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February 23, 2019

Chess Thread 02-23-2019

Neil Plays Chess In the Park, 1972

Pic Note

25th May 1972, Neil Diamond, born 1941, American singer and songwriter playing chess in Kensington Gardens, before a European tour. Lady is Joy Anderson, 25, of Kensington,a member of his fan club. The chess set was presented to Diamond by his British fan club.

From what I can see, the pieces appear to be a metallic version of the Peter Ganine Gothic design. I don't think the Ganine sets and boards are still being manufactured, but they're quite common on ebay. Also, it's the only set I would ever consider owning other than the standard Staunton pieces. I don't know, something about them, they just look sort of badass.

As always, the chess/dress pr0n thread is an open thread, so there is no such thing as an off-topic comment.

Easier Problem - White To Play (911)

Yes, this is obviously a won position for White. So the question is, in how few moves can the mate be forced, and what moves are they?

Goal: White can force mate in 2 movies
Hint: White's first move is not a check

k1q5/8/N1N5/KQ6/8/8/8/3R4 w - - 0 1

Bleg

Lurker 'Spade' has a request:

In the 1970s when my dad got his PhD my grandparents gave him a chess table as a gift. The squares are inlaid different colors of wood, with his initials on the side. As he's getting up in age and my parents are in that mood, he gifted it to me (I play chess, and we have the same initials) and it now resides in my library. Only issue with the table is that after decades of use and moving a couple have popped up and one cracked. May have to get it repaired. Oh, and there's nowhere to actually put captured pieces. But that's not the main issue overall.

My major issue is that the squares are 3.5 x 3.5 inches. My grandmother made large ceramic chess pieces for my dad but those have long since broken. As a kid we mostly used regular small chess pieces, which look silly. So now I need pieces of an appropriate size that also look good. What I really want is a set of the Lewis Chessmen, but I'm afraid all available ones might be too small. I found some sets that seemed to be the appropriate size (like, 6" tall kings here), but I kinda don't want to spent like $500 on pieces.

So if maybe you could post up a question about this in the post somebody might have an idea of what I should get that will look good, is playable, and isn't going to eat too much into my gun budget.

I couldn't find any 'Isle of Lewis' type chess pieces of that size, they're all for smaller boards, so I thought I'd throw this request out the Horde and see if anything can be turned up.

More Challenging Problem - Black To Play (916)

Goal: Not a quick mate, but Black can get an overwhelming positional advantage
Hint: A rook sac at the appropriate time is key

2b2r1k/7p/8/4b3/p1PBB1qP/P2Q2P1/2R3K1/8 b - - 0 1

Dress Pr0n For The 'Ettes:

Pierre Balmain c1950-1955. Check out for more: https://t.co/c4sAAMtm8e pic.twitter.com/N59ODa41Bh
— History Lovers Club (@historylvrsclub) December 10, 2018

Greetings From Bulgaria

(click for larger view)

___________

Solutions Update

Easier Problem - White To Play

k1q5/8/N1N5/KQ6/8/8/8/3R4 w - - 0 1

White can force a mate in 2 with:

1.Rd7!

So now the Black king can't move and the Black queen needs to keep an eye on b8 to keep White from playing Qb8#. That leaves Black with limited options, each one resulting in a quick mate by White.

A: 1...Qc7+ 2.Nxc7#
B: 1...Qxa6+ 2.Qxa6#
C: 1...Qxc6 2.Qb8#
D: 1...Qxd7 2.Qb8#
E: 1...Qd8# 2.Rxd8#

More Challenging Problem - Black To Play

2b2r1k/7p/8/4b3/p1PBB1qP/P2Q2P1/2R3K1/8 b - - 0 1

1...Qh3+

I'm sure you all saw this move.

2.Kg1 Rf1+!

And not 2... Bxd4+ which allows White time to counterpunch: 3.Qxd4+ Kg8 4.Qd5+ Kh8 5.Qe5+ Kg8 6.Qg5+ Kh8 etc. and White could probably go for the perpetual check here.

3.Qxf1 Bxd4+
4.Rf2 Qxg3+
5.Bg2

5.Qg2 also works: 5...Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 (6. Kh1 Qxh4+ 7. Qh2 Qxe4+ 8. Qg2 Qh4+ 9. Qh2 Bb7#) 6...Bh3 7.Qxh3 Qxh3+ 8.Kxf2 Qxa3 etc.

5...Bb7
6.h5 Bxg2
7.Qxg2 Bxf2+
8.Kf1 Qxg2+
9.Kxg2 Bc5
10.Kf3 Bxa3
11.Ke4 Bb4 and wins

Hope to see you all next week!

___________

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 paste it into your chess app.

___________

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 05:21 PM

| Access Comments


Advertise Here! Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries Good'ay Mate Cafe New York Times: Supreme Court Conservatives Seem to Favor Acknowledging Some Form of Presidential Immunity, At Least for "Official Acts" Undertaken as Part of the President's "Core Powers" Terror-Sympathizers Attempt Takeover of UT Austin; Greg Abbott Sends in the Texas National Guard Tucker Carlson: Dropping Two Nukes to End WWII Was "Prima Facie Evil" Of Course: One of LA Soros DA George Gascon's Top Employees -- the Attorney "For Ethics and Integrity Operations" -- Illegally Accessed Police Files on Political Opponents NY Court of Appeals Tosses Harvey Weinstein's 2020 Rape Conviction A Secret Service Agent Assigned To Kumala Harris Physically Attacks the Special Agent In Charge of the Detail, While Armed; There Were Reportedly "DEI Concerns" About How This Agent Was Hired Unexpectedly, Dow Drops Over 600 Unexpected Points After GDP Unexpectedly Flatlines to Unexpectedly Low 1.6% The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition Mid-Morning Art Thread Absent Friends Bandersnatch 2024 GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security Cutting The Cord [Joe Mannix (not a cop)] Cutting The Cord: It's Easier Than You Think [Blaster] Private Email and Secure Signatures [Hogmartin] Moron Meet-Ups PNWMoMe 2024: 06/01/2024 Yakima, WA contact Mark Andrew Edwards NoVaMoMe 2024: 06/08/2024 Arlington, VA Registration Is Open! Texas MoMe 2024: 10/18/2024-10/19/2024 Corsicana,TX Contact Ben Had for info	« Ace of Spades Pet Thread \| Main \| An Occasional Fishing Thread [Bandersnatch] » February 23, 2019 Chess Thread 02-23-2019 Neil Plays Chess In the Park, 1972 Pic Note Background: 25th May 1972, Neil Diamond, born 1941, American singer and songwriter playing chess in Kensington Gardens, before a European tour. Lady is Joy Anderson, 25, of Kensington,a member of his fan club. The chess set was presented to Diamond by his British fan club. From what I can see, the pieces appear to be a metallic version of the Peter Ganine Gothic design. I don't think the Ganine sets and boards are still being manufactured, but they're quite common on ebay. Also, it's the only set I would ever consider owning other than the standard Staunton pieces. I don't know, something about them, they just look sort of badass. As always, the chess/dress pr0n thread is an open thread, so there is no such thing as an off-topic comment. Easier Problem - White To Play (911) Yes, this is obviously a won position for White. So the question is, in how few moves can the mate be forced, and what moves are they? Goal: White can force mate in 2 movies Hint: White's first move is not a check k1q5/8/N1N5/KQ6/8/8/8/3R4 w - - 0 1 Bleg Lurker 'Spade' has a request: In the 1970s when my dad got his PhD my grandparents gave him a chess table as a gift. The squares are inlaid different colors of wood, with his initials on the side. As he's getting up in age and my parents are in that mood, he gifted it to me (I play chess, and we have the same initials) and it now resides in my library. Only issue with the table is that after decades of use and moving a couple have popped up and one cracked. May have to get it repaired. Oh, and there's nowhere to actually put captured pieces. But that's not the main issue overall. My major issue is that the squares are 3.5 x 3.5 inches. My grandmother made large ceramic chess pieces for my dad but those have long since broken. As a kid we mostly used regular small chess pieces, which look silly. So now I need pieces of an appropriate size that also look good. What I really want is a set of the Lewis Chessmen, but I'm afraid all available ones might be too small. I found some sets that seemed to be the appropriate size (like, 6" tall kings here), but I kinda don't want to spent like $500 on pieces. So if maybe you could post up a question about this in the post somebody might have an idea of what I should get that will look good, is playable, and isn't going to eat too much into my gun budget. I couldn't find any 'Isle of Lewis' type chess pieces of that size, they're all for smaller boards, so I thought I'd throw this request out the Horde and see if anything can be turned up. More Challenging Problem - Black To Play (916) Goal: Not a quick mate, but Black can get an overwhelming positional advantage Hint: A rook sac at the appropriate time is key 2b2r1k/7p/8/4b3/p1PBB1qP/P2Q2P1/2R3K1/8 b - - 0 1 Dress Pr0n For The 'Ettes: Pierre Balmain c1950-1955. Check out for more: https://t.co/c4sAAMtm8e pic.twitter.com/N59ODa41Bh — History Lovers Club (@historylvrsclub) December 10, 2018 Greetings From Bulgaria (click for larger view) ___________ Solutions Update Easier Problem - White To Play k1q5/8/N1N5/KQ6/8/8/8/3R4 w - - 0 1 White can force a mate in 2 with: 1.Rd7! So now the Black king can't move and the Black queen needs to keep an eye on b8 to keep White from playing Qb8#. That leaves Black with limited options, each one resulting in a quick mate by White. A: 1...Qc7+ 2.Nxc7# B: 1...Qxa6+ 2.Qxa6# C: 1...Qxc6 2.Qb8# D: 1...Qxd7 2.Qb8# E: 1...Qd8# 2.Rxd8# More Challenging Problem - Black To Play 2b2r1k/7p/8/4b3/p1PBB1qP/P2Q2P1/2R3K1/8 b - - 0 1 1...Qh3+ I'm sure you all saw this move. 2.Kg1 Rf1+! And not 2... Bxd4+ which allows White time to counterpunch: 3.Qxd4+ Kg8 4.Qd5+ Kh8 5.Qe5+ Kg8 6.Qg5+ Kh8 etc. and White could probably go for the perpetual check here. 3.Qxf1 Bxd4+ 4.Rf2 Qxg3+ 5.Bg2 5.Qg2 also works: 5...Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 (6. Kh1 Qxh4+ 7. Qh2 Qxe4+ 8. Qg2 Qh4+ 9. Qh2 Bb7#) 6...Bh3 7.Qxh3 Qxh3+ 8.Kxf2 Qxa3 etc. 5...Bb7 6.h5 Bxg2 7.Qxg2 Bxf2+ 8.Kf1 Qxg2+ 9.Kxg2 Bc5 10.Kf3 Bxa3 11.Ke4 Bb4 and wins Hope to see you all next week! ___________ 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 paste it into your chess app. ___________ 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 05:21 PM \| Access Comments <script language="javascript" src="http://adserver.adtechus.com/addyn/3.0/5235/1131537/0/170/ADTECH;loc=700;cookie=info;target=_blank;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]"></script><noscript><a href="http://adserver.adtechus.com/adlink/3.0/5235/1131537/0/170/ADTECH;loc=300;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]" target="_blank"><img src="http://adserver.adtechus.com/adserv/3.0/5235/1131537/0/170/ADTECH;loc=300;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]" border="0" width="300" height="250"></a></noscript>	Recent Comments JackStraw: "This does not sound good. @rawsalerts Ԇ ..." SFGoth: "In 2010 or so, I used miles to fly biz on United ( ..." "Perfessor" Squirrel: "Looks like three godless Chinese commies will be l ..." 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