Saturday 2 October 2010

Say of the Jackal

 "I absolve you all - for I am the patron saint of mediocrity." - Based on the film script:, 'Amadeus'.

So. What a good chess month I've had in terms of the open games - my personal favourites.
Back at the tail-end of August I went to France; as I often do. However, on this particular occasion I lost my internet connection for a couple of days. Now, I know that I make it sound like I'd suddenly become a modern-day Robinson Crusoe. You might also be tempted to ask if things have  got so bad that one cannot do without the internet these days.
But in chess terms; this was a disaster: Horror upon horrors - by the time I got 'hooked-up' again, I found that I'd lost  a whole batch of on-line games; a result of exceeding the time control.
I could have lost ever more except that, luckily, when reconnected, there were still three games which hadn't yet expired - though one was just minutes away from doing so.
I wouldn't have minded so much except that some of the games were clearly winning and one was just a handful of moves away from mate. Unfortunately, this may only serve to underline the old adage - that no one ever won a game by resigning - an excuse often used for playing on in a lost position. It nevertheless turned out to be true for some of my opponents on this occasion. 


The fiasco cost me around 60-70 rating points; but was my own fault of course. However, I've since dried my eyes and  recouped my losses.


 More importantly, some of the new games have been particularly interesting. Take the one given below in 'Home Letters'. It's a Traxler; what more needs to be said in terms of 'open' games. They don't come more open than than the ideas generated by the Czech player, problem composer and priest, Karel Traxler. 
Don't let the saintly image fool you - this man was an absolute demon at the chess board: Check out his games.
Despite all the high-powered software currently available, this opening - one of the most complex of all openings - is still very well worth playing; and more-so if you specialize and use it in regular tournaments. Many of the Traxler's lines remain unclear. 


The game quoted in 'Home Letters' is one of three in the  Traxler against an opponent who is, fittingly enough, also a Czech - or at least from that neck of the woods. I predict an overall 50/50 split in the results.
Our first was a rated game which was a draw in one of the Traxler's main lines which has been closely examined over the years. However, my sporting opponent deliberately chose a more risky line for White in this second [un-rated] game. 
I've tried searching out the variation on a couple of sites dedicated to the opening - but so far without luck. I suspect that such a previous game must exist - so if you know of a prior game played with the line then please email me.
Our third game is rated and is still on-going; but this time with the Bxf7+ and Bd5 line.


Featured game: 


This month's featured Jackal game is another played at the Dutch chess club, Caissa. My thanks to Rob Witt for the game and his notes - particularly in view of the fact that he lost - the result of a terrible blunder in a still extremely unclear position. The game turns out to be quite important to the line in question: Have I found a TN on White's 16th move in this line? click here to play through the game.
White to play in this position from the game.








Test your Tactics








I've posted October's Level 1 and level 2 test positions..
September's T-Y-T answers are summarized below while the explanations can be found on the solutions page. Note that there is a double solution to position 3 in the level 2 version. This affects how the candidate moves are scored.



               Test Your Tactics solutions:

          T-Y-T [Level 1]

Position      Key move          Minor 1         Minor 2

    1               Qd5!              Bxf7+             O-O
     2               Nd5               Rg1                Bh3 
    3               Qxf7+            Bb5+              Bd3
  4               Bg5                Be3                f3
         
T-Y-T [Level 2]

Position      Key move          Minor 1         Minor 2

 1               Rxg6!              Nf7              f5
  2               Rb1+               Nc4+           h3 
   3               b4                  [Kg2 or Kh1]   ---
   4               Bg5!                Qc1             Qe2





Home letters from the front lines:







This is one of the Traxler games mentioned above. Black is about to make his 16th move.
In the final position [below]- irrespective of how the piece is recaptured - Black can get his pawn to the seventh rank supported by his king. With the White king cut off, the position is, in effect, two pieces and a pawn against a single rook. Black will win any resulting king and pawn endings. The game is given here.