No. 108 - (Vol. VII) Mardi 1993 m Editorial Board Editor-in-chief: Hanie Grondijs, Geestbrugweg 20, 2281 CL Rijswijk, Netherlands Contributing editors: John Roycroft, 17 New Way Road, London, England NW9 6PL Jan van Reek De Erk 8, 6269 BJ Margraten, Netherlands, Julien Vandiest and Ward Stoffelen Regional contributors: Jan Rusinek, Virgil Nestorescu, Vazha Neidze, Oleg Pervakov Book reviewer: Timothy Whitworth Treasurer: H.W. Muzerie, Utrechtseweg 362, 6865 CM Doorwerth, Netherlands Secretary: Henk Enserink CONTENTS Queen and bishop against queen by Aleksandr Manyakhin page 194 Leopold Adamovich Mitrofanov t page 198 Diagrams and solutions page 200 Leninskaya plemya, 1989 (8736-8766) Schach 1989-90 (8767-8784) Chess Club 'Aiastan' of Armenia 1991 (8785-8799) Birnov MT 1991 (8800-8807) Three Chelyabinsk 1990 Festival awards (8808-8829) Kopnin-70 JT, 1989 (final award) Pawn's task by Harrie Grondijs page 216 Reviews page 218 Analytical notes and anticipations page 222
Transcript
No. 108 - (Vol. VII)
Mardi 1993m
Editorial Board
Editor-in-chief: Hanie Grondijs, Geestbrugweg 20, 2281 CL Rijswijk, NetherlandsContributing editors: John Roycroft, 17 New Way Road, London, England NW9 6PL
Jan van Reek De Erk 8, 6269 BJ Margraten, Netherlands,Julien Vandiest and Ward Stoffelen
Queen and bishop against queenby Aleksandr Manyakhin page 194Leopold Adamovich Mitrofanov t page 198Diagrams and solutions page 200
Leninskaya plemya, 1989 (8736-8766)Schach 1989-90 (8767-8784)Chess Club 'Aiastan' of Armenia 1991 (8785-8799)Birnov MT 1991 (8800-8807)Three Chelyabinsk 1990 Festival awards (8808-8829)Kopnin-70 JT, 1989 (final award)
Pawn's task by Harrie Grondijs page 216Reviews page 218Analytical notes and anticipations page 222
QUEEN AND BISHOP AGAINST QUEENby Aleksandr Manyakhin
In the course of their involvement with studies composers often enough find themsel-ves working with this material. This not by chance. Endings of this kind occur inpractical play, for they can arise from the ending bishop and pawn against pawn. Itfollows that the search for, and discovery of, new original ideas and positionscontinually attract attention.
Judges' evaluation of such compositions in tourneys must be impartial. Judges mustaccept neither the banal nor the exaggerated claim of the quality of this or that study.Put simply, the award of honours to studies must be of maximum severity andobjectivity. Otherwise the poetry of chess will inevitably suffer.A number of studies in my collection fall under the present heading. Here are a few.
«****«******DIAGRAMNo.l***********A. Manyakhin
Special Commendation, Schach, 1984 [EG88.6438]
Win 3/2
The solution clearly begins with a check, but which check? Let's try: l.Qa6t! Ke42.Qc6t Kf5 3.Qg6t Ke5 4.Qe6t Kd4 5.Qd6t! Ke3 6.Qh6t Ke2 7.Bc4t! Kdl 8.QhltQel 9.Qf3t Kcl 10.Be2! The white bishop takes up the ideal position, and despiteBlack having the move, he is squeezed, and loses. (David Blundell points out that it isnot a true zugzwang, for WTM can win: l.Qd3 Qd2 2.Qc4t Kbl 3.Bd3t Kal 4.Qa/d4f. But according to Henk Muzerie in OVER ZETDWANG it is, as White winssooner when Black holds the move).
************DIAGRAM No.2*AJManyakhinSchach, 1986
Win 3/2
White takes instant advantage of the black king's poor situation: l.Be6t Kf8 2.Qe3!/iKe8/ii 3.Qe5!/iii Qb4!/iv 4.Qh8t! Qf8 (Ke7;Qf6t) 5.Bf7t Ke7 6.Qf6t Kd7 7.Be6t/vKe8 8.Bd7t Kxd7 9.Qxf8 wins.i) A quiet move. Not 2.Qc5t? Qe7 3.Qf5t Ke8 4.Qe5, because of Qd6! and 5.Qxd6 isstalemate.ii) Into the BtQ firing line.iii) Yet another quiet move.iv) Black lives in hope that the artillery will boom, but it stays silent and instead thereis something else.v) The hidden point.I consider study No.2 with its canonical correlation of the material in question to beamong my best achievements.
************DIAGRAM
AJVfanyakhinSchach, 1987
Win 3/2
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l.Bc4!/i Qb4 2.Qf3t Ka4 3.Qa8t Qa5 4.Qe8t Kb4 5.Qelt Ka4 6.Qalt/ii Kb47.Qc3t, and that's that.i) l.Qd3t? is too impulsive: Kb4 2.Qc4f Ka5 3.Qc5t Ka6, and Black comes to noharm.ii) Now White shows his hand.
•••••••••••••DIAGRAM No.4*********"A. and S.Manyakhin
entered fnr CTingiz Aitmatnv -fifl TT, 1990
win 3/2
l.Bc5f! Kc6 2.Qb6t Kd5 3.Qd6t Kc4 4.Qd4t Kb5/i 5.Qb2f! Kc6 6.Qf6t! Kd5 7.Qd4fKc6 (Ke6;Qg4t) 8.Qd6t/ii Kb5 9.Qb6t Kc4 10.Qb4t Kd5 ll.Qe4t! Kxc5 12.Qc2twins.i) Kb3 5.Qb4t Kc2 6.Qc4t Kdl 7.Qd3t, with a clear win.ii) Now there is a 'race against the clock1, ie clockwise, then anti-clockwise!
************DIAGRAM No.5***********A.Manyakhin
entered for Mugnos MT (Argentina), 1989
Win 3/3
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Much imagination is needed from White's play if he is to win this very naturalposition. l.Be3!/i, and eitherQe2 2.Qf6t! Kel 3.Qalt Qdl 4.Qa5t Ke2 5.Qh5t Kel 6.Qhlt Ke2 7.Qf3t, orQh5 2.Qd3t Qe2 3.Qe4! Kel/ii 4.Qhlt! Qfl 5.Bf2t Ke2 6.Qf3t Kd2 7.Be3t Kel
8.Bd2t Kxd2 9.Qxfl wins.i) What happens now depends on Black's response.ii) Also possible here: Qelt 4.Kh3 Qa5 5.Qc4t Kel 6.Kg2! Qa8t 7.Kgl. And Qc24.Qf3t Kel 5.Bf2t Kd2 6.Qe3t Kdl 7.Qel mate.
The simple addition of a pawn has resulted in a synthesis of the ideas of studies Nos.2and 3.
As a dessert we can look at a pair of studies where the force is reversed.
i) After l.Qcl? Qd3t 2.Kgl Qd4t 3.Kh2 Qh8t 4.Kgl Qg7t 5.Kfl Qg2t 6.Kel Qe2 itis checkmate.ii) Qa2t 5.Kc3 Qc2t 6.Kd4 Qxc7 stalemate,iii) 6X3cl? Qb3t 7.Kel Bc2, and Black wins.
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************DIAGRAM No.7***********A.Manyakhin
2nd Prize, Sovetskoe Zauralye, 1985 [EG85.6114]
Black to move, draw 4/3
l...Ba3t 2.Kc2! Qc4t 3.Kd2 Belt 4.Kdl Bf4!/i 5.Qhlt!!/ii Kxhl 6.a8Qt Kgl 7.Qhlt!!(echo) Kxhl 8.d8Q Kgl 9.Qb6t Kfl 10.Qf2t! (echo?!) Kxf2 stalemate.i) For Qclt; to give checkmate. If 4...Bg5 5.Qhlt! Kxhl 6.a8Qt Kgl 7.Qa3! Kf28.Qf8t Bf4 9.Qxf4t! Qxf4 10.d8Q, with a draw.ii) Not 5.Qg2t? Kxg2 6.a8Qt Kf2, and White has no defence.
All the foregoing examples show that Q+B vs. Q does not have to be a boringbalance of force. We have seen some excellent examples of chess art. Go to it!
Lipetsk
27/v/1990
LEOPOLD ADAMOVICH MITROFANOV t2-7-1932 to 26-11-1992
Ballet has lost Rudolf Nureyev, studies have lost Leopold Mitrofanov. Never has JohnDonne's truth that 'no man is an island' struck so hard and swift. The FIDE Internati-onal Master, a married man, died of cancer of the stomach less than five months afterthe celebratory events marking his 60th birthday. At one of these, a disappointinglyformal affair in the Chigorin Club, I presented the one copy of DECEPTIVE SlMPLl-CITITY he was to hold. (Six copies mailed from Holland had not arrived.) He was de-lighted and stopped me with a 'no matter' gesture before I could properly apologizefor the gross error 'Abramovich' instead of Adamovich for his patronymic. There willbe no more studies to add to the 300 that speak, and will always speak, wordlessly forhim, but with such eloquence and elegance. The departure of the gloriously talentedinheritor of the St. Petersburg traditions of Troitzky, Kubbel, Simkhovich (in his final
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years) and Korolkov leaves a formidable gap. We do not doubt that the youngergeneration will pick up the threads, and will scale new peaks, but they must do sowithout the quiet charisma of a self-effacing leader, with no life-line linking thepresent with the past.As a boy Leopold Mitrofanov lived through the 900-day siege of Leningrad, but notunscathed. Starvation stunted his natural growth: he scarcely exceeded five feet inheight.During the period from 24vi92 to 4vii92 Leopold spent several days showing mespecial spots in and around his native city. Vivid memories, and a few photographs,remain of exploring Pavlovsk Park -where from boyhood he knew all the paths-, oflong conversations in which he was uniquely quick and patient in divining theintended meaning from my halting Russian, of hospitality in his favourite cafes onNevsky Prospekt, of unexpected and imaginative gifts such as a symbolic 'key' madeby him out of blown glass, of the frequent humorous twinkle in the eye, of the freshand smiling face under the long-peaked flat cap that protected his almost hairlessscalpj; in all but the warmest weather, of his calm, low-volume voice with crystal cleardiction, of his 'secret' about the poet Pushkin (like most unpriviliged Russians he wasfond and proud of being privy to all 'vital' information, often imagined, such as that Iwas a millionaire), and of a remarkable two-day excursion by metal motor-boat (therewere' eight of us in all, crew included) from Priozersk to a small uninhibited andunpolluted island on oxygen-rich Lake Ladoga.The final confirmation of the sad news took almost two months to reach me. Also,the lliitrofanov 60 JT award, announced as complete in vii92, has yet (i93) to bemade public.
AJR 3ii93
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DIAGRAMS AND SOLUTIONS
Leninskaya plemya, 1989
Judge: apparently the columnist Sta-nislav KirilichenkoApparently, though the award makesno mention of it, the tourney was forstudies with 7 men or fewer.EG105 published the 1st to 4th Prizes
in EG105, v92: Nos.8443-8446. Also aSpecial Prize, No.8447. Also 1st and2nd Hon.Men, as No.8448 and 8449.And a mention by Krikheli, No.8450.But there was no mention of where orwhen the award was published, norhow many studies figured in it. It wascalled (in EG) "H-200".Provisional award published in Lenin-ske plemya 6v90 and 13v90. Definitelythere as "MIKOLAIV-200", so we mustassume that 'Mikolaiv' is the Ukrainianfor 'Nikolaev1.
No. 8736 L.Kravtsov (Nikolaev/Mikolaiv)
Special Prize for a local composer
7.Ke2 Shi 8.Be4 wins.The bS is caught inopposite corners.
No. 8746 A.Dikusarov (Novosibirsk)Comm.Kf8,Bg5,a4,b2 + Kdl,a5,b6 - 4/3l.Be7! Kc2 2.Ba3 Kb3 3.Ke7 Kxa44.Kd6 b5 5.Kc5 b4 6.Kc4/i ba 7.b3matei As David Blundell points put,this finish is known from Hoch (1978),EG57.3799.
6.c7 f2t 7.Kf 1 Kd2 draws.ii) 2.Rcl? d3 3.Ral Ke7 4.b4 Kd6 5.b5Kc5 6.Rbl Kd4 7.b6 e2 draws.iii) 4.h4? Kf7 5.h5 Kf6 6.h6 Kg6 7.b4Kxh6 8.b5 Kg5 9.b6 Kf4 10.b7 KBll.b8Q d2 mate."A study with a deeply thought outmanoeuvre and wR sacrifice."
No. 8768 A.P.Manyakhin and SA.Manyakhin (Lipetsk,Russia)
= lst/2nd Prize Schach 1989-90
IA
A** A
#
iA
Win 5/4l.Kb5 Kg7 2.d6/i Rxe6/ii 3.Kc6 Rf64.Kc7 Rf7t 5.d7 Kf6 6.Kc8 Rf8t 7.d8R(d8Q? Ke6;) Rf7 8.Rd6t wins,i) 2.Kc6? Kf6 3.d6 Rh7 4.d7 Ke7.ii) Re8 3.d7 Rb8t 4.Kc6 Kf6 5.Kc7Kxe6 6.Kxb8 Kxd7 7.Kb7 Kd6 8.Kb6,zugzwang."The stalemate is not new (egNadareishvili) but with the Manya-khins1 we have an invigorating path tothe finale and a good motivation forthe underpromotion."
Draw 4/4"The great study-master continues tofind new possibilities in the force of therook-pai r against rook plusbishop-pair."
No. 8770 Kari Valtonen (Tampere,Finland)
4th Prize Schach 1989-90
Win 4/2l.Sd7t Kg5/i 2.a7 Re8 3.Sb8 Re3t4.Kb4 Re4t 5.Kb5 Re5t 6.Kb6 Re6t7.Kc7 Re7f 8.Sd7 Re8/ii 9.Kc6 Re6f10.Kb7 Re8 ll.a8Q Rxa8 12.Kxa8 Kh413.Se5 Kh3 14.SO wins.i) Bl's plan is to capture hP with bKand then to place bR behind aP.ii) Nothing special so far, and withbKh5 there would be a simple S-fork
No. 8771 David Gurgenidze (Chai-luri, Georgia)
5th Prize Schach 1989-90
Ac—
kk
Win 5/5l.Sa6t Kd5 2.Re4 clQ/i 3.Sb4t Kc54.Sd3t Kxb5 5.Sxcl b2 6.Sa2 (Se2? a2;)blQ 7.Sc3t Kc5t 8.Sxbl a2 9.Sd2 alQ10.Sb3t and ll.Sxal, when W wins,i) b2 3.Kb6, and S-mate follows."A trio of S-forks against the new-bornbQQ." The comment in the solutionsays that seeing how the queens arepersecuted one might think thatGurgenidze was a woman-hater.However, AJR has seen his weddingphotograph!
No. 8772 Sergei Radchenko (Ros-tov on Don, Russia)
Special Prize Schach 1989-90
Win 4/4l.a8St (a8Q? clQ;) Ka7 2.b6t Kxa8
204
3.Kc8 clQ 4.Ba6 ba 5.b7t Ka7 6.b8Qmate.!"The solution to this sprint starts with asurprise: S-promotion to avoid checkfrom the incipient bQ." AJR: Has themantle of Pogosyants fallen on Rad-chenko?
No. 8773 Julien Vandiest (Borger-hout, Belgium)
1st Hon MentionKc6,Qc3,Ba2 + Kd8,Qe7,f5 - 3/3l.Qd4t/i Ke8 2.Qh8t Qf8 3.Qe5t Qe74.Be6, with a trifurcation:Qg5l5.Qb8t Ke7 6.Qd6t Kf6 7.Qd8t
Kf8 8.Qh6t Kf7 9.Bg6t Ke6(f6) 10.Bh7t' Ke5 ll.Qg5t Kd4 12.Qh4t Kc313.Qelt Kb3 14.Bg8t, wins, orQa3| with as before up to ll...Kd412.Qg7t Kc4 13.Bg8t Kb4 14.Qd4f.i) l.Qh8t? Qe8t. Or l.Qa5t? Ke82.Qa8t Qd8."Known ideas, but well formed."
No. 8774 Vyacheslav I.Prigunov(Kazan, Russia)
2nd Hon MentionKhl,Rd3,Rgl,g2 = Kh4,Rg3,Bcl,b2 4/4The chairlift sets off: l.Rd4t Rg4 2.g3tKh5/i 3.Rd5t Rg5 4.g4t Kh6/ii 5.Rd6tRg6 6.g5t Kh7/iii 7.Rd7t Rg7 8.g6tKh8 |(Kh6;Rd8) 9.Rd8t Rg8 10.g7t andW has his draw.i) Kli3 3.Rd8 Rb4 4.Rh8t Kg4 5.Rh4tand !6.Rxb4. Or Kg5 3.Rd5t and 4. -Rb5.ii) Kh4 5.Rd8, or Kg6 5.Rd6t and 6.-Rb6.iii) Kh5 7.Rd8, or Kg7 7.Rd7t Rg78.Rb7."A systematic movement known fromKalahdadze is shown here in superbminiature form."
ii) Kg6 9.fRd8 K- 10.Kxg2 wins."An interesting contest of the rooksagainst three passed pawns."
No. 8778 V.Kalyagin (Sverdlovsk,Russia)
Comm.Kc5,Ral,f7 = Ke5,Rg2,Bf5,Sb8 3/4l .Relt / i Be4 2.f8S Rg8 3.Se6 Rg6(Kxe6;Rxe4) 4.Sd4 Sd7t 5.Kc4, drawn,i) SCHACH (v89, p38) gives as theauthor's solution: "l.Ra7/ii Rc2t 2.Kb6Rc8/iii 3.Re7t Kd6/iv 4.Re8 Sd7t5.Kb7 Sc5t 6.Kb6 Sd7t 7.Kb7 Rc7t8.Ka8 Sb6t 9.Kb8 Rxf7 10.Re6t Kc5ll.Rc6t Kb5 12.Rc5t Ka4 13.Ra5tKb4 14.Rb5t and 15.Rxb6 draw." Weread further that solvers demolishedthis with 9...Kc6!, when Bl wins.However, other solvers found a cook,which (with misgivings) we reproduceas the main line! Having failed to tracea published correction in the pages ofSCHACH we surmise that the judgetook into account only what thecomposer supplied. Fie! Tut-tut! Tsk,tsk! If the composer's intention is refu-ted then the study must be eliminated:the fact that something else works is nocredit to the composer, who, had heseen the cook, would have taken actionto eliminate it! Full marks to the ano-nymous solvers, of course, for doing thecomposer's work for him.ii) l.Ra8? Rc2f 2.Kb6 (Kb5,Rc8;) Sd7t3.Kb5 Bd3f 4.Kb4 Rf2. Or l .Relt?Be4 2.Rfl Sd7t 3.Kb4 Sf8. Or l.Kb6?Sd7t 2.Kc7 Rg7 3.Ra5t Kf6 4.Rxf5tKxf5 5.Kxd7 Rxf7t. Or l.£8Q? Sd7t.Or l.f8S? Rg8.
Rxa7t) Bb8 4.Bg4/i elS 5.Bf5 S£26.Be6 JdlQ 7.Bd5t Qxd5 8.Ra7t Bxa7stalemate.i) 4.Be6? Se3. 4JBf5? elQ.A German solver called this a beautiful'neudeutsche1 study.
A formal tourney.The final award is over the name ofIGMI Vladimir Akopyan, with SergeiKasp^ryan as 'chairman1.65 studies by 50 composersThe || award, received in looseleafduplicated form, carries the date Ixi91.The final award, published after twomonths in Shahmatain Aiastan, wasreceived in abstracted form from E.Fo-michev (now of Chelyabinsk).
i) The first occurrence of thissame-rank relationship of bK and bSS.The second and third occurrences areon moves 11 and 13. Whenever bSSprotect one another and wK immobi-lises them wS will threaten one and abS will be taken.
Draw 5/7i) Without further explanation theaward draws attention to the toughanalytical lines required to show thatneither l...Kxb2, nor l...Re5, iswinning."A harmonious piece, well executed.The culminating positional draw basedon mate and stalemate, is fresh."
14.f5 Be4 15.f6 Qd5 16.Qc8 Qd4t17.Ka6 Qxf6t 18.Ka7 Qd4t 19.Ka6draw.i) 9;Kd5? Qb7t 10.Kd4 Qe4t. Or 9.Kc5? Qb5t 10.Kd4 Qd3t wins."A light miniature with good intro,untouchable P, and refined play. Butthe finale has an 'eroded' air, leaving asensation of being unfinished."
No. 88023rd Prize
A.Manvelyan (Erevan)
i
Win 4/5LKe5/i Kc3 2.a4 Sa8 3.Kd5/ii Kb44.Kc6 Ka5 5.Kb7 Sb6 6.Kc7 Sa8t 7.Kc6(Kb8? Kb6;) Sb6 8.Kb7 h5 9.Kc7 Sa8t10.Kc6 Sb6 ll.Kb7 h4 12.Kc7 Sa8t13.Kc6 Sb6 14.Kb7 wins.i) l.Kf6? Kc3 2.Ke7 Kd4 3.Kd7 Sa84.K£6 Ke5. Or I.a4? Kb3 2.Ke5 Kxa43.Kd6Sb5t.ii) ^.Kd6? Kd4 4.Kc6 Ke5."A pleasing study of the endgame plantype with classical K-triangulation up tothejzugzwang."
No. 8803 S.Varov and S.Kaspaiyan(Erevan)
= lst/2nd Hon MentionKd$,Rf5,Rh3,Sdl,Sd3 + Kc4,Ra7,Rel,Bc6,c2,d2,e2,f2,f7 - 5/9l.Se5t Kd5 2.Sd7t Kd4 3.Rf4f Be44.Rxe4f Kxe4 5.Rh4t, and now bKmay be mated ('his choice!') in anycorner:
II. 'Thematic' Chelyabinsk FestivalTourneyJudge: A.G.KopninTheme: in the final stage of a study towin or to draw, S+P oppose R+B(with at most one P).Intellektualnye Igry 1/1991, Jan-Mar1991 pp20-23
Formal tourney in the Kopnin's 70thbirthdayJudge: A.G.KopninNumber of entries: 82Intellektualnye Igry, vil990EG D/S Nos.: EG99.7695-7713The final award consists of thefollowing only:lstPr No.7695 A.Dzhalilov - no change2ndPr No.7697 P.Arestov3rdPr No.7698 D.Gurgenidze=SpecialPr No.7699 A.Grin=SpecialPr No.7700 R.GanienHM No.7702 CAmiryanHM No.7703 E.KotenkoHM No.7704 S.OsintsevHM No.7705 N.RyabininHM No.7707 A.KubryakComm. No.7711 N.RyabininComm. No.7712 M.Schlosser
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PAWN'S TASK
Some constructive remarks concerning a study by Henk Mesmanby Harrie Grondijs
The strategic function of a threat is to impede the opponent's freedom of choice.Either directly: threatening to gain material or to mate, or derivative: the threat togain time by threatening material gain or mate. It would not be difficult to findconcrete examples in politics or warfare.In endgame studies this fact can be put to use as a constructive element for shapingchoice type combinations.
SOI. RMesman, 1959
Draw 3/3
Diagram SOI shows a well-known logi-cal study by the Dutch composer HenkMesman. You find it on page 149 inEG 106 Part 2, and on page 84 of HIS-TORY OF COMPOSING IN THE NET-HERLANDS AND FLANDERS. (Cf. Timo-thy Whitworth review elsewhere in thisissue) It is as if 2.Kg8 gives up twotempi and that indeed is the case, butWhite can afford this loss of time. Firstof all, Black requires three moves toguard the d-pawn (Kxa6/b7/c8), andsecondly, Black's alternative, to advan-ce the d-pawn, loses two tempi in turn.Via the cascaded attack against the bi-shop, a tempo is gained because anextra move is needed by the black
bishop to occupy the long diagonal,and the black d-pawn can't advancefurther as it would block the bishop'sline of action. The net effect is that theking can now launch a successful attackon the d-pawn without it being able toescape. After 2.Kg8 Black might try 2...Kxa6 because White has lost two mo-ves, but now 3.Kh7/4.Kg8/5.Kf7 wins amove back, because Black must stopthe g-pawn from the diagonal.The beauty of this study lies in thebalancing act of the white king's firstmove, forcing Black to be the first tocommit to a plan.What is the a-pawn doing? Is it reallynecessary or can it be made redund-ant? Well, it keeps the black king awayfrom guarding the d-pawn. Without it,after l.Kf7 Bh6 2.Kg8 Kb7 3.Kh7 Bf84.Kg8 Bb4 5.Kf7 Bc3 6.Ke7 Kc6/7Black wins. What is more, the blackking must not be too remote from thescene of the battle as it must reach c8or c5 in time after 2.Kf6?. Note thatthe king cannot be placed on a3 either:although it prevents the dual, Blackwould win, because after 1.KT7 Bh62.Kg8 Kb4 3.Kh7 Bf8 4.Kg8 Ba3 5.107Bb2 6.Ke7 d5 7.Ke6 Kc4 covers the d-pawn just in time.But although it is there for good rea-sons, the pawn's presence is disturbing.It is a 'Night watchman', put onto the
216
board to prevent a dual and incorrect-ness] without taking part in the com-plex of lines that form the solution.Also; I was struck by the placement ofthe Ijjlack bishop in the diagram. Itmight just as well be placed on f4,adding a variation. If: l.Kf7, Be5 2.Ke7Jj d5 3.Ke6 the double attack per-forate the task that in the main line istakeii up by the interference on thelongj! diagonal.After some experimenting I arrived ata version that preserves all the blosso-ming beauty of Mesman's invention,and brings the pawn alive (S02).The solution to SOI: l.Kf7 Bh6 2.Kg8d5 lKh7 Bf8 4.Kg8 Ba3 5.Kf7 Bb2
In the main variation it would bewrong for White to play 3.Kf6? Kb64.Ke5 Kc6 5.b4 Bg7t 6.Ke4 d5t and6.d4 -+.If White plays I.g6? Black wins: 1...Be5 2.Kf7 Bh8 wins: White has failedto force d5 in time, with the threat playstarting with l.Kf7.If I.b3t? then 1... Kb5 2.Kf7 Bf4 3.g6Bh6 4.Kg8 Kc6 5.Kh7 Bf8 6.Kg8 Bb47.Kf7Bc3 8.Ke7Bh8-+.Lastly, I.b4? Be5 2.Kf7 Bh8 -+.
A final remark about logic's occasionallong-windedness. We saw that after 1...Be5 White has 2.Ke7 preparing a dou-ble attack with 3.Ke6. In the main line(I]), we may let Black play 5... Bd6 andlet White respond 6.Kf7 and 7.Ke6 rea-ching the same position by differentmeans (a king's detour). Thus we a-chieve reversed logic effects: in I] thepawn moves voluntarily to d5 and thebishop is forced to its spot on e5, in II]the bishop moves voluntarily to e5 inwhich case it's the pawn that is chasedforward.
As experienced readers of EG know,the 'database' capability of thecomputer with respect to a significantendgame (one with five chessmen)dates from the year 1983, with KenThompson and the GBR class 0023.What is new in 1992, and highlyproductive, is the combination of thesesix elements:- a professional IGM possessing....- suitable computer facilities (CD-
ROM) that has...- a powerful 'man-machine interface',
for use by the IGM who is- deeply interested in endgames, and is
- an author with relevant experienceand reputation;- the specific GBR class 0400.10
database re-generated with promotion'conversion1.
As a pedantic technical aside weshould say that the choice of the singlepoint of conversion, namely atpromotion, is superior to the previouspawn-advance criterion, but is notnecessarily the last word on 'optima-lity1. IGM Nunn, probably wisely, doesnot discuss optimality.
Simplifying, there are: the database;the interface; and the paraphrase. TheAmerican ace C-programmer KennethLane Thompson generated thetechnological marvel of the oraculardatabase, which he generously
distributed (with other endgamedatabases) on compact disk read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), though it is nowavailable commercially from Chess-Base. The equally industrious DaneLars Rasmussen contrived thechess-friendly man-machine interfacesoftware. And the British IGM JohnNunn laboured mightily for six monthsto add great value by interpreting ('pa-raphrase' was intended in a very broadsense indeed) the computer oracle inan assortment of applications. Theresult is the book and the presentreview. The reader unfamiliar withthese databases can think of them likethis: each one is literally the truth, thewhole truth, and nothing but the truth -about one specific domain.
A sub-title for the book, and a moreaccurate description of the contents,would be 'rook and pawn against rook:guaranteed best play'. In the book thelone pawn's 24 possible distinctpositions are handled in turn, and theiressence distilled, rank by rank withinfile by file, left to right from White'sviewpoint. As a titillating bonus the209 positions of reciprocal zugzwangare included, distributed as they occur.Not only game positions (many recent)but a significant number of endgamestudies are included and their play orsoundness commented on, while Che-ron and others get their impartialdeserts. Che'ron emerges with honour.
Could anyone so armed have writtenthe book? No, they could not.Interpretation, selection and organisa-tion are, while not striving fororiginality, all the work of the IGMauthor. Interpretation, ie judgement, isrelevant whenever generalisations aremade, wherever reasons are given, andwhenever a ! is applied (meaningunique winning move) in the presence
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of time-losing (but still winning) alter-natives. Selection is relevant all thetime, in the nature of any useful workwith 'total information1 databases. Andthe organisation betrays the practisedmaster. As there is no such thing as 'atypical position1 in the endgame rookand pawn against rook, IGM Nunngroups his material in an assortment ofways: depending on how he views themain winning lines of play in the speci-fic sub-game (d-pawn on the 5th, forexample) under consideration. Thismight be by black king position (eg infront of the pawn), by white king posi-tion '(ditto), by white rook position (egprotecting the pawn from the side), orby fey black rook position. Ch6ronadopted a similar principle, but IGMNunri has improved it, adding a 'mis-cellaneous' category intended to coverthe rarer case. In this way simplicity ofpresentation is maintained.
The a-pawn receives 100 pages of text,the b-pawn 84, the c-pawn 66, and thed-pawn 62. The proportions seem toreflect both the idiosynrasies of therook's pawn in all endings and thesensible desire not to repeat for onepawn what has already been dealt withearlier in the book. The proportionswould have been different if the centrefile had been handled first instead oflast. Is this the 'best' approach? Takingthe 'practical' standpoint, if this endingoccurs most frequently in its rook'spawn manifestation in tournamentpractice, then it must be 'correct'. Insuch new writing territory, nobodyknows: rendering endgame databasesdigestible is a bright new industry. Alleast, let us hope so.
The:; word 'original' is frequentlyapplied to a diagram in the book,signifying that the author has selectedthe position from the database. But
since the author has not invented theposition the word 'original' is used herein a new sense, though it is difficult tosuggest an alternative. We should haveliked to see a name index.
AJR
END-GAME STUDIES, by CSansom(privately produced and distributed in1992 by the composer-author, with aturquoise semi-stiff cover, 82 pages,156 diagrams, without introductorymatter, price or date).This collection of studies composed bythe quiet Orpington player whopublished most of his material in themagazine Correspondence Chessbetween 1952 and 1970 is a cheerfulreminder of the days of Horwitz, evenof Stamina. Not only is the style oftenreminiscent but the notation is thegood old English descriptive, and thesolution layout is Tattersall's.
CSansomCorrespondence Chess, 1966(?)
Win 7/8l.d8St Rxd8 2.Rc6t Kf5 3.Rxf6t Kxf64.Rf7t Kg5 5.h4t Kh5 6.Rf5t, and gf7.Bf7 mate, or Qxf5 7.Bxdlt mates.
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IN CAISSA'S LABYRINTHS (V la-byrintakh kaissy), by A.N.Dashkovskyand V.I.Pipa (188 pages, 335 diagrams.Published in Cherkassy, 1990, inRussian, edition size 2500). The subjectis the compositions (since 1929) bycomposers from, and tourneys orga-nised in, the area centred on Cherkas-sy, a 700-year-old Ukrainian town onthe broadest part of the Dniepersouth-east of Kiev. Most are problems.In all, 11 native studies are included,by V.Bratsev, V.Pipa, B.Taranets, I.M-aly, A.Dashkovksy and V.Krizhanovsky.
Win 4/4l.Re3 elS 2.fRe2/i Rxe2 3.Rxe2t Sc2(Kxa3;Rxel) 4.Rxc2t Kxa3, and Wwins, for example 5.Ke5 b4 6.Kd4 b37.Rc8 b2 8.Kc3, despite a 'phoenix' bSon bl.i) 2.eRe2? Kb2 3.Ke5 Rxe2 4.Rxe2tSc2 5.Ke4 Kb3 draws. Or 2.Rfl? Rc6f,and bSc2.
HISTORY OF ENDGAME STUDY COMPO-SING IN THE NETHERLANDS AND FLAN-DERS, by Jan van Reek and Henk vanDonk (vi + 177 pages, limp cover270x213mm, ARVES, Margraten, 1992,ISBN 90-72939-12-3).
This book, written in English, is ahandsome monument to a century ofwork by Dutch and Flemish study com-posers. The story actually starts at theend of the eighteenth century with Eli-as Stein and Philip van Zuylen vanNijevelt, but Carel Mann (1871-1928)and Henri Weenink (1892-1931) emer-ge as the first major figures, the Foun-ding Fathers of study composition inthe Netherlands. Subsequent chaptersexamine the ups and downs of compo-sing activity from the 1920s to the pre-sent day.
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The text combines analysis of broadtrends with biographical sketches ofindividual composers and examples oftheir work. Most of the leading compo-sers are represented by about a dozenof their best studies; Jan Marwitz, 'themost successful Dutch composer ever1,and Theodorus Kok have rather more.However, it is not only the well-knownthat we meet in this book; we are alsointroduced to many less prominentcomposers who have contributed so-mething of value to the art of the end-game study. Furthermore, the contribu-tion !made by authors and editors, whoare hot always composers themselves,is given its due weight. An entire chap-ter is devoted to Dutch books on end-game studies and endgame theory,including Dutch translations of worksby Herbstman and Grigoryev. The listsof publications that conclude this andother chapters make up a handy biblio-graphical record.The authors explain that they havechosen to cover the entire Dutch lin-guistic area, because the work of com-posers in both the Netherlands andFlankers has been strongly influencedby the international tourneys of thejournal of the Koninklijke NederlandseSchaakbond (TUDSCHRIFT until thesummer of 1960, Schakend Nederlandthereafter). The first prize-winners inall these tourneys can be found in thefinal chapter of the book, although ofcourse the winning studies have notalways been by Dutch or Flemish com-posers.
Of the 314 diagrams in the book, threecall for a brief comment. Although 5.46(Korteling) is not announced as a versi-on of the original setting, it shows aslightly different position from the onethat actually appeared in TUDSCHRIFTin 1942. Originally, the rook was placedon b4, not d4. 9.2 (Herbstman andTroitzky) is quoted as one of the manybrilliant studies in D E SCHAAKSTUDIEIN ONZE DAGEN (1943, 'The ChessStudy in our Time', by A.O.Herbstmantranslated from the Russian). However,Korn found this study to have a secondsolution; it is given in Cheroris LEHR-UND HANDBUCH DER ENDSPIELE(Volume IV, page 101). 9.7 (Kazantsev,Liburkin and Starovyerov) is quoted asan illustrative example from Rueb'sgreat work, but without any warning tothe reader that the study, as printed isunsound. The flaw, which Ch6ronpointed out, is described in Kofman'scollection of Kaminer's and Liburkin'sstudies (page 93).Physically, the book creates an excel-lent impression. The numerous photo-graphs come up well on the fine paper,and the sewn binding makes for easyhandling. As a history, as an anthology,as a biographical and bibliographicalreference book, the work admirablyfulfils its purposes. Strongly recommen-ded.
Timothy Whitworth, Cambridge,
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ANALYTICAL NOTES ANDANTICIPATIONS
Unless expressedly stated differently allentries have been contributed by AlainPallier from exotic Mamoudzou, May-otte (France) in the Pacific Ocean.
EG 85EG#6172 (A.Maksimovskikh and V.Shupletsov, 2nd Prize, Victory Ty ofRSFSR, 1985): the final combinationstarting from the black minor promoti-on is anticipated by EG#5624 in EG80 (L. Topko, 7th Hon. Ment., "Friend-ship-200", 1983), who applied the finalmate again for EG#6057 in EG 84 (L.Topko, Comm., Sarychev Jubilee, 19-84). All these in turn are long anti-cipated by the Finnish composer J.Koppelomaki (Suomen Shakki, 1959)!
EG 92EG#6923 (V. Balanovsky, 2nd Hon.Ment., Molodoy Leninets 1986): After2... Kel the position is that of EG#-3480 in EG 54 (Y. Bazlov, lst/2ndPrize, Shakhmaty v SSSR, 1976) aftermove six, mirrored along a verticalaxis.
EG 95EG#7051 (R. Missiaen, 1st Comm.,KNSB Ty, 1985): The same matingcombination may be found in Kaspary-an's 1969 study in Tidskrift for Schack,2nd Hon. Mention (no. 263 in Kaspary-an's STUDIES, ARTICLES, ANALYSES) aswell as in EG#2546 in EG 44 (D. Gur-genidze, 2nd Prize, CeskoslovenskySach, 1973).
EG 96EG#7184 (R. Brieger, Comm., ChessLife (USA), 1986/7): Almost complete-ly anticipated by Peronace, el AjedrezArgentino 1954, no. 684 in Zollo Ca-
putto's EL ARTE DEL ESTUDIO DEAJEDREZ, Vol. 2. [Interestingly, Briegershows that the position is won with onetempo less (after Black's 4th move theg-pawn is still only at g6. So, let's call ita version. HHG])
EG 98EG#7554 (V.S. Kovalenko, 1st Prize,Magadan Pravda, 1988): is a correctionof EG#5118 in EG 76 (V.S. Kovalen-ko, Molodoy Leninets, 1982).
EG 102.1EG#8044 (D. Gurgenidze, 3rd Prize,Buletin Problemistic, 1986/87): It isinteresting to compare the play to themate with EG#4197 in EG 63 (V.S.Kovalenko, Comm., Szachy 1978).
EG 105EG#8428 (J. Randviir, 2nd Hon. Men-tion, SSZ 1989/90): It is interesting tocompare the positional similarities withEG#5878 in EG 82 (L. Mozes, 2ndComm., Revista de Sah, 1982) and V.Tacu, 1951, Revista de Sah, no. 201 inZinar and Archakov's HARMONY INTHE PAWN STUDY. However, as Timo-thy Whitworth wrote to inform AlainPallier: EG#8428 should not be comsi-dered as anticipated: The point ofRandviir's study lies in White's ninthmove1.
EG 106.1EG#8563 (V. Bron/S. Abramenko, 3rdPrize, Krivoi Rog Ty, 1990): Cf. EG#7-140 in EG 95 (V. Peretyatko, A, Ele-nov, S. Kraev and I. Ionov, 3rd Prize,Kozlov Mt, 1989). [After the secondmove the positions are identical, albeithorizontally mirrored. HHG]EG#8480 (M. Gorbman, Comm., Sha-hmatna Misal, 1976): Anticipated by G.Grzeban, Trybuna Robotnicza, 1958 (tobe found in G. Grzeban/J. Rusinek'sbook about the chess study in Poland).
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EG#;8572 (M. Hlinka, 3rd Prize, 'Stu-dies from Games', national Csechoslo-vak Ty, 1990): The secretary to theDutch endgame cycle ARVES Mr. A.van Oosterhout gives 8... Kf5 and adraw results, because the pawn on h3 isin trouble: 9.Sd4t, Kf4 and the rookmay not be captured, because of 10..Kg4.; Mr. van Oosterhout suggests thesimplest of corrections: advance thewhite h-pawn from h3 to h4.
EG 1062Page 153: In the Gia Nadereishviliobituary AJR remarks that '(he seemsto have composed no problems)'. Thereis atij least one, based on a study byhimself: G. A. Nadereishvili, 64, 1974,no. 3D: Ka4, Qc3 14# Kbl, Bhl, c2, e2,g2.l.Kb3 clSt 2.Ka3 Sd3 3.Qxd3t Kcl4.Kb3 elS 5.Qe3t Kdl 6.Kc3 SO 7.Qx-f3t Kel 8.Kd3 glS 9.Qxhl Kf2 10.Ke4Sh3 ll.Qh2t Kel 12.Ke3 Kfl 13.Qg3!and #; if 10... SB ll.QxBt Kgl 12.Q-e2! ]Page'157: Further to the note re. Kllin Khait's article for EG 89. It appearsthat the final position of the studydiagrammed as Kl l is anticipated byG. ifeodoru, 6th Ment., IV FIDE Ty1964/1965. It would be interesting tosee such positions played by over-the-board Grandmasters.
EG#8613 (V. Kirillov, 1st Hon. Ment.,Uralskie Skazie Festival, 1991): Thetask was to compose within 4 days astudy! showing at least two under-pro-motibns. Mr. Kirillov must have brou-ght EG, a poor-man's data base, along.His entry, with two minor alterations, iscompletely anticipated by EG#7930 inEG 100 (A. Sochniev, Comm., SSZ,1987/8). (Contributed by Harold vander Heijden.)
Th.GL KbkWege zur Endspielstudie
BauemendspieleSchwarze Damen in Zugzwang
Herausgegeben von Jan van ReekAus dem Inhalt:Teil 1:BauemendspieleBauemendspiele mit Obergang insDamenendspiel / Bauemendspiele,die in Endspiele Dame gegen Bauernubergehen / Pattstellungen / Unter-verwandlung / Der Kampf urn die Um-wandlung / TempospielTeil 2:Schwarze Damen in ZugzwangDie schwarze Dame pariert eineweiBe Drohung / Die schwarze Damepariert zwei weiBe Drohungen / Dieschwarze Dame ist nicht an dieDeckung bestimmter Punkte gebun-den / Index
176 Seiten, 253 Diagramme,2 Abbildungen, 1 Foto, Efalin mit
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BOOKS PRODUCED BY ARVES
The following books can be ordered by paying the necessary amount on Postbankaccount 105170 of Jan van Reek at Margraten. Foreign buyers should add NLG 11.-bank costs. Mailing costs are included.
1. The ultra modem endgame study by Jan van Reek / 21.502. Miniatures by Jan van Reek / 17.-3. The composing of endgame studies by Jan van Reek / 19.-6. Corel Mann by Jan van Reek and Henk van Donk / 19.-10. Chessmen in the endgame study, part 1-3 by Jan van Reek / 27.5014. The ultra modern endgame study II by Jan van Reek / 20.-15. Chessmen in the endgame study, part 4-7 by Jan van Reek / 36.-
The following books can be ordered from the KNSB, Frans Halsplein 5, 2021 DLHaarlem, Netherlands. Mailing and bank costs have to be paid additionally.7. A.P. Gulyaev - A.P. Grin. Chess endgame studies. T.G. Whitworth / 30.-8. Reciprocal stalemate by John Selman / 30.-9. Eindspelkunst by Jan H. Marwitz / 46.-12. Endgame study composing in the Netherlands and Flanders
