Thoughts upon a position: 8. The deciding move

You 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.

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Black is a pawn up and has to play a winning move. Which one? Send your comments.

Have fun…

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Thoughts upon a position: 7. A Greek gem

Today’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.
The player with the White pieces is Dimitrios Papantoniou. He was a District attorney in the city of Thessaloniki and the first Greek champion in 1934. I have no information about his opponent Mr. M. Koutilin. According to Greekbase, the on-line chess database with games collection from my homeland, it is one of the oldest games still surviving today, though it took place not earlier than 1935. The combination was published in many books including one by German master Kurt Richter. (The master who introduced the B60 Richter-Rauzer variation of the Sicilian)

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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…

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Thoughts upon a position: 6. Strong Combinational Vision

Michail 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?”

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I’m waiting for your comments.

Important notice
This article is not available for new comments anymore, since it has been discovered by blog robots which managed to post comments with inappropriate content. Many thanks to all of you who contributed your own opinion.

Thoughts upon a position: 5. The River between us

There 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?

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Enjoy…

Important notice
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Thoughts upon a position: 4. Jussupow or Yusupov

I 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

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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…

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Thoughts upon a position: 3. Right you are if you think you are

No, 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?

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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...

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Thoughts 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?

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Have fun…

Important notice
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Thoughts upon a position: 1.The brave sacrifice

Many 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.

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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
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Tactical puzzles from HCL M class

I 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.

HCL-M443-19   (0-1)
Goofy - richard

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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?

HCL-M434-5   (0-1)
stangew - NOHAU

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White has just played 38.Qc3-c5. Black has found a beautiful combination to disorder White's defence. Can you?

HCL-M510-28   (0-1)
Tapiwa - Faroe_Bamsa

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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?

HCL-M523-3   (0-1)
Worf - Dailos

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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?

HCL-M504-4   (1-0)
bernalius - Still_Life

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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.

HCL-M484-13   (1-0)
Croma - Felix

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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.

HCL-M495-7   (1-0)
papuan - GoodKnight

This is one of the most spectacular games played in PlayChess web site. Here are the moves leading to the following diagram:
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.h4 g4 11.Ne5 b4 12.Na4 Nxe4 13.Bxc4 h5 14.Qe2 Nxg3 15.fxg3 Rh6 16.O‑O f5 17.d5 Bc8 18.Rad1 Qe7 19.dxe6 Bxe6

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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!

Christmas PlayChess puzzles

Merry Christmas everyone!

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.

Mate in 2

HCL-E946-5   (1-0)
MindenFele - Max
Position after 28... Ka6

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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.

HCL-C1793-6   (1-0)
footyhead - ronan48
Position after 31... Rf6

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It is White’s turn to play (Mate in 2). There are 2 solutions to this problem.

HCL-M309-5   (1-0)
Fabius - Tapiwa
Position after 48... Kh7

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White played 49.Ne4 and just missed a mate in 2.
Hint: Read the stalemate article, to get the idea.

Mate in 3

HCL-B1723-10   (0-1)
speedmat - Validus
White has just played 55.b4

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Can you checkmate the White King in only 3 moves?

HCL-C2343-19   (1-0)
GrimRazor - Handkaes
Position after 26... Kf6

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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).

Mate in more than 3

HCL-M416-10   (1-0)
PretenderMC - EmK
Black resigned immediately after he played 23... Bxh2+.

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White is in check but Black’s position is helpless. White needs 4 moves to checkmate.

HCL-M336-2   (1-0)
Salo - aadje
Position after 26... Qc6

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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.

The last problem is the one I enjoyed most. It is a beautiful endgame study.

HCL-C1870-2   (1-0)
footyhead - daveboy6968
Position after 50... Re8

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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.

PS: Please, do not post any comments containing the solutions. Allow other playchess members to solve the puzzles without tempting them to scroll down the page. I’d like to read your comments about the difficulty level. I have checked hundreds of games with my chess engine, and I read the analysis window, before looking at the position. I cannot evaluate the difficulty. I have to remind you that in all cases the moves actually played are not the solutions.