Why is Kramnik Blindfolded

It starts with me flicking through a chess book….it was this one.

and seeing this picture of a final position from the 1935 Euwe-Alekhine W.C. match.

Saying Black resigned.

I looked and looked again but could not quite get it. The photograph must be wrong!
And indeed I am right! The photograph is wrong The book gives this as the position:

With Black to play there is no White win there. Black can take the Bishop.

The is the actual final position from the 8th game of the 1935 match

Euwe has just played 69 Bc8-a6 if 69…Rxa6 70 Rd8+ and a1=Q. 1-0.

I can use that to kick off a moan about how many times you see illegal positions
when someone has painted a chess scene. It’s usually the first thing we look for.

So with the framework of a blog forming I searched the net for examples.

I stumbled upon this painted by a talented artist called Serkan Ergün

The board is OK (it’s often painted the wrong way round ) and this lad knows his chess.
Try to identify all the World Champions. They are all there. Steinitz to Kramnik and for
good measure he has included Judit Polgar plus some guy (the artist?) playing a kazoo.

But why is Kramnik wearing a blindfold? .

I pass this one over to you

Following last week’s comedy started by Deep Thought who thought
(but apparently not ‘deep’ enough) that one puzzle had a few solutions.
I’m thinking I may have set it up wrong and agreed. Later Deep Thought
posted we (were did he get ‘we’ from) were both wrong. The position was OK.

So we start again and this time no cock up’s. (I’ve blocked Deep Thought.)

In my ultra serious days when I lived, breathed and ate chess if I played a game, even a
skittles games and missed a shot I’d sentence myself to half a dozen really tough puzzles.

Once again we are using this book. These are pretty easy.

In all positions it is White to play and mate in two. Good Luck


1. Reveal Hidden Content


2. Reveal Hidden Content

I can demonstrate two very good RHP examples with this idea.

Ed Harding - Court Jester .2005. White to play and mate in two.

Reveal Hidden Content

This next one has a smashing finish.

Alfa Girl - nicohoha RHP.2007

OK the fun bit is over back to the solving.


3, Reveal Hidden Content


4. Reveal Hidden Content

I have a working example of puzzle No.4 from Red Hot Pawn.

Pylodictis olivaris - cb floyd 2007

A nice fun game coming up with neat tricks buried within. The instructive points being:

Both sides could have and should have taken a perpetual check.

The drawbacks of using the Queen to safeguard pieces and squares.

Knight Forks that win games and Knight Forks that save games.

Celsius I - GoodKnight2U RHP 2012

Now I know what you are thinking. Does White have Rb1.

The same game and after a few relaxed and loose moves by White we reach here.

Celsius I - GoodKnight2U RHP 2012

Usually end a bloggy thing with an RHP disaster but today I have something truly magnificent.

Rhymester - jansax RHP 2011

I’m still thinking about that Kramnik blindfold.
(is it because that artist lad cannot draw eyes).

The thread accompanying this blog is Thread 163530