Why is Kramnik Blindfolded

By 25 Mar 15 on

4722 views | 2 edits | Last edit on 05 Apr 15

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.
1.Qxc6+ Bxc6 Nxe6 mate. This is from the game Spielmann - Walter, Teplice, 1928

2.
1.Qg6+ Nxg6 2. fxg6 Mate. The mundane 1.Qg4 not covered in the book also mates.

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

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

1.Qh5+ gxh5 2. g5 Mate

This next one has a smashing finish.

Alfa Girl - nicohoha RHP.2007

FEN 8/7p/5q1k/3Q3p/5P2/4P1RP/p5PK/r7 w - - 0 1

[FEN "8/7p/5q1k/3Q3p/5P2/4P1RP/p5PK/r7 w - - 0 1"]

1. Rg8 Rh1+ {A good try promoting with a check. White could have tried 2.Kg3 but he has seen he has the Queen sac Qg5+ Qxg5 and fxg5 mate - has Black seen it.} 2. Kxh1 a1=Q+ 3. Kh2 {The answer is no because here Black played 3....Qb1 and was duly despatched with 4.Qg5+ Qxg5 and fxg5 mate. Excellent but if he had played....} 3... h4 {We get a very amusing finish.} 4. Rg5 {Threatening Rh5+ which if ignored is winning for White so we get to see....} 4... Qh1+ 5. Kxh1 Qa1+ 6. Kh2 Qh1+ 7. Kxh1 {Stalemate!}

OK the fun bit is over back to the solving.

3,
1.Rh8 b6 2.axb6 Mate if 1….b5 axb6 en passant Mate

4.
1.Qxh7 + Qxh7 2. Nf7 Mate

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

Pylodictis olivaris - cb floyd 2007

FEN 4r1rk/p4pp1/1p1Q3p/4Bb2/3P4/2P2N1P/P4RK1/1q6 w - - 0 28

[FEN "4r1rk/p4pp1/1p1Q3p/4Bb2/3P4/2P2N1P/P4RK1/1q6 w - - 0 28"]

28. Qxh6+ Bh7 29. Ng5 {Black spots the threat of Nxf7 mate but uses the Queen to prevent it. On principle she should always be the last piece you use to defend, she’s hopeless at defending, she has to give way to anything but another Queen if she is attacked.} 29... Qg6 {Re7 not over-loading the Black Queen was the move.} 30. Qxh7+ Qxh7 31. Nxf7 {Checkmate.}

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

FEN 5r1k/2p3pq/pp2Q2p/1n1p3P/1P4P1/1RPP1NR1/4K3/r7 w - - 0 32

[FEN "5r1k/2p3pq/pp2Q2p/1n1p3P/1P4P1/1RPP1NR1/4K3/r7 w - - 0 32"]

32. Qxd5 Re8+ 33. Ne5 {This slack move should have lost the Knight with a check. Simply c6 by Black, the Queen must move and the Knight goes. Never use a Queen to protect anything.} 33... Rc1 {Either this is a complete waste of time or one of the trickiest moves ever played on RHP (and Black forgot why he played it.)} 34. Kd2 {Tempting the King to d2 was part of the plan.} 34... Ra1 35. Nf7+ Kg8 36. Ng5+ {After you see what I am about to play you will back-track and agree that White should have played Nd6+ and taken the e8 Rook.} 36... Kh8 37. Nxh7 {Black now took the h7 Knight and lost. He should have played.....} 37... Ra2+ {Kc1 Bumps into Re1 Checkmate.} 38. Kd1 Ra1+ {Kc2 bumps into Rd2 Checkmate.} 39. Kd2 Ra2+ {Kc1 Bumps into Re1 Checkmate.} 40. Kd1 Ra1+ {Kc2 bumps into Rd2 Checkmate.} 41. Kd2 Ra2+ {What we have here is your actual perpetual check.}

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

FEN 4r2k/2p3pN/pp5p/1n1Q3P/1P4P1/1RPP2R1/r2K4/8 w - - 0 38

[FEN "4r2k/2p3pN/pp5p/1n1Q3P/1P4P1/1RPP2R1/r2K4/8 w - - 0 38"]

38. Kd1 Ra1+ {You are thinking why not....} 39. Rb1 {....because after....} 39... Rxb1+ 40. Kc2 {There is no checkmate with Rd2. There is however....} 40... Re2+ 41. Kxb1 Nxc3+ 42. Kc1 Nxd5 43. Nf8 Nxb4 {Black is winning this.} 44. Ng6+ Kg8 {Again I know what you thinking....The Black King is in a Rook and Knight mating net.} 45. Rf3 {What is the answer to that then?} 45... Rf2 {If White plays Rxf2 then the Knight saves the day with another fork. Nxd3+ and Nxf2 when Black skips home in the ending. The game could now go something like this.} 46. Re3 a5 47. Re8+ Kf7 48. Re7+ Kf6 49. Rxc7 Nxd3+ 50. Kd1 a4 51. Ra7 b5 {Black is looking good.}

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

Celsius I - GoodKnight2U RHP 2012

FEN 7k/2p3p1/pp5p/1n3Q1P/1P4P1/1RPPr3/r7/2K5 w - - 0 43

[FEN "7k/2p3p1/pp5p/1n3Q1P/1P4P1/1RPPr3/r7/2K5 w - - 0 43"]

43. Kd1 Rh3 {Now White should have taken the perpetual with Qf8+ and Qf5+ because White stopped Rh1+ with:} 44. Qe4 {The square h1 is being held by the Queen and when you have Queens protecting anything it’s like a Cyclops playing with a Unicorn - an accident waiting to happen. Black played Ra1+ when of course this should have been played....} 44... Rh1+ {Highlighting a another serious drawback of using the Queen to defend things. She can be lured to her own destruction.} 45. Qxh1 Ra1+ {And suddenly Black is winning. Black missed it and lost}

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

Rhymester - jansax RHP 2011

FEN 3r2k1/6pp/p4p2/1pR5/1P6/5PP1/qPQ1RP2/3r2K1 w - - 0 26

[FEN "3r2k1/6pp/p4p2/1pR5/1P6/5PP1/qPQ1RP2/3r2K1 w - - 0 26"]

26. Kg2 Qa1 {Now the fun begins.} 27. Rc8 Rg1+ 28. Kh3 Qf1+ 29. Kg4 h5+ 30. Kf4 g5+ 31. Kf5 Qh3+ 32. g4 Qxf3+ 33. Kg6 Qd5 {Black scurries back to stop Rxd8 mate but there was nothing to be done. White wraps it up with a cute trick.} 34. Re8+ Rxe8 35. Rxe8# {A game inspired perhaps by Short - Timman, Tilburg 1991. Though in that game Short's King walk was of his own choosing. Here Black chased the White King to g6. Superb stuff.} 1-0

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

Why is Kramnik Blindfolded

The Planet Greenpawn

Why is Kramnik Blindfolded

Posted to The Planet Greenpawn

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