A position from a Birmingham League match....that is Birmingham in the U.K.
I’ve never been to the U.S.A. Birmingham but I have been to the UK Birmingham.
I’ve also been to Boston to see the Boston Barracudas speedway team. I have
no idea if the U.S.A. Boston has a speedway team. I have never been there.
I’ve been to York many times but never New York. I really must get out more.
J. Crump - A. Holowczak, Birmingham Chess League, 2009
Such is the state of the game Black only (if only) needs a draw to win the match
A loss and White’s team draw the match. This the situation. What would you do?
Black to play. Don’t bother running it through an engine, it will not get it, this
is a human v human game. Computers do not even know they are playing a game.
(it is not offer a draw!) The solution is at the bottom of this blog.
This weeks puzzles.
White to play and win. . I do not know (yet) the name of the composer.
Answer at the bottom of the blog.
This next one, yebver - fulerac RHP 2013 has the solution hidden below.
I have made up the names, an anagram of, be very careful.
Own up how many quickly went 1...Rxf3 2.Bb4 1-0. the answer is 1...Rxd2.
I got the idea for that last one from raiox - Marko Krale RHP 2012 (real players)
White played the crafty 14.Bd2 and Black played 14...Qxd6 and then resigned.
A few days ago I posted the neat wrap up to this RHP game in the Chess Forum.
Egyptianeer - akiram RHP 2011
FEN
3q1k1r/8/4Qp2/2p1n1pp/4P3/N1P4P/P4PP1/1R4K1 w - - 0 27
[FEN "3q1k1r/8/4Qp2/2p1n1pp/4P3/N1P4P/P4PP1/1R4K1 w - - 0 27"] 27. Rb7 {Black now following the 'Check All Checks' decree found the following.} 27... Qd1+ 28. Kh2 {Queen checks are silly, where does a Knight check take us....} 28... Ng4+ {Kg3 h4 is mate so White has to take it.} 29. hxg4 hxg4+ 30. Kg3 {Now what. Ah...a perpetual...} 30... Rh3+ {You keep looking at ALL the check till they dry up.} 31. gxh3 {Now Qf3+ and Qxf2+ is a perpetual. But the position appeared on the board.} 31... Qg1{I'm not saying Black only saw the perpetual and then the mate. But it is possible.}
Twice I have delivered checkmate OTB when I thought all I had was a perpetual.
When the position I had been analysing appeared in the flesh I found the checkmate.
In need of a theme for the week I looked for Red Hot Pawn games that went a
N+ captured, a R+ captured, Queen mate, in that order in consecutive moves.
A Black Knight then a Rook giving check and getting captured. A Queen giving mate.
Look between moves five to sixty. The sequence is to be no more than five moves long.
queenknightrook - rebus65 RHP 2008 (Black to pay)
I like this one. Black clears the path for their Queen to get to e4. They then pull the e1 Rook
away from defending e4. 1...Ng5+ 2...Rxf1+ 3...Qe4 mate. (1...Rxf1+ and 2..Ng5+ also works.)
MikeB62 - gandalff RHP 2022 (Black to play goes for an epaulette mate.)
duncangarfield - rjwc22 RHP 2008 (White to play, time for you to solve one)
1. Ne4+ dxe4 2. Rxd7+ Bxd7 3. Qc5 mate
Mahoutsoukai - chuphone RHP 2008 (White to play, solve it.)
1. Ng6+ hxg6 2. Rh5+ gxh5 3. Qxh5 Checkmate
And now a game with the Theme of the Week.
zekemaster - cuukey RHP 2022
1. e4 d6 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 g6 4. Bg5 {Ignoring Lasker's rule about developing Knights before Bishops.} 4... Bg7 5. Nc3 {Here comes a Knight.} 5... c5 {Maybe 5...h6 to see what the Bishop's intentions are but no harm done.} 6. h3 {Bit of a waste. 6.Qd2 with 0-0-0 and Bh6 ideas looked better.} 6... a6 {6...Nc6 or 6...0-0 was OK. But this does have anti White going 0-0-0 ideas.} 7. a4 {Stop b5 now Back should play Nc6 or 0-0.} 7... e5 {Wow! the c3 Knight is now just itching to go to d5.} 8. Qf3 {Hitting the pinned piece. which is now also pinned to f7.} 8... Nc6 {8...Be6 looked forced, Now 9.Nd5 Qa5+ 10.b41 Nxb4 11.Nxf6+ and 12.Bxf7+} 9. Nge2 {White was worried about Nd4. OK. But 9.Nd5 was better.} 9... h6 {Black is going to wriggle out of the pin just in time.} 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 {Black is now OK and Qa5 with Nd4 ideas are popping up.} 11... h5 {I did not see this coming, Black is taking over the initiative.} 12. Nd5 {White has not adjusted and still thinks they are attacking, they are in a wee bit of trouble here.} 12... g4 13. hxg4 {Now 13....Bxg4 and things are looking good.} 13... hxg4 {Black has missed White can play Rxh8 with a check. Now it all goes to pot.} 14. Nxf6+ {14....Qxf6 here is the move but Black now misses the real threat.} 14... Bxf6 {We now follow the theme of the week. a Knight checking is captured....} 15. Rxh8+ {We now follow the theme of the week. a Knight giving check is captured....} 15... Bxh8 {...a Rook giving check is captured....} 16. Qxf7 {....the Queen delivers checkmate.}
J. Crump - A. Holowczak, Birmingham Chess League, 2009
FEN
2q1r1k1/2r2ppp/2P2n2/1R1pN3/3P4/1Q4P1/5PP1/2R3K1 b - - 0 1
[FEN "2q1r1k1/2r2ppp/2P2n2/1R1pN3/3P4/1Q4P1/5PP1/2R3K1 b - - 0 1"] 1... Nd7 {Completely unsound but a wonderful try in a lost position.} 2. cxd7 {2. Nxd7 was enough to win. But White had chalked up 1-0 in their mind.} 2... Rxc1+ 3. Kh2 {Now what? Does Black just resign.} 3... Rh1+ {It is obvious that White missed this move, a move Black saw when play Nd7,} 4. Kxh1 Qc1+ 5. Kh2 Qh6+ 6. Kg1 Qc1+ {A draw by threefold rep.}
White to play and win.
FEN
r7/5P2/5NK1/8/8/8/8/7k w - - 0 1
[FEN "r7/5P2/5NK1/8/8/8/8/7k w - - 0 1"] 1. Ne8 {The first move was easy, a standard pattern with a Knight and pawn on the 7th v a Rook} 1... Ra6+ {2. Kg7 Ra7 and Rxf7. and if the 2.Kf6 Ra1 3.f8=Q Rf1+} 2. Kg5 {The King has to keep off the file and get away from the pawn.} 2... Ra5+ 3. Kg4 Ra4+ 4. Kg3 Ra3+ 5. Kf2 Ra4 {6.f8=Q Rf4+ 7.Qxf4 stalemate. 6.f8=R is a draw. 6...Ra2+ lifts the rh8 mate idea.} 6. Ke3 {Having avoided the stalemate trick the King goes back up the board avoiding the f-file.} 6... Ra3+ 7. Ke4 Ra4+ 8. Ke5 Ra5+ 9. Ke6 Ra6+ 10. Kd7 {The Knight is stopping 10...Rf3 one last check.} 10... Ra7+ 11. Nc7 {The pawn promotes on the next move. Nice.}
