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1994-01-05
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69 lines
EVANS ON CHESS. June 25, 1993.
By GM Larry Evans. Copyright.
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White to play and draw
(White: King on h8, pawn on c6. Black: King on a6, pawn on h5.)
THE MAGIC SQUARE
Composed problems are an acquired taste. These wild flights of fancy exemplify
art for the sake of art.
Some serious players shun puzzles which look so contrived. White, always the
hero, must mate in two (or more) moves using esoteric themes. Even the jargon
is strange. Terms such as blocks, cooks, duals, are not used in actual play.
Endgame studies, by contrast, have broad appeal. They offer natural beauty
coupled with a disarming simplicity found over the board. Above all, these
valuable lessons can be applied to our own games.
A study stipulates that one side must win or draw, and any deviation in move
order is fatal. This art was known to be popular 1,000 years ago in the great
days of Islamic chess but languished until 1851 when Kling and Horwitz wrote
"Chess Studies; or Endings of Games" featuring 207 composed settings.
More years ago than I care to remember, I showed one of them to a friend
during a junior tournament. He was stumped and I demonstrated the solution,
but no good deed goes unpunished. When we were paired a few rounds later, I
found myself on the wrong side of a similar endgame and rued the day I ever
taught him about triangulation!
Practice, practice, and still more practice is the best way to improve. So is
poring over master games. But for a combination of instruction and pleasure,
little in chess can match the challenge of a composed endgame.
These studies seem so real it's hard to believe they were invented. Often the
composer was inspired by a game which he then altered to highlight a central
theme. Near the end, when the board has less debris, pure melodies can be
heard that tend to get lost in the din of battle.
The Magic Square by Richard Reti is a famous example of the genre. Along with
Aaron Nimzovich and Gyula Breyer, he formed the hypermodern contingent that
sprang up after World War One. They revolted against the classical tenet that
to control the center you must occupy it. The flexible 1 Nf3 was named Reti's
Opening after he beat the invincible Capablanca with it at New York 1924.
Reti was a Czech who became a chess professional after studying physics and
math in Vienna. He played 29 blindfold games at once in 1925, a record that
stood for years. Today he is mostly remembered for two books: MODERN IDEAS IN
CHESS and MASTERS OF THE CHESSBOARD.
Someone once said pawn endings are to chess what putting is to golf. Note the
stark simplicity of the setting where each side has only a king and pawn. Yet
White is faced with the seemingly impossible task of preventing Black's pawn
from queening. The obvious try 1 c7 fails owing to Kb7 2 Kg7 Kxc7.
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SOLUTION: 1 Kg7! h4 2 Kf6! Kb6 (or 2...h3 3 Ke6 h2 4 c7 Kb7 5 Kd7 h1/Q 6 c8/Q
also draws) 3 Ke5! Kxc7 (now if 3...h3 4 Kd6! h2 5 c7 draws) 4 Kf4 h3 5 Kg3
gets the King back in time to capture the last pawn.