Happy Birthday planet Earth you are 2015 today.
(actually it’s a lot older than that…a lot older, but it’s going through a mid life crisis so be kind.)
As is normal with all end of year blogs, columns, chess magazines etc..and etc…
One can fob off the readers with selections of the best of bits of the previous year.
But not me, I’m a good guy. I’ll show you stuff you have never seen before. (and wish you hadn’t.)
First is the much coveted award: The Game of Year 2014.
carles - taheri RHP 2007
Where we see a clash of ideas, both players thinking they have out-witted the other.
I know but I only discovered it in 2014.
[FEN "8/8/2pkp2r/1p1p1p2/2bP1Pr1/2P1R1Bp/7K/R7 w - - 0 32"]
32. Ree1 {White has spotted a mating pattern....} 32... Bd3 33. Ra8 Be4 34. Rea1 Rxg3 {…and Black has in mind a pawn-promo combination. White has to take this Rook due to the threat of Rg2+} 35. Kxg3 h2 36. R1a7 {White now threatens Rd8 checkmate. Black has no time to promote the pawn.} 36... h1=N {Well there is that...It's checkmate.}
I mentioned a pawn-promo-combo. White comes up with a nice one here.
wolfgang59 - Thaba RHP 2012
[FEN "8/R3b1p1/2p1k2p/Pp1p4/1P1P1B2/1NPr2PK/7P/3r4 w - - 0 41"]
41. a6 {White has a darling of a pawn-promo-combo up his sleeve.} 41... Rxc3 42. Rxe7+ {Vacating the a7 square with tempo.} 42... Kxe7 43. a7 {Black might have seen this coming and had in mind the following move with apparently thwarts White's Rxe7+ exchange sac.} 43... Ra1 {If Nax1 then Black plays Ra3 and the game is still in the mix.} 44. Na5 {That is what Black missed. White is not interested in the Rook. The pawn on a7 rules. Black resigned.}
One of the most causes for blunders on RHP is because…
No. It’s because most of the lads on here are home and casual players.
They have a good idea and play half of it. A few days later the game
re-appears and because they have balanced lives where chess does not
occupy their every living moment they forget what they were up to.
This could (or should) never happen in an OTB game hence you get games like this.
coyote - adalia bipunctata RHP 2014
Black comes up with a study like move to prevent a promo-combo. Then forgets it.
[FEN "8/8/3Bp3/1p5R/p2p2rP/P4k1K/8/8 w - - 0 47"]
47. Rh6 d3 {Black puts all their faith in this passed pawn, even willing to give up the Rook to see it home.} 48. Rf6+ Ke2 49. Kxg4 d2 50. Rxe6+ Kd3 {And the pawn promotes. Yes?} 51. Re3+ {An excellent game saving idea. If Kxf3 then White gets the d2 pawn with Bf4+ and the race between the h and b-pawns is a draw.} 51... Kc4 {Black still thinks the pawn cannot be stopped. Infact in the game White forgot all about their first idea and played Re4+ and after Kd5 attacking the Rook and Bishop the pawn did indeed promote and White resigned. White should have recalled his first idea with Re3+.} 52. Rc3+ {A mirror combination of the Re3+ idea. The Rook cannot be taken due to Bb4+ taking on d2 and again the h-pawn saves the day.} 52... Kd4 53. Be5+ Ke4 {Black has to keep the Rook off d3.} 54. Re3+ {Now Black has no choice.} 54... Kxe3 55. Bf4+ Kd3 56. Bxd2 Kxd2 57. h5 b4 58. h6 {An important moment bxa3 losses because White promotes first and covers a1.} 58... b3 59. h7 b2 60. h8=Q b1=Q {And this looks drawn even though White can win a pawn.} 61. Qd4+ Qd3 62. Qxa4 Qg6+ {The White King gets checked to dust. A draw.}
I appear to have a bit of a theme going here. Pawn Promotion Combinations.
discoking - Antoine RHP 2014
White sets himself up for such a combination with two pawn moves.
[FEN "3r2k1/7p/6p1/8/1B2p2P/pP6/P1PK4/5B2 w - - 0 42"]
42. Ke3 Re8 43. Bxa3 {The two Bishops and the extra pawns should make this an easy White win. Black plods on and hopes for the best. All he has here is hope.} 43... Kg7 44. Bg2 h5 45. Bxe4 Kf6 46. c4 g5 47. hxg5+ Kxg5 48. Kd3 h4 49. c5 {The first sign that White has completely relaxed and is just making legal moves waiting for his opponent to resign.} 49... h3 50. b4 {White throws a straw onto a clam sea and Black gleefully clutches it.} 50... Rxe4 {This obvious shot was missed by White.} 51. Kxe4 h2 52. Bc1+ Kg4 53. a4 {You have heard of the expression, 'things going from bad to worse.'} 53... h1=Q+ {Things just got worse.} 54. Kd4 Qxc1 55. b5 {The Queen runs amok on the Queenside.} 55... Qd1+ 56. Kc4 Qxa4+ 57. Kd5 Qxb5 {White resigned.}
This one has a funny twist to it.
EMCB (1599) - Rumdrum (1865) RHP 2014
[FEN "5rk1/5pp1/p1b1p2p/3pP3/1R3P2/8/P1r1BKPP/3R4 w - - 0 30"]
30. a4 Ra2 {White now spots a trick to get rid of the queenside pawns. The real trick is to look just that one move deeper.} 31. Rb6 Bxa4 32. Rxa6 {And the a2 Rook is pinned. Bxd1 meets Rxa2 and White can still put a defence. Alas he has failed to notice it's not the d1 Rook that is in danger....} 32... Rxe2+ 33. Kxe2 Bb5+ {Black has won a piece. 0-1.}
I jokingly said in the last comments box that I would put an Exuma loss in
the next blog. I actually found an instructive one we can use from 7 years ago.
Exuma - Minor RHP.2007
White employs a practical opening set-up v the Najdorf. Bits out and Castle Kingside.
Black stumbles into an opening trap but alas White failed to seize his chance and lost.
I am not going to show the loss, (I’ll do that in 2016) I’ll just how the trap works.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {The Najdorf variation of the Sicilian. Black has to know what they are doing here. They have given up a lot of opening tempo. One slack move, often disguised as a natural move, and White tears Black to bits with a piece sac.} 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O {Sensible development by White. Good. Theoretically Black can catch up because superior development is a temporary plus. But he has to be careful. } 7... Nbd7 {7....b5 or 7...Be7 are OK here and both have a reasonable pedigree. The b8 Knight does go to d7 in some variations of the Najdorf but here it is blocking the c8 Bishop's protection of e6, Black has his Najdorf lines all mixed up.} 8. Bg5 {Black should now play 8...Qc7 unpinning with tempo by hitting the c4 Bishop.} 8... b5 {This is the loose move I was talking about. White now automatically pulled the Bishop back to b3 and went on to lose. Now was the time to cash in the superior development.} 9. Bxe6 {Never retreat a piece or play an obvious move without first looking at all other options.} 9... fxe6 {This opening trap was first sprung in the 1954 Russian Championship.} 10. Nxe6 Qb6 {The Queen has to cover the Nc7+ and if 10...Qa5 then 11.b4 keeps the fire going.} 11. Nd5 {With the threat of Nec7+} 11... Nxd5 12. Qxd5 {Black is now in a mess. Most OTB players caught in this mire have resigned here. Some needed to be shown.} 12... Bb7 13. Nc7+ Qxc7 {Only move.} 14. Qe6+ {Mate next move.}
We end with a Black Najdorf mate in 13 moves. This one we blame on White’s
immortal fear of having a doubled c-pawn. I have OTB and RHP examples…..
Liskan - Juhasz, Budapest 2004
Mraz - Antal, Euro Ch. 2008
Vasilj - arekv RHP 2010
schachschreck - knez miskin RHP 2012
All went the same way as the following game.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {The root idea behind 5....a6 is Black's intention to play e5 and 5...a6 cuts out the annoying Bb5+} 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Be7 9. g4 {This aggressive thrust, though not with out malice, places White on a tricky path. 9. Qd2 and 0-0-0 then such adventures as g4 can be considered.} 9... d5 {The perfect reaction to a flank attack. Action in the centre.} 10. g5 d4 11. gxf6 Bxf6 {Now 12.Nc5 looking at the e6 Bishop or the b7 pawn. 12.Bf2 defending the open diagonal to the King also deserves consideration.} 12. Bd2 {White defends his Queenside pawn structure against a doubled c-pawn. It appears White would rather be mated than accept doubled pawns.} 12... Bh4+ 13. Ke2 Bc4 {The Najdorf Bishops Mate.}
Richard