All chess players should know that two knights alone can’t force checkmate. However, if you give the defending side one pawn, sometimes the knights can force checkmate because the single pawn’s ability to move prevents a stalemating defense.
It is possible to checkmate a King with two Knights but it can not be forced. However, add an extra pawn to the defending side and things get interesting.
To begin the checkmating sequence, the attacking side must start by placing their knight in front of the pawn. Which square the remaining pawn needs to be blockaded on is crucial for success and we can determine this without calculation by memorizing the possible pawn positions of of what is commonly referred to as the Troitsky Line.
The possible pawn positions for the Troitsky Line from Black’s Perspective.
Steps to Checkmating with Two Knights Using the Troitsky Line:
1. Place a Black Knight in front of the pawn on one of the squares shown above.
2. Push the White king to the corner of chessboard with the other knight and king.
3. Use the blockading Knight to force checkmate.
Now let’s see how the Troitsky Line worked in FM Rupert Jones (Papua New Guinea) vs. Joel Gavarrete (Honduras) from Round 2 of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest. We join their game in time for Black’s 79th move. Notice that white’s pawn is already held in place on a5 which is one of the key squares for this maneuver. Now watch how White’s king is forced to the corner before the pawn is set free so that the other knight can help deliver checkmate.
The Troitsky Line used to deliver a checkmate with two knights from Jones – Gavarrete, Round 2 of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, 9/12/2024.
Chris Torres is a nationally renowned scholastic chess coach working in the San Francisco Bay Area. His classes have attracted players of strengths ranging from rank beginners to world champions. A chess professional since 1998, Chris is widely recognized as one of the main driving forces behind the explosion in popularity and sudden rise in quality of scholastic chess in California. Chris Torres served as the President of the Torres Chess and Music Academy from 2005-2020 and currently is recognized as a correspondence chess master with the United States Chess Federation. Since 1998 Chris Torres has taught 6 individual national champions as well as led multiple school teams to win national championship titles. In addition, Chris Torres has directed and taught at 10 different schools which have been California State Champions at chess. In 2011 and 2012, several former and current students of Chris Torres have been selected to represent the United States at the World Youth Chess Championships. Mr. Torres’ hobbies include playing classical guitar and getting his students to appear on the national top 100 chess rating lists.
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2 thoughts on “A Troitsky-esque Finale to a Game at the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024”