RHP 2017 Chess Christmas Quiz

RHP 2017 Chess Christmas Quiz

The Planet Greenpawn

RHP 2017 Chess Christmas Quiz


Every year I promise myself I’ll do something different and spend
11½ months trying to figure out what. No joy, so once again........
Title here

You will be asked to find the winning and sometimes the losing move
We will start off by pulling a Christmas cracker and reading the joke.

(1) Getyourhandoutofmypocket - willysan RHP 2017 (Black to play)

Find the move that attacks both Rooks, hits f2 and gets mated in one move.



(2) cenerentola - texasnurse RHP 2017

White to play and mate in three. (not mate in four or five....mate in three.)



(3) anom asil - Farzad Farsee RHP 2017 (White to play)

It’s Christmas so here is an easy one. White to mate in 3



(4) Imnotkasparov - Leellen RHP 2017

This one will fill you with Christmas Cheer (or you will cry in utter despair.)



(5) mrtuch - brownbear RHP 2007 (Black to Play)

Find the only Black move that allows White to mate in two with a pawn move.


Title here

I’ve often been stopped in the street and asked what is the most common error
here on Red Hot Pawn? Difficult question and I’m tempted to say it is missing
the one move threat, a tactical oversight and suddenly a piece drops off the board.

In time we should cure ourselves of this most basic of blunders but due to
the number of games we play at once, quickly flicking from one game to
another, this lemon crops up time and time again. We are all guilty of this.

So if we leave out these accidents, how about we look for an error that we mean.
Ignoring the basic piece hanging blunder, what is the chief reason for our defeats.

There will be many answers to this question, the top one that springs to mind is
that we are all crap at chess. But that is too easy. I’d say it was thoughtless pawn
moves. We cannot think of anything to do so we push a pawn and soon due to the
weak squares it creates we are looking at a lost game and sit there wondering why?

Ideas we have seen in other games also jump out us. Sometimes the idea is sound
and we win, other times the idea is sound but we somehow manage to screw it up..

Way back in juilio’s past he has seen and was impressed with Legall’s Mate.

Here, according to ‘The Oxford Companion to Chess’ is the original game.

Legall - St. Brie, Paris 1750



Time passed.....more than 250 years, and we see the RHP player juilio playing this trap.
The trouble is 3 of the times he has played it has been unsound .(twice v the same player.)

juilio - BennoSchmidt RHP 2011


White played 6. Nxe5? Bxd1? (6....Nxe5!) 7. Bxf7+ Key 8. Nd5 Mate.

juilio - kingbaz2 RHP 2013


White played 6. Nxe5? Bxd1? (6....Nxe5!) 7. Bf7+ Key 8. Nd5 Mate.

juilio - kingbaz2 RHP 2014


White played 5. Nxe5? Bxd1? (5...Nxe5!) 6. Bxf7+ Ke7 7. Nd5 Mate.

Finally (at last!) a player taught him the error of his ways.

juilio - uirafernandes RHP 2014


Title here

This year is comes from by K. Otten who set it in 1892.


White to play and win. (solution at bottom of the page)
Title here

In 1967 two chess tournaments were organised in Russia to celebrate
the 50th Anniversary of the U.S.S.R. Korchnoi won the tournament
held in Leningrad, Leonid Stein won the tournament held in Moscow.

Korchnoi said there was talk of inviting Fischer to one of the tournaments,
then someone thought as a propaganda exercise it would be disastrous if
a Western player won either of the tournaments so Fischer was not invited.

In the following game Korchnoi is invited to play against his pet French
Defence. He accepts the challenge and following an idea from Geller
who played it against him at blitz he ‘invents’ the Korchnoi Gambit.

V. Korchnoi - M. Udovcic, Leningrad, 1967


I will use another Korchnoi game this time to illustrate another reason why we lose.
Title here

We get ideas, we see a trick and have not spotted the hole in our calculations.

V. Korchnoi - S. Flohr, U.S.S.R. Championship 1955
[center]
Title here

Title here

Title here

Title here

(1) Getyourhandoutofmypocket - willysan RHP 2017 (Black to play)


Black played 34...Qf4 35. Rdg7 checkmate

(2) cenerentola - texasnurse RHP 2017

White to play and mate in three. (not mate in four or five....mate in three.)




(3) anom asil - Farzad Farsee RHP 2017 (White to play)


26. Qh6 Rg8 27. Qxh7+ Kxh7 28. Rh3 mate

(4) )Imnotkasparov - Leellen RHP 2017 (Black to play)


Black played Kf8 resulting in Qh8 mate

(5) mrtuch - brownbear RHP 2007 (Black to Play)

Find the only Black move that allows White to mate in two with a pawn move.


Black played 1....Rd8 2. Bg4+ f5 (only move) 3. gxf6 e.p. mate
Title here

The solution to the 1892 study set by K. Otten


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The thread accompanying this blog is Thread 175255

Posted to The Planet Greenpawn

Show Comments (6)
Comments (6)

  • Posted 2279 days 22 hours and 14 minutes ago
    Standard membersigrun
    It's New Year in Kiribati already!
    Happy New Year to you & many happy games in lichess - even Carlsen plays there!!!
  • Posted 2284 days 11 hours and 45 minutes ago
    Standard membernawybot
    Re: chessicle's comment on puzzle 3 is most accurate; Qxd4+ is Black's "best defense." The response, cxd4, is forced since otherwise the Queen will break up the attack.
  • Posted 2299 days 12 hours and 28 minutes ago
    Standard membermynameisklint
    For number 2 I found 1. Rh8+ Kxh8 2. Qh2+! Kg8 3. Qh7#. Unfortunately there is a tiny problem with my solution.
  • Posted 2299 days 14 hours and 33 minutes ago
    Subscribergreenpawn34
    Hi chessicle,

    I never count the silly moves like Qxd4+ in actual games, maybe in set problems but yes it is mate in 4.

    12...Qf6 was a plausible blunder, I wonder if Black just got fed up and did not know about the 'claim draw button'.
  • Posted 2299 days 18 hours and 40 minutes ago
    Standard memberchessicle
    Also, in (4) Imnotkasparov - Leellen RHP 2017 (Black to play), I wondered about 12 ... Qf6??, which would allow 13 Rxf1 1-0.
  • Posted 2299 days 18 hours and 44 minutes ago
    Standard memberchessicle
    Petty, I know, but in (3) anom asil - Farzad Farsee RHP 2017 (White to play) Black can play 1 ... Qxd4+, making it mate in four...
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