Endgame Lab
45 Years
Looking back over 45 years of GM Pal Benko’s magnificent Bafflers.
By GM Pal Benko
The April issue of Chess Life commemorated 45 years of “Benko’s Bafflers” in a
retrospective by Dr. Steven Dowd. I thank
Steven and the many contributors. The
late Burt Hochberg, the longest-serving
Chess Life editor, had asked me for a new
column with the title recommended by
Ed Edmondson. It started as a column
devoted to problems and endgames, only
later becoming specialized to be the latter.
Sam Loyd (1841-1911)
I had dedicated my first column to
American Sam Loyd, known world-wide
as a chess-problem author. Though he
created only about 20 endgame studies
(and hundreds of problems), their influence was, and remains, great.
In that first column I presented two
Loyd problems. One of them can be found
with my refinements in the February
2012 Chess Life; here is the second:
Sam Loyd, 1868
-+-+-+-+
+-+-+K+-+-+rsN-mk
+-+-+-tR-+-+L+q+
+-+-zpl+-+-+p+-+
+-+-vL-+-
As often occurred in Loyd’s works, he
was careless about placing his great idea
into a proper framework. My try for
improving on it is presented here—an
attempt to forge virtue from sin.
Pal Benko—version
-+-+-+-+
+-+-mK-+N
-+-+-snlmk
+-+-+-+N
-+-+L+nvl
+-+-zp-tR-+-+p+-+
+-+-vL-+-
White to play and win
There is chaos on the board and we
have to find a way to clear it up. There are
no less then 14 capture possibilities on
move 1!
1. N7xf6!
Thus 1. N5xf6? Bxg3! 2. Nxg4+ (2. Bxg3
Nf2 is equal) 2. ... Kh5 3. Nhf6+ Kh4 4.
Nxe3 Bxe1 5. Ng2+ Kg3 6. Nxe1 Bxe4 7.
Nxe4+ but the two knights are not enough
to checkmate.
1. ... Bxh5
After 1. ... Bxe4 either 2. Rxg4 or 2. Rg1
wins.
White to play and win
2. Rxg4! Bxf 6+
1. Rxg4 Rxf6+ 2. Ke7 Re6+ 3. Kxe6 Bxg4+ 4.
Kf6
3. Ke6!! Bxg4+ 4. Kxf6
4. ... Bh5 5. Bh4 Be8 6. Bg5+ Kh5 7. Bf3
mate.
“Chameleon Echo”
Sam Loyd, 1859
(Correction by Pal Benko)
It begins with a rather sudden key
move and then unexpectedly develops
into a mutual Zugzwang. Neither side
has a useful move but it is Black to play.
After 4. ... Bd7 5. Bg6 wins.
46
Chess Life — July 2012
After 2. ... Bxe1 3. Ng8 is mate.
And this way the previously diagrammed position has been reached,
winning for White.
-+-+-trr+
+-+-+-+k
-+p+p+-+
+-+-mK-+-+-+-+-+
zp-+-+-+-tR-+-+-+
+-+R+-+-
White to play and win
1. Rh1+ Kg7 2. Rg1+ Kf7 3. Rf1+ Ke8 4.
Rb8+ Ke7 5. Rb7+ Ke8 6. Rxf8+ Rxf8
No better is 6. ... Kxf8 7. Kf6.
7. Kxe6 wins.
In the original study the a3-pawn was
placed on a4 but in that case a “cook” is
possible. Then after 3. Rb7+ (instead of 3.
Rf1+) 3. ... Ke8 4. Rgb1 with the threat of
5. Kd6 would also win, while with the
pawn on a3 after 4. Rgb1 4. ... a2 would
save the position.
Henri Rinck later published 61 problem
studies from Loyd with four rooks on,
including this example. (720 Endgames,
1913.)
Zig-zag
Sam Loyd 1859
q+-+-+-+
+pvl-+-+p+-+-+-+
+-+-zP-+p
-+-zP-+-+
zp-+-+-+p+-+R+K+
sn-mkr+-wQr
White to play and win
1. Qe3+ Kb1 2. Qe4+ Kc1 3. Qf4+ Kb1 4.
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