The Concrete Block Test by Jim Rizzitano Reviewed this Month New In Chess Yearbook #111 edited by Genna Sosonko The Secret Life of Bad Bishops by Esben Lund This month I will review two recent titles: one from the New in Chess Yearbook series and one from Quality Chess. Both of these books are primarily for advanced players, but club players can benefit also. One method of deciding whether or not to purchase a particular chess book is to apply the Concrete Block Test: Will I utilize this chess book to improve my play, or will it have the same impact on my play as if I had driven to the local home improvement store, purchased a concrete block, and placed it on my … [Read more...]
Chess Mazes #376
Chess Mazes #376 There 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 p … [Read more...]
An Intuitive Exchange Sacrifice!
This month we present a lightly edited excerpt from Chess Evolution Newsletter #137. CEWN is released every Friday of the week, the newsletter contains twenty-plus pages of great chess material written by top grandmasters Arkadij Naiditsch and Csaba Balogh. An Intuitive Exchange Sacrifice! by Csaba Balogh Caruana,F (2844) - Gelfand,B (2748) Baku FIDE Grand Prix 2014 Baku AZE (2.2), 03.10.2014 Najdorf Sicilian [B90] Caruana and Gelfand continue their thematic opening discussion in the Sicilian Najdorf defense. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 White avoids the 6.Be3 Ng4 variation and starts with the 6.f3 move-order. This one also allows an extra option … [Read more...]
Mate Tricks and Retro Treats
by Jeff Coakley This column presents ten “Halloween problems”. They are called that because the pieces are wearing disguises. We know where they stand, but we don’t know their colour. Part of the solver’s task is to figure out which pieces are white and which are black. The normal name for this type of puzzle is a colouring problem. The earliest compositions date from the 1960s. Here is a fairly basic example to get the party started. Halloween 01 Colour the pieces so that White has mate in one. As you can see, all the pieces in the diagram are shown as white. The object of the puzzle is to determine which pieces are actually black. It almost goes without saying … [Read more...]
Openings in CC
by Bo Bredenhof Opening choice and preparation in OTB chess are important. The goal is to reach a known position that offers adequate chances, and, if lucky, the opponent goes astray somewhere. It also saves important reflection time. In CC opening choice is even more important. There are many openings that are suitable for OTB play, but are not strong enough in CC, and these should be avoided. There is no room for bluffs, sudden tactical traps, or playing on the clock. Gambits are mostly only good for draws. Ratings are also a consideration of course. In CC it is very hard to win a game. Our computer engine assistants are very strong and they tend to find a way to a draw even in … [Read more...]
Exchange Power: Rooks Over Bishops
by Bruce Pandolfini If you trade pieces, you exchange pieces, with the word "exchange" being written in lower case. But if you gain a rook for a bishop (or for a knight), you win the Exchange, with a capital "E," as the great Burt Hochberg used to say to me upon editing my pieces, that is, the written kind of pieces. Now in the old days, at least at the Marshall Chess Club, to avoid upper and lower case confusion, chess players would also refer to winning or gaining the Exchange as winning or gaining quality, whenever they got ahead by a rook for a bishop or a rook for a knight. But let's jump to the present. In all ten problems offered this month, however it is phrased, you are presented … [Read more...]
James Walker Osborne
James Walker Osborne: “Perpetual Beginner,” Siamese Chicken, Brawling Lawyer by John S. Hilbert Not every Manhattan Chess Club member at the end of the nineteenth century was an excellent chess player. While the masters are remembered, as well they should be, for their extraordinary play, clubs didn’t survive on the ingenious cogitations of a few gifted and often honorary members. The driving forces of a chess club, especially a gentleman’s chess club, were the members who served as officers and directors, the men who through their constant attendance, loyal payment of dues, and ever-ready willingness to provide “a little extra” for special occasions, sustained the organizations which … [Read more...]
Minor Convenience
by Jeff Coakley Back Nine This column picks up where we left off last time, with nine more puzzles involving minor pieces. 10. Triple Loyd #37 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. 11. Triple Loyd #38 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. 12. Eight Minor Defensive Loop Place four bishops and four knights on the board so that each piece is defended exactly once and each piece defends exactly one other piece. Two of the bishops must be placed on light squares, the other two on dark. The … [Read more...]
Annotations by GM Yasser Seirawan
Inside Chess, 1995/25-26 Annotations by GM Yasser Seirawan GM Vladimir Kramnik had a nice start at the Investbank tournament at the expense of GM Jan Timman. I've noted that Kramnik's style of play has a wonderful simplicity. His games often flow smoothly from one advantage to another. In this one, Timman doesn't do anything wrong, but is taken apart nonetheless. Kramnik, Vladimir (2730) – Timman, Jan (2590) Investbank Belgrade (1), 1995 QGD Exchange [D35] 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c6 7.e3 Be7 I, too, have dabbled in this freeing move. Black forces the exchange of a minor piece in order to relieve his slightly cramped position. The question that B … [Read more...]
The ChessCafe Puzzlers Cup
The ChessCafe Puzzlers Cup ChessCafe.com is pleased to announce our second annual puzzle composing competition. The contest is being held as part of The Puzzling Side of Chess, the popular column by Canadian master Jeff Coakley. Make up your own puzzles, send them in, and win prizes. Sounds like fun. Eligibility The ChessCafe Puzzlers Cup is an open contest. Anyone may enter. Entries must be original puzzles composed by the person submitting them, and must not have been published previously. Winners The winning puzzles will be published at the end of November 2014 on The Puzzling Side of Chess. Prizes Each winner will receive a "shop coupon" from … [Read more...]
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