***Chess - Instructive Positions Thread ***

[KyleJRM82]

More fun with endgames. Super-easy for many of the players here, but I found it fascinating.

White to play and draw:

Spoiler:

Not Nxd3, which seems super-natural and is, in fact, super-losing. The most pertinent variation comes in this game I just played, where white lost after 47 Nxd3:
http://www.ficsgames.com/cgi-bin/sho...70;action=show

Correct and drawing from the board above is:

1. Nf7! Kg2
2. Ng5!

If black plays h2, white grabs the bishop then queens right after black, with white having an extra knight and better overall position to secure the draw easily.

If black moves the bishop along that same diagonal, white plays Nxh2 and then takes the last white pawn to draw the game.

[Allen C]

I enjoyed that too, thanks. Knights move funny.

[RoundTower]

nice geometry, you could definitely make it into the end of a study.

but does Black just miss a free knight earlier? 28...Kd7 Na7 Bb7 followed by Kc7-b6-a7, if White goes a4 or c4 in desperation you just take it.

[Cadaz]

mm nice.

[KyleJRM82]

Originally Posted by RoundTower

nice geometry, you could definitely make it into the end of a study.

but does Black just miss a free knight earlier? 28...Kd7 Na7 Bb7 followed by Kc7-b6-a7, if White goes a4 or c4 in desperation you just take it.

Yes. I remember thinking "that knight looks trapped" and then I gave it like half a glance and decided he could probably get away or something. Lazy.

[TexAg06]

Here are some good tactics problems from recent games. Nearly every different tactical theme is represented.

http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7846

[KyleJRM82]

It's a Multi-Beat Wednesday!

Beat: I'm getting my tail handed to me on FICS the last two days. +0 -5 =1 in the last two days.

Beat: Only one other person showed up to chess club last night. Two months ago we were drawing a dozen.

Beat: Wijk aan zee is on an off day.

[smilingbill]

and yet another beat: wrong thread

[KyleJRM82]

It's really not my day.

[KyleJRM82]

Black to move. What's black's plan, what's white's response, who is better, and why?

ITG:

Spoiler:

I was black, and I had decided that I had enough chance for initiative and an attack on his uncastled king to justify letting him get a knight to e6 and win an exchange.

In my calculation, I got as far as Nc4/Nde6 Nxe3/fxe3 Bg3+ and figured there was plenty there to be worth giving up the exchange.

The crummy computer that comes with my FICS interface ...

Spoiler:

agrees this is the best line from the original position and likes it quite a bit for black,

but I haven't checked it with a better computer.

[YouKnowWho]

Spoiler:

does 1.. c5 2. Nce6 h6 work? knight seems to not get out after taking the exchange.

[KyleJRM82]

Spoiler:

Yes, I think so. The h6/knight not getting out after taking exchange thing worked later ITG as well.

[Dorilla]

Spoiler:

Why not h6 first?

[Noir_Desir]

Originally Posted by KyleJRM82

More fun with endgames. Super-easy for many of the players here, but I found it fascinating.

White to play and draw:

can't white draw with 1. a8=Q Bxa8 2. Nxd3 Kg1 3. Ke1 h2 4. Nf2 Bf3 5. Nh3+? There has to be a refutation that could really turn this into a study because the zugzwang motives in this line look really interesting.

Guess i found it, 5. ...Kg2 6. Nf2 Bg4/h5! or 6. Nf4+ Kg3

[TexAg06]

Would someone mind helping me out with this position? I'm currently playing through Dreev's games (I pretty much copied his opening repertoire) and this one is from Dreev-Zherebukh in 2009. In the following position, white played 29. h4. Could someone explain to me the idea behind the move? To my patzer eye it looks like that move weakens the h-pawn. I thought maybe he's trying to prevent a g6-g5 advance by black, but I don't see why black would want to try and play that. Houdini likes the move (2nd best) but for the life of me I can't figure out what Dreev is planning. Any help at all would be appreciated.