Bonus Post 5 – A Boy Scouts Chess Merit Badge Problem

This week we welcome one of Mike’s fellow chess instructors to the podcast.

In preparation for this, let’s look at a game Mike recently played with an unnamed Boy Scout for the Chess Merit Badge (one of six Merit Badges Mike is a registered counselor for). Mike is playing White (which always goes first).

Here is the notation:

d4 c6
Nf3 Qa5+
Qd2 Qxd2+
Bxd2 g6
e3 Na6
Bd3 Nc7
0-0 Ne6
Nb3 Bh6
h3 b6
d5 Bb7
dxe6 dxe6
Ne5 Rd8
Nxc6 Bxc6
Ne4 Nf6
Nxf6+ exf6
Rae1 Kf8
Bb4+

Game ends on time. White wins 1-0.

The final board position for this particular game. Mike would later use this for chess school lessons.

Key takeaways from this game:

A good opening should include: getting both knights out, getting both bishops out, and castling in the first 10 moves (it takes a minimum of 7 moves to do). No where in this description does it say take the queen out on the second turn of the game. In fact, taking a queen out early blatantly violates Wheaton’s Law!
The primary purpose of getting these pieces out early is what we call “development” in chess. The notation clearly proves Black has poor development – not only in taking his queen out early, but also moving the same knight 3 straight turns. If the piece were properly developed, the knight would only need to move once in the opening moves.
Black also failed to castle.
Somehow both sides have equal strength at the end of the game.