It’s Christmas so here is an easy one. White to mate in 3
(4) Imnotkasparov - Leellen RHP 2017
This one will fill you with Christmas Cheer (or you will cry in utter despair.)
FEN
8/5p1k/8/p5Q1/8/6P1/PP3q2/K3Rr2 w - - 0 64
[FEN "8/5p1k/8/p5Q1/8/6P1/PP3q2/K3Rr2 w - - 0 64"] 64. Qh4+ Kg7 65. Qg4+ {White checked here to give him access to c8 and c3.} 65... Kf8 66. Qc8+ Kg7 67. Qc3+ Kg8 68. Qc8+ Kg7 69. Qc3+ {White is trying to get Black to play Kh7 so he can play Qd3+ and pick up the f1 Rook,} 69... Kg8 70. Qc8+ Kg7 71. Qc3+ {Yes Black can claim a draw by repetition by clicking the ‘claim a draw’ button but for some reason he kept playing on.} 71... Kg8 72. Qc8+ Kg7 73. Qg4+ Kf8 74. Qc8+ Kg7 75. Qc3+ {At last the question. What did Black play here....and it was not Kh7.}
(5) mrtuch - brownbear RHP 2007 (Black to Play)
Find the only Black move that allows White to mate in two with a pawn move.
I’ve often been stopped in the street and asked what is the most common error
here on Red Hot Pawn? Difficult question and I’m tempted to say it is missing
the one move threat, a tactical oversight and suddenly a piece drops off the board.
In time we should cure ourselves of this most basic of blunders but due to
the number of games we play at once, quickly flicking from one game to
another, this lemon crops up time and time again. We are all guilty of this.
So if we leave out these accidents, how about we look for an error that we mean.
Ignoring the basic piece hanging blunder, what is the chief reason for our defeats.
There will be many answers to this question, the top one that springs to mind is
that we are all crap at chess. But that is too easy. I’d say it was thoughtless pawn
moves. We cannot think of anything to do so we push a pawn and soon due to the
weak squares it creates we are looking at a lost game and sit there wondering why?
Ideas we have seen in other games also jump out us. Sometimes the idea is sound
and we win, other times the idea is sound but we somehow manage to screw it up..
Way back in juilio’s past he has seen and was impressed with Legall’s Mate.
Here, according to ‘The Oxford Companion to Chess’ is the original game.
Legall - St. Brie, Paris 1750
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 d6 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Nc3 g6 {Some sources say this game was a Rooks Odd game and here Legall picked up his Knight and put it back pretending to just notice it was pinned to the Queen.} 5. Nxe5 Bxd1 6. Bxf7+ Ke7 7. Nd5 {Checkmate}
Time passed.....more than 250 years, and we see the RHP player juilio playing this trap.
The trouble is 3 of the times he has played it has been unsound .(twice v the same player.)
juilio - BennoSchmidt RHP 2011
White played 6. Nxe5? Bxd1? (6....Nxe5!) 7. Bxf7+ Key 8. Nd5 Mate.
juilio - kingbaz2 RHP 2013
White played 6. Nxe5? Bxd1? (6....Nxe5!) 7. Bf7+ Key 8. Nd5 Mate.
juilio - kingbaz2 RHP 2014
White played 5. Nxe5? Bxd1? (5...Nxe5!) 6. Bxf7+ Ke7 7. Nd5 Mate.
Finally (at last!) a player taught him the error of his ways.
juilio - uirafernandes RHP 2014
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. Nc3 Bg4 5. Nxe5 {Another victim thinks juilio.} 5... Nxe5 {OOPS!} 6. f3 Bxf3 {Black does a temporary sac to expose the White King.} 7. gxf3 Qh4+ 8. Ke2 Nxc4 {And Black is now a piece up and won with ease.}
This year is comes from by K. Otten who set it in 1892.
White to play and win. (solution at bottom of the page)
In 1967 two chess tournaments were organised in Russia to celebrate
the 50th Anniversary of the U.S.S.R. Korchnoi won the tournament
held in Leningrad, Leonid Stein won the tournament held in Moscow.
Korchnoi said there was talk of inviting Fischer to one of the tournaments,
then someone thought as a propaganda exercise it would be disastrous if
a Western player won either of the tournaments so Fischer was not invited.
In the following game Korchnoi is invited to play against his pet French
Defence. He accepts the challenge and following an idea from Geller
who played it against him at blitz he ‘invents’ the Korchnoi Gambit.
V. Korchnoi - M. Udovcic, Leningrad, 1967
1. d4 e6 2. e4 {Korchnoi refrains from 2. c4 or 2.g3 which he played in the past v 1....e6.} 2... d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. c3 c5 6. Ngf3 Nc6 7. Bd3 Qb6 {White now sacs the d-pawn but he gets a lot of play for it.} 8. O-O cxd4 9. cxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Nf3 Qb6 12. Qa4 {Getting the pieces out ASAP. From here the White Queen can swing across to g4 or h4.} 12... Qb4 {Stops the Qg4 idea.} 13. Qc2 {Of course with Black's Queen being a developing with tempo target White does not exchange Queens.} 13... h6 {That is encouraging. Black is hanging onto the extra pawn. 13....Qc5 is the theoretical choice here.} 14. Bd2 Qb6 15. Rac1 {White's lead in development is looking good for the sake of a pawn. Already he is threatening a Queen sac 16. Qxc8+ Rxc8 17. Rxc8+ Ke7 and Black is gummed up.} 15... Be7 {Now the Queen sac is not on. Black can play Bd8 and 0-0} 16. Qa4 {Back to this square with Qg4 plans. This time Black does not have Qb4 stopping it.} 16... Qd8 {16....0-0 would have been considered but as well as 17. Qg4 Black was concerned about White getting two pieces for the Rook starting with 17. Rxc8} 17. Rc2 {White is going to bring his last piece, the f1 Rook into play.} 17... Kf8 {Unpins the Knight to get some freedom. 17....0-0 18. Qg4 Black has castled into an attack.} 18. Rfc1 {That is APA (All Pieces in Action) Korchnoi now treats us to some wonderful pin play.} 18... Nb6 19. Qg4 Bd7 20. Ba5 {Crippling Black. White figures if you want to ease the position with exchanges then you will undevelop your pieces doing so.} 20... Rc8 21. Rxc8 Bxc8 {Now the idea of forcing 21.....Bxc8 is seen.} 22. Bb4 {The beautiful point is 22....Bxb4 23. Qxb4+ Qe7 24. Qxb6 followed by Rxc8+ and White with a Knight and Bishop v a Rook is winning .} 22... g6 {Black is thinking about Kg7 getting the h8 Rook into the game.} 23. Qh4 {A pleasing cross pin on the e7 Bishop. Korchnoi has it all worked out with Pins.} 23... g5 24. Nxg5 {The h-pawn is pinned, Korchnoi is on a roll, this next bit had to be carefully worked out by White.} 24... Ke8 {Suddenly the e7 Bishop is unpinned and that Knight on g5 is looking a bit grim.} 25. Bb5+ Bd7 (25... Nd7) 26. Nxe6 {Simply Delightful. The e7 Bishop is pinned to the Queen and if 26....Bxh4 27. Ng7 is checkmate.} 26... fxe6 27. Qh5+ Kf8 28. Rc3 {Black has no answer to this Rook lift with the threat of Rf3+} 28... Rh7 29. Qg6 Rg7 {Here nothing can save Black 29...Rf7 30. Qxh6+ Ke8 31. Qh8+ Bf8 31. Be2 White can resign.} 30. Qxh6 {Yet another pin.} 30... Bxb5 {Tantamount to resignation but there is no defence.} 31. Rg3 {Suitably it all ends with a Pin and Win move. A great game of chess.}
I will use another Korchnoi game this time to illustrate another reason why we lose.
We get ideas, we see a trick and have not spotted the hole in our calculations.
V. Korchnoi - S. Flohr, U.S.S.R. Championship 1955
FEN
3r1b2/pprq1p1k/2n3pp/2P1p3/8/3PB1P1/P2Q1PBP/1RR3K1 w - - 0 1
[FEN "3r1b2/pprq1p1k/2n3pp/2P1p3/8/3PB1P1/P2Q1PBP/1RR3K1 w - - 0 1"] 1. Rb3 Nd4 {Korchnoi should now chop on d4 with 2. Bxd4 instead he has an idea..} 2. Rxb7 Rxb7 3. c6 {Not a bad idea on the surface. White will win back the Rook and have a protected pawn on b7.} 3... Rc7 {The move Korchnoi missed. White resigned.} 4. cxd7 Rxc1+ {5. Qxc1 Ne2+ and Nxc1 is a clear win for Black. The cute line is....} 5. Bf1 Nf3+ {Even the great players slip up from time to time by having ideas.}
[center]
(1) Getyourhandoutofmypocket - willysan RHP 2017 (Black to play)
Black played 34...Qf4 35. Rdg7 checkmate
(2) cenerentola - texasnurse RHP 2017
White to play and mate in three. (not mate in four or five....mate in three.)
FEN
r1b2rk1/pp2qpp1/3bp3/3nQ1P1/6N1/2P5/PPB2PP1/2KR3R w - - 0 20
[FEN "r1b2rk1/pp2qpp1/3bp3/3nQ1P1/6N1/2P5/PPB2PP1/2KR3R w - - 0 20"] 20. Qxg7+ Kxg7 21. Rh7+ Kg8 22. Nh6 {Checkmate. And that is how the game ended. Bravo}
(4) )Imnotkasparov - Leellen RHP 2017 (Black to play)
Black played Kf8 resulting in Qh8 mate
(5) mrtuch - brownbear RHP 2007 (Black to Play)
Find the only Black move that allows White to mate in two with a pawn move.
Black played 1....Rd8 2. Bg4+ f5 (only move) 3. gxf6 e.p. mate
The solution to the 1892 study set by K. Otten
FEN
8/6b1/5k2/8/P3K1P1/8/8/8 w - - 0 1
[FEN "8/6b1/5k2/8/P3K1P1/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] 1. a5 {1. g5+ would work if Black plays 1...Kxg5 but 1. g5 Ke6! is a draw.} 1... Bf8 {Intending 2...Bc5 stopping the a-pawn on the a7 square.} 2. Kd5 {Preventing the Bishop from going to d6 or c5.} 2... Bh6 {Now aiming for 3....Be3 again to cover that important a7 square.} 3. g5+ {The gem of the idea from the composer. 3. Ke4 Bf8 4. Kd5 would be a draw.} 3... Bxg5 {3...Kxg5 and the a-pawn strolls home. Black is now angling for Be3 but now thanks to 3. g5+ ....} 4. Ke4 {....the Bf8 and Bc5 idea is no longer playable.} 4... Bh4 {The last try is Bf2 covering a7.} 5. Kf3 {That too is denied. Now the a-pawn can promote without the King's help. 1-0.}
