The Chess Mind

Bright and early Tuesday morning, I presented a position from IM Dave Vigorito's last-round U.S. Open win over IM Andranik Matikozian. Here's the position, with Black to move and win (brilliantly):



I requested that commentators not use computers and to bear in mind that even if they found the solution, to bear in mind that they, unlike Vigorito, were working without pressure and in the knowledge that there was something special to be found.

Much to my surprise, a couple of commentators wrote in as though the position were just trivial. Tom suggests that "a fairly straightforward 'King Hunt'" should do the job, while Alex Herrera gives the impression that as long as Vigorito doesn't stick his finger in a light socket, he could find a winning move by consulting with a chimpanzee (i.e. Black has so many moves win that picking at random should suffice).

I disagree with them both. The king hunt idea is obvious - Tom's right there - but how to finish it is not - neither Vigorito nor a number of other strong, even titled players spotted the coup de grace. In response to Alex, I think only three or four moves are winning, not 20 or so. Black has the advantage here, and moves that don't commit hara-kiri maintain that advantage. But they aren't "winning" in a non-computer sense. And of those four moves, only two are really decisive. The other two are useful and make progress, but still leave work to be done, especially in a pressure situation with the clock ticking away. And finally, one of those moves only works with the deep idea, while the other works best with it!

I'll discuss the four main candidates in reverse order of strength. First, 45...Rb2, engaging in a bit of overkill on the c-pawn, is a reasonable move if there's nothing better, and Black is computer-winning afterwards. (By this I mean that the silicon oracle bequeaths the desired '-+' symbol on the position, even if only by 1/100 of a pawn and no matter how messy it still is from a human perspective.) Black's position is certainly more comfortable, and while I'd expect Vigorito to outplay his opponent here for the full point, White's not dead yet.

Option number two is the more direct, routine 45...Bxc2. It looks strong, and it is - but you can only take credit for finding this if you calculated all of the following: 46.Rxc2 Rxc2+ 47.Nd2 Qb5+ 48.Kf2 Rxd2+ 49.Bxd2 Qf1+ 50.Kg3 e4+ 51.Qxd6 Qf3+ 52.Kh2 Qh5+ 53.Kg3 Rb3+ 54.Kf2 Qf3+ 55.Kg1 Qd1+ 56.Kh2 Qh5+ 57.Kg1 Rb1+. Black can invert his 47th and 48th moves, but otherwise, every single move is forced if Black desires more than equality. It's not trivial, folks.

Option number three was chosen by Vigorito: 45...Rxc2. White is losing badly on "normal" grounds unless he plays the obvious 46.Rxc2 - which he did. Vigorito played the equally obvious 46...Bxc2, but after 47.Nd2 White would have an edge. (The game concluded 47.Bc5? Rxb3? (47...Bb8!) 48.Bxd6= Qa7 49.Bc5?? (49.Qg7+ is best, but the resulting dead draw meant $20 instead of a possible $860. Now White is better on all continuations...but one:) 49...Bd3+! 50.Kd2 Qa2+ 0-1

After 45...Rxc2 46.Rxc2, Bxc2 was a serious error, and Vigorito saw the right move - which is also the right move (and idea) in the original position - ...Qb5+. Let's take a look at this from the original position and see how it goes.

45...Qb5+ 46.Kf2 (46.c4 and 46.Rd3 also get mated eventually - I leave that as an exercise to the readers) 46...Qf1+ 47.Kg3 e4+ 48.Kh4! (46.Qxd6 is easy to beat: 46...Qxf3+ 47.Kh4 Qh5+ 48.Kg3 Qg4+ 49.Kf2 Qf3#)



Okay, now what? Sure, Black has lots of checks, but no obvious mate and no time for quiet moves, as White threatens Qg7#. One nice try is 48...Bg3+, when 49.Kxg3 walks into 49...Qxf3+ 50.Kh4 Qh3+ 51.Kg5 Qxh6# and 49.Rxg3+ Qh1+ and ...Qxh6#. Vigorito saw all this, but also saw White's best: 49.Kg5! - White wins.

Next, let's try 48...Qh1+ (also considered by Vigorito). Now White plays 49.Rh2! Bg3+ 50.Kg5! Rc7! 51.Rxh1 Rxh1 (threatening 52...Rh5#) 52.Qf8 Be5 (renewing the mate threat) 53.Qxf5 gxf5 54.Kxf5 with a murky position that seems to be in White's favor.

Third, there's 48...g5+, which was my own second thought after 48...Bg3+. (Note that this solution doesn't work after the preliminary 45...Rxc2 46.Rxc2.) After the sequence 49.Kxg5 Rg8+ 50.Kxf5 Qxf3+ 51.Ke6 Re8+ 52.Kd7 Qxf6 53.Rg7+ Kh8 54.Kxe8 we have a position that's a bit confusing in its own right (White is threatening moves like Rf2 and Bd4), and would need to be assessed properly back on move 45. As it turns out, Black is winning with 54...Qc3, but this is no trivial task without Fritz or his brothers.

Finally, there's the clear-cut and especially beautiful solution starting with 48...Qe1+!. 49.Bf2 offers no resistance due to 49...Qh1+ and ...Qh5 or ...Qh6#, but it's not obvious what has Black gained after 50.Rgf2 (or 50.Rdf2) (indeed, Vigorito got this far in his analysis, but failed to clear the last hurdle).



Answer: 50...Qxf2+!! It's a very easy move to miss, as the follow-up to 51.Rxf2 is 51...Rh1+, when Black has sacked the queen to give a check that could have been given, for free, by a stronger piece. It's obvious why it works (52.Kg5 Rh5#) and why, in retrospect, it needed to be done, but it's very easy to miss - especially when it needed to be found on move 45, when there are so many other interesting possibilities, and no one's telling you that you have a forced, brilliant win!

Note: Black can also win with 50...Rc7! (though like 49...g5+, this is unavailable to Black after 45...Rxc2 46.Rxc2 Qb5+ [47.Kf2 Qf1+ 48.Kg3 e4+ 49.Kh4 Qe1+ 50.Rgf2]). This isn't as quick or attractive as 50...Qxf2+!!, but even 50...Rc7! 51.Qxd6 Qxe3! 52.Qxc7+ Kxh6-+ is a challenging find back on move 45.

For those of you who found the main line with 50...Qxf2+ - without the help of a chess engine - definitely give yourselves a big pat on the back! If not, well, there's always next time...

IM Dave Vigorito won his last round game, a crazy affair against fellow IM Andranik Matikozian, complete with sacrifices, time pressure, shifts in the initiative and spurned draws. But in this position, Vigorito had the chance to win the brilliancy prize (or would have, if one had been offered):



Here, with Black to move, Vigorito saw almost everything, including some brilliant points - but one idea eluded him.

Can you find what he missed? You have four advantages: you know something's there, you can move pieces around (though for best results, try to solve it, as they say, in your head), you don't have the pressure of a tournament situation to deal with, and your time is (relatively) unlimited. Even so, it's pretty tough!

The solution will be given in a few days. Please: do not use a computer or send in a comment with the correct answer!! (The first request is for your own sake - both instructionally and, more importantly, aesthetically. The second is for the benefit of those still working on it, but inclined to peek when an answer is given.)

It's hard to believe, but I guess it really happened!

Hoang Thanh Trang (2476)-Gabriele Franchini (2309)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.Nd2 c5 4.dxc5 Bxc5 5.Ne4??



5...Nxe4 0-1 (6.Bxd8 Bxf2#)

Even very strong players can forget about the weakness of the f2 (or f7) square!

The original puzzles were presented here, but here they are again, so you don't have to click away from this page:



White to move and win.



Black to move and win.



White to move and win. (You can find some background information on this last puzzle in this post from my previous blog.)

Solutions here.

The British Championship finished yesterday, and Scottish GM Jonathan Rowson retained his title with 8.5/11, half a point ahead of GM Stuart Conquest and IM Stewart Haslinger (both of England). (Adams, Short and Hodgson didn't play.)

A week or so ago I presented the miniature Richard Pert-Chris Ward (incidentally, despite the embarrassing loss, Pert rebounded to tie for 4th-5th with GM John Emms at 7.5/11, while Ward finished a point further behind in a tie for 8th-12th); today, two more substantial games.

The first, ironically, features another Pert loss, to talented young FM Stephen Gordon (who tied for 6th-7th with FM Andrew Greet with 7/11). The game features the sharp 8.Rb1 Gruenfeld line Gelfand calls his favorite (recall the Gelfand-Shirov game presented with my review of Gelfand's new book). Black normally has a passed a-pawn that can at times be quite dangerous, but Gordon allowed Black to retain his b-pawn as well in order to facilitate his own attacking chances. I don't know the theory of the 8.Rb1 Gruenfeld well enough to know how transportable Gordon's idea is to similar positions, or even if it was best in the game itself. Nevertheless, on at least this occasion, his dynamic approach worked to perfection.

The second game is an endgame win by Emms over Greet. White parlays a space advantage into the full point, but only after Black makes a mistaken judgment about which pieces to exchange and which not. I think there are some useful lessons to be learned there: the value of space, the relative strength of bishop and knight relative to each other and in conjunction with space advantages, and, finally, the game concludes with some instructive king and pawn ending technique.

They are fine games in their own very different ways, and they can be replayed here.

Our installment for this fine morning/late night includes some recent games that caught my eye for their instructional value, rather than for their competitive significance. (Not that the players and their most devoted fans would agree, of course.)

The first game, between Roussel Roozmon and Bluvshtein, shows a nifty defensive idea that conclusively saved Black in a two knights vs. two bishops ending. Generally the knights have a lousy time of it, but Bluvshtein alertly spotted a powerful drawing idea, one we can easily apply if we're paying attention.

Next, Kempinski is in trouble against van Wely in a rook ending, but utilizing an idea going back to the study composer Moravec, he finds an elegant path to the draw. (The Moravec study is presented afterwards.)

Finally, a sharp Chinese Dragon (that's redundant, I know) between Efimenko and Charbonneau reminds us that it's possible to sacrifice too many pieces. Charbonneau seems to unload every stock Dragon sac in the book, only to find that when the payoff comes, there aren't enough Black forces left to celebrate. Nevertheless, his basic attacking idea was correct and his position after the opening appears sound. So Dragon players, take heart!

Click here to replay the games and the Moravec study.

Some of the puzzles and positions I provide tend towards the challenging side, so tonight, I'll offer a few easier nuts to crack. Well, a little easier, at least. Have fun!



White to move and win.



Black to move and win.



White to move and win.

I suspect that almost every player who has looked at a beginner's book covering endgames has seen this position:



What's remarkable is that although White has no passed or even unopposed pawns, and the Black pawn structure has no weaknesses, White can nonetheless win with 1.b6! axb6 2.c6! bxc6 3.a6 (or 1...cxb6 2.a6! bxa6 3.c6). It seems like alchemy, but incredibly, it works!

Note that with Black to move in the starting position, only 1...b6! will save him - 1...a6? 2.c6! bxc6 3.b6 (or 1...c6? 2.a6! bxa6 3.b6) wins, reminiscent of the tactical trick in the previous post. After 1...b6!, none of White's tactical tricks are possible, so it comes down to the placement of the kings, which in this case ensures a win for Black.

A second note: while 1...a6 and 1...c6 both lose, with Black to move, if Black could play both moves, then he would be fine, even if we gave White an additional a, b, or c-pawn! (Unless one puts the pawn on a7 or c7, that is, but we're ignoring bughouse-ish possibilities here.) One application of this comes in the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez, when after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 c5 8.Nb3 Qxd1 9.Rxd1 etc. White's endgame fantasy is to trade off all the pieces and head for a pawn ending. White's 4-3 kingside majority is healthy and will result in a passed e-pawn, but Black's queenside majority can be stymied by placing pawns on a3, b2, and c3, and then only recapturing Black queenside pawns, never initiating the capture.

With all this by way of background, consider the following position, also, ironically, from another 1-minute game played the same night as the previous post's game:



My queenside pawn structure is healthier than Black's, but the most important feature of the position is the Black king's encroachment on my side of the board. If it were Black's move, we might see 1...Kh2 followed by 2...Bc5 3.Be1 (3.Bxc5 volunteers for a hopeless pawn ending after 3...bxc5, 4...Kh3 followed by ...Kg4xf4) Kg1 followed by ...Kf1. Maybe I can keep him from penetrating all the way to my queenside, but that sort of worry motivated my move in the game:

1.Bg3?

Maybe I'm losing anyway, but there's no question about it after his next move -

1...Bh4!

now I'm completely lost! After the forced

2.Bxh4 Kxh4

all my opponent needs to do is place me in zugzwang, so that my king has to allow ...Kg4, and then allow ...Kxf4. In part to delay (it is 1-minute chess!), and in part hoping for some sort of happy accident, I continued

3.b4



Here the hideous 3...a5?? loses to 4.c5! (again, remember the previous post), but 3...c5 and 3...b5 essentially terminate resistance. My opponent's choice didn't lose, but kept a spark of hope alive:

3...a6 4.a4



I trust everyone sees where this is going. 4...a5?? and 4...c5?? are horrible, due to 5.c5 and 5.a5, respectively, but Black's best move is 4...b5!, when, objectively speaking, resignation is required. Perhaps my opponent thought, in the constant time pressure that is 1-minute chess, that it was best to avoid pawn contact over there unless absolutely necessary, and decided to mark time with his king. Besides, the breakthrough strategy of the first diagram only works when White's pawns start a rank further up, right?

4...Kh3?? 5.b5 axb5 6.c5 bxc5 7.a5 b4 8.a6 b3 9.a7 b2 10.a8Q b1Q



We've both queened and Black has two extra pawns, but there's a little problem:

11.Qh8#

The moral of this story is that the trick from the first diagram can be effective even when the first move is 1.b5 rather than 1.b6, depending on the placement of the remaining material, especially the kings. Apply what you know!

Consider the following position:



The total number of pawns is even, but White is winning easily due to his outside passed pawn. White will start with 1.b5, using the b-pawn as a decoy. Black may garner the b-pawn, but White will help himself to as much of the Black kingside as he desires.

Next, a marginally more complicated example:



This works in the same way as the previous example, except that White first needs to convert his queenside majority into a passer. Obviously enough, we start with 1.b4 (as a general rule, first push the pawn on the unopposed file, and only push the pawn on the opposed file when its comrade needs assistance), and after 1...Kc6 2.a4 Kd6 3.b5 axb5 4.axb5 we reach the position after 1.b5 in the first example. It's a basic technique and indispensable, too.

But be careful - it doesn't always work so simply! Take this position from a recent 1-minute game:



My opponent (playing Black) has an edge, but the position is objectively drawn (disregarding the time situation, which wasn't at all a factor at this point). My pawn on f3 is a little weak but easily defensible for the foreseeable future. Black instead tries the thematic route, attempting with 1...a5 to create an outside passed pawn after 2.bxa5 bxa5 3.Kc3 Kc5, when Black is probably winning.

White can easily improve with 2.Kc3, when neither 2...a4 nor 2...axb4+ promise Black anything at all. Black's best is probably to stay put, when the game will either be drawn or (in light of the time control) degenerate into a mouse-racing contest.

Instead of 2.bxa5? or 2.Kc3, however, I chose a third option and a favorite trick from pure king and pawn endings: 2.c5+!. Sometimes it's even a winning idea, but thanks to his king's useful placement on the queenside, 2...Kc7 allows him to draw with ease. Unfortunately, he was probably surprised by my move and reacted spontaneously with the obvious but bad 2...bxc5?, when 3.bxa5 brought about a complete reversal: now White has the outside passer and all the winning chances.



I wouldn't say that Black is lost yet, but the game ended in the quick, routine way one would expect from 1-minute chess:

3...c4?! 4.Be2 Kc5 5.Kc3 Kb5 6.a6 Kxa6 7.Bxc4+ Bxc4 8.Kxc4 Kb6 9.Kd5 Kc7 10.Ke6 1-0

A lightweight example, admittedly, but the tactical trick exemplified by 2.c5+ is one to remember and include in your endgame toolbox.

Click here for the chess equivalent of the absent-minded professor walking into a telephone pole.