Chess

In the introduction to his book Startling Castling (BT Batsford, pounds 15.99), the Dutch master Robert Timmer deplores the fashion for ever more works on opening theory and writes: "I myself prefer bizarre books, in which one specific move - or particular theme - is investigated in depth." Timmer's move is castling and his researches have succeeded in producing a bizarre and entertaining work. Its 275 instances of castling include examples of games where a player castled when he should not have, did not castle when he should have, castled so late in the game that his opponent had clearly forgotten it was still legal, castled to deliver mate, castled to instant defeat and even castled illegally.

The first diagram was the scene of a fine piece of illegality by a reigning world champion. In a simultaneous display in Salamanca, Spain, in 1944, an inebriated Alexander Alekhine, playing White, moved his rook to c1, then flicked his queen over it leaving her on b1, in a movement well practised from K-side castling with the black pieces.

Alekhine was soberly requested to put his queen back where she belonged. He went on to lose the game. That salutary tale comes from the "Bizarre Ways of Castling" chapter.

Here is something a little classier, an endgame study, White to play and draw, by Alexander Herbstman. Since 1.Rxa3 Re6+ leads to a quick mate, White must do something quickly. The forcing start is easy enough: 1.h8=Q+ Qxh8 2.Rh5+ Qxh5 3.gxh5 Ra6 (not 3...Rc3?? 4.Kd2+), but what now? And where does castling come into it?

Since the white-squared bishop and a-pawn cannot win if rooks are exchanged, White's task is clear. He gets there with 4.h6 Be4 5.h7! Bxh7 6.0-0-0+ Kg2 7.Rd6! Ra4 8.Rd4! and White draws by perpetually offering his rook. If it is ever taken, the game is drawn by stalemate.