If you have just come out of a 3 month drunken coma then news to
you will be that Magnus Carlsen has appeared on The Simpsons.
I’ll put a link to the chess bit at the bottom of this page.
Meanwhile here are a couple of scenes from the show.
The episode is called: 'The Cad And The Hat' Homer is playing his dad at chess.
Moe is showing the game live (for a fee) at his bar.
I wonder if Mo had any of this brew on tap.
The creators chose a real game to...
“....We interrupt greenpawn to tell you the game was: “
M. Botvinnik - S. Tartakower, Nottingham, 1936
We join the game With Botvinnik about to play his 20th move.
[FEN "r3r3/pp1bbpk1/2q2nnp/2PNp3/2N1P3/4B2P/PP4B1/2RQ1RK1 w - - 0 20"]
20. Nd6 {The Knight is staying on d6. 20...Bxd6 21.Rxf6} 20... Be6 {Nxe8+ wins the exchange but Botvinnik wanted to decide things with an attack on the King.} 21. Nxe7 Nxe7 {There are a few ways to win this. Bxh6+ followed by Rxf6+ look good.} 22. Rxf6 {Botvinnik calls this an obvious sacrifice. Well played Homer. This is the position in Moe's Bar.} 22... Kxf6 23. Qh5 Ng6 24. Nf5 Rg8 25. Qxh6 {Threatening Bg5 mate.} 25... Bxa2 26. Rd1 {With Rd6+ ideas.} 26... Rad8 27. Qg5+ Ke6 28. Rxd8 f6 29. Rxg8 {Cute. if Black takes the Queen then Rxg6+ and RxQ.} 29... Nf4 30. Qg7 {Black resigned. In the Simpson's Homer as White resigned.. Mate with Qe7 can only be stopped with Qd7 then QxQ and it's over.}
This game won the Brilliancy Prize at Nottingham.
I’ve been looking for a funny angle as to why Botvinnik and Tartak....
“.....We interrupt greenpawn to say there is no funny angle we chose the game at random.”
Magnus Carlsen appears on a laptop in Moe’s I was...
“.....We interrupt greenpawn to say Magnus was not paid a fee.”
Greenpawn is fed up being interrupted.
“Greenpawn will be even more fed up when we sue him for using our characters.”
Chess is cruel. I can think of no other sport where your
mistakes can be frozen forever in a diagram for posterity.
I was looking at this game from the current USA Championship.
Jennifer R Yu - Anna Zatonskih, USA Championship (Women) 2017
Black to play the most plausible move and lose.
57...Rd1+ (OOPS!) 58.Kc2.
Black resigned. The pawn is immune due to Ra8+.
Black now either loses a Rook or is checkmated.
Needless to say RHP can supply a matching example.
jimbishop122247 - Lightening Stu RHP 2011
[FEN "4R3/8/5p1p/1r4k1/p5P1/P4P2/7P/6K1 w - - 0 1"]
1. Re3 {This is wrong. It is a the trapper is trapped mistake. Far better was 1.Re4 which attacks the a5 pawn and keeps the Black King from getting active.} 1... Kf4 {This was the move White tempted Black to play....Black was only to glad to play it.} 2. Re4+ {This Rook fork was idea behind 1.Re3. It was not too late to play 2.Kf2 answering 2...Rb2+ with 3.Rf2.} 2... Kxf3 {White's trick has backfired big time. The only move now is 3.Re1 then 3....Kxg4 and Black is winning. White cannot take the a-pawn.} 3. Rxa4 {He took it !} 3... Rb1 {Checkmate.}
Remember last Blog and I introduced you to mazes, well BigDoggProblem
enjoyed them so much he sat down, composed one his own and it’s brilliant.
Here is a 100 mover Chess Maze. There are a few new rules.
White goes first and only the King’s move.
No King is allowed to move into check.
The object of the exercise is to get the White King to e1.
This entails marching the King all the way around the edge of the board to d6
and the White King takes the pawns on e5, d4, c3 and d2 and then move onto e1.
The more observant amongst you will already see a problem taking the pawns.
You can only take a pawn if the Black King is on g7.
Fortunately all the Black King can do is go back and forth from g8-g7
So now you start to see the idea. You have to time the White King’s arrival
to a critical square perfectly and to do that have to keep going back to the
triangle of squares h4, h5 and g4 to lose a tempo to reach the key position.
This is the key position to reach with White to move.
You have the choice of Kh4 or Kh5 to time your arrival correctly to take a pawn.
To take the e5 pawn go to h4. Having taken it you then run all the way back to g4.
Then with White to move the King goes h5 (losing a move) to take the next pawn.
One of the beauties of this composition is that these are only squares on the
whole board that White can lose a tempo so the Black King is on g7 when
White is in a position to take a Black pawn. and you need to do it three times.
Here is the maze the King runs back and forth through.
The King Maze composed by RHP member BigDoggProblem 2017
[FEN "4B1kb/2Pp3N/1Pb1p3/1P2p2K/1PPp1PN1/1RpQP1B1/3p1P2/R7 w - - 0 1"]
1. Kg5 Kg7 {The key position with White to move. Use this position with White to play to lose a tempo with either Kh4 or Kh5.} 2. Kh4 {On my first attempt I guessed correctly, It was either 2. Kh4 or 2.Kh5. I'll find out when I get the King to d6.} 2... Kg8 3. Kh3 Kg7 4. Kh2 Kg8 5. Kg1 Kg7 6. Kf1 Kg8 7. Ke2 Kg7 8. Kd1 Kg8 9. Kc2 Kg7 10. Kb1 Kg8 11. Ka2 Kg7 12. Ka3 Kg8 13. Ka4 Kg7 14. Ka5 Kg8 15. Ka6 Kg7 16. Ka7 Kg8 17. Kb8 Kg7 18. Kc8 Kg8 19. Kd8 Kg7 20. Ke7 Kg8 21. Kd6 {Lucky guess. I had gone 2.Kh5 it would now be White to play and I cannot nick the e5 pawn.} 21... Kg7 22. Kxe5 Kg8+ 23. Kd6 {Now back to my key position lose a tempo.} 23... Kg7 24. Ke7 Kg8 25. Kd8 Kg7 26. Kc8 Kg8 27. Kb8 Kg7 28. Ka7 Kg8 29. Ka6 Kg7 30. Ka5 Kg8 31. Ka4 Kg7 32. Ka3 Kg8 33. Ka2 Kg7 34. Kb1 Kg8 35. Kc2 Kg7 36. Kd1 Kg8 37. Ke2 Kg7 38. Kf1 Kg8 39. Kg1 Kg7 40. Kh2 Kg8 41. Kh3 Kg7 42. Kh4 Kg8 43. Kg5 Kg7 {The key position with White to play. If Kh4 worked last time then this time it mist be Kh5 .} 44. Kh5 Kg8 45. Kh4 Kg7 46. Kh3 Kg8 47. Kh2 Kg7 48. Kg1 Kg8 49. Kf1 Kg7 50. Ke2 Kg8 51. Kd1 Kg7 52. Kc2 Kg8 53. Kb1 Kg7 54. Ka2 Kg8 55. Ka3 Kg7 56. Ka4 Kg8 57. Ka5 Kg7 58. Ka6 Kg8 59. Ka7 Kg7 60. Kb8 Kg8 61. Kc8 Kg7 62. Kd8 Kg8 63. Ke7 Kg7 64. Kd6 Kg8 65. Kc5 {If I had not lost the tempo it would be White to play here.} 65... Kg7 66. Kxd4 Kg8+ 67. Kc5 {Back g5 to lose another tempo} 67... Kg7 68. Kd6 Kg8 69. Ke7 Kg7 70. Kd8 Kg8 71. Kc8 Kg7 72. Kb8 Kg8 73. Ka7 Kg7 74. Ka6 Kg8 75. Ka5 Kg7 76. Ka4 Kg8 77. Ka3 Kg7 78. Ka2 Kg8 79. Kb1 Kg7 80. Kc2 Kg8 81. Kd1 Kg7 82. Ke2 Kg8 83. Kf1 Kg7 84. Kg1 Kg8 85. Kh2 Kg7 86. Kh3 Kg8 87. Kh4 Kg7 88. Kh5 Kg8 89. Kg5 Kg7 {The key position with White to play, if Kh5 lost a temp last time then it must be Kh4 this time.} 90. Kh4 Kg8 91. Kh3 Kg7 92. Kh2 Kg8 93. Kg1 Kg7 94. Kf1 Kg8 95. Ke2 Kg7 96. Kd1 Kg8 97. Kc2 {If I had not lost a tempo then it would be White to play here.} 97... Kg7 98. Kxc3 Kg8+ 99. Kxd2 Kg7 100. Ke1 {Success.}
White has to two ways to win the Black Rook for a-pawn.
One wins and one draws. First the draw.
[FEN "r7/P7/K4k1p/8/8/1R6/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
1. Kb7 Rd8 {1...Rxa7+ as we shall see losses. This way Black gets White to take with the King on a8.} 2. a8=Q Rxa8 3. Kxa8 Kf5 {The game is drawn because the White King is too far away and the Rook is not in too clever a position,} 4. Kb7 Kg4 5. Kc6 h5 6. Kd5 h4 7. Ke4 h3 8. Ke3 h2 9. Rb1 Kg3 10. Ke2 Kg2 {The game is drawn. White can if he wants to 'show off'. There is a McNasty you have to see.} 11. Rb8 h1=Q 12. Rg8+ Kh2 {13.Rh8+ and take the Queen = draw. but if White thinks they can suddenly win with....} 13. Kf2 {...then they get a rude shock.} 13... Qa1 {It's the only move, any other move and White wins, but it's good enough and now Black wins.}
Now the correct way. I have given enough hints.
[FEN "r7/P7/K4k1p/8/8/1R6/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
1. Rb8 {Now Black is forced to take on a7.} 1... Rxa7+ 2. Kxa7 {And because the King is on a better square and the Rook is already behind the pawn the White win is pretty easy.} 2... Kf5 3. Kb6 h5 4. Kc5 Kf4 5. Kd4 h4 6. Kd3 h3 7. Rh8 Kg3 8. Ke2 Kg2 9. Rg8+ Kh1 10. Kf2 h2 {Now the winning method is.} 11. Kg3 Kg1 12. Ra8 {The winning pattern that may have tempted White in the previous game. Here it works. 12...h1=Q 13.Ra1 mate.} 12... h1=N+ {A last try but this is a book win.} 13. Kf3 Kh2 14. Rg8 {The Knight is lost.}
This appeared in CHESS in August 1967. (I coloured it in at work)
It never ceases to amaze me, everytime I browse the finished games
page on R.H.P. I always manage to find a Hall of Doom Candidate.
Thank You. My only regret is the one’s that have escaped me. But I
warn you, me and blunders are magnets. I will find them...eventually.
Chewmika - KingOswald RHP 2017
Black is a piece up. (on RHP that means White is winning.)
There was only one way Black was going to get mated
[FEN "1r4k1/5pbp/p1pp2p1/5bB1/3P4/P1P4P/2P1RPP1/6K1 w - - 0 23"]
23. Re7 {White throws a pawn overboard. It's swindling time.} 23... Bxc2 24. Ra7 Bd3 {Black defends the pawn.} 25. Be7 {White attacks another pawn. All Black need do now is Bf8 and there will no mates for White in this game.} 25... d5 26. Bd6 {White continues to annoy Black.} 26... Rb1+ 27. Kh2 {Now Black has to be a wee bitty careful, the back rank is tender. How about h6.} 27... Rc1 {OOPS!} 28. Ra8+ Bf8 29. Bxf8 {Correct. This is better than Rxf8+ because White is now threatening Bh6+ winning the Rook (as well as checkmate.)} 29... Rc2 {Black saves to Rook....} 30. Bh6# {....but losses the game.}
This time we see the whole game. I was attracted to one by the final position.
ray george - Bright22 RHP 2017
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 b6 {Suddenly the Black Queenside is full of light squared holes.} 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Nc3 {Here go for 6...Bxb5 7 N(either) x b5 and a6 then pieces out and castle.} 6... Qf6 {This is what a hack writer want to see. Just you guys keep bringing your Queens out before your minor pieces and I'll have something to write about for years to come.} 7. Nd5 {Get back to d8} 7... Qd8 8. a4 {Too clever. This a blunder. 8....c6 wins a piece} 8... Bxb5 {Black missed it,} 9. axb5 Nd7 {Get the Kingside out first. This allows to make a good White reply.} 10. Nc6 Qh4 {It either here or Qc8 when Black only losses a pawn with Rxa7.} 11. Nxc7# {A double Knight checkmate,}
I’m going to have a few words here. Guys look at this.
You can chase the Black King all over the board but you will never mate it.
Here is a perfect example, quite a few RHP Queens have been lost this way.
Augustkim - Aanatol RHP 2011
1. d4 c5 {My standard reply to 1.d4 when I first started playing. A few years later me and King's Indian found each other.} 2. dxc5 {2.d5 is better.} 2... Qa5+ 3. Nc3 {Now 3...Nf6 to stop e4 then e5 to get the f8 Bishop into the game and castle.} 3... Qxc5 {The Queen is doing all the work and giving White extra opening moves by developing on here.} 4. e4 e5 5. Be3 Qb4 {Are you really threatening to take on b2.} 6. a3 {Go on then, take it.} 6... Qxb2 {I thank you.} 7. Na4 {No. I thank you. The Queen is trapped and Black resigned.}
The Queen is useless without back up. Leave her alone until all your minor
pieces (that is the Knights and Bishops) are developed and you have castled.
Alberto Mesías Cornejo - CorVerkade RHP 2017
[FEN "3kr3/3p1p1p/1p4p1/8/P2P4/4BP2/1nb2KPP/R6R w - - 0 24"]
24. Rhc1 {I see the idea. The Bishop moves and Bg5+} 24... Nd3+ {That is OK. After NxR then RxN The Bishop moves then Bg5+ and Re1 winning the Black Rook.} 25. Ke2 {Hmmmmm......} 25... Nxc1+ 26. Rxc1 Bxa4 {The Bishop has moved and now Bg5+ winning the exchange......No you can't, the Bishop is pinned.} 27. Kd2 {Unpinning the Bishop.} 27... b5 28. Bf4 {Bg5+ Rd7 and White plays Re1 winning a whole Rook} 28... Re6 {It's OK says Black I'll show you another way to lose my Rook.} 29. d5 {Are you going to play Rf6 so I can then play Bg5.} 29... Rb6 {No, I'll go here.} 30. Bc7+ {Black resigned.}
