Computer Perfect Endgames in Trice's Chess

Trice's Chess has been played since the year 2000. Previously it was known as "Gothic Chess." Some of the games in the earlier stage of development, the so-called "formative years," lack sophistication compared to some of the most recent games. We include these here for the sake of posterity, and to showcase how play has changed "over the years." Initially, we played many games by opening with 1. f4 which is the functional equivalent of 1. e4 in older 8x8 chess. Later, 1. d4 become more fashionable, but not for the corresponding reason to the liaison opening in regular chess. It is more flexible, tends not to "hem in" either Bishop, and allows White the opportunity to initiate the first real threat in the game. Lately, National Master John Vehre and Ed Trice pioneered the 1. g4 line, referred to as The Spike opening. That opening is the most aggressive, offers the greatest scope for original play, and is one of the most complicated ways to create middlegame tactical shootouts.

Enjoy the games!

October 16, 2004	Ed Trice vs. Robert Colanzi	White checkmates in 15 moves
This game between "old chess friends" Rob Colanzi and Ed Trice makes it to number 1 on our list because of the interesting sudden turn of events. Black plays a typical "King's Indian" type of game, with a fianchetto of the King's Bishop on the primary long diagonal for his side. Notice there are actually three long diagonals in each direction (a1-h8, b1-i8, c1-j8) and (j1-c8, i1-b8, h1-a8) in Trice's Chess. The game proceeds in a logical fashion, each side develops their pieces in a typical manner with some shared symmetry. White plays the move 7. j3 which appears to be a complete waste of time, but the objective of the subsequent manuever Nh3-j2-i4 requires the j2 square to be vacated. After 13. g4! almost everyone looking at the game thinks White has dropped his Queen, and indeed Rob plays NxQ (which is 13...Nxd4) next. But there is a stunning mate in two with just the Knight and Bishop after immediately sacrificing another major piece: the deadly Archbishop. After 14. Aj6+ either 14...Kj8 15. Bxi7# mates, or the finish my smiling opponent saw and chose to allow for posterity.
April 14, 2006	Larry Lepes vs. Michael Ferris	White checkmates in 5 moves
Two newcomers to the game played this on the former GothicChessLive website back in 2006. At the time Larry was rated 1396 and Michael was rated 1294. While it is not recommended to move one's Chancellor early in the game, White correctly sensed Black made some non-essential moves that could easily be exploited. There is no such smothered mate possible in chess, since White essentially has the powers of a Rook in the same file as the black King on the 3rd move. A very entertaining finish.
April 24, 2019	Ed Trice vs. Jon Fredrik Asvang	Black resigns on move 36
Jon Fredrik Asvang is a talented FIDE chess player from Norway. He has a 2000+ FIDE rating and won 1st place in impressive style with a 2345 performance rating in a tournament in the city of Sortland from September 18-20, 2020. In the game shown here, he squares off againt the inventor, Ed Trice, back in the Spring of 2019. Ed passively sacrifices a Knight for 2 pawns + an irresistible Kingside Attack in this game. Jon appears to have a pressure-relieving move with 24...h5 but white is able to extract a winning late-middlegame position. Jon defends with vigor, and the rest, as they say, is "all technique."
June 30, 2019	John Vehre vs. Ed Trice	Black resigns on move 53
Ed Trice likes to say "This is my favorite loss." And it is full of tactical complexity. The tension from the compound attacks generated in the middlegame are almost too numerous to deal with properly. Any of the trades made in the incorrect order, for 11 moves in a row, could have spelled catastrophe for either side. Black plays in true coffeehouse style by moving his Chancellor on move 1, something that should be avoided! This puts added psychological pressure on John to win. Black trades the Chancellor for the white Archbishop early on to create a solid pawn chain, and white trades a Knight for those 3 formidable pawns. Notice how Ed had the idle threat of Axa2# if white's Chancellor unguards the a2 square, meanwhile John is creating threat after threat from a superior position. The battle is fought hard right down to the Rook and Pawn endgame, that John finally wins. One of the best games in the brief history of Trice's Chess so far.

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