november 29 2022
With the drop in the outside temperature and the competition from the round ball, we saw a smaller audience.
But no matter, the Master regaled us with an outstanding final and a game of the day in which both players let their Queens "en prise" without any remorse.
Of course the capture has some disadvantages!
Below is the report of the Master in full possession of his means.
Good reading to all.
Master's words
"Is there anyone you don't hate? -- Jean-Sébastien Bach" (S. Labarthe's line in "Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie").
"Justice is the eternal fugitive from the camp of the defeated" (S. Weil, 1909-1943).
"What is appalling about revolutions is that men of the greatest talent and the greatest merit are sent to the scaffold by cutists, acrobats and village clerks" (M.-A. Baudot, repentant regicide).
"Women who want to be the equals of men lack ambition" (Marilyn Monroe, in full agreement with Guitry, quoted in the last lecture).
"Open conspiracy", said H.-G. Wells. Conspiracists? But everything is now out in the open. Is that all right (as Roy Orbison would say)?
"I believe I will be the worst psychiatrist imaginable, because I will understand all my patients and prove them right" (E. M. Cioran).
"The West has abandoned Christ" (M. Khadafi, who never abandoned the Star Crescent).
"Society is divided into two classes: those who believe in God and those who do not. Some, even the most humble, are our friends, our equals. The others are nothing" (Marquise de Coutelier, a character in Maupassant).
A grandmaster can win a final brilliantly without necessarily highlighting his innumerable finesses, whether it be a reciprocal zugzwang or a quasi-study. The two Nordic giants have discovered a mine, it is up to us to exploit it! Will you be able to compose a study from this astonishing ZZ: Kf2, Bc1, Ph6 / Kf5, Rg4, Pe4? Be sure to play 1 Bd2, after 1...Ke6!! you have another one!
We know that nature imitates art, but art can also imitate... art. Here, a Czech study imitates, perhaps involuntarily, a classic Austrian problem. Then a rescue with a bishop and a knight missing, where one has to be careful with the mate, despite the little material. Finally, a nice, well known but always pleasant stalemate.
Exercises for January: an immortal N+P / R, a middle game endgame, an explosion of heavy pieces and, a little more delicate, a Q+N / Q. A less busy programme with Christmas in sight.
Sometimes crazy moves, but a lot of ideas and a touch of genius: an "immortal" without a winner! Or rather, with two winners, having composed a masterpiece in collaboration. Note the astonishing (ideal) coordination of Black's forces on the queenside, allowing mate networks when there is little left.
A complexity of analysis reminiscent of Tal-Keller. The tradition is respected: don't miss the twin mini-studies of the 35 Nf6+! variation where the good in one is the bad in the other. And twice, please, from both the white and black points of view!
A tribute to Yosi Retter, my bus neighbour during the 2015 Ostróda excursion, a great, pleasant and lucid composer, who has left us. We present a Rukhlis theme, a quadruple black correction cycle and... an underrated masterpiece, in honour of Alex Casa. RIP.
To complete the workout, a few 2# of which only the 1st, 2nd & 5th seemed more difficult, followed by a strong French participation, obviously from a time when our country was not in degeneration.
A superb 3# by a brilliant composer from the... 19th century (but what did the 20th century give us?). With 3 "mirror" mates: those who don't know what that means just have to solve the problem, which we bet they'll like. There follows a Baltic 3# where one does not hesitate to sacrifice, a 4# with a geometrical peculiarity reproducing itself 4 times, then an older one with another effect achieved... 3 times.
An easy Hungarian 6# helpmate, another in 7 where we leave the solution, with 3 mates in echo. The selfmate 3# also has an idea that is realized 4 times; in closing, a "Gamn" that I solved with great difficulty last century, which might torture you for a long time without my legendary kindness. Look for it all the same!
Have a good meal and a merry Christmas . Que Deus vos proteja.
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