8/8/1p6/4pppP/7r/4k3/4P3/R3K3 w Q - 0 1

And For the 'Ettes -- Dress Pr0n

Marilyn Monroe, 1950s. Photographed by John Florea. pic.twitter.com/8moAq8YHZF

— Lost In History (@HistoryToIearn) July 30, 2017

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Solutions Update

Problem 1 - White To Play

kr6/r7/7p/5q2/8/8/6R1/6KB w - - 0 1

The strategy here is to move the rook and give discovered check. But finding the right square for the rook is key to bringing about a swift conclusion. A mistake would be 1.Rc2+? Rbb7 and now 2.Rc8+ is not possible because of 2... Qxc8. Yes, 2.Bxb7+ Rxb7 is possible and White's extra material should be enough to win, but there is a much better solution. And that solution is:

1.Rg6+!

And now Black's rooks aren't enough to block the checks:

1...Qf3
2.Bxf3+ Rbb7 (if 2...Rab7 3. Ra6#)
3.Rg8#

Problem 2 - Black To Play

8/2r2pk1/5np1/2p5/3p4/8/6K1/3R1R2 b - - 0 1

1...Nd5+

White's pieces are poorly positioned and cannot get out of the way fast enough to avoid getting forked on e3.

2.Rfe1 Ne3+
3.Rxe3 dxe3
4.Kf3 Re7

And Black's 2 pawn advantage gives him a won endgame.

Problem 3 - White To Play

rn1qr2Q/pbppk1p1/1p2pb2/4N3/3P4/2N5/PPP3PP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1

1.Qxg7+ Bxg7

If 1...Kd6 then 2.Nb5+ Kd5 3.c4+ Ke4 4.Rae1#

2.Rf7+ Kd6
3.Nb5+ Kd5
4.c4+ Ke4
5.Re1#

Problem 4 - White To Play

rnb1kb1r/pp1ppppp/1q3n2/8/4P3/2N2N2/PP1BBPPP/2RQK2R w Kkq - 0 9

9.Nd5!

...and Black is in a world of hurt. There are a number of lines, but Black loses material in all of them. Here are a couple of examples:

9...Nxd5

If 9...Qd8 then 10.Ba5 b6 11.Nc7+ Qxc7 12.Rxc7 Na6 and Black is going down

10.Rxc8+ Qd8
11.Rxd8+ Kxd8
12.Ba5+ Ke8
13.Qxd5 and that should be enough for White to win.

Endgame of the Week

8/8/1p6/4pppP/7r/4k3/4P3/R3K3 w Q - 0 1

Only Black's rook is holding White's rook pawn from taking off. So White's strategy is to trade it off.
1.Ra3+ Ke4
2.Ra4+ Kd5

If 2...Ke3, White's play is the same: trade rooks.

3.Rxh4 gxh4

And now there is no stopping the pawn. Black can try running his own pawn, but White is too far ahead.

4.h6 h3
5.h7 h2
6.h8=Q for the win

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 05:00 PM

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