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December 10, 2006Thoughts upon a position: 8. The deciding moveYou may think that solving a position when the correct answer is already posted is no fun at all. However, I am very glad to read your comments with the right answer among wrong ones. In this way, there is no need for me to reply. You do it all (right and wrong) by yourselves. Today’s position requires tactical skills (as the previous ones) but there are only nine pieces on the board. I use this as a prelude to some endgame problems which I have chosen for the approaching Christmas holidays.
Black is a pawn up and has to play a winning move. Which one? Send your comments. Have fun… Important notice
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 05:48 PM
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November 26, 2006Thoughts upon a position: 7. A Greek gemToday’s position cannot be found in any commercial database. It comes from a Greek book, "The Greek book", since for decades the two volumes of "Chess" by Triantafyllos Siaperas were the only serious chess manual in the Greek language. The writer was the first Greek player to become an International Master in 1968 and twice a Greek champion in 1956 and 1972.
White to play. I can tell you that chess engines can find the solution in seconds. If you use them, you’ll probably know the answer, but you won’t be able to express in your own words the idea behind the combination. I am waiting for your comments. Have fun… Important notice
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 05:54 PM
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November 12, 2006Thoughts upon a position: 6. Strong Combinational VisionMichail Botvinnik himself has often blamed his “old illness” – weak combinational vision – for many lost games of his late career. As a matter of fact we do admire Botvinnik for his positional play, yet when he was younger he was able to produce beautiful combinations as the one I ask you to find. The game was played in 1930. The move is not important. The idea behind it, is what offers great enthusiasm. More than that, it comes from my childhood memories and my uncle, who was Botvinnik’s admirer. I asked him recently “Why a Botvnnik’s combination?” and he replied: “When you are ten, you don’t understand much about strategy, don’t you?”
I’m waiting for your comments. Important notice
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 10:06 AM
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November 02, 2006Thoughts upon a position: 5. The River between usThere are many chess writers who often compare chess, strategy and tactics to the real warfare. I am not a supporter of such arguments, but for those who enjoy the resemblance, I have found a position that looks like two armies ready to battle. Just take a look: The soldiers are lined-up on the banks of a river. Swallow waters on the Queenside allow the cavalry to cross the river. Three squadrons are already there. Another one is pretty close. The heavy artillery and the Kings are way behind in safety, while the Queens are ready to provide support to the weak units. The position comes from a game for the Polish championship of 2002 between Lagowski and Tomczak. It’s White’s turn to play. Assess the position. What do you think? Are there any weak squares or weak pieces? Should White strike immediately or there is need for some preparation?
Enjoy…
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 05:43 PM
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October 23, 2006Thoughts upon a position: 4. Jussupow or YusupovI advise the readers of Greek chess magazine “Chess for all” to be careful when they download games for their chess database from various locations. There is always a chance that names of the players are not spelled correctly, or, as in the case of the ex-Soviet (now German) GM, their name is adopted to the language of their new citizenship. “Training for the tournament player” is a book written by Mark Dvoretsky and Artur Yusupov, and today’s position is taken from this book. The game dates back to 1883 between Zukertort and Blackburn and the position appeared after White’s move 17.Rae1
Yusupov spends more than a page to explain the above position and provide not just a move (that Blackburn didn’t play) but a whole plan to support his idea. I ask you to post your own thoughts. Assess the position, make a plan and take part in our discussion. And have fun…
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 08:01 PM
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October 03, 2006Thoughts upon a position: 3. Right you are if you think you areNo, the position pictured below has not been played by the Italian theatrical play writer Luigi Pirandello. It is used by GM Kotov (and reproduced by Aleksey Bartashnikov) as an example of middle game planning for the White side. As you can see both sides have completed the development of their pieces, and it is White’s turn to play. There are a lot of different choices for White, according to his taste and ability. All seem objectively equal. Please, post your own comments about the position. What would you play if you were White? What is the plan that you have in mind?
By the way... Don't scan your database for games with the above position. You are going to find a couple of games (the position is not fictional) but you are going to miss the fun of deciding your plan as if the position comes from one of your own games. It's up to you... Important notice
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 02:22 PM
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September 23, 2006Thoughts upon a position: 2. Queen or Knight?Oh! What a day! And a long expected one. I think that all of you are stuck in front of your computer screens, so I guess that the time is right to post another interesting position. If you are able to recognize the game I am referring to, then I believe that this article is about to receive many comments from PlayChess.de viewers. Actually there are many questions that arise from the position. White is in check. (Yes he is!) What’s the best way to recapture? Do you have any other comments about white and black? Do you have any idea which army has more chances to win? Any preference, may be?
Have fun… Important notice
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 02:20 PM
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September 14, 2006Thoughts upon a position: 1.The brave sacrificeMany times in the past I have caught myself trapped in the magic of the chessboard, looking at the pieces amazed of their mystery. The reason is not always the same. Sometimes I admire the strategic mind that organizes the army, or the tactical blow hiding in the position. There are also chess problems that kept me struggling for hours to discover the key. More than that, sometimes the position on the board escapes from chess logic limits, and my mind travels like a beam of light from under the board and behind the scene, to deep in the mind and the soul to examine the psychology and the mastery of certain players. I want to share with you this experience. Here is the position. The opening is not over yet, and everything looks calm. However, the storm is about to begin.
I do not want to tell you anything about the opponents, or the event. This is your task. Post your comments, anything that comes into your mind regarding the board: strategy, tactics, plans or the impression of the game. If you recognize it, I am sure that you have a lot to write. Have fun… Important notice
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 09:07 PM
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June 11, 2004Tactical puzzles from HCL M classI have no words to thank all of you for your support and your nice comments regarding my interview with GoodKnight posted last month. I have no time for another interview for the time being; my chess activity has been reduced to a minimum, but I promise to come back later with more energy. Enjoy below, seven positions which appeared in HCL M class games. I hope that you find them quite entertaining and educational.
I guess that this is easy, in order to warm up a little bit. White has just played 29.Qa1-b2. It is Black's turn to move. Which move secures the win?
White has just played 38.Qc3-c5. Black has found a beautiful combination to disorder White's defence. Can you?
White's last move was 24.Qd1-g4. It is obvious that White wants to prevent 24...Qg2#. Yet, checkmate is inevitable. Can you find Black's next move?
This one is beautiful and difficult. White has just played 32.Nd2-f3. This move saves the g3 pawn, but Black has better plans. What was the move that Black played? Do you belive that White had a better defence?
Black has just played 26...Kc8-b8. This move is not terrible, but I think it is not necessary. I guess that this position could be a topic for discussion. White's 27th move is not so easy to find.
Black has just played 31...Rd2xg2. It seems that Black is unaware of the danger. However the little move White played is unexpected. Black resigned without a reply.
This is one of the most spectacular games played in PlayChess web site. Here are the moves leading to the following diagram:
Can you guess White's next move? Can you guess the continuation that leaves Black helpless? Please, post your comments with your own ideas and solutions. I believe that the thinking mechanism leading to the right answer is much more important than the move itself. Have fun, above all!
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 05:12 PM
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December 23, 2003Christmas PlayChess puzzles
The following puzzles are positions from HCL games in which the attacking player has missed the fastest way to finish off his opponent. As you can see the collected positions come from all levels, be it advanced or rookie. If you don’t want to miss the fun, then refrain from using chess engines. Computers are able to solve them in less than a second for most cases.
The first one is easy (I think). White plays and mates in 2. In the game White played 29.Qc6+, so this is not the solution.
It is White’s turn to play (Mate in 2). There are 2 solutions to this problem.
White played 49.Ne4 and just missed a mate in 2.
Can you checkmate the White King in only 3 moves?
This one is a little bit complicated since you have to calculate all variations to make sure that you have found the solution (White mates in 3).
White is in check but Black’s position is helpless. White needs 4 moves to checkmate.
It looks like Black has a material advantage. However, it is White’s turn to play. In 7 moves Black is checkmated. You may think that this is a difficult problem but as soon as you get the idea, you’ll see that Black can only delay the end.
Black has a lot of replies to every White's move but the result cannot change. White wins this game inevitably. I consider this, as a very educative example arising from a position which appeared in a C class game. I am not going to tell you how many moves White needs. As you can see Black is lost, but there is one move that ends the game faster.
Posted by Michalis Kaloumenos at 09:19 PM
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Thoughts upon a position: 8. The deciding move
Thoughts upon a position: 7. A Greek gem Thoughts upon a position: 6. Strong Combinational Vision Thoughts upon a position: 5. The River between us Thoughts upon a position: 4. Jussupow or Yusupov Thoughts upon a position: 3. Right you are if you think you are Thoughts upon a position: 2. Queen or Knight? Recent Comments
Thoughts upon a position: 8. The deciding move
Thoughts upon a position: 7. A Greek gem Thoughts upon a position: 6. Strong Combinational Vision Thoughts upon a position: 5. The River between us Thoughts upon a position: 4. Jussupow or Yusupov Thoughts upon a position: 3. Right you are if you think you are Thoughts upon a position: 2. Queen or Knight? Thoughts upon a position: 1.The brave sacrifice Tactical puzzles from HCL M class Christmas PlayChess puzzles |