| Jul-26-08 | | offtherook: First!
To be three pawns up and still have no better than a draw... |
|
Jul-26-08
 | | Gilmoy: Feel the power of the dark side of the bishop! |
|
| Jul-26-08 | | Captain Planet: same type of ending as yesterday |
|
Jul-26-08
 | | Once: Luke McShane enters an endgame a pawn down, where he has no practical chance of winning. So he steers it into a bishop of opposite colours ending, even allowing white to grab a meaningless extra h pawn. After 35. ... Ne3, black has many opportunities to exchange his knight for the white bishop. But he spurns them all, because a bishop vs knight endgame generally favours the side with more pawns, but bishops of opposite colours can hold back one or even two pawn deficits. Excellent couple of games to show us CG (today's and yesterday's). Very informative. Thank you. |
|
Jul-26-08
 | | kevin86: A second straight expression of the theme:even unusually big advantages as three pawns cannot at times overcome the defensive advantages of having bishops of opposite colors-BOOC BOOC is like Wrigley Field with a 40 MPH wind blowing in to the plate from centerfield. |
|
Jul-26-08
 | | johnlspouge: I found it useful to make an explicit analysis of the draw. With Pf6, Black shuttles e8-f8-e8 to control f8. The White Kg6 cannot penetrate the barrier g7-f7-e7-e8 except by abandoning Pf6 to Bxf6, e.g., 
click for larger viewan obvious draw. Thus, to make progress, White must advance Pf6 to f7, yielding 
click for larger viewTo force h8=Q, the White K must be at either g7 (which the Black Kf8 prevents) or at h7 
click for larger viewobstructing h8=Q. Black cannot be placed in Zugzwang because his B can make tempo moves. How explicitly did MsShane calculate his draw, which becomes inevitable when the first White P reaches h7? Look at when he exchanged the Ns :) |
|
| Jul-26-08 | | jovack: i hate opposite coloured bishops
draws are such a let down |
|
| Jul-26-08 | | tomfoolery: Why not 18. f3? |
|
Jul-26-08
| | Once: <tomfoolery 18. f3 looks quite risky to me. Black could play something like 18. ... Qc5+ 19. Kh1 e3. This may or may not win, but if I were white I would not want to have to go there. Looks like too much excitement for the other guy. |
|
| Jul-26-08 | | theodor: 66.h6;Kf8 (Kd8;Kf7) 67.Bf7-zugzwang-black bishop has to move! 66.h6;Kf8 (Kd8;Kf7) 67.Bf7-zugzwang-black bishop has to move! |
|
| Jul-26-08 | | theodor: 67.....Bxf6 68.Kxf6-pat |
|
| Jul-26-08 | | SuperPatzer77: White keeps trying to put Black into zugzwang but fails to do so. After 65...Ke8, White's best move is 66. h6 (trying to put Black into zugzwang) Kf8! (only move), 67. Bc4 (waiting move) Ke8!, 68. Bb5+ Kf8! (again), 69. Ba4 (waiting move) Bxf6! =. If 70. Kxf6, then it's stalemate.
SuperPatzer77 |
|
Jul-26-08
| | johnlspouge: <<SuperPatzer77> wrote: [snip] If 70. Kxf6, then it's stalemate.> Thanks, <SuperPatzer77>. I forgot to put that variation into my analysis of the draw. |
|
| Jul-26-08 | | SuperPatzer77: <theodor> White keeps trying to put Black into zugzwang but couldn't do it because of a stalemate threat. After 65...Ke8, White's try is 66. h6 Kf8!, 67. Bf7 Bxf6! =. If White declines to capture the Black bishop at f6 because of the stalemate, the Black bishop may move forth and back just like the repetition moves so, White is not able to win this endgame. It is, of course, an interesting draw SuperPatzer77 |
|
| Jul-26-08 | | Confuse: looks familiar. : ) |
|
Kibitzing
