february 12 2013

A small committee attended this session, as the core group was reduced to its simplest expression.
The Master's audience was only Daniel and me.
The good variants were nevertheless in the limelight with some fine positions

The first one is by one of our favourite study composers

1 - White to play and win
 Oleg PERVAKOV

7k/5b1p/1P1P2pK/6P1/P7/1p5p/p4n1P/R3R3
W. : Kh6 Ra1é1 Pb6d6g5a4h2
B. : Kh8 Bf7 Nf2 Ph7g6b3h3a2
+ (8+7)

It was a thematic tournament where both whites and blacks checkmate with a promoted piece.
But this composition, apart from this theme, makes a few nods to old compositions.
Great art, very accessible.

The next one is the exercise from the previous session

The usual sabotage of the "régie" against the course of your fake-master was limited today to a gathering of 300 people waiting for a train at the "Cité Universitaire" station, followed a little later by a quarter of an hour detention of the said train at the "Port-Royal" station (infamous by the way), without of course the slightest explanation, while the internet indicated, with the usual fault of French, "traffic (sic!) normal on all lines".

  
A laureate helpmate from a prominent member of Saint-Lazare, who a fortnight ago preceded a world bi-champion in the solutions tournament; a tip for those who are tired of searching: the bK reaches the same square by 3 different routes. A 2# where the Novotny is king. Another 2# of the "blockade with threat" kind. A 3# quite surprising by the same author. Two other 3#'s very different in material and theme. Finally, an amusing and rather easy long problem. 
  
The same composer as in the collaboration with Karpov's genial "slave", given the task of illustrating a themepossibly boring (mat by a black and white promotion), avoids this worst pitfall.         
Rinck was the spiritual father of Chéron and the grandfather of your fake-master, someone kindly said on a forum. So let's see a little gem from "Papy". 
  
How do you cut a chessboard in two? With a hatchet, you might say. Yes, that's about it... With however a counterpart: two large diagonals will have to be the object of constant care on the part of Black. It is hardly surprising that the rest of the match will be cut to the bone. These two world champions were already accustomed to gutting each other joyfully. So, in the city of bullfights... 
  
Note that in 11 cxd5 Nxd5 12 Ne4, Daniel's 20 Rf7!! is confirmed, but so is the marquis' 19...Re7! 
  
See you in a fortnight on Tuesday 26 February. May God keep you. 
Have a good time. 

2 - white to play and win
Henri RINCK

Deutsche Schachzeitung 1914
5k2/2Q5/q7/6K1/8/1N6/8/8
W. : Kg5 Qç7 Nb3
B. : Kf8 Qa6
+ (3+2) C-

The Knight does not come from Spanghero and will prove it

Today's game is a match between the 2 K's, and as usual, the fight is up to the task

3 - game of the day
1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 e5 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 g3
A variation recovered by Daniel in his memory, which he wrongly describes as foggy:
4 d4 e4 5 Ng5 h6! 6 Ngxe4 Nxe4 7 Nxe4 Qh4 8 Dd3 Nb4 9 Qb1 d5 10 cd Bf5 11 Nd6+ cd! 12 Qxf5 g6 13 Qb1 Rc8!
It still deserves a diagram :

4 . … Bb4 5 Bg2 0-0 6 0-0 e4 7 Ng5 Bxc3 8 bc Re8 9 f3 e3 !

Pure Zaïtsev. Before we played automatically 9 . … ef
10 d3 !
Both with 10 d4 and 10 de, the c4 pawn becomes a good target.
10 … d5
Only natural move to try and hold e3
11 Qb3

11 cd Nxd5 12 Ne4 f5 13 c4 Ne7 14 Ng5 f4 then Nf5 or Nd4
11 … Na5 12 Qa3 c6 13 cd cd 14 f4 Nc6
14 … Bg4 15 Nf3 Nc6 was played in 2010, which shows that the variation is far from dead
15 Rb1 Qc7
15 … Bg4 ? 16 Rxb7 ! Bxe2 17 Nxf7 Qa5 18 Qd6 ? Bxf1 ! (18 … Nd8 ? 19 Nh6 + ! gh 20 Qxf6 Nxb7 21 c4 Rad8 22 Bxd5+ ! Rxd5 23 Bb2)
16 Bb2 Bg4 17 c4
17 Rfe1 with h3 to come : 17 … Qd7 18 h3 h6 or 17 … Rad8 18 c4 d4 19 Qc5 h6 20 Nf3
and the whites regain space
17 … dc 18 Bxf6 gf 19 Ne4 Kg7
19 … Rxe4 20 Bxe4 f5 21 Bf3 Nd4 22 Bd5 !! with Rxb7 and Bxf7+ to follow
20 dc
20 Qc3 Qd8!
20 … Rad8 21 Rb3 ? Nd4 22 Rxe3 Qxc4
22 … Re6
23 Kh1 ? Nf5 24 Rd3 Bxe2 25 Rxd8 Rxd8 26 Re1 Re8 27 Qa5 b5 28 Nd2 Qd3 29 Nb3 Bf3 30 Bxf3 Qxf3+ 31 Kg1 Rxe1 32 Qxe1 Ne3

The abandonment is playable and was in fact played.
A beautiful pugilism
You will find the exhaustive analyses in the electronic report of the Master whom I thank in passing

To begin the agape, a passage by the Chinese pieces

4 - h#2 3 solutions
Sven TROMMLER
Franz PACHL

 8/6p1/1KWPp1P1/4krw1/1MP3n1/4P1p1/4P3/3U4
Blancs : Kb6 Pd6g6ç4é3é2 NIcb4 Pd1 Vç6
B. : Ké5 Rf5 Ng4 Pg7é6g3 Vg5
h‡2 (9+7)
NC=Chinese nightrider: A prolonged Knight who needs a sautoir to capture
V=Vao : bishop moving normally but needing a sautoir to capture
P=Pao: same definition but with the rook

3 Chinese white pieces and 3 solutions, does that speak to you?

The last one for the road comes from Hungary

  
5 - hs#4 Anticirce with twin
Gábor TAR

8/8/P7/8/5krP/7K/8/8
W. : Kh3 Pa6h4
B. : Kf4 Rg4
hs‡4 (3+2) : white plays and black helps him until the final move when white forces him to checkmate
b)pa6->a7
Anticirce : the capturing piece is reborn on its native square and the captured piece disappears. The reborn square must be free otherwise the move is illegal.

The traditional exercise for the next session has escaped me.
If the Master would like to give me back the statement, I will hasten to transmit it.

It remains for me to wish you all good reading.
See you on 26 February for the next session.

Yours sincerely

the greffier

kasparovian hairiness

You will find below the Master's rectification as well as the statement of the exercise.
Thanks to him.

For your convenience, here is the exercise translated into a diagram:

White to play and win

As this is not a wobbly position, I will not repeat the famous "Get your hands dirty".

Good reading to all

Sincerely yours

the hairy greffier

Master's word

Of course 3...Nc6 in the game (you will have corrected yourself). No other error, the following details being optional.
 
Daniel variation: let us note that 13 Qf4! (instead of the second Qb1) played by Smirin, obtaining two pawns for the qualitoche, revives the appreciation of the variation.
 
The audience's proposal, 20 Qb2! also seems satisfactory.
 
Afterwards, 23 Qb2!, 23...Nc2! and especially 27 g4!! and 27...Rxe4! could be mentioned.
 
The exercise for February 26 is 1n6/pP4k1/3P2p1/3R4/8/P4RK1/1q6/8 i.e. Kg3, Rd5 & f3, Pa3, b7 & d6 / Kg7, Qb2, Nb8, Pa7 & g6, white gain.
 
Have fun.
AV