A great teaching position

White to play and win: Rovner-Kamyschev, 1947

160 years ago today

The Immortal Game was played by Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritsky on June 21, 1851.  Happy 160th anniversary!

Chess at Citadel emailed this comment today:

Kieseritzky liked the game so much [that] he looked for any opportunity to show and publish it, apparently with success. Two years later, utterly impoverished, he died in Paris. Only the waiter from his favorite chess cafe in Paris showed up for his funeral. So much for fame and immortality in chess.

White sacrifices a bishop, two rooks, then a queen!  By 21st century standards, portions of the game are a bit silly (the defense is not of a very high quality compared to the Evergreen Game), but the concluding combination is something to behold. For the short version, advance the video to the ten-minute mark.

Who Was That Masked Man?

I beg you, please check out this video from ChessNetwork about an utterly astounding combination played by some unknown player (Black) in an online game against a FIDE Master (White). One of the most amazing combinations I have ever seen. Frankly I can't recall ever seeing a finer combination by anyone, ever. Anyone who can find such a combination over the board is either extremely strong player or using an engine. I hope it was the former.

Chess is hard!

Jerry Neugarten, the chair of the Illinois Chess Association's Youth Chess Committee, is putting the finishing touches on the ICA's guide to curricula and study resources for young players.  I pulled out my copy of Irving Chernev's Logical Chess: Move by Move, a classic collection of annotated games for beginners, to see whether it belongs on the list.  It does indeed: it's a fun and instructive read.

But my silicon friend discovered something amazing in the final position of the very first game.  Can you discover it, too, using wetware alone?

 von Scheve - Teichmann, Berlin 1907

Position after 17...Bxf2

White to play resigned

Chernev explains White's resignation: "Black's threat was 18...Qh3+ 19.Nh2 Qxh2#."  ("#" is the abbreviation for "checkmate".)  "As 18.Rxf2 runs into 18...Nxf2#, there was no escape."

NEVER TRUST ANYTHING YOU READ IN A CHESS BOOK!  (This goes double for blogs written by patzers.)  99.9% of the time, the book will be right and you'll discover why your challenge was wrong.  But every so often, you'll discover something cool.

Rosen - Bowersock, round 3

Rosen - Bowersock

Denker Tournament of Champions, Round 3

White to play: what's the best move?

Eric lost a seesaw battle to the Michigan champion in Round 3.

The computer found a cute shot here for White.  (The idea is not that hard: what move is White dying to play?  How can White make this dream move possible?)  But the followup is rather messy.

The one that got away....

Rosen-Robson, US Junior Invoitational 2010

After 42...Rb2

White to play and win

Andrew Karklins - Brock 2010, continued

This position from the Chicago Open is still haunting me!

 White to move

A. Karklins - Brock, Chicago 2010

Time to put on your thinking cap!

In the game, young Mr. Karklins could have played 23.c5 with some advantage: my bishop on b6 is shut out of play.  Instead, he blundered with 23.Re3?  I'm pretty sure that my reply, 23...Ne5! gives Black a nice advantage, but the complications after 24.Nxe4!? are rather amazing.  

In the game, I went wrong with 24...Ng4?  What is White's best reply?  Evaluate the position and give Black's best reply to White's best reply.

I could have played the superior 24...Ref8!  Now Rybka says that 25.Kg1 is best.  But what should Black do if White plays 25.g3 instead? 

Black to play

A. Karklins - Brock, Chicago Open 2010 (variation)

If you find a good move, look for a better one!