From: smd@occlusal.rutgers.edu (Stanley Dunn)
Newsgroups: rec.games.chess
Subject: Chess Bits, Issue #13
Keywords: Here it is
Date: 28 Sep 92 16:13:20 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


		CHESS BITS
		ISSUE #13
		SEPTEMBER 25, 1992

Editorial Staff:

Stanley Dunn 	smd@occlusal.rutgers.edu (for all correspondence)
Alan Brunelle
John Pope
Ed Maillet

In this issue:

	- Users versus MChess, part II by Louir Blair
	- ICS News
	- Technical article by Rene Seguin on the Najdorf Sicilian
	- Bits Mates ``To Play and Win'' by Ed Maillet ``White''
	- Bits Q&A  by John Pope

--------------------------------------------------------------

Users versue MChess, part II by Louis Blair

First, a recap:

1. e4	e5
2. Nf3	Nc6
3. Bb5	a6
4. Ba4	Nf6
5. O-O	Be7
6. Re1	b5
7. Bb3	O-O
8. c3	d6


Here is installment number two:

9 h3 (P-KR3)

This is the standard move, nearly always played in this
position by the top players, but it was not always that
way.  Early in this century, quite a bit of experimentation
was required to convince players that this move was a
good idea.  After the 1924 New York tournament, Alekhine
wrote that the solution had been given "to one of the problems
of this variation.  Namely, it was not very clear until lately
whether White could calmly allow the advance of the
Queen's Pawn two squares after the moves 6 R-K1, P-QKt4;
7 B-Kt3, P-Q3; 8 P-QB3, Castles without troubling himself
about the pin through 9 ... B-KKt5. ... It is better for White
to prepare for P-Q4 with P-KR3."  Not everyone was
convinced, of course.  Lasker wrote, "To me it seems better
not to lose time with such slow, defensive moves so early in
the game."  However, Alekhine's opinion eventually prevailed.
Since Bg4 is such a problem for white, one might well wonder
why black does not rush to play it earlier, e. g. 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 Bg4.
Apparently the effectiveness of 7 Bb3 O-O 8 c3 d6 9 d4 Bg4
derives, in part, from white's inability to use his queen pawn
to defend his king pawn.  After 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 Bg4, white
can still play 9 d3, and apparently this is a good response.
Since it is not available in the 7 Bb3 O-O 8 c3 d6 9 d4 Bg4
line, white nearly always plays 9 h3 and delays d4.

9 ... Na5 (N-QR4)

There was not much discussion here.  The voters were probably
not in the mood for much talk after the great Marshall debate.
There were some votes scattered over the choices 9 ... Bb7,
9 ... h6, 9 ... Nd7, and 9 ... Be6, but the rest did not pay any
attention.  Everyone knew that a dozen or more beginner
books said that the standard move in this position is 9 ... Na5,
and it was the easy winner in the vote.  There was only one
problem.  ALL THOSE BEGINNER BOOKS ARE OUT OF
DATE AND NEED TO BE REVISED.  According to Karpov,
"The classical Tchigorin Variation 9 ... Na5 10 Bc2 c5 11 d4 Qc7,
11 ... cd 12 cd Qc7 or 11 ... Nc6 is not too popular nowadays and
Romanishin is the only prominent grandmaster who plays it
all the time.  The statistics of the last few years are not very
encouraging for Black."  Chigorin came up with the idea
in 1906 and it was not well received at first.  Later, enhanced
by some ideas of Rubinstein, it became the standard Lopez
defense, popular for almost three quarters of a century.
However, as early as the sixties, people began to feel that
there was something wrong with the approach.  Deviations
at later stages were tried, but eventually players came to
regard 9 ... Na5 itself as a mistake.  I could find only one game
in the 1989 World Cup tournaments where it was used.  In
addition to the alternatives mentioned above, 9 ... Nb8, 9 ... Re8,
9 ... a5, and 9 ... Qd7 have been tried, but there does not yet
seem to be a consensus on the best move at this point except
that 9 ... Na5 is not it.  (As it happens, there is an article in
the current (May 1991) issue of Chess Life (pages 20 and 21)
on this very subject.)  However, a good many of the voters (who
had wanted to deviate at an earlier stage) were apparently
not up on the latest thought with regard to the Ruy Lopez
and voted for 9 ... Na5.  The result was that after nine
moves we were in a variation that was not the first choice
of anybody.  Five more people dropped out of the game.

The idea behind 9 ... Na5 was to gain time (by driving the
bishop to c2) while making it possible for black to advance
his queen bishop pawn.  Now, however, it is thought that
the cost of moving the knight to the edge of the board is
too great, and the time gain is not such a big deal since
white will often move his bishop to c2 anyway without
prodding from the black knight.  We can forget about
optimality from here on.  At least as far as current chess
thought is concerned, this is no longer an optimal game.

10 Bc2 (B-B2)

As far as I can tell, white has nearly always chosen to keep the
bishop at this point.  And yet, earlier in the game, black passed
up an opportunity to force the exchange of the bishop for the
knight.  Since black usually does not play 4 ... b5 5 Bb3 Na5, it
appears that at this point, trying to capture the bishop is more
inviting to black than it was back at move four.  I am not sure
why.

10 ... c5 (P-B4)

Not much else has ever been played by black at this point
either.  The point of black's knight maneuver at move nine
was to enable black to use his queen bishop pawn in the battle
for the center.  There was not much disagreement about our
tenth move itself, but there was some grumbling.  One person
wrote, "Eventually, even our more timid participants must
make a decision to do something other than slavishly follow
book!  We could have had M-Chess play these moves for us!
The critical juncture in this line is move 12, so I suggest that
everyone should focus their energies on analyzing the positions
which result from variations at move 12.  Are you comfortable
as Black after, say, move 17 or 18?  LET'S START THINKING
AHEAD!!!!"  Another person said, "The group seems to be
heading for this classic Chigorin pawn structure.  Let's just
do it and get it over with.  Then I want people to consider
12 ... Bb7. ... If this line is not in the computer's book (any
guesses out there?) I believe the computer may respond with
13 d5.  My experience with computers, albeit rated under
2000 computers, is that they have a hard time coping with
locked pawn structures."  Two more people dropped out of
the game.

11 d4 (P-Q4)

Somewhat to my surprise, 11 d3 has sometimes been played
in this position.  It's hard for me to imagine why someone
would want to play such a move after going to so much
trouble to prepare for d4.  At any rate, Mchess here plays
the move that is almost universally considered best for
causing black difficulties.

11 ... Qc7 (Q-B2)

9 ... Na5 is very much out of favor these days, but it is still
played from time to time.  On such occasions, black will
usually diverge from the traditional beginner book move
sequence here or on the next move.  In a recent candidates
match game, Predrag Nikolic played 11 ... Bb7 and managed
to "squeak out" a draw.  Oddly enough, there was not much
enthusiasm to diverge on the part of the voters.  One of them
wrote, "The pawn on e5 is going to need support, and we
can't risk trading it off, because if White gets a break, we're
in danger on the kingside.  We more or less have to play
Qc7".  (There is also some value in having the queen on the
c file.)  11 ... Qc7 DID have the confidence of the chess world
for most of the first half of the twentieth century.  In the
fifties, Bronstein wrote, "today's grandmasters have learned
quite well how to set up a defensible position.  Not surprisingly,
therefore, most of the games played with this variation have
lately been winding up drawn."  That very drawishness
motivated some to look for alternatives, and others began
looking when, starting in the sixties, people began to have
doubts about 11 ... Qc7.  In addition to 11 ... Bb7, 11 ... Nd7,
11 ... Nc6, and 11 ... cd have been tried.  It's difficult to tell
which move is considered best in this position today, because,
for the most part, players of the black pieces avoid getting
into this position in the first place.

12 Nbd2 (QN-Q2)

This has pretty much always been the most popular move at
this point.  d5, b4, de, a4, Bg5, b3, and a3 have been tried, but
for the most part, players of the white pieces have preferred
to continue developing (the knight is headed for f1 and then
either e3 or g3) without making any unnecessary commitments.
White wants to see what black is going to do with his knight
on the edge of the board.

12 ... Nc6 (N-B3)

When Chigorin first used his now famous defense (while in
his mid-fifties), he played 12 ... Kh8.  (The game continued 13 Nf1
Ng8 14 Ne3 Be6 15 Nf5 Bf6 16 d5 Bd7 17 g4 g6 18 Ng3 Bg7 19 Kh2
Nc4 20 Nd2 Nb6 21 h4 Qd8 22 Kg2 Qxh4 23 f3 Bh6 24 Rh1 Qf6
25 Rh3 Qg7 26 Kf2 Bf4 27 Ndf1 Rae8 28 Ne3 Re7 29 Qh1 f6 30 Ng2
Bg5 31 b3 Ref7 32 Be3 Ne7 33 Nh4 Bxe3+ 34 Kxe3 f5 35 gf gf 36 ef
Qg5+ 37 Ke2 Nbxd5 38 Ke1 Qe3+ 39 Ne2 Nf4 40 Rh2 Nxe2 41 Rxe2
Qxc3+ 42 Kf2 Qd4+ 43 Kg2 Rg7+ 44 Ng6+ Nxg6 45 fg Bc6 46 Rf2
Rxf3 47 Rxf3 Bxf3+ 48 Kxf3 Qc3+ 49 Ke4 Qxc2+ 50 Kd5 Qd3+
51 Kc6 Qxg6 52 Kb6 d5+ 53 Kxc5 Rc7+ 54 Kxd5 Rd7+ 55 Kxe5 Qe8+
56 Kf4 Rf7+ 57 Kg3 Qe3+ 0-1.)  For a number of decades, people
thought that 12 ... Nc6 was best.  The difference between this
and 11 ... Nc6 is that now, if white plays d5, black can move his
knight to d8.  You may well ask, "Why in the world would black
WANT his knight on d8?"  That was Rubinstein's idea, and I'll
talk about it later.  At any rate, people eventually lost confidence
in 12 ... Nc6, and on those rare occasions when a game does
get to this point, black will almost always play something else.
In only one of the 1989 World Cup games did anyone play 9 ... Na5,
and in that game, black played 12 ... cd.  Shaun Taulbut's book,
How to Play the Ruy Lopez, advocated 12 ... Bd7.  Other moves
that have been tried here are g6, Re8, Rd8, Bb7, Be6, h6, and
Nd7.

There was not much controversy in the voting.  (For that matter,
there wasn't much voting.  Only nine people contributed.)  The
advocate of Bb7 kept quiet this time around.  A few votes were
scattered over Bd7, Re8, and cd, but the most votes went to Nc6
from people who were content, "staying with the book".  Two
more people (one of them a master) dropped out of the game.

Mchess now faced a dilemma.  Nf1 looks plausible, but it is
actually a gambit since white's bishop on c2 will be left
unguarded if everything is exchanged on d4.  Nevertheless,
Nf1 as well as a3, Bb1, Nb3, and a4 have been tried here, but
the two main choices have always been dc and d5.  In the
nineteen twenties d5 was popular, but people found that they
had great difficulty breaking through the defense perfected
by Rubinstein.  The joke became that the position favored
black because "white's attacking chances will undoubtedly
drive him into a rash action."  Here is a game illustrating how
Rubinstein brought his knight on d8 back into the game:  13 d5
Nd8 14 Nf1 Ne8 15 a4 Rb8 16 ab ab 17 g4 g6 18 Ng3 Ng7 19Kh1
f6 20 Rg1 Nf7 21 Qf1 Bd7 22 Be3 Ra8 23 Qg2 Rxa1 24 Rxa1 Qb7
25 Kh2 Ra8 26 Qf1 Ra6 27 Nd2 Qa8 28 Rxa6 Qxa6 29 Nb3 Ng5
30 Kg2 h5 31 h4 Nf7 32 gh gh 33 Kh2 Qc8 34 Qg2 Kf8 35 Nd2
f5 36 ef Bxh4 37 f6 Bxf6 38 Qf3 Bh4 39 Bg6 Bxg3+ 40 fg Bf5
41 Bxf7 Kxf7 42 Ne4 Qd7 43 Bh6 Kg6 44 Bxg7 Kxg7 45 b4 c4
46 Nd2 Qf7 47 Qe3 Qxd5 48 Qg5+ Bg6 49 Qe7+ Kg8 50 Qd8+
Kg7 51 Qd7+ Kf6 52 Qd8+ Kf5 53 Qd7+ Kf6 54 Qd8+ Kg7
55 Qe7+ Qf7 56 Qxd6 Qf2+ 57 Kh3 Kh6 58 Nb1 Qf5+ 59 Kg2
Qxb1 60 Qf8+ Kg5 61 Qd8+ Kg4 62 Qd7+ Qf5 63 Qd1+ Kg5
0-1.  In the nineteen thirties, Rauzer explored the position
resulting from 13 dc, and the idea later became a favorite of
Fischer.  ("White gives up the center in order to exploit Black's
weakened squares on d5 and f5."  I'll have more to say about
Fischer's experiences later.)  In the sixties, it began to seem
that the 13 dc lines were drawn and in the seventies, interest
in 13 d5 was revived by Geller and Karpov.  Here is a Karpov
victory with that move:  13 d5 Nd8 14 a4 Rb8 15 ab ab 16 b4
Nb7 17 Nf1 Bd7 18 Be3 Ra8 19 Qd2 Rfc8 20 Bd3 g6 21 Ng3 Bf8
22 Ra2 c4 23 Bb1 Qd8 24 Ba7 Ne8 25 Bc2 Nc7 26 Rea1 Qe7
27 Bb1 Be8 28 Ne2 Nd8 29 Nh2 Bg7 30 f4 f6 31 f5 g5 32 Bc2
Bf7 33 Ng3 Nb7 34 Bd1 h6 35 Bh5 Qe8 36 Qd1 Nd8 37 Ra3 Kf8
38 R1a2 Kg8 39 Ng4 Kf8 40 Ne3 Kg8 41 Bxf7+ Nxf7 42 Qh5
Nd8 43 Qg6 Kf8 44 Nh5 1-0.  These days, the books all seem
to agree that 13 d5 is best and gives white a significant
advantage, but for a machine the choice is not so clear since
computers often have trouble playing closed positions well.
Mchess chose:

13 dc (PxBP)

We replied

13 ... dc (PxP)

of course.  Not much debate here, although there was some
grumbling about our choice of 12 ... Nc6:  "Ah, well, we tried
to steer into something more comfortable for Black.  For the
statistically-minded, it seems that this line has in the past
favored White by a shade over two-to-one (two White wins
for one Black win) in international play.  The 14 Nh2 line
has produced the best results for White.  We have our work
cut out for us."  I have to wonder about the source of information
used by the person who said this.  12 ... Nc6 may not have been
a good idea, but it seems to me that by playing 13 dc, Mchess
let us off the hook.  According to Anatoly Bikhovsky's book
on the Chigorin defense, "effective plans for Black" (as a response
to 13 dc) have come to light.  In particular, with regard to 14 Nh2,
Bikhovsky says that "by removing his knight from the center
[White] allows Black to obtain a good position in a number of
ways."  Not everyone was full of doom and gloom.  One person
said, "I think a lot of people are discovering ... that it can be hard
to come up with a plan in a closed position. ... I think that 13 dc
will put some life back into the game. ... I'm actually glad White
traded pawns.  The pawn on d4 was creating uncomfortable
pressure, and the pawn on d6 was just cramping our game. ...
We will soon be seeing a lot of planning and positional maneuvering,
which is difficult for a computer.  I'm confident about this position,
even if it is still book.  13 d5 would have been less comfortable."

14 Nf1 (N-B1)

Just around the time we were playing this game, an article by
John Donaldson about positions with this pawn structure appeared
in Inside Chess.  It said, "At first glance the main feature of the
position seems to be the hole at d5, which acts as a beacon calling
for a Knight.  However, it's rare that matters are ever so simple.
Black can also obtain an outpost by playing a timely ... c4 and
locking into d3."

As I mentioned before, 14 Nh2 has been tried in this position, but,
at least according to the books I looked at, the move is not all that
strong.  Rauzer's idea was to play 14 a4, but 14 Nf1 has come to be
regarded as the best move for giving black difficulties.  The knight
continues on the path to d5 or f5, and white postpones decisions
about the rest of his army.

14 ... Be6 (B-K3)

One voter said that we had to play this move because otherwise
"the white knights may more easily head for g5 and f5/d5."
Another said that 14 ... Be6 "is preferable to 14 ... Bd6, after which
Fischer's 15 Nh4! pretty well puts the game in White's favor; and
14 ... Rd8, which puts the wrong rook on the d-file."  A sample line
with 14 ... Bd6 15 Nh4 continues 15 ... Ne7 16 Qf3 Rd8 17 Ne3 Qb7
18 Ng4 Nxg4 19 hg Ng6 20 Nf5 Be6 21 g5 with a slight advantage
for white.  A sample line with 14 ... Rd8 continues 15 Qe2 Nh5
16 a4 Rb8 17 ab ab 18 g3 g6 19 h4 Be6 20 Ne3 c4 21 Ng5 Bxg5 22 hg
Na5 23 Ng4 Bxg4 24 Qxg4 Nb3 25 Bxb3 cb Be3 with a clear
advantage for white.

There was not much debate about our fourteenth move.  The books
also seem to agree that our choice was best.  However, somebody
made a remark that led to controversy later:  "I think 14 ... Be6
is a sound developing move clearing our back rank for 15 ... Rad8
developing the rook with a tempo.  I would rather use the a8
rook so that after the bishop retreats from e6 to c8 (after 16 Ng5)
that rook is not cut off.  After those developing moves we can
think of some queen side action (for example ... c4) in conjunction
with some defensive measures on the king's side."

15 Ne3 (N-K3)

In his book on the 1948 World Chess Championship tournament,
Golombek wrote that 15 Ng5 Rad1 16 Qf3 Bc8 17 h4 h6 18 Nh3
Bg4 was not a good idea because "Black is ahead in development."
Bikhovsky wrote that 15 Nh4 was an "interesting" alternative,
but 15 Ne3, getting into position before launching an invasion, has,
for the most part, always been considered to be the standard move.

15 ... Rad8 (QR-Q1)

One person objected to this move, saying, "I guess that as someone
said, the reason for 15 ... Rad8 is to save c8 for the bishop once white
plays Ng5.  However, we can nip Ng5 in the bud with 16 ... h6 or a
knight move.  So why not 15 ... Rfd8 ?  It should at least be considered.
The main advantage of 15 ... Rfd8 is that it leaves a rook on the queen-
side, where all the action is.  We might need it to support the b-pawn,
for example.  If we play 15 ... Rad8, our king rook will have a very
dim future."  The only reply to this was, "the latest books (such as
BCO2 and MCO13) give 15 ... Rad8 as the only move in this position.
I found the possibility of Rfd8 followed by h6 mentioned in one older
book that gave the continuation 15 ... Rfd8 16 Qe2 h6 17 Nh2 Bf8
18 Nhg4 Nxg4 19 hg Ne7 20 a4 c4 21 Nf5 f6 22 Be3, saying that it
gave white a clear advantage."  With essentially no more discussion
than that, the rest of the voters chose 15 ... Rad8.  Two more people
dropped out of the game.

16 Qe2 (Q-K2)

The only sensible move.  White is not likely to sacrifice his queen or
put one of his own pieces into a pin.

16 ... c4 (P-B5)

16 ... g6 was thought to be best until a famous game between Fischer
and Kholmov in 1965 made the chess world wonder if black really
was obliged to try to prevent the invasion by white's knights.  Since
then, it has been decided that black is better off avoiding lines like
16 ... g6 17 Ng5 Bc8 18 a4 (giving white "a small yet noticeable
advantage") and playing instead the more constructive move,
16 ... c4, that helps black to control the hole at d3 and makes room
for the bishop on e7 to move to c5.  About some of the alternatives,
Golombek wrote, "If 16 ... h6, then 17 Nf5 Bxf5 18 ef Bd6 19 Nd2 Rfe8
20 Ne4 with considerable advantage to White.  Still worse is 16 ... Rfe8
17 Ng5 Bf8 18 Nd5 Bxd5 19 ed Rxd5 20 Nxh7!  Similarly disastrous
is 16 ... Nh5 17 Nd5 Bxd5 18 ed Rxd5 19 Bxh7+ Kxh7 20 Qe4+.  The
dominant theme in these variations is the strength of White's king
bishop."  Bikhovsky wrote that 16 ... Rd7 17 Ng5 Rfd8 18 a4 Qb6
19 Nxe6 fe 20 ab ab 21 Bb3 c4 22 Bc2 gives white a slight advantage.
"The rooks on the d-file look attractive but have no particular
prospects."

There was near universal agreement among the voters that
"sticking with The Book for a bit longer" was "advisable."  One
commented, "All the lines that I have seen starting with 16 ... c4
seem to end at that wonderful equal sign at the end of the rainbow."
(An equal sign is what opening books use to indicate that black
has nullified white's initiative and achieved an even game.)
Another said, "If we let white get the pawn push in first, our dark
square bishop is going to suffocate.  Also, d3 will be a valuable square
later on."  One person wrote, "let's go for the aggressive 16 ... Nh5,
if 17 Ne5? then Nf4", but nobody was enticed.  Only one person
dropped out of the game.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

ICS News

The Internet Chess Server on valkyries.andrew.cmu.edu held its first blitz
tournament on Friday, Sept 11.  A short description of the tourney 
follows:

The swiss system tournament was held between 6:00 and 8:45 EDT, with 5 rounds.
The turnout was impressive-- we were expecting about 15 - 20 people to drop
by and take part.  We were pleasantly surprised when 32 people asked to play.
In fact, more than 32 wanted to join, but, due to time constraints and lack
of materials, we limited the tourney to 5 rounds and enforced a maximum of
32 people.

The ratings of those in the tournament varied greatly-- from unrated, 803, to
1936.  (This is ICS Blitz rating, not USCF rating.  USCF ratings are probably
100 - 300 points higher)  

We started to register people for the tournament at about 5:30 directly
on ICS.  At about 6:05, we stopped accepting registration requests, and made
the initial pairings.  The first games started around 6:15.  (15 minutes
late) Once started, we averaged about 30 minutes per round.

During the 10 minutes between rounds, all were treated to a wonderful display
of wit coming from 30 inactive players.  (Some played games between rounds
to pass time, of course)

Once started, the tournament progressed almost without a hitch-- we made one 
pairing mistake, which was fixed in short order.  Good natured competition
seemed to thrive from round to round, and the ending proved to be quite
climatic. 

We really enjoyed running this tournament.  (It was our first time to do this
on ICS!)  Though we want to have more tournaments in the future, we regret 
that we will not be able to hold them at regular intervals, since our
workloads wreak havoc with any notion of consistent scheduling.

* Any suggestions to make things run smoother would be appreciated *

Again, many thanks to those who participated, and thanks for your patience
between rounds.  (p.s. if someone has a *free* pairing generator program,
preferably for unix, with source, it would be much appreciated)

Watch r.g.c. for announcements of future tournaments, as well as the message
of the day on valkyries.

Below are the final standings.  Congratulations to Zon for his most impressive
performance!

John Chanak and Bill Kish
         a.k.a.
   MataPato and router

Results of Sept 11 1992 Valkyries Blitz Chess Tournment:

Round     1  2  3  4  5    Q
----------------------------
Zon       1  1  1  1  1    5
Szach     1  0  1  1  1    4
ekw       1  1  1  1  0    4
Linda     0  1  1  1  1    4
cron      1  1  1  0  1    4
Peter     1  1  0 .5  1  3.5
benoni    1  0  1  0  1    3
pkpk      1  1  0  1  0    3
combo     0  1  1  1  0    3
Gb        1  1  0  1  0    3
Mark      1  0  1  0  1    3
Devil     1  1  0  0  1    3
yfan      0  1  1  0  1    3
Dennis    0  1  1  0  1    3
guppy     1  0  0  1  1    3
jolly     1  0  1 .5  0  2.5
Tim       1 .5  1  0  0  2.5
perlman   1 .5  0  0  1  2.5
legend    0  0  1  1  0    2
wtpooh    0  1  0  1  0    2
JP        0  0  1  1  0    2
Bigfoot   0  1  0  1  0    2
trb       0  0  1  0  1    2
magyar    0  1  0  0  1    2
Gene      0  1  0  0  0    1
Vitroth   0  0  1  0  0    1
todzo     1  0  withdrawn  1
hersco    1  0  withdrawn  1
kj        0  0  0  1  0    1
fink      0  0  0  1  0    1
Capps     0  0  0  0  1    1
Warthog   0  0  0  0  0    0


----------------------------------------------

Congratulations to Linda for winning the SECOND ICS blitz tourney 
on valkyries this past week (18 September, 1992).  Here is the transcript 
of one of the games:

Subject: (((ekw vs. Linda)))
Game in 10
Time Left : White (1 : 21), Black (2 : 17)
Moves Listing :

Move	White                  Black
----	-----                  -----
1	P/e2-e4 (0:04)         P/e7-e5 (0:09)
2	N/g1-f3 (0:04)         N/b8-c6 (0:02)
3	B/f1-b5 (0:05)         B/f8-c5 (0:07)
4	P/c2-c3 (0:07)         N/g8-f6 (0:04)
5	P/d2-d4 (1:05)         B/c5-b6 (0:04)
6	Q/d1-e2 (0:35)         P/e5-d4 (0:53)
7	P/e4-e5 (0:08)         N/f6-d5 (0:05)
8	P/c3-d4 (0:31)         o-o (0:30)
9	N/b1-c3 (0:13)         N/d5-c3 (0:58)
10	P/b2-c3 (0:06)         P/d7-d6 (0:02)
11	B/c1-g5 (0:54)         Q/d8-e8 (2:03)
12	P/d4-d5 (0:22)         P/a7-a6 (0:03)
13	B/b5-a4 (0:12)         N/c6-d4 (0:02)
14	P/c3-d4 (1:36)         Q/e8-a4 (0:05)
15	o-o (0:13)             B/c8-g4 (0:21)
16	R/f1-d1 (0:34)         Q/a4-b5 (0:28)
17	Q/e2-b5 (0:10)         P/a6-b5 (0:04)
18	B/g5-e7 (0:08)         R/f8-e8 (0:11)
19	P/e5-d6 (0:04)         P/c7-d6 (0:03)
20	B/e7-d6 (0:05)         B/g4-f3 (0:10)
21	P/g2-f3 (0:05)         R/a8-d8 (0:02)
22	B/d6-c5 (0:05)         B/b6-c7 (0:07)
23	R/a1-b1 (0:06)         R/d8-d5 (0:06)
24	R/d1-e1 (0:29)         R/e8-a8 (0:31)
25	R/b1-b5 (0:07)         P/b7-b6 (0:10)
26	R/b5-b6 (0:04)         B/c7-b6 (0:03)
27	B/c5-b6 (0:04)         P/h7-h6 (0:09)
28	R/e1-e2 (0:05)         R/d5-d6 (0:14)
29	B/b6-c5 (0:07)         R/d6-e6 (0:02)
30	R/e2-b2 (0:07)         R/e6-g6 (0:18)
31	K/g1-f1 (0:05)         R/g6-f6 (0:01)
32	K/f1-g2 (0:07)         R/f6-g6 (0:03)
33	K/g2-f1 (0:05)         R/g6-f6 (0:03)

and (0-1) in a few more moves.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Technical article on the Najdorf Sicilian by Rene Seguin

 Quebec Open Championship August 1992
 White: Rene Seguin (2028 FQE)
 Black: Robert Gardner (2291 CFC)
 Openning: Najdorf, Browne System (10...h6)

 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7
 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.o-o-o Nbd7 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4  [also 11.Qh3; 11.h4!?] g5
 12.fxg5  [12.e5 is also playable] Ne5
 13.Qe2  [13.Qg3?! Rg8] Nfg4
 14.Nf3 Nxf3  
	[main line is 14...hxg5 15.Bg3 (15.Bxg5 Bxg5 16.Nxg5 Qc5) Bd7]
 15.gxf3 hxg5
 16. Bg3 [16.fxg4 gxh4 17.Rdf1 Bg5+ 18.Kb1 f6 =] Ne5
 17.f4 [also 17.h4 gxh4 18.f4 Nxd3 Rxd3 Bd7 Qe1 Bb5 Rd1 =]
 17...gxf4
 18.Bxf4 Ng6?!  
	[d6 and f7 are now weak. better was 18...Bd7 19.Rdf1 Rh7
                20.h4 o-o-o 21.h5 Bc6 with equallity]
 19.Bg3 Bd7
 20.Rhf1 Bc6  [20...Bh4? 21.Qf2 +/-]
 21.Qf2 Bg5+?!  [21...Rf8 22.h4 +/=; 21...Rh7? e5]
 22.Kb1 Qe7?  
	[22...Rf8 23.h4; 22...Bh4? 23.Bxh4 Rxh4 (23...Nxh4 24.Qf6)
         24.Nd5!! (stronger than 24.e5 Rf4) exd5 25.exd5 Rf4 26.Qe1+!
            Kd8 (26...Qe7 27.Bxg6 +-) 27.Bxg6 Rxf1 28.Qxf1 +-]
 23. Bxd6 Bh4
 24.Qc5 Qg5  [24..Qd7 25.Bc4 +/-]
 25.e5  [25.Nd5! exd5 26.exd5 Qxd5 27.Bxg6 +/-]
 25...Rh5  [25...o-o-o? 26.Na4]
 26.Rg1 Qh6
 27.Rdf1 Bg5?!  
	[better is 27...Rg5 (the threat was Bxg6 fxg6 Rf8+) but
         white is now in time trouble, 10 minutes to reach move 40.
         black hopes to fork with ...Be3.]
 28.Bxg6!  
	[also good is 28.Ne4! Bxe4 
	 (28...Be3 29.Nf6+ Kd8 30.Qa5+ b6 31.Qc3)
         29.Bxe4 Be3? 30.Qc7 +-]
 28...Qxg6
 29.Rf6! Bxf6  
	[29...Qh7 30.Nd5!! exd5 (30...Bxd5 40.Qc7 +-) 31.Rxg5!
              Rxg5 (31...Rxh2 32.b3 o-o-o 33.Rgf5! +-) 32.e6! o-o-o
                   (32...fxe6 33.Rxe6+ +-) 33.Rxf7 +-]
 30.Rxg6 fxg6
 31.Qc4! o-o-o  
	[31...Kd7 32.Na4! Bxe5 33.Bxe5 Rxe5 34.Qd4+ Rd5 35.Nb6+ +-]
 32.Qxe6+ Bd7
 33.Qxf6  [33.Nd5!]
 33...Rf5 [oh no! my queen is lost!]
 34.Nd5 b5
 35.Ne7+                 1-0


----------------------------------------------------------------------

To Play and Win by Ed Maillet ``White''

  If the problem calls for White to move and mate in some number
 of moves, then you must find the move for White that will force
 checkmate of Black in that many number of moves (or possibly less
 if Black errs.)
  If the problem calls for White to move and win, then you must find
 the move for White that leads to an overwhelming advantage, such as
 a win of a piece, or a passed pawn which can not be prevented from
 Queening.


 White: Rb1, Rf1, Kg1, Pe2, Pf2, Bg2,
        Ph2, Pg3, Qb4, Nh4, Pb5

 Black: Pe5, Pb6, Pf6, Pa7, Qc7, Nd7,
        Pg7, Ph7, Rd8, Re8, Bf8, Kg8

      White to play. Mate in 4.

   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 8 |   |...|   |.R.| R |.B.| K |...|
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  On a scale of 1-10, this problem
 7 |.P.|   |.Q.| N |...|   |.P.| P |  rates at about a 3 at best. The
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  solution will be in the next issue.
 6 |   |.P.|   |...|   |.P.|   |...|
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  If you have a chess problem(s) that
 5 |...|*P*|...|   |.P.|   |...|   |  you would like to have included
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  send it to me and I'll take a look
 4 |   |*Q*|   |...|   |...|   |*N*|  a it. If it's a good one, I'll put
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  it in with credit given, of course.
 3 |...|   |...|   |...|   |*P*|   |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  Enjoy!
 2 |   |...|   |...|*P*|*P*|*B*|*P*|
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  ----- Ed Maillet (White)
 1 |...|*R*|...|   |...|*R*|*K*|   |  ip05872@portland.maine.edu
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
     a   b   c   d   e   f   g   h

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bits Q&A by John Pope


   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 8 |   |   |   |   |*R |   |*K |   |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 7 |   |*P |   |*B |   |   |*P |*P |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 6 |*P |   |*N |   |*P |   |   |   |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 5 |   |   |   |*P |   |   |   |   |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 4 |   |   |   | P |   |*B |   |   |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 3 |   |   | N | B | B |   |   |*Q |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 2 | P | P | Q |   |   | P |   |*N |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
 1 | R |   |   | K | R |   |   |   |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
     a   b   c   d   e   f   g   h

White: Fidelity (2265) @ 60/10
Black: A. Brunelle

	Position after ??. ... Bd6xf4; ??. Ke2-d1

Question:
=========
   After a routine Rf8x(N)f3 exchange sac in a 3. ... Nf6 Tarrasch French,
   we had reached this position. Due to technical difficulties (my 19 month
   old son literally "pulled the plug") the game was terminated here. I 
   am seeking an impartial judgment on the move Nh2-f3: do you think that
   black is better/winning after Nf3? Some lines:

	1. ... Nf3; 2. Re2 Qh1+ and mate next...

	1. ... Nf3; 2. Rg1 Nxg1 or 2. Rh1 Qxh1 

	1. ... Nf3; 2. Rf1 Bxe3; 3. fxe3 e5 and black is threatening
	d4 again

	1. ... Nf3; 2. Bxf4 Nxd4; When the white Q is embarrased to find
	a good square, but does black have enough?

	1. ... Nf3; 2. Bxf4 Nxe1; 3. Kxe1 then black has e6-e5 or Nxd4, 
	is this better for black?


Answer:
=======

After 1...Nf3 2.Bf4:

a) 2...Ncd4 3.Bh7 Qh7 (3...Kh8 4.Qd3, probably forcing a
   transposition) 4.Qh7 Kh7 5.Rh1 Kg8 6.Be3 Bc6 7.Bd4 Nd4
   8.Kd2 with a long struggle ahead.

b) 2...Ne1 3.Ke1:

 b1) 3...Nb4 4.Bh7 Kh8 (4...Qh7 5.Qh7 Kh7 6.Kd2 gives white drawing
     chances due to the opposite colored bishops) 5.Qg6 and now 5...Qh1
     may be too risky: 6.Ke2 Qa1 7.Be5 Qb2 8.Kf1 Re7 9.Qh5 and
     black is suddenly in dire straits. Thus 5...Qh7 is probably
     best, transposing to the above (not too convincing) endgame.
 
 b2) 3...Nd4 4.Qb1 (probably a bit weaker would be 4.Qd1 e5
     5.Bg3 Bg4 with a strong position, especially if white
     obliges with 6.Be2? Be2 7.Ne2 Nf3 mate!) e5 5.Bg3 e4 6.Bf1
     Nf3 7.Ke2 Qg4 with 2 pawns for the piece and a strong attack.

So 1...Nf3 looks reasonably promising. However, from a practical point
of view, I don't know whether I would spend much time on it in a
tournament game because there are other good continuations for black
that don't cost a piece.

For example, 1...Be3:

a) 2.fe Ng4 3.Kd2 (on 3.Qe2, e5! is extremely strong) Rf8 4.Nd1 (4.Re2
   Rf2) e5 and white is all tied up.

b) 2.Re3 Qg4 3.Kc1 Qg1 4.Nd1 (4.Kd2 Qa1 5.Bh7 Kf8 is nothing) Nd4 with
   ...Rc8 to follow.

------------------------------------------

Question #2


Q: This question is for the novices among us.  In the following
ICS game, did black have to settle for the draw or is there a 
chance of a winning line?

Game in 45
Time Left : White (34 : 26), Black (24 : 40)
Moves Listing :

Move	White                  Black
----	-----                  -----
1	P/d2-d4 (0:14)         P/d7-d5 (0:27)
2	P/e2-e3 (0:12)         P/c7-c6 (0:20)
3	B/f1-d3 (0:13)         N/g8-f6 (0:21)
4	P/f2-f4 (0:25)         P/e7-e6 (0:17)
5	N/b1-d2 (0:49)         B/f8-e7 (0:33)
6	N/g1-f3 (0:20)         N/b8-d7 (0:50)
7	o-o (0:27)             o-o (0:11)
8	N/f3-g5 (1:35)         P/h7-h6 (1:41)
9	P/h2-h4 (0:19)         P/h6-g5 (2:43)
10	P/h4-g5 (0:11)         N/f6-e4 (2:23)
11	N/d2-e4 (0:15)         P/d5-e4 (0:10)
12	B/d3-e4 (0:10)         P/f7-f5 (2:15)
13	B/e4-d3 (2:34)         P/c6-c5 (0:28)
14	Q/d1-h5 (0:52)         Q/d8-e8 (1:19)
15	P/g5-g6 (0:12)         N/d7-f6 (0:43)
16	Q/h5-g5 (0:37)         N/f6-e4 (3:44)
17	Q/g5-h5 (0:36)         N/e4-f6 (0:20)
18	Q/h5-g5 (0:21)         N/f6-e4 (1:20)
19	Q/g5-h5 (0:25)         N/e4-f6 (0:26)
20	Q/h5-g5 (0:14)         (1/2 - 1/2)


Answer:
=======
Yes, black missed a couple of ways to win. The first one was 13...g6
(instead of 13...c5), which would have stopped the incursion of the
white queen to h5. Even so, black can win with 18...Ng4 19.Qh5 Nh6,
stopping any mating threats and leaving black a piece up.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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