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keldorn
Promising
Known Hero
that casts green flames
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posted November 22, 2009 11:14 AM |
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Edited by keldorn at 11:45, 22 Nov 2009.
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OK guys here are some corrections for the Quiz.
Ihor pointed out that there's little time for the Quiz, so let's expand it til around Wednesday or so.
Topic II), puzzle c): A Rook is missing from a8  Sorry  EDITED!!!
In the second question of the +I) part 5 moves means 5 pairs (5 white and 5 black). (Ihor you can send me your solution for this if you want, it will be handled as part of your previous message.)
If you have any questions though, feel free to ask it here in this thread, but not via HCM. That is for sending the solutions only. Thx and good luck again
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ihor
Supreme Hero
Accidental Hero
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posted November 22, 2009 12:14 PM |
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I also doubt that IV)b) bishop could move from c1 to c3
And another thing. If in the future we have similar quiz (that would be nice  ) then I'd like to have much more time, maybe week, because yesterday there was a birthday of my friend and today I also have little time.
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keldorn
Promising
Known Hero
that casts green flames
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posted November 22, 2009 03:29 PM |
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If you want, you can resend your solutions until Wednesday. If you do so, I'll delete your prevoius post (having said nothing to you about the solutions, so it's still fair to others too)
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ihor
Supreme Hero
Accidental Hero
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posted November 22, 2009 03:56 PM |
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Edited by ihor at 15:57, 22 Nov 2009.
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Nah, thanks but rules are rules and I don't think something needed to change for this quiz. I won't send new messages and would like to hear solutions tomorrow Eventually result doesn't matter, everybody do it for himself.
Edit: But if anybody wants to prolong this till Wednesday I don't mind.
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Your advertisement could be
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keldorn
Promising
Known Hero
that casts green flames
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posted November 22, 2009 06:11 PM |
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Well, those who haven't posted yet, please let me know if you want to or not. If yes, I'll wait with the solutions.
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Ecoris
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted November 22, 2009 10:46 PM |
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I would very much like to participate. I can send my solutions tuesday evening I guess (48 hours from now).
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keldorn
Promising
Known Hero
that casts green flames
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posted November 25, 2009 06:54 PM |
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Edited by keldorn at 20:01, 25 Nov 2009.
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OK let's see the solutions and ranks of the previous test. I've recieved 3 messages, and the average success rate was 68,31%. A good result in my opinion
I) Mate in x:
a): 1.Rh6! If black moves the Bishop then Rxh7#, or black can play gxh6, answered by 2.g7# 1 points.
b): 1.Qxh7+! Kxh7 2.Rh1+ Kg8 3.Rh8# or 1...Kf8 2.Bg7# 2 points
c): 1.Qc6+!
-->1...Kf7 2.Bc4+ e6 3.Bxe6+ Ke7 4.Qd7#
-->1...Kd8 2.Nc6+ Kc8 3.Qxc7# 2 points
d): Queen's staircase downwards. 1.Qa8! and the rook is pinned, black is forced to move Kg1. 2.Qa7+ Kh1 forced. 3.Qb7 Kg1 forced. 4.Qb6+ Kh1 etc. On move 11 white reaches f3, then 12.Qf1# 1 point
II) Material winning puzzles:
a): 1.Rd8! and the queen is pinned so Qxd8 is forced. 2.Qh8+ wins the queen by skewer. 2 points
b): 1. Qxg6! Since mate in one is threatened on h7, black can't play Rxe8, so hxg6 is forced. 2.Rxf8+! Kxf8 forced. 3.Ne6+ forks and wins back the Queen, leaving white a Knight up.
NOTE: no credit for 1.Rxf8+? as black has Nxf8 defending the mate on h7 with the Knight. 2 points
c): 1.Qxf8+! Kxf8 forced. Notice that the g7-Knight is now pinned. 2.Ne6+ winning back the Queen and leaving white up an exchange (Rook for Knight) 2 points.
d): 1.Bxg5! partially pins the white Queen. The problem is that white can't leave e2 undefended since Qxe2# is threatened. Best is ...Kb1 2.Bxd2 winning the Queen. 2 points.
III) Openings.
a): 1.Qe2. Black can't save the knight since if it moves, Nc6 discovered check wins the Queen. Black can defend the Knight with a pawn, but then white attacks with a pawn and the knight still can't move. The steed is lost. (Petroff defense trap) 2 points.
b): 1.Nxe5!! winning a pawn. The queen is immune from capture. (...Bxd1?? 2.Bxf7+ Ke7 forced 3.Nd5#) The pin is turned into a discovery. Black takes the knight, white takes the Bishop. White emerges a pawn up. (Vienna game/Two knights variation) 2 points. (1.O-O worths 0.5)
c): 1.e3! (2 points) With the black king castled, black has time for dxc4. White discoveres the Bishop's defense on c4 while solidifying the center. Almost as good is 1.cxd5!? (Queen's Gambit declined) (1 point)
d): 1.O-O! Black threatens to win a knight by Nxc3! and white can't retake due to Bxc3+! forking. 2 points. 1.d5!!?? (0.5 points) is a new idea under heavy analysis, but current assessment indicates that black can survive with an edge. (Italian game/Guiocco piano) (2 points)
IV) Play like a GM
a): 1...Qc7 prevents the common developing move Bc4. (2 points) Playable is h6!? kicking the Bishop, but is considered less solid as it weakens the O-O position. (1 point)
b): 1.dxe6! and the d5 square is vacated for white's knight, an outpost in the enemy's territorry. Thus, black can't safely take with the Bishop (...Bxe6) so he plays fxe6 to prevent 2.Nd5!!. But with the f-pawn gone, the O-O is weakened noticably. (2 points) 1.Nf3 develops, but not as strong. (1 point)
c): 1.Bh6! and the dark squares in the O-O are under white's control -->awesome attacking tool. (2 points) 1.Bf4!? is also playable (1 point)
d): 1.Na4 preparing to occupy the strong outpost square on c5 (2 points) 1.Rhe1 strengthens the e-file, but it's firmly blockaded by the Bishop (1 point)
V) The tricky part
a): White has to act fast as the black king is closer to the pawns. 1.g6! forcing a breakthrough.
-->1...hxg6 2.h6 and black has to take because h7 is threatened. After ...gxh6 3.f6 white has a passed pawn and promotes in 2.
-->if ...fxg6 it's all the same, but on the other side. 2.f6 gxf6 3.h6 promoting. (3 points)
b): 1.c8=R!! (c8=Q?? is stalemate!!) and black is in zugzwang. He has but one move Ka6 2.Ra8# (1.5 points) 1.Nxf8 also forces Ka6 (or ...e6 fxe6), after which c8=Q mates next move. (0.5 points)
c): 1.Be3! and the black queen is pinned. ...Qxe3 is forced. 2.Qf2! again a pin, black must take. 3.a5+ No matter how black responds, stalemate, white gets his draw. (2 points)
d): 1.Ke5 Kd7/f7 2.Kf6/d6 Ke8 3.Ke6 Kd8/f8 4.Kf7/d7 and the pawn's path is paved to promotion. 5.e5 ??? 6.e6 ??? 7.e7 ??? 8.e8=Q (3 points)
+I) Joker topic
a): The 8 queens of death is a very curious problem. We can put the first queen in 64 various ways, the second in 63 ways, the third in 62 etc. Thus, placing 8 queens on a board can be done in 64x63x62x61x60x59x58x57=17,846,298,763,776 ways! But it turns out that only 80 solutions are correct for us. Just one of them is:
b): First we'll have to decide who deliveres the mate. Since white is forced to move 1.e4, and black has an extra move on move 5 as well (if white gives the mate: 5.NxR# if black, then 5. ??? NxR# which is a half move more). It turns out that the problem is impossible if white gave the mate. So black will mate. There's no logic however which leads to the solution, that's why it's so hard. The solution runs: 1.e4 Nf6 2.f3 Nxe4
3.Qe2 White's moves can be played in slightly different order. ...Ng3
4.Qxe7+ Qxe7+ 5.Kf2
5...Nxh1#
c): The only way to give double check without moving any of the checking pieces is by an en passant capture.
d): Yes, it's possible. The problem is known as the Euler-square.
It turns out that it's possible even is we start from a corner square, but it's much more difficult.
And the results:
1st place goes to Ecoris with 32(+3 bonus) out of 40.5(+4)
2nd place goes to Ihor with 25.5(+3) out of 40.5(+4)
3rd place goes to Minion with 25.5(+1) out of 40.5(+4)
0-8: Beginner
9-15: Novice
16-22: Club player
23-30: Tournament player
31-35: A-class player
36-: Master/Candidate master
Congrats to all, well done
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ihor
Supreme Hero
Accidental Hero
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posted November 25, 2009 07:47 PM |
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Nice quiz.
One question: Maybe you mixed me with Minion ? I think I have 3 correct answers for additionals +I) for a)c) and d) - just for a sport purpose
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Your advertisement could be
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keldorn
Promising
Known Hero
that casts green flames
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posted November 25, 2009 08:01 PM |
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Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry. Edited it.
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dimis
Responsible
Supreme Hero
Digitally signed by FoG
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posted November 25, 2009 09:07 PM |
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Great initiative Keldorn!
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The empty set
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ohforfsake
Promising
Legendary Hero
Initiate
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posted November 26, 2009 04:19 PM |
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Aww, I missed it  . This really seems very impressive! I'll +1'ing Dimis and hope you'll continue this great work when you've the capacity and priority to it, because it's much more fun, than when I played in club.
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Minion
Legendary Hero
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posted November 26, 2009 05:12 PM |
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A really great quiz  Although I was last I am happy about my points. I am really no tournament player - i only play through internet and occasionally with friends.
Now I need to check how well I did in each department Especially the openings! Oh I got 2. I looked at the second one, and thought to myself that why on earth is there a Queen sacrifice as an option. I thought there had to be a mating option or Queen exchange option to compensate but didn't see it In the fourth opening I still see white losing a (second!) pawn in O-O move.. Is that supposed to happen?
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"These friends probably started using condoms after having produced the most optimum amount of offsprings. Kudos to them for showing at least some restraint" - Tsar-ivor
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Ecoris
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted November 26, 2009 07:58 PM |
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Yes, it was a great quiz that deserved more participants. I made some errors I shouldn't have made, but that's what happens when you don't have a board in front of you.
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keldorn
Promising
Known Hero
that casts green flames
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posted November 26, 2009 08:10 PM |
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Quote:
A really great quiz Although I was last I am happy about my points. I am really no tournament player - i only play through internet and occasionally with friends.
Now I need to check how well I did in each department Especially the openings! Oh I got 2. I looked at the second one, and thought to myself that why on earth is there a Queen sacrifice as an option. I thought there had to be a mating option or Queen exchange option to compensate but didn't see it In the fourth opening I still see white losing a (second!) pawn in O-O move.. Is that supposed to happen?
Yes it is. This line of play is known as a gambit. White sacrifices pawns to get positional davantage. This particular one is known as the Moeller-Therkatz attack, because white's agressively develpoed pieces and safe king allows for a quick surprise attack on the (yet uncastled) black king.
BTW, I'm glad to see you enjoyed the quiz. Unfortunately, I can't make another one this week, because I'm going on a chess event on Saturday + I have an exam on Monday. So back to the puzzles for a week, and sooner or later I'll come up with a similar 20-puzzles-long test.
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keldorn
Promising
Known Hero
that casts green flames
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posted November 27, 2009 05:53 PM |
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This next one is quite easy. I'd like to give you some kind of work in the meantime I'm working on my second quiz.
As you can see, black has played Rxa2??. How should white counter?
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dimis
Responsible
Supreme Hero
Digitally signed by FoG
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posted November 28, 2009 09:10 AM |
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Edited by dimis at 09:17, 28 Nov 2009.
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Ecoris,
Regarding the absence of a board check this out (Mikhail Tal in Soviet Union). E.g. check around 5th minute.
On a more serious note, buy a cheap plastic chess set. It has a different feeling and you will enjoy it more.
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The empty set
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Ecoris
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted November 28, 2009 11:44 PM |
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I have a travel set somewhere. It's pretty cool to play ten games of blind chess simultaneously (and win them all I suppose?).
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dimis
Responsible
Supreme Hero
Digitally signed by FoG
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posted November 28, 2009 11:59 PM |
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I am not sure if he won all of them. In the end there is a guy (among the 10 - board no. 6) who receives congratulations by the others. So my guess is that in that board Tal lost at least half point (his king is kind of "naked", so perpetual check might be an option). Perhaps someone who speaks russian can help here.
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The empty set
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keldorn
Promising
Known Hero
that casts green flames
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posted November 29, 2009 09:32 AM |
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An interesting fact about blindfold chess is that the current world record is being held by Alexander Alekhine, a Russian grandmaster from the XX. century.
He played 32 opponents (Master level players!) simultaneously and blindfolded, winning 19, losing 4 and drawing 9. That's an incredible achievement that still holds the record since July 1933.
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ihor
Supreme Hero
Accidental Hero
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posted November 29, 2009 10:18 AM |
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Edited by ihor at 14:21, 29 Nov 2009.
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I speak russian , so I'll help you and insonify some interesting facts on this video.
-Tal firstly played blind chess by accident when he was in hospital and he could only lie, he played with 4 opponents and won all 4.
-He says: Even if you play chess without watching on the board very good, then you play chess with watching much better.
-He says about Alekhine played blind against 30 opponents and some hungarian master Yanosh Flesh(spelling?) against 54 opponents.
-About remembering - he says that chess player, his brain selects the region of board where main events are to be more possible, where the result of game would be determined. And then if needed he reminds the position of all needed pieces.
-From the 4th to 6th minutes Tal enumerates all(!) moves which was on 6th-9th boards. He said he has problems on 6th and 7th boards. Then Tal declines draw on 8th board.
-On the question "Why do you love chess?" he answers that chess is very rich game, chess attracts different people from different side, either those with analytic mind or with strong character, he says he could not imagine his life without chess.
-On the 10th and 7th boards Tal accepted draw(!). Opponent on the 4th board gave up. On the 6th Tal suggested draw and his opponent accepted it. Session was finished with a score 7-3. Tal won 4 games and 6 games was finished in draw.
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