Figure 6.2.2.11[White to move]

We have arrived at this position. Since Black’s knight has given check and has protection it naturally is tempting for White to reach for the king in search of a safe place to move it. But before playing defense, consider afresh White’s mating resources. He still has his two rooks on the h-file; only the knight prevents 1. Rxh5, g6xR; 2. Rxh5 and then a clear path to mate on h8—for notice that with the knight moved to f4, Black no longer has anything that can be interposed on g7. Since the Black knight is making trouble in a few different ways, White plays the astonishing 2. QxN. The move is famous because it gave away the queen for the sake of a forced mate that is not obvious but nevertheless is indisputable. Black recaptures 2. ...BxQ, and now there is no stopping White: 3. Rxh5, g6xR; 4. Rxh5, Bh6 (a useless interposition of the bishop from f4); 5. RxB, Qh2+ (more uselessness); 6. KxQ and now Black has nothing left to throw at the h-file to prevent Rh8# next move.

No other moves Black might make after White’s QxN fare any better. If he declines the sacrifice of White’s queen and instead tries Bf8, he is too late; White brings his rooks down the h-file in the familiar way.

Blackburne’s sacrifice of his queen was a shocker and made this game a matter of legend. In addition to its beauty as an illustration of offensive technique, there are defensive lessons you might take from the position as well. In retrospect you can see why Nf4 for Black was not a good move after all, even if you found the exact consequences of it hard to discern. If your opponent is mounting a possible mating attack (e.g., driving a bishop through to h8 and arranging heavy pieces on the h-file), prudence suggests keeping some pieces where they can protect the squares next to your king. Here Black’s knight already was contributing to the defensive effort while on e6; if more defensive help was needed—and it was—Black would have done better by adding another piece to the protection of those squares, as with one of the bishop moves described with the previous diagram. The remoteness of Black’s queen from his king’s position is especially regrettable, as the queen makes a superb defender. There was nothing Black could do about this once the trouble started, but there is a general point to observe: these mates tend to be hard to carry off against an opponent whose queen is near his king.