The Chess Mind

A couple of days ago, I presented this position:



It's White to move and win, though not immediately, and there are some beautiful points. Unfortunately, part of the game's continuation was flawed, but it led to an incredibly elegant finish, which you can replay here. Very deep, very enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I came across a clever tactical idea IM Willy Hendriks discovered (entry 382) with Fritz's help, an idea he almost got to play in a 2006 game against Timothy Spanton. Since then, I discovered a more recent Hendriks game (thank you, Chess Today), and this time things were different: the spectacular idea was his, not his software's, and he was able to demonstrate it on the board. There was one other difference: at one point he chose a beautiful but mistaken continuation that could have allowed his opponent to escape.

Here's the starting position, with White to move. (Hendriks' choice here was completely correct and gave him a winning position.)



I'll present the full game, with my analysis, either tomorrow night or the day after.

Here's the problem from a couple of days ago, from the game Ljubojevic-Durao, Orense 1974; it's White to move and win:



The solution is here.

White to move and win: can you solve it? (The answer will be given in a day or two; please don't post solutions to the comments.)

Here's the problem, first mentioned on my blog a few days ago. I discovered it on Tim Krabbé's Open Chess Diary (entry 382), but I don't want to send you there for the solution just yet, as you might find it difficult to see the problem (if you're coming to this anew, or still hope to solve it) without seeing the solution in the P.S. So here's the position; it's White to move (and not necessarily win, but to at least find some way of coping with his many hanging pieces).



When you're ready for the solution, you can traipse over to Krabbé's site, and/or click here.

In this post, celebrating Hungarian-American GM Pal Benko's 80th birthday, I presented two of his problems and one of his studies. Here once again are the positions and their associated tasks:


White to move and mate in three.


White to move and mate in three.


White to move and win.

Before offering the solution, let me express my slight regret at presenting this puzzle, as it's a modification of a 1981 study by D. Gurgenidze and L. Mitrofanov, both colossal figures in the world of chess studies. (I don't mean that Benko's modification is valueless; not at all. But it would be better to present the original first.)

All three solutions, together with the Gurgenidze & Mitrofanov original, can be replayed here.

American GM Pal Benko (we've borrowed him from Hungary) turned 80 years old two days ago (thus Wikipedia) or yesterday (so says Chess Today). While he hasn't been a terror on the world scene for a long time, he's still a player to be celebrated, especially in the United States. He was a two-time candidate, a former Hungarian champion, a star for the U.S. in several Olympics, a player without whom Bobby Fischer couldn't have played in the 1970-1972 world championship cycle, a main popularizer (though not the inventor) of the Benko Gambit, a fine endgame study composer and problemist, and the author of a very long-running endgame column in Chess Life.

He also seems a pretty decent guy. When I was living in New York in the 1990s, he was at the Marshall Chess Club from time to time, and on more than one occasion I had the chance to analyze with him. There was no need for me to show credentials or to receive an introduction from someone else (at least not that I recall!); the analysis started spontaneously and, as far as its conduct was concerned, it took place between peers. (I don't mean that I'm his equal, obviously. My point is that there was no pulling rank, either explicitly or implicitly.) All that mattered was what happened on the board.

So we celebrate his birthday, and to do so, here are a couple of his letter problems and a study (from his excellent autobiographical work My Life, Games and Compositions). We start with the letter problems, one for each of his initials.






In both cases, it's White to move and mate in three.

Next, one of his best-known studies:


Special Prize, Magyar Sakkelet 1990. White to move and win.

The solutions will be given in a day or two. (So please don't comment the answers.)

Here's the position again; your task is to assess 31.Qxd3.



The beautiful solution is here.

My copy of ChessBase Magazine (CBM) 124 arrived in the mail yesterday (if you're 2000 or higher, seriously consider subscribing, and it's worth considering for 18-1900s, too), and in the tactics section IM Oliver Reeh did a special video presentation on his favorite position of that issue. Here it is; your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to assess 31.Qxd3.



After you've had a couple of days to digest it, we'll take a closer look. It's a rich position, and your appreciation of it will only increase if you take some time trying to work through it - with the engines off, obviously!

This puzzle was presented a couple of days ago, based on this position:



White's down a piece and objectively lost, but won after 27...Ng5 28.Bxg5+ Kxg5 29.Rxe6 Kxh4 30.g3+ Kg5 31.Rg6#. The puzzle was to determine the last place Black could save (and not only save, but win) the game. The solution is here.

Here's a puzzle sent to me by an anonymous reader, from a recent 5-minute game he(?) won:



White, down a piece for next to nothing, has just played 27.Bc3-d2. The move doesn't threaten anything, but Black now goes into helpmate mode: 27...Ng5 28.Bxg5+ Kxg5 29.Rxe6 Kxh4 30.g3+ Kg5 31.Rg6#. White's idea was very clever, but (especially with the benefit of hindsight) it's clear that Black didn't have to be so cooperative. So here's the question/puzzle: what was the last moment where Black could save himself? Try to figure it out without software assistance, and I'll supply the answer in a couple of days.

It's game-like enough to suggest a study, but it's actually a directmate problem - White to move and mate in 5:


Steven Dowd & Joaquim Crusats, Probleemblad 2008

I presented it (c/o Mr. Dowd himself) on Wednesday; the solution, if you're ready for it, is here.

Most directmate problems look pretty ridiculous by the standards of OTB realism, but here, brought to you by co-author Steven B. Dowd, is a mate in five problem that looks like it could arise in a real game.


Steven Dowd & Joaquim Crusats, Probleemblad 2008; White to move and mate in 5

The solution will be given on Friday.

This is really terrific. YouTube has the full video of Karpov-Korchnoi from the recent Pivdenny tournament in Odessa, and unless you already know the game well, it's worth the 20 minutes it takes to watch both parts. (Part 1 here, part 2 here [or find and follow the link after watching part 1].)

The game is fascinating on a number of levels: it's a very interesting game, and despite the G/10 + 5 second increment time control, the players, especially Karpov, feel free to take surprisingly long thinks from very early in the game - a good lesson for those of us who race through the opening like jackrabbits, whether we know what we're doing or not! As early as move 5 Karpov starts taking substantial "thinks", but more about this below. The game is also fascinating in its own right, with some neat tactical ideas from both players before the winner has the last laugh.

I don't want to spoil anything before you've had the chance to watch anything yourself, but for those who are interested in a guided tour of the game, offering various questions and exercises for you to solve during the videos, click on.

Yesterday, I offered these three positions, all of which exemplify a common tactical idea:


White to move and win


Black to move and win


Black to move and win

If you're still working on it, then don't click below; if you have, or if you're after a (big) hint, proceed:

Here are three not quite unrelated problems:


White to move and win


Black to move and win


Black to move and win

The solutions will be given tomorrow.

Here's a neat little position, given yesterday, from the game Pavlov-Sidorchuk, Ukraine 2008:



Can White (to move) win here, and if so, how? Enlightenment, if needed, is here.

There's tactics and there's technique. We often think of these as separate categories, but in all but the simplest positions the two are inseparable. Take the following example, from the game Pavlov-Sidorchuk, Ukraine 2008:



Can White (to move) win in this position? He has an extra pawn, but with such limited material that's not a guarantee by itself. See what you can come up with, and we'll present the answer sometime Wednesday.

In this post I challenged all of you to make the best sense of this position, from the game Alekhine - J. Morrison, Manchester (simul) 1923:



It's White to move, and promising tactical possibilities are afoot on the h-file and the b1-h7 diagonal. In the game, Alekhine chose 20.Rxh7 and won, but lamented this move in his notes. During the game, he calculated 20.Nxg4 Bxg4 21.Rxh7, but found only a perpetual with 21...Kxh7 22.Qxg6+ Kxg6 23.Be4+ Kh5 24.Rh1+ Bh3 25.Bf3+ Kg6 26.Be4+ etc. The problem is that the otherwise desirable 25.Rxh3+ Kg4 leaves both the Bf4 and the Rh3 hanging. An impressive calculation in a simul, but Alekhine claims in his notes that 20.Nxg4 was the right move, as long as 20...Bxg4 is met by 21.Be3. Black's queen will presumably run away from the various possible discoveries, and then White goes back to the Rxh7 idea. The bishop won't be hanging on f4 after 22.Rxh7 Kxh7 23.Qxg6+ Kxg6 24.Be4+ Kh5 25.Rh1+ Bh3 26.Rxh3+ Kg4, so White can conveniently and attractively finish Black off with 26.Bf5#.

Now that you know a little of what Alekhine saw and was thinking, you might want to return to your chessboards (or monitors) and see what else you can come up with. When you've worked it all out, you can have a look here.

From the game Alekhine - J. Morrison, Manchester (simul) 1923:



It's White to move, but not necessarily to win. Some analysis will be presented at some point the next few days, but see what you can come up with in the meantime - it's a really fascinating position. For those of you who would like a hint at a couple of places to start investigating, click below.