Anybody know the percentage of master or grandmaster level games where neither side castles? I had a game recently, of no particular importance, but noticed that nobody castled.
10% have opposite-wing castling.
Or, maybe 10% of games where both players castle have opposite-wing castling.
I cannot remember precisely the context, although I remember the 10%.
Thanks. I’m not surprised that the percentage is under 4%, considering that castling is often done in the opening to early middle game stages of play. I have on rare occasions, as with most players, castled in the end game stage for a real zinger, in which the opponent long though I was beyond being able to castle.
Although it doesn’t mean I won the game, it does have a bit of a shock value when played so far into the game.
In about 1970 I was directing a CCA event in Florida when John Nardandrea pulled off …0-0 mate. The white king had walked up to f6 in a late middlegame / early endgame. …Rf8 alone would not have been mate because then white could have played Kg7.
I saw it coming a few moves ahead, and started staring at the players’ scoresheets (discreetly, I hope) to make sure castling was still legal, just in case the opponent objected. When it happened, the opponent exclaimed “That’s still legal?!” but did not object. I got a nice laugh out of that one.
At a Microsoft Chess Club event circa 2006, a fellow giving a simul told an opponent - “I’ve been waiting 20 years for a chance to do this!”. He played OOO for mate.
The bolded sentence overlooked epaulet mates on the d-file with black having a knight on a2 or a bishop on a3 or b2 that is blocked from retreating to the d-file. It also overlooked the possibility of the QR or the K having previously moved. In those cases Rd1 is mate and 0-0-0 is illegal.