april 6 2004

Master's word

Exclusively Polish evening.

Two direct problems of an unknown author in the West. A tip: the first problem has to do with the first study. In the second, scholars will see a family resemblance with a 3# by Reverend Traxler from 1935.

Three drawing studies, two based on the stalemate, the third being an epic battle where White, with almost a Rook less, feels he still have too much material.

A combination taken from a book by Dvoretzky. Do the exercise seriously, give yourself an hour. This is the second move that I found the most difficult.

The variant called "Noteboom" has fascinated me since my early youth: seeing these black pawns darken to Queen on the "a" and "b" columns is really scary. Certainly, White has two central linked pawns in comparison, which can give rise to an attack. After all, when you have the centre, you have everything! In any case, this variation is played regularly, so it must be believed that both theses are defensible.

Here Black has the upper hand. It will be necessary to balance one of these days by a white victory, with Gelfand-Piket, played two years earlier.

An excellent feast.