A reader wrote in asking for some practical games with a theme. He received seven of them in an email. Here's one more with the same theme. When you figure this out, please do play over the other games. For people new to the game or getting back into it, it's a good theme to remember. Here, Black gets a chance to make a good move.

Solution:

The game, Horwitz-Bledow, 1837, started out:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Bb6 5.d4 Qe7 6.d5 Nd8 7.Be2 d6 8.h3 f5 9.Bg5 Nf6 10.Nbd2 0–0 11.Nh4 fxe4 12.Nxe4 (see diagram)

And now Black played

12…Nxe4 13.Bxe7 [Preferring to end it all, I guess. He loses a piece with 13.Qc2 Bxf2+ 14.Kd1 Nxg5] 13...Bxf2+ 14.Kf1 Ng3#

Here are some games with the same idea, just to show you that this theme appears in other types of openings and positions:

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. d5 Ne5 7. Nxe5 Bxd1 8. Bb5+ c6 9. dxc6 a6 10. c7+ axb5 11. cxd8=Q+ Rxd8 12. Nxd1 1-0

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Bg4 4. Nc3 a6 5. Nxe5 Bxd1 (5... dxe5 6. Qxg4) 6. Bxf7+ Ke7 7. Nd5#

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 d6 5. c3 dxc3 6. Nxc3 Bg4 7. O-O Ne5 8. Nxe5 Bxd1 9. Bxf7+ Ke7 10. Nd5#

1.e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 d6 5. Nxc3 Nf6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. O-O Nc6 8. Bg5 Ne5 9. Nxe5 Bxd1 10. Bxf7+ Ke7 11. Nd5#

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. Nd5 Bg4 7. c3 Bc5 8. d3 Ne7 9. Nxe5 Bxd1 10. Nxf6+ gxf6 11. Bxf7+ Kf8 12. Bh6#

Black gets a version of it in, too:

1. e4 e5 2. Ne2 Nf6 3. d3 Bc5 4. Bg5 Nxe4 5. Bxd8 Bxf2#

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bc5 6. Bg5 Nxe4 7. Bxd8 Bxf2+ 8. Ke2 Bg4#

The whole idea is about the weakness in the opening on the square f2 or f7 and the side with the weakness being behind in development. That’s when you need to see if perhaps a queen sacrifice is possible.

Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.