Swapped a signed picture of Billy Bunker and a chipped
statue of Frogmorton for this.
A good deal I’m thinking.
I like Andrew Martin writings. You often meet phrases like;
“Maybe I’m right, maybe I wrong.”
Here you get a good player looking at a position and giving it to you
from the hip.
Others would lean on an other’s assessment, or plug it into a computer.
The first is not Martin’s style and the danger of getting, say Fritz 10, to
look at a position is that Fritz 11 may come along and bust the whole line.
Authors who use this method like a crutch then feel free from criticism as
they can point to the failings of a computer rather than their own laziness or
wiliness to put their neck on the line.
You get to choose if the line is any good.
Martin gives you a good player’s assessment but;
“Maybe he’s right, maybe he’s wrong.”
Sooner or later in any game you, yes YOU, will have to make decisions.
The book is a not an introduction to the Center Counter and you have
to a fairly decent player to put his ideas in action (so I’m struggling).
36 well annotated games.
One wee hitch. Martin writes;
“I appologise for presenting some real low-quality chess….”
No such thing as low-quality chess (read this blog).
Even the most hideous game hides something instructive and as 99%
of the chess book buying public play awful chess then all the more reason
to include a game or two, or three, or four… that is not a GM game.
Why the Center Counter and not the Scandinavian?
Martin denotes a page as to why it should be called the Centre Counter.
I agree (buy,swap, or borrow the book to find out his reasons).
I call it the Center Counter because that is it’s name.
The Scandinavian, (if not referring to someone who comes from Scandinavia)
is a bird.
It’s real name is the Red Eyed Scandinavian Dove Tail.
One landed on my window ledge the other day and I drew it.
Not sure why I gave it three legs, it must have moved.
Anyway….
In the book we meet this position. White to play.
And the trick 6.Nf6+ taking advantage of the undefended Queen does not work
because Black can play 6…Nxf6 protecting the Queen.
Hmmmm….
I wonder if anybody on RHP has fallen for this idea.?
Bob Matrix - adagioperso, RHP 2006 (White to play)
7.Nf6+ and 8.Qxd5 and 1-0.
bbones27 - sica RHP 2006
White has just played 13.c4 to see where the protected Queen goes.
13….Qb7 (to an unprotected square) 14.Nf6+ and Qxb7 and 1-0.
And this is just simply hilarious.
qvillin - middenlaan RHP 2008 (White to play)
The Nf6+ trick fails because Black can capture back with Nxf6.
A minor snag like that did not deter White who played 9.Nf6+ anyway.
And Black captured back with 9…gxf6?
Some guys on here will not be deceived into developing their pieces.
10.Qxd5 and 1-0.
The RHP Game of the Week
Next time you have the day off visit your local art gallery
and turn all the masterpieces to the wall.
Their day is done, we have seen them, marveled at their beauty and
had our breath taken away but their day is over.
Turn them to wall, print out this game and paste it to the back of the canvas.
Let the beauty and depth of this game be an inspiration to you all.
JohnEngraving - andypraneet1 RHP 2011
We stand back and admire this position, Black to play.
Give it some thought. Can you see the root of a plan here?
9…Nfd7!
We are witnessing the birth of an idea.
The purpose of this move becomes clear on move 12.
10.Ne4 Qc7!
The Queen takes up her post.
11.d4 h5!
The key move, the h-file must be opened.
White should not go anywhere near this pawn. But he took it anyway.
12.Bxh5 g6!
And now we see the startling beauty of 9…Nfd7.
If the Knight had remained on f6 then White would now have Nxf6+.
13.Bf3 Qxh2! mate
