You will recognise this number 1-15 slide puzzle.
It was invented by chess problem composer and player Sam Loyd (1841 - 1911)
The numbers are jumbled up and you have the slide them into their correct order.
This is a chess version (I cannot find the composer) Only White moves, not Black.
You can only use the squares on the chessboard that are showing, the object is to slide
the pieces, as they move in chess, and get the King to capture the Black Knight on e1.
Note that the normal rules apply so at no time can the King go onto the f2 square
as that would be moving into check. You have to get this completed in 27 moves.
I’ll will give a demo. I am using the Black King going from a1-b1-a1 to waste a move.
Solution at the bottom of this page.
I think it is about time we took a long serious look at position No 769 in:
Puzzle No. 769 is of course Duras - Cohn, Carlsbad 1911 (White to play)
It is in Chapter 14 ‘X-Ray Attacks’ (Skewers to you and me - an X-Ray Attack
is when a Manta Ray’s ex husband comes around demanding his CD’s back.)
The funny bit, the instructive bit is what happened just before Rxh7+ was played.
Cohn missed The Rxh7+ skewer idea (understandable - most of us would as Black)
However he need not of lost this game had he looked at an alternative a bit longer.
Same game, Duras - Cohn, Carlsbad 1911 but back a few moves.
I am still working my way though this.
I feel a wee bit cheated about what Soltis has done to Game 19.
Game 19 is a blindfold game played at the Melody Amber Tournament in Nice 2009.
The first wee bit of deception is in the word ‘Blindfold’ the players were not sitting
there with their eyes blindfolded, they could stare at an empty board if they wanted to.
I’m OK with that, but the real swindle happens when Andrew Soltis notes up Game 19.
He does not give the moves! Soltis adds in the intro to Game 19 that because Anand
and Carlsen could not see the moves being played then we should not see them either.
Diagram after move 30.
Carlsen played 30...Qf7!
Think I mentioned last blog that I was searching through my old BCM collection
looking for a John Nunn game. (still not found it ) but did find a Nunn connection.
and on page 198, ‘Quote and Queries’ no. 5024 we see:
Actually the game notes were not by Murray Chandler (no relation) but by
John Nunn (no relation either) and in the diagrammed position John says.
When he was noting up Short - Gelfand (game 7) 1991 (October BCM page 441)
I looked and found a wonderful winning line. So demanding my
15 seconds of fame I sent it in. (remember this was just before
computers got good enough to trust, This was all my own work.)
Nigel Short - Boris Gelfand, Candidates Match (7) Brussels, 1991
I did supply other variations (Here I gave Nc6 just to show the main sac-sac threat) But
Black is lost after Re1 (and as it is 2021 I did use a computer to check it - it’s correct!)
Fast forward a few months after my analysis to June 1992 and we see:
J. Sammour Hasbun - D. Miller, World Open, Philadelphia (5), 1992.
So today’s lesson is check things for yourself, believe no one. To be fair (to me)
I did correct John’s original variation he suggested g6 as a defence and I tidied it
up. The way to play it is to allow Qh7+ and not play g6. It looks scary but it’s OK.
Slider Puzzle (27 moves - Can it be done in 26?)
The thread accompanying this blog is Thread 188580
I have decided to leave the comments off as I have no way other than keep coming
back here to see if any have been made. Any corrections etc just use the above link.
Think I'd better add here that my piece about the Soltis book is not true
and I am enjoying the book very much, I'll review it when I'm finished.
