To start 2019, I will on most days post positions, moves, or games that have given me pleasure during 2018. I will intersperse these with two further items: (i) a pot pourri of puzzles taken from my years of newspaper clippings, printouts and other pieces of paper which I have collated over the years. I have piles of the latter, and made a new year’s resolution to go through them, clearing out those which no longer interest me. I hope to find some gems in these old papers. (I made the same new year’s resolution last year, and the pile has grown, not reduced…)
Solution
See here for the solution.
To start 2019, I will on most days post positions, moves, or games that have given me pleasure during 2018. I will intersperse these with two further items: (i) a pot pourri of puzzles taken from my years of newspaper clippings, printouts and other pieces of paper which I have collated over the years. I have piles of the latter, and made a new year’s resolution to go through them, clearing out those which no longer interest me. I hope to find some gems in these old papers. (I made the same new year’s resolution last year, and the pile has grown, not reduced…)
Solution
See here for the solution
To start 2019, I will on most days post positions, moves, or games that have given me pleasure during 2018. I will intersperse these with two further items: (i) a pot pourri of puzzles taken from my years of newspaper clippings, printouts and other pieces of paper which I have collated over the years. I have piles of the latter, and made a new year’s resolution to go through them, clearing out those which no longer interest me. I hope to find some gems in these old papers. (I made the same new year’s resolution last year, and the pile has grown, not reduced…)
Solution
See here for the solution.
To start 2019, I will on most days post positions, moves, or games that have given me pleasure during 2018. I will intersperse these with two further items: (i) a pot pourri of puzzles taken from my years of newspaper clippings, printouts and other pieces of paper which I have collated over the years. I have piles of the latter, and made a new year’s resolution to go through them, clearing out those which no longer interest me. I hope to find some gems in these old papers. (I made the same new year’s resolution last year, and the pile has grown, not reduced…)
Solution
See here for the solution
To start 2019, I will on most days post positions, moves, or games that have given me pleasure during 2018. I will intersperse these with two further items: (i) a pot pourri of puzzles taken from my years of newspaper clippings, printouts and other pieces of paper which I have collated over the years. I have piles of the latter, and made a new year’s resolution to go through them, clearing out those which no longer interest me. I hope to find some gems in these old papers. (I made the same new year’s resolution last year, and the pile has grown, not reduced…)
Solution
https://allanbeardsworth.com/2018/01/19/daily-chess-puzzle-39/
Today’s problem is from the recently published AlphaZero v Stockfish match.
Since the start of 2018, I have decided to adopt the style of only saying which side is to play: and not giving an idea if the move wins or otherwise, unless on occasion I think signposting would be helpful. Instead, the problems are posed with the instruction to decide what you would play, as in a game.
White to play
AlphaZero v Stockfish
Solution
1 d5!!
1…ed 2 Bd3!!
AlphaZero shows his preference for mobility over material. The opening of the long diagonal, where White’s bishop is unopposed, is worth more than a pawn.
The whole game is beautiful, and has been annotated by several players, e.g. on YouTube.
I have added the game score onto my ChessBase Cloud Database.
And an animated gif is here:
FEN
r1b2qk1/1pp3rp/4pnp1/1PP5/p2PBp2/P7/1BQ2P2/K1R1R3 w – – 0 30
Today’s position is an interesting endgame from the recent London Classic.
Since the start of 2018, I have decided to adopt the style of only saying which side is to play: and not giving an idea if the move wins or otherwise, unless on occasion I think signposting would be helpful. Instead, the problems are posed with the instruction to decide what you would play, as in a game.
White to play
McShane v Hawkins, British KO, London 9/12/18
Solution
Luke played 1 Re7, and, after the game, told me he felt he had a fairly substantial advantage. There seem to be three factors: his rook on the seventh, control of the e-file, and his well placed B, cutting the King from moving to c8 and d8.
I have spent some time analysing the endgame, without forming a conclusion. I suspect Jonathan had better drawing chances by some move order changes in the line he played, or by activating his King via b6.
See the game file on my ChessBase Cloud Database.
In the game, White centralised his King, a pair of rooks came off, further centralisation, and then the exchange of the remaining rooks. Lovely play by Luke, which advanced him to the semi-final, where he beat Mickey Adams. {This blog is written days in advance, before the final v Gawain Jones has started).
FEN
1k1r3r/1pp2ppp/p2p4/1b6/6B1/1PP5/P1P2PPP/1K1RR3 w – – 0 20
Today’s problem is from a game I looked at because of a puzzle set in the December 2018 issue of Chess magazine .
Since the start of 2018, I have decided to adopt the style of only saying which side is to play: and not giving an idea if the move wins or otherwise, unless on occasion I think signposting would be helpful. Instead, the problems are posed with the instruction to decide what you would play, as in a game.
White to play
Carlsen v Ivanchuk, Foros, 8/6/18
Solution
Carlsen played 1 c5!
What appealed to me was Carlsen’s comments in his annotation of the game in Megabase 2019:
I think this is basically the only move, as the highest priority is to activate the bishop.
A move I might not consider, let alone might not play; and if I were considering playing it I would be scared I was throwing away a pawn…was basically an “only move” according to Magnus; and, of course, he might well be correct.
Interestingly, though, three engines on my PC, given a few minutes to examine the position, don’t suggest 1 c5:
The engines, and Magnus, say 1 c5 dc was probably better than 1…Nc5.
Maybe 1 c5 is nothing “special” in terms of its force, but I think it is as a concept. And we will see something very similar in my posting for 31st December 2018 from the AlphaZero v Stockfish match.
FEN
r4q1k/ppp1n2p/3pnbp1/1P2pp2/2P1P3/2N2P2/P3B1PP/R2QR1K1 w – – 0 19
Today’s problem is from the 1972 book “Chess Combination as a Fine Art”, a book based on articles published in the 1950s-1960s by Kurt Richter.
Since the start of 2018, I have decided to adopt the style of only saying which side is to play: and not giving an idea if the move wins or otherwise, unless on occasion I think signposting would be helpful. Instead, the problems are posed with the instruction to decide what you would play, as in a game.
White to play, after 1…d4. Examine 2 g5 de
Blau v Kanko, Olympiad 11/11/1966
Solution
3 gf! Qf3[] and now 4 Rg7+ is only equal, but throwing one more piece into the party, 4 Nd5!, wins.
5 Ne7+ and if 5…Kh8 6 fg mate is threatened, so White regains the Q. No more needs to be calculated.
Note that 4 Rg7+ Kh8[] 5 Bd3 fails to 5…e4 and if 6 Be4, 6…Qf4+ 7 Kb1 Bf5 and Black wins. 6 Nd5 is level; and 5 Nd5 is advantage white, in this line.
FEN
r1b2rk1/1pq1bppp/p4n2/3pp3/4PPP1/2N2Q2/PPP2B1P/2KR1BR1 w – – 0 14
Today’s problem is from the 1972 book “Chess Combination as a Fine Art”, a book based on articles published in the 1950s-1960s by Kurt Richter.
Since the start of 2018, I have decided to adopt the style of only saying which side is to play: and not giving an idea if the move wins or otherwise, unless on occasion I think signposting would be helpful. Instead, the problems are posed with the instruction to decide what you would play, as in a game.
Black to play
Galeb v Cornelis, Varna Olympiad 26/10/1966
Solution
1..b4 and Black breaks through to c1, or the pawn promotes: the game continued 2 Rd5 bc 3 Rc5 cb and the pawn queens next move.
White now played 4 Qh5, whereas 4 Rf5 would have limited Black’s advantage, at least according to my engine. White’s king can get to g3, and might be safe. After 4 Qh5, the black rook swings to b8 and down to the first or second rank, winning.
FEN
5rk1/6pp/p7/1pqb1p2/4p3/2N1P2Q/PP1R2PP/6K1 b – – 0 28
allanbeardsworth 