Fantasy Chess in Real Games

Fantasy Chess in Real Games...by, Mrs Jessica E Prescott (aka BoundingOwl)

Buon giorno amici!  Today we will learn just how to dream and play chess at the same time.  Fantasy chess means you imagine where you want your pieces to go, if you could simply pick them up and put them anywhere (all surrounding the king perhaps?).  And then you make it happen!

We are going to look at a game between FM Sunil Weeramantry originally from Sri Lanka and M. Clua Ballaque, a master from Andorra, that was played in 1978.  (That was a long time ago to you.)  Sunil Weeramantry now lives in New York and teaches chess to kids.

 vs. 

Weeramantry got to play Fantasy Chess!  He started out with a relatively normal opening:  The Pirc.  (That's pronounced "Peertz" not Perk and definitely not "Pork".)

 

 

 

 

White plays Bc4 to attack which square?  Also, white could play Be2 and castles or Be3 and Qd2 to line up a battery and attack the fianchettoed bishop on g7.  Watch what happens after black blindly castles without considering a plan.

 

 

 

 

Now that white has broken black's castle, how could you destroy it further?  FANTASY TIME!  White has not castled.  Who is lined up with the king?  How can you get that piece involved?  If you could pluck pieces off the board and put them back on where you wanted, what would your plan be?

 

 

 

 

 

Black resigned after white's next move.  What was it?  What happens afterward?

 

 

 

 

 

Great job!  Hope you liked this example of fantasy chess.  Remember, you can play fantasy chess any time you want, but making it HAPPEN on the real board, that's the trick!  

Tip of the week:  Don't castle or develop your pieces to random squares without a purpose.  Make plans!