[Event "13th UAPA internet ty#09"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.09.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Kuzmichev=V"] [Black "(=3100.12h8f8) TT"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "5k1K/2R3pp/6P1/5q2/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "0"] [EventDate "2020.09.23"] {White to move and draw. It's short, sweet, and simple.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "13th UAPA internet ty#09"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.09.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Kuzmichev=V"] [Black "(=3100.12h8f8) TT"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "5k1K/2R3pp/6P1/5q2/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "4"] [EventDate "2020.09.23"] {[%evp 0,4,0,0,0,0,0]} {after Fritz=J h8f8 1965.} 1. Rf7+ $1 {DM: This must be played right away, or the king will run away and release the stalemating net.} (1. gxh7 $2 Ke8 $1 (1... g5 $2 2. Rf7+ $1 Qxf7 (2... Kxf7)) 2. Rf7 (2. Kxg7 Qg5+ $1 3. Kh8 Qf6+ 4. Rg7 Qe5 5. Kg8 Qe6+ 6. Kh8 (6. Rf7 Qxf7+ 7. Kh8 Qf8#) 6... Qf6 7. Kg8 Qf8#) 2... Qxh7+ $1 (2... Qxf7 $2) (2... Kxf7 $2) 3. Kxh7 Kxf7) 1... Qxf7 2. gxh7 $1 {DM: The only way for Black to avoid giving stalemate is to lose (i.e. with 2...Qg8+??).} Ke7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Polish Chess Federation ty#2175"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.09.04"] [Round "?"] [White "Avni=A"] [Black "(=4740.01e1c1)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "q1r2r1Q/3B4/7R/8/4p3/8/b7/2k1K3 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "0"] [EventDate "2020.09.04"] {DM: White to move and draw. Granted, this isn't the most realistic position ever, but it's not that bad.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Polish Chess Federation ty#2175"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.09.04"] [Round "?"] [White "Avni=A"] [Black "(=4740.01e1c1)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "q1r2r1Q/3B4/7R/8/4p3/8/b7/2k1K3 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "17"] [EventDate "2020.09.04"] {[%evp 0,17,-25,-25,-26,-26,-25,-25,-26,-26,-26,-26,-26,-24,-24,-24,0,0,0,0]} 1. Qa1+ Bb1 {DM: Moving the king instead would be like playing in traffic, and White would force a quick mate after 2.Rh2+.} 2. Ra6 $1 {DM: Hoping to start attacking with Qa3+.} Rf1+ $1 {DM: Otherwise White wins.} (2... Qb7 3. Qa3+) 3. Kxf1 Qxa6+ $1 (3... Rf8+ 4. Ke1) 4. Qxa6 Bd3+ 5. Qxd3 (5. Ke1 $2 Bxa6 6. Bxc8 Bxc8) 5... Rf8+ {DM: This zwischenzug - did you foresee it? - seems at first glance to win.} (5... exd3 6. Bxc8 d2 7. Bg4) 6. Qf3 $1 {DM: I would give this two exclamation points, but I won't change the entry, other than adding these text comments. This terrific move draws, and what adds to its luster is that the draw is not immediately obvious even after seeing the move.} (6. Ke2 $2 exd3+ 7. Kxd3 Rd8) 6... Rxf3+ (6... exf3 7. Kf2 {DM: Here White wins the pawn by force, and while there are some special positions where king and rook beats king and bishop, this isn't one of them.}) 7. Ke2 {DM: Even with his king cut off and no immediate threat to the e-pawn, White still draws with ease. Black has one cute way of avoiding the immediate loss of the pawn, but it's not good enough.} e3 8. Kxf3 (8. Bc6 $2 Rh3 $1 (8... Rg3 $2 9. Be4 $1)) 8... Kd2 9. Bb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "13th UAPA internet ty#06"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.09.04"] [Round "1"] [White "Jasik=A"] [Black "(+0304.52a2h7) TT"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/P4P1k/7p/7P/4n2N/1P6/KP5p/7r w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "0"] [EventDate "2020.09.04"] {Enough draws: White to move and win.} 1-0 [Event "13th UAPA internet ty#06"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.09.04"] [Round "1"] [White "Jasik=A"] [Black "(+0304.52a2h7) TT"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/P4P1k/7p/7P/4n2N/1P6/KP5p/7r w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "13"] [EventDate "2020.09.04"] {[%evp 0,13,716,716,341,334,342,342,342,345,340,345,345,345,356,356]} 1. f8=R $1 {DM: As is often the case in endgame studies, underpromotion is necessary to avoid a stalemate.} (1. f8=Q $2 Ra1+ 2. Kxa1 h1=Q+ 3. Ka2 Nc3+ 4. bxc3 Qa1+ 5. Kxa1) ({DM: I'll add this line for the sake of completeness. I think most of you will realize that the same sequence of moves chosen in the main line - and in the 1.f8Q line, for that matter - will also work here. In this case, it wins for Black:} 1. a8=Q $4 Ra1+ 2. Kxa1 h1=Q+ 3. Ka2 Nc3+ 4. bxc3 Qxa8+ $19) 1... Ra1+ $1 2. Kxa1 h1=Q+ 3. Ka2 Nc3+ $1 ({DM: Here too I'll add a line, as some readers might wonder about Black's attempt at a counterattack. It's worth considering, but it's not too hard to see that it fizzles out:} 3... Nd2 4. a8=Q Qb1+ 5. Ka3 Qa1+ 6. Kb4 $18 {and that's that. There are no more (sensible) checks, and Black is left with the choice of avoiding the queen trade and getting mated almost immediately, or trading queens and carrying on down a rook and two pawns.}) 4. bxc3 Qh2+ 5. Ng2 $1 {DM: This very nice move is reminiscent of Mitrofanov's famous deflection - do a search for "Mitrofanov's Deflection" and prepare to be inspired, if you've never seen it before. Needless to say, that study (and its variants) is in this database.} (5. Ka3 $2 Qd6+ 6. Ka4 Qxf8) (5. Kb1 $2 Qg1+ 6. Kb2 Qxa7) 5... Qxg2+ 6. Ka3 $1 Qg7 7. a8=R $1 {DM: Again necessary to avoid a stalemate. But now the win is simple, even if it could take a while.} (7. a8=Q $2 Qxf8+ 8. Qxf8) 1-0 [Event "13th UAPA internet ty#04"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.09.01"] [Round "2"] [White "Kalashnikov=V"] [Black "(+0331.31g5h8)"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "2r1N2k/6pb/3P2P1/4P1K1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "0"] [EventDate "2020.09.01"] {We conclude with a fairly simple study, but simple works like this are especially pleasant for those just starting out. White to move and win.} 1-0 [Event "13th UAPA internet ty#04"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.09.01"] [Round "2"] [White "Kalashnikov=V"] [Black "(+0331.31g5h8)"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "2r1N2k/6pb/3P2P1/4P1K1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "13"] [EventDate "2020.09.01"] {[%evp 0,13,809,908,1047,1002,1230,1299,29985,29986,29987,29988,29989,29990, 29991,29992]} 1. d7 {DM: The most obvious move, but there are other non-crazy tries that merit consideration. Studies often begin with a natural move, and the zingers typically come after the introductory play.} (1. Nc7 $2 Bg8 2. e6 Rxc7 3. d7 Rc5+ 4. Kf4 Rd5 5. e7 Rxd7 6. e8=Q Rd4+ 7. Ke3 Rd3+ 8. Kxd3) (1. e6 $2 Rc5+ 2. Kf4 Bxg6 3. d7 Rf5+ 4. Ke3 Re5+ 5. Kd4 Rxe6 6. d8=Q Rxe8) (1. Nxg7 $2 Kxg7 2. gxh7 Rd8 3. Kf5 Rf8+ 4. Ke6 Kxh7 5. Ke7 Ra8 6. d7 Kg6 7. e6 Kf5) 1... Rd8 2. e6 Bg8 3. Kf5 {DM: So far, everything has been somewhat mechanical, though White has had alternatives that were worth checking along the way. Now come the fine points.} Rxe8 $1 (3... Bxe6+ 4. Kxe6 Kg8 5. Ke7) 4. dxe8=N $1 (4. dxe8=Q $2) ({DM: While it's obvious that promoting to a rook also results in an immediate stalemate, some might wonder what happens if White promotes to a bishop. (So I added this line.) The answer is that Black has a fortress, provided he continues with} 4. dxe8=B $2 Bxe6+ {. After} 5. Kxe6 {White can stalemate the Black king if he so desires, but he can't root him out of the corner.}) 4... Bxe6+ $1 5. Kxe6 Kg8 6. Ke7 Kh8 {DM: So how does this differ from promoting to a bishop on move 4? It's not the opportunity to play Nxg7, which would lead to a draw even if White's king could protect the g-pawn (and he could always prepare the sac by first retreating the king). Rather, it's this small, well-known trick:} 7. Nf6 $1 {DM: Black must take, and after 8.Kf7 (8.Kxf6 would also win) it's mate in three more moves: 9.g7+, 10.g8Q+, and 11. Qg6#.} 1-0