Chess

By PHILIDOR

L. I. LOSHINSKI (HI =, USSR,

1948)

vairrn to play and mate in two moves ; solution next week. Solution to No. 273 (Fleck) : R—K B 5, threat Kt—B 4.

Kt. Kt—Q 7 ; 2 Qx Kt. . Kt

—B 5 ; 2 R xP. r ... Kt (K 5) any other ; 2 Kt—B 4_ ... Kt (K 6) any other ; 2 Q—B I. Complex example of line opening and closing, with a cyclic pattern shown in the first three variations. In today's problem, note that the black bishop is what is called `obtrusive' i.e. it can only have arisen as the result of a pawn promotion. Some purists object to this —this comment is to prevent their writing to me to say so.

One of the attractive features of correspondence chess (if you are the right age to appreciate it) is that you can play a strong game at a very advanced age— what laymen erroneously believe to be true of over- the-board play (where the prime is in the thirties and you are an old man in the fifties) is in fact true in correspondence where the demands on nervous stamina and memory are so much less. Dr. Batik is still a strong master at nearly eighty and Dr. Dyckhoff was second in the world championships at seventy-one. Here is a very fine game won by Dyckhoff at the tender age of sixty-five and republished in the February number of Correspondence Chess as part of an excellent article on his play.

.Chtte, BATIK. Black, DYCKHOFF. Opening, TARRASCH DEFELICE (Correspondence world championship, 1930)

—K 3

P4H4 P4_ P—Q 4

2 P

_7 Kt—Q 83 P—Q 84 The Tarrasch Defence, gener- ally thought to be suspect because Black—in return for a free game —gets a permanently weak Q P. It is interesting that Dyckhoff played it with great success for many years in correspondence chess, where his opponents had ample time to study its refutation.

4 RPxP KPxP K€—B3 Kt—.Q

6 P—K 3 . . FromKtzthebishopcanput the maximum pressure on Q 5. , 1(5-83 7 13-10 B—K

8 0-0 0-0

• PxP P—Q 5 After 9 ... B x P; to B--Kt 5, B—K 3; xi R—B t White gets too much pressure on the centre. Now White wins a pawn at the cost of some dislocation; I believe

be has the better of matters—but it is not easy to demonstrate this. ro Kt—Q R 4 K—B 4

ii Kt—R 4 • • Kt—K x is better e.g. n . . B—K 5; 12 B Al, Kt xB; Kt—Q 3!, Q—Q 4; 24 Q— Kt retaining his pawn safely. II. . B—K za P—R 3 . . . 12 B X B, Kt X B; x3 Kt—B 5, Kt x P gives Black an excellent game. 8—Q4 • KS—Kg . . . Better 13 P—K 4. White's failure to play P—K 4 results in his position bein. in half

(see move ao).

B—K 3 14 Ktx8 eh QxKt

l5 B—Kt 5 .. . Here again P—K 4 should be played though after 15 Kt—Q 2; 16 Q—B 2, R (either)—B t Black regains his pawn with a good game.

Is. . . B—B 51 16 R—K z P—K ,R 3!

,r7 BxKt • • • 17 B—B 41, ICt.—Q 4; 18

Q 6, Q—K 6 ch; 19 K—B K R—K x with the very unpleasant threat of 1"--Q 6. Now however Black has decisive command of the black squares. Q x

• P—Kz B—R 3 19Q—Q2 K R—K ao Kt—Kt a R—K 6 From now on the disastrous effect of White's P on K 2 becomes increasingly clear. 2I Q R—B z Q R—K 22 B—B: KS—K 4 Threat 23 — . RxB P (24 P x R, Kt x P ch; 26K—RI. R x R ch I winning).

23 P—B 4 Kt—Kt 5 24 1(1-84 Rx Kt as RxB Q—K Kt 3!

• B—Kt 2 Kt X PI 27 Kxla Q x P ch 28 K—Kt r P—Q 6 Threat ay . R x13. • R--B3 . . . Now 39 . . . R xP; 3o R x R, RxR; 3r Q xR, P xQ; 32 R xQ, P—K S=Q ch would win but allow White to offer some resistance, so .. .

R—K 31

30 Resigns . . . 30 P—B 5, R—K 5 and 31 R—Kt 5 or 30 K—R R—K 1(1 3; 31 R—K Kt x, Q—R 6 or R 5 ch. White's K P is worth an army—to Black