april 2 2024
Before this fourth course of the year, we learned of the passing of our friend Jean-Luc.
In spite of this, the course was held with dignity, with the Master in excellent form, assisted by the hard core to contradict or improve, as the case may be, the masterly analyses.
Correcting the exercises took quite a long time, especially the first one, which was so full of points that it was very tiring.
This was followed by 2 games of sacrifices of all beauty and finally a few fairy problems skilfully selected by the Master.
At the end of the problems you'll find Jean-Luc's famous mate in 25 moves.
The next lesson will be on 27 April.
Happy reading!
Master's words
"He had no right to make her smile like that." (Rose-Marie -- said Romy -- Schneider in "Garde à vue", 1981).
« Take care! In "échecs" there is "échec" » ("La chambre noire" in "Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie", 2021).
"If you were me, would you do it? -- Can I wait a little? -- ...? -- Before being you" ("Dragnet", 1954).
"Order, and order alone, creates freedom. Disorder makes servitude" (Ch. Péguy).
"Order rather than law" (N. Bukele, President of Salvador).
"While they jerk off, they leave us in peace" (M. Poniatowsky, Minister for the Interior, unexpectedly praising pornography).
"Irresolute, voracious, vulgar and thuggish" (Chirac by Mitterrand).
"The European Union is the old Soviet model in Western clothing. But, like the ussr, it carries within it the seeds of its own demise. Unfortunately, when it collapses -- and it will -- it will leave behind immense destruction, and gigantic economic and ethnic problems. In the USSR we had the Gulag. I think we have it in the EU too. An intellectual gulag called political correctness. When someone wants to say what they think, if their opinions differ from those approved, they are ostracised. I've lived in your future, and it didn't work." (Vl. Boukovsky).
« Those who defend abortion manipulate words. The body of the unborn child is not the body of its mother. She has no right or freedom to interrupt a life that is not her own, contradicting Article 16, which guarantees respect for the human being from the beginning of his or her life. » (Véronique Lévy).
"The Puy du Fou doesn't offer what the French like, but what they could like" (Ph. de Villiers). With immense success, it seems. In an infinitely more modest way, but with the same motto, the... "master course".
When everything melts down, everything gets better, things become easy, don't they? It's not that simple. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZNPx59vK78
"If I had made it 6-0 in that first World Championship, we would never have heard anything about Kasparov again. That was the biggest mistake of my career." (A. Karpov).
"Those who build bridges between OTB players and the problem community are invaluable!" (D. Shire in march 2024, celebrating the 90th birthday of Viktor Chepizhny).
A conversation in a restaurant with a friend from Cannes who hardly ever plays chess but reads the editorials of the " master course " attentively. "What do you do if you lose your Internet connection for 5 years? -- Even if my two computers are destroyed, I have enough to run the course for much longer than 5 years! As far as reading is concerned, I've got enough to do, chess and non-chess, for more than 10 years. If God gives me life, it makes sense.
The Knight-Bishop endgame can become a very curious Queens' endgame. But first a " Middle Way " with Knight and two pawns against Bishop. Then an unheard-of rescue with the said two pawns less (with ZZs galore, of course). Finally a Black King who must go to the right side, in solidarity with his Bishop: to e3 if he is on b7, to g3 if he is on d7. A fine example of respect for one's subordinate! Finally, as a climax, an amusing "sweet sweet home" !
After this sumptuous spectacle, two relaxations: neutralisation of a Black Queen by Rook and Knight, then of a mass of pawns by Bishop and Knight.
For the next session: can we draw with a Rook against a Queen when the pawns are on one side of the board? Or with a "minor" piece against three. Or win with strict equality of material, but a very advanced pawn. Or save with a knight and a pawn down.
A tribute to the Johner brothers, Hans (1889-1975) and Paul (1887-1938), Swiss players and problemists. Paul (who died prematurely) composed 22 problems, half of them in collaboration with his brother or W. von Holzhausen, according to D.Turevski database. Hans' work, which is much more extensive, comprises 353 problems (5 of which are included in our course). On the other hand, Paul played about twice as many games as Hans.
Paul has picked up a number of scalps : Blackburne, Duras, Przepiorka, Alekhine, Treybal, Alapin, Chajes, Kostić, Perlis, Vidmar, Marshall, Hromadka, Breyer, Opocensky, Réti, Gruenfeld, Tartacover, Prokeš, Saemisch, Rosselli del Turco, Tarrasch, Mieses, Teichmann, Mattison, Colle, L.Steiner, Leonhardt, Bogoljubow, Najdorf and Mikenas. Hans simply Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch, Rosselli del Turco, our multi French champion Boutteville, H.Grob, O.Bernstein and Wade.
After a fratricidal confrontation containing (obviously) a problem theme (in duplicate, by the way), a brawl with a player whose surname forces him to "set fire on board".Would you prefer to sacrifice in e6, f7, g6, g7 or h7? The choice is yours. There's also a diagram with three simultaneous pinning and an episode of White Bishop jealousy.
Paul was also a violinist. In his honour, the slow movement of Beethoven's concerto https://youtu.be/m8q4A38uNLM one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.
Training: the first two 2# were proposed in Ohrid (already almost 6 years old), then two small HJ puzzles. Lots of tries in these 4. The following is quieter, just a few seconds longer for the 8th, 10th & 11th. Two 3# from PJ, the first with 14 (!) mates from a Rook, the second with two Queen sacrifices. The two 3# from HJ will make you think harder (solutions on request, it's up and to the right of your screen!).
in helpmate 2#, an "Albino" (= white Pickaninny) by the recently deceased Finnish genius. Then two charming Macedonians. A tribute to the great "Chep" (see above). An excellent Russian selfmate with sacrifices, and finally a lovely and difficult Czech selfmate with model mates, where we forgot to remove the solution.
Sad news. Our friend John Beasley, whom just a month ago I was helping to republish his cute booklet on pawn endgames, see http://lecoursdumaitre.e-monsite.com/pages/cours/cat-2023/21-novembre-2023.html has just passed away. In Messigny's days, how many moments did we share over a marc de Bourgogne? He was the perfect embodiment of Tarrasch's phrase about the two arts that, along with love, bring joy to the human heart: music and chess. RIP.
Another sadness: Jean-Luc Seret, star of this course http://lecoursdumaitre.e-monsite.com/pages/cours/cat-2023/7-fevrier-2023.html
also resigns. A multiple French champion, notably at Alès 1984, he was also a problemist. The example he set was little followed, on our soil at least. His 25# is renowned the world over. Here it is, in case you don't know it yet. May God have his soul.
Enjoy your meal. Szczęśliwych świąt Wielkanocnych.
Add a comment