tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32613315258375927322024-03-09T18:45:43.728-08:00Chess960 JungleA return to the pleasure of the first move in a vast unexplored wildernessHarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-81590855431671727962022-08-29T15:49:00.010-07:002022-08-29T16:12:24.790-07:00Magnus opinion on symmetrical play in chess 960<br /><br />Here is an interview with Magnus talking about chess 960 in the run up to the 2022 world championship:<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/0ZO28NtkwwQ?t=2015">Magnus on fischer random chess</a><br /></div><div><br />He begins enthusiastically about 960 then becomes reserved towards the end. His initial thought is that playing symmetrically is the default way to play chess 960 in the absence of deep analysis.<br /><br />From my experience the opposite is true. Playing symmetrically depends on the number of undefended pieces in the start position that will disturb piece coordination down the track if left unaddressed.<br /><br />I think playing symmetrically is <i>less </i>beneficial in chess 960 then it is in classical chess because of the undefended pieces that occur more frequently in the start.<br /><br />Yes, the rooks are undefended in the standard position, but they don't impact piece coordination in the opening phase. In chess 960, symmetrical players don't have the convenience of knowing that.<br /><br />I wonder what you think?</div>HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-84544071258984836842019-09-29T00:15:00.002-07:002019-09-29T00:31:34.005-07:00Chess960: The search for good opening gambitsI've always been interested in chess960 pawn gambits. At one time a few years ago I became negative that there were too few opening gambits available to be creative with for a few reasons including the problem of black playing symmetrically. After all a good opening gambit needs to trade pawn material for ongoing initiative or at least an ongoing development edge in the race to enter the middle game first. But in Chess960 there is also a bigger priority to increase piece harmony instead of giving material early. In standard chess, the pieces are already in harmony from the start and so opening gambits become more attractive.<br />
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I think Hikaru Nakamura is hunting for a good gambit line too and I hope over the coming years he finds plenty of them! Meanwhile I found one of my own and I could well be the first person in the history of chess to have found it (yeah for me).<br />
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<b>SP158 white to move:<br />Find a good follow up move to the gambit<br />(note the break in symmetry so early)</b></div>
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3.Qf3! </div>
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Normally we don't like to move the queen early from our standard chess principals. But here she occupies a square that cannot be cheaply attacked. </div>
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Even better, there is not a single reply black can make to protect the f4 pawn that doesn't either restrict development or risk a serious weakening of the pawn structure.</div>
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Candidate moves for black:</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">3...Qf3?! {blocks the g8 bishop}</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">3....g5? {mistake because of Bd4 incoming}</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">3...Qg5?! {but now white has Ne2 incoming}</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">3...Bd6?! {blocks the c8 knight and the d7 pawn}</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">3...c5?! {ignoring the pawn but controlling d4}<br />then<br />4.Nab3...Qc7 {white's bishops will be better}</span></li>
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So black really does get compensation. This is a good opening gambit line.</div>
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Cool.</div>
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Enjoy 960.</div>
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HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-49765400704219600132019-05-21T16:40:00.001-07:002019-05-22T16:09:41.459-07:00Chess960: puzzle 22Struck upon an amazing double queening tactical puzzle out of the opening for SP166 which in one primary variation has four queens on the board! It is advanced because it contains many tactical motifs primarily a quiet move, discovered attack, sacrifice, distraction(decoy), advanced pawn, exposed king and a defensive move!<br />
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<b>SP166 white to play: move the only piece<br /> that wins in three moves</b></div>
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<i>Solution bottom left (hint: the same piece <br />has two alternate moves to win)</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">Answer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">e3!! (or e4!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">1.e3!! .. cxd2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">2.Bc4+!.. Nxc4 (Kg6 leads to mate)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">3.b8Q and black cannot avoid loosing a queen while white will have two</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">if:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">1.e3!! .. Qxd2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">2.Be2!!.. and the only counter-attack ..Nd5 no longer works</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">1.Qxc7?.. cxd2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">2.b8Q .. Qe1+</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">3.Kf3 .. d1Q and black plays for a win with four kings on the board!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">Comes from the opening for SP166:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">1. f4 Nc6 2. b4 f6 3. Nc3 a6 4. a4 d5 5. b5 d4 6. bxc6 dxc3 7. Qa7 Qa2 8. Qxb8</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: xx-small;">Qxb1 9. Qxc8+ Kf7 10. cxb7 Qxc1+ 11. Kf2 Nb6 white to play</span><br />
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<br />HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-62407035340680169662019-03-30T18:23:00.003-07:002019-03-30T18:24:42.706-07:00Chess960: Watch out for the Chivalry Knights!The <a href="http://chess960jungle.blogspot.com/2011/05/chess960-naming-knight-pairs.html">chivalry knights</a> are the name I've given to the many Chess960 positions that have two knights one square apart (or three as a variant).<br />
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They are one of the biggest threats in the opening phase of Chess960 creating many opportunities especially in blitz.</div>
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The key thing to remember about them is that they potentially hit two weak spots ahead of their position. Here is an example.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsy-10aneG5_KRg0si6OgYp1oXOvLyXEcpXG0QQ7DTMbC-kzNCqhrcr76WhD_qB2bio3yM6kTDslEX3NgzfmSBAYK1Vk1K62w4qIQ6RpZX8ZGEtSK-UE4xpe_u74gUmXnXGLVTxdfv3sbc/s1600/Chiv_knights1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsy-10aneG5_KRg0si6OgYp1oXOvLyXEcpXG0QQ7DTMbC-kzNCqhrcr76WhD_qB2bio3yM6kTDslEX3NgzfmSBAYK1Vk1K62w4qIQ6RpZX8ZGEtSK-UE4xpe_u74gUmXnXGLVTxdfv3sbc/s320/Chiv_knights1.JPG" width="318" /></a></div>
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Black thinks that d6 might be a good idea to limit the forward scope of the chivalry knight pair. Good idea right? </div>
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Well no. </div>
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Firstly it breaks opening principals by wasting a tempo releasing the light bishop which already is released via e1-h5. Secondly, <b>now e6 is a huge hole in black's position for the chivalry knights to exploit via the red lines indicated. T</b>here is a potential fork on e6 which would force the loss of the bishop pair and prevent castling. </div>
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A would be disaster!</div>
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The chivalry knights can move forward to the square that separates them shifted three ranks up - in only two moves - and they can get there from different directions. Two knights that coordinate with each other are like an octopus piece with tentacles that stretch all over the board.</div>
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Next time you see the chivalry knights in a Chess960 opening, have this pattern etched into your brain:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLOQGEWwhm23UWpCD8rp-0TPXLajvbUgb2qLYyW2miJNfvLyFvq72cmP8spAY9gs8EjuV3dHe115nPFwN5Y2uipyPqNR25ys3G3OMbk2pYurlGY8fktT_MHNT21yRHFJ1G-iFu7DdnXj_/s1600/Chiv_knights2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLOQGEWwhm23UWpCD8rp-0TPXLajvbUgb2qLYyW2miJNfvLyFvq72cmP8spAY9gs8EjuV3dHe115nPFwN5Y2uipyPqNR25ys3G3OMbk2pYurlGY8fktT_MHNT21yRHFJ1G-iFu7DdnXj_/s1600/Chiv_knights2.JPG" /></a></div>
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HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-34257915066325813642019-01-22T18:18:00.002-08:002019-01-22T18:37:23.950-08:00Chess960: Puzzle 21From SP 815 we get an awesome tactic that would never have happened in standard chess.<br />
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<b>SP815</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFqjnWJUuXkSZmO7mOWyckwDVTCkBlFZ3M8t5guTyfl0AG3n8nrVVH6c7N_58eQevEsIElKm6WNm9S-JTWTx322pfElDapYsm2vFC2Pdvl2zMsG-IIVMa-7bxVLpSGmT4jDQfffxDOYQW/s1600/SP815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="519" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFqjnWJUuXkSZmO7mOWyckwDVTCkBlFZ3M8t5guTyfl0AG3n8nrVVH6c7N_58eQevEsIElKm6WNm9S-JTWTx322pfElDapYsm2vFC2Pdvl2zMsG-IIVMa-7bxVLpSGmT4jDQfffxDOYQW/s320/SP815.JPG" width="319" /></a></div>
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<b>White to play and win:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEVvG98Gwx4NXoCV7ftUYE9ZctLwJcLZvkrSq3QfK7eOZtGmxVMbj4RhPnPK1rB0YgWAAC0UpP72sWz4zvYt2V80yHPGCthHxg-X4Ju7YUPLi-m7_fWAGFW5TLokF5LT4gCxLY7Azxl70/s1600/Puzzle21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEVvG98Gwx4NXoCV7ftUYE9ZctLwJcLZvkrSq3QfK7eOZtGmxVMbj4RhPnPK1rB0YgWAAC0UpP72sWz4zvYt2V80yHPGCthHxg-X4Ju7YUPLi-m7_fWAGFW5TLokF5LT4gCxLY7Azxl70/s320/Puzzle21.JPG" width="319" /></a></div>
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<i>Answer bottom left hand corner of this page</i></div>
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Notice the remnants of the start position in this tactic? Very difficult to get two kings in the corner and two undefended bishops next to each other in the corner.<br />
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Check out the solution below!<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Solution:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1. Ka2!! ... Qxg1?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2. e6! Black has no way to stop the e-pawn queening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">if instead:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1. e6? ... Qe1+!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2.Ka2 ... Qxe6</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">if instead:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1.Ka2!! ... Qe1!?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2.Bd5! ... Qxe5</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3.Bc4 and black cannot avoid Qxb6 ruining blacks away-side pawns</span></div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-53053010040435932322018-11-17T21:59:00.002-08:002018-11-18T01:37:22.806-08:00Chess960: The weak squares write a story<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>"The weak squares on the chess board determine what is possible in a game of chess. If we learn how to keep a track of how they change with each move, we become able to read the main story and the subplots that are being written in each game. Then once seeing them becomes automatic, we will have so much time to think even in blitz, we can take it to the next level, to be able to write a good story in the game. </i><i>That is why Chess960 will never go away, because it is just chess generalized, the complete landscape for reading and writing the story of dynamic chess" - </i>HarryO Chess960 Jungle blog<br />
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HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-75560933709829544612017-08-15T01:02:00.000-07:002017-08-15T01:06:55.665-07:00Chess960 puzzle no.20Symmetry is an interesting subject in Chess960. Sometimes black can play symmetrically, sometimes black can't.<br />
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Here is a great little puzzle demonstrating some of the more bizarre situations Chess960 symmetry can throw up:<br />
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<b>SP366 Black to play (castling all sides permitted)</b>: </div>
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<b><i>Why can't black copy white's play and come out materially equal?</i></b></div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="402" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcc7QafUtW3hntuYYOFvXAeX2cWyh8osUSR531CQYdASIkzzdIHP72tRsvq8iZjMUN8L1hGYw_tVX6QWhf8Py_WFN0Z4ONpSMu3eX9cp5_r-hwDLUrqsbNPKoxD7xWGsjs0Mps4InyjoNC/s320/SP366.JPG" width="315" /></div>
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<i>Answer bottom left corner</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: xx-small;">Answer: because black's queen ends up undefended!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: xx-small;">With best play: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: xx-small;">3.Bxb8..Bxb1, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: xx-small;">4.Bxc7! Bxc2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: xx-small;">5.Bxd8! Bxd1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: xx-small;">6.Bxe7! Bxe2??</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: xx-small;">7.Bxf8</span></div>
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3.Bxb8</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIUNf3avIOcQ1WzpzWkhyphenhyphenXD51M6JmxtoJ1aDqU7JjNwrP3iKNo1yWTDre1655jcRacxRspj5zu41TYG1dbFWwzeD46I3ZBJIxH68BNrg5ZpxH4C0dglcn2TPSa1Z9LLzygEtkDy4YfC1g/s1600/SP366-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="405" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIUNf3avIOcQ1WzpzWkhyphenhyphenXD51M6JmxtoJ1aDqU7JjNwrP3iKNo1yWTDre1655jcRacxRspj5zu41TYG1dbFWwzeD46I3ZBJIxH68BNrg5ZpxH4C0dglcn2TPSa1Z9LLzygEtkDy4YfC1g/s200/SP366-1.JPG" width="199" /></a></div>
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7.Bxf8</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVaEkEjpBwpW6-R9YTdUcRAchX-Uj_yanhVPVOLFaurG-ECM_g5KgekLLPYc6jh2TTCBKs9i71e-3Dn5kRUD4Y6WgvQLRwF6euSwVkQ0VuS7yd0t594kSRZ8stQZ7lAcWhN8xV2FJsPR8/s1600/SP366-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="409" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVaEkEjpBwpW6-R9YTdUcRAchX-Uj_yanhVPVOLFaurG-ECM_g5KgekLLPYc6jh2TTCBKs9i71e-3Dn5kRUD4Y6WgvQLRwF6euSwVkQ0VuS7yd0t594kSRZ8stQZ7lAcWhN8xV2FJsPR8/s200/SP366-2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-1176604892891408832017-06-22T23:23:00.000-07:002017-08-15T00:35:57.786-07:00Chess960 puzzle no.19One of the most incredible openings I have ever seen in chess960 after only eight moves. You would think clearly white is better but white has some big weaknesses even though black's king is exposed.<br />
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<b>SP650: Black to play (castling all sides/colours still possible)</b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Which side do you think is better in this position?</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0ge7SWIyZPvB4SOAlzZxpTPfAvRmfLyMuDh4muEzNuICkzgkyAlh4F3xJpqmjC5QqYk-YlUESDZNlDSBqPuhf7lBtva-l1cdBrK8w8QfOR1dZBitWx8bG3Mc4HO-C-GFXEtEe24wH4CL/s1600/SP650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="419" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0ge7SWIyZPvB4SOAlzZxpTPfAvRmfLyMuDh4muEzNuICkzgkyAlh4F3xJpqmjC5QqYk-YlUESDZNlDSBqPuhf7lBtva-l1cdBrK8w8QfOR1dZBitWx8bG3Mc4HO-C-GFXEtEe24wH4CL/s320/SP650.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i>Answer bottom left corner below</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;">Answer: black is better because of serious weakness on e2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;">(checked with Stockfish engine)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;">8) ...Nf4 threatening bishop and fork on e2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;">9)Bf3 ... defending fork</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;">9) ...Nd4 threatening e2 fork and attacking a4</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: x-small;">10)Nb6+...Kb8 quiet move before the next wave of attacks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">11)Ng3 ... defending fork and developing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">11) ...g5! threatening to undermine Bf3 and preparing Qg6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">12)Nxa8...g4! undermining e2 defense</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">13)Qf1 ... stepping out of fork attacking a6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">13) ...Bb5 black actually does a bit of defending!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">14)d3 ... guarding c2 against Qg6 and attacking b4</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">14) ...gxf3 capturing material</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">15)gxf3.. else queening threat!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">15) ...Qg6 threatening mating line beginning Nxc2!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: x-small;">white is completely lost</span></div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-15241254126679506232017-01-19T16:44:00.003-08:002017-01-20T14:21:05.127-08:00Chess960 - not a fool mate!In standard chess, the fool's mate is the shortest way to loose needing only two moves. It is not a very pretty mate though. Problem is that it requires illogical play to happen. White would never actually play that badly.<br />
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<b>Boring ugly and unlikely Fool's mate of standard chess</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5raJPxU7udONi3zLvREM_znFewphgRgmgQqIa-zK47MT6pNBKNBqxCGfS0af2ffuogDB8nU1uIGoMJ5A_DrH-5XvclIPHu5kwgAObp-tE8RziyQ4cfR1mXtVHTSgs_B7xel8gG-jBhsRe/s1600/Fools+mate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5raJPxU7udONi3zLvREM_znFewphgRgmgQqIa-zK47MT6pNBKNBqxCGfS0af2ffuogDB8nU1uIGoMJ5A_DrH-5XvclIPHu5kwgAObp-tE8RziyQ4cfR1mXtVHTSgs_B7xel8gG-jBhsRe/s400/Fools+mate.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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But now, thanks to Bobby Fischer the inventor of Chess960, The Chess world finally has a much prettier fool's mate. It is beautiful mate because each move is logical and principled. You don't need to be a fool to play this one!<br />
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<b>SP168: A beautiful </b><b>version of the Fool's mate<br />because each move is principled</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibajHiy8_kyDqiFZufVg8jU0tYc1jWJ-5K4OkNzWwDJUck7fRWD9edS9K61lj36dTw1WxDtOWl2JIz81CJcOIJHZ_QDv4RHijklCkiizCsWzj71Qy5MRUQfDSSTuh-F18FF_c7BFgZYDh5/s1600/Fools+mate+960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibajHiy8_kyDqiFZufVg8jU0tYc1jWJ-5K4OkNzWwDJUck7fRWD9edS9K61lj36dTw1WxDtOWl2JIz81CJcOIJHZ_QDv4RHijklCkiizCsWzj71Qy5MRUQfDSSTuh-F18FF_c7BFgZYDh5/s320/Fools+mate+960.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Enjoy 960 and hope you never become the fool - but in chess 960, when you are a fool, you can be a beautiful one.</div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-84185433268942065372016-05-15T03:42:00.001-07:002016-06-15T18:45:15.622-07:00Chess960: How to see the power of the chivalry knightsThe<a href="http://chess960jungle.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/chess960-naming-knight-pairs.html"> <i>chivalry knights in Chess960</i></a> are amazingly strong attackers that can leap forward and pounce on the opponent if they are unaware. They tend to tread on each other toes since they compete for the same color squares, but that can also work in their advantage. Here is an example position:<br />
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<b>SP110: White creates a weak d3 square on the third rank</b></div>
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<b>that either one or both chivalry knight's can leap into</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnG1GcA2wKV7IE7NeN1nT5hnv0oj7wtvqmlquXJZFqIDui_TuW_9_zB9Q27y68esYkJqTtYMIwZ7rGlbxRoJWVDC50qRv9LC8i4qCGHh_Kzt6bRuh8D_BS07ttK6sgaW5vwk10xcqotZKP/s1600/SP110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnG1GcA2wKV7IE7NeN1nT5hnv0oj7wtvqmlquXJZFqIDui_TuW_9_zB9Q27y68esYkJqTtYMIwZ7rGlbxRoJWVDC50qRv9LC8i4qCGHh_Kzt6bRuh8D_BS07ttK6sgaW5vwk10xcqotZKP/s320/SP110.JPG" width="317" /></a></div>
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If black could exchange off white's light square bishop, white would have almost no hope of preventing the chivalry knights coming forward and sitting on the d3 square. The square is so weak it can virtually be considered an outpost square for a knight already. Notice that neither of white's chivalry knights can do anything about the d3 square.<br />
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<i>Key point:</i> So the chivalry knights are powerless against the enemies equivalent knights!<br />
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White's idea of playing c3 with the plan of breaking with d4 and opening up the c-file for the rook, is completely flawed because white has failed to grasp the power of black's chivalry knights.</div>
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So I thought it would be a good idea, to help players visualize the outpost squares that exist for the chivalry knights, without needing to do any calculation.</div>
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<b>The threatened outposts squares of the chivalry knights</b></div>
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<b>exist on the the enemies third rank</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAu285ybumpsjAnW_5kNz4jJFz8MsofxVyntwn8VvFfDwo023Fxq0kHuplTfWxKqDlAzFH5-uROTenP3uLlQLYscEQIB2ZOraDmwgbMmx9whWPauEZmMAhF9FOGEl706lvquQCbx3QDsm/s1600/Chivalry+Knight+Power+Squares.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAu285ybumpsjAnW_5kNz4jJFz8MsofxVyntwn8VvFfDwo023Fxq0kHuplTfWxKqDlAzFH5-uROTenP3uLlQLYscEQIB2ZOraDmwgbMmx9whWPauEZmMAhF9FOGEl706lvquQCbx3QDsm/s320/Chivalry+Knight+Power+Squares.JPG" width="318" /></a></div>
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Compare the two diagrams above. You will see that the green squares are threatening to become outpost squares for the chivalry knights if the enemy were to leave them weakened.<br />
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<i>Key point:</i> No calculation is needed, just remember the pattern above (it is very simple). The squares are on the same file as the knights, always on the sixth rank.<br />
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and be open to the possibility that you or your opponent can fall for the trap of letting the chivalry knights come forward and rule the position.</div>
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Good luck</div>
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Enjoy 960.</div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-75548328170251868512016-03-01T00:37:00.001-08:002016-03-02T21:00:38.219-08:00Chess960: Transcript of Showdown in Saint Louis 2015 - SP436 Caruana v Nakamura (with a comment by me)Here is a transcript of the second fischer random game between <span style="text-align: center;">Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana</span> at the <i>Showdown in Saint Louis </i>competition 2015.<br />
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Rumours have it that the organizers experienced technical difficulties during the event, so there are no PGN records for the games available in the public domain. I have had to reconstruct the games from the video recordings on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtSW5YSht_I">Youtube </a>and <a href="https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/showdown-saint-louis-2015">Chess24</a>. In order to save time and effort, I have transcribed only the opening phases of each of the games, since that is what interests us in Chess960 - the rest is just chess!<br />
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To save space in the comment text, the three commentators are initialed as Yasser Seirawan (YS), Jennifer Shahade (JS) and Maurice Ashley (MA).<br />
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<b>Game 1 SP436: Fabiano Caruana verses </b><b>Hikaru Nakamura</b><br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="273" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://pgn4web-board.casaschi.net/?am=l&d=3000&ss=26&ps=d&pf=d&lcs=XItn&dcs=NpQK&bbcs=NpQK&hm=s&hcs=MWVi&bd=c&cbcs=__iz&ctcs=NpQK&hd=j&md=f&tm=13&fhcs=k03b&fhs=14&fmcs=k03b&fccs=DRYC&hmcs=__X$&fms=14&fcs=m&cd=i&bcs=t&fp=13&hl=t&fh=b&fw=p&pe=4163$zlax9RvlnYXeY_2Yl$NHoADOWUt5uxBHzutHh07jcD0y$6wTjQzJ_aQsL8$EG8uOLpM74utua_9Z4co7aaQ$V02t2K2UtZX9pNm_tu0K9Rvk6xeSX2J91BHAB3H6Ot054coadAwD3ZppkkOnducBWsJSqIRWsHTRrqdcC5QVYtKmGQVXRV33bbWsR0_5pUMWP6DjvLEG4wvfi3jQ1$ggz2jU2$fbzN1rvKX_ow_PoCLZ7YXeT6U7tXm3yPjo2Xcfcz5XGuY$uWbeZvKD6_CVNOLojd29EL5I4eAZlTtXm3vCCTq7KfPhCLZ86Dhu3kDY5N83kDhbKKvTbFC1uwXhae3u300Zt7HOotfxHouu0OZegz5Iq7zc0Gf_HZXFBheAnhc2hZP0Gf5uLGVNYYW93KCP0GgqV9u2TzlZvx4y_V1ZeXeD8kJhAvNFrmSCN_NKDIY2uaMtxOM7uzNhvwr5RglP2WTJ85XgXS7F5kiwtSxOM4yuUZ5H5ZkwaUY2Lo_2foZYXSyUl95yNJT2XKuRxSvTbFC6Dk2j81qTbSvbA0tZmLeLRlj0AnHXgofxIxevgCWbeZyDocVPe_D2XKuRy7b63vbG4CxgiOXzu8goYWnpLqUmRjucN9wAjSXcotD6fYUZHIY2ZOTb63wGQ$V0Z5HY5YgUmrltYp9tkyRi_V9u9RuuogoTzj7GnyT3uM7tXm3xSP2_UXZaNOOmNZPlt2eT6SMrh1pvuK0Fefe_AZlTp82uOVLpx_aOW7KfKkqU3X_XGp3KCPcotD6fPhCAWXz0Ga0_XKNS6HC_PcoaQqgoWQDp2eSKBXu9LPT12XXheArxY$_XmDHYVP2Xz2_UuAJeoou2ZaetI$oZH28feNgiUuAJ0XfAD2lvJ7ZaP9wF3NaP2XcoV3J$eVb$yt7Emt7P19kSxcVvKL_RnuY5rvJ7ZaNOcATpvs5YfPmDOjb6tuaLY2M2_eTkZI$_ZuevMcLAXZyP2WTu3kI6BKAYDHXh9ot6Or3oZO2_DV5itH6AwugoTbF6fXh5xo0x4M6Xe0CXcLM93uMUXheoofm3u4V0Zia99uueIwAul8JaufSNXmDhU$olae3ljX_86Nj3P12YY$Z84CKlwXiRlgtvb_xOM72x4V5_LolL72_uaTu3YAzmDSXFuVP2_NIDIY2SxTxNOSGgiaLZqMXG4CxfSZuwG0KAf6Y6$fcgz4Z6ZO2_DVhCNpDoZ5kixOSGfif$$hU$_2oogXGzmAvuAWZPe3NqLQAVvruU_5N4MbKBTZ7GnegCuc0DqUtaMcMoTz4M6MtwmQAWWRj2jo6AsL5I$oZHNZZ2vNFro0vTztwXiRjucN9wAjTDXgZ_wKX_2l2u9Lm3u4VbRmwF0Rgt0$uWUu4e9LBhPtkl0C_RmG3S5qaN3kwKTuFLSZuwG0KAnXAnyVcVFi32XcoVae3vdk28KlwXhCBYAWTbFC6NH3LHHXgl0zJcCh4gUmr0GgAYX6eTN20M7XG$o_YAVMcMBNXw4nqZ6VHc_CTpLqUj0_gJEbfmTuWbeZloF52KeAXexjXSHKu3uMXG0bfZYoTyVbRmwF0RgtvKD6LocVPtSH0_fj1$FzM0uw_HL_V1ZeXeDHX5k2vNFpL9EbfeSvQ6D6_CXcXK4TBTu_goWQDXAnyVbQ20SCNZ5ZmxX_xOM7kYotZYA$ZZaxfbALegoTxMDb_tZqLeLRljlu4VaugIYXSwGQ$Vaugg$7_CvQx6ZuL5RiPlt7G$_ZmUqwDzlZwKATKgUztkRHN29zwtSwTb_ycAU19MXG4CxfPpcwK8_9ZNyNJTEU_q7v2Zvoazd$v9IdfQlC7aXeYB6_a1ZkuR8Wre3eX_xCBYAWTBTZkxC$Y0ufYWpE_GgiUkZ5RgXirltYp5AYDt82SCXju3YnBTXH6Ue0NE6WZeAnEL0_fd02IbfmTuWbeZvwt7QWa7bFC4Cxgizc_2Yj3oZO2_DOxJT28feNfe_9RxSP8zHHu0IMXA2lmF0M_CXc0CWSOt5_vOV0xpvb_weTbFC4KDhZuj86An8lySAjNf_ZwGaQ$T_OYnSZuKNeSTqUlezDHXha2_V5vOYWUJ_vu0zSGfPh6WSOVPo0xTBL6Y6IfmZuHL_VbZ8p6xeDiZKZveYB6_abZ8p6xeDiZvu_2Z_VbOVeBxTcXKuU4V0Z5HY4CxfeKxTzdPM$_t2l8$_X_wJZ7SXZ29EMqV9tuRN7HuKueG$yeRnuY5sXP5xSvTbFC6DN7_u_9LzZZ6P4WUtZyTuFLXiOVPe_4TbFC4K0M7ZkxC7XGJ$Qy_eQACK9wOYbbm0AjTEXevNFreu2Tz3XZNaLXuP5j02IprvKL_RnuY0ugoTbF6gBDndXZmL5kHgmqZaufSNXmAACxfeKxTz0tU2XAG0AjTmITY4CSBXc3EUt_84CxfZZZ2DZkyOz4WUu4e9CZI4ecWaSM4yg9tmKNgXA$mzgHb_EXm3u3S46xj2vgCWbeZvKy_2V3NlH5kivbFAXZ6SG0KAnHYVP2XcoV$Krl2YTcnzjXG4eeWo3wZYXZI01TxHltZmEKfXh0X5itI1KQD6_AqgqV3LMr5kiwtSxOM78lySAjNa0Z5HY$ktvx_oL_V1ZHuU_$olM6M6YvNFrlZwZfzeu2Z4ulmKKof5I$o_1mOV0K0SwXKutxSNM_VyTbz5Dh0YVM6LqRjtkS$uAWZP8_fAXZwKATK$veCV_Rlgtvcn_OZae3xCCU76WM4naSNZ3NlyNM_oYXFC2foZYXSyNJT6U7uz84CKlyU9M4n29MgTyY_1uwXgZ$_DWWz5b16lIfmTuWbeZyEaextH_llZwGj2XcoVae3vJ7ZaPq2exjI4CCMelyU9elIVvr5kixOM7p2eSKBT75Z6XcotD6fYU_4KABNj2q85_xeTt8$_XGpaufSNXmDsSL3oFh9tkeYp5ZmxY2foZYXSyojc3EUt_84CKlvu_aXIG6K9EMoTzeKKvT0_fVQx1_OYB6_gC4uGe3ufgmpuwXh6_FevNfpw7paP2t2K2UtZX10KCLZYAzmD6WM4kv_86CM7XXiRT29LeKl7Z2tNvuzyOTz4M6MtyNIfSNY_4KDHZYHzoHK7gk_2hZP0AnHX5uG5_CQvQ4ZmCPjX_8$o90Zh0ZgXhaugoYWo7OotfxGX$$0_HL_VeTw_IMVAvMsVM7pNYfdeX_wJ58fyX$4vb_ow_PtNNyU9eAWV5TnA1eTp75kiwZXKIq7BTIY4CxfQVvr1$_RnuY$hZP9_2Ze8l7ZxOM7uuu0NOOsJiOTBTZkyS76WLpM72eThu384KDEU_q7zeSKCQvguHTuY0nJ7G6Nhg6LokdegBNXw4nHZYHxLbGqVe9LgmpuwXh_V2XXh19EwAheTXZ82_Mt29EMV6ZfocVP3RBh3KCP2YTcnvtyU99uaSOXxNOM1Y6Hw_TKeTkZS1mOVae3wZ5RhaetI2SCXe_wXh0YVM6LqRj3RBh5AYDYz_Zw_TK0AjTSXFuVNNOWRNgBNXw4mTtvcn_OZefQzKhh05rycAU19MoYWo7DgYqLom7KfB5axeTpNYfdxOLo_1Dpw7Zqzkl80HxfeLQCDY2uL_kyUl5HfGY2sYXQzfugoTyTz2XcoV3SMelxCLZqzkuZH5Zk05oY$_t2l7_loHK7gl4h3R_xSPo3Xm3yNJTHZaPtkS2uaMtyPex8GXKeDDXgZ_wKX_2l2u9veV2701TXJv8DEnov71iQ1TXJvKL_RnuY0ulxSSLs5pwvWOUu2_Tu3xLnu3xSPq8fcHzu9MiOZRfokbefmP2_OYj_QDIYXHuGSM78mQao4V0ZYVPe3vuZuMoTbF60AjTZh2PcSSOmBHxY$uAWZPcXK9FwAjTNZH_yU90YXm3uGc_2Ylae3wYYWn2ZvR$f4kaz8QhU0uw_HL_V2XX5kiuLYTJ82SQG3S1YK4eAmTqo6SBHxY6zG3uabQ20SCNZeoou2Y_2Lo_$r5kiuwIzwKTuFKTIY2g7SXKpN8H0_fqf7stQ0uw_HL_V1Mt7QWa7bFC6AkCOsKXZHKk2laPlZwKATKfbi4jJfeLQCDY5qaLQ$V9e3D62WQxf5kvJ236T2ZyeZla$0" width="100%">your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard</iframe>
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Transcriptions of the other other games will follow over coming days......<br />
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<i>My commentary:</i><br />
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<b>Move 13 Caruana to play - how beautiful is that!</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7-QDPWlu4SdXp2EM8X6V7HEkjXrEUgP5lmHRKOuyuQF8p49BVsIdLl6Sm0gfCTxgNDyvt0-7CvD6Vs4lGXfZ6sLl6rkmv6_2xLxdUb_kX8LwB0a1waV50llUBdH4gpCYwjzInTHOxgOd/s1600/SP436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7-QDPWlu4SdXp2EM8X6V7HEkjXrEUgP5lmHRKOuyuQF8p49BVsIdLl6Sm0gfCTxgNDyvt0-7CvD6Vs4lGXfZ6sLl6rkmv6_2xLxdUb_kX8LwB0a1waV50llUBdH4gpCYwjzInTHOxgOd/s320/SP436.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Nakamura playing black, deliberately drops a pawn and then offers a queen trade!?! That breaks all the conventions of normal chess (don't simplify when down in material). But like the commentators said, Nakamura is bluffing and Caruana doesn't fall for it. If white exchanges queens, black gets a really good game with a knight biff on b4 and an attacking rook and the bishop pair. Check out the beautiful X-RAY defense by Naka here. His queen is indirectly defending both his undefended bishops without a direct line to them. Naka is even prepared to expose his weak back rank and increase the risk.</i><br />
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<i>Cool stuff. C'mon people, where is the excitement for Chess960 Fischer Random Style. You would never get a position like this is old chess. It is only move 12 and so much has happened already!</i><br />
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Enjoy 960<br />
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HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-18842805830400076092016-01-09T16:23:00.001-08:002016-01-10T14:36:24.217-08:00Chess960 puzzle no.18One of the most amazing queen entrapment tactical scenarios I've seen in Chess960 yet. Enjoy the puzzle.<br />
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<b>SP598 White to play: Can white catch the queen</b><br />
<b>and get back to material equality?</b></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirH_lByKzLZtuPTIgMa1elW4X8ZK6eg01pGIS45nYXsPilVUr3RbFRnTQORjiXkOnDRKtdKgh0IdXxKNkzQSCN2ddCPquoKF-ZbGPsxLu3jM1_ZHBUFRSZQZjaj7WMv0PZgIC2K6YMsduh/s1600/SP598.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirH_lByKzLZtuPTIgMa1elW4X8ZK6eg01pGIS45nYXsPilVUr3RbFRnTQORjiXkOnDRKtdKgh0IdXxKNkzQSCN2ddCPquoKF-ZbGPsxLu3jM1_ZHBUFRSZQZjaj7WMv0PZgIC2K6YMsduh/s320/SP598.JPG" width="316" /></a></b></div>
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<i>Solution below</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">Solution: NO! Black's queen cannot be captured without significant losses. Best is to sacrifice the exchange to keep black's queen out of play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">Wrong solution:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">6.Be3...cxd4 </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">7.cxd4...Ng6! </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">8.f3...Bb4+ </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">9.Ke2...Nf4+ </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">now follows the amazing line:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">10.Bxf4 b6 11. Ndf2 Ba6+ 12. Ke3 Bxf1 13. Rd1 Nc6 14. Ng3 Bxg2 15. Rxg1 Bxh3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">Correct solution:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">6.Ng3...e5!! </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">7.Ne2...d6! </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">8.Qh5...Bg4!! </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">9.Qxg4...Qh2 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">white is down an exchange but black's queen is out of play</span></div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-18383917376074094242015-12-23T01:52:00.003-08:002015-12-23T14:17:42.051-08:00Chess960: Transcript of Showdown in Saint Louis 2015 - SP112 Negi v YifanHere is a transcript of the first fischer random game between Hou Yifan and Parimarjan Negi at the <i>Showdown in Saint Louis </i>competition 2015.<br />
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Rumours have it that the organizers experienced technical difficulties during the event, so there are no PGN records for the games available in the public domain. I have had to reconstruct the games from the video recordings on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtSW5YSht_I">Youtube </a>and <a href="https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/showdown-saint-louis-2015">Chess24</a>. In order to save time and effort, I have transcribed only the opening phases of each of the games since that is what interests us in Chess960 - the rest is just chess!<br />
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To save space in the comment text, the three commentators are initialed as Yasser Seirawan (YS), Jennifer Shahade (JS) and Maurice Ashley (MA).<br />
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<b>Game 1 SP112: Parimarjan Negi vs Hou Yifan</b></div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="273" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://pgn4web-board.casaschi.net/?am=l&d=3000&ss=26&ps=d&pf=d&lcs=XItn&dcs=NpQK&bbcs=NpQK&hm=s&hcs=MWVi&bd=c&cbcs=__iz&ctcs=NpQK&hd=j&md=f&tm=13&fhcs=k03b&fhs=14&fmcs=k03b&fccs=DRYC&hmcs=__X$&fms=14&fcs=m&cd=i&bcs=t&fp=13&hl=t&fh=b&fw=p&pe=1280$zlax9RvlnYXeY_2Yl$NHoCvNIDOWUt5uxBHAB0G3vlopbZZmwCTEG86SG3vh42p$nLEG8sZmFWvgwilh_CvQxf7nxnnjQzvHKj2D36Z28tk4coa_KevSAqf9yM6WZ0S40ilhO1l2UK$y1BHAChLP1ppkOoXF6eBOsJSqIRWsJRrqdcC5OypYtKmGQVYtq002dY5JW$_ychOM7efE0wila2$vB78F3$wG34_uHTuY$SQDY$ZZaxfmKAXeN3wmUXeKoo4Ve8l7ZvB7pmRxOLo_$o_1fo_gTyUnZXGKTu$eV5JfL3to0uSWd6_gBuo0IwzxX5kixOM7uI_j86NHlt85qaN3kuwIz$uPjU0uSWd6_fmQy_eQCHHDXQXKI4CxgfxIxeD6WM4naSNZ5ZmxY46xeST2Zy$7Ex1_KRreZv_exX5kixSPjNXeBXqZ6VHu9Gae3xw4qeKofSZuwG0KAf6Y$M1DP1cTvKWYC2_DeSvTbFC2_Tu3wZSYfv2ZvAsTyv7sGK34_uHTuXHKSG3xOOTCGgW8XiRNY$olae3weLZ7$_D58N1_KRreZydlIVvr5kixOM7OotfxHtkS5N83kR5killt82uL_kyUl3NvfuCvOZ$OZbKKvTbFC2Txp_aOV$TbGKP8tuR00Zt84w_Y$rF5itH_xCLZ86NZNONJTEU_q7ztkS$pM_CXtwXgcuAUY46xeSXc_CTpLqUj0_fj16lzfmVYjJ7Z280xqvuu4M2Zwaz4ZHmFAM6Lo7bir2WTJ7uPd$vqq7aYtFm3u0zvMcLeKxTw_fJeaDaYtFm3u0zvMcLeKxTw_fd0$Nq7aYnKkaxevNfnBT6SMrf_D5iU0A$fbYF$xpvMvfcjBDhFij5f16sDyu7bL38HyFgj5L14MUs0uG4VErgX5h23S$ZZax6Y4cfmYZOw_P0otD6f5uMKTbFC2TCHHxY$_8AA4CvOZbKKvU_5fnd86DDXgZ_lc_CTpLqUj36UTztc2foZYXSwZYXeLNFr9_fSZHglwtyRmNFrlt85LSz_Auo$vaaQ$V$NHlt7H6Me9MnbexgiUuAJ5ZmNDs6D2AfNqQD29MXG5XgVPtkaPl22TvtxOM7XU2foZYXSvb_wZeN3HHYAXFC4CxgAXFC5LSz_Auo$wczetS4KDp82uaMt8J5xjXKuzxOM72AfNqQD6_CXlt29wLokcoUGUup$_aMXS29EMXGqVae3wa3eXRmZu30$lmF0PtNu_fYU_1uQDHXheBU4nh2o3$uPo_NMn0" width="100%">your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard</iframe></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;">NOTE: Some browsers may not display the game properly</b></div>
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Transcriptions of the other other games will follow over coming days......</div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-39832351865286767762015-12-21T01:37:00.005-08:002016-03-01T00:34:15.949-08:00Chess960: Transcript of Showdown in Saint Louis 2015 - SP112 Nakamura v CaruanaHere is a transcript of the first fischer random game between <span style="text-align: center;">Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana</span> at the <i>Showdown in Saint Louis </i>competition 2015.<br />
<br />
Rumours have it that the organizers experienced technical difficulties during the event, so there are no PGN records for the games available in the public domain. I have had to reconstruct the games from the video recordings on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtSW5YSht_I">Youtube </a>and <a href="https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/showdown-saint-louis-2015">Chess24</a>. In order to save time and effort, I have transcribed only the opening phases of each of the games, since that is what interests us in Chess960 - the rest is just chess!<br />
<br />
To save space in the comment text, the three commentators are initialed as Yasser Seirawan (YS), Jennifer Shahade (JS) and Maurice Ashley (MA).<br />
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<b>Game 1 SP112: Hikaru Nakamura verses Fabiano Caruana</b><br />
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Transcriptions of the other other games will follow over coming days......</div>
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HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-5679208288178788042015-11-23T02:36:00.001-08:002015-11-24T14:18:46.316-08:00Chess960: The more the better? part 3This is a continuation of the discussion of Basque Chess960 that was had *<a href="http://chess960jungle.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/chess960-more-better-part-2.html">here* </a>and <a href="http://chess960frc.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/more-better.html">*here*</a>. In Basque Chess960 each player simultaneously plays one board as white and the other as black. I've played it a few times and think that it is a wonderful way to play Chess960 and really makes sense because it eliminates any differences in advantage that the white player has.<br />
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I found that it is even possible to play Blitz Basque Chess960 because two games are not that difficult to keep a track of - our brains seem to be pretty good at seeing in double! If anything, I found that <span style="text-align: center;">Basque Chess960 actually maintained or improved the quality of my blitz play </span>because I could not stop to think - it forced me to play instinctively. Stopping to think in Blitz can often make your play worse not better.<br />
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With that in mind, I was surprised that the two commentators at the <i>Showdown in Saint Louis 2015</i> exhibition match between Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana were intrigued by the Basque Chess960 idea too. Here is a transcript of their thoughts as they were commenting game one of the Chess960 competition:<br />
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<b>Jennifer Shahade: </b>"<i>I really wish that we had Basque Chess for Fischer Random don't you? So that we could see how Fabi would tackle playing white (in contrast to Hikaru)"</i><br />
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<b>Yasser Seirawan: </b>"<i>Oh that would be intriguing for sure"</i><br />
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<b>Jennifer Shahade: </b><i>"I think in Fischer Random it really makes a lot of sense, because you get to show....cause it's to easy to say after the game 'hey white just has an edge in this particular Fischer random'. But if you play Basque Chess960 you have to show it from both sides"</i><br />
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Basque Chess960 is a lot of fun, equalises fairness 100% and you get twice the game for each start position. You can also play it against the computer if you set up two Winboards side by side on your screen.<br />
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Enjoy 960<br />
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<br />HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-9838946533946018362015-11-21T02:24:00.003-08:002015-11-21T19:41:25.532-08:00Chess960: Showdown in St. Louis - Fischer Random StyleI'm in the middle of transcribing the Chess960 portion of the video recording of Hikaru Nakamura playing Fabiano Caruana in Chess960 (Fischer Random) at the recently concluded Showdown in St. Louis 2015.<br />
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Here is an interesting idea that the commentators mentioned during game one of the Fischer Random portion of the event, as to why Chess960 has been slow on the uptake.<br />
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<b>Jennifer Shahade:</b> "<i>Obviously Fischer random is just perfect for somebody like Nakamura he really loves the game. I really like it too. Why do you think it hasn't begun to be even more popular Yasser?"</i><br />
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<b>Yasser Seirawan:</b> <i>"You know one of the things, I've spoken to a lot of my colleagues on this very question. One of the things is a lot of my colleagues feel it has to do with amateur players. That is to say amateur players are so vested in their openings, they want to see players playing the French defenses and their Sicilian dragons and they know those openings so very well, they want the players to play their favourite openings and favourite defenses. Instead, when the players are playing a game of Fischer random, then a lot of the amateur players say "gee I don't know this position, I don't know what's going on". A lot of the professional players like Fischer Random and would like to see more Fischer random events. Its sort of like the organizers are hearing from the amateurs "no don't do it we want them to play OUR openings, OUR defenses". Its kind of an intriguing idea right?"</i><br />
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<b>Jennifer Shahade:</b> "<i>It is strange because normally you hear amatuers complaining about how much opening analysis there is but when push comes to shove they like it in a sick way."</i><br />
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<b>Yasser Seirawan: </b>{laughs}<br />
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If that is the case that amateurs are actually the ones holding up the progress of Chess960, we just have to wait for critical mass to occur when finally the amateurs make the switch to 960. According to the Chess960 popularity counter *<b><a href="http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess960-chess-variants/chess960-players-vs-standard-chess-players">here</a>*</b>, we have probably got another 20-30 years to go until the tipping point occurs. Popularity is steadily rising, but there is still a long way to go.<br />
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In the mean time, remember that Chess960 is not here to replace Chess, just be a viable loved alternative to chess and be its equal.<br />
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Enjoy 960.HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-36347844417581218612015-10-28T14:32:00.000-07:002015-10-28T14:37:30.707-07:00Chess960: When the queen comes out earlyFound a brilliant example of a start position where the queen can come out with attack as soon as the second move. The amazing thing is that there is no way to attack her and she is immediately putting pressure on the opponents position:<br />
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<b>SP169: Queen out on move 2!</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGMMsTxL10wHH2YgDU54CawyFJMwt8mnau3XQvca-j7JbNet3hHgFoIIPzpUeoHDW443izJFAWZOghiJJEfepYbTPeR_P97L5Nc2zmVWvPqfMDz1HCPsqbvviovYXzSo0jaK_U8vnxOsP/s1600/sp169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGMMsTxL10wHH2YgDU54CawyFJMwt8mnau3XQvca-j7JbNet3hHgFoIIPzpUeoHDW443izJFAWZOghiJJEfepYbTPeR_P97L5Nc2zmVWvPqfMDz1HCPsqbvviovYXzSo0jaK_U8vnxOsP/s320/sp169.JPG" width="291" /></a></div>
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White starts with the <i>Birds Opening System </i>1.f4 except here this opens a line for the queen to come straight out into the middle of the board. White follows up with the strong move 3.c4!? which achieves multiple things:</div>
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<li>Immediately attacks d5</li>
<li>The d5 pawn is pinned against the undefended d8 bishop</li>
<li>If black tries to attack the queen to gain tempo with something like c6/Bb6, white plays c5!? blunting the attack and preventing the corner knight from being able to develop.</li>
<li>White has not really neglected king safety because of O-O/Bf2 combination.</li>
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I haven't seen such a clear example like this before for bringing out the queen early with no cheap way of counter attacking her. Black has plenty of options, but it is an amazing little start position #169 that's for sure! It all stems from the pin on the d5 pawn against black's dark bishop.</div>
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HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-37508068686318039152015-10-16T16:08:00.004-07:002015-10-16T16:13:21.678-07:00Chess960 puzzle no.17Should white be freaked out by white's attack here? I found myself ruminating over this question during a game. I realise that this does not even look like a Chess960 problem any more but when you think about it, how else could black's knight have reached d6 without it being Chess960? The point is that Chess960 does throw up different versions of classic chess mid-game themes.<br />
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It turns out to be a nice puzzle because it can be broken down into individual problems that can be independently analysed to arrive at a solution. The threat is black can aim all his big pieces down the f-h files in tandem with opening up the kings's safety - a standard hack attack.<br />
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<b>SP076 Black to play - does black have a serious attack on white's king?</b></div>
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<i>Answer bottom left hand corner of this page</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Solution:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Break the problem down into manageable chunks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A) If ...f5 white plays e4 with a strong attack</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">B) if ...g5 white has the defense Bh4! followed by g3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">C) if ...h5-h6 white has g3 stopping black's progress</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A+B+C means white can safely proceed with a queen-side (c-side) attack</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Answer: no!</span></div>
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HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-90452291024935813792015-06-17T19:12:00.002-07:002015-06-17T19:21:55.129-07:00Chess960: Playing Komodo-9 64bitI decided to play Komodo-9 in a game of Chess960 because the consensus is that it plays natural human looking moves, which might be a nice way to practice Chess960 openings.<br />
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So I played Komodo-9 on SP456 - a nice easy number to remember!<br />
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Here is the situation at move 2:<br />
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<b>SP456 White (Komodo-9) to play move 2</b></div>
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My first move as black was a very natural move that takes good control of the center. Komodo's first move f4 surprised me a little. I'm not sure if it is a good idea to commit to weakening the light squares on the kingside so early when there are better moves. f4 does threatens f5 at some point which would kick black's knight if I planted it on e6. However that is not a threat. I would instead play Nc6/Bd7 which opens up some nice lines on the light squares for my bishop against white's kingside. </div>
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But now I really got a shock. Komodo-9 decides to play Qf2?! This cannot be a good move. There is no point playing out the queen so early while also blocking the dark square bishop in the process. Trying to defend f4/f5 so soon seems to be silly.</div>
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So I analysed what my other engine Stockfish thought of Komodo's move. Here is the result:</div>
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Stockfish at depth 22 thinks that after 2.Qf2?! Black should play ...Nd6 with a slightly better score -0.16. On the other hand, Komodo-9 at depth 18 thinks that black should play ...Nd6 but that white is slightly better at 0.14.</div>
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So after 2.Qf2?! we can see that Komodo-9 has issues playing Chess960 openings. Firstly, it is a slower engine than Stockfish when it comes to achieving the same depth. Stockfish got to depth 22 really quickly. Perhaps the depth of the calculation is really important in the Chess960 opening which favours Stockfish.</div>
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But Komodo's issue is not just depth, but also evaluation. There is no way in hell you can tell me that after 2.Qf2?! white is a bit better? Stockfish's evaluation of the position seems to me to be about right if not even a bit too conservative in it's favouring of black after 2.Qf2?! Nd6.</div>
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So I thought I would take a look at the CCRL 24-hour-a-day computer engine competition. In standard Chess Komodo appears to have the current lead. But in Chess960 the story is different. Stockfish is still the leader with a 50 point ELO rating higher than Komodo.</div>
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Well there you go. A little bit of engine trivia for you.<br />
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Enjoy 960</div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-10847211522436210922015-06-02T03:02:00.000-07:002015-06-02T03:42:21.168-07:00Chess960: Puzzle no.16Dear followers of this blog, enjoy this unusual puzzle. It requires an understanding of what a pawn island in Chess is. For more information see a definition <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pawn_island">Pawn islands (wiki)</a>. Often in Chess960 openings we try to avoid creating long lasting pawn islands because the isolated pawn or pawns are a long term target of attack for our opponent to exploit. There are exceptions of course!<br />
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In this position, both white and black have three pawn islands each.<br />
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White has three pawn islands (a-e),(f),(g-h).<br />
Black has three pawn islands, (a-f), (g), (h).<br />
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Here is the puzzle, the answer is surprising!<br />
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<b>SP455 move 2 white to play:</b></div>
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<b>If white captures the g-pawn, who will have the</b><br />
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<b>White, black or equal number?</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoX5cTVmbUrox-sRhND1TMnhfnAai2w0YV0QQHtR1t87_2jd_pcnolGIeTy9sR4Rt3JSXh2UM9MR3vuiRoXrrEGSO5tCQaAlsGSANTmP-uq-c7umZsUwzOehRo46tQPjIsUtTdidgn7b-/s1600/SP455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoX5cTVmbUrox-sRhND1TMnhfnAai2w0YV0QQHtR1t87_2jd_pcnolGIeTy9sR4Rt3JSXh2UM9MR3vuiRoXrrEGSO5tCQaAlsGSANTmP-uq-c7umZsUwzOehRo46tQPjIsUtTdidgn7b-/s320/SP455.JPG" width="318" /></a></div>
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<i>Solution given bottom left hand corner</i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;">Answer: White!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;"><b>2. fxg5 white has three pawn islands, black two.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;"><b>2. ...h6 no change, white=3, black=2.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;"><b>3. gxh6 Qxh6 white=2, black=1</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;"><b>5. g4 Bh2 no change</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;"><b>6. Rg2 Qxh3 white=2, black=1</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;"><b>White has more pawn islands than black. </b></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small;"><b>If instead white tries</b></span><b style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"> 5.Nbc3 or any other move, white still has one extra pawn island than black.</b></div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-57730426042553872452015-05-04T03:52:00.003-07:002015-05-04T03:55:51.650-07:00Chess960: Puzzle no.15<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>SP535 White to play: find the winning move</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxypnsNn39RM5LNl-BEV35MDzfUlJDfQv002naTuG3WVpcRxM68vLAOV__tREAtmMsxv_XP6uxS5WabuQoyOSIbGi0T-6_WDA3cNm1KQVxh0kc0FhyMHZ9eQhpvx-DjuURPzTrNUsv8_3t/s1600/SP535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxypnsNn39RM5LNl-BEV35MDzfUlJDfQv002naTuG3WVpcRxM68vLAOV__tREAtmMsxv_XP6uxS5WabuQoyOSIbGi0T-6_WDA3cNm1KQVxh0kc0FhyMHZ9eQhpvx-DjuURPzTrNUsv8_3t/s320/SP535.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Solution given bottom left corner</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Solution:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">5.Nh6! winning the rook</span></div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-83540005976763971952015-01-22T01:55:00.000-08:002015-01-22T13:35:44.458-08:00Add this Chess960 start to the list of difficult SP's black must face?Since Chess960 was invented, SP408 has never been played in real world competition. It is a serious intelligence test for black after white plays the move 1.d4.<br />
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<b>SP408 Black to play: How to respond to 1.d4?</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMABgx1azpwBfmUgKHA46dA6w0QiUVXbtswIQm9sqWVXvW-RORy1e19G7be5oGoR_ybm4uG-MpsEwMFPXFblrEw3AECTmrGH3C1npSsiRqpITacdYc77zJMp-rz_v9bD9dET7Boy81pzV/s1600/SP408-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMABgx1azpwBfmUgKHA46dA6w0QiUVXbtswIQm9sqWVXvW-RORy1e19G7be5oGoR_ybm4uG-MpsEwMFPXFblrEw3AECTmrGH3C1npSsiRqpITacdYc77zJMp-rz_v9bD9dET7Boy81pzV/s1600/SP408-1.JPG" height="320" width="318" /></a></div>
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The problem is that the d5 square cannot be comfortably supported in such a way that assist black's development. For example, ...d5/e6 blocks a development square for a knight. If black plays ...d5/c6, yes that frees the dark bishop, but white has natural developing moves that undermine the d5 square:</div>
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1. d4...d5</div>
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2. Nfe3 {attacking d5} c6</div>
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3. c4! {threatening to draw a pawn onto the weak d5 square}</div>
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The big question is, what does black do about supporting the weak d5 square in a way that assists development?</div>
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Well since no human has played this SP in competition, I turned to the CCRL database of computer engines instead. The stats are not promising for black with a 62% - 38% win rate for white which is pretty high. A lot of engines, in particular Houdini 4, will try to play this line:</div>
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1. d4...c4</div>
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2. d5!? {preventing black's knights from developing toward the center} c4?!</div>
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However, I found one game played by Stockfish 5 that I think is a very memorable win for black, spoiled only by Critter's bad opening idea to push the a-pawn aggessively. Stockfish bypasses the d5 problem altogether by appearing to play ultra conservatively minimising any weaknesses, then only later beginning to apply pressure.</div>
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This is a stunning opening by Stockfish, as if it were intelligent. Critter is made to look foolish I think!<br />
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<b>SP408 Critter plays a kind of Queen's Gambit Declined Slav?</b></div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="273" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://pgn4web-board.casaschi.net/?am=l&d=3000&ss=26&ps=d&pf=d&lcs=XItn&dcs=NpQK&bbcs=NpQK&hm=s&hcs=MWVi&bd=c&cbcs=__iz&ctcs=NpQK&hd=j&md=f&tm=13&fhcs=k03b&fhs=14&fmcs=k03b&fccs=DRYC&hmcs=__X$&fms=14&fcs=m&cd=i&bcs=t&fp=13&hl=t&fh=b&fw=p&pe=1377$zlax9RvkYusOVb9nOKqTjQzHLcnz1KGWJu1BHzutHh07jbL0z$jf9pNmuAVJT3owf21BHA_e0G3vkXZ2lHgY0vrY6b6BvQwilh1NYfdvloqVvrz5uKfu6PrLtp2l4coaE6V_9P1je54coaZt2l7lNZvi3d2wilh1NYfdaouf8ycr4coa_KevSAqf9yM6WZ0S40ilhO1l2UK$y1BHAChLP1ucoHFPF6eBOsJSqIRWsJRrqdcC5OypYtKmGQVYtqs1s515JW$_ycrTYV2P9fnjQzGRgtKKAVID3nG$EG84xTxIyWQxf81wB$6wT$Xe1BHl505XfbCN3$xB7m6APb02R78Nb$wWj239yf7tU1u7T10Izo5Yfj1$FbyspnwL32kEwnAN0L75hRx0IPU0A$fbzNepvMvfWI32qQ0z$yR7sRk0B$v7B71Xk0H$vy7pU0I$vaq4vRRHfqv71pc6sJfnD3ayNV3YfoL3sDp0IVvLT323c2Fgj7j02JOfij7b13Rf4HF37$HsRx$xrw2$f3i3dKpw5$f3zN6pKrw5vfVg33GK37T11kSx3IfvD32to1l7fT13XgQaxM$T3m8Dvpw1DnD10FnwQW3bb10IHwQWzbf1dK5wQbF5b0$RNpv8EN5n06u3c4dfOf4ANoD1Dk2d$vap7VYN54$yImJfWkWzbr02i71DU20L7sRpazNDLD16lyfVXNb502l7pPHLv3tFQF9kpQ55$v8c3dKny5$fcmRD1FCxbp0$QjXfWke3nT16hnwWjn902JRfVYwowL3dPg6sAgvr10Frwe3pj0$ksVw8zpb10xpwQUzpf1$FEbwdFi7PL32kho2IjBgG$4yEbfWjB7QD3sFi30qU5J$yE2fcKjp906lygrANcd$xUc308nyfT303c4NlDTD1dZbHJ8xd506ubxVJXgM$7VXNdK4gMv7VYxaIHyB$grzp$zYgOf7VXp6HgOv7VXOY4Qbad4$xUbP2kpM66$gRyePmqM60L7WgN0IHvEf30joZxWtD9b1dEJf3Ax1z$yJSeP0qU0i$adZrwUz4n06u5wU6V1I$xUc3cnvGv71hU$Qjzfjj1azBfXqc6uP4d$yImyfckTP42vgrgxOGN7rj0$myf3ijd50$ih7WkE3d704Ni7po2y$grCxdK7wO$7Jho2h7rP1azXfPqc6nrT0orCFdED_fTj1aCHfVXk_V42MAxMn0" width="100%">your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard</iframe>
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Ok here is one possible answer to the problem of 1.d4 in SP408!</div>
1.d4...d5<br />
2.Nfe3...c6<br />
3.c4...Nde6! {So black attacks the very same weak square that white attacks}<br />
4.cxd5...Nxd4<br />
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Nice idea, brilliant! What is this in theory? A counter gambit on a weak square? Ideas like this are never seen in standard chess...HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-14699147430334465892014-12-17T15:37:00.002-08:002014-12-17T16:51:48.725-08:00Frankfurt City Chess960 Cup 2014: Let's follow the winner (part 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The <a href="http://bezirk-frankfurt.schach-chroniken.net/archiv/20142015/fcs/fcsfoto.htm">Frankfurt City Chess960 Cup</a> is possibly the biggest ongoing Chess960 event in the world since Mainz ended. It has been running since 2010 and plans continue to run the event until at least 2020. So lets support it! </div>
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On my blog you can <a href="http://chess960jungle.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/chess960-database-complete-games-2001.html">download all the games</a> of the entire history of competitive Chess960 ever played since it was invented by Bobby Fischer, including this tournament.</div>
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I thought I would take a close look at the games of the winner of this years event FM Zuyev, a very strong 2400 ELO Chess960 player who has played in the cup every year since it began. <b><i>He won every single game he played this time, seven out of seven! </i></b></div>
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I apologize to all the players in advance for not covering their games in this blog, but time and energy do not permit it.</div>
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Zuyev's first game was white against a 2071 player (H.Schmitt) and began as a Queen's Gambit Declined Slav Defense (exchange variation). However this was not chess, but SP428 and there is no bishop on f1. Yes, this is a very funny version of the queen's gambit!<br />
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<b>SP428 Queen's gambit: Zuyev plays 2.c4</b></div>
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Zuyev offers a pawn but there is no way to capture the pawn back if black accepts the gambit. Nc1-b3 or Nd3 are then not possible and white will be down a pawn for a very long time. There are some advantages with 2.c4 however. White can get a strong center if the gambit is accepted (except that e4 blocks the bishop on b1), and black will have to sacrifice tempo to support the pawn on c4 with b5. Perhaps Zuyev wanted a really active game against a player that is almost 400 ELO lower than him.</div>
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But black did not accept the gambit (was he showing nerves?), and the game entered the Slav defense proper. The next interesting point in the game was 4.....h6!?</div>
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<b>Black plays 4....h6!?</b></div>
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Black wants to develop his light bishop to h7 and oppose white's bishop on b1. This is not a bad idea, considering that the g8-a2 diagonal is blocked by d5. Perhaps a better alternative was 4....f6, preparing e4 and liberating the g8 bishop towards the center. Note that my Stockfish 5 kibitzer wanted to play 4....e6?! for quite some time until it changed it's mind to 4....f6 at depth 22.</div>
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The next critical moment is when Zuyev plays 5.f4. This move seems dubious to me since it ruins white's pawn structure, king safety and the f4 pawn is exposed to the b8 bishop. Also, the move leaves a big hole on e4 for one of black's knights to sit. Perhaps I am wrong, so I ask the question!</div>
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<b>Why 5.f4?</b></div>
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The reason white played f4, is because he wants to play Nde5 where the knight will be supported twice against Bxe5(N) which would preserve two supported pawns in the center. White figured that black is unlikely to kick Ne5 with f6 because that would block a development square for black's e8 knight. This is in fact what happened in the game.</div>
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<b>Why 8.Nb3?</b></div>
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I personally do not like white's idea. I think white wants to attack g7 at some point, but black can simply insert ...b7 which completely stops the b3 knight in it's tracks. Also, 8.Nb3 blocks any progress of the queenside pawns. I think better was Ncd3, where white can always withdraw his e5 knight back to f3 if necessary. This also is compatible with the old golden rule of chess, develop the knights towards the center!</div>
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Now black takes the initiative because of the hole on e4. White is uncertain about how to develop his g1 bishop and despite being 400 ELO stronger than black, is on the back foot. He plays 9.Be3:</div>
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<b>White's decides to develop with 9.Be3</b></div>
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But as the diagram shows, this gives black a very simple plan to develop his knights to f5, attacking Be3, and if the bishop withdraws to f2, black has Ne4 again attacking the bishop. Although this is not fatal, black has a clear plan.<br />
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To cool things down a bit however, if black does trade a knight for white's dark square bishop, this is not necessarily bad, since the pawn construction d4-e3-f4 closes down the play for the dark squared bishops and black is better to retain a knight in a closed position (perhaps).</div>
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Here is the next key moment where black decides to trade off his undeveloped dark squared bishop for white's actively placed knight on e5:</div>
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<b>Black plays 14....Bb8xe5(N)</b></div>
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I think this was a very good decision by black. No time has been wasted moving the dark squared bishop yet, while white has expended quite a lot of effort to play the knight to e5 in a forward position. Perhaps a better way to achieve this was firstly to play 14....Nxc5(N) and then Bxe5(N). The improvement is that white will be left with three isolated pawns! There will be a pawn on c5 that cannot be supported because of a5, and isolated pawns on e5 and e2.</div>
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Instead, black (may be due to time pressure) decided to simplify down the position with ...Bxe5(N), ...Nxf2(B), ...b6 (kicking the knight), ...Rc8. The problem is that all of black's initiative is gone and the game is completely even:</div>
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<b>Move 18 white to play</b></div>
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White now has connected pawns in the center, is contesting the open c-file and has pressure on f7. My Kibitzer Houdini4 and Stockfish5 evaluate the game at 0.00. Black now plays a beautiful attacking game, putting pressure on black's king safety and arrives at the next crucial milestone:</div>
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<b>Move 23 Black to play: don't blunder!</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QP-eyiM8ZJPZ_m885yrtvy_F26qkeucVXq7NCNiPQSoT-RjzNA2xQuVPYydumqTYTmImO52Zseq1JKOPCkQ4FzFxlwWX_Ftge2tXx0PtcnnhP2sfnHtABc89mSmd5l84QZkFUOMOEgTN/s1600/game1-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QP-eyiM8ZJPZ_m885yrtvy_F26qkeucVXq7NCNiPQSoT-RjzNA2xQuVPYydumqTYTmImO52Zseq1JKOPCkQ4FzFxlwWX_Ftge2tXx0PtcnnhP2sfnHtABc89mSmd5l84QZkFUOMOEgTN/s1600/game1-8.JPG" height="320" width="318" /></a></div>
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Black has pushed the h-pawn and will try to open up white's king safety. However the attack looks blunted since Qf2/Rf1/Nf4 are strong defenders. With the attack coming to a halt, black plays the natural move 23. g5? to kick the knight and continue the pressure, but this is a key blunder. Can you see why? (Solution bottom left hand corner of this blog). White sees the blunder, and black resigns in a lost position:</div>
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<b>Move 27 Black resigns</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR12L5RxIEpFHMS7ODEiLj4ExNcaDeGebkumkoM1w0rHtiY6Z0HkVhcUL_MXErPaqQ4fYv7I90nE51FnnJy4sdig00E2Xn5xuXSYGrwgbsfcv5TcF8s1zdbz4LAmK0uCsd46DiVcJoxywy/s1600/game1-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR12L5RxIEpFHMS7ODEiLj4ExNcaDeGebkumkoM1w0rHtiY6Z0HkVhcUL_MXErPaqQ4fYv7I90nE51FnnJy4sdig00E2Xn5xuXSYGrwgbsfcv5TcF8s1zdbz4LAmK0uCsd46DiVcJoxywy/s1600/game1-9.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Black's queen will be trapped after Rf3, and in any case, she is on the wrong side of the pawn with black's queenside and d5 under-defended.</div>
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Solution to move 23 blunder:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivG3FOxfSS7hd6DdZ3JDtY40AGLq0HfJFMxTQSd3GD58yI12fd06pNfBTq5RMgJ1T4V4A8I_oH4bTI2j2N5Iaw1j7sboacB5_j4JD9Ro48kRpQnY4IMMX5PNWRrPYFqm7rEoLceCVb63Ym/s1600/game1-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivG3FOxfSS7hd6DdZ3JDtY40AGLq0HfJFMxTQSd3GD58yI12fd06pNfBTq5RMgJ1T4V4A8I_oH4bTI2j2N5Iaw1j7sboacB5_j4JD9Ro48kRpQnY4IMMX5PNWRrPYFqm7rEoLceCVb63Ym/s1600/game1-8.JPG" height="200" width="198" /></a></div>
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23....g5?</div>
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24. h3...Qg3 {deflecting the queen from protecting the knight on f5}</div>
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25. Nxd5! {capturing a crucial pawn, undermining the protection of the f5 knight, and revealing a discovered attack on the f5 knight}</div>
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White wins a pawn and black's queen is trapped.</div>
HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-47846066460199000732014-11-22T14:54:00.000-08:002014-11-23T11:36:47.962-08:00Chess960: Compilation Database Update for the Frankfurt City ChampionshipsRight at the climax of the Chess World Championship at Sochi, there is also a Chess960 tournament unfolding!<br />
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The Frankfurt City Chess960 Championships have become an annual event which I only just realised has been going since 2010. <a href="http://bezirk-frankfurt.schach-chroniken.net/fcs_historie.htm">Here is the link.</a> The good news is that it looks like it is scheduled to continue until 2020! Perhaps it is the spiritual successor for the Mainz Chess960 event that ended in 2009?<br />
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<a href="http://bezirk-frankfurt.schach-chroniken.net/archiv/20142015/fcs/fcsfoto.htm">The 2014 Frankfurt City competition is still unfolding</a> with a few rounds to go.......<br />
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In the mean time, I have updated <a href="http://chess960jungle.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/chess960-database-complete-games-2001.html">the compilation database for Chess960</a> that I host on this blog for another 216 games! The additional games are from the Frankfurt Championships 2010-2013 for games where at least one of the players is 2000+ rating.<br />
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Once the dust has settled on 2014 championships, I'll add them to the database as well.<br />
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Thank you to the organizers for uploading the PGNs for all the Chess960 games!HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3261331525837592732.post-77162664955796105412014-11-22T14:37:00.001-08:002014-11-22T15:14:20.158-08:00Chess960: Two steps forward one step back at Saint LouisDisappointing news today that the two Chess960 greats Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian are back <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/showdown-in-saint-louis">for another Chess showdown at Saint Louis Chess Club</a> but there will be no Chess960.<br />
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The questions I ask are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Why is this exhibition being hosted right at the climax of the 2014 Chess world championship at Sochi?</li>
<li>Perhaps it is because the promoters hope that the internet exposure will be larger?</li>
<li>Perhaps this exhibition is trying to display an alternative more innovative format for a future chess world championship?</li>
<li>Why no Chess960 between the two great 960 players? </li>
</ul>
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A few months ago the Saint Louis Chess hosted a Chess960 match between Nakamura and Aronian at the <a href="https://saintlouischessclub.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=62">Sinquefield cup 2014</a> called "Ultimate Moves" <a href="http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess960-chess-variants/what-happened-to-the-sinquefield-cup-2014-chess960-match">but it was botched</a>. There was no live stream, no commentary of the match and it was tacked onto the end of the tournament when most commentators and journalists had left the venue.<br />
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So this new Chess showdown could have fixed all that damage and promoted Chess960 with a properly organised Chess960 showdown.<br />
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But no! Really disappointing. Such an opportunity wasted.HarryOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971894954907592580noreply@blogger.com0