tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post2710226840978238045..comments2023-12-28T02:11:22.501+00:00Comments on The Streatham & Brixton Chess Blog: This is the end VIITom Chivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-61150706018541685142011-06-25T22:55:56.628+01:002011-06-25T22:55:56.628+01:00Nc5 is what I first saw, but not playing it out to...Nc5 is what I first saw, but not playing it out to an endgame I can't say for sure whether it was better than Nf6. Perhaps it's a matter of choice, since both seem to be good. Black is more active, and should be able to pressure for the win, while white is on the defensive. Great question, though, and one to give more thought to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-78311095160871969892011-06-18T13:45:06.197+01:002011-06-18T13:45:06.197+01:00I agree that Nf6 does seem logical though. With th...I agree that Nf6 does seem logical though. With the cramping pawn on a4 ready to give white a weak a pawn, should he ever play b4, white doesn't have any obvious pawnbreaks. Having weakened the light squares around his King with g3, white would have to consider black's bishop coming to h3 or g4. In conjunction with black's aggressively plonked queen, the knight ready to hop to g4 and the semi-open f-file, black seems to be all ready to go on the kingside. Presumably, white would try to enforce some simplification with f4 while retaining light-squared bishops, but Nf6 looks very logical to me. Maybe Nc5 is ok, but it doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of black's position aimed at the kingside.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-67615008314110916622011-06-17T15:27:15.041+01:002011-06-17T15:27:15.041+01:00often underestimate the difficulties of holding su...<i> often underestimate the difficulties of holding such positions</i><br /><br />God, yes. A lot of players will just happily swap off everything that's offered in order to get to a position they reckon is drawn, but is in fact either lost or really difficult to draw.<br /><br />One common theme is people swapping off down to bad bishop against knight, which always puzzles me since one piece of endgame knowledge we all acquire quite early on is the thing about bad bishops. But people just go ahead and do it all the same.ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-78919573257256969242011-06-17T11:25:59.953+01:002011-06-17T11:25:59.953+01:00I don't think that an immediate b4 is possible...I don't think that an immediate b4 is possible because after .. axb3 ep, Qxb3 isn't possible because the d2 Rook is hanging to the Queen on h6. The next move pair were Qc2 and Qh5, so it would then have been possible.<br /><br />This is presumably where White went wrong then, he should have been trying to play b4.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-11079454012539673812011-06-17T09:13:53.813+01:002011-06-17T09:13:53.813+01:00Sorry to say that, but it seems to me that Nc5 is ...Sorry to say that, but it seems to me that Nc5 is a bad strategical mistake. After the immediate Nxc5 bxc5 White should play b4!, after which the queenside will be resolved very much in White's favour. Black will have to count on holding his strategically suspect position. While after Nf6 White's position has no point, and Black should be happy.<br /><br />An anonymous FMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-21461842909547129392011-06-17T08:49:01.804+01:002011-06-17T08:49:01.804+01:00If the comments of engines are helpful, it's u...If the comments of engines are helpful, it's useful to go through such a game move by move. In the first position from Sunningdale, the engines ,as you suggest, don't rate the endgame. You can interpret perhaps that they have every confidence in being able to hold the endings. In the second position Sunningdale, they interpret the position as becoming unpleasant for White but not necessarily losing. It's difficult to think clearly in that type of position particularly when running short of time. There's the weak squares on b3 and f3 and some of the King and Pawn endings could be worrying because the Black King might invade. The solution is probably going to have to be to sacrifice a pawn for activity and a hopefully drawn R+P a pawn down, but it's not obvious quite how. A try of f4 to enable Re7 seems to allow Black to hoover more pawns than White.<br /><br />In the rapid game with the pawn on d6, didn't anyone remind your opponent of the problems of having a backward d pawn? Without extensive analysis, it's difficult to say whether the position is lost. Again it will be probably be necessary to sacrifice a pawn at some stage for activity. So by no means drawn and no reason for White to take a draw unless he had a time or serious rating disadvantage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com