Chess 458

PHILIDOR

H. W. Bettmann (Good Companions, 1921). White to play and mate in two moves; solution next week.

Solution to no. 457 (Issler): Kt-B3, threat

Q-Q5. 1 P-K5; 2 Kt-K2 (set R-Q2). 1 ... Q-K5; 2 Kt x P (set B-R7). 1 ... K-Q6; 2 R-Q2.

. K-B4; 2 B-R7. The two set mates are changed and transferred to act as mates against the two king flights conceded by the key.

The chess cat's compendium

What should you say to make it clear that you are a man to be reckoned with in the chess world —no patzer to be mowed down by Jadoubovich in a simultaneous display, but a man who knows his way around? Well, I suggest you try 'When does Informator No. 7 come out?' Primarily a collection of games (821 of them in volume 6) published six-monthly, annotations by thirty- seven international and grandmasters, hiformator is becoming a 'must' for all serious players —and a very fine collection of games for browsing in even if you aren't serious. It also contains results of all major tournaments, a set of striking positions and (an interesting extra in No. 6) the detailed rules for the world championships. No. 6 is 43s 5d post free from scM, 9 Market Street, St. Leonards, Sussex— and well worth it. Here is one of the 821 games. White, Ciocaltea. Black, Radovici. Opening, King's Indian Defence (Bucharest, 1968).

1 P-QB4 Kt-KB3 2 Kt-QB3 P-KKt3 3 P-KKt3 B-Kt2 4 B-Kt2 P-Q3

5 Kt-B3 0-0 6 P-Q4 QKt-Q2 7 0-0 P-K4 8 P-KR3 . ..

I don't care for this line and prefer the old- fashioned P-K4. Point of the text is to be able to play B-K3 without the reply Kt-Kt5 being possible, but it is a slow and artificial system.

8 ... P-B3 9 B-K3 Kt-R4! A vigorous counter stroke—the threat of P-KB4--B5 is already unpleasant.

10 PxP PxP 11 Q-Q6? ... /don't know what is right, but this isn't. Perhaps 11 Kt-K4 with the idea of Kt-B5 or Q6 is playable. The text attempts to build up pressure on the Q file but is completely refuted with fatal loss of time for White.

11 ... P-KB4! 12 QR-Q1 Q-K1 13 B-B1/3 Kt-R2 might be . . .

better—if P-B5, White would then have Kt4 and K4 for his knights and if P-K5 could play B-Q4 —but Black has a clear advantage anyway.

13 . . . P-K5 14 Kt-Q4 Kt-K4 15 P-Kt3 . • . Necessary, but now White has a new weakness on the long diagonal.

15 . . . P-K6! 16 B x KP Kt-B2 17 Q.135 KtxP! 18 KR-K1 ...

/8 px Kt, Q x Bch is at least equally bad.

18 . . . Kt-R4 19 Q-Kt4? . .. After this, the game is quite lost. 19 Kt-R4 is a better chance, keeping the queen in play and removing the knight from the latent attack on it by the bishop. 19 ... P-B5 20 B-QB1 Kt-Kt4! This powerful move would hare been unplayable with the WQ on B5. 21 P-KR4 Kt-R6ch 22 K-Bl ... 22 Bx Kt, Bx B; 23 Q x P, Bx Kt; 24 R x Kt, Q-K3; 25 P-B3, Q-B3 followed by 26 . . . Q x RP will also win for Black. Now a dazzling finish. 22 ... Q-K4 Threatening P-B4

23 Kt-R4 P-B6!!

24 Kt x KBP • 24 PxP, Q-R7; 25 Bx Kt (25 Kt-K2, R P!), Kt-Kt6ch!; 26 Px Kt, Bx B mate.

24. . . Q-Kt6! 25 B-K3 B-K(5! Not 25 . . . Q-R7; 26 Q x Rch! and 27 Kt x Q. Now Q-R7 is threatened.

26 Q-Q6 B-K4! 27 Q-Q3 ... 27 Kt': B, Q x PA!: 28 Bx Q, Kt-Kt6 mate.

27 Q-R7! 28 Resigns ..

Black threatens 28 . . . Q-Kr8ch; 29 Al Q, Kt-Kt6 mate.