The position given below has been taken from a game in 1894 involving the great Russian chess master Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (Russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Чиго́рин).
The last great player of the Romantic chess style, his playing style featured a well honed tactical ability and an imaginative approach to the opening. Chigorin has several chess openings or variations of openings named after him, the two most important being the Chigorin Variation of the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7) and the Chigorin Defence to the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6).
Born in Gatchina in 1850, Chigorin became serious about chess uncommonly late in life; his schoolteacher taught him the moves at the age of 16, but he did not take to the game until around 1874, having first finished his studies before commencing a career as a government officer. Once smitten with the game, he terminated his employment and started life as a chess professional. It was not long after that he came to be regarded widely as the best player in the whole of Russia.
Through his original talent, lively games and prolific teachings, many Russians hail Mikhail Chigorin as the founder of the Soviet School of Chess. Overshadowed in the 1920s by the exciting new theories of the hypermodern movement, Chigorin's influence nevertheless demands a prominent and permanent place in the Soviet chess hegemony of the 20th century.
Looking at the above position (white to move), can you find the forced mate lurking around the corner? Also, once you've found the mating sequence, you can amuse yourself by trying to find a way to ensure that the white pawn on g6 converts. Happy brainstorming!
The last great player of the Romantic chess style, his playing style featured a well honed tactical ability and an imaginative approach to the opening. Chigorin has several chess openings or variations of openings named after him, the two most important being the Chigorin Variation of the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7) and the Chigorin Defence to the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6).
Born in Gatchina in 1850, Chigorin became serious about chess uncommonly late in life; his schoolteacher taught him the moves at the age of 16, but he did not take to the game until around 1874, having first finished his studies before commencing a career as a government officer. Once smitten with the game, he terminated his employment and started life as a chess professional. It was not long after that he came to be regarded widely as the best player in the whole of Russia.
Through his original talent, lively games and prolific teachings, many Russians hail Mikhail Chigorin as the founder of the Soviet School of Chess. Overshadowed in the 1920s by the exciting new theories of the hypermodern movement, Chigorin's influence nevertheless demands a prominent and permanent place in the Soviet chess hegemony of the 20th century.
Looking at the above position (white to move), can you find the forced mate lurking around the corner? Also, once you've found the mating sequence, you can amuse yourself by trying to find a way to ensure that the white pawn on g6 converts. Happy brainstorming!
Okay this is difficult.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the second puzzle, which is easier.
1. Rf8+ Kxf8
2. gxh7
and there is nothing to stop it from Queening.
The first part is more difficult and I don't think I could've figured it out if I hadn't seen something similar in a book - probably the one on tactics by Seirawan.
Let me comment on the moves too.
Notice that the Queen and the King are on the same diagonal. Usually that leads to tactics, but here it's to just get the bishop out of the way. The Queen then goes to the backrank to remove the lone defender of the bankrank, namely the knight. Decoy and deflection!
1. Bc4+ Qxc4
2. Qe8+ Nxe8
3. Rf8#
As Seirawan notes somewhere, whenever the bishop is on the h6 (or a6) square and the rook can come to the last rank, there is almost always a nice mating combination with these two pieces.
Good puzzle.