position. Black finds that he cannot
spend time mating White as White
can break through on the Queen side
and either Queen his a-pawn
(thereby forcing Black to take a
perpetual) or else White will himself
a perpetual against the
construct
Black King. Neither King is safe.
39...Qe1+ 40.Kh2 Qxf2 41.Rxb5 f4
42.Rb7+ It took me a while to decide
on this simple solution. In chess I find
that I am often attracted to the
complex candidate moves first. In
type of position that is incorrect
this
thinking and the error is in seeking to
find winning lines where Black has a
perpetual. White should have
identified quickly that his task is to
Time trouble caused this move. force a draw, not to seek a win.
Luckily it does not change the Partly my willingness to analyse
assessment of equality. Black could complex lines was affected by my
try to place a Queen on b2 with a knowledge of Philip. It would be
King on c6 and put White in irrelevant to Philip that he had a draw
Zugzwang but White has freedom in hand. With the slightest
with his King then. Alternatively the opportunity he would play on and
Black Queen could perhaps go the look for the win. So the question was
King-side but there is no zugzwang whether there were lengthy lines
there either as that would leave the where one of us would mis-analyse.
Rook free to move. In Black taking Therefore I spent some time on
the f-pawn we quickly reach a drawn moves such as Bd6, which although
entirely helpless. 29.Rfe1 Ng7
30.Re3? (30.b4!) 30...Nf5 31.Rf3 c5
32.c3 Kb7 33.b4!? cxd4 34.a6+!
Kb6 35.cxd4 Qc4 36.Rxf5! gxf5
37.Be7 Qc3 38.Bc5+ Kc7 39.Ra5
Solution to last issue’s problem from The Tactics of
End-Games:
R. Reti(1922)
White wins
After 1.Nd4+ Kc5 White has 2.Kh1!!! Zugzwang!
Seán Coffey writes: Two days after the last ICJ issue
appeared, I was browsing the archives of Tim Harding’s
12 | P a g e
such moves have their merits at
times, in this position they simply
lose. I eventually settled down to look
at the more direct and simpler way
forward. 42...Kc8 43.Rf7 Qxh4+
44.Kg1 Qe1+ 45.Kh2 Qg3+ 46.Kg1
h4 47.Rf8+ Kd7 48.Rf7+ Ke8
49.Rf8+ Kd7 50.Rf7+
With the final point that after ... Kc6,
White plays Rb7 and Black has no
time to mate White. What I enjoy
about playing as talented a player as
Philip is that his intentions are always
rather clear and none too subtle i.e.
to mate you. Getting a draw is often
an achievement in itself.... 1/2-1/2
Kibitzer columns at ChessCafe.com, when what do I
come across but “Desert Island Chess Books” (June
2001), containing The Tactics of Endgames as one of
his ten selections, plus in addition another, relatively
obscure, book that I think will be selected by someone
else for a future ICJ issue. I was a little taken aback, I
have to admit. I certainly knew of and would have
chosen The Tactics of Endgames long before that
article—Jonathan O’Connor recommended it to me
many years ago—but I think I dimly recollect reading
Tim’s article before, and I must have mentally filed
away the idea of a desert island chess selection. So
this note is in belated acknowledgement of the source.
In addition, here’s an extra recommendation: the
Kibitzer articles contain a wide variety of interesting
material, including much of interest to Irish chess, and a
complete
set,
available
at
http://www.chesscafe.com/archives/archives.htm.
The Kibitzer, would be another excellent choice for the
castaway.
Irish Chess Journal