Dominating d File but Losing

Doubled rooks are generally considered to be the optimum way of coordinating one's rooks. This is what Andy22 of the United States, playing a three minute game at the internet chess club, thought as he played his Queen's rook to d8 doubling on the d file. He is not to be faulted as this seems to be a solid and intimidating way to continue.




A more circumspect(One of Lewis Mclary's favorite words) analysis reveals the e2 pawn and c3 Bishop cover all invasions points along  this central file. So in a very practical way, Black's two five pointers  are queerly out of play and uncoordinated(coordination being one of Dan Heismann's chess elements). Also how many people can claim to have won a chess game by never advancing their e pawn. I would expect this to be an extremely rare event and in conflict with Weaver Adam's obsessive perception that 1. e4 is winning! San Francisco is full of flakes like him.

Now black's c3 Bishop, currently performing defensive functions is also aimed at the Black Monarch. This is your hint in coming up with a plan to exploit Black's misplaced Rooks. See if you can find the winning plan!!

Exchange Sacrifice Black Side of Dutch Defense

The oddly named exchange sacrifice in chess means giving up your Rook for a Bishop or Knight. Calling it a sacrifice can be misleading as sometimes an exchange sacrifice is just the best move and nothing is really being sacrificed.

Mat1983 of Brazil stands much worse here playing White in a 3 minute game at ICC. His King is exposed with many weak squares. Black played the aggressive Dutch Defense which is also known for weakening the king side on move one!




Given the sensitivity of the g2 and f3 squares, can you find a move that offers an exchange sacrifice and the removal of White's most active piece in the same breath? The Dutch Defense is for fighting players and with Black to play there is definitely a fighting move to be found!

Be Aware of Mating Patterns

Blitz Chess at the internet chess club is frequently about which player has the biggest cache of mating patterns in his memory banks. Dkappe from the United States and playing 3 minute chess is a very aggressive player constantly pressuring his opponents.

In the following position, Black has just played Re7 to avoid  being checkmated at g7. However, there is another mating pattern that gives rise to a spectacular sacrifice! I think any serious chess player knows what is meant by the phrase mating pattern. A mating pattern is some arrangement of pieces and pawns that deliver mate.




Reaching a mating pattern often involves violent tactical operations. I don't mean violent in the cannibalistic sense of Jeffery Dahmer. Just a chess move involving shocking, irreversible action.

With White to move, see if you can find the move that  accentuates the possibility of reaching the mating pattern. Also a big shout out to Enrique Rios who used to teach chess in Texas in the United States. He stressed being aware of mating patterns in even the most sedate type of positons.

Benko Gambit Accepted: Castle By Hand

A rather dogmatic and not particular pragmatic quote by Tarrasch claims the best way to refute a gambit is to accept it. I have about decided that is the case for the Volga Gambit or as Americans like to call it, the Benko Gambit. Black gives White a passed a pawn directly out of the opening for pressure on the Queen Side.

 Black often is willing to exchange Queens a pawn down due to his confidence the attacking chances and pressure on the Queen Side will pay dividends.

Rapaz of Spain, who loves the Benko Gambit, did just that in this game that was played at The Internet Chess Club. Black played his Queen to the a5 square inviting Bd2 and a discovered attack on his Queen. After Rfb8 and Qc2, Black played Qa4 followed by a3 for White which lead to an exchange of Queens at b3.



In this USCF expert's view, Black is down a pawn and struggling to draw. I am sure many Benko Gambit fans vehemently oppose this assertion. White happened to win this game which certainly is no refutation of Black's strategy.
 

Knight Versus Bishop with Pawns on both Wings

The following chess position features a struggle between Knight and Bishop. It is an ending with pawns on both the kingside and queenside which usually favors the Bishop since the prelate can take aim at both sides of the board.

However, White stands better here due to his centralized King at d4. Part of chess is being objective and not always trying to win from every position.



Black's d6 pawn keeps the White King from invading via the e5 and c5 squares. Also the d7 Bishop's function is to limit the mobility of the White Knight. Black should recognize that patience will be rewarded by a draw and perhaps a win if White oversteps.

For example, if White tries too hard to win  black's fixed pawns at f5 and g4 with a Knight infiltration, then the frisky Horse could get trapped.
 

Queen Sac Leading to Knight Fork

The following tactical chess position arises rather early in a game where Black essayed a French Defense. Avila from Guam playing at ICC confidently plays d4 in a position where he appears to stand much better. He has two pieces out compared to Black's what appears to be offside Knight at b4.

Veteran chess players know that there are always exceptions to general rules. What is the exception to the rule that claims the better developed player should have an initiative in the diagrammed position?

Put another way, what move should Black play to gain a lasting initiative which should eventually win the game for him?  Hint: The title of this post completely gives it away!

How to set up against this Benoni?

Benoni is an opening for a player of the Black pieces who does not want a draw. This statement is different than referring to a Black player which many chess writers are careless about!

Forgetpoker is the handle of an ICC player who plays a very uncompromising Benoni Defense. His move order is 1.d4 e6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 d6 4.Nc3  .....

Most Benoni players capture exd5 immediately, but some prefer to wait and maybe even play e5 depending on how White deploys his pieces.

In diagrammed position, if Black plays Nf6, 5. Qa4 is a non intuitive attempt to disrupt the standard Benoni Queenside expansion. It is a computer like move that this USCF expert would not have considered or discovered.

Another observation here is that if Black spends two moves to play e5, then White can try f4 which is usually not a good idea if Black plays e5 in one move.

BTW, why did this 1332 rated chess player forget poker for chess? It's usually the other way around where the poor, broke, Bohemian chess player decides to use his chessic brain power to make money gambling at Black Jack or Poker.

Artificial Back Rank Mate

Grandmanok, from the country of Brunei, plays a lot of 3 minute blitz chess at ICC. He is not fond of weak pawn structures and does not like to sacrifice material.

In the following game, Grandmanok played g3 intending to evict the knight at f4. This mating steed attacks the squares g2 and e2 which happen to be escape squares for the White Monarch placed on back rank at f1.



Had white pawns been positioned on these squares, then a standard back rank mate would have existed. The Knight surveilling these squares creates the same but artificial effect of a back rank mate which was executed with Rook to b1 mate.

So despite White's extra pawn and better pawn structure, tactics decided this error prone type of chess competition.

 This game did not end peacefully for this citizen of  the Abode of Peace in southeast Asia which has had conflicts with both Spain and England over the years. Such is the nature of the war game chess which attracts players from all cultures.

Flagged at ICC

Ratel of South Africa just suffered the same fate so many ICC blitz chess players have endured. He was flagged a move or two before checkmating his opponent. What does this mean. It means that Ratel's time expired while he briefly enjoyed a completely winning position.

Had it been a longer time control he would have easily won with mate a scant few moves away. However, he took too much time building up his advantage and in blitz time is resource just like having extra material or weakening your opponent's position.

In fact, if your opponent is under say 10 seconds remaining, then a common ICC strategy is to make random premoves with the intent of rattling the player short of time. I think it is fair to execute this sleezy practice as a form of punishing a player who has not managed his time properly.



 

Bg5 Against Dutch Defense

Ebochess of Belgium loves playing Bg5 against any variation of the Dutch Defense whether it be the Stonewall, Lenigrad, or the the more fluid setups. The strategy is well founded as Black has already weakened his king side with f5 and White intends to rip off the f6 Knight further denuding the king side of a much needed defender.

In the following game played at the internet chess club, he does just that. Black reacts with c5 pressuring the White center. Black also elected to play d5 driving the Knight from the e4 square leaving the second player with a backward e6 pawn and a problem Bishop at c8.




In this particular game, Black managed to get in e5 creating a strong pawn center and liberating the c8 Bishop and eventually mating the strong chess player from Belgium who eliminated the United States in World Cup Soccer.

 

The Immutable Longevity of Chess

David Shenk, author of The Immortal Game, enumerates games that have come and gone as a tribute to the eternal appeal of chess. Marriages have dissolved, jobs have been lost, and fist fights have erupted based on differences in the value of the the Royal Game.



I will list the games that have waxed and waned in popularity while chess continues to seize the imaginations and lives of people worldwide.

1. The Irish board game fidchell
2. The Egyptian game senet which is similar to backgammon
3. The Viking obsession hnefatafl where the object was for the King to escape
4. The Roman dice game duodecim scripta
5. The Greek petteia and kubeia

Again, Shenk's intent when he listed these games, in his highly stimulating tome, was to concretely prove there is something quite alluring and addictive about chess. His Prologue describes the infectious/viral character of a game that effectively paralyzed artist Marcel Duchamp to the extent that he dropped out of the art scene.

Duchamp's wife was so incensed over her spouse's obsession that she glued his pieces to the board and divorced him 3 months later! He would have been set for life as she was an heiress to a large fortune.

Some Pointers on when to Sacrifice the Exchange

Sacrificing the exchange is difficult to evaluate since it can involve a permanent loss of material. In the following game played at ICC, heron of the Netherlands playing at the Internet Chess Club with the White chess pieces has stripped the Black King of all his pawn protection and Black appears doomed to lose.



With Black to move, Rook captures Knight at f3 is tempting, but after pawn captures at f3 White has a difficult but effective defense. Blacks best is to intensify the pin on the Knight with Qh5. After Ne3 attacking the pinning g4 Bishop, Black can occupy the strong square f4 with his rook after the Knight captured at f3 by the Bishop.

Black has the better chances despite having two fewer pawns.