Solitaire Chess / Instruction ABCs of Chess
These problems are all related to key positions in this month’s game. In each case, Black is to move. The answers can be found in Solutions on page 71.
February Exercise: Chess is often viewed as an aggressive discipline, more like karate than judo. Yet it’s always been both, as in the great encounters between Kasparov and Karpov. So it makes sense to try the following. Every time you come upon a forced mate, solve it of course, but then take it back a move. Pretend it’s the loser’s turn, not the winner’s. Try to find a move that rebuffs the mate. As you do more of that, your skills will improve across the chess spectrum. You might even start to reason with greater overview and logic in daily life.
Problem I Mating net
Problem II Getting out of check
Problem III Fork
Problem IV Trapping
Problem V Skewer
Problem VI Mating net
Black had this developing move in mind
when he played 5. ... Qg6, but it’s only now, six moves later, that he gets it in. In any case, he shies away from 11. ... Qxg2 12. Bh5+ Kf8 13. Bf3 Qh3 14. Qxd5 (2 bonus points).**
12. 0-0 Par Score 6 This gets the king to a safe square and
unpins the bishop. The alignment of Black king and queen on the e-file suggests White may shortly want to put his rook on e1. Accept 1 bonus point if you thought so too.
12. 13. … Bh5+ c6
Black shores up d5 against the threat of 13. Bf3 (1 bonus point).**
Par Score 7 White gets down to business. The bishop
check clears the king-file. Black’s choices are to block, take, or move the king.
13. … Kf8 He decides to move the king. The block,
13. ... g6, runs into 14. Nxg6, with Re1 on tap. The capture, 13. ... Nxh5, lets the white queen in, 14. Qxh5+ g6 15. Nxg6 (accept 1 bonus point for each one of the three ideas).**
14. Re1 Par Score 7 This represents more than tickling the
black queen, as there are latent threats down the e-file.
14.
…
Qh4 The black queen has to be careful where
she steps. The move 14. ... Qf5 abandons the fourth rank, allowing 15. Bb4+ Kg8 16. Bf7 mate (1 bonus point).**
15. Bg6 Par Score 8 You can’t give up the bishop at h5, but
you can at g6: 15. ... hxg6 16. Nxg6+, forking king and queen.
15. … Na6 A tougher defense might have been 15.
... Nbd7. But Kamishov already had plenty to think about. He wants to develop his queenside, control b4 against the bishop check, and leave the c8-h3 diagonal open for his bishop.**
16. Qe2 Par Score 8 White threatens 17. Nd7+, when 17. ...
Nxd7, allows 18. Qe8 mate; while 17. ... Bxd7 is met by 18. Qe7+ Kg8 19. Q[B]f7 mate (1 bonus point).
16. 17. … Nf3 Bh3
This is a desperate measure that allows the rook to cover the back row.**
Par Score 8 Black’s queen is hanging and the other
big threat is mate. Accept only 6 points part credit for 17. gxh3 Qg5+ 18. Kh1 hxg6, which was probably what Kamishov was hoping for. But it doesn’t work on account of 19. Rg1! and 20. Nxg6+.
17. … Black resigned.
TOTAL YOUR SCORE TO DETERMINE YOUR APPROXIMATE RATING BELOW:
Total Score Approx. Rating 95+
2400+
81-94 66-80 51-65 36-50 21-35 06-20 0-05
2200-2399 2000-2199 1800-1999 1600-1799 1400-1599 1200-1399 under 1200
www.uschess.org
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