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| Aug-26-10 | | VincentL: It might be worth mentioning one line I don't see in the other kibitzes: 56. Nh5 c2 57. Nf4 Kc3 58. Ke4 Kd2 59. Nd3, winning |
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| Aug-26-10 | | TCS: Another line to consider is that after:
56.Nh5 c2 57. Nf4 Kb3 58.Ne2 Kd2
white has:
59. Nd4 threatening to take c2 or set up a fork on b3 if c1=Q. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | Once: Now that was very clever, and very simple when you know how. Black is about to run his c pawn, and it will take him two moves to make a new queen. And while white has threats of his own, they all take more than two moves to execute. So the game is about the c pawn, and nothing else. But how to stop the c pawn? The king is too far away. The knight takes three moves to get to a spot where he can cover the c1 queening square. We need to win a tempo from somewhere. Just about the only tactic available to us is to allow the c pawn to queen and then win it with a knight fork. And luckily the black king is on the same colour as the c1 square and there is a fork square on d3. So we need to get our knight to d3 on his third move. The sequence we need is: 56. N somewhere c2 57. N somewhere else c1=Q 58. Nd3+ Now, I make it three different ways for white to play this sequence: Nd7-Ne5-Nd3
Ne4-Nf2-Nd3
Nh5-Nf4-Nd3
Which one to choose? Well, it just so happens that black has a devillish move to foil our little plan. Instead of just mindlessly pushing his c pawn, he shifts his king into a position where it is harder to fork. So we could get this: 56. Ne4 c2 57. Nf2 Kc3
click for larger viewOops. We can't get our knight to the magic d3 square, and anyway it wouldn't be a fork any more. And we haven't got a knight move to cover c1. Black wins. So of our three mini knight tours, only one stops this little tactic, and that is the route via h5 and f4. This is what might happen if black tries to force the c pawn home: 56. Nh5 c2 57. Nf4 Kc3 58. Ke4! 
click for larger viewNow if 58...c1=Q, black wins with another knight fork, this time on e2. And if he tries to reposition his king, say to d2 or b2, then white plonks his knight on d3 (protected by the king). He is not afraid to sac the knight for the c pawn as his pawn majority should then win the game for him. There are other tries for black, including under-promotion to a knight and going after the a pawn, but others will cover those far better than I could. And anyhoo I've run out of space. |
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Aug-26-10
 | | An Englishman: Good Evening: If I hadn't already seen the game I never would have solved it. Great finish by Eliskases. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | melianis: Jeebus, there was a win! I *thought* the drawing line was a bit easy considering these thursdays are currently harder than 3 years ago. Great finish no doubt. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | tacticalmonster: 1) If White can stop the passed c-pawn, White wins because of the kingside majority 2) The key squares are d3 and e2 to stop the queen square c1 3) White king should support the knight once it gets to d3 or e2 Candidate: 56 Ne4 and Nh5
a) 56 Ne4 c2 57 Nf2 Kc3!  (57...c1=Q?? 58 Nd3+)
b) 56 Nh5 c2 57 Nf4 Kc3 58 Ke4! Kd2 (58...c1=Q 59 Ne2+) 59 Nd3  c) 56 Nh5 Kxa4 57 Nf4 b5 58 Nd2 Kb3 (58...b4 59 Kc4 c2 60 Nc1 ) 59 Kd4 b4 60 Kd3 Kb2 61 h4 c2 62 Kd2 b3 63 Nc1! Ka3 64 Nxb3 Kxb3 65 Kc1 Kc4 66 h5! (66 g5?? hxg5 67 hxg5 Kd5 68 g6 Ke6 69 g7 Kf7=) Kd5 67 g5! Ke6 (67...hxg5 68 h6 g4 69 h7 g3 70 h8=Q ) 68 g6 Kf6 69 Kxc2 |
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| Aug-26-10 | | soumyabanerjee11: What a winning idea for White, thats really great! |
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| Aug-26-10 | | swr: White is up a knight and will win easily if only he can prevent black from queening his pawn on c1. Unfortunately for white, his knight can not get to d3 or e2 to attack c1 within the two moves it will take black to get there. But here we find the solution: Black's future queen on c1 and king on b4 make for an excellent knight fork on d3, and so: 56. Ne4 c2
57. Nf2 c1=Q
58. Nd3+ 1-0
Any other attempt by black and white will simply play h4 followed by g5 and queen easily on the kingside. This should be it, let's check. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | TheaN: Thursday 26 August 2010
<56.?>
Not timed.
Material: White up, ♘ (endgame N+4P vs 4P)
Candidates: Ne4, <[Nh5]> -ML-
Obviously White's only concern is to stop the c-pawn. With the King out of play, the Knight has to do it on his own. White fails after 56.Ne4 c2 57.Nf2, setting up the fork, but 57....Kc3 58.Ne4† Kd3 59.Nf2† Ke2 and White is toast. No, the fork has to come from f4, not f2, so that not only Nd3 but also Ne2 cover c1. That suggests: <56.Nh5! Kxa4 (56....c3 57.Nf4 Kxa4) 57.Nf4> pretty much seals it. <57....b5 58.Ne2> threatening the pawn. <58....c2 59.Kd4 b4 60.h4 Ka3 61.g5 hxg5 62.hxg5 > and Black is stuck. After the most logical move: /A\
<63....b3 64.Kc3 Ka2 (64....b2 65.Kxc2 Ka2 66.Nc3† ) 65.Nc1† > and after: /B\
<63....Ka2 64.Kd3 b3> blocking the b-file leads to g6 and wins. <65.Nc1† Ka3 66.g6 > and the progress is gone. Finishing up is hard, Nh5 less so :P. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | TheaN: <Jimfromprovidence: I missed 56 Nh5. But even after seeing why that move worked to block the c pawn from promoting, I looked at the text and I still thought black was winning. I continued the text with 59 h4 b4 60 Kd4 Ka3 61 g5 Ka2 62 g6 b3 63 g7, below, and I finally saw that white has it won. > Hm. Okay I missed this simple followup to Ka2. b3 is considerably different though. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | FISCHERboy: I almost didn't see the fork! (56. Ne4 c2 57. Nf2 c1=Q 58. Nd3+). It's quite a good puzzle to be included in an ending lesson. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | Abu Dina: I gave up after a couple of minutes… never saw the knight fork! At 49 I wonder if Fischer thought he still had a chance promoting his pawn. How much did white plan all of this? Do people ask these guys after the game? |
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| Aug-26-10 | | ReikiMaster: 36..Bxf4 is quite drawish as is 40..Bxf4. 41..Bxa3 42.Nxb6 Bxb2 43.Nxc4 gives white a nominal advantage. But then looking for a draw is not how you win three consecutive World Championship Candidate matches in a row with a perfect total score of 20-0-0! |
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| Aug-26-10 | | gofer: I take back what I said yesterday about's "knights on the rim...". In today's solution we
have no option but to take the knight to the edge and then bring him back... 56 Nh5 ...
Well the scamble for promotion seems to come out on white's side - just! 56 ... c2
57 Nf4 c1=N (58 c1=Q Nd3+ winning!)
58 h4 Kxa4
59 g5 hxg5
60 hxg5 b5
61 g6 b4
62 g7 b3
63 g8=Q Ka3 (Kb4 Qg7 winning as the queen will come to a1 or b2)
64 Qa8+ Kb2 (Na2 Nd4 winning)
65 Kc4 Kb1
66 Kc3 b2
67 Qb8 Nb2+
68 Kb3 Ka1 (Kc1 Nd3+ winning Nc1+ Ka3 winning)
69 Kc2 winning
But what about trying to force the promotion with the king's help?! 56 ... Kxa4
57 Nf4 Kb3
58 Ne2 c2
59 h4 Kb2
60 g5 hxg5
61 hxg5 c1=Q
62 Nxc1 Kxc1
63 g6 winning
Or what about trying to force the promotion with the b pawn's help?! 56 ... Kxa4
57 Nf4 b5
58 Ne2 b4
59 Kc4 Ka3
60 Nc1 c2
61 Nb3 Kb2
62 Kxb4 c1=Q
63 Nxc1 Kxc1
64 h4 Kd2
65 g5 hxg5
66 hxg5 winning
It seems black is lost. I think the key line is the under promotion of 57 ... c1=N, but its still a "clear" win for white. Time to check... |
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| Aug-26-10 | | gofer: Kudos <perfidious> and <dzechiel>, not many people looked at the under promotion... :-) |
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Aug-26-10
 | | LIFE Master AJ: I got this one ... mainly because I have gone over just about every game Bobby Fischer ever played. In the 1970's, ('73? '74?) ) when I was a young man, (teenager); I borrowed the book of Bobby Fischer's games from the public library. I went over every single game that summer. My fine was horrendous ... it would have been probably more economical to purchase the book instead. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | Marmot PFL: Fischer possibly thought he was winning after 56 Ne4 c2 57 Nf2 Kc3, and missed 56 Nh5! Young players tend to be over-optimistic. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | Marmot PFL: I remember Mednis's annotatations now, and it was clearly a case of black trying too hard to win. 41...Bxa3 42 Nxb6 was an easy draw, but black played with fire 41...Bc5? and got burned. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | desiobu: I thought 56. Ne4 c2 57. Nf2 would do it expecting something like 57...Kb3 and white should be winning, but I didn't consider 57...Kc3 which takes away d3 and secures promotion. |
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| Aug-26-10 | | David2009: E Eliskases vs Fischer, 1960 White 56? Another N ending. White's first task is to reach d3 to stop the Pawn, but 56 Nd7 c2 57 Ne5 loses to Kc3. White therefore needs to reach e2 as well as d3, i.e. needs to
reach f4. So the first move must be 56 Nh5! a move which is paradoxial at first sight since it moves the N away from the scene of action. 56 Nh5 is forced to avoid losing: if it wins this is a bonus. I need to consult the game: it may be that Eliskeses liquidated into this ending knowing he
would win it in which case great credit to the grandmaster! Elisakases was a fine player with victories (and losses) to Keres and Capablanca. One variation: 56 Nh5 forced Kxa4 57 Nf4 forced c2 58 Nd3 and Black is in bad trouble .
Another variation: 56 Nh5 forced c2 57 Nf4 forced c1=N 58 h4!? (58 Kc6 may be better: I don't have to decide at the 56th move) Kxa4 59 g5 hxg5 60 hxg5 b5
61 g6 b4 62 g7 b3 63 g8=Q b2 64 Kc4!? Nb3 and Black is still fighting. Black has other options but I think they are too slow e.g. 60...Na2 61 g6 N
It will be interesting to see how Crafty defends.
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So near and yet so far! At move 58 
click for larger view my suggested 58 Nd3 is an inaccuracy jeopardising the win. 58 Ne2! as played is much more accurate (controlling c3 as well as c1). Crafty End Game Trainer link to the above position:
http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t...
(Eliskases vs Fischer 1960, 58?).
Crafty EGT link to the puzzle position:
http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t...
(Eliskases vs Fischer 1960, 56?).
Crafty defends with 56 Nh5 c2 57 Nf4 Kc3! and if 58 Ke4 c1=N. Black's N is now poised to re-enter the game by checking the misplaced White King. There are other attacking possibilities: enjoy finding a win against Crafty (if it exists)! PS: I have to stop now and I have had no time to digest kibitzes. Elisakases was a fine player with victories (and losses) to Keres and Capablanca. He never beat Botvinnik or Alekhine. He beat Flohr once in the following fine game:
Flohr vs E Eliskases, 1936 |
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| Aug-26-10 | | sethoflagos: White's basic plan in this position must be to force a knight/c-pawn trade and then queen on g8 to win the pawn endgame. To do this WN must either 1) block a square ahead of the c-pawn, or 2) attack the c-pawn with check. Since WN cannot attack c2 at move 56, nor c1 at move 57, 1) is a no-go. Option 2) can't be achieved on move 56 because of the WK on d5. It cannot be achieved on move 57 because WN is blocked from e3 in two moves. However, white can land the knight on d3 at move 58 from c5, e5, f4 or f2, controlling 57..c1=Q. Assuming 56..c2: 57 Nc5 bxc5 blows away the c5 route
57 Ne5 Kc3 prevents 58 Nd3/Ne2+ not available
57 Nf4 Kc3 prevents 58 Nd3 but 58 Ne2+ is possible
57 Nf2 Kc3 prevents 58 Nd3/Ne2+ not available
So by process of elimination, WN must be on f4 at move 57, or black wins. This requires an initial 56 Nh5. If:
56 Nh5 c2
57 Nf4 Kc3
58 Ke4 ... secures Nd3 for the WN to block c1, and shields the king side. At which point I'm calling it quits (I presume white gets to g8 before the b-pawn can be brought to bear). |
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| Aug-26-10 | | kevin86: White must stop the pawn! To do that,he must get to d3 in three moves as his king is blocking the closest road to stiop that pawn. After the pawn is rounded up,the rest is easy-as easy as it can get against the future champion,though he was only seventeen at the time. I guess Fisch missed the saving move of Nh5! |
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| Aug-26-10 | | YouRang: Well, I saw that there was no way to stop the black c-pawn from promoting to a queen, so I looked to see if I could at least fork the king and new queen. For that purpose, I saw that I had to get my knight to d3 in 3 moves: f6 → e4 → f2→ d3. Thus, I happily called it a day. :-\
I missed the subtlety that I had to approach d3 from f4, not f2, so that I would have the option to to go to e2 instead of d3 (if the black king goes to c3). Therefore, I had to travel f6 → h5! → f4 → d3 or e2 Very good and sly puzzle! |
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Aug-26-10
 | | scormus: I saw no move with which W can save this game, let alone win. I even told myself, it could be a move where the WN first moves <away> fron the target, and yet I still didnt follow up on Nh5-Nf4 manoever. I'm humbled :( When I saw the game continuation I first thought B had blundered, but all the lines I tried also lost, maybe slower. At worst W can liquidate the B c-pawn, leaving an easily won position |
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| Aug-26-10 | | sethoflagos: <<David2009>: enjoy finding a win against Crafty (if it exists)!> Try
56 Nh5 c2 57 Nf4 Kc3 58 Ke4 c1=N 59 Nd5+ Kc4 60 Nxb6+ Kc5 61 Nd5 Kd6 62 Ne3 Ke7 63 Nf5+ Kf6 64 Nxh6 
click for larger view64..? |
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