may 24 2005

Greffier's nightly report

The Master's course took place yesterday, so you are entitled to his traditional report.
The electronic version is at the end of the e-mail for those who have Chess Base, the others will be satisfied with the text version.

The Master arrived a little late, but that was of no consequence. Out of solidarity, all the usual participants did the same.
We were able to note the arrival of a new participant who made an excellent figure for his first participation.

It was a pleasure for all to discover that the Master had won the 2005 title of French Solving Champion, he did not fail to receive due praise from the audience.

For this last normal course of the season (the last course on 14 June will be entirely fairy-tale), the warm-up takes place with little equipment.

[NDLR : To respect the historical truth, the textual description of the diagrams is reproduced here as it was given in the report of the time. But for the comfort of the reader, the diagrams given include the corrections provided by the Master and reproduced in the third part.]

1 - White to play and win

W.:   Kf3, Ng7, pg6
B.:   Kh1, pg3 and h2


 

words of the Master

Finally, the solution, which everyone is feverishly waiting for, of the 6# helpmate from the last session, increased by a 3# helpmate (without the solution!) who caused suffering two weeks ago an overrated talented solutionist.

Three studies including two amusettes (the solution of one of them is a record of brevity) and a real masterpiece with several authors (at least one human and one computer).

The game of the day shows that the blunders of the great players are legion, even 13 years apart: the time that separates an ambitious young talent from a mature player having
achieved its essential goal, with a slight decrease in sporting performance as a result.
This player, at least, is in love with Chess (and incidentally with a Frenchwoman --pure intuition on my part-- thus balancing the taste of some Frenchmen for the Slavic charm), contrary to a certain "great successor - prematurely retired" (at 42 years old, even better than the Cheminots) who is in love only with himself.

The after-course flirted with the fairy-tale PGs, in Frankfurt chess and Einstein chess, which Rémy tells you about. I am content to slip in the two orthodox PGs, with their solutions, because I know how tired you are, having dissected the 13 reports already made since last summer. If nevertheless you are in the mood for searching,
click on the last shot and then on "training"!

It's full of subtleties, you really have to go through the variants.

For the rest, there's a lot of material, but paradoxically, there are fewer variants.

2 - White to play and draw

W.:   Kb4, Rf3, Bh5, pa2, b2, b6, c3, c4, e6 and g6
B.:   Ka6, Rc8, Bg3, Na1 and g6, pb3, b7, d5 and g7

It smells like a fir tree for the whites (Txc4 Fd6), so we'll have to go axe-wielding, good woodcutter's work.

The remainder is calmer

3 - white to play and draw

W.:   Kh2, Rg8, Nf7, pa7 and h5,
B.:   Kd7, Ra4 and a6, pa3

You only have to find one thing: the key!!!!
After, it's a highway to draw

Game of the day is a leek game.

4 - The leek game

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 f5 4. d4 e4 5. Ng5 c6 (5. ... h6 6. Nh3 g5 7. Ng1 is not too famous for Black but it remains to be proved) 6. g3 Be7 7. Nh3 Nf6 8. Bg2 0-0 9.
0-0 Kh8 (leaves the g8 square for the Bc8. 9. ... d5 10 cd cd 11. Qb3 is not very pleasant for Black)
10. d5 (prevents Be6 out of 10. f3 Black plays d5 and there will be Bc5 to set the mood) Nd7 11. b3 Ne5 12 Bb2 Qe8 (with hollandaise sauce)
13. Qd2 (on 13. f3 e3 interesting) Bd7 14. Rad1 a5 15. Nf4 Ng6 16. f3 Nxf4 17. Qxf4 Nh5 (Qh5 is a little better)
18. Qd2 e3 !? 19. Qxe3 f4 20. gxf4 Nxf4 21. Kh1 Nxg2 Kxg2 Qg6+ 23. Kh1 Bf6 24. Qd2 Bf5 25. Rg1 (25. dc bc 26. Qxd6 Qe8 is promising for Black) Qf7
26. dc bc 27. Na4 (27. Qxd6 Qe8 28. e4 Be5 29. Qd2 Bg6 same remark) Rae8 28. Rg3 (little floating which will benefit the black player who did not like the fleet 
at the time) Bg6 29. Rg2 Bxb2 30. Nxb2 Re6 31. Nd3 d5? (a4 ! levels out faster)
32. cd cd 33. Rc1 d4 34. Rc5 Qe7 35. Rxa5 (35 Qxg5 brought a rook endgame with a slight advantage, but since the rook endgames are all drawn, White doesn't want it)
35:..Re3 36. Qb4 Qf6 37. Ne5?! (37. Ra6!) d3! (the joker) 38. Ng4 de 39. Nxe3 Qxf3
40. Re5 Qf1+ 41. Rg1 Qf2 42. Qe1 f3+ 43. Rg2 ? (43. Ng2!) Bd3 (the draw approaches with this threatening blow)
44. Re7 Qf6 45. Rexg7 Qf1+ 46. Nxf1 exf1=Q+ 47. Qxf1 Rxf1+ 48.Rg1 Be4+
49. Rg2 Rf2 50. h3 Rxa2 51. Kh2 Bxg2 52. Rxg2 Ra3  53. Rb2 Ra5 54. b4 Rb5 and the greffier dropped his pen there, having caught the famous end-of-game cramp 
characteristic of most of these reports.

By the way, the game ended with the sharing of the point, if that's the question that came to mind.

For the 3rd half, an April Fool's Fish to start (it should not be very fresh).

5 - h#2  with 0-0 and e.p. capture
      helpmate : Black plays and helps White to mate them

W.:   Ka7, Rf4 Ne8, pa4
B.:   Kc8, pc2, d6 and d7

Have a drink first, it's better.

Here is now the world of PG

To start, a PG in 4 moves

6 - PG 4 moves Francfort chess
      PG : single move sequence from the starting position of a chess game
      Francfort chess : a capturing piece adopts the nature of the captured piece but retains its colour


W.:   startting position with d2 on d3 and e2 on e3
B.:   starting position without g8 and h8 and with h7 on h5

Good warm-up for PGs

7 - PG 10 moves Francfort chess

W.:   starting position without e2 and h2
B.:   Kf7, Da5, Ra8 and h8, Ba6 and f8, Nb8 and g8, pa7, b6, c6, e7, f6 and h7

It's already a little more serious

Now Orthodox PGs for resting (!)

8 - PG 12,5 moves 2 solutions

W.:   starting position without Nb1 Qd1, Bf1 and Rh1 and with f2 on f3 and h2 on h3
B.:   starting position without h7 and h8 and Nb1

It's a beautiful work, because the two solutions are really different.

The greffier was going to finish on a composition of our national Caillaud but it turns out that it is not too legible and that my memory has faded with the miscellaneous abuses.
.
I am therefor trusting the Master to call upon his prodigious memory and to transmit the text version of the thing to me.

See you in 3 weeks for the traditional end-of-season headlock with the expected presence of the French vice-champion of solutions, who will honour us as soon as the fairy wand points.

Good reading to all.

Master's corrections

(re) Hello everyone,
The Master's speed is exemplary, so you receive corrections almost before the report!
With, as a bonus, the super PJ statement, it's royal.
Thanks to him.

The white a-pawn of the 2nd study is in a5 (not a2). And the white g-pawn is in g5 (not g6, where the bN is located).
Leek game: the 10th black move is 10...Nbd7.
In the 4 move Frankfurt PG, White has neither Bc1 nor Qd1.
In the 10-move Qd1, the wPc2 (and not é2) must be removed. The master-greffier probably started dreaming after his comment of the 28th move.

The brilliant PG of the new "vice-champion of France" is :

Kb1, Qa3, Ra1 and d5, Bh2, Nf4 and g1, Pa2, b2, c3, d3, f2, g2, h4 and h5 (15) / Kb6, Qd8, Ra8, Bc8 and f8, Nb8 and g8, Pa7, b7, c6, c7, é7 and f7 (13).
PG 21 moves.

Good dinner, well irrigated
AV