Intermediate train
The intermediate move is a motif in chess . In a supposedly forced sequence of moves, a player expects a certain response move. Instead, the opponent makes a stronger move, which then becomes an intermediate move. If this intermediate move is a check , it is called an intermediate check. If a player is surprised by this, this often has a chess psychological effect.
Examples: In a series of strokes, there is no repulsion, but a counter-threat that is at least so strong that the opponent cannot maintain the material advantage. A threat is not covered, but answered with a counter-threat.
The word Zwischenzug was adopted as Germanism in other languages, such as English and Russian.
Examples
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Bogoljubow moved 1.… Ra8 – f8 and expected an easy win, since the position soon collapses after every move by the white queen. Steiner, however, did not move the queen, but the intermediate move 2. a2 – a4 !! whereupon Bogolyubov spent more than two hours to find 2.… Qb5 – c4 and after 3. Rc1xc4 Rf8xf3 with another intermediate move 4. Rc4xc6! to lose a figure anyway. After 4.… Rf3 – f8 5. Rc6 – c3 Black gave up.
2.… Rxf3 3. axb5 would also have lost the knight on c6, and after the best defense 2.… Qxb2 3. Qxd5 + Ne6 4. Nxe6 Ne7! 5. Qc4! R8xf2 6. Nf4 + Kh8 7. Nxe2 Rxe2 would have White with the silent move 8. Kh1 !! won. In this variation, 5.… b5 6. axb5 axb5 7. Qxe2! Qxe2 8. Nxf8 Kxf8 9. Rxc7 with a winning endgame for White.
Hastings 1945 (tournament 1945/46)
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The white knight threatens to capture on c7. Black nevertheless played 14.… c6 and had prepared the intermediate move 15. Nd5 – c7 Qe8 – e5 , which threatens mate on h2. White parried the threat with 16. g2 – g3 ?? Ra8 – b8 , lost his knight on move 23 and gave up immediately afterwards. Instead, he would have had 16. Qd1xg4 !! can win, because on the 16th ... 17 f5xg4 Tf1xf8 matt follows.
See also
The Prokeš maneuver shows a special intermediate move .
A particularly nice intermediate move is the thirty-first black move in the game Bogoljubow - Alekhine, Hastings 1922 .