| Aug-11-03 | | patzer2: 21. Rxc6 the answer to today's puzzle reflects a tactic I call "caveman chess." The "caveman chess" tactic, as I use the phrase, refers to the "eye for an eye" approach. In other words, "if you take one of mine" then "I'll take one of your's." Unfortunately for black here, the side that starts the tactic and has the longest chain of pieces to capture, usually winds up a piece ahead, as is the case in this game. The tactic is important, because after all the other positional finess and pretty tactics, the outcome of chess games often come down to this simple, direct and unsubtle approach to the game. |
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| Aug-11-03 | | erikcu: This is a good puzzle. My first instinct was couldn't black force out a draw; but after losing material it seems that white forces every trade, until it is hopeless. "To win", in this case, is not the mate per say, but getting ahead and staying there. |
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Aug-11-03
 | | Sneaky: I think this would come under the category of "desperado." Whenever a threat is met with a counterthreat, you should start to look for clever desperado moves. While the enemy's piece is marauding through your ranks with reckless abandon, you can be doing the same to him! But be careful to take full count, otherwise you'll end up shortchanged like Milton here. |
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| Aug-11-03 | | nateinstein: Yes, Desperado is correct... "Caveman"??? hehe. Well guess that could work too. |
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| Aug-11-03 | | patzer2: <Sneaky/nateinstein> Desperado is correct, and "caveman chess" is my own personal reference that I use to remind me of the need to overlook finess at times and use brute force to secure an advantage. Chessmaster 9000's glossary defines Desparado "as A piece which is trapped or must inevitably be captured, and which is moved in order to inflict the greatest possible damage to the opposing side." While it is my own coined prase, the term "caveman chess" I feel captures the essence of the term -- especially in tactical situation such as this. However, I appreciate your correction in referring to the standard definition "desperado" for the tactic. |
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| Aug-11-03 | | pkspks: i thought it was removal of the guard? but i dont know that Desparado is.! hat term is used in my book 303 tactical chess puzzles by wilson |
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Aug-11-03
| | Sneaky: 22.Rxc8 is the desperado move. Hanauer was clearly hoping for 22.Bxe5? bxc6 where Black is probably better. But 22.Rxc8! captures another piece with a *threat* ... therefore its the best capture available. |
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| Aug-11-03 | | pkspks: what is the defantion i dont want that chessmaster one it was too confussing. |
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| Aug-11-03 | | Andrew Chapman: Is 22 Rd6 even stronger with the threat of Rxd8+ added to Bxe5 if the Queen moves? |
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| Aug-11-03 | | Giuoco Piano Man: I have heard the term "removal of the guard" before in this situation. I thought it was called that as well. |
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Jan-06-22
 | | KEG: Denker won this game with a pretty combination against less than stout opposition. The game was probably won for White after Hanauer's very poor 15...Nf8. Denker gave him a chance to recover with his less than spot on 17th and 9th moves, but after Hanauer's blunder on move 20, Denker finished nicely, winning a piece. Hanauer played on down a piece far longer than made sense: 1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 d5
4. Nf3 Nbd7
5. Bg5 Be7
6. e3 0-0
7. Rc1 c6
8. Qc2
8. Bd3 is most usual here and has its points, but it allows Black to steal a tempo upon trading pawns. 8... a6
9. a3
click for larger viewDenker said he was "playing Possum" in order not to lose a tempo with 9. Bd2 dxc4. The text is now reasonably standard, as is 9. cxd5, another way to avoid losing a tempo. 9... h6
Denker called 9...b5 "simple and good," and it certainly is a reasonable choice. But White then remains better after 10. c5. 10. Bf4
10. Bh4 was more accurate (and more usual).
10... c5
"Denker said this was "not good" because, he says, Black "will either be left with an isolated d-pawn or else be subjected to strong pressure on rhe c-file. He recommended 10...dxc4 and after 11. Bxc4 Nd5. In fact, in that line either 11...b5 or 11...Nh5 would be better. Indeed, best for Black here was 10...Nh5 immediately. 11. dxc5 cxd4
"?"--(Denker)
While I am loath to call the text a blunder, Denker is certainly correct that it is not best. But neither is Denker's suggested 11...exd5. Here, the simple 11..Nxd5 is strongest for Black. After 11...cxd4, the position was:
click for larger view12. exd4 Nxd5
"12...exd5 was slightly better than the text, which allows White to operate on the c-file at once." (Denker) 13. NxN exN
click for larger view14. Bd3
"The immediate 14. Bc7 did not appeal to me for after 14...Qe8 White must play the modest 15. Be2 in order to guard against the discovered check." (Denker) 14... Re8
Cramping his position. 14...Qa5+ would have avoided the constriction he soon faces. 15. 0-0
This left the first critical position in the game: 
click for larger view15... Nf8?
Although not faulted by Denker in his commentary on the game, this was in fact a horrific move that gives White a strategically won game on the spot. As Denker pointed out, White was threatening to win the Black Queen with 16. Bc7, but 15...Qb6 16. Bc7 Qa7 ain't pretty for Black, but it is light-years better than what he faced after the text. 16. Bc7
Ouch.
16... Qd7
Obviously forced, and leaving:
click for larger view"An unenviable positon for Black." (Denker)
Quite an understatement. But here, Denker failed to find the strongest line and gave Hanauer a chance to escape the iron grip on his position. |
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Jan-06-22
| | KEG: Post II
17. Qb3?
"!"--(Denker)
"An important move." (Denker)
In fact, and as will be seen, the text was a mistake and gave Hanauer a chance to escape. The crusher was 17. Ne5! (17...Qe6 18. f4 Bd8 19. f5 Qf6 20. BxB RxB 21. Qf2 Bd7 (or 21...Nd7 22. Ng4) 22. Rc7 and it is hard to see how Black can survive. After the text, however:
17... Bd8
Everything else is worse.
18. Bg3
"Naturally White does not ease the pressure by permitting exchanges." (Denker) Quite right, but 18. Bf4 is probably even better. The position after 18. Bg3 was:
click for larger view18... Ne6
This is good enough to hold, but even better for Black was 18...b5. 19. Ne5
"!"--(Denker)
"Decisive"--(Denker)
No it isn't nor is it even best. Before this premature move, White should build up his pressure further with 19. Rfe1, or maybe 19. Rfd1. Now things got interesting, the position now being: 
click for larger view19... Nxd4!
"A little tactical skirmish which proves costly." (Denker) On the contrary, this is the only way that Black can save the game, but only if it is followed up properly on the next move. 20. Qb4
click for larger viewAs if turned out, this proved to be the decisive position in the game: 20... Nc6?
"?"--(Denker)
As Denker pointed out, Black's only chance lay in 20...RxN! But Denker failed to recognize the full value of this exchange sacrifice. He gave the following line: 21. BxR Nc6 22. Qf4 NxB 23. QxN Qe6. Even if one accepts this line, Black has very real drawing chances with a passed pawn for the exchange. But Black can improve. Instead of Denker's 22...NxB he can actually get a small edge with 22...Bg5! 23. Qg3 NxB (of course not 23...BxR??? 24. Qxg7 mate) 24. QxN BxR 25. RxB Qd8 and Black emerges with an extra pawn in an almost certainly drawn ending. But instead of this saving combination, Hanauer blundered away the game with 20...Nc6?, which left the position as follows: 
click for larger viewThis position was actually the "Position of the day" back in 2003. Denker, like the fine analysts on this site, found the win. |
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Jan-07-22
| | KEG: Post III
Nearly everybody on this site who responded back in 2003 found the winning move here: 21. RxN!
"Wins a piece." (Denker)
21... RxN
"Was this the move on which he (Hanauer) relied." (Denker) Theoretically, 21...Qe7 is better, but then White just retreats 22. Rc5 leaving White a piece to the good. Since this is clearly hopeless, Black might as well try the text (though it leaves Black even more definitively lost). The position after 21...RxN was:
click for larger view22. RxB
<Sneaky> aptly characterizes this as a "desperato" move. He also reasonably conjectures that Hanauer may have hoped for 22. BxR bxB with about equal chances (though White is actually a pawn down. But, even better in this line for Black would be 22...QxR, leaving Black not only a pawn up but providing some chances (slim but real) for Black to play for a win. But <Andrew Chapman> on this site has found an improvement for White: 22. Rd6! (e.g., 22...Qe8 23. BxR Be7 24. Re1 BxR 25. QxB with an overwhelming position for White--in addition to hie being a piece up. The text (22. RxB) was not as good as 22. Rd6! but it was more than sufficient to give White a winning advantage. 22... RxR
23. BxR
click for larger view"With a piece down, Black's game is naturally hopeless." (Denker) Hopeless though his position was, Hanauer played on for another 19 useless moves. Denker's play from this point was not always the fastest way to win, but he didn't give Hanauer the slightest chance to recover. What followed was, in truth, not all that interesting: 23... Be7
24. Qf4 Rc6
Allows White to force the trade of Queens. But nothing else was very attractive either (e.g., 24...Re8 25. Rc1 Bg5 26. Qg3 g6 27. Rc7 is quite hopeless for Black). 25. Qf5
25. Re1 or 25. Bf5 is theoretically better, but trading Queens in practice is probably simplest and easiest: 25... QxQ
26. BxQ
click for larger viewThe sort of position in which one may play one for quite a while without having any real chance of saving the game. 27. Bd3
27. Bd7 and 27. Bg4 were even better, but Denker kept it simple and gave Hanaier not the tiniest chance. 27... Bc5
28. g3 f6
29. Bc3 Kf7
30. Rd1
click for larger view30... Bxa3
Hanauer wanted to go down fighting!
31. Bxf6
This desperato combo does the trick, but even stronger was 31. Bb1 or 31. Bf1. 31... Bc5
31...KxB was the best try if Hanauer seriously wanted to try to turn then tables. 32. Bc3
click for larger viewThough utterly lost, Hanauer still had a few tricks to try befpre giving up the game. |
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Jan-07-22
| | KEG: Post IV
32... b5?!
32...Rb6 or 32...g5 may have been allowed Black to drag the game on even longer, but at this point Hanauer seems to have been seeking complications at any cost. With a completely lost position, he had little to lose. 33. Bf1
33. Bb1 was a bit faster.
33... d4!
The best practical attempt (though quite hopeless from a theoretical perspective): 
click for larger view34. Bd2 Bf8
35. Bd3 Ke8
36. Rc1
click for larger view36... Kd7?
He had nothing better here than to initiate the trade of Rooks, hopeless as that would be. The text loses a pawn,in addition to allowing Denker to reduce the game to a Bishop ending up a full piece. 37. RxR KxR
38. Bxg6
click for larger viewWhy Hanauer continued beats me.
38... b4
39. Kf1 a5
This is all show. Black has nothing on the Queen-side, these pawn advances notwithstanding. 40. Ke2 Kb5
41. b3
Ending any attacking notions Hanauer may have had. Among other things, 41...a4 now runs into 42. Be8+. 41... Kc5
42. Be8
click for larger view1-0
Resignation was long overdue. |
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Kibitzing
