Out of curiosity, I just searched back over all of my Lichess games to find those that I had won after but a single move from each player!
One might think that there could be no such games. But if one so thought, one would be surprisingly wrong!
Indeed (and perhaps it's time for a drum roll) humble, aged Noflaps has so far won (if I correctly counted) 48 times after playing only one move!
How is this to be explained?
At first, I conjectured: perhaps the opponent thought: "oh, no, what have I done? Noflaps often plays the hippopotamus! I'd better give up before I have to face that creature! The Hippopotamus is more than just lovely (although it certainly IS lovely), but it is of such horrifying strength that it can cause even strong men to weep, or at least sniffle, in fear!"
But, alas, that's not the explanation. Upon closer inspection, I determined that most of those games started or proceeded with a move which indicated that the Hippopotamus was clearly NOT about to be played.
So, I am left at a loss when I try to explain this odd phenomenon.
Why would somebody start a game -- make one move ... and then ... resign?
I'd like to think that it was motivated by a benign feeling of some sort. It's best to think positively, after all.
Could it be that they simply wished to provide me with a potential surge of serotonin resulting from a sudden decrease in the level of stress that naturally accompanies the play of chess for some of us?
If so, thank you, indeed, to the Fast 48.
One might think that there could be no such games. But if one so thought, one would be surprisingly wrong!
Indeed (and perhaps it's time for a drum roll) humble, aged Noflaps has so far won (if I correctly counted) 48 times after playing only one move!
How is this to be explained?
At first, I conjectured: perhaps the opponent thought: "oh, no, what have I done? Noflaps often plays the hippopotamus! I'd better give up before I have to face that creature! The Hippopotamus is more than just lovely (although it certainly IS lovely), but it is of such horrifying strength that it can cause even strong men to weep, or at least sniffle, in fear!"
But, alas, that's not the explanation. Upon closer inspection, I determined that most of those games started or proceeded with a move which indicated that the Hippopotamus was clearly NOT about to be played.
So, I am left at a loss when I try to explain this odd phenomenon.
Why would somebody start a game -- make one move ... and then ... resign?
I'd like to think that it was motivated by a benign feeling of some sort. It's best to think positively, after all.
Could it be that they simply wished to provide me with a potential surge of serotonin resulting from a sudden decrease in the level of stress that naturally accompanies the play of chess for some of us?
If so, thank you, indeed, to the Fast 48.
