How good were you as a 6 years old?

Submitted by eugen on Tue, 07/12/2016 - 16:25
Not sure about you dear reader, but at 6 years old I was just an amateur beginner. My mom would beat me at chess senseless with a few opening traps she knew and to this day she is the one opponent I have the most lopsided losing score against; of course that is a result of her retiring the minute I took it more seriously and learned all her tricks. Here I would like to show you what is needed today to stand a chance at succeeding in junior chess. The position comes from a Golden Knights B28 club game between 6 years old Ethan and 13 years old Coco; the game was postponed for a while and when played it ended that tournament. Enjoy the combination!

[Event "Golden Knights B28 tournament"][Site "Burnaby, BC"][Date "2016.06.23"][Round "8"][White "Song, Ethan"][Black "Ruan, Coco"][Result "1-0"][SetUp "1"][FEN "rn2k1r1/p4p2/1p1p1Bpp/4p3/2P1N3/6P1/PP2PP1P/R4RK1 b q - 0 1"]{White has winning material advantage and black walks right into what follows; still that does not diminish one bit the mating trap white sets up} 1...Kd7 {the d6-pawn is doomed anyway; better is Na6 to free up Ra8} 2.Rad1 Ke6 {that is one brave King taking alone on all white pieces} 3.Rxd6+ Kf5 4.f3! {fascinating mating idea for a 6 years old} Na6 {too late} 5.e3 ({Option 1:} 5.Bg5 hxg5 Rf6#)({Option 2:} 5.g4+ Kf4 6.Kf2 {and e2-e3# at the next move}) 5. g5 6.Bxg5! {Ethan saw it anyway} hxg5 7.Rf6# 1-0