User Profile: phony benoni

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Phony Benoni
Member since Feb-10-06 · Last seen Jun-11-22

Greetings, O Seeker After Knowledge! You have arrived in Dearborn, Michigan (whether you like it or not), and are reading words of wisdom from a player rated 2938--plus or minus 1000 points.
However, I've retired from serious play--not that I ever took playing chess all that seriously. You only have to look at my games to see that. These days I pursue the simple pleasures of finding games that are bizarre or just plain funny. I'd rather enjoy a game than analyze it.
For the record, my name is David Moody. This probably means nothing to you unless you're a longtime player from Michigan, though it's possible that if you attended any US Opens from 1975-1999 we might have crossed paths. Lucky you.
If you know me at all, you'll realize that most of my remarks are meant to be humorous. I do this deliberately, so that if my analysis stinks to High Heaven I can always say that I was just joking.
As you can undoubtedly tell from my sparkling wit, I'm a librarian in my spare time. Even worse, I'm a cataloger, which means I keep log books for cattle. Also, I'm not one of those extroverts who sit at the Reference Desk and help you with research. Instead, I spend all day staring at a computer screen updating and maintaining information in the library's catalog. The general public thinks Reference Librarians are dull. Reference Librarians think Catalogers are dull.
My greatest achievement in chess, other than tricking you into reading this, was probably mating with king, bishop and knight against king in a tournament game. I have to admit that this happened after an adjournment, and that I booked up like crazy before resuming. By the way, the fact I have had adjourned games shows you I've been around too long.
My funniest moment occurred when I finally got a chance to pull off a smothered mate in actual play. You know, 1.Nf7+ Kg8 2.Nh6+ Kh8 3.Qg8+ Rxg8 4.Nf7#. When I played the climactic queen check my opponent looked at the board in shocked disbelief and said, "But that's not mate! I can take the queen!"

Finally, I must confess that I once played a positional move, back around 1982. I'll try not to let that happen again.

>> Click here to see phony benoni's game collections.

   Phony Benoni has kibitzed 18634 times to chessgames [more...]

   Jun-11-22 M Blau vs Keres, 1959

Phony Benoni: Not a good recommendation for the DERLD. Out of 59 moves, White makes only three in Black's half of the board. And two of those conist of 3.Bb5 and 6.Bxc6.

   Jun-11-22 chessgames.com chessforum

Phony Benoni: Er, it's back. Karpov vs Timman, 1988

   Jun-10-22 Orlo Milo Rolo

Phony Benoni: Marco!

   Jun-10-22 Lilienthal vs Bondarevsky, 1947

Phony Benoni: Another one for you King Hunters. Black's monarch travels fron g8 to b8, then takes the Great Circle Route back to h3 before calling it a day.

   Jun-10-22 GrahamClayton chessforum

Phony Benoni: <GrahamClayton> I've posted a question for you at L T Magee vs J Holland, 1948

   Jun-10-22 L T Magee vs E L Holland, 1948

Phony Benoni: <GrahamClayton> The source you cite, <Chess Review, May 1948, p. 24>, gives Black's name as <E Holland> "Chess Life" (June 5, 1948, p. 1) has a table of results giving <E L Holland>. That form also appears in USCF rating supplements for a player fro ...

   Jun-09-22 Biographer Bistro

Phony Benoni: SkinnVer Here Among the Fold?

   Jun-09-22 Flohr vs Bondarevsky, 1947

Phony Benoni: Black's bishop makes me think of Godzilla emerging from the depths of the ocean to wreak havoc. However, in the end it's his Two Little Friends who steal the show. Well, maybe not so litt.

   Jun-06-22 W Ritson-Morry vs G T Crown, 1947

Phony Benoni: it was the last round. Rison-Morry was mired in last place. These things happen.

   Jun-06-22 W Adams vs M Kagan, 1947

Phony Benoni: Some more informztion. The game was published in <Chess Review>, March 1948, p. 23. Black's name is given as "M Kagan", and the location as "Massachusetts". There is no other game data, but I think we can now safely assume Black is <Milton Kagan>. Earlier in the ...

indicates a reply to the comment.

Living in the Past

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 21 OF 914 · Later Kibitzing>
Feb-13-07		Phony Benoni: <sucaba> Thanks. I knew I remembered reading somewhere that the study was cooked and had to be revised, but the details escaped me.

Feb-13-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN (Composed by K. A. L. Kubbel, 1925. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #123.) click for larger view Black does his best, but can't overcome the knight. <1.c7 Re4+> White needs to be careful here. If 2.Kxd1 Rxd4+ followed by 3...Rc4 is fine for Black. After 2.Kf2 Re2+ 3.Kg3 Re3+, Black gets a perpetual check unless the White king goes to f1, which allows Black to play ...Re8, ...Be2+ and ...Ba6. <2.Kd2! Rxd4+ 3.Kc3 Bg4!> click for larger view Now 4.Kxd4 Bxh3, and Black will be able to hold. <4.hxg4 Rd7!> Hmmm. The pawn cannot be protected, 5.c8Q Rc7+ 6.Qxc7 stalemates Black, and underpromotions lose a piece. Has Black survived? Of course not--this is an endgame study, not real life. <5.Kb4! Rxc7 6.Nd6!!> click for larger view The threat is 7.Nf5#. The rook cannot stop it (5.Kb4 stopped 6...Rc5), and 6...Kg7 7.Ne8+ walks into a fork.

Feb-14-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND DRAW (Composed by F. Richter, 1934. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #124.) click for larger view Not much happens in this one. For the moment, however, White has to do something drastic about the threat of ...Qxg7#. <1.Bf6! Qxf6 2.g5+! Qxg5 3.g8N+ Kg6> click for larger view Not out of the woods; 4...Qe5+ is a threat. <4.d8Q! Qxd8 5.e7!> The only move left, but now Black has to think. 5...Nxe7 is stalemate, as is 5...Qxe7 6.Nxe7+ Nxe7. <5...Nd6!> click for larger view So that if 6.exd8Q Nf7#, while 6.e8Q+ Nxe8 releases the stalemate. The response is obvious, of course. <6.exd8N! Nf7+ 7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.Nh6+ Kf8 9.Nf5 a2> click for larger view There's a new queen a-comin', and what can White do about it? <10.Nxd4! a1R!> 10...a1Q is stalemate again; now, Black threatens ...Ra8 and ...Kf7#. <11.Ne6+ Kf7 12.Nd8+ Kg6 13.Kg8 Ra8> click for larger view <14.h8N+! Kf6 15.Nhf7> And the commposer breaks off, assuring us that the position is now a draw. Thank goodness; I don't think my heart could take any more.

Feb-14-07		YouRang: <Phony Benoni> I wish I had more time to go over each of these problems. They all demonstrate the qualities that makes chess such an intriguing game. For example, in the P. J. Prokop, 1929 problem (posted Jan 29), moves like 2...Bg6! (the only move that gives black a fighting shot at a draw) and 5. Be7!! (the only move that wins, despite allowing an uncontested black queen promotion) are pleasantly startling. Thanks. :-)

Feb-14-07		Phony Benoni: <YouRang>Glad you enjoy them. I bought this book nearly forty years ago, and have gone through it many times, always with pleasure and amazement.

Feb-15-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN (Composed by T. B. Gorgiev, 1934. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #125.) click for larger view White's pawns don't look all that threatening, and indeed neither long survives promotion. But there are other ways to win. <1.Nd5+ Kd7 2.c8Q+ Rxc8> Other captures allow the a-pawn to promote safely. <3.Bg4+ Kc6 4.Bxc8> Now Black has to stop 5.a8Q, and starts running out of moves. <4...Bb7 5.Kd3 Ba8 6.Kc4 Bb7> click for larger view White doesn't seem to be making much progress, but after... <7.a8Q! Bxa8 8.Ba6!> click for larger view It's all over. Black is down to two moves: 8...Kd7 loses the bishop to 9.Nb6+, and 8...Bb7 9.Bb5# would delight the hearts of all Ruy Lopez enthusiasts.

Feb-16-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN (Composed by H. Rinck, 1929. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #126.) click for larger view You'd think White has enough material to win easily, but his king is slightly exposed and his pieces are loose. In such situations, the usual technique is to begin checking and keep checking, not letting Black get started. <1.Bd7+ Kb4 2.Be7+ Kc4 3.Be6+ Kd4 4.Bf6+ Ke4> click for larger view <5.Ke2!> An amusing contrast to the Black king's headlong rush. White threatens 6.Rh4#, and Black has no effective checks. <5...Kf4 6.Rh4+ Kg3 7.Rg4+ Kh2> click for larger view <8.Kf2!> White's jovial monarch takes a hand again, with the threat of 9.Rh4#. At least Black has one whole check this time. <8...Qb6+ 9.Bd4 Qxe6> Or 9..Qd8 10.Be5+ Kh8 11.Rg1#. <10.Rh4+ Qh3 11.Be5+ Kh1 12.Rxh3#>

Feb-17-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND DRAW (Composed by A. S. Gurewitz, 1926. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #127.) click for larger view The knight zig-zags all over the board, drawing Black's king with it. <1.Re6+ Kf5 2.Re1 Qh3 3.Nd4+ Kg5+ 4.Ne6+ Kh5> click for larger view One good pin deserves another! <5.Rh1! Qxh1 6.Ng7+ Kg5 5.Ne6+ Kf5 6.Nd4+ Ke5 9.Nc6+ Kd5 10.Nb4+ Kc5 11.Na6+ Kb5 12.Nc7+> click for larger view And the truth begins to dawn. 12...Ka5 does escape the checks from the knight, but 13.b4 would be mate! Hence, there's no choice but to go back from b5 to h5 forever.

Feb-18-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WUB (Composed by B. A. Bron, 1931. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #128.) click for larger view This doesn't look too hard. Sure, the bishop on a7 is trapped, but the two remaining pieces should draw easily against the rook and those weak pawns... Oh, wait--White's supposed to win? That requires some thought! <1.Bb6 Kb7 2.Ba5 Ka6 3.Nd2> click for larger view The idea is 4.Nxc4 saving the bishop. If 3...Kxa5 4.Nxc4+, and Black's king must walk into a fork or discovered attack that wins the rook. Therefore, Black gains time by attacking the Be2 and getting his rook off the vulnerable c8 square. <3...Re8 4.Bf1 Kxa5 5.Nxc4+ Ka4> OK, so e8 wasn't that good a square either; 5...Kb5 or 5...Ka6 walk right into 6.Nd6+. <6.Bg2!> click for larger view Now Black has to worry about 7.Bc6#, and 6...Kb5 7.Nd6+ is no help. <6...Re6 7.Bd5 Ra6 8.Bf7!> click for larger view Now White's aiming for 9.Be8+, and there's yet another fork after 8...Ra8 9.Nb6+. <8...Kb5 9.Be8+ Rc6 10.Kd3!> Zugzwang! Black is reduced to... <10...f5 11.Ne5> ...winning the rook.

Feb-18-07		RonB52734: <Phony Benoni> see Game Collection: Major Chess Tournaments (a meta-collection)

Feb-19-07		farrooj: Hello! Thank you for these nice problems and studies. I have a question. In <WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN (Composed by M. S. Libiurkin, 1938. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #115.)> (Feb-05-07) after 19...d2 can't white just play 20. Nxd2 d3 21. Ne4 d2 22. Nf2# ?

Feb-20-07		Phony Benoni: <farrooj> You are correct. I also happened to notice that a couple of days later and posted about it.

Feb-20-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN (Composed by A. P. Kasantzev. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #129.) click for larger view A dancing rook, and a queen on a bungee cord. What more could you want? <1.Nf8+ Kh5 2.c8Q> Just in case Black doesn't notice. <2...Nxc8 3.Nf5> click for larger view Threatening 4.Nxg3# and 4.Nxg7# (thank goodness for algebraic notation). Black's queen must find a square from which she protects both points. <3...Qc7! 4.Rf4!> Cutting off the queen from g3. And now we see that the pawn promotion on move two wasn't silly at all; without it, Black would have the resource 4...Qc8. <4...Qc3! 5.Rd4! Qc7!> Sproing! <6.Rd6! Qc3!> Sproing! <7.Rf6! Qc7!> Sproing! <8.Rf7!> click for larger view Splat! If the queen sproings back to c3, White has 9.Nxg7+ Qxg7 10.Rxg7 followed by 11.Rh7#.

Feb-22-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN (Composed by M. S. Libiurkin. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #130.) click for larger view Sometimes, winning is just a matter of plugging the leaks. <1.Bd2+ b4 2.Bxb4+ Kb5 3.Nd6+ Kb6 4.Ba5+ Kxa5> After 4...Qxa5 5.Nc4+, White will win the pawn ending. <5.Nc4+ Kb5> click for larger view Rather close quarters for Black, but how does White break through? <6.Kf4!> Ouch! Black's queen can't move without getting taken or forked.> <6...c5 7.d5!> Oh, no you don't! <7...f5 8.Kg5!> Not there either! <8...f4 9.f3!> click for larger view

Feb-23-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN (Composed by S. R. Barrett, 1874. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #131.) click for larger view First you zig up a square, Then you zag to the right, Then you zig up a square, And repeat it through the night. You do the Hokey-Pokey And you mate him on h1. That's what's it's all about. <1.Qc3 Kb1 2.Qd3+ Ka1 3.Qd4 Kb1 4.Qe4+ Ka1 5.Qe5> Got the idea yet? <5...Kb1 6.Qf5+ Ka1 7.Qf6 Kb1 8.Qg6+ Ka1 9.Qg7 Kb1 10.Qh7+ Ka1 11.Qh8 Kb1 12.Qh1#>

Feb-23-07		Phony Benoni: For the record, #130 (Feb. 22) by Libiurkin is dated 1939. And if you're wondering, there are 160 studies in the book. Another month and you'll be rid of it.

Feb-24-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND DRAW (Composed by F. M. Simkovtisch, 1927. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #132.) click for larger view Good things come to those who wait. <1.Bf7+ Kd7 2.Be6+ Kd6 3.Bf4+ Kc5 4.Be3+ Kb4 5.Bd2+ Ka3> A temporary refuge at last, so White prepares to continue checking. <6.Kb1! Qxa8!> click for larger view Not so much to win material as to gain a refuge for the king. If White starts checking, we get 7.Bc1+ Kb4 8.Bd2+ Kc5 9.Be3+ Kd6 10.Bf4+ Ke7 11.Bg5+ Ke8 12.Bf7+ Kd7 13.Be6+ Kc7, and Black escapes. But if White doesn't check, there's nothing left to do--so White does it! <7.Ka1!!!> The point is that White just keeps moving his king between a1 and b1 as long as the Black queen moves around the a8-b7-a6 triangle. If she goes to a dark square, White starts checking and will either win the queen or achieve a perpetual check. Any bishop move blocks the king's backward flight and allows a perpetual check, and playing ...b4 at any time allows Bc1#. It's a draw! Chernev records that Isaac Kashdan remarked, "I still don't believe it!"

Feb-25-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND DRAW (Composed by A. S Gurewitz, 1928. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #133.) click for larger view Black manages to avoid stalemating White, only to be forced to do so. <1.Kf5+ Kg7 2.Bh6+ Kxh6> 2...Kg8 3.Rb8#is an unpleasant alternative. <3.g5+ Kg7 4.gxf6+ Kh6 5.Rb8!> click for larger view So that 5...Qxb8 is stalemate. However, Black does not despair, as he sees that he'll be able to win the rook in another way. <5...Nf3! 6.Rxh8 Nxh4+ 7.Kf4 Ng6+ 8.Kf5 Nxh8> click for larger view Mission accomplished. However <9.h4!> leaves Black with only one legal move, and <9...Ng6> leaves White with none.

Feb-26-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND DRAW (Composed by H. Giniger, 1931 Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #134.) click for larger view When it comes to endgame studies, Black has worse results than NN. And sometimes it seems like White is just making fun of him. <1.a7 Bg2 2.e7 Kxe7 3.a8Q Nd6+ 4.Ke5> click for larger view OK, so 4...Bxa8 is stalemate. We'll just throw in a check and change the position. <4...Nf7+ 5.Kf5> click for larger view Still stalemate! <5...Nh6+ 6.Ke5> click for larger view Still stalemate! <6...Ng4+ 7.Kf5> Well, you get the idea. <7...Ne3+ 8.Ke5 Nc4+ 9.Kf5 Nd6+ 10.Ke5> And we're back where we started.

Feb-27-07		Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN (Composed by L. Ehrlich, 1928. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #135.) click for larger view This is my favortie study from the book. The position is simple, the ideas clear-cut and easily comprehended, yet the resources available are amazingly varied. If you show this to your friends, I can almost guarantee that they'll slip up on move two, not to mention later. <1.c7 Ra5+!> click for larger view Be careful! If White tries 2.Kd4, then 2...Rxd5+! 3.Kxd5 Kb7 4.Kd6 Kc8 5.Kc6--stalemate! If 2.Kd6 Rxd5+ 3.Kc6 (3.Kxd5 Kb7 is the stalemate line) 3...Rc5+. either winning the pawn or getting to the stalemate after 4.Kxc5 Kb7. If 2.Kc6 Rxd5! 3.c8Q (you know what happens after 3.Kxd5) 3...Rc5+! 4.Kxc5 is stalemate again. If 2.Kb4 Rb5+! 3.Kc4 (3.Kxb5 is stalemate, of course) 3...Rb8! Now Black trreatens to draw by getting in front of the pawn with ...Rc8. If White tries to stop this with 4.Bd7, then 4...Rc8 5.Bxc8 Kb6 wins the pawn. This all leaves: <2.Kc4!> Now if 2...Rxd5 3.c8Q Rc5+, White has 4.Qxc5+ avoiding the stalemate. Therefore, Black goes for a skewer check. <2...Ra1 3.Bc6 Rc1+ 4.Kd5 Rd1+> click for larger view <5.Ke6!> The king must go up the board to control the eighth rank; after 5.Ke5 Re1+, Black will be able to play 6...Re8! and either get in front of the pawn or win it after 7.Bxe8 Kb7. <5...Re1+ 6.Kf7 Rf1+> click for larger view <7.Kg7!> But not to the eighth rank! After 7.Kg8 Rb1! Black can pin the queen if White promotes and play the drawing ...Rb8 defense if he doesn't. <7...Rg1+ 8.Kh7!> And since the bishop controls h1, the checks are at an end and the pawn will promote safely.

Feb-27-07		Resignation Trap: Thank you for uploading the missing games from Dallas, 1957. Would you happen to know the dates for each round?

Feb-27-07		Phony Benoni: Gordon's book of Reshevsky's games (which I have on interlibrary loan at the moment) gives the following dates for Reshevsky's games. Of course, given Reshevsky's Sabbath restrictions, I can't guarantee that all games were played on these days. Round 1: Saturday, 11/30 Round 2: Sunday, 12/1 Round 3: Monday, 12/2 Round 4: Tuesday, 12/3 Round 5: Wednesday, 12/4 Round 6: Friday, 12/6 Round 7: Saturday, 12/7 Round 8: Sunday, 12/8 Round 9: Monday, 12/9 Round 10: Tuesday, 12/10 Round 11: Wednesday, 12/11 Round 12: Thursday, 12/12 Round 13: Saturday, 12/14 Round 14: Sunday, 12/15 By the way, note that the Dallas tournament finished just two days before beginning of the U.S. Championship where Fischer won his first title. You have to wonder if Reshevsky's performance in the latter event was affected by fatigue.

Feb-27-07		tbentley: In study #134, it seems that black wins with 1...Ke7: 2. a8=Q Nd6+ 3. Ke5 Nc4+ 4. Kd5 Nb6+ 5. Kxc5 Nxa8, where black has enough material to win. 2. Kxe4 Bg2+ and 2. Ke5 Nf6 3. a8=Q Ng4+ 4. Kd5 Bg2+ should also win. For 2. a8=N or 4. Ke4, 4...Bg2+ should work, and 4. Kh5 Bd3# obviously works.

Feb-27-07		Phony Benoni: <tbentley> Interesting analysis. Anybody care to dispute it? (By the way, I take it that the last line is 4.Kf5 Bd3+.) That's what happens sometimes in these stalemate studies. Black has so much force that one unexpected move can tip the balance in his favor.

Feb-28-07		Chess Classics: <Phony Benoni: WHITE TO PLAY AND WUB (Composed by B. A. Bron, 1931. Published in Chessboard Magic! by Irving Chernev, #128.)> Hmm, white to play and wub, let's see... Regards, CC

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