Entries by Problemist

Author: Problemist

A horrible bad bishop for black, to be sure! In a game, the easy route would be of course to capture pawns and promote – but what if, horrors of horrors, Black finds some way to sacrifice the bishop for the promoted pawn and come to a 2N vs. K position? Not likely, but again, such things happen to us all, especially in quick time controls.

Instead, white can use the impotence of the bishop and use his knights to force mate – in one line, by sacrificing it.



Continuation:

1.Ng3! threatening Ne2(#3) 1...Bg7 2.Ne2 threatening Ngf4(#2) 2...Bh6 3.Kxc6 Bg7 4.Ngf4 Bf8 [if 4...gxf4 5.exf4#] 5.Ng6#

Interestingly, removing pawns b3/b4, and white knight on g2, leads to an even quicker mate – in 4! Can you find it?

1.Nd2! threatening Nb3(#3) 1...Bg7 2.Nb3 threatening Na5(#2) 2...Bh6 3.Na5 and 4. Nxc6#. Mate on the white square again, this time from the Q-side.

This line certainly shows that in blocked positions, the N, or in this case, a set of Ns, can severely overpower a bad bishop!

Author: Problemist



This article is the result of a training exercise by the author in determing the best ways to win or draw, down a piece, but with pawn compensation for that piece. Should readers doubt any anaylsis shown here, please feel free to contact me.

We have all experienced positions in which we are a piece down for one or more pawns, and know that the draw or win is just as much a matter of positional factors and calculation as it is the material on the board. Even a bishop for a pawn up for black, this position sits in delicate balance. Black does not win this endgame unless white falters in his attempts at combining defense and offense (the same will hold for black in some positions!). Both sides can win or lose from this initial position, but it is white to play and draw.

Author: Problemist

Many Grandmasters and World Champions have shown their skill in the problem arena, especially in those days when there was less of a chiasm between the art of the problem world and the practical world of the chessplayer. Emmanuel Lasker, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Vassily Smyslov – all have been known for at least one well-regarded composition. Alekhine, who is suspected of doctoring some of his game scores for publication in an attempt to make them appear more brilliant or finished, had perhaps the most interesting reason for not continuing in the compositional field, especially given the rumors surrounding some of his more famous annotations. In a quotation widely attributed to him, Alekhine allegedly wrote:

"I am very much in sympathy with the idea of chess composition. I would be quite happy to devise problems myself. But, the opponent, that obtrusive partner! What disappointment does he bring to a real artist in the chess business, who wants not just another win but works of lasting value."

One grandmaster who dabbled in chess problems was Frank Marshall, who showed very good promise with his first composition. Marshall's first problem appeared in the Montreal Daily Star of June 19,1894 and the solution in June 26, 1894 column. That column also noted "Marshall's problem has baffled the entire corps of Star solvers. Most chess clubs have a mascot, or at least a tender juvenile who is exhibited to strangers as the local prodigy. Mr. F.J. Marshall occupied this position in Montreal until recently, but he is beginning to bite too hard to be played with much longer. Especially as he is blossoming out as a problemist. The Star has been favored with his first composition. It is neat and highly creditable, the more so as it is as sound as a bell.”

Author: Problemist

One of the variants that attracted me to BrainKing was Horde chess. There has always been something about pawns and their movements that attracted me, particularly pawn chains and big groupings of pawns. In “regular” chess, one of my favorite sacrifices for potential advantage was the sacrifice of a piece for a pawn chain. Grandmaster Gligoric wrote some articles about this in the 1970s, and one of the most famous games with a very spectacular – and speculative! – sacrifice of this sort was made by the chess artist and “World co-champion” GM Bronstein:

Bronstein,D - Rojahn,E

Moscow Olympiad 1956

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.d3 h6 7.Nf3 e4 8.dxe4 Nxc4 9.Qd4 Nb6 10.c4 c5 11.Qd3 Bg4 12.Nbd2 Be7 13.0–0 0–0 14.Ne5 Bh5 15.b3 Nbd7 16.Bb2 Nxe5 17.Bxe5 Nd7 18.Bc3 Bf6 19.Rae1 Bxc3 20.Qxc3 Qf6 21.e5 Qf5 22.f4 Bg6 23.Ne4 Rab8 24.Qf3 Bh7 25.g4 Qg6 26.f5 Qb6 27.Qg3 f6 28.e6 Ne5 29.h4 Kh8 30.g5 Rbc8 31.Kh1 Qd8 32.g6 Bxg6 33.fxg6 b5 34.d6 Qb6 35.d7 Nxd7 36.exd7 Rcd8 37.Nxf6 Qc6+ 38.Qg2 1–0

If that game doesn’t impress the power of the pawns, I don’t know what will!

Author: Problemist

In his excellent new book, Rudolf Spielmann-Master of Invention (2006), Neil McDonald notes that not only are Spielmann’s wins of value, but one could also learn much from studying his losses. I have long been a Spielmann fan; his games are models for learning attacking techniques, especially for players without a lot of experience – as opposed to a player like Alekhine, who could also attack with the best of them, but had a style that is much more difficult for the average player to pin down.

Usually, when one finds a “TN” or technical novelty in chess, it is deep in the Sicilian or some other modern opening. Often this leads to many finding GM games “played out” or “boring.” However, I think there is still much to be learned from and improved on in the games of the old masters.

It was very rare for Spielmann to lose a King’s Gambit, although he did later give it up, writing a famous article, “Am Krankenslager des Koenigsgambits” – “On the sickbed of the King’s Gambit.” However, as we know, modern players such as Bronstein, Spassky, Fischer, and the Polgar sisters have all had their tries at the famous gambit, and I am one who does not think it is dead yet. Here is one of Spielmann’s rare losses with his beloved Bishop’s Gambit, in a variation that is essentially the Schliemann defense to the Ruy Lopez, up a tempo, for white (if you search a chess database for the position after Black’s 5th move, you’ll find a number of King Gambits and Schliemanns).