Friday’s 5-second tactics
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” ― Henry David Thoreau
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Dealing with discovered checks…
Ratner, Boris
gm Bondarevsky,Igor
Moscow 1945; Ussr Ch. Position after White’s 28th move (28.Qd4). A curious position. White’s defence against Black’s threat of discovered check against the White King is to set up his own threatened discovered check! How should Black proceed? Let us start by considering the obvious: if 28…Nf4+? then 29.Nf2! wins atleast a piece for White; similarly, 28…Ne3+? 29.Rf2+! . Hitting the White Queen with 28…Qe3? just takes the steam out of Black’s own attack: 29.Qe5! gives White a winning game. Stepping out of the White discovered check does no work either: 28…Kg8? 29.Rf2!; finally, the desperate 28…Rd8 loses to 29.Rd6+ Kh7 30.Rxh6+!! and mate is inevitable.
YOUR TASK, dear reader, is to find the way for Black to save his game!
GOOD LUCK!
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My kingdom for LUFT…(!)
im Berkovich,M
Beerdsen,T (2100)
Groningen Open just a couple of days ago. Position after Black’s 10th move (10…Rd8?). Black had a nice game before this mistake (10…b6!), but we forgive his omission for artistic reasons: White now has a beautiful and surprising move!
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN!
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SOLUTIONS
Moscow 1945; Ussr Ch. Ratner, Boris—Bondarevsky, Igor: 28… c5!! The only way to save the game. If now + 29.Qc3 Nf4+ mates; or if instead 29.Rf2+ cxd4 30.Rxe2 Ne3 and only Black has winning chances. 29.Rxf7+!! Kxf7 30.Qf6+ White now has a perpetual check. 30…Kg8 ( or 30…Ke8 31.Qe6+ Kd8 32.Qd6+ Ke8 etc ) 31.Qg6+ Kh8 32.Qxh6+ Kg8 33.Qg6+ Kh8 34.Qh6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2
51st Groningen 2013. Beerdsen, Thomas–Berkovich, Mark A: 11.Bb6! 1-0 Black rank fatality!
If Thoreau is right then serious chess players, which includes those who compete at club level and higher, pay dearly indeed for the satisfaction of of not being the last to make a mistake. Let us not even speak of the dubious satisfaction of having played a game well to a point and then losing it.
Atsa