march 29 2005

The greffier's night report

Hello everyone, the Master course took place yesterday evening in the chess cathedral that is the Saint-Lazare chess club, so a detailed report is required.

For the lazy ones who won't read the rest, the next appointment is April 19th.

For those who are equipped (electronically, of course), the cybernetic version of the Master appears at the end of this mail.

Yesterday's session was honoured by the presence of the Grand-Master of composition and solving that is our national Caillaud, whose sharp spirit hit the nail on the head on several occasions, in addition to the spirit of Pierre, who is no longer presented, as well as that of Daniel warming up before the railwaymen's competition.

To make the neuron wriggle, a light composition of the future Dutch Caillaud but only in the field of studies.

1 - White to play and win

W.: Kc7, Bb4 and c4, pg5

B.: Kh7, Bf8 and g8

The Black Bishops are rather badly placed, it is necessary to take advantage of it quickly.

The second study is well described by the Master, so I have nothing to add.

2 - White to play and win

W.: Kc7, Rf7, Be2, pa5 and b6

B.: Ka8, Rc1 and h1, Bg2, Nh7, pc2

The words of the Master

A "difficult" helpmate for Daniel, emanating from a from a strategically well placed pseudo-vice world champion of solutions (i.e. at 50cm from a Murdzia or other who uses a life-size chessboard). The other helpmate for Daniel, too easy, will not appear in the report. On the other hand, three directs for the Saint-Lazariens who need training.
The first study comes from a Batave who, nevertheless, can claim to be a genius. His defect is generally an excessive complication, which is not the case here.
The "deuxième" (and not the second -- why do thousands of illiterate teachers [or idiots for that matter] call a second class, which is really a "deuxième" class? ) is a problem-study that an Albionesque (notwithstanding, cultured and sympathetic) named John Beasley prefers to include among the studies. I didn't agree with him; 75%, I am now; 80%, the remaining 20% concerning the illustration of the Roman theme, which, it is true, was first dubbed 45 years ago by Rehm, and in only 7 moves. But our illustrious visitor, the only French grandmaster, 2800 arpad elo, had not yet arrived and was not allowed to give his opinion, if he was allowed to. Note from 2015: this study was apreciate by Beasley, who was so much more accurate than anticipated, as one says when one is indulgent, has been replaced by the original, a thirty year old mat in 12 moves see http://www.france-echecs.com/article.php?art=20070325115522258]
The third is from a brilliant man in all three areas (game, problem, study), J. Nepomuck B. Who is he? (by the way, Pierre, 4 Nc1? n is not dreamed up by ...Qh5? 5 Nd2+ but by ...Qc7+!!).
The game of the day would be of a serious nature, to desiccate (but is it possible?) all the critics who criticized this great player after his relative under-performance with the Bataves (them again?). It is common to give a pawn for the initiative, but two (the second pawn ...) ! By the way, out of 20...Nb4! 21e:f5 g:f5 22 a3 Nd5 23 Qd2 Nf6 24 Qg5+ Kh8 25 Qh6 Ba6 26 Rbd1 Bb7 27 B:b7 (I proposed more modestly 27 Rd6 ...without having seen anything) there is 27...Ng8!
For the alcoholic part of the meeting, the Master Greffier will share with you some curiosities that are difficult to transpose to the chessbase, but you will find enclosed a masterpiece from the previous 2800, accompanied by two other pretty but less original Allumwandlungen.
A short look back at a "classical" study recalled by Pierre. Finally a small Selivanov festival, which "lays" genial selfmates like others lay stupid things all day long. Happy reading
AV

 

It is in fact a mate in 8 moves, but it is not " problémistique " enough to be presented like this The Black King is really in danger, it remains to find the secret passage which leads to the mate.

The last study is very elegant with reduced material.

3 - White plays and wins

W.: Kg3, Re7, Nd3 and g4

B.: Kf1, Qc3

Very nice

4 - game of the day

1. Nf3 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. 0-0 Bg7 5. d4 0-0 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 Qe8 8. d5 Na6 9. Rb1 Bd7 10. b4 c5 11. dxc6e;p; Bxc6 (11. ... bxc6 is the normal move) 12. Qb3 (12. b5 Bxf3) Ne4 13. Bb2 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Bxc3 15. c5+ e6 (15. ... Qf7 16. Qxc3 Qxa2 17. Ra1 Qf7 18. Ng5 Qe8 19. Qb3+ Kh8 20. Bxc6) 16. Qxc3 dxc5 17. b5 (out of 17. bxc5 the pawn is weak and without interest whereas the move of the game is a good investment.) Bxb5 18. Ne5 (18. Ng5 Bc6 19. Rxb7 Bxb7 20. Bxb7 Qe7) Rb8 (18. ... Bc6 19. Bxc6 bxc6 20. Rb7 Qc8 21. Ng4) 19. Rfe1 b6 20. e4 Nc7 (20. ... Nb4 is better 21. ef gf 22. a3 Nd5 23. Qd2 Nf6 24. Qg5+ Kh8) 21. ef gf 22. Qe3 a6 (22. ... Ba4) 23. Qg5+ Kh8 24. Rbd1 Rg8 25. Qf4 Qe7 (25. ... Rd8 is not a good move) 26. Bc6 Rg4 27. Nxg4 Bxc6 28. Rd6 Be8 29. Nh6 ?! (29. Rdxe6 Nxe6 30. Qe5+ Qg7 31. Qxb8 is more convincing) Rc8 30. Rxb6 Qg7 31. Rb7 Bc6 32. Ra7 Nd5 (32. ... Bd5 33. Rc1 c4 34. a3 it's up to you a5 35. a4 it's up to you bis) 33. Qe5 QxQ 34. Nf7+ Kg8 35. Nxe5 Bb5 36. a4 Bxa4 37. Rxa6 Bb5 38. Rxe6 c4 39. Rd6 Nb4 40. Rb6 Nc2 41. Rb1 resigns

Let's now move on to the fairy part and yet gastronomic aspect.

The Master's difficulty was to find in his stock of problems those which our national Caillaud had not already solved or even judged!

An airy composition for warming up

5 - s#4 maximum exchange Circe with Princess 2 solutions

selfmate : White plays and forces the blacks to mate them

maximum : Black is obliged to play the longest moves geometrically 
Circé échange : the captured piece is reborn on the starting square of the capturing piece's movement.
Princess : Rook + Knight

2 solutions : there are 2 distinct ways of satisfying the problem statement

W.: Ke2 PRh5

B.: Ke8 Bf6

More material for the next position

6 - h#3,5 Transmuted Kings with Equihopper

helpmate : Black plays and helps White to mate them

plus 0,5 move : White begins

Transmuted Kings : a King catches the moving mode of the piece that is checking him

Equihopper : Piece that needs a sautoir to move and reach the geometrically symmetrical square

W.: Kc2, Ee7

B.: Ke4, Rc1, Bd4, pc7

animated version

To follow, a very nice problem (that's normal, it was composed by the eminent visitor)

7 - h=3 Circe

Circe : the captured piece is reborn on its original square.

W.: Kb5, pa7 and b7

B.: Kb3, pa2 and h2

As you have noticed, there are 4 pawns about to be promoted (I won't tell you more)

Beautiful work

Finally, a high-flying selfmate

8 - selfmate 5 moves

W.: Ka5, Qh3, Ra4 and d7, Bh1, Nc1 and g4, pa6, b4 and e7

B.: Kc4, pa2 and a3

There are not many black hits but they are in the process of being promoted ......

After these remarkable compositions, it remains for me to wish you good reading and to say to you soon for the corrections.

Corrections.

It seems that the Master was totally satisfied with the Greffier's report since my archives contain no trace of any possible correction!

Just one small remark :

"As discovered shortly after this lesson, the study selected by Beasley is "anticipated" (a nice term) by a 12-moves problem by the famous Yugoslavian author B. Kozdon published in 1974, which was simply... shortened by 4 moves!"

Daniel's complement

Neither the Littré (1872) nor the Grand Larousse (1903) validate this distinction. As for the academy, it tells us: "The only difference in effective use between "deuxième" and "second" is that "second" today belongs to the language being taught, and that only "deuxième" is used in the formation of complex ordinals (twenty-second, etc.)". Finally, it should be noted that a second-hand car did not necessarily have only two owners, even if the previous owner was the chief mate of a ship employing more than 50 people.

Master's answer

I don't know where I got it from, perhaps the Girodet, which I no longer have on hand. However, I am quite sure of my fact; after all, Littré is not God. And what I find now, http://www.academie-francaise.fr/second-deuxieme is enough for me: "For the sake of precision and elegance, one can reserve the use of second to statements where only two elements are considered, and only use second when the enumeration goes beyond two. This distinction is not obligatory". Elegance having become, in our era of genocide (and not "suicide", as the other French clown says), a sine qua non condition for survival, this suits me perfectly.