When Garry met Fabi

Send in haste, repent at leisure. It is a cruel certainty that you will sooner or later text your intimate thoughts to the wrong person, or hit ‘reply all’ by accident. The second you spot this, your heart will leap into your mouth. That sensation is much like how a mouse slip feels during an online game of chess, when you move a piece and release it on the wrong square. If the universe is merciful, it hardly matters and the game goes on. In the worst case, you’re done for: it’s time to resign.

Internet chess provides another way to shoot yourself in the foot. To make a ‘pre-move’, you draw an arrow on the board to indicate a move before it’s your turn. As long as your move is legal, it will be played regardless of what your opponent does. The advantage is that your response will be executed instantly, saving a precious second or two. Used judiciously, these time savings add up. If your opponent is in check, with only limited options, a pre-move can be perfectly safe.

But look before you leap. Perhaps, playing Black, you like to fianchetto your king’s bishop, and you meet 1 d2-d4 with 1…g7-g6. While you’re waiting, you pre-move 2…Bf8-g7. Anticipating your intention, your sneaky opponent gambles with 2 Bc1-h6. Normally this blunders White’s bishop, but it proves to be a masterstroke when your pre-move 2…Bf8-g7 hits the board. The move 3 Bh6xg7, costs you your bishop, your h8-rook, and your dignity.

Garry Kasparov retired in 2005, but still makes occasional appearances in exhibition events. Earlier in September, he played in the Champions Showdown organised by the St Louis Chess Club. Kasparov, now 57 years old, got off to a decent start.