We had several meetings in the early summer when no one showed up. As a result, the executive board decided to suspend club meetings during the summer. Meetings will resume in October on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to Noon in the Ladies Lounge at the Helm Club.
Even though the club is not meeting until October, you are encouraged to get together and play some games. Play at each other’s homes or find an unused room at the Helm Club. The Wheelhouse Grille would also be a good place to play publicly. If anyone asks you about chess, you can tell them to come to our club meetings starting in October. We’ll give them free lessons on how to play chess.
Another way you can play chess is by sending your moves to each other by email. Years ago, I used to play postal chess where we would send moves to each other by mail. A game would take a couple of months to complete. But it was fun to get a move in the mail.
I’m thinking we should each learn at least four chess traps. We’ve already spent some time on the “fried liver” attack. By sacrificing a knight, you draw the king out in the open where he can be surrounded and mated. They say this trap can give you a win 90 percent of the time. The thing about traps is that they won’t work against a skilled player. But they will work most of the time against an elementary player.
The trap I’m working on now is called “Légal’s Mate. Here is a 7-move version:
e4 e5
Nf3 Nc6
Bc4 d6
Nc3 Bg4
h3 Bh5
Nxe5! Bxd1??
Bxf7+ Ke7
Nd5#
Send me your favorite trap. I’ll circulate it to the rest of the club. Your job will be to memorize four of these traps. See you all in October. And don’t forget to protect your king (and your queen, too).
