In chess, a swindle is a ruse by which a player in a losing position tricks their opponent and thereby achieves a win or draw instead of the expected loss. It may also refer more generally to obtaining a win or draw from a clearly losing position.See, e.g., Ali Mortazavi, The Fine Art of Swindling, Cadogan Books, 1996, p. 44. (referring to Em. Lasker–Ed. Lasker, New York 1924, as a "celebrated swindle"). I. A. Horowitz and Fred Reinfeld distinguish among "traps", "pitfalls", and "swindles". In their terminology, a "trap" refers to a situation where players go wrong through their own efforts. In a "pitfall", the beneficiary of the pitfall plays an active role, creating a situation where a plausible move by the opponent will turn out badly. A "swindle" is a pitfall adopted by a player who has a clearly lost game. Horowitz and Reinfeld observe that swindles, "though ignored in virtually all chess books", "play an enormously important role in over-the-board chess, and decide the fate of countless games".
Although "swindling" in general usage is synonymous with cheating or fraud, in chess the term does not imply that the swindler has done anything unethical or unsportsmanlike. There is nonetheless a faint stigma attached to swindles, since players feel that one who has outplayed one's opponent for almost the entire game "is 'morally' entitled to victory" and a swindle is thus regarded as "rob[bing] the opponent of a well-earned victory".Larry Evans and Burt Hochberg, in Larry Evans, Svetozar Gligorić, Vlastimil Hort, Paul Keres, Bent Larsen, Tigran Petrosian, and Lajos Portisch, How to Open a Chess Game, RHM Press, 1974, p. xv. . The best swindles can be quite artistic, however, and some are widely known.
There are ways that players can maximize their chances of pulling off a swindle, including playing actively and exploiting . Although swindles can be effected in many different ways, themes such as stalemate, perpetual check, and surprise mating attacks are often seen.
The ability to swindle one's way out of a lost position is a useful skill for any chess player and according to Graham Burgess is "a major facet of practical chess"."[E]very exceptional player has been skilled in holding weak positions by means of all sorts of ruses and tricks". Roswin Finkenzeller, Wilhelm Ziehr, and Emil M. Bührer, Chess: A Celebration of 2,000 Years, Little, Brown and Company, 1990, p. 46. . Frank Marshall may be the only top player who became well known as a frequent swindler.Grandmaster Andrew Soltis wrote that Marshall "was perhaps best known for tactical 'swindles' in lost positions." Harry Golombek (editor-in-chief), Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess, Crown Publishers, 1977, p. 193. . "[T]he he enjoyed most were not the aftermath of solidly played games leading to their just reward, but games in which he had much the worst of the position and, by virtue of a spectacular move or sacrificial concept, 'swindled' his opponent out of a seemingly sure victory. ... So often did a 'Marshall swindle' occur that the term became part of the chess lexicon." Anthony Saidy and Norman Lessing, The World of Chess, Random House, 1974, pp. 152–53. . Marshall was proud of his reputation for swindles, and in 1914 wrote a book entitled Marshall's Chess "Swindles".Frank James Marshall, Marshall's Chess "Swindles", American Chess Bulletin, 1914.Nathan Divinsky, The Batsford Chess Encyclopedia, B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1990, p. 125. .
Noted swindles + Marshall vs. Marco, 1904 Frank Marshall, a gifted who was one of the world's strongest players in the early 20th century,Marshall lost a 1907 match for the world championship to reigning world champion Emanuel Lasker. Chessmetrics ranks Marshall the number 2 player in the world as of August 1913. has been called "the most renowned of swindlers". To Marshall, the term 'swindle' "meant a particularly imaginative method of rescuing a difficult, if not lost, position." The phrase "Marshall swindle" was coined because Marshall "was famed for extricating himself from hopeless positions by such means".
Perhaps the most celebrated of his many "Marshall swindles" occurred in Marshall–Marco, Monte Carlo 1904. Marshall wrote of the position in the leftmost diagram, "White's position has become desperate, as the hostile b-pawn must queen." White could play 45.Rxc7+, but Black would simply respond 45...Kb8, winning. Many players would resign here, but Marshall saw an opportunity for "a last 'swindle. He continued 45.c6 Now Black could have played 45...bxc6!, but disdained it because White could then play 46.Rxc7+ Kb8 47.Rb7+! Kxb7 48.Nc5+, winning Black's rook and temporarily stopping Black's pawn from advancing.
Black should have played this line, however, because he still wins after 48...Ka7 49.Nxa4: while there are many ways to win from the resulting position, the quickest would be to play Bd4, trapping the knight, and after 50.Kf3 Ka6 51.Ke4 Ka5 52.Kxd4 Kxa4 53.Kc3 Ka3, Black's pawn queens after all. Instead, Marco defended the c7 square with 45...Be5, mistakenly thinking that this would put an end to Marshall's tricks. The game continued 46.cxb7+ Kb8 (46...Kxb7? 47.Nc5+ wins the rook) 47.Nc5! Ra2+ 48.Kh3 b2 49.Re7! Ka7 (not 49...b1=Q 50.Re8+ Ka7 51.Ra8+ Kb6 52.b8=Q+, winning Black's newly created queen) 50.Re8 c6 51.Ra8+ Kb6 52.Rxa2! b1=Q (rightmost diagram).
White's resources finally seem to be at an end, but now Marshall reveals his deeply hidden point: 53.b8=Q+ Bxb8 54.Rb2+! Qxb2 55.Na4+ Kb5 56.Nxb2. Marshall has caught Black's pawn after allafter it having queened, and is now a pawn up in a position where it is Black who is fighting for a draw. Fred Reinfeld and Irving Chernev commented, "Marshall's manner of extricating himself from his difficulties is reminiscent of an end-game by Rinck or Troitsky!"Fred Reinfeld and Irving Chernev, Chess Strategy and Tactics, David McKay, 1946, p. 36. Marshall eventually won the game after a further mistake by Black.
+ Evans vs. Reshevsky, 1963–64 The well-known swindle seen in Evans–Reshevsky, U.S. Championship 1963–64, has been dubbed the "Swindle of the Century".Larry Evans, Chess Catechism, Simon and Schuster, 1970, p. 66. SBN 671-21531-0. It appears that Evans himself was the first to refer to the game as the "Swindle of the Century" in print, in his annotations in American Chess Quarterly magazine, of which he was the Editor-in-Chief. American Chess Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Winter, 1964), p. 171. Hans Kmoch referred to the conclusion of the game less grandiosely as "A Hilarious Finish". Hans Kmoch, "United States Championship", Chess Review, March 1964, pp. 76–79, at p. 79. Also available on DVD (p. 89 of "Chess Review 1964" PDF file). Evans wrote, "Black is a Knight ahead and can win as he pleases. Instead of resigning, White offered a little prayer" with 47.h4!Evans, Chess Catechism, at 67. (See leftmost diagram.) The game continued 47...Re2+ 48.Kh1 Qxg3 Black wins with 48...Qg6! 49.Rf8 Qe6! 50.Rh8+ Kg6, and now Black remains a piece ahead after 51.Qxe6 Nxe6, or forces mate after 51.gxf4 Re1+ and 52...Qa2+.Kmoch, p. 79 (p. 89 on DVD).Nikolai Krogius, Psychology in Chess, R.H.M. Press, 1976, p. 33. . Evans concluded the game with 49.Qg8+! Kxg8 50.Rxg7+! (right-most diagram) ½–½ The players agreed to a draw, since capturing the rook produces stalemate, but otherwise the rook stays on the seventh and checks Black's king ad infinitum. This swindle enabled Evans to finish outright second in the tournament at 7½/11 (behind Bobby Fischer's historic 11–0 sweep), while Reshevsky was relegated to a tie for fourth–fifth place with 6½/11.Robert G. Wade and Kevin J. O'Connell, Bobby Fischer's Chess Games, Doubleday, 2nd ed. 1973, p. 76. .
+ Miles vs. Short, 1980
The British grandmaster Tony Miles was also an accomplished swindler. (See also Bouaziz–Miles below.) He provided a stunning example of using active play to save a lost position in Miles–Short, London 1980. In the left-most position, Miles (White) is two pawns down and has no way of saving his pinned knight. Many players would resign here, but Miles played on and succeeded in perpetrating "a monstrous swindle." Miles played 49.b6!, a "last desperate fling." Hartston and Reuben write that now "49...Rxe3 or 49...Qxb6 add to Black's gains with no problems." 49...axb6 50.Qa4! A surprising resource; now 50...Bxe3? 51.Qa1+! Bd4 52.Rxd4 Qb4+ 53.Kc2 "leaves Black in sudden difficulties." 50...Rf8 51.Nc2 Bg7 52.Qb3 Bc6 53.Rd1 Qe5 54.a7 Ba4? 54...e3! followed by ...Be4 would still win quickly. 55.Qa3 Rc8 56.Ne3 Qa5 57.Rc1! h5 Giving his king a flight square, and avoiding 57...Qxa7 58.Bb5! Rxc1+ 59.Qxc1 threatening both 60.Qc8+ and 60.Qa3. 58.Bd5! Rxc1+? Miles writes that after 58...Rd8 "White still has plenty of problems." 59.Qxc1 Qxa7 60.Qc8+ Kh7 61.Nf5 (See right-most diagram.) Down four pawns, White offers a piece sacrifice. White now threatens 62.Qg8, and 61...gxf5 62.Qxf5+ Kh6 63.Qf4+ draws by perpetual check, since 63...Kg6?? 64.Bxe4 is mate. 61...Be8! The only way to continue the game. Now 62.Qxe8? Qa1+ 63.Kc2 Qc3+ 64.Kd1 Qd3+ and 65...Qxd5 wins for Black. 62.Nxg7! Qd7 63.Qxe8 Qxd5 64.Ne6 Qb3+ 65.Kc1 Qc3+ 66.Kd1 Qf6 Black still hopes to mobilize his pawns and play for the win. However, Miles now forces a draw with another piece sacrifice. 67.Ng5+! Qxg5 Otherwise 68.Nxe4 draws easily. 68.Qf7+ Kh8 69.Qf8+ Kh7 ½–½ White draws by perpetual check.
Practical considerations International Master (IM) Simon Webb in his book Chess for Tigers identified five "secrets of swindling":
Be objective. The first prerequisite to a swindle is to be objective enough to realize early on when you have a lost position and start playing for a swindle while your position still has resources. If you wait until your position worsens and becomes hopeless, it will be too late. Do not be afraid of losing. "Once you've accepted that your position is lost, you should be in a position of psychological strength." The worst that can happen is that you'll lose the game. The pressure is on your opponent to win a "won game", and it is your opponent who will be embarrassed if unable to do so. Play actively. In a losing position, you cannot passively wait for your opponent to squeeze you to death. To stand a chance of pulling off a successful swindle, it is important to get the , and this may involve sacrificing a pawn or two, or even the exchange, to activate your pieces.
Grandmaster (GM) John Nunn adds a caveat: when in a bad position, one must decide between two strategies, which he calls "grim " and "create confusion." "Grim defence" involves finding some way to hang on, often by liquidating to an ending. "Create confusion" entails trying to "gain the initiative, even at material cost, hoping to stir up complications and cause the opponent to go wrong." Nunn cautions that, "If you decide to go for 'create confusion' then you should press the panic button sufficiently early to give yourself a reasonable chance of success. However, you should be sure that your position is really bad enough to warrant such drastic measures. In my experience, it is far more common to panic too early than too late."
Negi also notes that the prospective swindler should "keep enough options on the board so your opponent has a chance to see ghosts and lose his bearings. The closer he gets to winning, the less he wants to work – exploit that state of mind!"Negi at 51.
Such play-acting can be carried to extremes. GM Nikolai Krogius writes that Najdorf, in his game against Gligorić at the 1952 Helsinki Olympiad, "left a pawn in time trouble, and then desperately clutched his head and reached out as if wanting to take the pawn back. ... Gligorić took the pawn, and soon thereafter lost the game. It transpired that Najdorf had staged the whole pantomime to blunt his opponent's watchfulness. This can hardly be called ethical."