Back by popular demand another crossword. Answer the questions
and the shaded boxes will reveal the name of a famous chess player.
OK it’s Reti, Giri, Fine or Euwe but the lads like it. I’m starting again.
(answer at the bottom of the page.)
The 2016 Candidate Tournament to find a worthy challenger for Carlsen is over.
It’s Sergey Karjakin who will face Carlsen in November. The venue is
as yet undecided though New York appears to be the favourite choice.
Anish Giri, the subject of our crossword. (see how topical I am. Good yes?)
drew all 14 of his games which apparently is a new record for the candidates.
Of course the wits, both dim and bright have been ribbing him with jokes and
of course that includes me. (nothing like a good joke at the expense of others)
Giri goes into a cowboy saloon.
“Who are you?”, asks the barman.
“Giri the Kid, the fastest draw in the west.”
OK forget it. Let us look at a couple of game from the Candidates.
Fabiano Caruana - Peter Svidler, Candidates 2016
[FEN "4r1k1/6b1/p5pp/P2qr2n/Q1p1Np2/2P5/3B1PP1/3RR1K1 w - - 0 37"]
37. Bxf4 {As Black Svidler now played Qb5 but in this Queen sac line...} 37... Rxe4 38. Rxd5 Rxe1+ 39. Kh2 Nxf4 {Black has a Rook, Knight and Bishop for the Queen. and with best play can probably win this is. Here is one line showing a cast iron draw.} 40. Rd7 {Looks like a good spot for the attacked Rook.} 40... R8e5 {Black lets the Knight go.} 41. Qxc4+ Kh7 42. Qxf4 Rh5+ 43. Kg3 Rg5+ {The White King cannot go to f3 due to Rf5 so....} 44. Kh2 Rh5+ 45. Kg4 Rg5+ 46. Kh2 Rh5+ {Draw.}
Anything wrong with that? Well I hope you all noticed the stab in the back
trick I was showing here a few weeks back. It was a cunning Caruana Trap
[FEN "4r1k1/6b1/p5pp/P2qr2n/Q1p1Np2/2P5/3B1PP1/3RR1K1 w - - 0 37"]
37. Bxf4 {As I mentioned earlier Black played Qb5 here. If.....} 37... Rxe4 {White does not take the Queen, first of all we see....} 38. Qxe8+ {The Stab in the Back.} 38... Rxe8 39. Rxe8+ Kf7 40. Rxd5 Kxe8 41. Be5 {White is the exchange up and from here a White win is a stroll in the park.}
The Caruana - Svidler had a semi-tragic finish with Caruana missing
a technical win discovered by Phildor before the Napoleonic wars.
A technical win, often referred to as plain technique, is something
you can show a non-player and once mastered and memorised they
will be able to defeat Magnus Carlsen from the exact same position.
This is a technical White win, once you know the method you can beat anyone.
(this is not the position from the actual game I’m just using it as an example.)
This is the position from the actual game. White to play.
Can you do it. White to play and win.
Some nitwits from other sites went into spasms of disgust that Caruana missed
this ‘simple’ win. It’s not easy with clocks ticking on increment time and you
are still playing in a tiring game. The above position appeared after 105 moves.
And (I forgot to mention) you have to do it in 12 moves. That is how long
Caruana had in the actual game before the 50 move draw rule kicked in.
I doubt if I could, I’ve never had to do it in a game. and hopefully never will.
But I will do my best to take you though it. You never know one day............
[FEN "8/1R6/8/7r/k1KB4/8/8/8 w - - 0 105"]
105. Rb2 {Threatening Ra2 mate. Caruana played 1.Bf2. The mate is still there but now it takes longer and the 50 move rule is creeping closer.} 105... Rh3 106. Bf2 {Forcing the Rook which must stay covering a3 to a file that is range of the Bishop.} 106... Rf3 {Only Rook move. (3...Ra3 then 4. Rb8) The important squares on the f-file f2 and f6 can now be covered by the Bishop on d4.} 107. Bc5 {Threaten Ra2+ and mate.} 107... Rf4+ 108. Bd4 Rf3 {The Rook covers a3 again} 109. Rb4+ {If the Black King goes to a5 then Rb7 mating on a7, Note the Black Rook cannot go f6 see the note 2.Bf2.} 109... Ka3 110. Rb8 {Looking at playing Ra1 checkmate.} 110... Ka2 111. Rb2+ Ka3 112. Re2 {This is a cute move to find OTB. It's best. White is threatening Bc5+ and mate with Ra2+} 112... Rf4 113. Re1 {And finally Black has no way to stop Ra1+ and mate without giving up the Rook. Easy?}
Yes we have a recent example of an RHP player messing this up.
wotapickle - Electric Dad RHP 2015
[FEN "8/8/8/6r1/4bk2/R7/7K/8 w - - 0 57"]
57. Rc3 {Black now played 1...Rh5+ and the game was soon drawn. The win is...} 57... Rg2+ 58. Kh3 Rd2 {The threat is Bf5+ and Rh2+ mating.} 59. Rc4 Rd1 {White has to play RxB+ to avoid Rh1 mate.}
Topalov set a neat game saving trap in his game v Nakamura.
Veselin Topalov - Hikaru Nakamura World Championship Candidates 2016
[FEN "6k1/6p1/4p2p/1p2P3/1Pn1B3/2R4P/1r1r2P1/4R1K1 w - - 0 33"]
33. Rg3 Re2 {In an effort to get a Rook off the seventh rank Topalov left the Bishop en prise and played...} 34. Ra1 {Nakamura saw though the trick, played Nxe5 and went onto win. If he had taken the Bishop.} 34... Rxe4 35. Ra8+ {If 3...Kh7 4.Ra7 threatening 5.Raxg7+ 6. Rg8+ 7. Rg3g7 mate. Black has nothing better than 3...Kh8 when Ra8+ and Ra7 is a perpetual.} 35... Kf7 36. Ra7+ {The Black King has to go to f8 when Ra8+ is again a perpetual. If Black tries to escape....} 36... Ke8 37. Rgxg7 {Suddenly White has Rooks on the 7th and the win is easy. Note how helpless the Black pieces are.} 37... Kf8 38. Rgb7 {Ra8 mate or Rb8 mate can only be stopped if Black sacs half his army.} 38... Re1+ 39. Kh2 Rxg2+ 40. Kxg2 Ne3+ 41. Kf2 Rf1+ 42. Kxe3 Kg8 {Black can now play Rf8 but it's hopeless.}
Red Hot Players do some wonderful things when they have Rooks on the 7th.
andrew12zy - jamjamjoe RHP 2012
[FEN "4b1k1/1R3p1p/4p1p1/3pN3/3Pn3/b1r1P2P/5PP1/1R4K1 w - - 0 22"]
22. Ra7 Rc2 {Black leaves the Bishop on a3 hanging so he can attack f2.} 23. Rbb7 {White leaves the Bishop on a3 hanging so he can attack f7. (yes White should have taken it.)} 23... Bd6 {White can now play 3.Ra1 hitting the pinned e8 Bishop. 3....Kf8 4. Rxf7+ mate next move.} 24. Nxf7 {No doubt carried away with the threats of Nxd6 and Nh6+ White overlooks one move.} 24... Rc1 {Checkmate.}
RHP supplies 100’s of examples of the above trait. It’s very common.
Players only see their threats and ignoring what their opponent is up to.
‘The One-Eyed Trap’.
lemondrop - IBeatScurvey RHP 2015
[FEN "3kr2r/p1p2RR1/2pp3p/6bp/3PPN2/1P6/P1P3PP/6K1 w - - 0 24"]
24. Nxh5 Rxe4 25. Rxc7 Rf8 {Black has just set 'The One-Eyed Trap'. It could have and should have rebounded drastically. 4.Rge7+ Ke8 5.Ng7 is Checkmate.} 26. Rxa7 {White too is playing with only one eye on his own tricks. (he has just missed a mate in two for him.)} 26... Be3+ {Allowing a mate in two against him.} 27. Kh1 Rf1 {Thus proving. In the land of the blind the one-eyed guy is King.}
To close let take an example from the book I used for the moving gif.
The authors, Horowitz and Reinfeld, give us this game on page 174..
Nyholm - Reti, Baden Baden, 1914
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 {The Danish Gambit. Now Black can now play 3....d5 and get a good game.} 3... dxc3 4. Bc4 d5 5. Bxd5 cxb2 6. Bxb2 Nf6 7. Nf3 Bb4+ 8. Kf1 O-O 9. Qb3 {Reti (yes him from the above crossword) now hung onto the loose b5 Bishop tactically.} 9... Nc6 {Either working it out or smelling a rat Black did not take on c6 and then on b5. Here is what happens if he does.} 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qxb4 Rb8 {12...Qxb1 13. Qd1+ Ne1 14.Ba3+ mates so White moves the Queen and protects the b2 Bishop.} 12. Qc3 Rxb2 13. Qxb2 Qd1+ 14. Ne1 Ba6+ {Mate next move.}
It does appear that a couple of RHP players have this book.
Jondalar - tension84 RHP 2006 and zzarkis - Kasbarroffs Menter RHP 2008
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 d5 6. Bxd5 Bb4+ 7. Kf1 Nf6 8. Qa4+ {Looks tempting and in these two games the temptation proved too much.} 8... Nc6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. Qxb4 {White has won a piece. Thus ended White's analysis, Black's is only halfway through theirs..} 10... Qd1+ 11. Qe1 Ba6+ 12. Ne2 Bxe2+ {Mate next move.}
I am going through each of the 33 games very methodically, sitting at a board and analyzing each move as I read his explanations. Excellent book, I know YOU have it, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves chess.