8/p7/8/8/5P2/8/8/2k2K2 w - - 0 1

Dress Pr0n For The 'Ettes

Beautiful sequined #lace on this c1905 evening gown by L. A. Colt, Cambridge. See the details: https://t.co/tbMsHHYeyw #history #antiques pic.twitter.com/Aq90ogikE3

— Ephemeral Elegance (@drapedinhistory) August 2, 2017

This photo was untitled, but the woman looks like a very young Sophia Loren:

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Solutions Update

Problem 1 - White To Play

6kb/pr3p1p/3p2pB/1q1N4/4P3/P6P/5QPK/1r3R2 w - - 0 1

1.Qxf7+ Rxf7
2.Ne7+ Rxe7
3.Rf8#

Problem 2 - Black To Play

6k1/5pp1/4b3/8/4p2N/4P3/6P1/6K1 b - - 0 1

Nothing spectacular here. Black can pick off the poorly positioned knight:

1...g5
2.Nf3 exf3
3.gxf3 and Black should be able to win with his extra piece.

Problem 3 - Black To Play

6k1/1RQ3p1/3p1p2/1P1Pr2p/7P/1q6/4p1PK/8 b - - 0 1

1...Qg3+
2.Kxg3

Not 2.Kg1 e1=Q#

2...e1=Q+
3.Kh3

If 3.Kh2 then 3...Qxh4+ 4.Kg1 Re1#

3...Re3+
4.Kh2 Qxh4+
5.Kg1 Re1#

Problem 4 - White To Play

7r/1pp3kp/p2r1qn1/4p3/2Q1Ppb1/1B3N2/PPP2PPR/2K4R w - - 0 1

This is a long mating sequence, starting with:

1.Rxh7+! Kf8

If instead 1...Rxh7 then 2.Qg8#

2. Rxh8+ Nxh8

Not 2...Ke7 3.R1h7+ Qg7 4.Qf7+ Qxf7 5.Rxf7#

3.Qg8+ Ke7
4.Rh7+ Nf7
5.Rxf7+ Qxf7
6.Qxf7+ Kd8
7.Qf8+ Kd7
8.Nxe5# 1-0

Endgame of the Week

8/p7/8/8/5P2/8/8/2k2K2 w - - 0 1

White has a couple of possibilites for strategy here, but which one is correct?

First, can he just run his pawn and win the queening race? Well...

1.f5 a5
2.f6 a4
3.f7 a3
4.f8=Q a2
5.Qa3+ Kb1
6.Qb3+ Ka1

And White cannot make progress.

The correct strategy is to go after the black pawn. The pawn is far enough away from the queening square that there is time for White to get his king over there.

1.Ke2! a5
2.Kd3 a4

Or 2...Kb1 3.Kc3 a4 4.Kb4 a3 5. Kxa3

3.Kc3 a3
4.Kb3 a2
5.Kxa2 and wins

Question: if Black knows that White is coming after his pawn, can he use his king to block White's king and keep it from coming across the board.

1.Ke2! Kc2
2.f5

And now White can run his pawn.

2...a5
3.f6 a4
4.f7 a3
5.f8=Q a2
6.Qa3 Kb1

This is a similar position to what you might see if the White pawn is run from the start, but here, the King is one sequare closer. And that makes all the difference:

7.Qb3+ Ka1
8.Qc3+ Kb1
9.Kd2 a1=Q
10.Qc2#

Hope to see you all next week!

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Note: that cryptic line of letters and numbers you see underneath each board diagram is a representation of the position in what is known as "Forsyth-Edwards Notation", or F.E.N. It's actually readable by humans. Most computer applications nowadays can read FEN, so those of you who may want to study the position, you can copy the line of FEN and paste into your chess app and it should automatically recreate the position on its display board. Or, Windows users can just "triple click" on it and the entire line will be highlighted so you can copy and past it into your chess app.

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So that about wraps it up for this week. Chess thread tips, suggestions, bribes, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to my yahoo address: OregonMuse little-a-in-a-circle yahoo dott com.

posted by OregonMuse at 05:04 PM

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