Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanksgiving Tactic

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving on this side of the pond, but let me take the opportunity nonetheless to thank Jrobi for all he's done for the chess-vlogging world. Can't offer you a turkey, J, but how about a tasty little chess tactic from one of my games, and one which I sadly missed at the time. The position arose from the French advance. White's down in material, and things are beginning to look really bleak now that the knight's been pinned (POSITION A). So I decide to exchange pawns; White takes back and then snatches up my d-pawn up with his bishop (POSITION B). And here I was desperately looking for the finishing blow. There are several good moves, but one's particularly devastating. Can you spot it?

6 comments:

boneman said...

..../N-b3+, BxN/B pins Q to the King?

(the board disappeared when I chose 'comments' but in settings, comments, you can make the comment box a pop up box)

jrobi said...

Thanks for posting Christian and happy Thanksgiving to everyone state-side! I agree with Boneman, that looks pretty solid. Definitely a dynamic position - looking forward what you played!

Anonymous said...

Well done! Nb3+ is the best move. In retrospect, I can't believe I missed it, since the position was screaming for a tactical resolution. I played Tc8+ and Qg6+ instead, winning a measly piece. I should have heeded my own advice: when you smell a tactical blow, simply go through all the move possibilities of every single piece. Also: analyze each piece's line of force. In this case, I just wasn't aware of the Queen's control of e3 once the knight moved. Ah well. Better luck next time.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jrobi, I have a question on the Evan's gambit.

1. E4, E5
2. Nf3, Nc6
3. Bc4, Bc5
4. b4, Be7
5. d4,

Okay, so after all this, what if white moves Nf6? This move prevents white's Qd5, and seems to give the advantage to black. I found this after trying the Evan's Gambit against fritz. Is there something that can be done after Nf6 to solidify white's position, or should the Evan's Gambit be avoided?

btw, great blog.

Anonymous said...

Oh. Or Christian. I just realized this is a multi-author blog. My bad.

Anonymous said...

Hi ReggieH,

thanks! JRobi's really the master-chief of the blog, I contribute only occasionally.
As for your question: I'm no opening expert (my OTB rating is only 1700), but I'd assume that the Evans gambit is perfectly alright for club play. The Bd7 retreat strikes me as rather unambitious for Black. After 5. d4 Nf6 I'd say White gets an okay game after 6. dxe5 Ng4 7. Qd5 0-0 8. a3 ... followed by 0-0 and Bb2.
White gets open diagonals for his bishops and rooks, and the e5 pawn can cause trouble. But again, I'm no expert nor knowledgeable about the Evans gambit.