The Chess Mind

Here's the position, from the game Karim-Zhu Chen, Gibtelecom Masters 2008:



It's White to move, and in this post (see also its successor) I challenged my readers to determine whether the opposite colored bishops suffice to ensure that Black can draw. Happily, many readers responded with some thoroughgoing and plausible analyses mostly suggesting that White can win.

They're probably right, too, but I haven't spent as much time on this as I'd like to, or as much as I'd need to in order to agree with a completely clear conscience. So in part to stall(!), and in part to keep the fun going, here's another bit of information for my analytically-inclined readers to chew on:



This is Kramnik-Svidler, Wijk aan Zee 2004, and rather than move Svidler threw in the towel. This was an unfortunate decision on his part, not merely because he could still cause Kramnik some technical problems, but because the final position is objectively drawn! (Click here for the details.)

Returning to our main game, there are variations that the readers devised that reach positions akin to Kramnik-Svidler, so before I fully delve in, I'd like to give all of you one more chance to draw your conclusions with this last bit of background info in mind. Have fun!

Very early Friday morning I presented this position, in which White can survive his desperate plight by the hair of his chinny-chin-chin:



But how? You need not huff and puff to find the answer; just click on the last word of this sentence. If you'd like a little hint first, then click on "Show":

From the game Palevic-Luzniak, corr. 1981.



White to move and draw; the solution will be given in a day or two.

Yesterday we saw this innocent-looking position, brought to us by the fertile mind of study composer David Gurgenidze:



It's White to move and win in this 1974 composition, and the solution seems absurdly obvious at first.

1.hxg7 looks like an instant winner, threatening both 2.f8Q+ and 2.gxh8Q. Yet if Black's rook wasn't on h8, the simple 1...Bxf7 would solve all of his problems. So here's the deal: we need to move the Rh8, but only if we can do so with check. And that in turn can happen only if White's king is lured to h1 or, much more likely, to the second rank. Black's rejoinder is thus 1...Rg2+!.

The adventures aren't over yet, but rather than spoil all the fun right away, I'll let you find the rest of the story here, when you're good and ready.

David Gurgenidze (not to be confused with Bukhuti Gurgenidze, who devised the system in the Modern with ...c6, ...d5, ...g6 and ...h5) is one of the world's leading study composers, and efforts like this one will help you see why.



It's White to move and win; the solution will be given tomorrow. (Don't comment the answer, please.)

When International Master Kenneth Regan takes a fancy to a position, he analyzes it deeply. Very deeply. But as you'll see from this abridged (yes, abridged) analysis of the pawn ending from Adams-Polgar (Corus, Round 12), he has a fine ability to explain what's going on as well - you'll see the trees and the forest,too. (Update: Tree lovers can download the unabridged version here.)

So thanks, Ken, for offering to share your analysis of the ending with us; readers, here it is.

In a recent post, I offered this position from Karim-Zhu Chen, Gibtelecom Masters 2008. It's White to move:



The post received a lot of analytical interest in the comments, and I'd like to keep it going. It's clear that some of the analysts had seen the actual continuation in the game, but some might not have. So to help stimulate more ideas, I've linked to the game, sans analysis. (The diagrammed position arises after Black's 60th move.) I'll weigh in on the game later - assuming someone doesn't solve it perfectly in the meantime.

A couple of days ago I presented this position, from the just-finished Gibtelecom Masters tournament in Gibraltar:



This is from the key game Efimenko-Bu Xiangzhi from the penultimate round. Had Bu won, he would have clinched clear first, and a draw would have pretty much guaranteed the same result. Efimenko is pressing, however, and Bu has real problems with his queenside pawns. Strangely, it might seem, my question asked about 40.g4, whether White ought to play it. At best, it seems utterly irrelevant to the queenside action; at worst, it may allow the tactical shot 40...Nxg4.

So is it the right move? To learn the answer, or at least Efimenko's answer, click here.