Chess 489

PHILIDOR

Touw Hian Bwee (4th Prize, BCF, 1967). White to play and mate in two moves; solution next week.

Solution to No. 488 (Thomson-3R4/7Q/ Bb2p1 Rp/ 1N1P3r / 7p / 1PBkp3 / 5p2/ 1K3bNq): K-Kt2, threat Kt-Q6. 1 . . . R xP; 2 R-Kt2. 1 . . . Q x P; 2 R-Kt5. 1 . . . K-K4; 2 R-Kt4. 1 . . . P-K7; 2 R-Kt3. Well constructed problem, with strongly marked and attractive theme.

A good buy amongst the more recent chess books is L. Pachman's Modern Chess Tactics (Routledge £2 2s), well translated by Peter Clarke. It is difficult to know how far combinative play can be taught and how far it is an innate gift; what a book like this does is to make one see such play through a master's eyes, and to help one understand one's own chess experience and to build on it. What no book can provide is the right psychological atti- tude; a good combinative player is always probing for tactical possibilities, always expecting them and sees them far ahead. One of the ways to improve in this respect is to play correspondence chess—not instead of, but as well as, ara play. Then, as you start to analyse in depth, you will begin from your own experience to realise the possibilities hidden in harmless-looking positions. But Pachman will help too—here is one of twenty- one illustrative games in the book, won by one of the greatest of all combinative players.

White, Alekhine. Black, Tartakower. Opening, Caro-Kann (Kecskemet, 1927).

1 P-K4 P-Q133 2 P-Q4 P-Q4 3 Kt-QB3 P x P 4 Kt x P Kt-B3 5 Xt-Kt3 P-K4 6 Kt-B3 P x P

7 Kt x P B-Q134 Natural, but the more solid B-K2 is better.

8 Q-K2ch ! B-K2 8 . . . Q-K2; 9 B.-K3, 0-0; 10 0-0-0 looks better though White—with the threat of Kt-B5—still has an excellent game.

9 B-K3 P-B4? Too ambitions; he should just play 0-0.

10 Kt(4)-B5 0-0 . 11 Q-B41 R-K1? After this he is lost. P-QKt3 is essential. Not surprisingly, Black does not realise that he is in any danger.

12 B-Q3 P-QKt3 13 0-0-0 B-R3

14 Kt-R6ch! . . . Putting a sudden end to Black's illusions.

14 . . . PxKt 15 BxPchl KtxB 15. . . Kx B; 16 QxPch and 15 . . . K-RI 16 Qx KBP, Kt-Q2; 17 Kt-B5, B-B!; 18 Kt-10. B-Kt2; 19 Bx RP! also win for White.

16 Q-Kt4ch K-R1 17 R xQ R xR With R, B and Kt for Q and P, Black seems to be doing well.

18 Q-K4! . . . The sting in the tail, winning a piece, after which the win is easy.

18 . . . Kt-QB3 19Q x Kt B-KBI 20 Kt-135 B-B5 21 B x RP B-Q4 22 Q-B7 QR-Bl 23 Q-B4 R-B3 24 B x B R x B 25 Q-K5ch Kt-B3

26 Kt-QC . . .. A neat finishing touch. 26 . . . K-Kt2 loses to 27 Q-Kt5ch. So Black must play 26 . . . Rx Kt and very rightly prefers

26 . .. Resigns.