Rahim's Chess Lessons

This time I will do it a bit different. I willd post the whole game and then add the problems at the end. I think it will be more efficient this way and save me some time also.

Game 2:


[White "P Morphy"]
[Black "A Morphy"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4
This is the King's gambit accepted.

3. Bc4 Qh4+
Mostly White plays 3.Nf3 to prevent Qh4+

4. Kf1 Bc5
Threatening mate on f2.

5. d4 Bb6 6. Nf3 Qe7
Attacking the e-pawn

7. Nc3 Nf6
Attacking the e-pawn again

8.Qd3 c6
To support d5

9. Bxf4 d5 10. exd5 O-O

The Black King had to get off the e-file otherwise 11.Re1 is troublesome.

For example 10...cxd5 11.Re1 and Black has to be very careful how he handles the pin on the e-file. See the diagram below.



11. d6 Qd8 12. Re1 Re8 13. Ng5
Attacking f7

13...Rxe1+ 14. Kxe1 Qe8+
Defending f7 and throwing in a check

15. Kd2 Be6 16. Re1
Pinning the Bishop!

16...Nbd7 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Rxe6!! 1-0
This is better then Bxe6+. Rxe6 threatens the Queen and mate. If the Queen moves anywhere then Re8++ is double check and rememeber to get out of double check the King must move. There are no moves for the King therefore it is mate.


Thus Black's only option is to move his king to f8 or h8 and lose the queen or resign.

Black's lack of development lead to his downfall. Black's queenside was asleep and when it woke up, it was to late. Notice how Black made lots of moves with his Queen while white simply kept developing his pieces logically.

I can't tell you how many games I've lost doing that. It is so tempting to flex your muscles early, but you end up losing in the end 😛

Exercise. What should black do in the following position?



This is move 11 for black.

Remeber the following:

1.Check the king safety for both kings
2.What is the threat?
3.Pick black's move
4.Write down white's response after black moves.

You should follow those steps for all of your moves in your chess games.

Also note that your solution should be at least 3 moves deep. This way you will capture the whole tactical sequence. PM with your solution within 2 days.

Good luck, RK

My response is in. I went with my gut on this one, so i may or may not be right. . .i just played it as i would've in a normal game.🙂

I sent mine in. The way mine is progressing it's going to be a closed game.

Just waiting for 4 more,

Kevin Mcfarland
Falco Lombardi
HandyAndy
ckon1965

1 more day guys.

Originally posted by typen
I sent mine in. The way mine is progressing it's going to be a closed game.

Thanks again RahimK for these games and puzzles... I feel that I actually am learning something.

Sorry, my internet has been down. I will try to do it right now. Thx.

Solution to the puzzles from various users. I will use plain text and then bold then plain to distuinguish between the different users:

hmmm.....If there is a sequence where black can even equalise I'll eat my hat.

anyway:-

Be6 [Bb5+? Nc6] Nxd5 Nxd5 Bxd5 Nc6

My gut instinct tells me that black must protect his queen with either a bishop or Knight., so...

11...Be6.

Whites next move would then be to move his own bishop ouyt of danger, possibly checking the black king with 12 Bb6+, Knd7 (blaxcks response allowing the castle to stay an option.

As tempting as it is to play Qxe1 the king on the open file doesn't seem worth the queen for rook trade.

11. b Be6 Bring the bishop in to avoid the bad trade.
12. w Bxd5 Relieve the pressure on white's bishop and place another piece attacking the e6 square (should black take with his knight then white can just take again with his knight)
12. b Nc6 Black must move his knight because he both needs to develop his pieces and avoid 13. Bxb7...)
13. w Ng5 Develop his pieces and concentrate his attacks on e6.
13. b O-O Move his king to safety.

If white will stay sharp and play responsibly, he should go into the end game quite comfortable.

Okay, the way I see it Black has two ways to save his Queen, Be6 and Ne4. Ne4 is clearly wrong though! 11...Ne5 12. Bxd5 and the knight is lost for if 12...f4 13. Nxe5 fxe5 14.Rxe5 and the Queen is lost, Be6 only results in the bishop along with the Queen being lost. Alternativly Black could play 12... Bf4 to protect his night but this leads to similar results. 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.Rxe5 and the Queen is again....lost.

So to sum up, 11...Ne5 leads to a lost Knight, if you try to defend it you end up losing the Queen as well.

Be6 however is much better. For example 11...Be6 12. Bxd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qd1 and the King is safe to castle next move.

I think black should play 11...Be6(black has to block the e file otherwise he looses his queen for rook and bishop, this exchange might not be bad in a different position but here black's king is too vulnerable) 12 Nxd5 Nxd5 13 Bxd5(winning a pawn and keeping pressure on the pinned bishop) and now 0-0 might be too risky because of Ng5 and black is in a horrible position, Probably 13...Nc6 this move defends against 14.Ng5 because after Ng5 black can play 14..Nxd4 defending his bishop after Nxd4 c3 isn't much of a threat because black can respond with 0-0-0! defending against white's threats with threats of his own and making the king a bit safer.13..Nc6 besides protecting from Ng5 also develops the queenside and prepares 0-0-0 in some lines.After the sequence 11..Be6 12 Nxd5 Nxd5 13 Bxd5 Nc6 black is a pawn down and doesn't have the initiative but he has some slim chances of survival.

3 moves deep? this means 6 half moves, not so easy
11 ... Bd6 12. Bxd5 0-0 13 Bxd6 pxd6 14 d5(not sure if this is safe or not, must be checked)...White is winning I think: +=


This is a tough position for Black. Since blocking the pin with either the Bishop or Knight appear to be losing material outright with no compensation, I think Black needs to seek compensation for the lost material. Therefore, I think:
1 ... QxR+
2 KxQ (or NxQ) dxB
3 Qxc 0-0

White has given up a Queen and pawn for a Rook and Bishop, but has ensured that Whites King isn't going to get out of the center for a while.

Ok,

1. Blacks king is hanging out in the middle of the 8th rank, and needs to get some cover, whites king is floating out in the open on the firs rank with no pawns to hide behind.
2. the primary threat here is white pinning blacks queen with Re1.
2. my play as black would be

10 ... cxd5 11. Re1 Be6


1...Be6 2.Nxd5 Qd8(2...Nxd5 Bxd5 wins a pawn) 3.Nxb6, and black no longer has the bishop pair.

Think I have it! Be6 to block the rook (not the knight), and from the there I think the queen will be fine anyway that white moves. Sorry that my answer comes w/not a lot of studying due to computer issues.
Thanks!

White's immediate threats are B(c4)b5+ and B(f4)d6, attacking the Black Queen. The Queen cannot move from the e file because of the White Rook on e1 threatening check. Black needs to castle and to move the Queen out of harm's way. Black's first move is B(c8)e6, which blocks the attacking Rook. White responds with B(c4)b5+. Black castles (0-0). White follows with N(f3)g5, preparing the way for Qh7. Black is toast.

In my opinion, in this particular position, black can only play 11. ...Be6. If not, he loses his queen, and there is no meaning to continue the game. After this move, white has several possible tries, but I think the fact that his bishop on c4 being threatened by black's d5 pawn is quite a nuisance. Therefore white should most probably either move that bishop or take black's d pawn immediately. He has 2 possible ways to to this, i.e. with that bishop itself, or with the c3 knight. In my opinion, the knight move is more attractive and more forceful (it attacks black's queen). Therefore, to answer your question, I would suggest:

11. ... Be6
12. Nxd5

No time today. Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Americans. I'll check in tomorrow Rahim.

The solution is

11...Ne4 would be a huge blunder because of 12.Nxd5 attacking the Queen and removing the defender of the e4 Knight.

Once the Queen moves, 13.Rxe4 and White is up a pieces.

Correct is 11...Be6 12.Nxd5 threatening the Black Queen and if the Queen moves then 13.Nxf6+ followed by 14.d5 winning the Bishop on e6 since it's pinned.

Therefore, 11...Be6 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 0-0

White's still winning here and can try stuff like 14.Ng5 attacking the Bishop again and threatening mate on h7.


From this game, we learnt the following lessons:

1. Develop you pieces quickly
2. When a piece is pinned, attack it again and again
3. Look for weakness around the king

The original game was:

[Event "New Orleans"]
[Site "New Orleans"]
[Date "1848.??.??"]
[EventDate "1848.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "P Morphy"]
[Black "A Morphy"]
[ECO "C33"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "36"]

1. e4 {Some sources indicate 1847.} e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Bc5 5. d4 Bb6 6. Nf3 Qe7 7. Nc3 Nf6 8.
Qd3 c6 9. Bxf4 d5 10. exd5 O-O 11. d6 Qd8 12. Re1 Re8 13. Ng5 Rxe1+ 14. Kxe1
Qe8+ 15. Kd2 Be6 16. Re1 Nbd7 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Rxe6 1-0

Any comments about the game?

What were these two peoples ranks? i.e. GM IM etc.

Originally posted by typen
What were these two peoples ranks? i.e. GM IM etc.

I'm not very familiar with the history of chess. 🙁 It seems fascinating, however.