october 11 2011
Master's words
Thank you to the lucky and courageous ones who were able to override the criminal ukases of the Gallic railway saboteurs.
Let's finish with the world solving championship. The first 3# was the most resistant. We will only give the selfmate 6# on request, as we consider it to be quite difficult. On the other hand, the 3# selfmate should delight all fans of this genre, and has a good chance of seducing the others. Finally, the 4#, on which a megalomaniac of a neighbouring country dried. Thank you, Mr. 
Zagorouiko, who for fifty years have been one of my favourite composers. I had an intuition of the key very quickly, but it took me some time, even a long time, to discover the threat.
An event in the selfmate field: the quadruple promotion doubled, but by the same side. It's Selivanov's doing. This is witchcraft. I'll leave the solution, but you know what I think of those who read it right away.
A few other problems for training. A little Krikheli festival (two helpmates, including an echo-chameleon, and a 10# -- same note on the solution).
Another bunch of promotions (I remind you that a 2# helpmate "with set play" also has a solution in 1.5 moves, as the hipsters say). A historical reminder: Dawson considered multi-solution helpmates to be illegitimate. The composers under his influence forbade them, limiting themselves to the "apparent play" form, which allowed them to shine... on certain themes. For problems with twin strategic lines, this form is not suitable, according to Ch. Feather, because it leads to too much material expenditure to prevent the JA from being realised after a waiting move.
A cyclic 3# helpmate and an echo in 4. Direct category, two mats in 2. One is a true Novotny: without a dual threat, as they should always be. The other one has a twin, a rare phenomenon for direct mats. A spectacular German 3# and two multimoves, one with its solution, not to be read. A tip instead: you need to get rid of the g5 pawn.
A rook endgame? Not at all, it's a decoy. It is a Queen vs. Rook and Knight struggle in which, a la Mandler, the good in one variation becomes bad in the other and vice versa.
Igor Zaitsev on the loose: this is an unbridled analysis of a Queen sacrifice that could have happened in Karpov-Kasparov (23rd of the 1986 match). The commentator forgot a defensive move... inhuman. How can you blame him? There are many effects here, including an original sort of echo-chameleon.
A deliberate contrast with last week's game: today's game is very much in the "official" style of White's player. And against a monster of the endgames! The irresistible force against the unshakeable wall, so to speak. Always with those little combinations that put the maximum pressure on. The computer, impressed, discovers others (as a tribute to White's player?). Note that, in the 21...Rd8 variation, the move 27 Rc7! had escaped our attention.
See you, God willing, in a fortnight time on 25 October.
Have a good time.
AV
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