A report has been added to the archive here on the Irish Women’s Championship 2018, held in Busswells Hotel, November 9-11. Perhaps due to the proximity to the Women’s Olympiad, the event turned out to be one-sided, with defending champion Ioana Miller outrating the field by 500+ points, and duly retaining her title with 5/5. (Though one game could well have been drawn.)
Note: this post has nothing to do with Irish chess, and is thus off-topic for this blog. But I keep seeing references to the ending below, and there doesn’t seem to be any other convenient forum for my comments on it, so here it is.
Polugaevsky, in Grandmaster Performance (Cadogan, 1994), describes his adjournment analysis of his game against Geller from Skopje 1968 (pp. 120-27) as ‘possibly the most meticulous analysis I have ever made in my life’ (p. 127). As a basis for the analysis, he first constructed two ‘fortress’ positions that, he asserted, lead to no win. The diagrammed position here is the first.
Polugaevsky, first fortress position
Based on Polugaevsky – Geller, Skopje 1968
‘The e4 bishop simply strolls up and down the long white-squared diagonal, and even the united efforts of king and queen are insufficient to trap it or drive it off’ (p. 123).
This is a famous piece of analysis, and it constantly comes up in various contexts: the most recent I noticed was this week in Grischuk and Svidler’s commentary on the first Carlsen – Caruana game on Chess24.com. It is also discussed by Kasparov in My Famous Predecessors 3 (Everyman, 2004), pp. 82-85.
What I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere is that Polugaevsky was wrong. There is no fortress in the diagrammed position, and White can win, no matter whose turn it is to move.
The harder case is with White to move. White wins via 1. Ke3 Bg2 (1… Bh1? loses the bishop immediately: White checks successively on e7, e8, g6 and h6; 1… Bb1? 2. Qd5 wins quickly) 2. Qa7+ Kf8 (2… Kg8?? 3. Qa2+; 2… Kh8 3. Qf7 Bc6 (only move*) 4. Qf8+ Kh7 5. Qc5 Bg2 6. Kf2 Be4 7. Qc4 and the light-squared bishop drops) 3. Kf2 Be4 (3… Bh1 comes to the same thing: 4. Kg1 Be4 (4… Bf3?? 5. Qa3+) 5. Qe3) 4. Qe3 Bh1 5. Kg1 Bb7 6. Qc5+ Kg8 7. Qb5, and wins, since the bishop will be forked next move.
[Added February 20, 2019: * Only move along the long diagonal that does not immediately lose the bishop. For completeness, there’s also 3… Bf1, when White wins via 4. Kf2 Ba6 (4… Bb5 transposes) 5. Qe6 Bb5 6. Qd5.]
The underlying logic is that White must at all costs prevent the light-squared bishop from reaching f7, when there is indeed an unbreakable fortress. From the diagrammed position, the main line sees White quickly forcing the Black king to f8: this is important as it means the bishop can’t move to d5, and for good measure c6 is off limits as well. Since h1 is also usually unavailable due to a fork on the h-file, Black is shorter of available squares than is apparent at a first look, and there is no fortress.
With Black to play from the diagram, it’s all somewhat simpler, since Black is nearly in zugzwang. After 1… Kh8 (only move) 2. Qf7 Bc6 3. Qf8+ Kh7 4. Qc8 Be4 5. Qc4, the bishop is lost and White wins.
Black’s main problem in the diagram is the awkward and unstable position of the light-squared bishop on the long diagonal. But that’s not the full story: Black’s king is also in the wrong place, ruling out h1 as a haven for the bishop in many cases. Put the Black king on d7 instead, and Black has a genuine fortress.
The event was the ultimate two-horse race: Stephen Brady and Joe Ryan drew their second-round game, but otherwise mowed down the field, and they were still neck-and-neck with 7½/8 heading into the last round. Stephen Brady had a pawn advantage in a queen plus opposite bishop ending against Anthony Fox, but was unable to turn it into a win, leaving Joe Ryan clear first on 8½/9, for his first Irish championship, with Brady second on 8 and Colm Daly clear third on 7.
We’re fortunate to have all games available. There were many interesting games. Perhaps the most spectacular position was reached in Clarke – O’Connell, round 3:
Clarke – O’Connell, Irish Championship 1997
White to play
White’s 26. f7 some moves earlier created irresistible threats. After Black’s checks ran out, the diagrammed position was reached, with White to play. Gerry O’Connell resigned rather than see the mate in three played out.
For the second year in succession, the championship was held in Greystones. In all, 19 players competed. The defending champion and top rated player Stephen Brady lost three games, while Philip Short was also off the pace. After round 5, six of the seven players with a plus score had never won the championship, with John Joyce leading on 4½. In the end, though, it was Sam Collins who finished strongest, ending with an undefeated 7/9 for his first Irish championship.
He didn’t have it all his own way, though, and had to rescue a thoroughly lost position in his round 5 game against Mel Ó Cinnéide.
In the diagrammed position Collins (White) played 38. Rxe6!?, when instead of the game’s 38… Qxe6?, 38… Rxg3! ends White’s attack and gives Black a crushing advantage.
Question: what should the verdict be with best play after 38… Qxe6? Black is better in all variations, but is it enough for a win?
Eight teams competed: Colmcille ‘A’ & ‘B’, Dublin, Dublin University, Eoghan Ruadh, Sackville (holders), U.C.D., and Wellington Quay Workmen’s Club. Of these, Colmcille ‘B’ and Wellington Quay Workmen’s Club were new: Colmcille ‘B’ won the Ennis Shield in 1948-49, after a playoff with Dublin ‘B’; perhaps Dublin ‘B’ declined promotion. (Dublin University ‘B’ and Setanta seem to have been relegated after the previous season.)
Matches were over six boards, each team played each other once, and only match results counted.
Sackville, the holders, suffered an early setback by losing their first match to Eoghan Ruadh. (I believe this match also saw the Armstrong début of J. J. Walsh, for Eoghan Ruadh; as a substitute.) In the following round, Dublin beat Eoghan Ruadh, seemingly narrowly. These three teams dominated, winning all matches against the remaining five, except for Eoghan Ruadh’s 3-3 draw against Colmcille ‘A’ in round 4.
Thus it all came down, as so many times over the years, to the Dublin – Sackville match, played on February 10, 1950 at Sackville C.C., 51 Parnell Square, where Sackville needed to win to force a playoff match. No match scorecard seems to survive, but Dublin won the match, and went on to defeat Wellington Quay Workmen’s Club in the final match to record a clean sweep of the season.
The Dublin team was Michael Schuster (1919-1989; later Irish champion, in 1952), John J. O’Hanlon (1874 or 1876-1960; nine times Irish champion, between 1913 and 1940), T. Fitzgerald, P. W. (Patrick) Whelan (ca. 1892-1975; Leinster champion 1947 and 1949), Norman H. Wallace (1882-1971, Leinster champion 1920), T. G. (Thomas) Cranston (1877-1954, Irish champion 1922 and 1931), J. T. (John) Gerrard (1876-1954, Leinster champion 1924 and 1930), J. J. (James) Doyle (Leinster champion 1925), and H. A. Hartford (who played one match). In addition Mrs. Dwyer appeared in one match, but received a walkover, so played no game.
An excellent photo of the winning team, except for H. A. Hartford and Mrs. Dwyer, appeared in the Sunday Independent, April 2, 1950, p. 8. (Not shown here as I don’t have permission.)
The Glorney Cup for 1972 was held in Sidcup, England. Six teams competed, including the Netherlands and France.
The Irish team was Bernard Kernan, Stephen Meyler, Tony Spillane, Colm Quigley, Robert Pye, John Nicholson, and Rod Nixon.
Ireland finished fifth, losing 4½-1½ to the Netherlands, France, and England, and 3½-2½ to Scotland, and winning 4-2 versus Wales.
England, with John Nunn, Jonathan Speelman, and Jonathan Mestel on the top three boards, easily finished first, though Nunn only managed 50% (+1 =3 -1), losing to Bernard Kernan.
Up to now Kernan’s win has been the only game from this event given in the ICU games archive, but Kevin O’Connell sent the full set of games, typed in by him form the tournament booklet, three years ago. (The delay in posting them was due to an idea of mine to develop tournament reports for team events, but that project is still pending.) The 30 Irish games have been added to the games collection here. The pgn file for the full event, including non-Irish games and three reserve player games, can be found here.
Quigley – Osborne, Glorney Cup 1972
16… ?
Here’s a crushing win from Ireland’s match against Wales. Black now played 16… Re8? (16… Be6 was essential). White continued 17. c4 (even better was 17. Rxf7! immediately) 17… Nc7 18. Rxf7! Kxf7 19. Qxh7+ Ke6 20. Rd1 Rf8 21. Qxg6+ Kxe5 22. Re1+ (22. Qe4+ Kd6 23. Qe7 mate was quicker) 22… Kd4 23. Bf6+ 1-0
Michael Fagan’s opponent in the Ireland-Wales 1949 Glorney Cup match was Walter Marshall, later Baron Marshall of Goring and described in the The Independent as “one of the more colourful technocrats of our age” in his 1996 obituary.
In 1984 Marshall penned some notes about his chess career and continuing interest in the game. Here is his memory of that 1949 game:
My most vivid recollection is arriving in Birmingham in 1949 captaining the Welsh junior team to play for the first time in the Glorney Cup Competition.
We six Welsh schoolboys were very naive, entirely self-taught chess players. We had never seen a chess clock before and had no idea what they were for but were too ashamed to display our ignorance by asking questions and therefore followed the example of everybody else by banging our clock lever after we had made our move, just like everybody else did. I remember my first match was against an Irishman. Since I was determined not to lose I played very slowly, when to my horror the controller of the competition, Ritson Morry, whispered in my ear that I had exactly 20 moves to make in 3 minutes else I would lose on time. In that hasty and whispered conversation I realised for the very first time that chess clocks had a real purpose, namely to stop me stone-walling in slow play. I promptly launched a sacrificial attack against my opponent’s king and to my total astonishment the sacrifice turned out to be sound and I won. On that occasion Sir George Thomas gave the best game prize to me and I recall that the score of that game was published with some generous praise of my coolness under great time pressure. Fortunately I had the good sense to keep my mouth shut so nobody actually realised it was really a fluke. If you can find the score of that game in your records I would actually enjoy playing it through again.
[Source: British Chess Magazine, Volume 104 (1984), pages 499-500]
The second Glorney Cup, held in Birmingham, July 27-28, 1949, featured three teams, with Wales joining Ireland and England. (Scotland were due to take part, but seem to have dropped out shortly before the event.)
The OlimpBase page gives the final match results and scores. England won again, after a 3½-2½ win against Ireland and a 5½-½ win over Wales. Ireland beat Wales 3½-2½ to finish second.
The OlimpBase report mentions that the game W. Marshall (Wales) versus M. Fagan (Ireland) won the best game prize. I haven’t seen that mentioned in other sources, but the game itself was given by J. J. Walsh in his Irish Times column several years later. Up to now, it has not appeared in any databases, including the ICU games collection.
The diagram shows the position after Fagan’s 19… h5?. Play continued 20. f5! exf5 21. Rxh5! gxh5? (better 21… Bd7, though White is still much better) 22. Rxf5, and one way or another the black queen will be lost. After 22… Qxf5 23. Bxf5 the raw material balance (queen and pawn versus two rooks) was about level, but Black’s open king position gave White an overwhelming advantage. (Move the h5 pawn to g7 in that position and Black is still very much in the game.)
Black was Michael Fagan, Irish Schools’ Champion in 1949; in this photo from around that time he’s playing Black in the game nearest the camera (cf. puzzle and solution from a few years ago). He won his other game in the 1949 Glorney Cup, on board 1 against England, defeating M. Barker.
The Irish team was Michael Fagan, T. Conlon (runner-up in the Irish Schools’ Championship), J. J. Walsh (Leinster Schools’ Champion), Brian Canton, Fintan Doyle, and F. Maher.
In this year’s Glorney, Gilbert, Robinson, and Stokes Cups, held in Paisley, Scotland, all games from rounds 1-3 were available on live boards, but there was a delay for rounds 4 and 5. The organisers have now made the remaing games available, and all Irish games are now available in the games archive here (and on the ICU web site).
One game that caught the eye was the 125-move marathon in the last round of the Robinson Cup, between Daniel Kutchoukov (Netherlands) and Adam Murphy (Ireland).
Kutchoukov – Murphy, Robinson Cup 2018
82… ?
What would you play as Black here?
I think I can honestly say that I would play 82… Kg8 without hesitation, at any time limit, on the basis that Black has a fortress and there’s no way for White to make progress. That was my instant reaction on first seeing the game.
This is one of those cases where a little learning is not a dangerous thing. The defence is actually a bit more complicated than that, and it all gets much more difficult if Black doesn’t maintain the fortress. But 82… Kg8 is indeed correct (the only other move to draw is 82… Rf6) and preserving the fortress greatly simplifies the defence, leaving only one way to go wrong later.
By far the best way to follow this is via the Nalimov tablebases. The arrow keys move the position up, down, or sideways, and are useful to see how the evaluation and best continuations vary. Typing ‘b’ repeatedly plays the best move for each side.
With 82… Kg8, the idea is to keep the king on one of the four corner squares, with the rook permanently posted on f5, keeping out the white king.
The reason it’s not so simple is that after 83. Qd8+ Kg7 84. Qh4, the reply 84… Kg8? loses after 85. Qh6! Kf7 86. Qh7+! Kf6 87. Qg8. After 87… Re5+ 88. Kd4 Rf5 89. Qf8+ Kg5 90. Qg7 Kh5 91. Ke4 Kg5 92. Qh8, something must give way. Though even here the subsequent continuation requires some involved manoeuvring. So (after 83. Qd8+ Kg7 84. Qh4) the rook has to move. Is it more important to cover the rank or the file? This is not so obvious. It turns out that it’s important to cover the f-file: the only moves that draw are 84… Rf8, 84… Rf7, 84… Rf6, and 84… Rf1. That’s certainly missable (since 84… Rh5 is very plausible); but once Black gets that right and otherwise hugs the corner, he can’t go wrong.
In the game, from the diagram, Adam Murphy played the natural, but wrong, 82… Rh5?. After 83. Qd7+ Kf6, White could have won via 84. Kd4 Rf5 85. Qh7 Rh5 (85… Kg5 86. Ke4 reaches the line above) 86. Qg8 Rh4+ (lasts the longest; 86… Rf5 87. Qf8+ Kg5 88. Qg7) 87. Kd5 and the White king maneouvres around to f8. Instead after 84. Qd8+ Kf7 White in turn erred with the (very natural) 85. Kf4? when it’s once again a draw with best play.
There are several more twists and turns according to the tablebases, though what constitutes best play is mysterious in many cases. In what follows, ‘!’ means the only move that preserves the best-play result, and ‘?’ indicates a move that changes the result with best play: 85… Rf5+ 86. Kg4 Rh5 (86… Kg7=) 87. Qd4 Rf5 88. Qd7+ Kf6? (again this insistence on moving forward! 88… Kg8!=) 89. Qh7 Rg5+ 90. Kf4? (90. Kf3!+- (mysterious)) 90… Rf5+? (90… Rh5!=) 91. Ke4 Re5+ 92. Kd4 Rh5 93. Qg8 Rh4+ 94. Kd5 Rh5+ 95. Kd6 Rf5 96. Qd8+? (allowing the fortress again; 96. Qh8+ is quickest) 96… Kg7 97. Ke6 Kh6? (and yet again … Black just had the wrong idea; 97… Kh7= is the fortress) 98. Qh4+? (returning the favour; 98. Qh8+ and 98. Qg8 win) 98… Kg7! 99. Qe7+ Kh6 (still drawn, but 99… Kg8 or 99… Kh8 are simpler) 100. Qd8 Kh5? (no! 100… Kg7 and 100… Kh7 are the only moves that draw) 101. Qh8+ Kg5 102. Qg7 Kh5 103. Qh7+ Kg5 104. Qh3 Rf6+ 105. Ke7 Rf5 106. Qh8 Kg4 107. Qh6 g5 108. Ke6? (and here is the final error: the unique move to win turns out to be 108. Qe6!, and if it’s obvious to you why this should be so, you must be a very good endgame player). The game was drawn in another 17 moves.
Reuben Fine describes Queen v. Rook and Pawn as ‘one of the most intricate endings that can come up’ (Basic Chess Endings (McKay, 1941), p. 562). Based on this game that seems apt; perhaps we could add that it seems significantly more tricky to win than to draw.
The 2nd Annual St. Andrew’s Charity Congress was held in Booterstown two weeks ago. Full reports for the Masters and Majors have been added to the Tournaments pages here.
The live board coverage of the lower events was unusually good, with 104 games (out of 118) broadcast in the Majors and another 22 in the Challengers.
