Good Knight, Bad Bishop Redux By Karsten Mueller In a pure endgame the knight is usually better than the bishop if it has full control. Then the knight has time for its slow maneuvers. A) Shirov's strong knight 165.01 Shirov,Alexei (2675) - Van Foreest,Jorden (2467) German Bundesliga (8.3), 31.01.2015 [FEN "2k5/1pp2b2/p4Ppp/2p5/6P1/1PN4P/P1P5/3K4 w - - 0 30"] Shirov stops Black dynamic options with 30.g5!? 30.h4?! allows 30...Kd7 31.g5 hxg5 32.hxg5 Ke6= and Black is too active and draws easily. 30.Ne4 gives Black the additional option 30...g5 31.Nxc5 b6!? 32.Nxa6 (32.Ne4 Kd7=) 32...c5 33.Kd2 (33.b4 Kb7 34.b5 Bxa2=) 33...Kb7 34.Nxc5+ bxc5 35.Ke3 Bg6 36.c3 Kc6 37.b4 Bf7 … [Read more...]
Cyclotronic Overdrive: Spinning On
Cyclotronic Overdrive: Spinning OnBy Jeff CoakleyThis column continues from where we left off last month, with seven more puzzles for your cycling pleasure.A cyclotron is a three-way switcheroo. Instead of switching two pieces, we switch three. In case you’re new to this type of puzzle, here are the rules.CYCLOTRONSSwitch the position of three pieces so that Black is in checkmate. No actual chess moves are made. The pieces simply swap squares.The pieces trade places in a “cycle”. Piece A goes to square B, piece B goes to square C, and piece C goes to square A.Any three pieces can trade places. Colours do not matter. The cycled pieces can be all white, all black, or a mix of … [Read more...]
Chess Secrets: Giants of Innovation
Chess Secrets: Giants of Innovation Learn from Steinitz, Lasker, Botvinnik, Korchnoi and Ivanchuk By Craig Pritchett "Innovation" in chess has perhaps most commonly been associated with the discovery of new moves in the opening. Indeed, the common term "opening novelty" has a long history going well back at least to the 19th century. Properly considered, however, innovation is about much more than just coming up with new opening moves. It certainly includes the discovery of new stratagems and tactical motifs as well as the development of whole new game plans. In this much fuller sense, innovation, in its many guises, is at the very heart of success in chess. This book seeks to put … [Read more...]
A Complex Encounter
Russian IM Mark Dvoretsky is one the most respected chess trainers in the world today. In his May 2015 column he presents the fifth of a six-part series dealing with positions in which Black opens the g-file after a trade of minor pieces. A new column is posted the second Tuesday of each month.A Complex EncounterBy Mark DvoretskyTime for us to examine two more complex encounters that took place in Candidates' matches.Yusupov - IvanchukCandidates' Match, Game 6Brussels, 19911.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 cd8.eddc9.Bxc4 b6 10.Bg5 Bb7 11.Ne5[FEN "rn1q1rk1/pb3ppp/1p2pn2/4N1B1/1bBP4/2N5/PP3PPP/R2Q1RK1 b - - 0 11"]11...Nb8-d7A courageous decision: Black is aiming for … [Read more...]
More Books and Endgame Watching
More Books and Endgame Watching By Tim Harding Russell Enterprises have long been publishing books by IM Dvoretsky, one of the best chess authors currently working. Profession: Chess Coach (Russell Enterprises 2014, 384 pages) is subtitled For Friends and Colleagues, V olume 1 ). This a review of his career, with several practical examples lightly annotated. The second volume is due out shortly, so I shall postpone my review until I can consider the two books together. This month I shall consider the fourth (2014) edition of the highly recommended Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual (large format, 524 pages) in conjunction with some practical examples from recent tournaments that I have been … [Read more...]
Smorgasbord VIII: Mother’s Day
Smorgasbord VIII: Mother's Day By Jeff Coakley Welcome to the Chess Cafe. Please sit wherever you like. A waiter will be right with you. This week's menu features triple loyd 44, inverted loyd 18, proof game 45, and goof 30. Free refills on all puzzles! The types of problems presented here have appeared before on The Puzzling Side of Chess. If you are unfamiliar with them, examples with more detailed explanations are available in the archives. 1. Triple Loyd 44 [FEN "8/8/R7/4B3/8/4N3/8/K6R"] Place the black king on the board so that: A. Black is in checkmate. B. Black is in stalemate. C. White has mate in one. In an inverted loyd, the black king is already on the board, and … [Read more...]
Petroff Defense [C42]
Petroff Defense [C42]By Abby MarshallTo my surprise I have never covered the Petroff Defense in any of my columns. The reputation of the Petroff as a boring, drawish opening is starting to change. In the positions I want to look at in this column, early on Black trades a knight for a bishop to create an interesting imbalance. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 White may be mentally rehearsing the Ruy Lopez or the Italian Game, but instead of 2...Nc6 comes... 2...Nf6 [FEN "rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 3"]Don't let the initial symmetry fool you. Regardless of how White plays, the position soon becomes unbalanced with different goals for each side. In the variation I am looking at … [Read more...]
And the Good News Is
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...]
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...]
Queen vs. Pawn
Queen vs. PawnBy Bruce PandolfiniKing and queen against a lone king? No contest. With the move (it might be important to have the move to avoid stalemate), the force of king and queen wins hands down. But what if the inferior side has an extra pawn about to promote? Is it still a forced win? Well it often is, with some notable exceptions.Having the move, the queen can beat either a center pawn or a knight pawn usually without much trouble, even if the friendly king is a distance away. The winning idea is to give a series of checks, leading to the defending king's forced obstruction of its own pawn. That gives the attacker a tempo, which can be used to bring the friendly king a square closer. … [Read more...]
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