Paris, 1900. Amos Burn liked to settle in for a long, closed game and light his pipe. Frank Marshall never gave him the chance: in just 18 moves Marshall opened the h-file, sacrificed a bishop on g6, dragged the king out and mated — reportedly before Burn could even get his pipe lit. It is one of the most famous miniatures in chess.
Against a slow, passive setup, open a file toward the king and pour pieces down it before the defender wakes up. Marshall's h4–h5 and the sacrifice Bxg6 ripped open the h-file and the king's shelter at the same time; the queen and rook then mated. Tempo and open lines beat a solid but sleepy position.
Amos Burn was famous for smoking a pipe and playing slow, closed positions. The story goes that Marshall's attack was so fast — mate in 18 moves — that Burn lost before he had even finished lighting his pipe.
Open the h-file with h4–h5, then sacrifice on g6 to strip the king's pawns and pour the queen and rook down the open lines. It's a model of how to punish a passive, undeveloped kingside.
Yes — take the board as White just before 14.Bxg6 and try to find the sacrifices and the mate, or replay the whole miniature move by move, no sign-up.
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