4 16. Qf3 Qe1+ 17. Qf1 Bc5+ 18. Kh2 Qg3# 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Ne5 Nh6 6. Nxg4 Qh4+ 7. Nf2 d5 8.
Bxd5?? (8.exd5) Bg4 (trapping the queen) 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Bxf7+ Kxf7 6. Ne5+ Ke6 7. Qxg4+ Kxe5
8. Qf5+ Kd6 9. d4 Bg7 10. Bxf4+ Ke7 11. Bg5+ Bf6 12. e5 Bxg5 13. Qxg5+ Ke8 14.
Qh5+ Ke7 15. O-O Qe8 16. Qg5+ Ke6 17. Rf6+ Nxf6 18. Qxf6+ Kd5 19. Nc3+ Kxd4 20.
Qf4+ Kc5 21. b4+ Kc6 22. Qc4+ Kb6 23. Na4# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. d4 d6 6. Nc3 c6 7. h4 h6 8. hxg5
hxg5 9. Rxh8 Bxh8 10. Ne5 dxe5 11. Qh5 Qf6 12. dxe5 Qg7 13. e6 Nf6 14. exf7+
Kf8 15. Bxf4 Nxh5 16. Bd6# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. h4 g4 6. Ng5 Nh6 7. d4 d6 8. Bxf4
Qe7 9. O-O f6 10. c3 fxg5 11. Bxg5 Qd7 12. Qd2 Ng8 13. Bf7+ Kf8 14. Be6+ Ke8
15. Bxd7+ 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 h5 6. Bc4 Nh6 7. d4 Be7 8. Bxf4
Bxh4+ 9. g3 Bg5 10. Rxh5 Bxf4 11. gxf4 d6 12. Nxg4 Bxg4 13. Qxg4 Nxg4 14. Rxh8+
Ke7 15. Rxd8 Kxd8 16. Bxf7 Nc6 17. c3 Ke7 18. Bb3 Ne3 19. Kf2 Ng4+ 20. Kf3 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 h6 4. Bc4 g5 5. h4 f6 6. Nxg5 (6.Ne5!) fxg5?? (6…hxg5) 7. Qh5+ Ke7 8.
Qf7+ Kd6 9. Qd5+ Ke7 10. Qe5# 1-0
1. e4 e5 2. f4 f5 3. exf5 Qh4+ 4. g3 Qe7 5. Qh5+ Kd8 6. fxe5 Qxe5+ 7. Be2 Nf6
8. Qf3 d5 9. g4 h5 10. h3 hxg4 11. hxg4 Rxh1 12. Qxh1 Qg3+ 13. Kd1 Nxg4 14.
Qxd5+ Bd7 15. Nf3 Nf2+ 16. Ke1 Nd3+ 17. Kd1 Qe1+ 18. Nxe1 Nf2# 0-1
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nf6 3. Nc3 exf4 4. d4 Bb4 5. Bd3 Qe7 6. Qe2 Nc6 7. e5 Nxd4?! (7…Nd5) 8.
exf6 Nxe2 9. fxe7 Nxc3 10. a3 Ba5 11. Bd2 1-0
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be3 c4 7. b3 b5 8. a4 a6 9.
axb5 axb5 10. Rxa8 Qxa8 11. bxc4 dxc4 12. Be2 Nge7 13. O-O Nd5 14. Bd2 Be7 15.
Ng5 Bxg5 16. Bxg5 O-O 17. Bf3 Na5 18. Bxd5 Qxd5 19. f4 Bc6 20. Qd2 Nb3 21. Qc2
Nxd4 22. cxd4 Qxd4+ 23. Kh1 Be4 24. Qc3 Qc5 25. Nd2 Bd3 26. Rc1 Rc8 27. Nb3
cxb3 28. Qxc5 Rxc5 29. Rxc5 h6 30. Rc3 b2 31. Rb3 b1=Q+ 32. Rxb1 Bxb1 33. Be7
Kh7 34. g4 Be4+ 35. Kg1 Bf3 36. h3 h5 37. g5 Kg6 38. Kf2 Bd5 39. Ke3 h4 40. Kf2
Kf5 41. Ke3 Bg2 42. Bf8 g6 43. Bb4 Bxh3 44. Be1 Kg4 45. Bd2 Bg2 46. Kf2 h3 47.
Bc1 Bd5 48. Kg1 Kg3 49. Be3 h2+ 50. Kf1 h1=Q+ 0-1
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 cxd4 5. cxd4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Nc6 8.
Bd3 Nge7 9. f4 Nf5 10. Nf3 O-O 11. g4 Nh4 12. O-O Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Bd7 14. Qh3 g6
15. f5 exf5 16. gxf5 gxf5 17. Rxf5 Bxf5 18. Bxf5 1-0
1. e4 e6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bd3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. h4 O-O 6. e5 Nd5? (6…Ne8) 7. Bxh7+ Kxh7?? (7…Kh8) 8.
Ng5+ Bxg5 9. hxg5+ Kg8 10. Qh5 f5 11. g6 Re8 12. Qh8# 1-0
1. f4 e5 2. fxe5 Qh4+ 3. g3 Qe4? (3…Qh5) 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qf5 6. e4 Qe6 7. d4 Qe7 8.
Bg5 Qb4 9. a3 Qxb2 10. Na4 (trapping the queen) 1-0