#2 Jørgen Børner
3 Pr 162nd Theme Ty
Die Schwalbe 1979

In Monday’s problem, White clearly needs to move the knight on b6 while providing a mate for 0-0-0.

You could try 1. Nc4?, threatening 2. Rb8# and meeting 1… 0-0-0, 1… Kd7 or 1… Kd8 with 2. Rf8#, but there’s no mate after 1… Rc8.

The solution is 1. Nd7!, which threatens 2. Rf8# (also the reply to 1… Kxd7 or 1… Kd8), while 1… 0-0-0 now runs into 2. Rb8#.

This problem demonstrates the Le Grand theme, described by Peter Wong here:

The le Grand theme, named after the Dutch brothers Henk and Piet le Grand who developed it in the 1950s, involves a type of reciprocal change with a paradoxical element. Mostly seen in two-movers, the theme follows this pattern of play: a white try threatens mate A and the black defence x allows mate B, but after the key, mate B becomes the threat and the same defence x leads to mate A. Thus the threat-move and the mating response to a particular black move are interchanged between the try and post-key phases.

Three Thames Valley League matches this week: two wins and one narrow defeat.

On Monday our C team visited Richmond D, emerging with a 4-2 win against lower rated opponents.

On the same evening, our E team travelled to Kingston C, scoring a narrow victory.

On Tuesday our B team were narrowly defeated by Ealing B in a tight match.

Alastair’s king always seemed slightly exposed, and his opponent, although short of time, played very well. Maks had an extra pawn but was under a lot of pressure in a queenless middlegame which he was unable to hold. Sampson had a solid draw, while Jon may have gone wrong in the ending. Matt scored an excellent win against a higher rated opponent (game below) and Simon efficiently dispatched his lower rated opponent.

Thanks as always to everyone who played, and especially to our match captains, and well done to all the winners.

I’m currently sorting out my possessions ready to move next week, so just time for a quick problem I found on the front cover of the September issue of The Problemist Supplement

Don’t forget that castling is a legal defence as Black’s last move might have been with the bishop. Problem convention decrees that castling is legal unless you can prove otherwise, while en passant is not legal unless you can prove otherwise.

It’s not difficult to solve: it’s really the construction which is of interest.

The problem demonstrates the le Grand theme: ‘a white try threatens mate A and the black defence x allows mate B, but after the key, mate B becomes the threat and the same defence x leads to mate A’. For full appreciation you have to identify the try as well as the solution.

Monday’s position, taken from the forthcoming Chess Heroes: Puzzles Book 2, came from a casual game I played against a friend back in 1974.

I had the black pieces and continued 29… Rxg2+ 30. Kf1 Qd2 31. Qh7+ Kf8 32. Qe7+ and we agreed a draw as my opponent was going to deliver perpetual check.

In fact White was winning the final position: he should have continued, after 32… Kg8, 33. f7+! Bxf7 34. Re2!. (You’ll score 5 points for spotting this variation.)

I should instead have continued, from the diagram position, 29… Qd2+!! 30. Qxd2 Rxg2+ 31. Kf1 Rxd2, with equal chances according to the engine. (You’ll score another 5 points for analysing this line.)

Sometimes reversing the move order in this way can make a big difference.

Don’t forget to check out (and buy) the Chess Heroes books here.

A good week for us: four matches, three wins and one (not unexpected) defeat.

On Monday we entertained two Surbiton teams in Thames Valley League matches at the Adelaide.

The A team faced a vital Division 1 relegation match against Surbiton A. We slightly outrated them and emerged with a narrow victory.

Welcome back to Ian, who, along with Alastair, scored an excellent win.

At the other end of the room, our C team played Surbiton C in Division 3. Again, the teams were closely matched on paper.

A great win there, with Peter, George and David all defeating higher rated opponents, and it was also good to see Michael scoring a win.

Over at the Twickenham Club, our D team, also in Division 3 of the Thames Valley League, found life difficult against Hounslow B, one of the division’s stronger teams, unfortunately failing to trouble the scorer.

However, our Thames Valley D and E teams perform a vital job in providing welcome competitive opportunities for our lower rated players. Their players and captains should be celebrated for this.

On Thursday, our Ellam Trophy team (Surrey Division 3) continued their bid for promotion, having just missed out the last two seasons, with a journey south to Dorking.

Alastair reports:

We basically overpowered Dorking but in my game it came down to a time scramble where I had 4 minutes and my young opponent was on the increment but still played better than I.

I missed a great riposte to my Rook sacrifice in this position (31…Rxh2) where White can (and did) play 32. Ng5 with a winning position. After 31….Rh3, White is forced to play g4 with apparently an even position!! Also, 31…e3 is possible as 32 Qxd7 is mate in 2 after 32…Qxg3+!

Here’s Adrian’s game on Board 6 against Alastair’s opponent’s sister. Click on any move for a pop-up window.

As always, thanks to all our players and captains.

A position from the forthcoming (sometime next year) Chess Heroes: Puzzles Book 2.

Black to play. How would you assess this position? How would you continue, and why?

On Monday I asked you how Black should continue in this position.

1… g2! 2. Rxh3 g1=Q 3. Rg3+ Kf6!! 4. Rxg1 is a beautiful stalemate!

Well done to everyone who found the solution!

Our three matches lsat Tueday resulted in three narrow but creditable defeats.

Our London League team faced Mushrooms, who outrated us by on average 100 points a board, and did well to run them close. Our only losses were on the top two board, but, below that there was a win for Chris along with some worthy draws.

Our Thames Valley B team, facing Staines A, were weakened by the absence of Maks and Sampson on London League duty, and by Alastair and myself, who had tickets for an unmissable concert.

Three solid draws at the top, and a great win for Tom in his first B team match weren’t quite enough for a result. Welcome to Callie on her club debut.

Our D team played Ealing C at the Twickenham Club, again going down in a fairly close match.

Excellent results there from Laurie and George, sharing the points with much higher rated opponents.

Thanks to all for playing, to our captains, and to Mike RC, for captaining the TVB team on the day in my absence. Let’s hope for better luck next week.

In his game against Sampson, Mike sacrificed a queen and a rook for a spectacular checkmate.

You can play it through here: click on any move for a pop-up window.

Our visitor Mitchell Burke from the famous 3Cs Chess Club posted these two photographs on their club website: thanks to him and them!

Here’s a quick question for you. It’s Black to play.

Maxim Dunn (Reading University) v Andrew Smith (Bourne End), from a Berkshire League match last Wednesday, and posted by Andrew on his Facebook page.

With both players on the 5 second increment, Andrew hesitated and lost on time. Could he have saved the game?