Chapter 19: Damiano Defense, Part 2
1 January 1993
Harry had thoroughly enjoyed the New Year's Eve party Pansy's parents had hosted. He was glad that he had gotten to briefly speak with Pansy's parents and interact with fellow Slytherins.
It truly was a fun night, that was for sure.
4 January 1993
Harry and Draco gathered their things when it was time to head back to the Hogwarts Express. Harry packed his trunk, noting to himself that it felt slightly heavy. Draco hugged his parents goodbye as the two boys prepared to board the train.
Harry slapped hands with Theodore, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. Harry briefly greeted Caleb Holland and his sister, Caitlin.
"Hi, Caitlin", Harry said. "I really do appreciate that gift you got me. Thanks."
"Not a problem, Harry", Caitlin said. "You're welcome. Those are things that friends do."
Harry noticed Luna Lovegood sitting with Lucas Slater, Laine Slater, Duane Harper, Jeremiah Goodwinter, Ginny Weasley, and Hiram Nott. Harry was glad that Luna was being treated well by her fellow Slytherins, especially after the Weasley twins had bullied her.
Harry ate some chocolate frogs as the Hogwarts express headed back to school. He couldn't wait to get back to the comfort of the Slytherin Common Room.
Later, Harry and his friends were studying in the Slytherin Common Room. He then noticed Jeremiah Goodwinter sitting by himself in the Slytherin Common Room.
Harry then asked Goodwinter, "Jeremiah, you want to play a game of Wizard's Chess?"
"Sure", Goodwinter said.
The other Slytherin second-years gathered around the chessboard to watch as Harry and Goodwinter began to play. Harry had the white pieces and Goodwinter had the black pieces.
"Pawn to e4", Harry said. The white pawn on e2 moved to e4.
"Pawn to e5", Goodwinter said. The black pawn on e7 moved to e5.
"Knight to f3", Harry said. The white knight on g1 moved to f3.
"Pawn to f6", Goodwinter said. The black pawn on f7 moved to f6.
The Damiano Defense, Harry thought. He remembered this opening from a game he played last year against Draco Malfoy. Harry instantly knew what he had to do.
"Knight to e5", Harry said. The white knight on f3 leaped in the air and sliced the black pawn on e5 into numerous bits with its sword before replacing it. It looked like a knight sacrifice but it really was not.
"Pawn to e5", Goodwinter said. The black pawn on f6 yanked out its sword and stabbed the white knight on e5 into numerous bits before replacing it.
"Queen to h5", Harry said. The white queen on d1 moved to h5. This move put the black king on e8 in check.
"King to e7", Goodwinter said. The black king on e8 moved to e7.
"Queen to e5", Harry said. The white queen on h5 moved to e5, demolishing the black pawn on e5 into numerous pieces before replacing it.
"King to f7", Goodwinter said. The black king on e7 moved to f7.
"Bishop to c4", Harry said. The white bishop on f1 moved to c4, giving check to the black king on f7.
"Pawn to d5", Goodwinter said. The black pawn on d7 moved to d5, blocking the check from the white bishop on c4.
"Bishop to d5", Harry said. The white bishop on c4 moved to d5, demolishing the black pawn on d5 with its sword. This move put the black king on f7 in check.
"King to g6", Goodwinter said. The black king on f7 moved to g6.
Harry noticed that he couldn't move the white queen to f5, since the black bishop on c8 was guarding that square. So, he had another trick to play.
"Bishop to b7", Harry said. The white bishop on d5 moved to b7, demolishing the black pawn on b7 into numerous pieces. This move attacked the black rook on a8. So, Goodwinter decided to create his own attack.
"Bishop to d6", Goodwinter said. The black bishop on f8 moved to d6. This move attacked the white queen on e5.
"Queen to a5", Harry said. The white queen on a5 moved to e5.
"Knight to c6", Goodwinter said. The black knight on b8 moved to c6. This move attacked the white queen on a5.
"Bishop to c6", Harry said. The white bishop on b7 moved to c6, demolishing the black knight on c6 with its sword. This move placed the black rook on a8 under attack.
"Rook to b8", Goodwinter said. The black rook on a8 moved to b8. This move left the black pawn on a7 undefended.
"Queen to a7", Harry said. The white queen on a5 moved to a7, demolishing the black pawn that was on the a7 square.
"Rook to b6", Goodwinter said. The black rook on b8 moved to b6.
"Queen to a4", Harry said. The white queen on a7 moved to a4.
"Knight to f6", Goodwinter said. The black knight on g8 moved to f6.
"Pawn to d4", Harry said. The white pawn on d2 moved to d4.
"Bishop to b4", Goodwinter said. The black bishop on d6 moved to b4. This move put the white king on e1 in check.
"Pawn to c3", Harry said. The white pawn on c2 moved to c3, blocking the check from the black bishop on b4.
"Rook to a6", Goodwinter said. The black rook on b6 moved to a6, creating a counterattack on the white queen on a4.
"Queen to b5", Harry said. The white queen on a4 moved to b5.
"Rook to b6", Goodwinter said. The black rook on a6 moved to b6, attacking the white queen on b5.
"Queen to g5", Harry said. The white queen on b5 moved to g5. This move placed the black king on g6 in check. The white queen on g5 was defended by the white bishop on c1.
"King to f7", Goodwinter said. The black king on g6 moved to f7.
"Bishop to a4", Harry said. The white bishop on c6 moved to a4.
"Knight to e4", Goodwinter said. The black knight on f6 moved to e4, capturing the white pawn on e4 square.
"Queen to f4", Harry said. The white queen on g5 moved to f4, giving check to the black king on f7.
"Knight to f6", Goodwinter said. The black knight on e4 moved to f6, blocking the check from the white queen on f4.
"Pawn to b4", Harry said. The white pawn on c3 yanked out its sword and demolished the black bishop on b4 with its sword before replacing it.
"Rook to b4", Goodwinter said. The black rook on b6 moved to b4, demolishing the white pawn on b4.
"Knight to c3", Harry said. The white knight on b1 moved to c3.
"Rook to d4", Goodwinter said. The black rook on b4 moved to d4, demolishing the white pawn on b4 before replacing it.
"Bishop to b3", Harry said. The white bishop on a4 moved to b3, giving check to the black king on f7.
"Bishop to e6", Goodwinter said. The black bishop on c8 moved to e6, blocking the check from the white bishop on b3.
"Bishop to e6", Harry said. The white bishop on b3 moved to e6, demolishing the black bishop on e6 with its sword. This move put the black king on f7 in check.
"King to e6", Goodwinter said. The black king on f7 moved to e6, demolishing the white bishop on e6 into numerous pieces.
"Queen to f3", Harry said. The white queen on f4 moved to f3.
"Rook to e8", Goodwinter said. The black rook on h8 moved to e8.
"Castle Kingside", Harry said. The white king on e1 moved to g1, and the white rook on h1 moved to f1.
"King to f7", Goodwinter said. The black king on e6 moved to f7.
"Bishop to e3", Harry said. The white bishop on c1 moved to e3. This move attacked the black rook on d4.
"Rook to c4", Goodwinter said. The black rook on d4 moved to c4.
"Rook on f1 to d1", Harry said. The white rook on f1 moved to d1. This move attacked the black queen on d8.
"Queen to c8", Goodwinter said. The black rook on d8 moved to c8.
"Rook on a1 to c1", Harry said. The white rook on a1 moved to c1.
"Rook to e6", Goodwinter said. The black rook on e8 moved to e6.
"Pawn to b3", Harry said. The white pawn on b2 moved to b3. This move attacked the black rook on c4.
"Rook on c4 to c6", Goodwinter said. The black rook on c4 moved to c6.
"Knight to b5", Harry said. The white knight on c3 moved to b5.
"Rook to c1", Goodwinter said. The black rook on c6 moved to c1, demolishing the white rook on c1 into numerous pieces.
"Rook to c1", Harry said. The white rook on d1 moved to c1, demolishing the black rook on c1 into numerous pieces.
"Pawn to c5", Goodwinter said. The black pawn on c7 moved to c5.
"Queen to f5", Harry said. The white queen on f3 moved to f5.
"Pawn to g6", Goodwinter said. The black pawn on g7 moved to g6, attacking the white queen on f5.
"Knight to d6", Harry said. The white knight on b5 moved to d6, giving check to the black king on f7.
"King to g7", Goodwinter said. The black king on f7 moved to g7. This gave Harry an idea.
"Queen to f6", Harry said. The white queen on f5 moved to f6, demolishing the black knight on f6 before replacing it. This was a queen sacrifice, but it would obviously be a temporary sacrifice.
"King to f6", Goodwinter said. The black king on g7 pulled out his sword and stabbed the white queen on f6 into numerous pieces.
"Knight to c8", Harry said. The white knight on d6 moved to c8, demolishing the black queen on c8.
"Rook to a6", Goodwinter said. The black rook on e6 moved to a6.
"Pawn to a4", Harry said. The white pawn on a2 moved to a4.
"Rook to a8", Goodwinter said. The black rook on a6 moved to a8.
"Rook to c5", Harry said. The white rook on c1 moved to c5, capturing the black pawn on c5.
"Rook to b8", Goodwinter said. The black rook on a8 moved to b8.
"Rook to c3", Harry said. The white rook on c5 moved to c3.
"King to e6", Goodwinter said. The black king on f6 moved to e6.
"Pawn to a5", Harry said. The white pawn on a4 moved to a5.
"Rook to b5", Goodwinter said. The black rook on b8 moved to b5.
"Pawn to a6", Harry said. The white pawn on a5 moved to a6.
"Rook to a5", Goodwinter said. The black rook on b5 moved to a5.
"Pawn to a7", Harry said. The white pawn on a6 moved to a7.
"Rook to a2", Goodwinter said. The black rook on a5 moved to a2.
"Pawn to b4", Harry said. The white pawn on b3 moved to b4.
"King to d7", Goodwinter said. The black king on e6 moved to d7. This move attacked the white knight on c8.
"Knight to b6", Harry said. The white knight on c8 moved to b6, giving check to the black king on d7.
"King to d6", Goodwinter said. The black king on d7 moved to d6.
"Pawn to a8", Harry said. The white pawn on a7 moved to a8. "I'm promoting this pawn to a queen." The white pawn on a8 then transformed into a white queen.
"Rook to e2", Goodwinter said. The black rook on a2 moved to e2.
"Queen to d5", Harry said. The white queen on a8 moved to d5, giving check to the black king on d6.
"King to e7", Goodwinter said. The black king on d6 moved to e7.
"Rook to c7", Harry said. This move gave check to the black king on e7.
"King to f6", Goodwinter said. The black king on e7 moved to f6.
"Bishop to g5", Harry said. The white bishop on e3 moved to g5.
"Checkmate", Harry said.
Harry and Jeremiah shook hands. Harry was glad that he remembered the tricks to exploit the Damiano Defense. It helped him win the game. Harry was pleased and elated that he had won. Overall, the game had lasted 46 moves.
Draco then decided to interject.
"Let me point out the mistakes in the game. Jeremiah, your first mistake was on your second move, when you played the black pawn on f7 to f6. This is a weak and inferior opening known as the Damiano Defense. Your next mistake was on your third move, when you captured the white knight with the black pawn on f6. The best move would have been to play the black queen to e7. Your next mistake was on your fourth move, when you played the black king on e8 to e7. The best move would have been to block by playing the black pawn on g7 to g6. Your next mistake was on your ninth move, when you played the black knight on b8 to c6. The best move would have been to capture the white bishop on b7 with the black bishop on c8. Your next mistake was on your twelfth move, when you played the black knight to f6. Your next mistake was on your thirteenth move, when you played the black bishop to b4. The best move would have been to play the black rook to b4. Your next mistake was on your thirty-second move, when you played the black king to g7. The best move would have been to play the king to g8. Your next mistake which made checkmate unavoidable was on your forty-third move, when you played the black rook to e2. The best move would have been to capture the white queen on a8 with the black rook on a2.
Draco then turned to Harry. "You made a mistake on your eighth move, when you captured the black pawn on b7 with the white bishop on d5. The best move would have been to move the white pawn to h4. You also made a mistake on your ninth move, when you played the white queen to a5. The best move would have been to play the white queen to b5. Your next mistake was on your eleventh move, when you captured the black pawn on a7 with the white queen on a5. The best move would have been to play the white pawn to h4."
"Thanks, Draco", Harry said.
"Well, the good news is you won the game", Draco said. "It is clear you are learning from this."
