Oddly, I was unable to look up the second study. I then went back to search by composer instead of position. I think you have the Knight position incorrect, although it does not affect the solution.

The study starts here:

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After 1. Rh3+ Kg2 2. Ne6 <the notes suggest 2. Rc3 is a cook> Bxf5+ 3. Kxg7 Rg4+

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I'm not familiar with them, although I do know one Spanish legal term currently used in the Tennessee Civil Code, if I'm not mistaken:

Your opponent made a gigantic boner, but you had already outplayed him positionally.

I know you're an aficianado of the French. Have you ever played against the Maginot Line?

Today I managed to claw back some points in a 90 minute game. I ran it through Shredder and found I had gotten from the opening to the middle game without having a lost position.

That's the first time in a month I was able to do that.

Reminds me of a well worn quote from Greyhound racing.

Thanks for going through that game. When I went through it, I was very happy with the extent to which I am starting to understand the French at good level. I have been studying it intensely for quite a while and was glad to see some pay-off.

Now that school is out for me, I have been spending a silly amount of time on chess. The other part of my repertoire (the QGD, both sides) has also started coming together.

The positional part of chess is getting clearer than it has been in years. Strangely enough, this seems to have resulted from increased tactical awareness combined with study of areas like open files, IQP, and (of course) the French.

I am glad you have dug out enough to get in some games of your own. Feel free (as if you wouldn't anyway) to post them here if you don't want to clutter your own forum. <Clutter> is my middle name.

Here's the end of a recent CC game, although I suppose it's too obvious to present as a puzzle:

<crawfb5-NN>

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Welcome! I don't know what language it is either. Someone told me that it is pig latin for <I have to sue you before I kill you for libel>. It's hard to know about these things.

––TERENTIANUS MAURUS, END 3RD CENTURY C.E.

"FOR THE DIFFUSION OF A BOOK THROUGHOUT
THE WORLD IS ALMOST AS DIFFICULT AND
IMPORTANT A TASK AS THE MAKING OF IT"

––FRIEDRICH SCHILLER, 1794
http://habentsuafatalibelli.blogspo...

<Big Big> (to disambiguate)- at the risk of ruining everyone's day, what's a "probability cloud"?

Would it not be for this Potential Weather, the forcasts would not have any doubt. It's a shame that, as with all Stuff, we are only certain about 4%. The other 96% is mainly guess work. Which is why the worlds topgamblers started out as weather forcasters.

A few weeks ago, <hms> posted an informal OTB game which he played. I hereby acknowledge that I was the patzer who (mis)handled the white pieces. I have finally had the time to analyze the game and am presenting some comments for general amusement.

The occasion for this encounter was that on a recent vacation, my wife and I spent two nights in Nashville. Because of the Vanderbilt graduation, hotel rooms were scarce and obscenely expensive. <hms> and his wife graciously offered to host us in their home. We all had a wonderful time. One evening we sat down for a game of chess. Here is the game score, with my comments:

<1. e4>

Well, of course I knew what was coming next, but how could I, as a guest in the <hms> home, not allow him to play his beloved French? Besides, I've always been a 1. e4 guy.

<1...e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5>

I don't know a lot of opening theory. I did know that the advance variation was one of the book variations. I thought that <hms> might be less familiar with this variation, and I always prefer to make moves in the opening that gain space. <hms> said after the game that 3. e5, while not a blunder, is considered to offer black an easy game.

<3...b6>

Not the most popular move, but a variation <hms> is experimenting with.

<4. Nf3 Qd7 5. Bd3 Ba6>

At this point, there is only one game in OE which matches this position - and it is a white win!

D C Bareham vs C Wismayer, 2001

<6. O-O Ne7 7. Re1>

My TN - we are now out of book (OE, that is).

<7...Bxd3>

Black exchanges his bad bishop for white's good bishop.

<8. Qxd3 c5>

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The only move at this point which Stockfish gives a positive eval to is 9. c4 (0.28). I did not play c4.

<9. c3>

At this point, <hms> returned the favor. Only 9...Nbc6 gives black an advantage according to Stockfish. He moved his other knight to c6.

<9...Nec6 10. Bf4 Be7 11. Nbd2>

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Here black played a move not in Stockfish's top four:

<11...c4 12. Qc2>

This was Stockfish's 3rd choice, rated as 0.40. 12. Qe3 would have been 0.60.

<12...b5>

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Now I was trying to find a way to open a file for my QR. I chose an inaccurate way to do it.

<13. a3>

With this move, Stockfish gives white only a very small advantage.

<13...h6>

<hms> liked this move. However, it is not among Stockfish's top four choices.

<14. b4?>

This was an error. Best would have been 14. Nf1 (headed for g3 and h5) (0.32).

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Now, Stockfish found this for black:

But <hms> did not play 14...g5.

<14...cxb3?>

Giving the advantage back to white, according to Stockfish.

<15. Nxb3 O-O>

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At this point, <hms> liked his position but Stockfish favors white. I could have played 16. Qd1 (0.48). But I did not. :(

<16. Nc5?>

I thought this was a good aggressive move, attacking the queen, and seizing a great outpost for my knight. I liked what I thought was a space advantage, and I thought I may have a K-side attack brewing. Wrong!! I believe this was my biggest mistake of the game, leading to the unraveling of my position. Stockfish favors black from this point on, and the advantage grows and grows.

<16...Bxc5 17. dxc5>

giving me a very weak doubled isolated blockaded passed pawn which eventually must fall.

<17...Qe7 18. Be3 Nd7 19. a4 a6 20. axb5 axb5>

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Seeing the impending fall of my c5 pawn, I began to desperately seek complications and counterplay. Unfortunately, I am not good enough for that sort of thing, and I just dug the hole deeper.

<21. Ra2?>

And now Stockfish went from an eval of (-0.68) to (-1.85).

<21...Nc5 22. Rea1? Rxa2 23. Rxa2 Ne4 24. Ra6 Rc8 25. Qb3 b4>

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<26. Nd4? Nxe5 27. f4? Rxc3 28. Ra8+ Kh7 29. Qa4? Rxe3>

<30. fxe5?? Re1#>

I congratulate <hms123> for his victory. However, I do not feel that badly about my effort. Despite an intermittent lifelong interest in chess, and despite having some aptitude for the game, I have never belonged to a chess club, never had a rating, never played in a tournament, and have not played a worthy opponent OTB in over 30 years. <hms> has tournament experience and we were playing his favorite opening. I had a playable position as late as move 16, so I really cannot complain.

Truth be told, however, I know the real reason for <hms> crushing me at the chessboard. I am sure that it was in retaliation for the following joke which I told him earlier that day:

King Ozymandius of ancient Assyria was strapped for cash after years of war with the Hittites. He decided to sell the Star of Euphrates, the most valuable diamond of the ancient world. So he went to see Croesus the pawnbroker. Croesus said "I'll give you 100,000 dinari for the diamond". Indignant, Ozymandius said "Why, it is worth over one million dinari. Don't you know who I am?!" "Of course I know who you are" replied Croesus. "But surely Your Majesty must know that when you wish to pawn a star, it makes no difference who you are."

Here's the position after your suggested <16.Qd1>:

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Now after <16...a5 17.Nfd2 a4 18.Nc1 Rc8>

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Houdini thinks it's even. I would still take the Black side.

Analysis by Houdini 1.5a w32: 21 ply, lines clipped

1. = (0.00): 19.Re3 Bf8 20.Qg4 Kh8 21.Bg5 Ne7 22.Bxe7 Qxe7

2. = (0.00): 19.Qg4 Kh8 20.Qh5 Na5 21.Bxh6 Rxc3 22.Ne2 g6

3. = (-0.23): 19.Ra2 Bf8 20.Qg4 Ne7 21.Ne2 Nf5 22.Nf3 Nc6

4. = (-0.24): 19.Qf3 Bf8 20.Ne2 Ne7 21.Qd3 Nbc6 22.Qxb5 g5

(hms123, 29.05.2012)