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Daily chess challenge
Leonard Barden19.05.09
Daily chess challenges from the London Evening Standard (solutions at bottom of page)...
Message to readers: Leonard Barden's chess column now appears in the London Evening Standard. The online column will be discontinued....
TUE 19 MAY: 8892: White mates in two moves, against any defence (by W Pulitzer). Today's problem does not appear excessively challenging, but the first official world champion Wilhelm Steinitz paid it a huge compliment. Steinitz said that this was the only two-mover he had ever been unable to solve in under 15 minutes. Really, I am surprised. Black has only a small defence force, so that the choice of reply to any white first move attempt can be quickly narrowed down. Can you do better than the eminent grandmaster, who more than a century after his death is still considered one of the great chess strategists? Ilford stages its annual Essex county Whitsun congress on 23-25 May. The event began in 1950 and this is its Diamond Jubilee renewal. Anyone from expert to novice is welcome, and there will be a variety of tournaments at the Redbridge Institute in Gants Hill. For more details. call Joe Rosenberg at 020 8554 2232.
MON 18 MAY: 8891
Sergei Movsesian v Ian Rogers, Prague 1999. Material is level, and although the black king is under threat he looks adequately guarded by the queen, knight, and a7 pawn. White's queen and rook are doubled on the a file but the obvious 1 Qa6+ exchanging queens would increase Black's drawing chances. In cases like this you should think of the second front principle. Whereas one set of threats can usually be contained, an attack coming from more than one direction is much harder to counter. That was the principle which Movsesian applied. Two precise moves set up a winning tactic, and White's third turn forced such a huge material gain that Australia's number one grandmaster Rogers had to resign. With these clues, can you spot how the game ended?
FRI 15 MAY: 8891: White mates in two moves, against any defence (by P Kuiper). Cuban world champion Jose Capablanca in his pomp liked to solve half-a-dozen two-movers daily as part of his training routine. It was a very rare event when a composition defeated him but today's diagram was one of a handful where the 'chess machine' went astray. Capa's answer was 1 Qg7 with the idea that exd5 fails to 2 Kf5 mate, Bxd5 to 2 f3 mate, Ne1 any to 2 Nxf3 mate, and c3-c2 to 2 Kxe6 mate. Can you spot what the great man missed, and find the true white first move which forces mate in two?
THU 14 MAY: 8890: Sergei Movsesian v Zoltan Ribli, Neum 2000. Slovakia's Movsesian (White, to play) is a top 20 grandmaster with a sharp eye for tactics. Here he has level material, but the position looks anything but calmly level. Both sides are attacking the king and Hungary's Ribli seems to have earned first strike due to his Qxb2 threat. Meanwhile. Black's entrenched g4 knight appears to stymie White's own intentions along the g file. However, Movsesian had it all worked out, and his next two turns proved crushing, inducing Ribli to concede defeat. Can you spot White's winning tactic?
WED 13 MAY 8889: White mates in three moves, against any defence (by Daniel Wasmann). Two chess legends have tacked this problem, with remarkably different results. Paul Morphy, the American who trounced all the top players of his time in 1857-60, found it extremely hard and took an hour for the answer. So in 1945 they presented the diagram to Alexander Alekhine, the then world champion, and told him what had happened to Morphy. Alekhine took a quick glance, announced White's first move correctly, then commented dismissively that " Morphy must have been asleep that day". How do you compare against the two greats?
TUE 12 MAY 8888: Gawain Jones v Jack Rudd, Hastings 2008-9. Jones, 21, is England's second youngest grandmaster after 18-year-old David Howell, and his imaginative attacking style has already notched up some eminent scalps. Here as White (to move) Jones has established a vicious pin threat to Black's e6 knight using queen, rook and bishop. Rudd's last turn h7-h5 was designed to lift the pin by forcing White's attacked queen to retreat followed by c7-c6 kicking away the bishop. Nice try, but Jones had planned for it. How did White force a rapid victory?
MON 11 MAY 8887 Today's puzzle (created by TP Madeley, 1950) may sound easy, but is quite a tricky test of how well you can visualise threats and defences on the chessboard. You simply have to find the one and only move at White's disposal which delivers checkmate. There are numerous near-misses, so be very sure before you check with the solution. If you enjoy chess but lack the time for over-the-board games, log on to the internet. For newcomers, I recommend www.instantchess.com, where you can play around 40 games free of charge against opponents from all over the world, with your opponents identified by national flags. The regular time control is a leisurely (for web chess) 15 minutes per player per game, and unless you are a total novice you will win your fair share. Experienced players may prefer www.chessclub.com, the Internet Chess Club with thousands of members including grandmasters and masters. ICC offers a free seven-day trial, and you can use that not only to play but to watch live transmissions from current grandmaster events.
Solutions
8892: 1 Qf6. If N moves 2 Nxf5. If exd4 2 Qxd4. If e4 2 Rb3. If B moves 2 Qf2. If Ke4 2 Nxf5. If Kf4 2 Ne2.
8891: 1 Qe7 Qc7 2 e6 Nb6 3 Rxa7+! and Black resigned since he loses his queen to Kxa7 4 Qxc7+.
8891: 1 Qg7? cxb4! and there is no mate. The right key is 1 Kg5! with a checkmating answer however Black defends.
8890: 1 Rxg4! hxg4 2 Qg5! and Black resigned. The f6 rook is trapped in mid-board, while 2...Qxb2+ 3 Kd2 only makes matters worse as White now threatens Rb1 gaining more material.
8889: 1 Qd1! with the idea 2 Qg4 and 3 Qd7 mate. If 1...bxa3 2 Qxa4 Kd6 3 Qd7 mate. If 1...Kc6 2 Qg4 Kb7 3 Qc8 mate. If 1...Ke6 2 Qxa4 Kf7 3 Qe8 mate.
8888: 1 Rxf6! hxg4 2 Rfxe6! Resigns. If Rxe6 3 Bxe6+ regains the queen with interest, while Kh7 3 Rxe8 puts White a knight ahead with a winning game.
8887:1 f4 is White's only checkmating move.
Reader views (15)
Leonard Barden
Nigel Short v Klaus Berg, Sigeman invitiation, Malmo 2009 THU 03-09-09 Evening Standard(8968). The puzzle was OK, but what I think the puzzle should have had looked at was what SHORT made missed, and an immediate force resignation by Qh3 threatening to occupy the d7 square and queening as eventual mate, as Berg may of realised this and made a deliberate error and it was not the feint that he succumbed too. No it was his imminent defeat.
- Steven St Catherine, London
I have a question about puzzle 8920 (26/06/09). After 1...Bb1, why can't White play Ka3?
- Tim Robinson, Hounslow, England
Dear Evening Standard,
Thanks for reinstating the print version of Mr. Barden's column. But what on earth are you playing at removing the online version?! Like many of your paper's loyal readers, I am not always in the capital and so cannot buy your paper every day. I thought that your internet site would give me access to the ES every day, but it looks like you're not that committed to your online offering.
- Peter Sowray, London
Some solution lines in the Tuesday 19 May puzzle above are wrong (they have been corrected in the print version). If Bc2-h7 2 Qf3. If Bh3-c8 2 Qxe5, If Kf4 2 Nxf5. If Ke4 2 Qxe5. The puzzle serial numbering has also got out of sync but I hope that will be corrected shortly.
Thanks to all you chessplayers who have sent comments!
- Leonard Barden, london
Well done to the Evening Standard for returning Leonard Barden's excellent chess column to print. Put the solution back somewhere we can't see it when trying to solve the puzzle and it will be perfect !
- Mark Topham, Herts
Leonard puts time and effort into finding suitable problems. Not so hard that finding a solution takes an interminably long time. Nor so easy as to be trivial.
He also occasionally provides useful nuggets of information. Good value for such a small amount of newspaper acreage.
Please restore the daily print coverage.
- Simon Spivack, London
Leonard Barden's column is one of the main reasons I buy your paper ... please keep it!
- Peter Sowray, London
Well, that's a real shame for chess-playing Londoners. Leonard's famous column was always a joy to read when I lived down there in the first half of the 60s and, later, in the second half of the 70s. It's what made the commute home bearable. Also, you could spot the non-chessplayers - they weren't holding the Evening Standard. Please re-instate the column in the paper for all my pals down there.
- Norman Stephenson, Middlesbrough
I could not agree more with previous correspondents. Leonard Barden's chess column is a delight. He has a great facility for finding games to illustrate one might not otherwise come across and writes about them so well, often commenting on background and personalities in interesting ways. The chess public is a large one, so please Evening Standard bring LB back to us in print.
- Robin Burgess, Ealing, London UK
I do hope this is reconsidered. I will always pick up an Evening Standard and turn to Leonard Barden's column when I commute to London by train, but life is a bit too short to actually look it up online. I think a lot of people will thus miss out on the work of England's most serious and dedicated chess journalist.
London is still the chess capital of England, and the winners of the London League probably field more grandmasters than in all other local leagues put together! I think that a chess column should still be seen as an integral part of any paper which hopes to be the best in London.
- Jonathan Rogers, Cambridge
Please reconsider the decision to stop publishing Leonard Barden's chess column in the printed version of the paper!!
- Mike, Witney
I am extremely disappointed to discover that Leonard Barden's chess puzzle is no longer in the printed edition of the Standard. This column, one of the most respected in print, has been one of the principal reasons for obtaining a copy of the newspaper for many people. There is a thriving chess-playing community in London who regularly try to solve Leonard's puzzles and look forward to reading his insightful comments regarding past matches.
Not everybody is aware the column is now online and, even so, there are many people, including the elderly and those from poorer backgrounds, whose regular use of the internet is problematic. I do hope you reconsider and restore the column in print as soon as possible.
- James Costello, London
Leonard Barden's chess column is always the first thing I look at when I buy the Evening Standard and has been for donkey's years. It is always superbly written and provides a welcome distraction from the rigours of travelling home. Putting it online is no substitute for publishing it in print. Please restore it to the printed paper with all speed as, without it, one may as well read one of the lesser quality freebie papers.
- John Saunders, London
8889 Impressive by Alekhine, considering it was only a year before his death. The column is a nice mix of problems and game positions-keep it up!
- Roger, london england
This is one of the best columns extant for chess; please can you make sure that it continues in print every day as well as online, as I am certain that many new players are introduced to tournament chess as a result of reading Leonard's column and trying to solve the puzzles!
- Adam Raoof, London UK
