Chess Lesson #14

Originally posted by Varenka
Agreed.

Taking further some ideas suggested by others in this thread...

Ne2 b2
Kg2 b1/Q
Kf2 Qh1 [if e5, Bxf6+ and Bxe5]
Bxf6+ ef [if king moves, Bxe7 and same idea as main line]
Ke3

Originally posted by Jusuh
...Qe1!

Originally posted by Varenka
Agreed.

Taking further some ideas suggested by others in this thread...

Ne2 b2
Kg2 b1/Q
Kf2 Qh1 [if e5, Bxf6+ and Bxe5]
Bxf6+ ef [if king moves, Bxe7 and same idea as main line]
Ke3 Qxh2
Kd2
draw

I believe that Black cannot make progress as the White king can circle round the knight.

Originally posted by adje
And that would be stalemate, so still a draw.

Originally posted by Jusuh
...Qe1!

Originally posted by Varenka
Agreed.

Taking further some ideas suggested by others in this thread...

Ne2 b2
Kg2 b1/Q
Kf2 Qh1 [if e5, Bxf6+ and Bxe5]
Bxf6+ ef [if king moves, Bxe7 and same idea as main line]
Ke3 Qxh2
Kd2
draw

I believe that Black cannot make progress as the White king can circle round the knight.

Originally posted by marinakatomb
Yes, bravo!! 😀

Originally posted by marinakatomb
Yes, bravo!! 😀

Another attempt for people to bust... :-)

1.Bxf6+ ef
2.h4 b2
3.Kg2 b1/Q
4.Kf2 Qc2+
5.Ne2 Qd1
6.Ke3 Qe1
draw

If 2... gh, then Nf3, b2, Nd2

Originally posted by Varenka
Another attempt for people to bust... :-)

1.Bxf6+ ef
2.h4 b2
3.Kg2 b1/Q
4.Kf2 Qc2+
5.Ne2 Qd1
6.Ke3 Qe1
draw

If 2... gh, then Nf3, b2, Nd2

Surely this isn't that hard a problem.

EDIT: On further reflection, it's more subtle than I thought.

Originally posted by BigDoggProblem
Surely this isn't that hard a problem.

First off, 1.Ne2? runs into 1...Kg7! with the idea of a sacrificial ...e5 break. There's no reason why white should risk this.

[b]1.Bxf6+!
It doesn't matter if Black takes or not. The idea is to prevent the ...e5 break.
1...Kg8 2.Ne2! b2 3.Kg2 b1Q 4.Kf2!
It doesn't matter if White loses th ...[text shortened]... ite his material disadvantage.

[fen]6k1/8/5p2/1p1p1p2/1PpP1Pp1/2P1K1P1/4N2q/8 b - - 0 7[/fen][/b]

See Jusuh's post earlier.

Idea is for Black not to capture on h2, but instead force the White king to e3... then Black goes Qe1 forcing White to play h3 or h4... and Black can play gh winning

Originally posted by Varenka
Another attempt for people to bust... :-)

1.Bxf6+ ef
2.h4 b2
3.Kg2 b1/Q
4.Kf2 Qc2+
5.Ne2 Qd1
6.Ke3 Qe1
draw

If 2... gh, then Nf3, b2, Nd2

OK, I cheated a little here. So far I've posted positions either from actual games, or which illustrate basic board patterns encountered in games. They're not meant to be chess puzzles. Nor are they meant to be difficult, but for the benefit of lower-rated players struggling to improve.

This one was for those who think they've been too easy. I decided to give you something to think about, by the Russian composer Simchovich.


White can't stop Black's b-Pawn from queening but, owing to the blocked Pawn chains, the Knight proves as strong as the Queen! He plays:

1. Bxf6+ exf6
2. h4 b2 (if 2...gxh3 e.p., 3. Nf3 b2 4. Nd2 stops Black from queening)
3. Kg2 b1=Q
4. Kf2 Qb2+
5. Ne2 Qa1
6. Ke3 Qe1 and White advances his h-Pawn until it is captured and it's stalemate.

Other Queen moves do White no damage. Eg:

6...Qd1
7. h5 Qd3+
8. Kf2 Qf3+
9. Ke1, and the Queen can do nothing against the Knight.