Here is something for Joe down at the local Chess club - an amazing game by Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov. The position reached after 11. ... Bf6 had arisen before in one or two games which had ended in quick draws. Apparently Nezhmetdinov thought for a very long time, and decided not to go for the draw, but sacrificed his queen ... you need to play over this game slowly to appreciate it ...
Wednesday 23 April 2008
Thursday 17 April 2008
Saturday 12 April 2008
Its all in the first move ...
OK, it seems obvious that white should move his king to give a discovered check, but which square to move to, and does it really matter? Yes, it does - so choose carefully!
Answer to the last (easy) endgame - a nice 'staircase' manoevre. There have been many variations on this theme in later studies, but this is one of the simplest examples.
1. Qa8 Kg1 2. Qa7+ Kh1 3. Qb7 Kg1 4. Qb6+ Kh1 5. Qc6 Kg1 6. Qc5+ Kh1 7. Qd5 Kg1
8. Qd4+ Kh1 9. Qe4 Kg1 10. Qe3+ Kh1 11. Qf3 Kg1 12. Qf1#
Answer to the last (easy) endgame - a nice 'staircase' manoevre. There have been many variations on this theme in later studies, but this is one of the simplest examples.
1. Qa8 Kg1 2. Qa7+ Kh1 3. Qb7 Kg1 4. Qb6+ Kh1 5. Qc6 Kg1 6. Qc5+ Kh1 7. Qd5 Kg1
8. Qd4+ Kh1 9. Qe4 Kg1 10. Qe3+ Kh1 11. Qf3 Kg1 12. Qf1#
Monday 7 April 2008
An easy one this time
This one should not take long to solve, but it is quite entertaining if you have never seen the idea before. It was composed by one of my favourite endgame composers: Henri Rinck.
As usual, here is the solution to the previous ending:
1. Rd8+ (nothing else works) Kxd8 2. b7 Rb4! (a neat attempt at preventing promotion by luring the king to a square where the c7 pawn can advance with check, clearing the way for the Black king)
3. Kxb4 c5+ 4. Kb5 (vital to let the c-pawn live!) Kc7 5. Ka6 Kb8 6. Kb6 c4 7. a4 c3 8. a5 c2 9. a6 c1=Q 10. a7 mate (just in time!)
As usual, here is the solution to the previous ending:1. Rd8+ (nothing else works) Kxd8 2. b7 Rb4! (a neat attempt at preventing promotion by luring the king to a square where the c7 pawn can advance with check, clearing the way for the Black king)
3. Kxb4 c5+ 4. Kb5 (vital to let the c-pawn live!) Kc7 5. Ka6 Kb8 6. Kb6 c4 7. a4 c3 8. a5 c2 9. a6 c1=Q 10. a7 mate (just in time!)
Friday 4 April 2008
Another neat rook ending
Here is another lightweight ending, as I much prefer endings with few pieces, and even have quite a liking for lightweight endings without pawns (will try to show some of these soon).
White to play and win (as always, there is only one correct way to win)
In this one, white needs to try to promote a pawn, and if you need a hint, he sacrifices his rook, and then black is forced to return the favour (in fact black gets to promote while white doesn't!)
As promised, the solution to the previous ending (see below) is:
1. Kb8 Rb2+ 2. Ka8 Rc2 3. Rf6+ Ka5 4. Kb8 Rb2+ 5. Ka7 Rc2 6. Rf5+ Ka4 7. Kb7 Rb2+ 8. Ka6 Rc2 9. Rf4+ Ka3 10. Kb6 Rb2+ 11. Ka5 Rc2 12. Rf3+ Kb2 13. Rxf2 Rxf2 14. c8=Q
As always, comments are welcome, and I will try to reply if necessary.
White to play and win (as always, there is only one correct way to win)
In this one, white needs to try to promote a pawn, and if you need a hint, he sacrifices his rook, and then black is forced to return the favour (in fact black gets to promote while white doesn't!)As promised, the solution to the previous ending (see below) is:
1. Kb8 Rb2+ 2. Ka8 Rc2 3. Rf6+ Ka5 4. Kb8 Rb2+ 5. Ka7 Rc2 6. Rf5+ Ka4 7. Kb7 Rb2+ 8. Ka6 Rc2 9. Rf4+ Ka3 10. Kb6 Rb2+ 11. Ka5 Rc2 12. Rf3+ Kb2 13. Rxf2 Rxf2 14. c8=Q
As always, comments are welcome, and I will try to reply if necessary.
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