Greetings,
The Colorado Springs Chess Club will be holding a One Night Quick event (3SS, G/20;d/5, entry $5.00) this Tuesday (7/31) with Guest TD, Matthew Hansen! See calendar for details:
cschess.webs.com/apps/calendar/
Alex Bozhenov wins the July Mating Game with a perfect score! See ratings here:
uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201807248382
The USCF has sent a reminder about the Pikes Peak Open coming up in August (11th and 12th):
The events shown below are ones that have been or will be advertised in Chess Life or Chess Life for Kids:
Date Event Location TLA in Affiliate
2018-08-11 Pikes Peak Open Manitou Springs CO 2018-06 CL A5012031
Game Of The Week
A couple years back, I came up with a method to organize chess tactics. I called it the DROP Method (cschess.webs.com/apps/blog/categ … rop-method). The DROP method is an acronym for the basic kinds of tactics. It is meant to remind you not to drop your pieces and help you get your opponent to drop theirs.
I said that the DROP Method was a work in progress, and it was. So, I thought I would revisit each of the four kinds of chess tactics to provide more examples. The first kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Discovery, which I revisited on April 10th (cschess.webs.com/apps/blog/show … erload-vii).
The fourth kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Pin.
Pin is a chess move that immobilizes an opponent’s piece.
The Pin is different from the other kinds of tactics in that it does not create multiple threats. Its main function is to prevent a piece from moving. A Pin on a target allows that target to be attacked by a lower value piece. A Pin on a support allows the capture of the piece the support is guarding.
“The defensive power of a pinned piece is only imaginary.”
(Aaron Nimzovich)
The Pin works by threatening a low value piece that has a higher value piece (or an ungarded piece) behind it. The low value piece is stuck (as if with a pin) to the higher value piece due to the loss of material should the low value piece move and allow the capture of the higher value piece.
If the higher value piece is the King, the low value piece is absolutely immobilized, as the rules of Chess do not allow moves where the King could be captured. Otherwise the Pin is relative, as the opponent can actually move the low value piece if he is willing to accept the loss of material. The other types of Pins are rare:
Absolute (Pins a target to the King)
Relative (Pins a low value target to a higher value piece)
Cross (Multiple Pins on one piece)
Cross-check (blocks check and counter-checks)
Here is an example from the Colorado Springs Chess Club’s Tuesday night event: July Mating Game. Erasmus Eskeldson, who is closing in on his 50th standard-rated tournament game, got his Bishop pinned to his Queen.
However, Erasmus realized that a Pin against the Queen is not Absolute. It is a Relative Pin. The pinned piece can move, and, in this case, it can create a Discovery to get out of the Pin and win material!
Black to move
See the diagram and answer here:
cschess.webs.com/apps/photos/ph … =205236332
P Is For Pin VII
chessvideos.tv/chess-game-r … ?id=112942
[Event “July Mating Game”]
[Site “http://cschess.webs.com/”]
[Date “2018.07.24”]
[Round “3.3”]
[White “Arispe, Joey”]
[Black “Eskeldson, Erasmus”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “D00”]
[WhiteElo “1216”]
[BlackElo “1341”]
[PlyCount “64”]
[EventDate “2018.07.17”]
[TimeControl “2700”]
-
d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. c3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. h3 Nbd7
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e3 g6 7. Bd3 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nbd2 b6 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. Rfe1 Nb8 12. b3 Na6
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Rad1 Rc8 14. Qb1 Nd7 15. e4 cxd4 16. cxd4 Nb4 17. Bd6 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 dxe4
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Nxe4 Re8 20. Bh2 Bxe4 21. Qxe4 Nf6 22. Qb7 Re7 23. Qa6 Nd5 24. a3 Rd7 25.
Ne5 Rdc7 26. Nc4 Re7 27. Bd6 Rd7 28. Bh2 Nc7 29. Qxa7 Bxd4 30. Nd6 Rxd6 31.
Bxd6 Qxd6 32. Re4 Bxf2+ 0-1
This Week In Chess
On July 24th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club finished the July Mating Game (4SS, G/45;d/10).
Standings. July Mating Game
Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Tot Prize
1 Aleksand Bozhenov 1999 W10 W9 W2 W4 4.0 $37.00 1st
2 Mark McGough 1791 W11 W5 L1 W6 3.0 $25.00 2nd
3 Lawrence R Osborn 949 H— U— W8 W5 2.5 $16.00 U1300/unr
4 Michael Smith II 1642 L6 W7 W10 L1 2.0
5 Erasmus Eskeldson 1341 W7 L2 W6 L3 2.0 $5.00 GOW
6 Joey Arispe 1216 W4 W11 L5 L2 2.0 $5.00 GOW
7 Ross Inman unr. L5 L4 W11 W10 2.0
8 David Argaez unr. H— U— L3 W11 1.5
9 William Leo Wolf 1552 W12 L1 U— U— 1.0
10 Nick J Derosier 1312 L1 W12 L4 L7 1.0
11 Scott Ch Williams 1254 L2 L6 L7 L8 0.0
12 Braiden Denny 381 L9 L10 U— U— 0.0