november 20 2012
Another great turnout for this session.
The next one will be a fairy session and will be held on December 11.
Let's hope for an equally good turnout.
So sharpen your neurons by then.
To start, a long, lively warm-up with Vitaly Halberstadt.
1 - white to play and win
Vitaly HALBERSTADT
Problems 1959
3q4/8/8/8/1B3k2/7Q/4K3/8
W. : Ké2 Qh3 Bb4
B. : Kf4 Qd8
+ (3+2)
The lack of material does not mean that everything is easy, quite the contrary.
There are a few stalemates lying around that you don't want to get your paws caught in.
For the following position, the Master deviates from the usual rules of presentation with a "normal" game position
2 - What would have happened if White had played Rg1
r7/pp1qrp1b/1npb3k/7B/2P4Q/7P/PP3P2/2KR4
W. : Kç1 Qh4 Rd1 Bh5 Pç4h3a2b2f2
B. : Kh6 Qd7 Ra8é7 Bh7d6 Nb6 Pa7b7f7ç6
(9+11)
White sent a lot of wood to get to this position.
It is very interesting to note that the only black defence is a typical problem move.
The move Rg1 looks conclusive, the mate threats being, a priori, unstoppable.
It's up to you to find moves out of nowhere.
The game of the day is a great piece in the Homeric Karpov - Kortchnoi fight
In this one, Karpov has White
Once again, your fake-master has come up against the total incompetence of the Parisian transport services. Unless it's a systematic attempt to sabotage the Saint-Lazare courses. RER C platform at St-Michel: the 4-letter code at the beginning of the train is not displayed, the board on the platform indicates a wrong train. I don't get on. Bad luck, it was the right train. I see a guy in red on the platform. He tells me that he doesn't deal with this kind of problem. I look again at the board on the platform: the next good train is... delayed; it arrives in 20 minutes. Vive la France.
The 4-letter code will be missing from this train too, I'll get on without being at all sure it's the right one... However, these bastards had made us believe that they appreciated chess: the two good trains carry a code evoking them: GATA for Kamsky and NORA for Georges Noradoungian, the 1977 Paris champion with a record score, he, the king of draws, simply because everyone had wanted to crush him and had captured a backhand.
The icing on the cake was that the turnstiles were blocked at the exit, Porte de Clichy. Your fake-master had to climb the turnstile like a vulgar nique-ta-mère. But the door behind was blocked. He climbed back in the opposite direction, and then a lovely little girl came along, went through the other turnstile, offered to climb back up by holding the door. I thanked her, not mentioning that I would have preferred to climb up herself. Then I asked her how she did it. She replied that she didn't know.
Like the players of Khanty-Mansyisk. They usually play quite badly, but when they play well, they don't know why. And of course even less why their opponent suddenly starts playing particularly badly. And finally... Our little French girl is - momentarily - in the lead of the world championship.
The 5 helpmates for Daniel's training this time are not very difficult. At most, the 2nd solution of the 2nd helped 3# may take him a few minutes.
The 2# is surprising, but any commentary would deflate it. A festival of 5 mats in 3, all of which have their qualities, the most surprising being the one from 1966, by the namesake of the inventor of a famous gambit. That Valve's is about opening and closing lines will surprise no one: normal when you have such a name! Let's finish with two strategic moremovers, quite easy.
The new "Ortueta-Sanz" for the 21st century is ready. Wasn't it played? At least it is a variant of a played game. Whereas the other was probably not played at all.
A study by Uncle Albert, er sorry, I meant Halberstadt, is not necessarily easy. But when there's a study within a study, what can I say...
Our Karpov festival continues, but since he himself has just covered himself in glory by brilliantly winning the Cap d'Agde rapid, almost solely thanks to his superior play in the endgame, let's take the opportunity to 
place a counterpoint. An exchange of errors at the end (less serious than written) is not enough to tarnish this profound conception.
Exceptionally, an orthodox 3# was shown in the restaurant. Your master-bidon pointing out how lamentable he had been in solving it, our bi-world champion tried to pretend to dry out in solidarity. The situation was unblocked by a guest who loved studies and had no interest in problems, helped by the... 356th world solutionist, according to the list of October 1st.
Our next appointment, God willing, for the fairytale course on Tuesday 11 December.
Have a good time.
3 - game of the day
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6
4 … Nf6 is now in the air
4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Nxe4 6 d4 b5 7 Bb3 d5 8 de Be6 9 c3 Bc5 10 c3 Bc5 11 Bc2 Bf5
11 … f5 Smyslov – Reshevsky 1945 12 Nb3 Bb6 13 Nbd4 NxN
12 Nb3 Bg6
13 Nfd4 Bxd4
13 … Nxe5 14 f4 followed by f5
14 cd a5 15 Be3 a4
15 … Nb4 Savon 16 Bb1 a4 17 Nd2 a3 18 Qc1 Ra6 ?! 19 ba Rc6 20 Qb2 Nc2 21 Rc1 Nxe3 22 Rxc6 and black ended up losing. Probably move 18 ... ab would have given another game
16 Nc1
16 Nd2 is perfectly playable and has, moreover, already been played
16 … a3 17 b3 f6
18 ef
18 f3 fe ! 19 fe ed and it's coming alive for black
18 … Qxf6 19 Ne2 Nb4 20 Bb1 Qe7 !
20 … c5 is to be dug even if Qe7 is an excellent move
21 Qe1
21 f3 Nc3 or Ng3
21 Qc1 ? Nxf2 !
21 … Rfe8 !
With an extra pressure on e3
The greffier had a pen cramp at this point and the end is given to you without comment.
Everything is, of course, reported in the electronic version of the Mestre.
22 Nf4 Bf7 23 Qc1 c5 ! 24 dc Qf6 25 Bxe4 Rxe4 26 Ne2 d4 27 Ng3 Ree8 28 Qd2 Nc6 29 Bg5 Qe5 30 Rac1 d3 31 Rfd1 Bg6 32 Be3 Re6 33 Bf4 Qf6 34 Re1 Rae8 35 Rxe6 Rxe6 36 Rb1 h5 37 h3 h4 38 Bg5 Qd4 39 Be3 Qd5 ? 40 Nf1 ?? Be4 41 Bf4 Bxg2 resigns
A hard fight (as DSK would have said)
The entry of the 3rd half is devoted to an old, but nevertheless resourceful and aesthetic problem
4 - White to play and checkmate in 3 moves
Henry E. KIDSON
Cassell's Family Paper 1858
1r6/1p2p1r1/1N1kp3/N1R3bQ/1B6/P2b4/4n3/K7
W. : Ka1 Qh5 Rç5 Bb4 Nb6a5 Pa3
B. : Kd6 Rb8g7 Bg5d3 Né2 Pb7é7é6
‡3 (7+9) C+
To encourage you to investigate, the members at the table suffered, probably because they were still fasting!
We finally enter the fairyland with the following problem which has 2 marine pieces on the diagram
5 - #2 with Siren and Triton
Brian D. STEPHENSON
1nN4K/1p6/8/2k1N3/P3P3/P1Pp4/S7/1t3f2
W. : Kh8 Nç8é5 Pa4é4a3ç3 Sa2
B. : Kç5 Bf1 Nb8 Pb7d3 Tb1
‡2 (8+6)
T=Triton : croisement entre la Tour et la Locuste
S=Siren : crossing between the Queen and the Locust
For the record, the Locust is a Grasshopper that "swallows" its sautoir
A 2 moves, anyway, you won't stay without looking for it!
An Optionnal Replacement to follow
6 - serial s#11 Optionnal replacement
Oleg V. PARADZINSKY
The Problemist 2004
2° Honnor Mention
n7/8/k1K5/8/2PP4/8/8/2nb4
W. : Kç6 Pç4d4
B. : Ka6 Bd1 Na8ç1
ss‡11 (3+4)
Optional Replacement : a captured piece is replaced on the board according to the taker's wishes, provided that the position is legal at the end of the move
And for dessert, Magnétic Chess
7 - Proof Game Magnétic Chess
Alain BROBECKER
The Problemist 2010
Proof Game (16+16) C+
ending by :
a) 3.0-0‡
b) 3.B‡
c) 3…Bd6-f8‡
d) 3…Bg7‡
Magnetic : the pieces of one's own side have the same polarity and those of the opposite side the opposite polarity.
This repulsion/attraction only applies to rows/columns, not to diagonals
To familiarise yourself with the rule, I give you the solution of the a)
a) 1.g4(Pg7-g5) f5(Pf2-f4,Pg5-h5) 2.Bh3(Ph5-h4) f×g4(Ng1-g3) 3.0-0(Pf4-f7)‡
For the other three, you are on your own!
It remains for me to wish you a good reading and to give you an appointment on December 11 for the passage into the fourth dimension.
Yours sincerely
Le greffier
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