may 28 2024

For this sixth course of the year, the audience was reduced with the absence of Pierre, Gilles, Véronique and Jacques.

We mourned the loss of our friend Guy, who so often delighted us at dinner with the multitude of creations of which he had the secret.
If there is a composer's paradise, there's no doubt that he's in the right place.
You will find a tribute by the Master below, as well as some of his compositions.

As usual, the correction of the first exercise, a Rook endgame, took us some time.
The game of the day, in which White is led by Tal, allowed us to be in our element, i.e. with less material!

The next course will be held on 22 June.

Happy reading, everyone.

Master's words

It is becoming courageous and will soon be heroic to continue to assert that 2+2=4.

A sentence that has already been quoted (on 30 April 2019) has never seemed so up-to-date, even if the singer Lou probably meant it in a different way ("you're going to reap just what you sow") https://youtu.be/_TWss3QmmK0 A thought also for his best collaborator (Renée notwithstanding!), the incomparable Nico, quoted on 3 November 2015. https://youtu.be/0_z_UEuEMAo "I wonder if I'll see another highway".

« The greatest misfortune for a people or a country is to abandon or diminish the truth. You can recover from everything else. You can never recover from the sacrifice of principles » (Mgr Ch. Freppel).

"France is a country where people are afraid of words, just as in other countries they are afraid of ghosts." (A. Bonnard).

"You don't just have to read these journalists who insult us, you have to see their faces! It's informative and, in a way, reassuring." (S. Guitry).

«A choice which is identical to that of the greatest number is fatally bad" (P.-A. Cousteau).

"In chess, as in real life, titles are sought only by those whose names have too little lustre by themselves" (J. Beasley).

"One of my secondary ambitions was to have enough comments from readers so that I wouldn't have to write the magazine myself!" (J. Beasley).

"I believe in God, but I'm not a particularly religious person. So I don't bother God about what I did wrong in any of my games." (V. Anand).

A very complex Rook engame, with a reversed choice and an allusion to Taimanov-Larsen, see move 57 : january 17 2017 (e-monsite.com) It's all very clear, and you just need to take a little time, as opposed to the 'savage rhythms' currently being bandied about. And the nuggets are all yours...

A battle of heavy pieces in which two Rooks play off each other against Queen and Rook. And two charming sub-promotions.

Next month, a women's pawn endgame with a single error, but butchered by prestigious commentators. Then a rescue using a normally offensive procedure, an O'Kelly exercise with four Rooks and a choice between two moves that seem equivalent.

Explosive game of the day, where the great Hungarian strategist disdains the immediate draw and pretends to refute the generous sacrifice of the former world champion. The 17...Be7 variation defies understanding, both Talian and Hypertalian! Isn't White's conductor an umjetnik i borac (artist and fighter)? And note his comments. As well as his humour, but you already knew that.

Training: don't look for the threat of the first 2#, look for the threat of the 2nd! Tries in 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th (strong), 10th & 11th two-moves. Active white Knights in the first 3#, humour in the 2nd, strategy and sacrifice in the 5#.

Sacrifices too and nice mates in the 2.5# helpmate (White starts) of our dear President. Two Macedonian helpmate follow, one with 2 solutions, the other with a twin, where the mates are also models. An amusing 2# selfmate. In the 3# selfmate, things happen on the d4 square. Finally, our immeasurable kindness leads us to leave the solution of the terrible s#5.

With the bad news multiplying these days comes this: our brilliant friend Guy, co-author of our divine 'ouaibe-masteurre' in 2009, has just passed away at the age of 58. "He will always be remembered as the meteoric genius of composition who simply presented complicated ideas," says Rémy.

I played against him twice. At Le Touquet in 1986, I blundered with White on the 21st move and ended up losing, whereupon he... proposed a draw! Ten years later, we're in Martinique playing for the tournament win. He was hot on my heels, but I carefully prepared the Smyslov variation of the Spanish, which had brought me some success in the past, thinking that I could draw easily. What do you think happened? He crushed me in his preparation, laying down a theoretical novelty on the 18th move and, due to a bad reaction on my part, found himself much better on the 21st. After 25 painful moves (a speciality of mine, it's true) I drew, securing first place. Further proof that zélo points mean nothing.

Another 10 years later, he began a phenomenal career as a composer. His preference was for helpmates, but he didn't confine himself to them (studies, fairies and even a few directs and selfmates). We offer a choice of them, without hiding the solutions (the 3rd & 6th are my favourites). They all seemed difficult to me, but please make the effort to look them up, which is a sine qua non condition for appreciating their beauty.

Don't miss the report on the French resolution championship, featuring the fierce battle between two grandmasters.

Enjoy your meal. Isten áldjon.