The Kamikaze and the Dive Bomber

When I wrote the Assassins' Manual for the Black Shield Assassins Group I was sworn to secrecy by an oath of omerta signed in red ink—the Internet equivalent to blood! So I can't divulge the contents of the manual here but can probably expand a little on one or two aspects of it.

The Kamikaze squadrons of World War II were named for the Divine Wind—the storm that saved Japan in 1281 by destroying an invading Mongol fleet—and there comes a time when a kamikaze attack can win a battle, albeit at some cost to the pilot.

Dive bombers were also a risky proposition for their pilots because although their near-vertical dives allowed them to place their bombs with pinpoint accuracy, they gave ground crews a much easier target to hit.

Of course, when Reuben Fine said, “Discovered check is the dive bomber of the chessboard,” he had something else in mind and it was the enemy who was going to suffer loss. He would have agreed that there was a place on the board for a kamikaze attack as well—in fact, the two attacks combine very well.

The Kamikaze Rook

Here's the sort of combination I mean. White's d3 rook, a Rising-Sun headband wrapped about his forehead, hurls himself at black's bishop. His life is forfeit but he knows that a Divine Wind is blowing across the chess board. See what happens when the Stuka on b3 gets to release its deadly load.

(This position actually cropped up on move 25 of a game between Geza Maroczy and Rudolf Charousek at Nuremburg in 1896 but, since it was black's turn to move, he played 25...Rad8 removing the threat. In the complications that followed Maroczy won a pawn and, eventually, the game.)

The Kamikaze Queen

Our opponents aren't usually going to sit still for a dive bombing attack and, as in the last example, we often have to rearrange their position a little so that the the raid will be effective. In this case it's the gallant queen who sacrifices her life for the common good.

Two pawns ahead, black already has a won game and, although white has a triple attack focused on the c-7 pawn it's easy to defend.

Defend? That's a concept for pussies! Why defend when you can attack? Black's queen sees the possibility of a discovered check and, ceremonial dagger clasped in her dying hand, throws herself on the hapless bishop.

Chicken Yakitori

Most people don't know that Chicken Yakitori was the name of the only surviving kamikaze pilot. He was a man who didn't see any reason to kiri his hara (you work it out) with a planeload of high explosive if he could get the job done and still walk away with his skin intact.

Don't be too hard on Yakitori-san for his unwillingness to shed his blood on the deck of an American carrier: after all, he was a spiritual offshoot of the great Savielly Tartakower who wisely said, “It is better to sacrifice the opponent's pieces.”