started a thread on Mating Patterns Thread 141622
Mating Patterns (MP’s) are certain positions known to all strong players
to aid them in producing checkmating combinations.
Some say they are over-rated, others swear by them. I am of the latter camp.
Anything that can help you in spotting a shot must be worth a look.
We use them without knowing it. A basic example.
White to play.
99% of you will not see any moves.
You will have a position akin to this in your mind.
A basic Mating Pattern.
The 1% is out there.
Not knowing even this basic MP (possibly the important and common MP to know)
and players will and have struggled. RHP tosses up a few examples.
Kelbow - RiverCraven RHP 2007 Reached this position.
White displayed the technique to force the Black King to the
edge of the board but could not mate him.
At one time he had this position with him to move.
1 Rf6 Kh8 2,Rh6 mate was not played.
White abandoned the game as a draw 17 painful moves later.
A knowledge of the most basic MP in chess would have sufficed.
So the challenge is to find an RHP example of each standard MP’s and over
the next weeks I’ll build a Bloggy thing around one.
Of course what you want is this….
A smashing wee book. It shows the MP’s in action and how it got it’s name.
Then a series of positions for you to solve to ensure the pattern has stuck.
I’ll do the same thing.
MP’s like this one has been covered in previous Blogs.
Philidor’s Legacy.
It too is very well known so I’ll skip that one
This one is a Philidor’s half-Brother.
The g8 square need not be occupied it can covered by a piece,
a Bishop on c4 for instance.
We shall call this mate ‘Lepik’s Mate’ because (bless him) he has fallen into it
3 times in 3 years, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Here are the 2007 and 2008 models.
davaniel - lepik RHP 2007
Same trick, different opening.
hahabe - lepik RHP 2008
OK we have seen this pattern in action.
Now four examples for you to solve. (not too hard.)
All these examples would have found a place in the 'Art of Checkmate.'
You have the punch line, now supply the joke. White to play in the first three.
catalinpv - ouroboros RHP 2009
JeremyS - inukjuak RHP 2009
netbka - rescued RHP 2008
OK now from the Black side. Black to play and mate in 4.
Banongrfg - Artos RHP 2005
The Solutions to the above four puzzles.
catalinpv - ouroboros RHP 2009
JeremyS - inukjuak RHP 2009
netbka - rescued RHP 2008
Banongrfg - Artos RHP 2005. Black to play. Mate in 4.
Slighty different in the fact that there appears to be a couple of ways to mate.
There is only one solution.
Next Blog I will concentrate on this one. Pillsbury’s Mate.
(though no doubt I find some luckless lad who has walked into x times and will re-name it after him.)
This very basic set-up can be the finale of some amazing combinations.
As a taster here is a comical version. Black forces White to play it.
Zimman - Romaxt RHP 2006
it was Zimman - Romaxt RHP 2006.
By the way, my engine claims that in your third exercise, rescued could have rescued himself from the immediate mate by playing 1...Q4 instead. Not much fun, of course, playing on a queen down.
Richard