And the Good News Is By Gary Lane What to do when White does not want to play in the spirit of the Semi-Slav? This the question posed by Mike Baird from Scotland. He writes, "I have attempted to master the Semi-Slav, but alas I do not always have the opportunity to play the variations I have learned. A new problem is the plan of a queenside fianchetto when I no longer know the right moment to play ...dxc4. Can you help?" The Semi-Slav is certainly a favourite amongst tournament campaigners and the good news is that you can adapt the variations to suit your needs. In this case against a queenside fianchetto, you should develop in the usual manner associated with the opening, but … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2015
Chess Mazes #384
Chess Mazes #384There are two types of chess mazes: checking and mating. For bishop, rook, and knight mazes the play is to check the black king. For queen, pawn, and king mazes the object is to checkmate the enemy king; here checks are not allowed. The rules in common for each type of maze are as follows: Black never moves. Only the maze piece (in the case of pawns – the maze units) may move. A maze piece may never move to a square where it can be captured by enemy forces. A maze piece may capture undefended enemy forces.Plus we look for the shortest solution. Helpers in queen and king mazes are frozen to the diagram position, unable to move or be removed. In pawn mazes promoted pawns … [Read more...]