Let’s do one of these....
Here is a blank board,
See if you can set up the pieces for a game of chess.
If you have this position.
This is correct. Your are a Grandmaster. Well done.
If you have this position.
You have the Black King and Queen on the wrong squares. But you are an I.M.
If you have this position.
You have a White pawn missing. Look under the sofa.
If you have this position.
You have been letting your little sister play with your chess set.
If you have something like this position.
You have no pieces missing but you are colour blind.
I happened upon this game the other day in a magazine.
A. Beni - J. Littlewood, Lucerne 1963
I did a ‘Pause before Promoting’ piece way back in November 2013 where I showed
examples of RHP players promoting right into a stalemate. Here are two more from
this year. Do people read these pages, or do they think they will not make this mistake?
Igormedvid - bako86 RHP 2015
White played 62.f8=Q stalemate.
Kunsoo - ChrisVicAU RHP 2015
White played 55.e8=Q stalemate.
Faith that I have at least one reader was restored in...
batjuchin - Muz Reid RHP 2015
56...exf1=Q or R is stalemate. Black played 56...exf1=B! and mated next move.
I’ll end this wee updated section on ‘Pause before Promoting’ with an OTB game.
Nothing special except it shows that the Black player forgot his sense of humour.
A. Beletsky - N. Danilyuk, Novosibirsk 2009
Talking of stumbling across games and using them here, I found this recently.
B. Gelfand - P. Svidler FIDE World Cup 2001. (Black to play.)
Incredibly Svidler missed 85...Qc5+ winning the f8 Rook.
The game continued with Svidler failing to find the win, it’s tough to do,
try it sometime against a computer, this game was drawn on move 129,
We now enter the Twilight zone and See How an RHP player plays a KQ v KR ending.
Oakey1 - Captain John RHP 2012.
In the late Middle Game White could have wrapped this up here...
...with 41.Ra1 and 1-0. Instead we find ourselves in this position.
Puzzle No. 910. White to move. Pick up the Rook.
So that is how to do it. What did White play here.
Well it was a Queen fork. White played 51.Qf3+
Black took the Queen. 0-1.
We continue this piece on Queen and Rook endings with four positions from this year.
Ad Parnassum - Odinson RHP 2015
Black did not play 84...Rh6+ and stalemate after 85. Kxh6. Black lost.
gilaadm - blue bird RHP 2015
Black did not play 90....Rf2+ and stalemate after 91. Kxf2. Black lost.
odoodsdudes - Aanatol RHP 2015
White did not play 107 Rf3+ and stalemate after 107...Kxf3. White lost.
So did I find a successful stalemate from a Q v R endings played this year? Yes!
djquatre - chessber RHP 2015
White played 76. Re2+ Black should have played 76..Kf4.
Instead Black took the Rook. This stalemate was unsound!
And finally this we end with this specimen of RHP creativity.
karoly aczel - milatin RHP 2009
Good work,
Yes you should wring these positions dry I took what I thought was the easiest to show and explain.
There will be a few solutions based on that unprotected Rook.
1. Qd7+
Black has only 4 retreat squares.
If 1. … Ka8 or 1. … Ka6
(with the idea of interposing the rook if White checks again on the rank)
2. Qa4+ (forking; takes the rook next move)
1. … Kb6
2. Qe6+ (forking)
1. … Kb8 (best move for black; prolongs the agony)
2. Qe8+
Black has only 3 retreat squares
If 2. … Kb7 or 2. … Kc7
3. Qf7+ (forking)
If 2. … Ka7
3. Qa4+ (forking)