King hunt
Chess terminology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In chess, a king hunt is a tactical motif in which the opponent's king is exposed and subjected to a series of checks. Sometimes the king is drawn across the board and is mated in enemy territory. It is critical in such situations that the entire sequence is forced and the opponent is not given an opportunity to organize a defense.[1]
Examples
One of the most famous king hunts occurred in Lasker–Thomas, 1912.[2] In the position in the diagram, Lasker played 1.Qxh7+; the entire sequence is forced and the final move 8.Kd2 delivers mate. Lasker could also have mated by castling queenside (8.0-0-0#).
1.Qxh7+ Kxh7 2.Nxf6+ Kh6 3.Neg4+ Kg5 4.h4+ Kf4 5.g3+ Kf3 6.Be2+ Kg2 7.Rh2+ Kg1 8.Kd2#
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Final position after 8.Kd2#
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When two unevenly matched players are paired against each other, it is possible for the stronger player to force the opponent's king to be checkmated on an arbitrary square of their choosing, using king hunting techniques. An instructional position is shown below, where the stronger player has the White pieces and checkmates the lone Black king on the second rank, with all of White's first rank pieces returned to their starting positions.
Position after 1.Ra1. Black's only legal move is 1...Kc2.
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Final position after 2.Qd1#
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See also
- Chess tactic
- King walk – voluntary king advances or lateral journeys
