User Profile: Artar1

Artar1
Member since Oct-27-06 · Last seen Nov-29-09

<In Memory of Fred Reinfeld>

I learned to play chess as a child, and while I have not played actively all my life, I still carry a torch for the royal game. Now that I am approaching sixty, I have returned to the chessboard to begin where I left off decades ago. My intent is to grow and expand as a chess player, and perhaps one day soon enter local tournaments where I may try my luck against younger and smarter competition.

   Artar1 has kibitzed 5460 times to chessgames [more...]

   Nov-28-09 Battle of the Brains 3, 2009
   Nov-08-09 Aronian vs Leko, 2009

Artar1: <Eyal:> <It does <something> -> Yes, right you are. I've corrected the game in my forum. I can't do anything about the comments I have made here.

   Nov-08-09 Artar1 chessforum

Artar1: An Interesting Semi-Slav Game: Black Missed 24…Bxb2 <1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Ne5> (9.Be2 is by far the more common move.) <9...Bb7 10.h4 g4 11.Nxg4 Nxg4 12.Qxg4 Qxd4 13.Rd1 Qf6> (13...Qg7 was played in Eljanov (2641) -- ...

   Nov-01-09 Zhang Xiaowen vs N Dzagnidze, 2009

Artar1: A fascinating game, but White missed some important opportunities. <1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 e5 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.Be3 h6 9.Be2 Be7 10.0–0 Be6 11.a5 Qc6 12.Nd2 Nbd7 13.Bf3 0–0 14.Re1 Rac8 15.Nf1 Rfd8 16.Re2> (Why not Ng3?) <16...Bf8 17.Rd2 Qc7 18.h3 Qb8 ...

   Oct-31-09 Rublevsky vs A Volzhin, 1995

Artar1: My solution was a little different from what was actually played. I then checked my work using Fritz. <39. c5> White has sufficient force to create a pawn breakthrough. <39...Nb4+> Puts the weak knight back into play and fights for the initiative. [DIAGRAM] <40. ...

   Oct-30-09 H Munoz vs J Salazar, 1990

Artar1: I found <55...d3!>, and then I knew Black had at least a draw. But I had to move pieces around the board to work out all the various combinations to make sure White did not have a hidden winning or drawing resource.

   Sep-23-09 M Umansky vs The World, 2009

Artar1: <g.mueller>: Your example is a prime demonstration of how a computer can make us all look like monkeys when it comes to solving chess problems! But, please excuse my ignorance: doesn't the 50-move rule apply in your example?

   Sep-22-09 Illescas-Cordoba vs Adams, 1992

Artar1: I don't know why it took me so long to see this one. I saw Black's weakened kingside and the undefended bishop on the queenside immediately, but it took me too long, a couple of minutes, to put the right sequence into motion.

   Sep-10-09 Team White vs Team Black, 2009

Artar1: Here are two more variations, both of which end in a draw: 37. g3 Qc4 38. Qe8+ Kg7 39. Qe7+ Kg8 40. Qxf6 d4 41. Qg5+ Kf7 42. Qf4 Qd5+ 43.Kg1 d3 44. Qd2 Kg8 45. f6 (Let's try pushing the f-pawn instead.) [DIAGRAM] 45...Qd4+ 46.Kh2 Kf7 47. a4 Kxf6 48. a5 h5 49. a6 Kf7 50. Kg2 Qd5+ 51. ...

   Aug-31-09 R Swinkels vs C Bauer, 2007

Artar1: After <37...Rd8>, I guess I would have resigned if I were playing White. We all know what happens next.

indicates a reply to the comment.

Aug-30-09		Artar1: <Comments Regarding Saturday's Puzzle, 08/29/09> click for larger view White to move. The key moves in the sequence below are <29...g5 30.Qg4 Qa4 31.b4!>. From there the combination plays itself. In the endgame that ensues, and one certainly would in under 2000-elo play, White needs to avoid the exchange of rooks and concentrate effort on the kingside, as follows: 28. Rxf5 Rxf5 29. Ne6 g5 30. Qg4 Qa5 31. b4 Qxb4 32. Qxb4 Nxb4 33. Nxd8 Nxa2 click for larger view Now if: 34. Nxc6 Rf6 35. Re8+ Kg7 click for larger view Fritz continues with: 36. Re7+ but 36. Nd4 is better, so that is what I played. <(36. Re7+ Rf7 37. Rxa7 Rxa7 38. Nxa7 Nb4)> click for larger view While a grandmaster might be able to win the game from the White side of the board, it would require solid endgame skills to do so. A far better strategy is for White to avoid an exchange of rooks and to maneuver the knights to the kingside in order to restrict the movement and participation of the Black monarch in the game. 36...Rf4 37. Rd8 Kg6 38. g3 Re4 39. Nc5 Re7 40. g4 Nc3 41. Nf5 click for larger view 41...Re1+ 42. Kg2 Ra1 43. Rf8 Nd5 44.Nd7 Re1 45. Kf2 Re6 46. Rh8 Kf7 47. Rxh7+ Kg8 48. Rg7+ Kh8 49. Nf8 Rf6 50. Ng6+ Rxg6 51. Rxg6 1-0 click for larger view While it has been common practice for some to malign computer chess programs, they do serve a valuable function in helping us play better chess. The above example is a case in point. Fritz was not only able to find the game-winning solution in under one second, but was able to go on to win the endgame after some prodding by me, not that I'm the world's best player. The mistake that Fritz made (after a 20-ply search) was to favor <36.Re7+> in order to effect a Capablanca-like simplification. Unfortunately, once the rooks were off the board, leaving only knights and two pawns for each side, White's endgame effort would have been more difficult despite the one-piece advantage. It's been my experience that computers have a tendency to favor simplification, or a reduction of tension, when it's not the best course of action. In many grandmaster games, elite players often increase tension and avoid exchanges that could lead to sterile positions and quick draws.

Nov-08-09		Artar1: An Interesting Semi-Slav Game: Black Missed 24…Bxb2 <1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Ne5> (9.Be2 is by far the more common move.) <9...Bb7 10.h4 g4 11.Nxg4 Nxg4 12.Qxg4 Qxd4 13.Rd1 Qf6> (13...Qg7 was played in Eljanov (2641) -- Dreev (2705) Russian Championship 2005, 0–1) <14.a4 h5 15.Qg5 Qxg5 16.hxg5 a6 17.Be5> click for larger view 17.Be2 h4 18.Rxh4 Rxh4 19.Bxh4 Nd7 20.f4 Bb4 21.Bf2 c5 22.Bh5 Nf8 Black is okay in this complex position. Both sides will push their pawn masses, on opposite wings, to try for a breakthrough. click for larger view <17...Rg8 18.Rxh5 Nd7 19.Bf4 b4 20.Nb1 c5 21.f3 Bg7 22.Rh7 Bd4 23.Bxc4 Nf8 24.Rh5 Ng6?!> click for larger view The position is difficult. Are there other ways to play it? For example, 24...Bxb2 25.Be3 Bc6 26.Bxc5 Bxa4 27.Rd2 Be5 28.Ra2 Bd7 29.Nd2 Bc3 30.Bxa6 e5 Black has compensation for the pawn: he has a passed b-pawn and an actively placed bishop at c3. White will need to stop the advance of Black's b-pawn while pursuing activity on the kingside. click for larger view <25.Bc1 0–0–0> Maybe it would have been better to leave the Black king in the center and to play 25...Ne5? <26.b3> Why not 26.Nd2? Now if a) 26...Nf4 27.Rh2 Rxg5 28.g4 Black's position looks overextended and the White knight controls b3, c4, e4, f3, and f1. b) 26...Bc6?! 27.Bxa6+ Kb8 28.a5 Now Black must worry about both sides of the board. c) 26...Ne5? 27.Be2 White's up a pawn with a better position. d) 26...Rh8 27.Rh6!. <26...Ne5> Another alternative is 26...Rh8 27.Rh6 Rhg8 (27...Rxh6? 28.gxh6 Rh8 29.g4±) 28.Rh7 Ne5= White is up a pawn but Black's position is solid and his pieces are active. click for larger view <27.Be2 Rd7 28.Rd2 Rgd8 29.Rc2 Ng6 30.Kf1 Kb8 31.g3 Ka7 32.Nd2> White's position is better and Black's position has been reduced to passivity. <32...Ne5 33.Nc4 Nc6 34.Rd2 a5> (Black's position deteriorates with each move.) 35.Rd1 Ba6 36.f4 Bc3? (Exchanging rooks only helps White advance his kingside pawns.) 37.Rxd7+ Rxd7 38.Rh7 Bc8?! (Black's position is hopeless. Somewhat better is 38...Bxc4 39.Bxc4 Kb6 ) 39.Be3 Bd4 40.Bxd4 cxd4 41.Bd3 Kb8 42.e5 f5? 43.gxf6 (Even better is 43.exf6! White now has two connected passed pawns instead of one!) 1–0

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