Here is a chance that doesn't come along everyday I'd imagine -- an archbishop forking 4 (count 'em - 4) major pieces in one move. You can see it HERE. My A simultaneously attacks the opponent's K, Q, C, & R. Felt very satisfying. I hope you'll agree.

Join up in a Janus section, HERE.

After a shakey start, this game, #114689, proved to have a very interesting ending. Of the final 4 moves, 2 were knight forks & one was actually an archbishop "fork", which also administered the coup de grace.

Thanks so much. And thanks for adding the time stamps in the chat sections. Nice touch.

This looks great, Fencer & Ed. Would it be possible to show one's W-L-D status on all of Brainking's own lists, instead of mere "counted games"? It would help a lot when evaluating an opponent's standing & strength.

By way of illustrating the surprising power of a lone Janus piece to administer mate with a little help from his enemies, I humbly present 3 recent wins. I choose to show them not for any great or deep play on my part, but as a lesson to new players of something that we all need to be careful about.

Game #89328 might be called a semi-smothered mate.

In Game #92008, White should have played 16. Ke2. But chose the normal action of capturing the checking knight, & overlooked my next move.

Here, in Game #83178, the final position is similar to the preceding example.

Lest you think I only wish to show off my good games & hide my bad ones (of which there are many!), I offer this one: Game #82944. Argh! Now that hurts...

I just finished a game with our esteemed moderator (Whisperz) that shows how powerful a J can be on a relatively open board. It is Game #76758.

and the 25-move limit is down from 40 when i first started in IYT 6-7 months ago. since i only play 4-5 reg chess there now, i didn't notice the reduction.

Ed, my favorite page to introduce Gothic is your page "So why change chess?"
http://www.geocities.com/bow_of_odysseus/why_change.html
I liked the historical background, plus the 2 photographs of the Gothic sets.

Sure, Ed. In fact, I've already brought one gameknot friend from England here -- bdk1. I'll try some others then.

When to resign & when to play on against greater odds is the eternal dilemma in chess. In this rematch vs bilal (he won the first one), I was considering resigning at about move #25, but decided "what the heck, a few more moves wouldn't hurt. After all, I do have my 2 januses." Well, I'm glad I decided to play on.

Game ID #62195

A few comments near the end...

25. Kb1 Je3 [I was afraid of 25…. Ra1+]

26. Qf3 [pure panic & blunder, due to unexpected fork. Better is 26. Qe1.]

26…. Nxf3
27. Jxf3 Qc5
28. Rc1 Nc4 [bad move, helping White get back some material.]

29. Rxc4 Jxc4
30. bxc4 Qb4+
31. Kc2 Qxc4+
32. Kd2 Ra2+
33. Ke3 [White K is running scared, & knows it.]

33. … Qb3+
34. Kf4 O-O-O
35. Ji5 g5+
36. Kg3 [Ah, a little haven for rest at last.]

36. … Rg8
37. Jxj7+ [A little spite check to feel good going down fighting at least.]

37. … Kj8
38. Ji5 [Threatens mate on 39. Jxh7 #.]

38. … Qf7
39. j4 h6 [A blunder, allowing mate in 2. The strange powers of the Januses.]
40. Ji6+ Ki8
41. J5j7#

my Gameknot name is ttrotter. for IYT & atlanticchess it's kaprekar. for worldchess.net it's tomcat.

-Terry Trotter, jestone

So true, seen in retrospect. As it turned out tho, I managed a single J mate. I just didn't quite know how to manuevre my forces well at that time. Thx for the tip.

While I'm at it, learning how to post games to the DB, I'd like to show my first example of a one-piece (Janus) mate. Go to Game #49611.

With only 7 Gothic games completed, I'm under no illusions about being good yet. but, hey, we all gotta start sometime. Here (Game ID: 67668) is perhaps my most satisfying win so far. It's vs an old friend & combatant, Blind Fury, who I met on IYT last fall. We've had many a tussle, he usually winning ... except in Gothic, where he has yet to beat me in 3 games. (Hooray, for Gothic!) I hope it is seen as good by others.

--Terry (jestone)

as a newcomer to Janus chess, I'd like to share with you all what, for me anyway, was a very pleasant & gratifying win, my latest, in fact. It features the powers of the 2 Janus pieces working together to produce a mate. I also gave up my Q & sacrificed a N to get to the final position. It was played vs ArnieTxx (Game ID: 67619). I hope you enjoy it.

-Terry Trotter (aka jestone)

Ed, I agree that it wouldn't be unique or appropriate enough to use names from standard chess, as you point out. I was only using those terms as an example. Of course, the players of gothic would surely be pleased to have a sequence of moves with their names associated with it. I sure would.

What are some of the current names so far? Where could we see them listed or described?

Recently, juangrande commented to me the following: "One feature of Gothic is that there is no opening book (yet)." Since I am brand new to this fascinating form of chess, I had been wondering about that very thing. Ed, has there yet begun any "standard" opening moves to appear with sufficient frequency as to warrant a name? Like is there a gothic equivalent of the Ruy Lopez, the French Def., the Sicilian Def., etc.?

Just curious.