Gibralter Masters ...a great move

Apparently White ( Bela  Khotenashvili ) had about 20 seconds left when she played the great move Kf1.

Black to Play

Black ( a 2600-rated GM ) responded very quickly, presumably to keep time pressure on his opponent, but unfortunately fell into a well-designed trap.

1...Rd2 failed completely and Black resigned after  2. Rxg5 hxg5 3.Bd3

Wonderful chess !

A lost endgame

White to play here and complete the victory...

Yes, this is blitz, and I had already accepted that this was a loss after an interesting middlegame where I had gained the upper-hand  and 2 pawns, but had about 10 seconds left against White's 3+ minutes ( time is my biggest issue in blitz !).

Knowing the time for a slow victory was passed I had sacrificed Bishop for 2 pawns, but it was not a sound play !

However, with two active Rooks I played on and saw White switch from stopping my Rook attacks to throwing in a couple of checks : he began to change focus from stopping me, to winning himself.

Here we are, with Black giving up another pawn ( via Kxa6)  to put the Rooks on the same file .

In fact, here there is only one move that wins for White, although I didn't know it or have the time to plan further than my next move.

My opponent didn't play it, we carried on with Black checking and the White king moving, then 4 moves later White resigned before the mate arrived.

A significant lesson !

White to play and win after 47..Rcb7

A Queen sacrifice

Two great examples of an Arabian mate motif that unveils itself with deadly effect !

I really enjoy how the pattern arises in so many ways. 

Once learned, it appears, almost by magic, all over the place !

White to play

White to play

Interference

I liked this problem a lot.

The first move is straightforward, and once you understand the reason why it needs to be played, the remainder slots into place.

The dominant theme is what Chesstempo terms Interference.

I have been focusing on this theme with a number of problem sets of increasing difficulty, although always a maximum of 2 moves, so its the theme that is identified and reinforced during the practice.


Initially, I really couldn't see how Black was supposed to prevent mate.

I took about a minute and a half to play the first move, and a further 3 to ensure that I was correct and really could win as Black !

There are a surprisingly high number of wrong moves, with the major culprit surely a result of mis-calculation.

Black to move after 31...Qg2

A combination from 1919

Here's a missed combination from a 1919 game featuring Max Euwe.


 As White, Hendrik van Hartingsvelt is playing against Max Euwe in Haarlem, 1919.

White to play

Van Hartingsvelt misses a nice combination to win a pawn, and a few moves later plays the strange Qe4, which must surely be a fingerfelher, since he captures the pawn next move after 13...fxg 14. Qxg2.

13. Qe4 ??

He then seals his fate with 21.Bf4

21.Bf4

None of these are too hard to find, and the combination in the first diagram is a sweet one, so its interesting to see the difference in play ( or maybe that should be in expectations ?) between 1919 and 2019 as van Hartingsvelt was a top player in the Netherlands at the time ( EDO rates him as 2251 and Euwe as 2300 ).

In 2019, would you expect a 2350-rated player to miss a pawn-winning combination just 7 moves into the game ?

In fact, I find the same position 2 more times since Euwe's game and neither plays the best move,although 2039-rated Milan Lizner finds a similar combination after missing it first time around !

Drawn ?

I'm playing in a weekend tournament at the moment : last game today.


Saturday's game saw me reach an endgame with just pawns and knights, where I thought it could be drawn, or at least tricky to win.

Black to play on or accept a draw

As White, I was a pawn down and had played my way to this position, exchanging both rooks to reach it, and at this point ( about 3 hours played ) I took a chance on a draw offer, as it looked that way.

It also felt like a Black advantage.

After about 5 minutes thought, my opponent accepted but gave the line of 34...Nd8 35. Ng1 Nf7 36. Nf3 Nh6+ 38. Kg3.

He still thought it a draw.

We had no time to talk further, but I think that Black should play on the Queenside for an simpler win, and probably shouldn't have exchanged down to the single pawn in front of the King.

I his position, I believe I would have played on longer, but circumstances often prevent us from always continuing to the end.

Overall, an enjoyable game versus an Advanced French defence with 5...c4, which I had only ever seen in Blitz !