may 26 2020

Having finally succeeded in switching to a different conferencing software, the course was able to run without interruption and with more than 5 listeners.
There were a few minor issues that disrupted the lecture, but these were of no consequence as the product was relatively robust.

On the menu of the day, the resolution of the exercises, the statements for the next session, a game of Shirov where he misses a variant "à la Shirov" and the traditional fairy positions.

Below is the Master's animated report

Master's words

"Courtesy is at the same time the expression of the respect that all human beings owe each other, the elder sister of politeness and the younger of charity, humility rid of what it may have of aggressiveness, pride stripped of what it may have of stench, the improved substitute for tolerance, the key to well-made minds and well-born hearts, the modest expression of a savoir-vivre which is itself only an art of living made available to all, in short, if I may say so, the oil of the engine and the chrism of the sacrament" (Vl. Volkoff).

"Part of our errors come from the lack of light, but a greater part still from the false light proposed to us" (Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues).

"Women can do three things with nothing: a hat, a salad and a drama" (S. Guitry).

"Women inspire you with masterpieces, but prevent you from realizing them" (O. Wilde).

"

A bit misonic? If you like, it's always nicer than neophobic.

"Who doesn't know how to obey doesn't know how to be free".

"Wish that I could fly... But I can only sigh" (Snowy White).

"For man, Queen's game is often a game of "échecs" (failures)".

"I forgot my matches again. What it is to lack memory..." (Alekhine begging for his cigarette to be lit in the middle of a blind simulcast -- told by M. Cebalo).

We have often encountered the Queen and Bishop versus Queen struggle, treated in particular by Halberstadt http://lecoursdumaitre.e-monsite.com/pages/cours/cat-2012/20-novembre-2012.html Vandiest (5-1-2010), Horwitz (19-10-2010), Rinck (12-11-2013), Ellison (3-10-2017), Kozirev (31-3-2020), etc. but Becker's study is an apotheosis. The black pawn does a disservice to his side, but also to the opponent's side...

A Morphy Rook endgame whose complexity escaped the commentators of the time. Two missed opportunities for the same reason: the refusal to occupy the vital file, supporting (for the Black Rook) or watching (for the White Rook) the dangerous Black pawn. A two-color echo. An instructive detail: in the 54...Rf6+? 55 Ke4 g5 variation, I proposed a transposition in a R / R+2P which I doubted a little, but which turns out to be correct.

Two jokes to relax you after these hard tests. The first one is known, but more usual on another square, the second one is an oversight by a great composer.

Exercises for June: a problem of conjugated squares, but concerning, not Kings, but Bishops. A tournament game (rook endgame) on the

question of maximum efficiency. Then a question of promotions of the former world number 3, finally a relaxing duel of minor pieces (without pawns) like last month.

In today's game, another masterpiece of the Latvian genius, hero of our course for 30 years, which was his first contact with cybernetic chess. Far from holding the desolate remarks we quoted 2 years ago http://lecoursdumaitre.e-monsite.com/pages/cours/cat-2018/20-fevrier-2018.html he is enjoying himself, and us too, because since 2004 (date of his comments), the monster has grown stronger. The 23rd move variant was phenomenal, it is even more so now!

Solution of the Martian circé exercise given in April. We must place the Black King on a3 and the White Bishop on b2. We obtain: Ke1, Rg1, Bb2, Nh3 / Ka3. Thus, we are in the presence of an illegal triple check: the wR checks from a1 (its presumed birth square), the wB from c1, the wN (on white square) from b1. But if we remove :

-- the White rook, the last move could have been Nc1xh3+ (via g1) (double check: the bishop via c1, the wN via b1),

-- White Bishop, the last move may have been Rb1xg1+ (via h1),

-- the White Knight, the last move may have been Ba1xb2+ (via c1).

Training: continuation of the tribute to Pradignat from the last class. The other 2# have a lot of tries, the last one has more variants. A Bohemian 3#, then the famous Russian-Ukrainian tandem and a little South African catch. Another joke, twins in 4#, which gave the author a break from his Babsonesque research. A logical 4# with sacrifice, a 7# with two echoed sacrifices, where we leave the solution to test your courage.

A curious 2# helpmate (with 4 solutions) where everything is at home. In the 3# (Indian) one, 3 white figures play cyclically on 3 squares. And the one in 4 shows 2 circuits; it has an "apparent play", so a solution in 3.5. In selfmate: a 3# from the Macedonian genius (another cycle, but on 5 elements), a more difficult 5# with an unchained Queen. We prefer to leave the solution.

Have a good time. See you in June. Adeus até à próxima.

Master's diagrams