Some oddities from castling
It is not unusual for beginners to appear a bit confused when first exposed to the castling move. After all, two pieces are actually being moved.
Also, a common question during their games is “can I castle now?” One of many answers might be “No; notice that your king will be passing over an attacked square.”
We know that two main reasons for castling are to scoot our king toward a safer location away from the center and to free the rook to move to the central files.
Historians have recorded that castling did not always exist. Imagine what that was like when the king somehow had to get out of the rook’s way and run square by square toward a safer location.
A game in which castling did not happen has become one of history’s favorites. It was played by Edward Lasker, a distant cousin of 27year World Champion Immanuel Lasker. Edward may not have been in Immanuel’s league (few were), but he was one of the world’s best players in the early 20th Century.
His remarkable game made that clear. It involved a dramatic queen sacrifice that flushed a king from its safe haven. The monarch fled downboard into enemy territory hounded by threatening pieces all the way.
When it reached the end of the board with nowhere else to run, it could be mated by castling. Lasker has been submitted to some historical criticism for having chosen another one-move mate instead.
Take a look: [Edward Lasker-George Alan Thomas; London, 1912] 1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Bxf6 Bxf6 6.e4 fxe4 7.Nxe4 b6 8.Ne5 0–0 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.Qh5 Qe7 11.Qxh7+ Kxh7 12.Nxf6+ Kh6 13.Neg4+ Kg5 14.h4+ Kf4 15.g3+ Kf3 16.Be2+ Kg2 17.Rh2+ Kg1 18.Kd2?! mate [0-0-0! mate].
One of the most memorable and unusual castling events occurred in a game played by Wolfgang Heidenfeld in 1973.
After castling kingside, he found himself subjected to a massive kingside attack that forced him to quickstep his king back to its original square. Still under siege, it castled once again, this time on the queenside. Fortunately for fairness, it did not help, and surrender occurred several moves later.
A game between novices? No. Heidenfeld was skillful enough to become South African Champion eight times and Irish Champ six times. His opponent had once represented Ireland in the World Student Team Championship.
Oddly, this appears to have been considered a legitimate game even though double-castling was illegal.
Note what our U.S. Chess Federation says about making illegal moves: “If, during a game, it is found that one of either player’s last 10 moves was illegal, the position shall be reinstated to what it was before the illegal move.” — [U.S.C.F.’s Official Rules of Chess; 6th Edition; Sec. 11].
Since Heidenfeld’s move was not noted by anyone “during the game,” he got away with it. Actually, the illegal move added flair to an entertaining struggle. See today’s featured game. Game of the week Wolfgang HeidenfeldNick Kerins Dublin, 1973 Jan. 17, 2011
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Be3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nf3 Qb6 8.Qd2 c4 9.Be2 Na5 10.0–0 f5 11.Ng5 Be7 12.g4 Bxg5 13.fxg5 Nf8 14.gxf5 exf5 15.Bf3 Be6 16.Qg2 0–0–0 17.Na3 Ng6 18.Qd2 f4 19.Bf2 Bh3 20.Rfb1 Bf5 21.Nc2 h6 22.gxh6 Rxh6 23.Nb4 Qe6 24.Qe2 Ne7 25.b3 Qg6+ 26.Kf1 Bxb1 27.bxc4 dxc4 28.Qb2 Bd3+ 29.Ke1 Be4 30.Qe2 Bxf3 31.Qxf3 Rxh2 32.d5 Qf5 33.0–0–0 Rh3 34.Qe2 Rxc3+ 35.Kb2 Rh3 36.d6 Nec6 37.Nxc6 Nxc6 38.e6 Qe5+ 39.Qxe5 Nxe5