King Hunts

     An article on the Military History Matters website listed nine deposed English kings, some of whom were gruesomely dethroned. 

     One example was the hot tempered William II (1087-1100) who filled his court with undeserving lackeys and spent too much time hunting. He was killed by a stray arrow in the New Forest and some suspected foul play. 

     His case was possibly and early example of what was known as "fragging" in the Vietnam War which was the deliberate killing of a military colleague. 

     There have been many documented instances throughout history of soldiers killing colleagues, however, the practice of fragging seems to have been relatively uncommon in the US military until the Vietnam War. An early estimate was that something over 1,000 fragging incidents may have taken place in Vietnam, causing 86 deaths and 714 injuries, the majority of whom were officers and non-commissioned officers. 

     The first known incidents of fragging in South Vietnam took place in 1966, but fragging incidents appear to have increased in 1968. After the Tet Offensive early that year, the Vietnam War became increasingly unpopular in the United States and among American soldiers in Vietnam, many of whom were draftees. Secondly, about that time racial tensions between white and black military personnel increased after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April, 1968. 

     With troops reluctant to risk their lives in what was perceived as a lost war being conducted by bumbling politicians, most notably President Lyndon Johnson, fragging was seen by some enlisted men as the most effective way of discouraging their superiors from showing enthusiasm for combat. 

     By 1971, a Marine Corps Colonel declared, "The morale, discipline and battle worthiness of the US Armed Forces are, with a few salient exceptions, lower and worse than at any time in this century and possibly in the history of the United States." 

     In another example involving English kings, there was Edward II (1307-1327) who was described as a weak-willed playboy who was ineffective and unpopular. With a preference for male lovers, he was estranged from his wife and was overthrown in a conspiracy led by the queen herself. He was imprisoned and killed by having a red-hot poker thrust up his rectum. 

     In chess, the most primitive way of winning and the one that appeals to some bloodthirsty types is the King hunt, an assault on the enemy King, preferably from the get-go before castling has taken place. 

     Experienced player take time to castle early, but even after the King has a permanent residence, if its defenses are defective it's possible for the opponent to immediately train his guns on the King. 

     Whichever way it happens, it's fun to watch as the following game demonstrates. 

     White was played by the Polish Master Antoni Wojciechowaki (June 6, 1905 - January 19, 1938, 32 years old), a well-known player in Poznan in the 1920s and 1930s. Almost nothing is known of the player of the black pieces, Hermann Weiss, except that he was Austrian. 

     The game was played in the 1936 Munich Olympiad which was the 3rd unofficial Olympia. It was held by German Chess Federation as a counterpart of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Given the times, oddly, many Jewish players took part in the event. The finals consisted of 21 teams and was won by Hungary ahead of Poland, Germany, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. 

[Event "Munich Olympiad"] [Site ""] [Date "1936.08.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Antoni Wojciechowski"] [Black "Hermann Weiss"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C15"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "1936.??.??"] {French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nge2 {Here white is tempting Black to take a P and then defend it at the expense of time which he cannot afford. Statistically white does not do nearly as well with this move as he does with the normal 4.e5. Black's mistake in this game is trying to hold onto the P rather than return it in favore of development.} dxe4 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Nxc3 f5 {There was no harm in having taken the P, but this is the bad move which seriously weakens the position of the black K. Correct was 6...Nc6} (6... Nc6 7. Bb5 Nge7 {with full equality.}) 7. f3 {This is usually seen, but perhaps inducing a further weakening of black's K-side would also have been worth trying.} (7. Qh5+ g6 8. Qh3 Nc6 9. Bf4 Nf6 (9... Qxd4 10. Nb5 Qxb2 11. Nxc7+ Kd8 12. Rd1+ {and white is winning.}) 10. O-O-O Nd5 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. Qg3 { White is better.}) 7... exf3 8. Qxf3 Qh4+ {Another loss of time. After 8...Nf6 white has only a minimal positional advantage.} (8... Qxd4 {Too greedy!} 9. Qg3 Nf6 10. Nb5 Qe4+ 11. Be2 Na6 12. Qxg7 Rf8 13. Bh6 Rf7 {White is winning. Shelk, A (2372)-Samarin,S (2137) Irkutsk RUS 2010}) 9. g3 Qxd4 {White is two Ps down, and black has no pieces in play except his Q on whose safety, moreover, he will have to spend even more time. As a result, white has a legitimate hope of scoring a quick win. There's a good chance that some of black's pieces will never even see any action whereas that is unlikely to be the case with white's pieces. All of that is practically speaking. Engines (Stockfish and Komodo) present a different picture. According to them white's advantage is nominal.} 10. Be3 (10. Nb5 {was also good.} Qe5+ 11. Be2 Na6 12. Nc3 Nf6 13. Bf4 { with a good game.}) 10... Qg4 11. Qg2 {White also has a promising positional wdvantage after the exchange of Qs.} Nf6 12. Be2 {[%mdl 1056]} Qg6 13. O-O-O { [%mdl 2048] This is an interesting situation. Both Stockfish amd Komodo evaluate this position as almost dead equal, but practically speaking who would want to defend black's position? One slip is apt to be fatal. In any case, white has the initiative.} Nc6 {Castling was the other option and no doubt the best one.} (13... O-O 14. Nb5 {This sally leads nowhere, but the truth is black is very near to gaining complete equality because white has been unable to launch a successful attack and black has slowly managed to get his pieces developed.} Na6 15. Rhe1 e5 16. Nxa7 e4 17. Nxc8 Raxc8 {Black is getting himself untangled.}) 14. Nb5 {Now this move cause black some consternation, but as long as he can defend the c-Pawn his position remains safe from immediate disaster.} Qf7 15. Bc5 {Castling is prevented and black's position looks gloomy. There is, however, and adequate defense.} a6 {[%mdl 8192] Black finally cracks and plays this, the losing move.} (15... e5 { This is it. Black's control of the center enable him to offer stout resistance. } 16. Bd6 Qa2 17. Nxc7+ Kf7 18. c3 {So as to defend the b-Pawn with Kc2 after . ..Qa1+} (18. Nxa8 Qa1+ 19. Kd2 Qxb2 {and suddenly black is in the game.}) 18... Bd7 19. Bd3 (19. Nxa8 {White lands in trouble after this!} Na5 20. Nc7 Ba4 { and it's black who is on the attack!}) 19... Na5 20. Bb1 Qc4 {and white probably has no better course than to repeat moves with 21.Bd3}) 16. Bf3 { The surprise crusher.} Nd8 (16... axb5 17. Bxc6+ bxc6 18. Qxc6+ {wins}) 17. Qd2 Nd5 18. Bxd5 axb5 (18... exd5 {is even worse.} 19. Rhe1+ Be6 20. Nd4 c6 (20... Qd7 21. Qf4 g6 22. Qe5 Rg8 23. Nxe6 Nf7 24. Qf6 {White has a mating attack.}) 21. Nxe6 Nxe6 22. Rxe6+ Qxe6 23. Re1) 19. Rhe1 {Two Rs on the center files are almost always too much for a K which is caught in the center.} Bd7 20. g4 Nc6 { keeping lines closed would have been a bit better.} 21. gxf5 Qxf5 {This allows a quick finish.} (21... O-O-O {This offered no hope either.} 22. fxe6 Bxe6 23. Bxe6+ Qxe6 24. Rxe6 Rxd2 25. Rxd2 {he's a R down.}) 22. Bxe6 {[%mdl 512]} Bxe6 (22... O-O-O 23. Qxd7+ Rxd7 24. Bxf5 Nb8 25. Re7 Rhd8 {and white is winning.}) 23. Qd7# {Aggressive play by Wojciechowski who kept the pressure on his opponent from the beginning.} 1-0