Dr Dave dug out one of his favourite puzzles, which is actually two puzzles in one (White to play and checkmate Black quickly).
But Dave, which way are the Black pawns going?
It doesn’t matter! It’s mate in three either way.
SOLUTIONS (select below to reveal)
a. bottom left = a1 : 1.Bc6 bxc6 2.Kc8 c5 3.Nc7#
b. bottom left = h8:
1. Kc6 b8=Q 2.Nc7+ Qxc7+ 3. Kxc7#
or 1…b8=N+ 2.Kc7+ Nc6 3.Bxc6#
n the Clubs/Organisations competition as part of the UK Chess Challenge, Exeter Junior Chess Club came out as South-West region winners. Well done to them!
| South West | |||||
| Rank | School | Score | No. of Players | GF Qualifiers | TF Qualifiers |
| 1 | Exeter Junior Chess Club | 21 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Bournemouth Junior Chess Club | 19 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Downend & Fishponds Chess Club | 17.5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Frome Chess Club | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Musketeers Junior Chess Club | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Pete’s Potentials Chess Club | 8.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Wellington Chess Club | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Wotton Hall Chess Club | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Moonrakers Chess club | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Ringwood Chess club | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Exeter Juniors 1-3 Exeter School 22nd May 2015
default 0-1 Leif HAFSTAD
Ethan HWANG 1-0 Henry COLEMAN
Felix WATTS 0-1 Redmond COLEMAN
Ned RICHARDS 0-1 Nick ARMSTRONG
In a close match, where many of the players relied for support on a
mysterious brown elixir, the visiting team had an early boost when the
home team top board didn’t arrive.
It looked as though the home team was going to score a rapid equaliser
when a mate-in-one appeared on board 3, but the opportunity passed by.
The material balance wobbled several times before Redmond found a
back-rank mate later in the game.
Some excellent aggressive play from both sides on board 4 was also
brought to a close when Nick spotted a snap mate.
In the best game of the match, Henry tripled down the e-file, pinning
down all of Black’s pieces. Ethan then sent his Queen off in search of
counterplay, but it became cut off from the e-file, whence White could
have delivered the fatal blow. But the Queen proved distracting
enough, and gradually Black unhooked the pin and exchanged off
into a Rook endgame. White then allowed a Rook exchange when Black had
a distant passed pawn, and the home team finally scored a point.
Games to follow.
Exeter Juniors 3-1 Torquay Boys Friday 2nd May 2014
Edmund Kelly (B) 1-0 Yul Lee (W)
Taylor Finch 1-0 Alex Lee
Leif Hafstad 1-0 Ben Sturt
Codie Finch 0-1 Jakub Kubiak
The home side scored a quick win when Taylor Finch picked
up the black Queen using an ancient trap in the French Defence, but the visitors equalised soon after when Jakub Kubiak’s threat to the enemy King was ignored.
Leif Hafstad was never in trouble with his own French Defence, and was
happy to collect one pawn after another in a game where White
never looked comfortable.
Game of the day was a full-blooded struggle on top board, where
a cheeky pawn grab in a Sicilian Defence led to the usual trouble
surviving White’s extra development and activity. It looked certain
that White was going to wrestle back the pawn, but Black hung on and eventually swapped enough material to emerge into a winning Bishop endgame.
Yet the clock also had a say and, with Black’s hour almost up, a few hasty decisions nearly let the win slip. The evaluation of the position swung crazily between ‘Black win’ and ‘Draw’ almost move by move, but finally the extra pawn was promoted and Edmund delivered mate with seconds to spare.
Another great match, well-contested on all boards, and credit to all involved.
Our first win! Even without the point from ‘super-sub’ Ray Shepherd, we had a draw in the bank, and that would have been a good result too.
So, well done all round. In both other games there was a big chance for our side early on – so make sure you think right from the start, don’t ‘warm up’ during the game!
{A bit of a tired performance by White: Black picked up pawns every few moves
and went into an endgame four pawns ahead. There were a couple of chances to
hit back, and the one on move 8 might have given a very different result.
Look at every check and every capture, every move!}
3. d4 is the move most likely to cause problems. Have a look at this page:
http://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/lessons-philidors-defence
{Black never really got going and eventually forgot about a threatened piece;
White actually had a chance to win a piece on move 6!}
[Please ignore the stupid number of page visits, I think someone’s robot threw a wobbly]
{
White eventually took a loose pawn and played good aggressive chess to wrap up.
}
{Black had the advantage but allowed White to stop him castling, when there
was always a mating attack up White’s sleeve.}
{White made good use of his extra space and activity.}
{Black let a pawn advantage slip through his fingers.}
Lots to enjoy in an evenly matched contest.
{A well-played game by both sides. We don’t see close endgames very often in
junior chess, and this was a fine one.}
{Black gets a plus in the opening but gets his wires crossed.}
{The two sides emerge from a stodgy old opening into a stodgy old middlegame
and then a roughly level endgame. White adds some interest by losing a piece
(and it could have been worse!) but makes good use of his chances and
eventually brings off a swindle.}
{The game was close for quite a while, with one side then the other looking
better. Black lost a piece but correctly went on the attack, looking for
tactics or a perpetual. White survived all the threats and spotted a chance
for checkmate, and it was all over.}
