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Interesting Position From A Lasker Game

Interesting Position From A Lasker Game

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I guess I haven't posted in a while. I'm on kind of a semi-vacation from chess. 🙂

Here is an interesting position that I came across.



Before I give anything away, I'll just leave this up for a while.

It is white to move right now.

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Well the first thought would be

1. Rf8+ Kxf8 2. gxh7 Ra4+ 3 Kg5 and white Queens next move.

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Yes, that looks simple enough. I wonder what Black's last move was?

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Lasker actually played 1.Rf8+ Kxf8 2.gxh7, leading to the following position:



Black to move

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Originally posted by Diet Coke
Well the first thought would be

1. Rf8+ Kxf8 2. gxh7 Ra4+ 3 Kg5 and white Queens next move.
I can't find a way to refute 3...Rh4! yet. It looks winning for black.

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Originally posted by SwissGambit
I can't find a way to refute 3...Rh4! yet. It looks winning for black.
You didn't fall into the trap (although my second diagram with black to move may have been a good hint 🙂 ).

After 2. ... Ra4+, it doesn't matter where the king goes !!!

3. ... Rh4 4.Kxh4 g5+ !!

Black's a pawn queens, and white's h pawn doesn't !!!

This is from the simul Lasker-Loman 1913.

Even the great ones can fall into a nice deep trap. 🙂

1 edit
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Let me change that a bit.

This position is "adapted" from the simul Lasker-Loman.

According to chessgames.com, the actual game was played in 1903 and had more pawns on the board.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1267162

The "adapted" position is from an old issue of Chess Life Magazine.

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Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
You didn't fall into the trap (although my second diagram with black to move may have been a good hint 🙂 ).

After 2. ... Ra4+, it doesn't matter where the king goes !!!

3. ... Rh4 4.Kxh4 g5+ !!

Black's a pawn queens, and white's h pawn doesn't !!!

This is from the simul Lasker-Loman 1913.

Even the great ones can fall into a nice deep trap. 🙂
I suppose if Kramnik can get mated in one by Fritz, then anything is possible, although this case is far more understandable, since it was a simul.

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Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
Let me change that a bit.

This position is "adapted" from the simul Lasker-Loman.

According to chessgames.com, the actual game was played in 1903 and had more pawns on the board.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1267162

The "adapted" position is from an old issue of Chess Life Magazine.
I wondered why the position looked more like a chess problem.

They took a few pawns off the board. 🙂

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Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
You didn't fall into the trap (although my second diagram with black to move may have been a good hint 🙂 ).

After 2. ... Ra4+, it doesn't matter where the king goes !!!

3. ... Rh4 4.Kxh4 g5+ !!

Black's a pawn queens, and white's h pawn doesn't !!!

This is from the simul Lasker-Loman 1913.

Even the great ones can fall into a nice deep trap. 🙂
At least I went down with Good company. 🙂

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Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
I guess I haven't posted in a while. I'm on kind of a semi-vacation from chess. 🙂

Here is an interesting position that I came across.

[fen]6k1/6pp/6P1/p7/6K1/8/5RPP/r7[/fen]

Before I give anything away, I'll just leave this up for a while.

It is white to move right now.
I did not play that!

1 edit
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Originally posted by Diet Coke
Well the first thought would be

1. Rf8+ Kxf8 2. gxh7 Ra4+ 3 Kg5 Rh4 0-1
Funny that you give the exactly correct losing line. There are some twins of this idea too - but this is the most well-known version I believe.

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Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
I guess I haven't posted in a while. I'm on kind of a semi-vacation from chess. 🙂

Here is an interesting position that I came across.

[fen]6k1/6pp/6P1/p7/6K1/8/5RPP/r7[/fen]

Before I give anything away, I'll just leave this up for a while.

It is white to move right now.
This position is drawn. There are no tricks (Rf8+??), and after a bunch of pawn trades we will reach a drawn position (KR vs. KR, or KP vs. K w/o opposition).

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I should have known there was more to this position than the obvious Rf8+, which any experienced player would have seen in 0.5 seconds.

The game that the position is based on, plus a few other examples, can be found here:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/chess/prok.htm

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Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
Lasker actually played 1.Rf8+ Kxf8 2.gxh7, leading to the following position:

[fen]5k2/6pP/8/p7/6K1/8/6PP/r7[/fen]

Black to move
..Ra4+, Kg5 ..Rh4!! Kxh4 ..g5+, Kxg5 ..Kg7 0-1