Chess Problem #236
Is the overload on the White Knight?
1. Bh3, Nxh3 sacrifice the bishop to get the knight out of the way
2. Ne2+, Kc2
3. Nxc3, Bxc3 take out the White Queenlooking at the points value, bishop(3) + knight(3) is a good trade for queen(9)
now back to my morning coffee.
Ok This isn’t very satisfying but black has a fork on e2, if he can get the knight out of the way. So he plays:
1. ... Bh3 Black threatens the Rook but the knight cannot take because of the pin so the rook must move.
2. Re1 Bg2 The corner rook is lost so white takes the black night.
3. PxN e5xd4 the white queen must move and plays
4. Q anywhere BxR.Only a two point edge for black but should be enough. There could well be something better. I like the first move but as for the rest wish it were stronger.
Like your first move Drew. You beat me to the punch. Only three minutes, I need to get up earlier or type faster.
I don’t know Drew. I find it hard to believe that Black would ‘overload’ an undeveloped Knight. Especially since White is threatening to take Black’s Knight exd4, which would eliminate the Knight fork on e2.. I bet it’s something subtle like in the last problem. But damn if I can figure it out. No, I haven’t peeked at the answer yet.
BTW, have any of you ever clicked on the links I put at the end of these problems? Combination Challenge is out of print. Did you see what’s being charged for it on Amazon? I should sell my copy! New it sold for $14.95. As a life member of the USCF, I’m pretty certain I got a couple of bucks off, plus shipping and handling.
I also like Drew’s 1st move, and I think white is all but required to take the sacrifice, losing his queen for the bishop and knight. If he declines, after:
1. ....... , B-h3
2. R-e1 , B-g2
3. Pxd4 , Pexd4
4. Q-c2Black bores in with:
4. ....... , Rxf2White is stuck in a bottle, and black just corked it. He may be temporarily up a point, but his bishop is worthless and he has a trapped rook under attack. In only 2 moves, black can bring the other rook and the queen into battery with the first. White forces the issue, instead of waiting to be overwhelmed:
5. N-e2 , Rxe2
6. Rxe2 , Bxh2The black bishop can retreat to f3 if required, to both protect and be protected by the e pawn; holding the cork until white gives up more material to trade it off, or until black brings in enough force to overwhelm white. White would be in better shape just giving up the queen at the beginning, at least that would get rid of the soon to be powerful black bishop, and his fortress gate would still be up. He is still likely doomed either way, however.
Posted by JW
03/03/2012 at 02:40 PM
"update” - Wes got the book solution, not me. I’d have to play out the game to see which way arrives at a win sooner, but the book solution costs Black the Knight (as Wes said) which in turn keeps Black from clonking White’s queen. I like my way better, which at least gets White’s queen. All that being said, given the initial move by the Black bishop, White would most likely move the left rook to E1 and just eat the loss of the other rook. There isn’t much else the Black bishop can do in there anyway, not right away.
As I said Drew, I never solved this one. You and Wes got closer than I ever did. I never have would have played 1. … Bh3.
Drew - Finding the first move is what this is about. If white does something in the position afterwards, other than you think most likely, so long as you got the first move right there is time to find the next. And it will be easier too.
I don’t recall who said this but a Grand Master was once asked: “How many moves ahead do you need to see in order to play winning chess?”
The Grand Master replied: “One---If it’s the right one!”
You saw the fork on the King and Queen. You saw the need to move the bishop and threaten the white rook. That move not only got the bishop into the game but made it possible for blacks rook at a8 to get out. When the rook on f1 moves you would see the move attacking the rook on h1.
Chris - I took a look at your Amazon link. I am working my way a couple of problems a week through Laszio Polgars book Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games problems.
Amazon prices: New hardcover - $346.19 Used - $89.97. I paid about $20 for mine. Of course you could by the paperback for $15.61.
I got that Polgar book too, Wes. Hardcover. I don’t remember what I paid for it. But I guarantee I didn’t pay over $300. Probably more like $20 or $30, at least with shipping and handling.
BTW, your quote sounds like either Frank Marshall or Aron Nimzowitsch.
No, I’m wrong. The closest quote I could find is Emanuel Lasker, the second World Champion.
When you see a good move, look for a better one.
I think I should post a game or two of mine. I got a couple where I was really on the ropes. One was so bad that the tournament director had already recorded my game as a loss. But I won. He didn’t believe me until I showed him the game score. I hid my King behind Black’s own pawn on h3. Yeah, I was playing White. And then I did a classic Knight fork–both of Black’s Rooks AND his Queen. He resigned soon afterwards.
One of my other games I’m proud of: I was Black and dropped a Bishop in the opening. But I held the draw. I was especially proud of that one because my opponent outrated me by 300 points. He wasn’t quite a Master (2200+) but he was 2100 and change. I was barely over 1800. He probably could have still won but he was short of time. He had like 5 minutes to my 30 minutes.
BTW Wes, who are your favorite players?
I like Frank Marshall, Aron Nimzowitsch, Edgar Colle, and Victor Korchnoi. You might notice that none of them were ever World Champions. Marshall and Korchnoi came close, but Capablanca kicked Marshall’s ass, and Karpov kicked Korchnoi’s thrice. Two World Championship matches and a training match when Karpov was getting ready to meet Fischer–a match that never happened. Fischer was an idiot, he never defended his title.
