Every year at this time I have featured the best and most unusual miniature chess games that have come my way. This year Tim Harding (editor of Chess Mail) has published a most enjoyable book - Startling Correspondence Chess Miniatures, over 100 miniature games, most of them recent. If you enjoy the games in this column, you must buy this book! Instructive and, well, sometimes startling, this collection is well worth your time playing over. Featuring many minis by grandmasters and opening traps on the edge of theory, I highly recommend this book.

Taken from Harding's book, this game is certainly startling enough! Try to predict White's last two moves.

SICILIAN DEFENSE [B27]
W: Wolfgang Schlosser (2301)
B: Todor Kanchev (2201)
ICCF, 1967

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 b6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bb7 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 b5 7. Bb3 b4 8. Na4 Bxe4 9. Nc5 Bxg2 10. Rg1 Bc6 11. Bxf7+ Kxf7 12. Rxg7+, Black resigns.

Mate in 7 after 12. ... Kxg7 13. Qg4+ Kf7 14. Qh5+ Kg7 15. Nf5+ Kf6 16. Bg5+ Kxf5 17. Bh4+ Kf4 18. Bg3 mate.

SICILIAN DEFENSE [B22]
W: Eddie Cousins
B: Valentino Sani
IECC, 1999

1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Na3 cxd4 7. Nb5 Qd8 8. Bf4, Black resigns.

Even experienced ICGMs have been known to be miniaturized. This must be a record!

DUNST OPENING [A00]
W: Dick van Geeet (2644)
B: Oysten Sande (2522)
15th Dutch Championship, 1987

1. Nc3 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nxe4 e5 4. Bc4 Be7 5. Qh5 Nh6 6. d3, Black resigns.

BISHOP'S OPENING [C24]
W: F. Monte Mounts (2029)
B: Paul Thomas (1806)
USCF CC, 1999

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Qxd4 Nf6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Qh4 d6 9. 0-0-0 Be6 10. Bd3 h6 11. Rhe1 0-0 12. Bxh6 gxh6 13. Qxh6 Qd7 14. g4 Bxg4 15. Rg1 d5 16. Nxd5, Black resigns.

Fred Bender is one of only three players ever to earn the title of Life Master in APCT.

CARO-KANN DEFENSE [B14]
W: Fred Bender (2266)
B: Walter Lewis (2105)
APCT, 1999

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Ne5 Bd7 10. 0-0 Nxc3, White resigns.

BUDAPEST DEFENSE [A52]
W: Jean-Guy Le Duigou
B: Anatoly Smirnov
IECC, 1999

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bc5 6. e3 Qe7 7. Nc3 Ngxe5 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. Nd5 Qd6 10. Qh5 Bb4+ 11. Kd1 c6 12. Bxe5, Black resigns.

The King's Gambit is not dead. It lives on post cards!

KING'S GAMBIT ACCEPTED [C34]
W: Thomas Feeney (2138)
B: Bert Hart (1981)
Wisconsin Postal Finals, 1998

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 g5 5. Nc3 g4 6. Bxf4!? gxf3 7. Qxf3 Bh6 8. Bc4 Bxf4 9. Qxf4 Be6 10. d5 Bc8 11. e5 dxe5 12. Qg3 f5 13. 0-0-0 Qf6 14. d6 f4 15. Qf3 c6 16. Ne4 Qg7 17. Qh5+ Kd8 18. Qh4+ Ke8 19. d7+, Black resigns.

Claude Bloodgood must have the record for catching opponents in the same trap. Here it is again!

NORFOLK GAMBIT [A06]
W: Claude Bloodgood (2039)
B: James Benjamin (1604)
ASPCC, 2000

1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 c5 3. e4 dxe4 4. Ne5 Qd4 5. Bb2 Qxb2 6. Nc3 Qa3 7. Bb5+ Bd7 8. Nc4, Black resigns.

White found a very prophetic resignation: "Resigns. I hope I don't see this game in Dunne's miniatures column - but I won't be surprised if I do!"

CARO-KANN DEFENSE [B10]
W: Bill Banks (1751)
B: Tom Hart (1725)
USCF CC, 1999

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Qf3 d4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Nce2 e5 6. d3 Nbd7 7. a3 Be7 8. Ng3 0-0 9. N1e2 Nb6 10. Ba2 Bg4, White resigns.

From Bryce Avery's Correspondence Chess In America comes this brilliancy from the earliest days of U.S. postal chess.

KING'S GAMBIT ACCEPTED [C33]
W: unknown
B: Stanley Chadwick
PCCA Gambit Tournament, 1911

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 Qh4+ 5. Ke2 b6 6. Nf3 Ba6+ 7. Kd2 Qf2+ 8. Ne2 Nb4 9. a3 Nf6 10. Qe1 d5 11. Kc3 Nxe4+ 12. Kb3 Bc4+ 13. Ka4 b5+

He could have mated earlier with 13. ... a5 14.Nc3 Qxc2+ 15. b3 Qxb3.

14. Ka5 Nc6+ 15. Ka6 b4+ 16. Kb7 Rb8+ 17. Kxc6 Rb6+ 18. Kxc7 Bd6+ 19. Kc8 Ke7 mate.

SLAV DEFENSE [D17]
W: Dick Vandenburg (1979)
B: Mike Blechar (2237)
CCLA Team Championship, 1999

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. Bg5 Bb4 8. Nxc4 Qd5 9. Bxf6 Qxc4 10. Qd2 Qb3 11. Bxg7 Rg8 12. Be5 c5 13. Bxb8 cxd4 14. Be5 0-0-0 15. Bxd4 Rxd4, White resigns.

This year's Oops Award goes to this e-mail game. Perhaps the time limit was too fast!?

SICILIAN DEFENSE [B20]
W: Peter Huang
B: Samuel Shinn
IECC, 1999

1. e4 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nd4 6. Ne2 Nxf3 mate.

CARO-KANN DEFENSE [B12]
W: Tony Albano (2367)
B: J. Bacon (2062)
APCT, 1998

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Na4 Qa5+ 9. c3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nge7 11. Nc5 Rb8 12. b4 Qd8 13. Qa4 a5 14. Bb5 Qc8 15. bxa5, Black resigns.

BLACKMAR DIEMER GAMBIT [D00]
W: David Arganian (1723)
B: Bryce Avery (1818)
CCLA Leadership, 2000

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 e6 4. Be3 dxe4 5. f3 exf3 6. Nxf3 Bb4 7. Bd3 Qe7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Ne5 Nbd7 10. Bg5 Bd6 11. Nxd7 Bxd7 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Bxh7+ Kh8 14. Qh5 Kg7 15. Qg4+ Kh8 16. Rf3, Black resigns.

"If-moves" can be very mysterious. In the following game Black sent "If 9. Kh1 h5." White declined with the only other legal reply.

QUEEN PAWN GAME [D05]
W: J. Steele (2030)
B: N. Turner (2035)
Postal, 1999

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. 0-0 Qc7 7. Bd2 Ng4 8. h3 Bh2+ 9. Nxh2 Qxh2 mate.

CENTER COUNTER DEFENSE [B01]
W: Pampel (1744)
B: Daniel Woodard (1840)
1999 Golden Knights

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Nf3 Qxd5 5. Be2 Nc6 6. c4 Qf5 7. Nc3 0-0-0 8. Be3 e6 9. 0-0 Bd6 10. h3 h5 11. Ng5 Nxd4 12. f3 Qe5 13. Bxd4 Qh2+ 14. Kf2 Bg3+ 15. Ke3 e5 16. Nce4 Rxd4 17. Qa4 Nd5+ 18. cxd5 Rxa4, White resigns.